It is indeed true. You may need to grease the palm of a VE, which is no issue. The point is that amateur radio operators do not require any training, skills, or educational requirements. All it takes is your application and testing fees, your signature, and a fresh copy of the Q&A, which ARRL makes available to anyone who wants to be a ham. That is the gospel truth.
Amateur radio license study plan...
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You don't have your location listed.. But see if you can get in touch with a local ham radio club. Many offer courses to help newcomers with obtaining a license. Also, some clubs have examiners, so it can be a one stop thing..
John_S
Member
I always recommend studying the books. Just taking tests gives you a very narrow knowledge base and you'll end up doing a lot of research after trying to pick up knowledge that you would have gained earlier. Also definitely get a copy of the ARRL Handbook...even an older copy. It's really frustrating when trying to figure out how to build or fix or operate and the answers very often are available in the books. Yes, Youtube is always a source, but sometimes things can be a little sketchy there. You have to trust that the other guy actually knows what he's doing. There's no substitute for building your own solid knowledge base.
It is indeed BS. It takes 3 VE's to sign-off on a successful exam. If you can find 3 VE's that will take a bribe, I'll show you 3 VE's that don't care about losing their license. Not to mention that with a fair amount of exams being administered using software, the VE's are not involved in grading those exams, therefore rendering your points moot.
Ignore this guy and study.
Kevin
AD0IM
ARRL VE Team Leader
The mention of a bribe is unfounded. It was stated that an additional $15 might be required to compensate (grease) the VE for their time. The agitation seems to stem from the assertion that becoming 'Sammy Hammy' requires merely a signature and a fee. The ARRL makes the Q&A pool questions public so anyone can pass the test. I encourage everyone to take advantage of it.
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Since the VE team can collect no more than $15, as determined by the FCC, what is this additional $15 other than a bribe?
The VE team can't turn that additional money into their VEC. The VEC will compare the amount of money collected to the number of license applications submitted. If more money is submitted that warranted by license apps, the VEC will ask why. So, what you are suggesting is that the VE team would keep the $15. That's a bribe.
WA0CBW
Member
Sorry, I read the same thing.
BB
BB
Everyone has different study techniques because there are so many different types of learners. I don’t think your plan sounds bad, but it may be needlessly thorough.
Remember, a license is really a license to learn. It’s pretty hard to learn a great deal of practical, applicable information from the exams. You just need to get through the exams so you can legally be hands-on learning in the future.
For me, I just opened the test question pool and made educated guesses to the answers. When I got one wrong, I reviewed the answer key so I understood the reasons. Two days later, after about 6 hours of study time I took the technician exam. Test took about 8 mins, got a perfect score. For general, it took about 10 hours more study to push through and get that one knocked out a few days later. (Not a perfect score, but realized if I was getting 80ish percent on the aptitude tracker, I was going to pass). For amateur extra, it took about 5 days more study and maybe 12 hours of the same review process. Overall, start to finish, about 10 days And a little over 20 hours of effort.
The study plans you and others have are reasonable and they will work, I just don’t think it requires nearly that level of preparation and diligence.
I'm absolutely appalled by the number of individuals who continue to believe they can secure an amateur radio license by whatever means THEY feel necessary without feeling deep down like a total POS, even if they somehow manage not to get caught. It appears that getting something for nothing in 2024 should not only be rewarded, but encouraged! And because the FCC chooses not to drop the hammer on those bad players, there's all the incentive in the world for anyone to do whatever the hell they want to do, with no fear whatsoever of facing any kind or type of legal sanction, financial or otherwise, in spite of what is clearly spelled out in Part 97 of the commission's rules. Is it really a lack of resources on their part or is it simply a lack of will? Sooner or later, they're going to have to justify their very existence beyond what they're currently getting in return from all of the commercial entities they claim to oversee.
You and me both Brother.
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