Study Strategies
If you are new to amateur (ham) radio and want to become a licensed operator with minimum hassle and cost, you’ve come to the right place. To be clear, this site is not about “cheating the system” to help you get your license with out learning what you need to know. Rather, it is a resource to help you cut through unnecessary jargon and complexity so that you can focus on learning what you need to know.
Check out common and proven study strategies below. Plan to spend about 20 hours studying for your technician class license. You may be able to pass the exam with less preparation or you may need more depending on your technical background. No worries, you’ll get your license in a reasonable amount of time if you’ll focus your efforts using one of the following strategies.
Recommended Strategies
- Strategy #1 – Hit the Books
- Strategy #2 – Attend a Live Class
- Strategy #3 – Watch Video Classes Online
- Strategy #4 – Online Study
- Strategy #5 – A Little of This, A Little of That
Strategy #1 – Hit the Books
A lot of people like a tried and true method that feels familiar. Nothing seems quite as familiar as simply hitting the books. One of the most trusted resources is the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) licensing manual. You can buy this on Amazon.com for under $30 in a spiral bound format that makes studying convenient while taking notes at a table. Often a non-spiral bound version of this same manual is available for under $15.
Start with this link: The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual
The ARRL provides an errata sheet for their manuals for information that changes after publication. You can access the errata for this manual on the ARRL website.
To pass the technician exam, you must answer 26 of 35 questions. The questions are pulled from a pool of 423 questions. To help you review the questions and the correct answers, as well as the wrong answers, the ARRL also publishes a Q&A manual available on Amazon.com for about $18.
Dan Romanchik also publishes a guide to help prospective technician-class licensees prepare for the exam. Dan’s book is available on Amazon.com for about $18.
No Nonsense Technician Class License Study Guide
The ARRL’s Q&A manual would still be a good resource for studying for the actual test and would pair nicely with Dan’s book as well as the ARRL manual.
This strategy assumes that you really don’t care for online resources and videos or that you just feel more comfortable doing it the old fashioned way. There is nothing wrong with this approach. Be aware, however, that free resources for studying are available as downloads, including Dan Romanchik’s study guide. Many online resources for studying the questions include options for taking practice exams that look and feel like the real test. We’ll talk more about these options in other strategies. You’ll also find links to a number of site that offer this information on the Study Resources page.
The ones detailed here are excellent resources. However, they are not the only ones that will serve you well. If you just want to get started and would rather not do a deep dive into the many option available, the two manuals listed here will serve you well. If you need to see all of your options before choosing try searching for Technician Class License Manual on Amazon.com. Just be sure that you choose a manual that is for July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2022.
Return to Recommended Strategies . . .
Strategy #2 – Attend a Live Class
Most of us were brought up on classroom-style learning. For many, it is the most comfortable way of learning. Comfort and familiarity have their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s talk about the strengths, first.
A live class provides motivation. Scheduled classes mean we put it on our calendar and we show up. Showing up is half the battle, after all. Self-study is tough and it is tougher when you are trying to fit a new hobby into your schedule.
Being part of a class can also offer social support. For many of us this is critical. Doing something with a group allows us to ask questions or here others ask the questions we are too shy to ask ourselves. It can be harder if we never ask our questions. It can eat at our confidence or keep it from developing all together.
The downside of a live class can be the temptation to allow our learning to be too passive. If we fall into the trap of merely attending a class without “doing the homework” we may find that we are poorly prepared for exam day.
Overall, if you can find a good live class, it can be an excellent way to prepare. Live classes can be hard to find in less populated areas and they can be a challenge to fit into your schedule. Be aware that some live classes use a two-day format, meaning two 6-8 hour Saturdays back to back. While it can be easier to fit in, this format can also be exhausting.
Check out the study resources section for tips on finding a live class near you.
Return to Recommended Strategies . . .
Strategy #3 – Watch Video Classes Online
If you can’t find a live class near you, consider watching a live class that has been recorded and hosted online on a site like YouTube, Vimeo, or others.
For example, Gary Wise’s (W4EEY) videos are full classes recorded and posted to YouTube. It is like attending a live class with more flexibility but without the group support and motivation.
Other video classes are shorter and focused on a specific, more narrowly defined topic. Dave Casler’s (KE0OG) popular videos are of this second style. Both Gary and Dave’s videos are meant to be studied along with reading the ARRL’s study guide.
You can get links and more information about these video classes in the Study Resources section.
Return to Recommended Strategies . . .
Strategy #4 – Online Study
If your schedule is full and you need an approach that allows you fit in your study here and there, online study might be your best route to your license. Online study is also valid for folks who need to take technical content in small chunks. Sometimes two hours of classroom instruction is not as effective as 20 minute chunks more often.
Some online study resources consist of question pools with options for flashcard drills or practice tests. Others are full learning systems meant to replace books and videos. You should at least consider both types of resources as they can supercharge your studies.
Online resources, as you will see below, make a strong addition to any hybrid study strategy. For more on specific resources visit that portion of the study resources page.
Return to Recommended Strategies . . .
Strategy #5 – A Little of This, A Little of That
I’ve saved my favorite for last. If you found as your read about the strategies above that parts of several sounded good, you are a candidate to try “A-Little-of-This-A-Little-of-That” strategy. This is a hybrid, choose what works best for you. There is no one perfect set or a set of three to choose from. I will off examples of how and others have used this strategy to knock out all three levels (elements) of amateur radio licensing exams.
Example 1: If you are reading one of the guide books mentioned above, please consider using online study tools to help you prepare for the tests with flash cards and practice exams. Yes, the books include the questions and answers, but I believe using the online tools for repetition will boost your results. Take many practice exams online. When you can pass 3 or 4 in a row with scores of 85% or better, you should be able to strut into the exam session confident of your coming passing grade.
Example 2: Live or video classes can be powerful learning experiences. Mix these with online quizzing and practice tests and also with as much reading as you can muster and you again will be well prepared.
I actually enjoyed preparing for and taking the various exam elements over the years as I’ve progressed through my licensing in ham radio. I actually used different strategies each time. For my technical studies (Element 2) I used a set of slides produced by a ham radio club and offered for free on the internet. They were very similar to what is available today through Ham Test Online or Ham Radio Prep. I never once cracked the ARRL manual. (Again I use this helpful manual for reference, but text books were never my thing. So, I picked a strategy that worked for me.)
For my General (Element 3) I used Ham Test Online exclusively. I used it to learn that material, study by repetition, and to take practice exams. The hours I spent in this tool on my PC and iPad made the money I spent well worth it to me.
For my amateur extra (Element 4) I watch all of Gary Wise’s amateur extra course videos on YouTube with a friend who was also studying for the exam. The weekly schedule study sessions help me stay on course and get it done. For the final two weeks of preparation for this exam, I used Ham Test Online and Ham Exam to take many practice tests. Oh, there might have been a few nerves there on test day, but it was more about how well I would do and not about whether I would pass.
Return to Recommended Strategies . . .
A Final Few Words About Study Strategies
You may be a person who learns best with books. You may cram and cram and cram and ace the test. Congratulations! However, this will not keep you from making a mistake or two or many more during your first few weeks on the radio.
You might decide that 74% is the minimum passing score and that’s good enough for you. And it is enough to get your license. But the less effort you put in up front the more you’ll need to do to catch up on the back end. Is this better or worse that cramming your brains out?
The answer is that there is no one best way. You may not hear that from many hams if you ask them what the best strategy is. Human nature is to share our personal experience and stick to the fact that if it worked for me then it must be the best route for you, too. I take exception with this idea. I am a firm believer that different folks can study if very different ways and arrive at the same destination, that of being a license amateur radio operator. Remember, enjoy the process of learning about radio. No matter what your motivation is to become licensed, remember to have some fun and to be proud of your efforts in studying and passing your licensing exam(s).
Return to Recommended Strategies . . .