Running a marathon is simple, just take one step after another. But running a marathon isn’t easy because you have to keep taking steps for 26 miles.  In the same way, getting your ham radio license is simple, just correctly answer 26 out of 35 questions. But some of those 35 questions are hard. No worries, the key to success is knowing HOW TO STUDY FOR THE HAM RADIO TEST. If you promise not to share the following secrets, I’ll let you in on some test taking tips that have helped me, thousands of others earn our radio license. I know these tips will help you be successful in taking the FCC Technician Class amateur radio exam, too. On second thought, go ahead and share these secrets because in ham radio the more, the better.

Knowing how to study for the ham radio test (in this case, the FCC Amateur Radio Technician exam) will help you demonstrate aptitude for the hobby and service of amateur radio. (The term “ham radio” is slang for the official name “amateur radio.”) A lot of people get hung up thinking that exams only test ability, that they have to be able to do something before they can pass a test. But many exams test a person’s aptitude, their ability to learn something. Passing an aptitude test says, “Hey, you might not know a lot about this topic, heck you might not even know a little bit, but you’ve proved that you can learn about it. So, welcome to the club of learners.” That’s what the FCC Technician Exam is like.

Let me stop here and explain the hierarchy of the amateur radio classes. There are 3 classes of amateur radio licenses: Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. Each class is assigned “privileges.” Each class is granted access to use a range of radio frequencies. The most restrictive range is assigned to the Technician class. The General class has privilege to a few more frequencies and the Amateur Extra (or Extra for short) has the most privileges.

Here’s the good news: you now know the answer to one of the questions on the Technician exam. How many classes of license are there? There are 3. Which class has the most privileges? Amateur Extra. Which has the least? Technician. Trust me. If you take the exam, then you’ll see a question about licenses.

MEMORIZATION IS HOW TO STUDY FOR THE HAM RADIO TEST

The heading of this section has gotten me yelled at more than anything else I’ve ever said. The idea of memorizing answers to the exams drives some old-time hams absolutely bonkers. The idea of memorizing test answers seems to stir up more Haterade than putting pineapple on pizza (which should never be done, by the way). The haters like to say, “You don’t really know about amateur radio if you don’t know how to figure out the answer.” Or, “You have to know the principle behind the concept.”

Fair enough, but to that I ask, “What’s the underlying principle that I need to understand for reciting the alphabet?” THERE ISN’T ONE! In order to recite the alphabet I had to memorize it. There’s no formula to calculate what letter comes after the letter K. I memorized it. It’s ELEMENOPEE. And I memorized it using a mnemonic. A mnemonic is just a memorization aid, a trick that helps you remember something. In my case, and probably yours, it was a song. (You just sang the alphabet song to yourself, didn’t you?)

Mnemonics are a time tested and valuable learning aid for memorization. And memorization is a key component in establishing aptitude, which leads to ability. How did you learn the times tables? Memorization. How did you learn the spaces of the musical staff, FACE? Or the spaces of the staff, “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge: EGBDF.” Do you see the mnemonics there?

One of the questions on the ham radio Technician exam asks, “How many examiners must be present for a testing session?” The answer is 3. What is the formula or principle you need to know that answer? There isn’t one! All that you can do is memorize it.

So, now you know how to study for the ham radio test. Memorize.

But, here’s the thing, you have to know what to memorize and how to use what you memorize to apply the principles. Then you’ll know the memorize parts and the principle parts. Win-win!

HOW TO STUDY FOR THE HAM RADIO TEST – THE NUMBERS

Play the odds, they’re in your favor. The entry level (Technician) ham exam is composed of 35 questions drawn from a pool of 423. That seems daunting, but let’s break it down.

You need only 26 correct answers out of 35 to pass the exam and earn your license. That’s 74ish percent. When I was in school that was a C and I was a solid C student, so that works for me. And if I can do, surely you can.

If you follow this plan then you stand a better than 80% chance to get 28 answers correct. That’s a buffer of 2 answers. How do I know that you have an 80% chance? Because I’ve taught this method to more than 100 people and in every class at least 80% pass on their first attempt. Of those that didn’t pass on their first attempt, 100% passed on their second attempt. In fact, we have a money back guarantee. Anyone that takes our class and doesn’t pass on their second attempt will get their money back, no questions. We’ve never been asked to refund anyone’s money.

The class we teach is called “Zero-to-Licensed in 6 Hours.” It’s a three hour class on Friday night. Another three hour class on Saturday morning. Then an exam session immediately after. I’ll get to more about our class a little later. First, I want to share some tips that will help you, even if you don’t take our class.

#1 – HOW TO STUDY FOR THE HAM RADIO TEST – GUESS

Maybe that’s not really a way to study, but sometimes you’ve gotta trust dumb luck. Each question has 4 multiple choice answers. There’s a 25% chance that you’ll guess the correct answer. Go for it! There is a caveat, though. GUESS ONLY IF YOU REALLY CAN’T THINK OF THE ANSWER! Guessing will probably get you 2 correct answers, especially if it’s an educated guess.

Which brings us to…

#2 – HOW TO STUDY FOR THE HAM RADIO TEST – THINK

Yes, thinking is obvious on a test. You probably have at least a little bit of previous knowledge about 2 or 3 of the questions. You might remember something about alternating current and direct current from high school. You might know something about the ionosphere. You might already know what the FCC is. One of the most common previous knowledge answers is how to convert metric numbers like mega to kilo, just move the decimal point.

My favorite previous bit of knowledge that helps on the exam comes from our moms. Be polite. If you see a question like, “When is it OK to interfere with someone else’s communication?” Look for the most polite answer, NEVER!

These are all areas that the exam covers. Previous knowledge gives you 2 more correct answers.

#3 – HOW TO STUDY FOR THE HAM RADIO TEST – THINK, AGAIN

Many of the answers are just common sense (trust me on this). One of the questions asks, “When is it safe to climb an antenna tower without using safety equipment?” (Seriously, that question is there.) If you can’t answer “never” without studying, then please don’t play with anything that uses electricity. Take up needlepoint. On second thought, don’t do that either. Needles are sharp. But really, common sense. The answer is “NEVER.”

Along with common sense, read the question carefully. Occasionally the correct answer is in the question itself or in another question on the exam. So, read carefully and don’t be afraid to go back and change an answer. Other times the correct answer can be found by eliminating the obviously incorrect answers.

Common sense, reading carefully, and process of elimination? Boom, 2 more correct.

#4 – HOW TO STUDY FOR THE HAM RADIO TEST – PRACTICE

Here’s my favorite part of how to study for the ham radio test. The actual questions and answers are available online. That’s right! You can practice taking the actual exam with the actual questions and actual answers.

Here’s a link to my favorite practice test site. https://hamstudy.org/tech2018

I don’t receive any compensation for sharing this link with you. And there is no registration necessary. Every time that you retake the practice exam the app will randomize the questions. The study mode and quiz cards are nice extras.

So, for one week skip the “Wheel of Jeopardy!” hour and practice online exams at 30-60 minutes per night for the week before your exam. Congrats, you just earned another 6 correct answers.

#5 – HOW TO STUDY FOR THE HAM RADIO TEST – MNEMONICS

Mnemonics are just memory aids. Some people use memory aids to remember names of people that they’ve just met. Phonetics are mnemonics that helped most of us learn the alphabet: A is for apple, B is for bear, C is for cat, etc.

Here’s an example from the free download “Tips for Passing the Ham Radio Technician Exam”:

The number 10 is a common theme in amateur radio. Ham radio operators must say their call sign (or ID) every 10 minutes or at the end of communication. Radio transmissions using 10 meter frequencies travel the farthest, all things being equal. A license must be renewed every 10 years.

In short, if you see an answer with the number 10 in it, then it’s probably the correct answer.

Here’s another example:

Using one frequency to transmit and receive is more simple than using two frequencies. Therefore, one is simplex and two is duplex. See what I did there? One is simple(x); two is duple(x). How neat is that?

Downloading and understanding the printable TIPS FOR PASSING THE HAM RADIO EXAM earn you another 6 correct answers, at least. Taking some free online practice exams (more about this later) will get you another 6.

#6 – HOW TO STUDY FOR THE HAM RADIO TEST – VISIT A HAM RADIO CLUB

Trust me, there’s one near you. You can find a club meeting by doing a web-search for “amateur radio clubs near me.” Hams are everywhere. There are more than 600,000 of us in the U.S. A few of us are friendly. A few more are harmless. The good news is that you’ll feel young. Seriously, I’m on the upper end of my fifties and I’m considered “one of the young guys” among ham radio clubs.

The advantage to visiting a club meeting is that they usually have some radio gear there. Or one of them might invite you to see his mobile rig in his car or even invite you to come see his “radio shack.” You might learn of an event they have coming up that you can visit and even get “on the air.” If you visit in June they’ll probably invite you to Field Day. Field Day is the biggest ham radio event of the year. Tens of thousands of hams setup in parks, parking lots, school yards and backyards to make contact with stations all around the world. Seeing the gear in use, putting your hands on it, goes a long way toward understanding some of the questions. One of my regrets is that I had never seen an actual ham radio before taking the exam. Seeing one in its natural habitat would have made studying much easier.