"Leonard Martin" wrote in message
...
Hello All,

For a long time I had an Advanced ticket which I got back in 1972
(WA2YAY, then WD5DNQ). I forgot to renew that license in the '90s. The
time period when you can renew without retesting is past.

Assuming you're willing to indulge my laziness, will anyone run down the
most straightforward steps to a ham ticket? I bet I start by getting a
study book from the ARRL. What then? I know the code test is now 5 wpm.
I used to copy 13 ok--20 years ago! Should I begin with some practice
copying, from W1AW? Should I get a straight key and practice sending at
all, or is that even still required in the modern volunteer testing
regime?

What else should I do? How do I find a local examinier?

Leonard Martin

For the code test, sending is NOT required. Today there are only three
levels of license: Tech, General, and Extra.

Tech: Must pass the element 2 written test. Gives you all privileges above
30 megaherz. If you also take the element 1 code test (5wpm, receive only),
you will have the old Novice HF privileges in addition to your VHF/UHF
privileges.

General: Must pass element 1, element 2, and element 3 (a written test).

Extra: Must pass element 1, element 2, element 3, and element 4 (a written
test).

Note that the Tech license gives you credit for element 2. The General
license gives you credit for elements 1, 2, and 3. In other words you don't
have to retake an element for which you have credit. If you can find your
old Novice ticket, it will give you credit for element 1 even if expired.
However higher class tickets that have expired don't give you credit for
anything.

The Advanced ticket is no longer being issued so to get the privileges you
used to have as an Advanced, you may want to go for the Extra. It is
possible to do this in one test sitting if you are prepared as you can take
the next test as soon as you pass the previous test. You don't have to wait
for your ticket to test for higher classes.

Study guides can be obtained from the ARRL (www.arrl.org) and W5YI
(www.w5yi.org). The ARRL guides explain the material quite thoroughly plus
include the question and answer pool. The W5YI study guides simply give the
question and answer pool with very brief explanations. For those who have
never been a ham, I recommend the ARRL set of guides. In your case, perhaps
the W5YI guides might be sufficient. Note that the question and answer
pools are publicly available. In each case the pool of possible questions
is several hundred but only 35 questions are on the Tech and General tests
while there are 50 on the Extra test. You can take practice tests online
(see www.eham.net and www.qrz.com). The practice tests are randomly
generated so no two are alike. You might want to try them while you wait
for your study guides to arrive to see where you stand and what material you
will need to review more intensely

They will also have lists of test locations, contacts, and local clubs.
However, since many clubs only publish their test schedule locally, you
might want to find a local club and get information on the availability of
tests in your area. If they don't list one in your area, simply do a web
search using the name of your local large city and the words "amateur
radio." If your are in the San Diego area, search for SANDARC. They are an
organization of clubs in that area and do their own testing, i.e. they are a
Volunteer Exam Coordinator (VEC) themselves and so do not go through ARRL or
W5YI and will not be listed on the latter web sites. However all VECs use
the same question pool to generate exams so the study guides for one are
valid for all.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE