Ham Radio Licenses

Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Kurt Glaser for Expert Village. We're talking about ham radio, and we're going to continue to look at several key points on becoming a ham radio operator. And let's learn more about getting your ham radio license, or what we call is your ticket. In ham radio, you can operate in a broadcast mode if you have your license, so this session is about getting your ham ticket. Remember, there are three classifications in terms of licensing. The lowest is the Tech class or "Techie" class, the General Class is the middle, and the highest level is the Extra Class. You'll need to determine what type of license that you wish to have. The most popular introductory amateur radio license is the Technician license. This is "no code" here in the United States, it means you don't have to send any Morse code. And you can operate a variety of things, using like a ham handheld radio, or you can operate by using your computer to send and receive signals. Or to use amateur radio orbiting satellites--there are two of them, actually in space. Now, you'll need to decide which of these license classes that you want to pursue. Most new hams, or people that want to become amateur radio operators, choose to go with the Technician class. This requires you to pass about a 55-question test. The General class is the second. It's more difficult, and about the same length--55 to 60 questions. And they don't test us anymore on "The Code" the Morse Code where you send ?dahs? and ?dits? off of a little key. The highest class license, again, is the Extra Class license. Some countries, however, do require you to have a Morse Code proficiency requirement of 5 words-per-minute receiving--that means you can hear and receive five words per minute. So with that, we're going to take a look next session about studying for the exam. Til then this is N7QJM, 73s!

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