[AT] A little Off Topic -amateur licenses

[charliehill]

Thanks Don,  I was aware of the license requirements and I've actually taken 
serveral of the practice tests.  The Technician license doesn't seem 
difficult at all.  I'm just not to the point of worrying about a license 
yet.  I'm still trying to figure out if, in fact, the equipment will be 
benificial to me.   I've got my scanner set on the local repeater and I 
might hear 3 converations a day on there at most and most of the guys seem 
thrilled to find one other station off somewhere they can talk to.  Of 
course given a Katrina type of event where you find yourself in a proverbial 
New Orleans where phones and cell phones don't work and there is no 
transportation then any possible means of communication would be great.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Bowen" <don.bowen at earthlink.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2009 8:57 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] A little Off Topic -amateur licenses


> charliehill wrote:
>> My main interest in amatuer radio is for emergency communications, most
>> often hurricanes around here but you never know what the future might 
>> bring.
>> I don't know enough at this point to decide what kind of equipment I
>> want/need.  I'm interested in local comms and in being able to talk to 
>> "the
>> outside world" also in case of emergency.
>>
> Briefly.  To talk on the local repeaters (most are in the 4 meter band)
> all you need is a Technician Class License.  License is easy to get,
> test is mostly on safety, rules, and operating.  To get on the world
> wide bands the tech class will allow you a little code space on 10
> meters but for the other bands you need at least a General class license.
>
> The General class test is a little more difficult with more technical
> questions but it is not that hard if you have a basic understanding of
> electronics and RF behavior. There is no longer a code requirement for
> any US FCC amateur license class.
>
> The Extra class is a much more technical test requireing a rather more
> indepth knowledge of electronics and RF.  All tests are from a fixed
> pool of questions and the questions and answers are available.  Good
> sources are the ARRL and Gorden West books plus practice tests all over
> the web.
>
> -- 
> Don Bowen           KI6DIU
> http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html
>
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