Transmitting on amateur (ham) radio frequencies requires a license, and these resources can get you started in the world of ham radio or even take you all the way to the highest available license

An endorsement of this web page on Briteon ™

Hover over a word in brown to display additional information

License renewal is the topic of another page
CW (Morse Code) study is the topic of another page
Government regulations is the topic of another page
VEC and W5YI are topics of another page

Quick Links

Recommended Study Method Ham Radio Exam Guidelines Utah County ham radio courses (Provo, Orem) Exam sessions Ham radio course slide show PPTs Ham radio course classroom videos Exam pools Other

Study

Ham Radio Exam Guidelines

You must pass an exam to obtain a ham radio license You do not need to take a ham radio course to take or pass any ham exam Ham exams can only be administered by a team of examiners at specific locations To take a ham exam, you'll need ID, payment, and a 4-digit PIN If you need scratch paper, just ask You may use a calculator, as long as it's not programmable Technician and General exams: 35 questions; Extra exam: 50 questions You must score 74% or higher to pass a ham exam You may not take the Amateur Extra exam until you pass the General exam You may not take the General exam until you pass the Technician exam After passing an exam, you may take the next higher-class exam free-of-charge Should you fail a ham exam, you may retake it as many times as you want Your call sign should appear in the FCC database within two weeks of passing

Find a classroom course near you

ARRL (search by ZIP code, for example)
Orem City Ham Radio and CERT Course Information

Utah County classroom instruction for 2024

Technician Course: next one-day Provo ham radio cram / refresher course:
Sat 20 January
8:00 am to 1:00 pm
Sign up for the free Provo refresher course
(There will also be an exam session following the Provo course on that same Saturday, starting about 2:30 pm)
Map to the Provo classroom (and testing center) (Provo Fire Station #2, 2737 N Canyon Rd)

Technician Course: four-week Orem beginning ham radio course, two hours per night:
Tue 23 January
Tue 30 January
Tue 06 February
Tue 13 February
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Sign up for the $10 Orem Technician course
Map to the Orem classroom (Orem Public Safety Training Room, 95 E Center St, Orem)

General Course: four-week Orem intermediate ham radio course, two hours per night:
Tue 19 March
Tue 26 March
Tue 02 April
Tue 09 April
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Sign up for the $10 Orem General course
Map to the Orem classroom (Orem Public Safety Training Room, 95 E Center St, Orem)

Extra Course: five-week Orem advanced ham radio course, three hours per night:
Tue 16 July
Tue 23 July
Tue 30 July
Tue 06 August
Tue 13 August
6:30 to 9:30 pm
Sign up for the $10 Orem Extra course
Map to the Orem classroom (Orem Public Safety Training Room, 95 E Center St, Orem)

Technician Course: four-week Orem beginning ham radio course, two hours per night:
Tue 17 September
Tue 24 September
Tue 01 October
Tue 08 October
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Sign up for the $10 Orem Technician course
Map to the Orem classroom (Orem Public Safety Training Room, 95 E Center St, Orem)

Self instruction

The very best online (or app) ham license examination study help and practice exams (HamStudy.org), or Go directly to the Technician section General section Amateur Extra section I highly suggest the following for ham radio license exam study: Recommended Study Method Go to HamStudy.org and register for a free account (confirm by email) Log in as yourself (not as Guest) Select Technician Click Study Mode At the top of the page click the All Questions dropdown and select T1 Answer each question in the flash cards for T1 until you've mastered the material Simply guess at the answers if you need to, but resist the temptation to click I don't know Move on to T2, etc. Once you've mastered all ten sub-elements, click the return arrow in the upper-left corner (not your browser Back button) Select Practice Test, and start taking the practice exams until you've achieved at least 92% on several in a row Many licensing exam sessions are listed here if you don't already know where to take the exam When you go to take the actual exam, and after you pass the Technician exam, you'll be offered to take the General exam free-of-charge, so it might be in your best interest to go over the General exam questions as well If you have any questions, please email Noji (KNØJI)

Get the app


Study materials you can download
No-nonsense licensing study guides [PDF]
Technician (free)
General ($10)
Amateur Extra ($10)
Complete Technician study book (free) [PDF]



Course Slide Show Presentations

I've prepared slide show presentations in PPT format for the ham radio courses I teach, and you're welcome to download them for yourself, or present them to others in your own courses (ask me for the password to modify the slides.) Technician course prelude (10 minutes, password required) Four-day Technician course (2 hours each day) Two-day Technician course (2 hours each day, technical, compressed) Four-day General course (2 hours each day) Five-day Extra course, day 1 (3 to 3½ hours) Five-day Extra course, day 2 (3 to 3½ hours) Five-day Extra course, day 3 (3 to 3½ hours) Five-day Extra course, day 4 (3 to 3½ hours) Five-day Extra course, day 5 (3 to 3½ hours) Ham radio overview (15 minutes) Ham radio city plan (25 minutes)

Course Videos

These are very crude videos of some of the classes I've taught Technician course, day 1 (05-18-2021) Technician course, day 2 (05-25-2021) Technician course, day 3 (06-01-2021) Technician course, day 4 (06-08-2021) General course, day 1 (03-23-2021) General course, day 2 (03-30-2021) General course, day 3 (04-06-2021) General course, day 4 (04-13-2021)

Click here for an overview of what's covered on the Technician license exam

Current exam pools (source of the actual questions and answers)
The Technician class question and answer pool (423 questions)
Valid 07-01-2022 through 06-30-2026
PDF format
Word format
Diagrams (PDF)
ARRL Technician

The General class question and answer pool (452 questions) and the new 2023 question pool
Valid 07-01-2023 through 06-30-2027
PDF format
Text format
Word format
Diagrams (PDF)

The Amateur Extra class question and answer pool (622 questions) and the new 2024 question pool
Valid 07-01-2024 through 06-30-2028
PDF format
Text format
Word format
Diagrams (PDF)
ARRL Amateur Extra

Other free online ham radio license study and practice exam sites

QRZ HamExam.org eHam.net Ham Testing HamTestOnline AA9PW NC4FB W4EEY The Ham Whisperer Jason's HamSlides (Technician pool) Roy Watson (Google Play Store)

Pay sites
Ham Radio Prep
The Fast Track to your Technician Class Ham Radio License ($20 audio book)
The Fast Track to your General Class Ham Radio License ($20 audio book)
Ham License Exam
Handiham (for blind candidates)

Other related

FCC License Search and FCC Amateur License Search

QRZ call sign search

Morse Code practice (must log in)

Ham Radio Glossary

Radio merit badge

PPT slides for the one-day course (password required)


Candian requirements and exams

Examination sessions

Local examination sessions:

Next regular Provo ham radio exam session: Wed 08-16-2023 at 7:00 pm
You must pre-register and receive a registration PIN, which you will need to test
Cost is $14 (check payable to W5YI-VEC) when you arrive at the testing center
Map to the Provo testing center (Provo Fire Station #2, 2737 N Canyon Rd)
The regular Provo ham radio exam session is held on the third Wednesday of each month from 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Another exam session follows the Provo Technician course on the third Saturday of each non-summer month from 2:30 to 5:00 pm

The annual ham exam schedule for all of Utah

Search for a license examination session anywhere

The ARRL VEC is not offering remote exams at the moment (04-02-2020)
The first online amateur radio exam (W5YI-VEC, 03-26-2020)
Administering a fully remote exam session (Richard Bateman and the Greater LA Amateur Radio Group)
The Anchorage ARC VEC is not taking proctor applications (Brandin Hess, AL6I, 03-31-2020)
How one Idaho VE team is doing it (Warren County, Idaho, 04-05-2020, Youtube™ 1:44)
FCC approves of remote exam sessions and the accompanying PDF
GLAARG online remote exams

About License classes (levels, not courses)

Amateur radio license classes
Technician class
General class
Amateur Extra class
Partial credit for expired licenses

Teaching

W5YI (Gordon West) Instructor Program
Instructor's Guide for Technician, General, and Extra class licenses
Class Instruction PPT for Technician, General, and Extra class licenses
Class Pre-study Guide for Technician, General, and Extra class licenses
Teaching Materials Store
Annual Ham Instructors Convention

ARRL instructor resources
Post courses (must be logged in)
Register courses (must be logged in and must use Chrome™!)
Course follow-up
Find courses
Register as a license instructor
License instructor qualifications
Course resources
Course study aids (Noji's PPTs are posted here)
A copy of Noji's ARRL license instructor certificate and ARRL license instructor recognition certificate