~ Websites for studing for your Ham Tests ~
I cringe when I hear Thunder!
Ham Exams & Radio Study Guides Links
Even in the age of the Internet, radio remains an important part of our lives. There is much that goes into running a radio station or hosting a successful radio show, but even those who do not have a career in radio can enjoy amateur broadcasting as a hobby. Whether you are interested in a career in radio or are only pursuing it as a hobby, there are countless resources to give you information on radio or help you prepare for a test needed to pursue it as a vocation or hobby.
Radio Show Prep
• FM Jock — subscription-based site to help jocks prepare for their shows
• Guest Finder — searchable directory of potential radio show interviewees
• Newswriting for Radio — all about preparing written news briefs to be read on the radio
• PrepLinks — dozens and dozens of links to sites to help radio personalities prepare for their shows and on-air time
• Radio 411 — an alphabetized list of links to different radio prep websites
• Talk and Talent — another good source to find guests for a radio show
Radio Station Exams
• Commercial Exam Practice — four different tests for different FCC radio licenses
• Examination Question Pools — official listings of the possible questions that can be asked on the FCC licensing tests
• FCC License Practice Tests — subscriber-based site with many FCC radio license tests
How Radio Stations Work
• Basics of Radio Wave Propagation — some basic information for those interested in the science of radio waves
• How a Radio Station Works — basics on how a radio station works from a radio engineer and voiceover announcer
• Programmer Help Videos — some videos that explain the basic operation of radio station
• Radio Basics — basic terminology and procedures related to the operation of radio stations
• Radio Programming and Production — online syllabus of a course on how radio stations work
• Radio Station Manager — job profile for the person who keeps a radio station operating
• Virtual Station Tour — take a virtual tour of a talk radio station in Iowa here
Ham Radio Practice Tests
• Ham Exam — purchasable software that allows users to practice for their ham radio exams
• Ham Test Online — a good, online, fee-based ham radio test site
• QRZ Test Prep — return to this site again and again to prepare for your ham radio test
• Radio Exams — three different practice tests for potential ham radio operators
Amateur Radio Communities/Websites
• Amateur Radio and DX Reference Guide — thousands of ham radio resources are available here
• Amateur Radio Repeater Database — find other ham operators currently on the air at this site
• CQ Amateur Radio Magazine — a magazine devoted to the hobby of ham radio aficionados
• Eham — articles and other resources on amateur radio
• Gordon West Radio School — learn how to be a ham radio operator at this school
• How Ham Radio Works — a page on ham radio from How Stuff Works
• International Amateur Radio Union — a society that has united amateur radio operators worldwide for over 80 years
• National Association for Amateur Radio — homepage of one of the largest groups devoted to ham or amateur radio
• QRP Radio Club International — another international club made up of amateur radio hobbyists
• Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation — devoted to the furtherance of satellite technology for the purposes of ham radio operation
• Shortwave Radio Command Center — useful page on amateur radio from an amateur radio operator
Radio Training Schools
• Academy of Radio and Television Broadcasting — renowned school for the training of radio broadcasters
• Advanced Training — military personnel will find this school particularly helpful for training in a radio career
• American Broadcasting School — an online school that trains people in radio broadcasting
• Broadcasters Mentoring Group — sets up mentoring relationships between radio broadcasters and students
• Center for Education in TV and Radio — offers a bilingual curriculum to prepare students for work in the radio industry
• Connecticut School of Broadcasting — school that has prepared students for all kinds of careers in radio for over four decades
• Radio Connection — a program that pairs students with real radio personnel for on-the-job training
• Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts — Michigan school that trains students for careers in radio, television, or film
• UK Radio Training Courses — listing of British radio training schools
Ham Radio Testing ~ Local ~ VE Testing Schedule & Information
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Club Pictures of Ham Operators |
Links to Ham clubs in the area |
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Some useful info...
STANDARDIZED PROWORDS
Prowords
are pronounceable words or phrases that are assigned meanings for
the purpose of expediting message handling on nets where
radiotelephone procedure is used. These words are used to convey,
in condensed standard form, certain frequently
used orders, instructions, and information related to communications.
| PROWORD | DEFINITION |
| THIS IS | The proword
"THIS IS" is used to alert the receiving station that you are about to identify your station and is the lead-in proword to just about all of our voice communications. "THIS IS" is immediately followed by your callsign, which as we know is always spoken phonetically. |
| OVER | Voice
transmissions are always concluded with either the proword "OVER" or "OUT" (never both). Each proword signals the listener that the sender's transmission is finished. Use "OVER" if you are awaiting a response, or |
| OUT | If you are
not awaiting a response. Normal practice on our nets is for the station initiating the contact to conclude the exchange; although this is not an absolute rule it is good practice. |
| WAIT | Use the
proword "WAIT" when during a transmission if we must pause for a short period of time, normally only a few seconds. |
| WAIT OUT | We must
pause for longer than a few seconds we use the proword "WAIT OUT" which indicates to the listener that the sending station still has information to send and will call them back shortly. |
| ROGER | The proword
"ROGER" indicates to the listening station that you have received their last transmission satisfactorily. Note this does not mean you agree with the transmission or that you will comply with any instructions it contained. Additionally, since it only signifies understanding, the proword "ROGER" is not used as an action word. For example, it is inappropriate to say "I ROGER INTO THE NET…" or "I ROGER YOUR TRANSMISSION", where "ROGER" spoken alone will suffice. |
| AFFIRMATIVE | The proword
"AFFIRMATIVE" simply means, "yes" or approval of a request. |
| WILCO | The proword
"WILCO" is a contraction of the two words "WILL COMPLY". "WILCO" is a time-honored military proword that indicates exactly that, you understand the guidance given to you by the other station and will accomplish it. More beginning military communicators have been set down the wrong path from their movie watching experience where they may have heard the infamous "ROGER WILCO OVER AND OUT"; we all recognize that as a gross violation of our standard procedures. Either the phrase "WILL COMPLY" or the contraction "WILCO" is acceptable. |
| NEGATIVE | the proword
"NEGATIVE" means "no" or the denial of a request. |
| I SPELL | words or
groups within plain text messages may be spelled using the phonetic alphabet preceded by the proword "I SPELL". Where text is composed of pronounceable words, they will be spoken and not spelled out. If clarification is needed, say the word, say "I SPELL", spell the word phonetically, then say the word again. An example of this would be "CATENARY...I SPELL CHARLIE ALPHA TANGO ECHO NOVEMBER ALPHA ROMEO YANKEE... CATENARY" |
| INITIAL | A single
letter will be phonetically spelled preceded by the
proword "INITIAL". The words "I" and
"a" are considered words, not initials, and as we have discussed should not be pronounced phonetically. |
| FIGURE(S) | We precede
numerals with the proword "FIGURE" or "FIGURES" when there is a need to distinguish between numerals not in mixed groups and words. "FIGURES" is not used when transmitting the heading of a message or when the prowords "NUMBER", "TIME", OR "GROUPS" are used. As we have discussed numbers will be transmitted digit by digit, except that exact multiples of hundreds or thousands are spoken as such. |
| NUMBER | Finally, the
proword "NUMBER" is used to indicate the station serial number assigned to a message. An example would sound like "MESSAGE FOLLOWS NUMBER 39 ROUTINE TIME 142200 OCTOBER 2002" |
| SAY AGAIN | The proword "SAY
AGAIN" can be used alone or in conjunction with several other prowords depending on the situation. "SAY AGAIN" is simply a request for the sending station to repeat some or all of the message or information just transmitted. The proword "SAY AGAIN" is a request. |
| I SAY AGAIN | " SAY AGAIN then
simply precedes material to be repeated. You may repeat a word to prevent an error, but do not repeat a word solely for the purpose of adding emphasis to it. An example where a repetition serves a legitimate purpose is "HIROSHIMA I SAY AGAIN HIROSHIMA" which should minimize the possibility of mistaken identity or incorrect spelling. |
In Emergency Communications, there is no place for
"cutesy" language and efforts to
establish/maintain individual identies/preferences are not
acceptable.
Phonetics are standardized and there is NO tolerence for
deviation. Operators must
adhere to the standardized list as given below.
For example, a callsign N4TAB is expressed phonetically as:
November Four Tango Alpha
Bravo
and NOT
Nicaragua Number Four Texas Afghanistan
Bulemia.
The following list is the acceptable phonetic alphabet.
If this isn't already ingrained into your
procedural behavior, print it and rehearse it.
| A | ALFA | M | MIKE | Y | YANKEE |
| B | BRAVO | N | NOVEMBER | Z | ZULU |
| C | CHARLIE | O | OSCAR | 1 | ONE |
| D | DELTA | P | PAPA (PA-PA') | 2 | TWO |
| E | ECHO | Q | QUEBEC (KAY-BEK') | 3 | THREE (TREE) |
| F | FOXTROT | R | ROMEO | 4 | FOUR |
| G | GOLF | S | SIERRA | 5 | FIVE (FIFE) |
| H | HOTEL | T | TANGO | 6 | SIX |
| I | INDIA | U | UNIFORM | 7 | SEVEN |
| J | JULIETT | V | VICTOR | 8 | EIGHT |
| K | KILO | W | WHISKEY | 9 | NINE (NINER) |
| L | LIMA | X | X-RAY | 0 | ZERO |
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