Have you ever thought of becoming an Amateur Radio operator? You always wanted to but never seemed to get around to it? Maybe you thought the FCC test was to difficult to pass. Terms like "propagation," "ionosphere," or "ohms law" made you tremble. Well believe me, getting started is as easy as convincing the government we need more taxes. And not half as painful.

The entry level Ham license is called "Technician class." There's a short written test but no Morse code requirement for that license. With the "Tech Ticket" you may operate on all ham frequencies above 50 mhz. And you'll learn that there are a zillion things to do in that frequency spectrum. The idea is to get you started. Then you can advance at your own pace as you learn more about the hobby.

To demonstrate how easy it is I'll use my own experience as an example. By the way, I've only been a ham since November 1996. I'm 53 years old and people much older than I have become Hams. I have some background in electronics, but the foreknowledge was not needed to get started in ham radio.

A friend of mine came by one day with a new shortwave radio. He wasn't sure it was working right and wanted me to listen to it that night. It was working fine but I spent the better part of the evening listening to the hams. I thought, "gee, I've always wanted to do that. Think I will!" My Mother once remarked that I had come into this world butt first and had been going into things that way ever since. Naturally, with Ham Radio as well as everything else, I jumped in with both cheeks.

I went to the library and picked up a book called "Now Your Talking." It's the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) book on how to get started. The book contains all the theory to pass the Tech license test AND the answers to the questions. If you can answer the questions in the question pool then you will have no trouble answering the few questions on the FCC test.

After browsing through the book I realized that Ham Radio was something that "a little bit of," was not near "enough of." I vied for the "Tech Plus" license which requires a 5 word per minute morse code test. A Tech Plus license is actually a "Technician" and "Novice" combined into one license. A Tech Plus ticket allows you to operate on certain hf bands as well as the vhf-uhf bands. OOPS! Sorry. HF means High Frequency, VHF is Very High Frequency and UHF, Ultra High Frequency.

I figured I needed to get started learning the Morse code as soon as possible. After all I wasn't gettin' any younger. I called the ARRL (1-860-594-0200) the next morning to order the Morse code learning tapes. Decided to join the ARRL while I was at it. Here's a tip amigo. If you decide to learn Morse code then learn it the way ARRL teaches it. You'll be way ahead in the long run.

While waiting for the tapes to arrive I began studying the "Now Your Talking" book. I found no terribly high hurdles to jump. The information is easy to understand albeit some memorizing is required. And it's a little harder to memorize things as you get older.(They say the mind is the first thing to go. Trust me, the body is wayyyy out front). I just put what I needed to memorize on flash cards and went through them each day.

ALLRIGHT!! The Morse code tapes finally arrived. Grinning from cheek to cheek I dug right in. Di Dah, Di Dah, Di Dah. Cool! Sounds like music. Of course it does, it's suppose to. You learn code by hearing the sound of the letter, instead of a series of dots and dashes. That way you never reach the dreaded "learning plateau." The tapes take you through the alphabet in a certain order to optimize the learning process. Early on I was copying short words. Here again, no insurmountable problems. I just practiced as often as time allowed. Actually there's a lot of little pieces of time hangin' around that one can use. Taking advantage of them is the secret.

I started studying for the FCC test in the last week of September 1996. The plan was to take the test sometime in December or January 1997. However, the Socorro Amateur Radio Association (SARA) had a hamfest scheduled for the 23 of November 1996. They were also going to be administering FCC tests for every class of license. I wanted to go but wasn't sure that I was ready to be tested. I fought that conflict right up until two days before the scheduled date. Finally figured what the heck, "no pain, n...," well "no pain" is good but I had to do it sometime.

I arrived mid morning at the testing facility with a belly full of rattlers doin the "tush push." Looking around at the medium sized crowd I could see no one that appeared to be nervous. Thinking, "crap, everyone is confident of passing and I'm the only one in need of an oxygen tank," I considered leaving and doing the test at a later date. Of course I'd be better prepared then.

I didn't leave however. In fact I found that I was better prepared than most. The ARRL's learning methods really paid off. Everything I had learned came flooding back to mind as I read and answered the test questions. There's no time limit on the written tests but I finished the Tech and Novice in a total time of about 15 min. Preparation's the key. And please don't try to memorize all of the questions and answers. One young fellow did just that and bombed out. The questions on the test are not in the same order as they are in the book! Besides, you undertake an endeavour like this for the knowledge.

Then on to the code test. I had to wait until the VE's (volunteer examiners) were through with the 13 and 20 word per min examinations before I could take the 5 wpm test. Just enough time for an encore of "Boogie Back to Texas" from the rattlers. Finally, I found myself setting at the examination table wearing a pair of headphones. The test starts with a one min practice session. I knew that I was nervous because my hand was shaking when I filled in my name on the test sheet. But looking down at my results of the practice session, I wondered, "who in the h... scribbled all over my paper?" Not to worry, the snakes were beginning to "WALTZ Across Texas" so I felt I had an even chance of screwing up.

Fortunately, I completed the code examination without a hitch. In fact, the first one finished. All in all, it wasn't such a bad experience after all! Aced every test and it only caused a "small" amount of bleeding from my ulcer. The satisfaction of accomplishment however, makes it all worth while. I headed home that evening with a Tech Plus "passed" and an hf radio I had picked up at the hamfest. While driving back I promised myself that I would upgrade my ham license within 6 months. "A little bit of," is never "enough of." On May 10, 1997 I drove to Albuquerque, still courting the rattlers, and upgraded to an Advanced Class license. I always wanted to be a Ham, and now I are one.