Amateur Radio is a high-tech hobby that has something fun for everyone. Hams are people from all walks of life no matter what age, gender or physical ability. Anyone can hold an Amateur License - there's no minimum age. Hams practice courtesy and respect for others.

Most of all, Amateur Radio is fun! As a ham, there are more ways to communicate. Using a small 2-meter hand-held radio you can stay in touch with other hams in your area and operate from almost any vehicle, boat or just about anywhere. Hams can send live TV in realtime or just still pictures over the air. Technician class Hams can operate FM voice (using a microphone), digital packet (computers), television and a lot more. You can search for hidden transmitters in a fox hunt and take part in contests. You can even make international radio contacts via Ham Radio satellites and communicate directly to Hams aboard the International Space Station. Using a computer and Amateur Radio, you can talk or use your keyboard to communicate with other Hams locally or around the world. You can even bounce signals off the moon!
 

And that's just the beginning. There are also nets and roundtables where you talk in groups. You can participate in emergency communications or weather spotting. You can build your own equipment and antennas. And there are events called hamfests to meet other Hams, learn more about the hobby, buy and sell equipment and be with those who have the same enthusiasm about Ham Radio.

Amateur Radio is a service which promotes and encourages the honing of technical and operational radio skills in order to have qualified operators to depend on in an emergency. It was created to experiment on cutting edge communications technology and techniques and to promote goodwill and the free exchange of technical knowledge among other Hams throughout the world.

In earning their license, that privilege is treated with respect. Since an Amateur Radio operator's license is a privilege that can be taken away for misuse, close attention is paid to the FCC's rules. Proper etiquette on the air is maintained through informal suggestions, peer pressure and volunteer Official Observer notices. It's a family-friendly environment.

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Books are a good way, because you can take them with you anywhere to study, make notes in them and have them for reference later. There are many books published to study for your first ham license.

You can also get material for free. After reviewing lots of material, the best of the what we found is on our Study Material To Earn Your Technician Class Ham License web page. We know all the sources provide helpful and instructive information to help you get you that license!

Next it's time to put the book away and take the test... at home. No, you can't get your license this way, but you can see if your ready. Just go to the bottom of our Study Material To Earn Your Technician Class Ham License page to find links to sample tests. They use the complete and current approved question pools and answers. Each test taken has a unique combination of questions, selected at random, in accordance with the official guidelines for each element and each sub-element. When you can successfully complete tests with an 85% or better score, you are ready to take the exam.