If you've studied the ARRL license manuals and are comfortable with the questions in the question pool, then you are probably ready to take the test.
If, on the other hand, you have been passing on-line practice exams and doing little else in the way of preparing, then it has been the team's experience that you are likely not sufficiently prepared to pass the written exam.
This is not a blanket indictment of on-line test sites, just our observation that students who fail the written tests, especially the entry-level Technician test, often state that they can't understand why they failed since they "always pass" the on-line test.
The Question and Answer Pools are in the public domain, per FCC regulation, but these provide no background material to help future hams actually understand the answers. There are many study guides available that do provide this background and the team has made some recommendations below.
The exam is a 35-question, multiple-choice exam. Questions are drawn from a pool of over 500 questions. The subject breakdown is covered in the next table.
Rather than try to memorize the pool, the WCRA VE Team recommends the following ARRL study guides for people interested in obtaining a Technician-class license:
For candidates studying for the General- and Amateur Extra-class licenses, the team recommends the following ARRL study guides:
As reference material, particularly for the Technician exam, the team
recommends
ARRL's
FCC Rule Book: Complete Guide to the FCC Regulations
| Technician Exam Breakdown | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sub Element | Subject | Number of Questions on Exam (Total 35) |
| T1 | FCC Rules | 5 |
| T2 | Methods of Communication | 2 |
| T3 | Radio Phenomena | 2 |
| T4 | Station Licensee Duties | 3 |
| T5 | Control Operator Duties | 3 |
| T6 | Good Operating Practices | 3 |
| T7 | Basic Communications Electronics | 3 |
| T8 | Good Engineering Practice | 6 |
| T9 | Special Operations | 2 |
| T0 | Electrical, Antenna Structure and RF Safety Practices | 6 |
Succesful candidates should be familiar (very familiar) with the following:
The Wheaton Community Radio Amateurs VE Team conducts examinations for Amateur Radio licenses on the fourth Thursday of every month at the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library in Lombard, Illinois. The exam session begins at 6:30 pm and ends at 8:30 pm. Pre-registration is not necessary and "walk-ins" are welcome. WCRA volunteer examiners are accredited by the ARRL VEC.
| 2008 Upcoming Exam Dates and Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Elements Passed |
New Hams |
Upgrades |
| January 24 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| January 27 WCRA Mid-Winter Hamfest 2008 |
11 | 5 | 6 |
| February 28 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| March 27 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| April 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| May 22 | |||
| June 26 | |||
| July 24 | |||
| August 28 | |||
| September 25 | |||
| October 23 | |||
| November 20 | |||
| December 18 | |||
| Results for 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 sessions. | |||
Tests for the theory elements (Elements 2, 3 and 4) are multiple choice and hand graded, so pencil or pen are permitted. Bring two! Simple electronic calculators are permitted, although the volunteer examiners may ask you to demonstrate that any memories have been cleared. For 2006, the ARRL VEC fee for participating in the test session remains $14. This fee covers costs associated with preparing the exams and transmitting the data to the FCC. It covers all exam elements that a candidate passes in a given test session (an additional fee will be collected if a candidate wishes to retake a failed exam element). Two forms of identification, one of which must be a picture ID, will be needed. A driver's license is ideal. If you are already an Amateur Radio Operator and you are upgrading, you'll need to bring your FCC license (original and copy), as well any Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE - also original and copy).
Morse Code telegraphy examinations: If you plan to take Element 1, the 5 word/min Morse Code exam, and wish to supply your own headphones, please note that WCRA's equipment uses 1/4" stereo phono plugs. WCRA does supply headphones to candidates. Please note that code must be copied as letters, numbers, punctuation and prosigns, not as written dots and dashes. All Morse Code telegraphy examinations are of the "fill in the blank" type. Twenty-five character "solid copy" on the exam sheet is also acceptable. Tests use the Farnsworth method with the character speed set at 15 words per minute (the Farnsworth method uses characters sent at a faster than normal speed but with longer pauses in between each character). See the ARRL press release for more details on the test procedures. More information on learning the Morse code.
Form 605: If you'd like to speed up your test session, consider obtaining an NCVEC Form 605 (Instructions for Form 605). This is the form that all VECs, ARRL VEC included, use to collect candidate information in preparation for transmission to the FCC. Complete Section 1 only and leave any confusing boxes blank until the night of the exam.
Note: The FCC requires licensees to register in their Universal Licensing System before a license can be issued. The ARRL VEC will handle this task for candidates, but candidates will need to incude their TIN, or Taxpayer Identification Number, on the Form 605. Since the TIN is a candidate's Social Security Number, candidates who wish to further protect their privacy may wish to pre-register in the ULS and then enter their assigned FRN ("FCC Registration Number") on Form 605. Current licensees may have their FRN printed on their license; if not, FRNs can be determined by visiting an online callsign server.
| Helen M. Plum Memorial Library 110 W Maple St Lombard IL 60148-2514 |
The Helen M. Plum Memorial Library, 110 W Maple St, is located on the
NW corner of S Park and W Maple Streets in Lombard. Public parking is
available on Maple Street and in the lot on the NE corner of Park and
Maple Streets.
This event is not sponsored by or endorsed by the Helen M.
Plum Memorial Library.
The ARRL maintains a database of upcoming exams in Illinois as well as the rest of the country.
Once a candidate has successfully completed an examination for a new license or upgrade, the WCRA VE team completes the necessary paperwork and sends the results to the ARRL VEC by overnight courier. The ARRL VEC then verifies the paperwork and enters the data into a system that transmits the resulting information to the FCC. The FCC then updates its master database of Amateur licensees. Once a candidate's information and callsign appear in the the FCC database, the license has been legally granted and Amateur Radio operations may begin! A variety of databases are available on the net where candidates may check to see if the FCC has acted on their application.
K9HK - Harry Kamer - VE Team Coordinator NE9ET - George Greene W9GWR - George Reichert AE9JG - Janie Gallina K9MUF - Don Webster