Training – Technician License

Technician License:

The Technician License is the first license many amateur radio operators obtain.  The Technician License gives the holder operating privileges in all of the the Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Bands along with some limited privileges in the High Frequency bands.

To obtain an amateur radio Technician Class license (also known as Element 2), a 35 question multiple-choice-answer test must be passed (26 correct answers are needed).  The 35 questions are randomly generated from a pool of, roughly, 410 questions.

Course Objectives:

This course has two objectives:

1. Help you pass the test and get your license.  You will be exposed to all 410 questions showing the correct answers and identifying some strategies for eliminating some of the wrong choices.
2. Give you a bit more knowledge than just “how-to-pass-the-test”.  Knowing some basic electronics will allow you to better understand conversations you will hear in your future amateur radio activities, and that will help your knowledge expand even more.

Course Materials:

This course is based on:

the ARRL License Manual (ARRL. (2022).  The ARRL Ham radio License Manual (5th ed.). The American Radio Relay League, Inc.).

The manual is available at the ARRL Store website, Gigaparts (locally),  as well as other locations.  Just make sure to get the 5th edition.  The Test Question Pools change every four years, and the 5th edition is the one that covers the current set of questions.  There are two binding choices;  most students find the wire-bound manual is much easier to work with.  It lies flat on the table, while the softcover version is more like a regular book and is more cumbersome to keep open.

The answers may be checked against the ARRL Technician Question and Answer Book (ARRL. (2022).  Tech Q&A (8th ed.). The American Radio Relay League, Inc. www.arrl.org)