Transmitting on 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

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Quick Links

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

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 2020

Technician Course: next one-day Provo ham radio cram / refresher course:
Sat 15 February
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) (BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School, first floor)

Technician Course: four-week Eagle Mountain beginning ham radio course, two hours per night:
Tue 07 January
Tue 14 January
Tue 21 February
Tue 28 January
7:00 to 8:30 pm
To sign up for the free Eagle Mountain course, email dbecar@charter.net or call 909-379-8015
Map to the Eagle Mountain classroom (Frontier Middle School, 1427 Mid Valley Rd, Eagle Mountain)

Technician Course: four-week Orem beginning ham radio course, two hours per night:
Tue 21 January
Tue 28 January
Tue 04 February
Tue 11 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)

Extra Course: five-week Orem advanced ham radio course, three hours per night:
Tue 10 March
Tue 17 March
Tue 24 March
Tue 31 March
Tue 07 Apr
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)

General Course: four-week Orem intermediate ham radio course, two hours per night:
Tue 21 July
Tue 28 July
Tue 04 August
Tue 11 August
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)

Technician Course: four-week Orem beginning ham radio course, two hours per night:
Tue 22 September
Tue 29 September
Tue 06 October
Tue 13 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 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 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)


Study materials you can download
No-nonsense licensing study guides [PDF]
Technician (free, and link to the previous one)
General ($8)
Amateur Extra ($10)

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)

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 07-01-2018 through 06-30-2022
PDF format
Text format
Word format
Diagrams (PDF)
ARRL Technician

The General class question and answer pool (452 questions)
Valid 07-01-2019 through 06-30-2023
PDF format
Text format
Word format
Diagrams (PDF)

The Amateur Extra class question and answer pool (712 questions)
Valid 07-01-2016 through 06-30-2020
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 The Ham Whisperer Jason's HamSlides (Technician pool)

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)

Examinations

License examinations:

Next regular Provo ham radio exam session: Wed 02-19-2020 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 (BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School building, first floor, SW corner)
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

About License classes (levels, not courses)

Amateur radio license classes
Technician class
General class
Amateur Extra class

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