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Ham Radio
Amateur Radio by Country
Testing In The US
Element 2 Technician 35 out of 426 questions from this pool
| Frequencies | 80m | 40m | 15m | 10m | 6m | 2m | 1.25m | 70cm | 33cm | 23cm |
Element 3 General 35 out of 462 questions from this pool
| Frequencies | 2200m | 630m | 160m | 80m | 60m | 40m | 30m | 20m | 17m |
| 15m | 12m | 10m | 6m | 2m | 1.25m | 70cm | 33cm | 23cm |
Element 4 Amateur Extra 50 out of 712 questions from this pool
| Frequencies | 2200m | 630m | 160m | 80m | 60m | 40m | 30m | 20m | 17m |
| 15m | 12m | 10m | 6m | 2m | 1.25m | 70cm | 33cm | 23cm |
Find Testing Locations In The US
Get Your FCC Registration Number
You will need either an FCC Registration or Social Security number in order to take the exam. It is not necessary to register beforehand with the FCC, but it will speed things along if you bring the paperwork.
FCC License Data Search
For a fee of $15 USD you may take one or all three tests in one sitting at no additional charge. If you fail a test, you may spend an additional $15 USD to retake it. Your license is good for 10 years with a 2 year grace period to retest after expiration.
Maths You Should Know
Ohm's Law
| Solve For Watts | Amp2 x Ohm | Volt2 / Ohm | Volt x Amp |
| Solve For Volts | Amp x Ohm | √Watt x Ohm | Watt / Amp |
| Solve For Amps | Volt / Ohm | Watt / Volt | √Watt / Ohm |
| Solve For Ohms | Volt2 / Watt | Volt / Amp | Watt / Amp2 |
Speed of Light Is a Constant 299,792,458 Meters Per Second
Wavelength is represented in Meters as λ
Frequency is represented in Mega Hertz as f
Speed of Light c (300MM) / Frequency f (MHz) = Wavelength λ (Meters)
This is the basic formula to find full wavelength in meters for a given frequency.
Antennas
Loop Antenna Loop antennas are full wavelength with one element.
c/f=λ Element Length
Dipole Dipoles are half wave antennas with two elements.
c/f/2 = λ/2 Element Lengths
Ground plane Ground plane antennas must be at least quarter wave with one vertical and four radial elements.
c/f/4 = λ Vertical Element Length
c/f/4 = λ Radial Element Lengths
3 Element Yagi Yagis are directional antennas consisting of a boom with reflector, driven, and director elements.
c/f = λ*.495 = Reflector Element Length
c/f = λ*.125 = Boom Separation Length
c/f = λ*.473 = Driven Element Length
c/f = λ*.125 = Boom Separation Length
c/f = λ*.440 = Director Element Length
Polarization
ITU Radio Bands
| VLF | LF | MF | HF | VHF | UHF | SHF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 30 kHz | 30 to 300 kHz | 300 to 3 MHz | 3 to 30 MHz | 30 to 300 MHz | 300 to 3 GHz | 3 to 30 GHz |
Feedline
RG6 is common and cheap, but higher resistance at 75 Ohms. You should not use this.
RG58 is cheap, 50 Ohms, and perfectly acceptable for HF.
RG8X is slightly more expensive than RG58, but lower loss.
RG213 is double the price of RG58 and RG8X, but lower attenuation at higher frequencies.
RG8U is almost identical to RG213 in price and attenuation, but has lower loss per 100ft.
LMR400 is exceptional at higher frequencies as well as low. If your software radio can do 1GHz-6GHz, this is what you get.