Get Your Ham Ticket
Prior to taking your Technician Class exam, you must get an FRN number from the FCC. It replaces your Social Security Number.
A "Ham Ticket" is shorthand for an FCC-issued Amateur Radio License. This is something you legally need to transmit in any mode on any authorized amateur radio frequency.
GCARC members, through the Volunteer Examiner program, support monthly examination sessions that you can attend. They are conducted on the second Thursday of the month at the W2MMD Clubhouse. For details, and to make sure you have all the right stuff to bring to a test session, and that the VEC (test coordinator) knows you are coming, it is recommended you contact Gary Reed, N2QEE (VEC) in advance, before coming out to one of his administered test sessions.
Gary N2QEE's contact info: glreed49 <at> verizon <dot> net
GCARC members, through the Volunteer Examiner program, support monthly examination sessions that you can attend. They are conducted on the second Thursday of the month at the W2MMD Clubhouse. For details, and to make sure you have all the right stuff to bring to a test session, and that the VEC (test coordinator) knows you are coming, it is recommended you contact Gary Reed, N2QEE (VEC) in advance, before coming out to one of his administered test sessions.
Gary N2QEE's contact info: glreed49 <at> verizon <dot> net
FCC to Require Two Factor Authentication for CORES Users
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced an upcoming change to the Commission Registration System (CORES - https://apps2.fcc.gov/fccUserReg/pages/login.htm) that licensees use to pay any application or regulatory fees, manage or reset a password on an existing FRN, or request a new FRN. Beginning March 29, 2024, multifactor authentication will be implemented. Users will be prompted to request a six-digit secondary verification code, which will be sent to the email address(es) associated with each username. The user will then need to enter the code into CORES before they can continue.
In a public notice (https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-24-219A1.pdf), the FCC said this change will make the system more secure. "This additional layer of security will further safeguard against unauthorized access, thereby enhancing the overall integrity of information contained within the CORES system and improving the security of user data," it read.
The FCC recommends that users confirm they have access to their username account email and to add a secondary email address, if need be.
Resources are available for those who need assistance with the system. For inquiries or assistance regarding the implementation of multifactor authentication on CORES, submit a help request at https://www.fcc.gov/wtbhelp, or call the FCC at 877-480-3201 (Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM ET).
Article Credit : The ARRL Letter for March 21, 2024 - www.arrl.org
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced an upcoming change to the Commission Registration System (CORES - https://apps2.fcc.gov/fccUserReg/pages/login.htm) that licensees use to pay any application or regulatory fees, manage or reset a password on an existing FRN, or request a new FRN. Beginning March 29, 2024, multifactor authentication will be implemented. Users will be prompted to request a six-digit secondary verification code, which will be sent to the email address(es) associated with each username. The user will then need to enter the code into CORES before they can continue.
In a public notice (https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-24-219A1.pdf), the FCC said this change will make the system more secure. "This additional layer of security will further safeguard against unauthorized access, thereby enhancing the overall integrity of information contained within the CORES system and improving the security of user data," it read.
The FCC recommends that users confirm they have access to their username account email and to add a secondary email address, if need be.
Resources are available for those who need assistance with the system. For inquiries or assistance regarding the implementation of multifactor authentication on CORES, submit a help request at https://www.fcc.gov/wtbhelp, or call the FCC at 877-480-3201 (Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM ET).
Article Credit : The ARRL Letter for March 21, 2024 - www.arrl.org
The PDF file downloads below are publicly available material
2022-2026 Technician Class (Element 2) exam is 35 questions out of a pool of 412 questions - Revised March 7, 2022
2023-2027 General Class (Element 3) exam is 35 questions out of a pool of 431 questions - (Effective March 6, 2024)
2024-2028 Amateur Extra Class (Element 4) exam is 50 questions out of a pool of 602 questions - Downloaded As Of January 31, 2024
2022-2026 Technician Class (Element 2) exam is 35 questions out of a pool of 412 questions - Revised March 7, 2022
2023-2027 General Class (Element 3) exam is 35 questions out of a pool of 431 questions - (Effective March 6, 2024)
2024-2028 Amateur Extra Class (Element 4) exam is 50 questions out of a pool of 602 questions - Downloaded As Of January 31, 2024
2022-2026 New Technician Class (Element 2) Question Pool.PDF
2022-2026 New Technician Class (Element 2) Tech Graphics.PDF
2023-2027 General Class (Element 3) Question Pool.PDF
2023-2027 General Class Graphic G7-1.PDF
2024-2028 Amateur Extra Class (Element 4) Question Pool.PDF
2024-2028 Amateur Extra Class Question Pool Diagrams.PDF
Download Part 97 FCC Rules
2022-2026 New Technician Class (Element 2) Tech Graphics.PDF
2023-2027 General Class (Element 3) Question Pool.PDF
2023-2027 General Class Graphic G7-1.PDF
2024-2028 Amateur Extra Class (Element 4) Question Pool.PDF
2024-2028 Amateur Extra Class Question Pool Diagrams.PDF
Download Part 97 FCC Rules
Amateur Radio License Practice Exams and Study Websites
www.hamstudy.org : Find A Test Sessions
ARRL : Find An Amateur Radio License Online Exam
Gordon West Study Guides
KB6NU's No-Nonsense Study Guides
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Getting My Dad’s Call Sign
By Mary Delemarre, W2TDS (Formally KD2PLH) My dad, Steve Blasko, known to hams as W2TDS passed away on December 30, 2020. He had been a ham since he was a teenager, even before he was an electronics technician in the Navy. He learned about ham radio while at Merchantville High School in an after-school club. He was 17 when he got his ham ticket and his driver's license. Some of my earliest |
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memories are of my dad saying "CQ CQ this is W2TDS Whiskey Two Tango Delta Sierra calling CQ". When I was six I moved upstairs into the bedroom he had built for me. My mom and dad did not have enough money to pay for a finished second floor, so dad did it himself. I cannot think of my bedroom without remembering going to sleep with the crazy sounds of the antennas blowing in the wind.
The idea to get my dad's call sign was suggested to me by my brother, Stephen Jr., just after we had said a toast to my dad. We had just come back from arraigning his funeral. It all seemed so surreal. Two months earlier he had been driving, paying bills, walking and talking, and now he was dead. At the end he wasn't even able to talk, but he passed away peacefully looking at my mom, his wife of 55 years. I was glad I was there when he passed, I had been able to say goodbye to the man who had raised me to become the person I am today. I probably would not be an electrical engineer or a ham without his encouragement and guidance. He was always encouraging me to get my license, especially after I got my Electrical Engineering degree from Rutgers and the Morse code requirement was dropped. I had thought about it from time to time, but finally did something about it when I attended a ham cram session at the Trenton Computer Festival and passed the test. I waited a few months to tell my dad. I told him on father's day. He was so happy and said it was the best present ever. The next day he drove down to HRO in Delaware and bought me my rig - a Yaesu 857d.
But was I worthy of his call sign and could I get it with just a technician’s license? I wasn't sure what to do, but I knew the members of the Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club would help me if I asked for help. I got lots of encouragement and advice from them and it helped me navigate what to do.
I did a lot of research to better understand call signs, vanity signs and how to get vanity signs. I learned that the FCC wants to start charging hams licensing fees. I did not know if that had gone into effect and the FCC website certainly did not help clear up my confusion.
From my research I learned that the rules of vanity call signs had relaxed and I would be able to qualify for my dad's call sign with a technician class. For more information on vanity signs please refer to : https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service/amateur-call-sign-systems. I also learned that the FCC fees for ham vanity call signs had not been implemented.
My first attempt to get my dad's call sign failed, because he still had the call sign. I needed to alert the FCC that he had passed before I could request it as next of kin.
MAIL METHOD : "The license of the former holder now deceased must show a status of expired or cancelled in the licensee database. See Section 97.31(a). This is accomplished by submitting a request that includes a death certificate or obituary that shows the person named in the operator/primary station license grant has died. Such a request may be submitted as a pleading associated with the deceased licensee's license and sent to : FCC, 1270 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325-7245
ELECTRONIC METHOD : You can submit all the information via the FCC’s support web page by clicking on “Submit a Help Request”: https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/available-support-services. At the bottom of the help request page you can attach a file if needed before submitting the notice to FCC.
I chose the electronic method. I attached an electronic copy of the death certificate and included links to the obituary. I also mentioned that I was planning to request his call sign.
The website says "Allow FCC one to two weeks to cancel the license. You can verify the FCC has canceled the license by looking up the FCC license call sign data at https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/systems-utilities/universal-licensing-system. If the license has been canceled, FCC will show the license STATUS as "CANCELED"."
About a week or so later I checked. Please refer to Figure 1 below.
Now that my dad's call had been canceled, I resumed my electronic application for my dad's call sign. It was still pending from my first attempt.
According to the FCC website "After the license is canceled in the system, the eligible family member will have a limited amount of time to apply for the call sign depending on the date of death. The time allowed may be as little as 30 days or up to 2 years to apply for the call sign as a vanity call sign before it goes back into the pool of available call signs."
“An eligible family member would apply under the eligibility : CLOSE RELATIVE OF FORMER HOLDER.
The applying amateur must have their FRN (Federal Registration Number) and their CORES/License password to log in to the FCC's online Filing System : https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsEntry/licManager/login.jsp. Filing online is fairly easy and you will know immediately the FCC has received the request and that the application was completed correctly.”
“If you have any questions or issues with the password to login, you can call the CORES help desk.
FCC CORES/FRN Help Line: 877-480-3201 (Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET).
Once you have logged in, applying for a vanity call sign online is very easy and should take less than 5 minutes”.
It took about 5 minutes. I chose CLOSE RELATIVE and I believe I mentioned I was his daughter. See Figure 2 below for the confirmation of my request to get W2TDS.
It takes the FCC about 18 days to issue the new call sign. I checked every few days and finally on March 16th I was W2TDS. Refer to Figure 3 below.
I also had to register my new call sign with http://www.echolink.org so I can continue participating on the 2M Thursday net rag chew using EchoLink.
Speaking of which, I would like to thank the 2M Thursday net crew for their encouragement and help in getting my dad's call sign. I would especially like to thank Vinnie N4NYY and Steve W2SEF for the detailed emails.
I hope I can live up to my dad's legacy as W2TDS.
73,
Mary Delemarre
W2TDS