Passed my Tech & General this evening!

[radiokatz]

As the title says - I passed my Tech & General this evening!

33/35 on both tests. I was encouraged to take the Extra by the VE's, but I looked over the questions & decided against it yet as I'm not ready.

I must say, the flash card system works great for cramming/learning the answers to the questions!

 

[QDP2012]

Great Job! Congrats! ...just in time for Field Day.

 

[AC2OY]

Congratulations radiokatz!! wow no excuse to go out and grab a all mode transceiver now!! Very well done!!

 

[radiokatz]

Congratulations radiokatz!! wow no excuse to go out and grab a all mode transceiver now!! Very well done!!

Funny you mention that...my wife started questioning me casually about this hobby the other day, and the conversation took a turn for the worse when I mentioned that some top of the line radios go for 15K or so...

 

[Rt169Radio]

Congrats on passing the tests! That's pretty good passing both at the same time.

 

[k7ltc]

Outstanding job

Congratulations on passing both exams at the same sitting!

 

[radiokatz]

Can anyone tell me?

Will I receive both the Tech & General licenses in the mail since I took both tests at the same time? I forgot to ask the VE when I was there.

I was thinking that maybe since I upgraded immediately the FCC will only issue/send the General license for me to hang on the wall. I would kinda like to have both to display.

 

[AK9R]

You can only have one license at a time.

You should have been given a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) before you left the exam session. The CSCE will indicate which tests you passed and which license you are eligible for. The FCC will issue a paper document indicating the highest grade of license indicated on the CSCE.

It's a fine point, but there really is no such thing as a Technician test or a General test or an Extra test. There are test elements numbered 2, 3, and 4. In order to hold a Technician license, you must have credit for Element 2. For a General license, you must have credit for Elements 2 and 3. For an Amateur Extra license, you must have credit for Elements 2, 3, and 4. So, once you pass Elements 2 and 3, you are a General without having ever been a Tech.

 

[Jimru]

Passed my Tech & General this evening!

Congrats! Welcome to "Hamdom"!

 

[radiokatz]

You can only have one license at a time.

You should have been given a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) before you left the exam session. The CSCE will indicate which tests you passed and which license you are eligible for. The FCC will issue a paper document indicating the highest grade of license indicated on the CSCE.

It's a fine point, but there really is no such thing as a Technician test or a General test or an Extra test. There are test elements numbered 2, 3, and 4. In order to hold a Technician license, you must have credit for Element 2. For a General license, you must have credit for Elements 2 and 3. For an Amateur Extra license, you must have credit for Elements 2, 3, and 4. So, once you pass Elements 2 and 3, you are a General without having ever been a Tech.

I understand, thanks for that info. Not that important really, but it would be neat to display (2) licenses on the shack wall.

 

[radiokatz]

It's a week today & still no callsign in the FCC database...

 

[Jimru]

Passed my Tech & General this evening!

Let's hope this coming week that you'll have your new call sign.

I can't help thinking that things may be backed up at the FCC due to the sequestration. I don't know if that agency is on the list or not.

 

[AF5JQ]

Congratulations on passing the exams. If you don't see your name in the database after another week, try calling the VE's that administered your test.

 

[KC5AKB]

Welcome

 

[radiokatz]

Let's hope this coming week that you'll have your new call sign.

I can't help thinking that things may be backed up at the FCC due to the sequestration. I don't know if that agency is on the list or not.

Yeah, that's probably it. They are most likely backlogged with everything. Kinda hard not to get discouraged, though.

Other than you great guys on this forum, my foray into this hobby has not been that smooth or enjoyable; local guys seem to be snobs/smart a$%^&, so not much help there. The main VE was 1 1/2 hr. late for us to take the tests - it was scheduled for 7 pm/ we didn't get out until almost 10 pm.


I ordered the Soldersmoke book - it arrived today, all bent up & a big crease down the center by the postal service...nice job guys...

 

[Jimru]

Passed my Tech & General this evening!

Yeah, that's probably it. They are most likely backlogged with everything. Kinda hard not to get discouraged, though.

Other than you great guys on this forum, my foray into this hobby has not been that smooth or enjoyable; local guys seem to be snobs/smart a$%^&, so not much help there. The main VE was 1 1/2 hr. late for us to take the tests - it was scheduled for 7 pm/ we didn't get out until almost 10 pm.


I ordered the Soldersmoke book - it arrived today, all bent up & a big crease down the center by the postal service...nice job guys...

Sorry to hear you are having a negative experience in your local area. I hope you don't give up on ham radio because of it, as I have always found the majority of hams I meet are good folks and willing to chat with a new ham. I've taken my HT all over the country and almost every on air experience has been a positive one.

If the local guys on the repeater aren't friendly, is there another repeater you can try? Have you joined a local club?

Also, once you get your General ticket, you can get on the air using HF and leave the repeaters behind, if you like. If you don't already do so, subscribe to CQ magazine, read it cover-to-cover and see if anything jumps out at you that would be an alternative to repeater operation.

There are a lot of ways to enjoy ham radio, not just chatting on the local repeaters!

73,
Jim KC2LMH

 

[radiokatz]

Sorry to hear you are having a negative experience in your local area. I hope you don't give up on ham radio because of it, as I have always found the majority of hams I meet are good folks and willing to chat with a new ham. I've taken my HT all over the country and almost every on air experience has been a positive one.

If the local guys on the repeater aren't friendly, is there another repeater you can try? Have you joined a local club?

Also, once you get your General ticket, you can get on the air using HF and leave the repeaters behind, if you like. If you don't already do so, subscribe to CQ magazine, read it cover-to-cover and see if anything jumps out at you that would be an alternative to repeater operation.

There are a lot of ways to enjoy ham radio, not just chatting on the local repeaters!

73,
Jim KC2LMH

I've not joined a local club yet...I might, I don't know. But I have talked to a couple of local guys who didn't seem interested in helping me in the slightest when I mentioned my budget.

I am looking forward to dx'ing around the world; that appeals to me. In fact, I have been looking at qrp kits with great interest.

I may not do much w/ local repeaters. A few years ago I monitored local CB talk & it was a bunch of nonsense...I just figured that same mentality carried over to 2 meters...we'll see...

 

[Jimru]

Passed my Tech & General this evening!

I've not joined a local club yet...I might, I don't know. But I have talked to a couple of local guys who didn't seem interested in helping me in the slightest when I mentioned my budget.

I am looking forward to dx'ing around the world; that appeals to me. In fact, I have been looking at qrp kits with great interest.

I may not do much w/ local repeaters. A few years ago I monitored local CB talk & it was a bunch of nonsense...I just figured that same mentality carried over to 2 meters...we'll see...

Some guys love "rag chewing" on the repeaters. For me, it really depends. I prefer a net over just chit-chatting, but there is room for all in this hobby. That's one of the great things about it.

CB lingo is very different from
ham-speak, at least, it's supposed to be. I've heard some guys on the air over the years that clearly came over from CB, because that was the type of lingo they were using. Not much to be done about that. A lot of hams started with CB, and there is nothing wrong with that!

73,
Jim

 

[AC2OY]

Funny you mention that...my wife started questioning me casually about this hobby the other day, and the conversation took a turn for the worse when I mentioned that some top of the line radios go for 15K or so...

LOL if I ever dropped $15,000.00 down on a radio my wife would shoot me standing!!! Please post a link for a fifteen thousand dollar rig so far I think I discovered a Kenwood 990 that's 12K?! Katz I have been told by members of my club a Icom IC-7000 does it all for what $1200.00?!

 

[AK9R]

Please post a link for a fifteen thousand dollar rig so far I think I discovered a Kenwood 990 that's 12K?! Katz I have been told by members of my club a Icom IC-7000 does it all for what $1200.00?!

First off, the Kenwood TS-990 is "only" $8,000. Other high-end radios are the Icom IC-7800 at $12.5k and the Yaesu FTDX-9000MP at $11.7k.

I don't know how anyone who knows radios could say that an Icom IC-7000 can do what a Kenwood TS-990 does. Sounds to me like they are envious and are trying to justify their inability to afford a TS-990. The IC-7000 simply does not have the features or capabilities of the TS-990. Heck, the IC-7000 doesn't have the features or capabilities of radios costing $1500, let alone radios costing over $5k. Compare the features listed in the brochures and compare laboratory test results, not the "reviews" posted on eHam.net, to see the differences.

Here's one example: The TS-990's sub-receiver, not it's main receiver (note that the IC-7000 doesn't even have a sub-receiver), is reportedly the same receiver circuit used in the Kenwood TS-590 (a $1500 radio). Now, go look at the receiver test data Rob Sherwood NC0B posts on his web site. Find the TS-590 (there are two listings), then find the "Icom 7000". The IC-7000 is much further down the rankings than the TS-590. Rob hasn't tested a TS-990 yet, so we don't know where it falls on his rankings, but my guess is that it will be much better than an Icom IC-7000.

The IC-7000 is a good mobile HF radio. It's one of the best mobile HF radios out there. But, it has some limitations and there are better radios on the market. Is the Kenwood TS-990 worth $8k? It all depends on what you want in a radio. Is the TS-990 better than an IC-7000? My guess is that it is.