San Antonio Hams

Important re FCC FRN! Please do this before your ham exam day.

The FCC requires you to obtain an FRN (FCC Registration Number) from them and use it instead of a Social Security number on your ham exam paperwork. If you have already obtained an FRN from the FCC, be sure to bring it with you and use it on the paperwork for your exam.

You only need one FRN. (Hams and GMRS licensees already have an FRN on their license.) If you do not have an FRN please do this. Go to

https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do

In the middle of the page you should see “Need a Username?” Under that, click Register.

You then will give information to the FCC, will create a password, and will obtain an FRN.

BRING YOUR FRN WITH YOU TO THE HAM EXAM SESSION!

Bring the following items to your exam in addition to that very important FRN number. (Ham licenses have an FRN.)

– Ham license (if you are a ham) and any CSCE newer than your ham license. Bring a copy we can send with your paperwork. Please contact me if you need help getting a printed copy of your license.


– A government-issued photo ID (preferably drivers license)

– Form NCVEC 605 (updated March 2018) filled out and printed on your computer or in black ink, from
https://tinyurl.com/2021NCVEC605

– Black pen and a pencil

– A simple calculator may be helpful. No phones, no iPads, etc.

– Earplugs that only reduce sound (no electronic device) may help you to concentrate if noise bothers you.

– $15 session fee — exact change, please

You may have heard about an FCC application fee. It will not be paid on the date of the exam. New licensees will receive an email from the FCC with details about paying the $35 application fee directly to the FCC after you pass your exam. That email will be very important and it will explain that your payment to the FCC is due in a very short time, or you will not receive your license.

Youth without a government-issued photo ID need two documents for identification. Suitable documents include a school report card, birth certificate, and a Social Security card.

Study link

I highly recommend this web site’s flash cards and practice tests.

http://hamstudy.org

Select “Read Questions” and it will focus on just the correct answers. If you tap the top right corner of the card, you will see an explanation of the answer. Many of our test candidates have found that the flash cards there help them to review/study more thoroughly than other practice tests.

73,

Pat Knight AD5BR
210-273-5927 iPhone

I would appreciate your help getting the word out about my free weekly General Class licensing course on Zoom beginning Thursday, October 28 and running through Thursday, January 13 (9 sessions plus 3 weeks off for the holidays in November and December.)

Sessions will start at 6:30 pm eastern time, and run 3 hours. These are the classes sponsored by the National Electronics Museum that we have been holding for years.

Please publicize this with anyone you know that you think would be interested. Those wishing to sign up should email me at roland.anders@comcast.net.

Thanks,
Rol, K3RA

Want to take a General class?

Hi–

I’ve finally set the date for the online General Class. The class will start on Monday, May 3, 2021 and consist of eight, two-hour sessions starting at 8 pm CDT (6pm PDT) and running until 10 pm CDT (8pm PDT). The eight sessions will take place on the following dates:

Monday, May 3
Thursday, May 6
Monday, May 10
Thursday, May 13
Monday, May 17
Thursday, May 20
Monday, May 24
Thursday, 27
The cost is $40 for adults. High school and college students can attend for free. If you’re a student, all you have to do to register is send an email to cwgeek@kb6nu.com stating that you want to take the class. All others can register using PayPal or Amazon Pay here.

I’ll be using my No-Nonsense General-Class License Study Guide (for tests given between July 2019 and June 2023). It’s available as an ebook, paperback book, or audiobook.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Dan KB6NU
cwgeek@kb6nu.com

TECHNICIAN HAM LICENSE COURSE

Where: Christus Santa Rosa Medical Center Hospital
Kingman Room (Right from the information desk, at the end of the hall)
2827 Babcock Rd
San Antonio, TX 78229

When: Saturdays May 27 and June 3, 2017
9 AM to 5 PM

Attendees should attend both sessions since different material will be covered each day.

The Technician License Exam will be given Saturday, June 3 at 3 PM.
Cost: $15 for license exam

Study material: 2014 – 2018 Technician Class Manual by Gordon West
Available at w5yi.org or 1-800-669-9594. Cost about $23.

For additional information: Contact Bob Rodriguez K5AUW at 210-887-6618
or bobrod@flash.net

EXTRA CLASS COURSE
Where: Christus Santa Rosa Medical Center Hospital
Kingman Room (Right from the information desk, at the end of the hall)
2827 Babcock Rd
San Antonio, TX 78229

When: Saturdays January 28, February 4, 11, and 18, 2017, from 9AM to 5PM.
Attendees should attend all four sessions.

The  Amateur Extra License Exam will be given Saturday, February 18th at 3PM.
Cost: $15 for license exam

Study material: 2016 – 2020 Extra Class Manual by Gordon West
Available at w5yi.org or 1-800-669-9594. Cost for book is about $30.

For additional information: Contact Bob Rodriguez K5AUW at 210-887-6618
or bobrod@flash.net

Do you want to be an Amateur Radio Operator? Would you like to be of more service to your community? The Atascosa County Amateur Radio Club (ACARC) will teach a Technician Class course for members of the communities in the Pleasanton and surrounding areas.

WHEN:  September 17th and 24th (Saturdays 9:00am to 5:00pm) with the license exam given at 3:00 on the 24th.  Candidates should attend both sessions.

WHERE:  Leming School in Leming, Bld A on 5th St. (Fire Marshall Dept.)

COST: The FCC license is free and good for 10 years.  The cost of the amateur radio exam is $14.00.

The exam consists of 35 multiple choice questions and is graded immediately.  A passing score is 74 (26 correct).

The instructor recommends reading through the Gordon West Technician Class 2014-2018 Study Guide before the course starts.  Texts for the course should be obtained as early as possible.

It can be purchased on-line for $28.95+tax at http://www.w5yi.org/catalog.php?sort=4 or from ACARC for $25.00.

A Baofeng handheld radio will be raffled off after the exam. To be eligible, attend the course and pass the Technician exam.  You may go home with a radio you can begin listening to right away and talking on as soon as the FCC assigns your call sign.

The 426 question pool from which the exam is taken and the 3 graphics can be downloaded from http://ncvec.org/page.php?id=362.  The club also has a file which contains only the correct answers.  The latter can be emailed upon request.  Both of these are FREE.

Here are some sites where practice tests can be taken.  Some may ask you to “sign in”.  This is so they can track your exam questions and not give you the same ones over and over.  When you are consistently making 85% or better, you are ready to take the exam for real. http://aa9pw.com/                                                       http://qrz.com/hamtest     http://arrlexamreview.appspot.com/                http://www.eham.net/exams/

To sign up for the course, buy a book, get the correct answer file or if you have any questions, email Evelyn or leave a message on the Club’s Facebook page: dek7eve@gmail.com              https://www.facebook.com/AtascosaHamRadioClub/

(Karnes County) The Otto Kaiser Memorial Hospital in Kenedy, Texas, has contacted us asking for help in joining the 21st century of ham radio communications.   🙂   I put them in touch with the ARES leaders for that district (Karnes County) and some others.  Ongoing discussion is starting up to cover a NDMS drill on the morning of September 20th.   The problem is that there are only about 10 hams licensed in that immediate area, with 2 of them (husband / wife) being registered hams and over the road truck drivers.

The hospital has a Kenwood dual band TM-D700 mobile radio that they are in the process of moving to a new location within the hospital.  They also want to establish HF Packet / Winlink capabilities.  Help with designing the antenna system and equipment will likely be needed.  I’m presuming the hospital is willing to budget for the equipment, but you know that presuming can be dangerous at times.

The latest word that I received (yesterday) was that the hospital would like someone to teach a class for some of their hospital employees and area volunteers to create a new batch of hams.    Of course, using HF would require a ham license of at least General class.

If you would like to help, please email me at info@sanantoniohams.org with the words “Karnes County” in the subject line.  I’ll forward your information to John Taylor KE5HAM (STXARES District 10 DEC)  in Victoria.

When: Four Saturdays beginning September 3, 10, 17 and ending September 24^th. Classes will run from 9 AM until 3 PM, with a 45 minute break for lunch.

Where: American Red Cross building, 333 Earl Garrett St., Kerrville.

Cost: $30 for the course, plus $25 for license course book. We will use the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, 3rd edition. It is available from ARRL.org and Amazon.com. Or I can purchase it for you. The $30 course fee will be waived for any public service employee or active/retired military.

Deadline to Sign Up:  August 28, 2016.

Content of Course:   The course will cover everything you will need to know to pass the FCC Technician Class Amateur Radio License Exam. The course book includes all informational materials, and all the questions that may be on the exam. No Morse code is required for any amateur radio license, only the written exam. I will email a copy of the syllabus of the course to registered students when we get closer to the first class date.

Additional Licensing Information: You will have an opportunity to take the FCC amateur radio license exam immediately following the conclusion of the last class on September 24^th. The cost is $15 and is payable at time you take the exam. This fee is not included in the course fee. As part of my course, I will go over the exam process, what to expect on the day of the exam, and the paperwork you will need to bring with you. You will also have the opportunity to take several practice exams as part of the course.

Information on Your Instructor:  Dale Gaudier holds an Extra Class amateur radio license, call sign K4DG. Dale has over 48 years experience as a ham radio operator. He has a background in physics and electronics. He is a registered amateur radio instructor and license examiner.

Need more info? Call Dale Gaudier at 830-257-0073 or email at k4dg@arrl.net for more information on these classes.

Sponsoring Organization: This license course is sponsored by The Hill Country Amateur Radio Club located in Kerrville, TX.  The Hill Country Amateur Radio Club meets the first Thursday of each month at 7 PM at the American Red Cross in Kerrville. Visitors are welcome!

HAM RADIO CLASS AND EXAM

The Chaparral Amateur Radio Club is offering a technician-level license class September 19 and 26 (2015) at the office of Guadalupe County Emergency Management Office, 415 East Donegan Street in Seguin. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. A license exam will be given before the end of class on September 26th.

This is an intense two-day course that covers all of the material necessary to pass the exam to obtain a Federal Communications Commission Amateur Radio Technician class license.

Participants will need a “Technician Class Manual” (2014-2018) by Gordon West, available from www.w5yi.org/catalog for $21.95.

There is no Morse code requirement for this license.

The technician class license is the entry-level license of choice for most new ham radio operators.

The license gives access to all amateur radio frequencies above 30 megahertz, allowing these licensees the ability to communicate locally and most often within North America. It also allows for some limited privileges on the HF (also called “short wave”) bands used for international communications.

For more information, contact Steve Leibovitz at sandpiper986@yahoo.com or 830.660.9514, or Max Brandenberger at maxb@kd5sfk.com or 512.470.5431.

Technician classes are being offered free of charge to anyone interested in becoming an amateur radio operator or seeking a refresher; supervised children are welcome. This session consists of eight 2-hour classes to be held every Wednesday beginning at 7:00 p.m. on September 9, 2015,
at Schneider Engineering in Boerne, TX. For more details or to sign up, please email Ken Nichols KD3VK at classes@kb5tx.org