Ham radio license books suggestions

[Housedad]

I'm wanting to get my Licenses.  What books you you guys recommend? 

[tkamiya]

ARRL has standard textbooks for each class.  Tests questions are from a standard pool.  It is even possible to memorize the answers and pass the tests.  (not that I recommend that)

[james_s]

Everything you need to know is online, you can even practice the tests. No need for books.

[orin]

I used Gordon West's books myself... they work.  Just search for W5YI on amazon and they'll show up.  Be careful of used copies, they may be using out of date question pools.

If you have any electronics knowledge, it's mostly a matter of learning the legal stuff, and a lot of that is pretty obvious.

As is mentioned, you can practice the tests online.  Once you can consistently pass the online practice tests, you're good to go.  I'd suggest going for both Technician and General, then think about Extra later, should you feel it necessary.

Orin, KJ7HQ.

[djacobow]

There are so many ways to do this. If you just want to pass the test, there are plenty of guided. KB6NU's technician guide is free.

If you know electronics and want to learn something, then go the arrl route. If you don't know electronics and want to learn, consider David Casler's excellent YouTube series. He has a tech, general, and extra series and they're all free and are quite comprehensive and not at all aimed at just memorizing questions.

[gdewitte]

Websites that I found helpful for studying to pass the various exams:
 

• https://hamstudy.org/ Free; uses flashcards with exam questions; cycles back to repeat questions you've missed
  
• https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/ Not free; has supplementary material
• https://hamexam.org/ practice exams
  

The ARRL guidebooks for the exams are also useful. I used them in addition to the websites above and found them to be great reference material.

Second the suggestion to take the Technician and General exam on the same day. This way you only pay one exam fee (~$15) and, after passing the Technician exam, can jump right in and take the General.

[GreyWoolfe]

If you know electronics and want to learn something, then go the arrl route. If you don't know electronics and want to learn, consider David Casler's excellent YouTube series. He has a tech, general, and extra series and they're all free and are quite comprehensive and not at all aimed at just memorizing questions.

[/b][/u]

As a Volunteer Examiner for 18 years and a VE Liaison for the past 6 years, memorizing questions is the absolute worst way to learn.  If you have a good electronics background, that is one thing.  Too many I see have none, learn the question pool by rote, get their Extra and can't figure how to turn on their HT.  6 months later, no one sees them again.  Having the test books from either ARRL or Gordon West or both, becomes the basis of your ham radio library.  The rules and regs, band allocations and modes may change, but the physics never does.  This, of course, is just the opinion of a 'low code' Extra, YMMV.

Thanks, D for the info on David Casler's series.  I am going to check him out.  If he is as good as you think he is, I will be mentioning him when people ask me how to go about getting their license.

[georges80]

Our family (wife, 2 sons and myself) got our tech licenses about 11 yrs ago.

At that time (probably still now) there were 3 types of questions.

1) pure rule based questions - these need memorizing of the rules, technical radio/electronics knowledge won't help you 'work out' the answers
2) Operating questions - these again need memorizing since the basically require you to follow procedures for correct operation that conforms to standard practice.
3) Theory. Technical knowledge of course will assist here. Things like wavelength, power, ohms law etc.

My youngest was 7 when he took and passed his license test. He was pretty smart for his age, so was easy enough to teach him things like ohms law and relationship between voltage, current and power. Consider, that this also requires memorization (of the equations...).

Good luck on your test and entry into amateur radio. Lots of neat new tech, especially various digital modes (things like aprs etc).

cheers,
george.

[djacobow]

Thanks, D for the info on David Casler's series.  I am going to check him out.  If he is as good as you think he is, I will be mentioning him when people ask me how to go about getting their license.

Honestly, I think Casler might be the best "ambassador" for amateur radio out there right now. He's knowledgable, level-headed, presents himself professionally, etc. He orients most of his stuff towards the non-technical / starter, but tries not to dumb it down too much. I have most enjoyed his experiments, such as trying antennas at different heights to see how performance matches or doesn't match what he got out of NEC, etc. He's a little dorky, I guess, but so is this hobby. :-)

https://www.youtube.com/user/davecasler/playlists

[vk3yedotcom]

I recommend Ron Bertrand's Radio Theory Handbook

[tkamiya]

As far as I'm concerned, a ham radio license is a license to learn.  It is so especially today's versions of tests.  For example, study material will give you a basic formula for antenna length but it doesn't tell you how to make it, put it up, and tune.  It also doesn't tell you how to connect your equipment.  AND, it doesn't give you the all important skill, how to install PL259 connectors, and how NOT to forget the sleeve!

It just tell us what NOT to do and few tid bits that are useful.

I started my ham radio carrier 30+ years ago.  First in JA and then US.  My first interest was antennas.  Some bamboo sticks, wires, tapes, and coax meant fun antenna weekend.  I made a beam out of that material and made my first DX contact with Australia.  Made an antenna coupler and worked on ground connections.  Made a tube rig and get heck of an electrical shock.  etc, etc, etc....

Truthfully, I don't think it makes any difference how one gets license.  Being the OP asked this question on this forum, he is undoubtedly interested in technical side of things.  He will carve out his own space and grow in there technically.  I wouldn't doubt if he already knew more than most hams out there.

[Housedad]

Thank you one and all.

Very good information here that I was not sure of where tho go for.  I am very interested in learning concepts and theory for nearly everything.  That is learning.  Anything else is reciting.  I am not a savant.

so you feel the ARRL books are good.  I will go ahead and order them.

I will also endeavor to find the West and see the Casler series.

I have a road map now, Thanks to all of you.

[james_s]

I got a technician class license a few years ago, I thought the test was very easy. I took a few practice tests online so I'd know what to expect. I had to memorize a few terms and learn a few of the rules but the electronics related questions were EE101 type stuff and a lot of the remaining questions were pretty much common sense.

[GreyWoolfe]

As far as I'm concerned, a ham radio license is a license to learn.

I have been saying that for a long time now.

AND, it doesn't give you the all important skill, how to install PL259 connectors, and how NOT to forget the sleeve!

You are not really a ham until you have forgotten it at least once, preferably when you are trying to teach a group how to solder them on!   Not that I have ever done that.

There are so many facets to ham radio, everyone with an interest should be able to find something that lights them up and gets them going.  Housedad, your first assignment when you get your license is build your antenna.  My most favorite antenna to date is my 80 meter full wave loop fed with 450R ladder line.  Cheap to build and works well. 

[james_s]

My favorite is very neatly soldering a connector onto a wire, then seeing the bit of heatshrink tubing I had cut to cover the joint sitting there on the table. 

[tkamiya]

Not an RF connector but I've done similar things with 50pin Centronics type connectors.  I did remember to put the hood on first, but I counted pin numbers wrong - found out while working on the other end of a cable.

PL259....  grrrr....  I became pretty good at detaching cables and do it again.

[Housedad]

PL259.  That brings back memories.  I was in the Television crew in High school, early 70's.  We constantly had to solder new cables for the classrooms since they like to destroy them a lot.   Big old 24" Black and white tube chassis TV's with tuners.  With as much as I stuck my hands in them to fix them, It's a miracle that I did not get killed. 

The biggest fix those things needed was a good banging on the side of the unit right there with a class going on.  Chalk dust from the chalk boards would gum up the works.  They nicknamed the crew 'The Head Bangers"

[Kalvin]

I got a technician class license a few years ago, I thought the test was very easy. I took a few practice tests online so I'd know what to expect. I had to memorize a few terms and learn a few of the rules but the electronics related questions were EE101 type stuff and a lot of the remaining questions were pretty much common sense.

Same story here. The study material provided needed ham-specific technical information for antennas, propagation, safety, receivers and transmitters etc.. Regulations, band allocation and ham abbreviations were something that needed memorization. After practicing with the online exams it was easy to take the real exam.

After passing the exam and getting the license it was time to buy VHF/UHF and HF rigs and build antennas. As I had never built real antennas before, it was very educating experience to see how the theory meets practice when building a magloop for 20m - 40m, and a Moxon for 2m and 70cm. When the rigs and antennas were done, it was time to meet the realities of using QRP power and how the radio waves propagate in different frequency bands at different times of a day. Using the online services like https://www.pskreporter.info and http://wsprnet.org makes it easy the see how well your setup works and how the radio signals propagate.

[whalphen]

If you like to learn in addition to getting your license, I recommend the ARRL Handbook and the ARRL Operating Manual.  Pretty much everything you need for the license can be found in those.  And, for subsequent learning, both make excellent reference books.  Take practice tests online or on a smartphone.  For any incorrect answers, go find the relevant chapter in the ARRL Handbook or Op Manual and read or re-read the chapter.  You'll quickly learn what you need for the test -- and in the context of the related material in the chapter.  So you'll end up with a license, as well as a good starting foundation of amateur radio knowledge.