All New Technician License Class – Monument, CO

The Technician license is your gateway to the worldwide excitement of Amateur Radio, and the very best emergency communications capability available! This is the entry-level class for people who do not currently have an amateur (ham) radio license.

The Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association (Monument, CO) is introducing a new approach to teaching the Technician Level ham radio license class. We have completely overhauled the delivery format of our Tech Class to make good use of both in-person and online training methods. The biggest change is that most of the core material will be delivered to the student via bite-sized online videos, ebook sections, and additional content from Ham Radio School. This dramatically increases the flexibility on how and when the student views this material, eliminating long, all-day classroom sessions. We will have three live Zoom sessions along the way to review the material and answer any questions you might have.

We understand that in-person training is extremely valuable for certain types of activities. Accordingly, we will have an in-person kickoff session (Feb 17) for the instructors to meet the students and show them how ham radio equipment is used. The licensing exam session (Mar 9) is another in-person event. Finally, after you receive your new license, we will have an in-person Get On The Air event (Mar 16) where you will make your first radio contact. To help guide you through this process, an experienced radio ham will connect with you, monitor your progress, and help you through the class.

The cost of the class is $50 ($40 for anyone under 18 years old), which includes everything you need for the class. A non-expiring subscription to the Ham Radio School Technician resources is included. We used to require you to have a printed copy of the Ham Radio School Technician book, but that same material will be delivered to you online as an ebook. Proceeds from this class go to support the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association, a non-profit organization.

You still need to pay a $35 license fee directly to the FCC after passing the license exam.

More details are in the attached flyer.

To register, go here:
https://w0tlm.com/radio-classes/tech-registration

You can probably tell I am excited about the new format for this class. It will make it easier on the instructors to deliver the material AND easier for the students to learn it. If you have questions, let me know!

Bob K0NR
bob@k0nr.com

Extra License Class – Palmer Lake, CO

Ham Radio Extra License Class
Palmer Lake, Colorado

Sat Oct 21 through Sat Nov 4, 2023

  • Two all-day in-person sessions Oct 21 and Nov 4 (8 AM to 5 PM)
    Palmer Lake Town Hall, 42 Valley Crescent Street, Palmer Lake, CO, 80133
  • Additional 8 hours of Zoom & video sessions (scheduling TBD)
  • Students are expected to attend all scheduled sessions.

The Extra License is the top amateur license, providing full access to the FCC Amateur Radio Service band allocations.

  • Upgrade from General to Extra Class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC Extra Class amateur license exam
  • Live equipment demonstrations and activities
  • Expand your HF ops on 15-, 20-, 40-, & 80-meter bands
  • Gain a deeper understanding of radio electronics and theory
  • Take the next step with antennas, amplifiers, digital modes

Registration fee: $40

In addition, students must have the required study guide:
Ham Radio School Extra License Course
First Edition, effective 2020 – 2024, $29.95

A current FCC General License is required for registration.

For more information and to register, go here:
https://w0tlm.com/radio-classes/extra-registration
Questions, email: bob@k0nr.com

Sponsored by the
Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association
www.w0tlm.com

Announcing: Extra Class License book

Followers of this blog know that I like to write stuff. My work shows up in many different venues, with a variety of purposes, but mostly I write with the goal of explaining technical topics to help people learn. My most recent project is co-authoring an Extra Class license book with Stu/W0STU for Ham Radio School.

Building on the successful formula of the popular Technician & General License Courses from Ham Radio School, we’ve crafted an Extra License Course that…

  • Prepares you to ace the exam
  • Imparts valuable practical knowledge
  • Is easy to digest
  • Serves as a handy future reference

It’s everything you expect from a Ham Radio School course:

  • Explains all 621 Extra exam question items.
  • Over 230 professionally crafted instructional illustrations.
  • Bite-sized topical sections in conceptual building block sequence.
  • Free online quizzes, section-by-section, and comprehensive practice exams.
  • Tons of free online learning supplements, section by section, including video, audio, articles and links.

Our goal with the book is to have you learn the exam material, not just memorize questions.

73 Bob K0NR

What Do VHF and UHF Mean?

Recently, I engaged in a discussion about a UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio. It seems a ham was complaining that someone had advertised an 800 MHz radio, describing it as “UHF”. His issue was that in land mobile radio, UHF is commonly used to refer to radios in the 380 to 500-ish MHz range. I disagreed with him, saying that 800 MHz is in the UHF range. I was using the ITU definition of UHF, which is any frequency between 300 MHz to 3 GHz. The disagreement was not a big deal but it did cause some confusion. (Of course, I was right and he was wrong, most definitely.)

This got me thinking about how we toss around these terms quite loosely, even though they have precise definitions. Let’s start with the basics, the ITU definitions of radio spectrum.

LF Low Frequency 30 kHz to 300 kHz
MF Medium Frequency 300 kHz to 3 MHz
HF High Frequency 3 MHz to 30 MHz
VHF Very High Frequency 30 MHz to 300 MHz
UHF Ultra High Frequency 300 MHz to 3 GHz
SHF Super High Frequency 3 GHz to 30 GHz

You can see that the basic scheme divides up the spectrum into decades (factors of ten), aligned with frequencies that start with 3 (e.g., 3 MHz, 30 MHz, 300 MHz). If we map the amateur bands onto this system, we see that the bands from 80m (3.5 to 4.0 MHz) through 10m (28-29.7 MHz) fall into the HF range, as expected. Note that 10m almost qualifies as a VHF band, coming in just shy of the 30 MHz limit. That band does have some VHF tendencies. The 160m band (1.8 to 2.0 MHz) actually falls into the MF range even though many of us just think of it as HF.

Let’s take a look at how the US amateur bands line up with this scheme.

Amateur bands within HF, VHF, and UHF ranges. (Some omissions for legibility: 60m, 17m, 12m HF bands.) Graphic: HamRadioSchool.com

There are three VHF bands: 6m (50 to 54 MHz), 2m (144 to 148 MHz) and 1.25m (222 to 225 MHz). The UHF range includes the 70 cm (420 to 450 MHz), 33 cm (902 to 928 MHz), 23 cm (1240 to 1300 MHz), and 13 cm (2300 to 2450 MHz) bands.

The two most commonly used bands in the VHF/UHF region are 2m and 70cm. These bands are home for many FM repeaters, FM simplex, SSB simplex, and plenty of other modes. Common dualband transceivers, both mobile and handheld, operate on the 2m and 70cm bands. These radios are so common that we often refer to them as VHF/UHF dualband radios. Accordingly, you will often hear hams refer to the 2m band as simply VHF and the 70cm band as UHF, as if VHF means 2 meters and UHF means 70 cm. I know I’ve been guilty of saying “let’s switch over to VHF” when I really mean “let’s go to the 2m band.” The 2m band is certainly VHF but VHF does not always mean 2 meters. Similarly, we might say “I’ll call you on the UHF repeater” when it would be more precise to say “I’ll call you on 440 MHz.”

Many times being loose with terminology doesn’t matter but there are times when using the right words can make a difference. Think about this the next time you are referring to a particular frequency band.

73 Bob K0NR

Ham Radio School Does Video!

I’ve been teaching ham radio license classes with our local radio club for many years now using the Ham Radio School books, written by my friend Stu Turner (W0STU). We use a fast-paced two-day format that strives for efficient learning…go fast but have the students actually learn something. Towards that end, we were frustrated with the existing license books and online material available: they either just “taught the exam” or overwhelmed the student with too much detail. Stu ended up writing the Technician license book that solves this problem. It is easy to read and covers just enough of the material so that the student actually learns about ham radio.

Now Ham Radio School has moved to the next level, offering an online Technician class based on high-quality video training. Stu is an excellent instructor and very competent at explaining the key concepts, so the videos are easy to watch and digest. Different people have different learning styles, so the Ham Radio School learning system includes the highly successful Technician book, online videos, and an extensive set of support materials on the hamradioschool.com website. Of course, these different elements are integrated together and present the ham radio concepts in a consistent manner.

This is a snapshot from the Ham Radio School website showing the recommended study flow for getting your Technician license.

Stu has developed a video production system that really works, using professional computer graphics tools. The videos are easy to watch, proceeding at a decent pace. If you miss something, you can always back up the presentation and look at it again.

The Ham Radio School videos are professionally produced and easy to watch and understand.

You can try out the first four Technician lessons at no charge and then decide if this approach works for you. The entire video course is available for an introductory price of $15.95. (The Ham Radio School book is available for $19.95). Depending on your learning style, you might just want to read the book, view the video class, or do both. Your choice.

73 Bob K0NR

Disclosure: I have contributed content to the Ham Radio School website, provided technical consulting on the General License class book, and have received compensation for this work.

 

Technician License Class – Black Forest, Colorado

The Technician license is your gateway to the worldwide excitement of Amateur Radio, and the very best emergency communications capability available!

We are once again offering our highly-successful Technician License Class in Black Forest, Colorado.

  • Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the last day
  • Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
  • Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 meters and higher
  • Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
  • Find out how to participate in emergency communications

Schedule: in-person plus online

Sat   Oct 15    9:00 am – 3:30 pm In Person
Sun  Oct 16    4:00 – 5:30 pm Online (Zoom)
Tue   Oct 18    6:00 – 8:00 pm Online (Zoom)
Sat   Oct 22    9:00 am – 3:00pm In Person (includes Exam Session)

In-person sessions are held at the Black Forest Fire & Rescue Station 1, 11445 Teachout Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80908

Registration fee: $30 adults, $20 under age 18
Advance registration is required.
Note that the FCC now charges a $35 license fee, payable after you pass the license exam.
Students must have the required study guide: Ham Radio School Technician License Course, 2022 – 2026

Register

To register for the class, go to:
http://w0tlm.com/radio-classes/tech-registration

Any questions, contact Bob Witte KØNR bob@k0nr.com

Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association www.w0tlm.com
For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.arrl.org

Get Your Ham Radio License, Colorado

The Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio, and the very best emergency communications capability available!

We are once again offering our highly-successful Technician License Class in Monument, Colorado.

 

  • Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the last day
  • Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
  • Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 meters and higher
  • Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
  • Find out how to participate in emergency communications

Schedule

Online + In-Person in Monument, Colorado

Sat   April 2    1 – 5 PM In Person

Sun  April 3    1 – 4 PM Online

Tue  April 5    6 – 8:30 PM Online

Sat   April 9    1 – 5 PM In Person (includes Exam)

 

Online sessions will be held using Zoom.

The in-person sessions will be at Woodmoor Community Center (Woodmoor Barn) in Monument, CO.

Registration fee: $30 adults, $20 under age 18
Advance registration is required.

 

Students must have the required study guide:

HamRadioSchool.com Technician License Course

Third Edition, 2018 – 2022

Register

To register for the class, go to:

http://w0tlm.com/radio-classes/tech-registration

Any questions, contact Bob Witte KØNR bob@k0nr.com

Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association www.w0tlm.com

For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.arrl.org

Get Your General License, Colorado

The Technician Class License is the entry-level ham radio license in the USA. The next step up is the General Class License which provides operating privileges on the high-frequency bands. If you want to work the world with ham radio, you should seriously consider going for the General license.

The Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association is offering a blended (online and in-person) license class to assist you in moving up to General. The class starts on Nov 6th and will have five sessions: two in-person sessions in Monument, CO plus three online sessions via Zoom.  The final session is in-person and includes the FCC exam. (Complete schedule listed below.)

 

The General License provides access to regional and worldwide communications on the HF bands via ionospheric skip, greatly expanding operational capabilities!

• Upgrade from Technician to General Class radio privileges
• Pass your FCC General Class amateur license exam Nov 20
• Live equipment demonstrations and activities
• Learn to operate on the HF bands, 10 Meters to 160 Meters
• Gain a deeper understanding of radio electronics and theory
• Take the next step with antennas, amplifiers, digital modes

The registration fee is $30 ($20 for those under 18 years of age). In addition, students must have the required study guide: HamRadioSchool.com General License Course,
Third Edition, effective 2019 – 2023, $24.95. A current FCC Technician License is required for registration.

More information and registration page here: https://w0tlm.com/radio-classes/general-registration
For questions, email: bob@k0nr.com

Schedule

Session 1, Sat Nov 6, 1-5 pm:  In-Person, Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room, Monument, CO. Ch.Ø-3 instruction
On-Demand Video Lesson (online video at your convenience).  Ch.4 instruction
Session 2, Tue Nov 9, 6-7 pm:  Live Zoom meeting.  Ch.1-4 review and Q&A
Session 3, Thur Nov 11, 6-8:15 pm:  Live Zoom meeting.  Ch.5 instruction
Session 4, Sat Nov 13, 1-5 pm:  Live Zoom meeting.  Ch.6 instruction
Session 5, Sat Nov 20, 1-5 pm:  In-Person, Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room, Monument, CO.  Wrap-up, review, VE Exam session.

 

QSO Today Ham Expo: Having Fun With VHF

The QSO Today Ham Expo is an exciting event that takes the fun of an amateur radio convention online!

Congrats and thanks to Eric/4Z1UG who conceived the idea and took the initiative to make it happen.

I was pleased to participate in the event, talking about Having Fun With VHF. In case you missed it, here is the video of my presentation.

 

Slides are here: Having Fun With VHF – Bob K0NR slides

73 Bob K0NR

Technician License Class – Black Forest, CO

Black Forest, Colorado
Sat Feb 22 and 29
8 AM to 5 PM

Black Forest Fire Station
intersection Burgess Rd. & Teachout Rd.

The Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio, and the very best emergency communications capability available!

• Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
• Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
• Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
• Live equipment demonstrations
• Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
• Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
• Find out how to participate in emergency communications

Registration fee: $30 adults, $20 under age 18

In addition, students must have the required study guide: HamRadioSchool.com Technician License Course Third Edition, effective 2018 – 2022, $22.95 print, $19.99 Kindle

Advance registration is required (No later than one week before the first session, earlier is better, first-come sign-up basis until the class is full.)

To register for the class, contact:
Bob Witte KØNR
Email: bob@k0nr.com or Phone: 719/659-3727

Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association
For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.arrl.org

Download:  Tech License Class Flyer – Feb 2020

General License Class – Black Forest, CO

Sat Sep 28 and Sat Oct 5
(8 AM to 5 PM)

Black Forest Fire Station
11445 Teachout Road
Colorado Springs, CO 80908

The General License provides access to regional and worldwide communications on the HF bands, greatly expanding your ham radio fun!

• Upgrade from Technician to General Class radio privileges
• Pass your FCC General Class amateur license exam Oct 12*
• See live equipment demonstrations and activities
• Learn to operate on the HF bands, 10 Meters to 160 Meters
• Gain a deeper understanding of radio electronics and theory
• Take the next step with antennas, amplifiers, digital modes

Registration fee: $30 ($20 for under 18 years of age)

Prerequisite: Students must already have their Technician License

The required study guide is:

HamRadioSchool.com General License Course
Third Edition, effective 2019 – 2023, $24.95

* Free FCC exam session on Oct 12 at Black Forest Fire Station 9:30 am.

To register for the class, contact Bob KØNR,  bob@k0nr.com

Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association

2019 Technician License Class

Black Forest, Colorado; Sat March 16 and 23; 8 AM to 5 PM

Black Forest Fire Station, intersection Burgess Rd. & Teachout Rd.

The Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio, and the very best emergency communications capability available!

• Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
• Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
• Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
• Live equipment demonstrations
• Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
• Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
• Find out how to participate in emergency communications

Registration fee: $30 adults, $20 under age 18

In addition, students must have the required study guide: HamRadioSchool.com Technician License Course Third Edition, effective 2018 – 2022, $22.95 print, $19.99 Kindle

Advance registration is required (No later than two weeks before the first session, earlier is better, first-come sign up basis until class is full.) To register for the class, contact: Bob Witte KØNR Email: bob@k0nr.com or Phone: 719/659-3727

Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.arrl.org

The Three Laws of Electronic Measurement

On Saturday, I had the privilege of talking to a group of radio amateurs on the topic of electronic measurements. I opened the session with a short discussion of “why do we even need electronic measurements?” This was captured in three “laws” listed below:

Bob’s First Law of Electronic Measurement

With electricity, most of the time we cannot observe what is going on without measuring instruments.

Bob’s Second Law of Electronic Measurement

When we can observe electricity directly, it is often a bad thing.

Bob’s Third Law of Electronic Measurement

Lord Kelvin was right

RMHam University – Test and Measurement

The Rocky Mountain Ham Radio group offers an educational series they call RMHAM University. I am honored to be able to present on the topic of Practical Ham Radio Measurements on Saturday morning Dec 15th.

As many of you know, this topic is an intersection of my hobby of amateur radio and 40 years working in the electronic test and measurement industry. I’ve written two books on the electronic measurement and enjoy talking about it.

Here’s the agenda for the class.

Topic Comments Time
1.       Introduction Measurement Concepts, trends in test and measurement 8:00 to 8:30
2.       Digital Multimeters Voltage, current and resistance measurements 8:30 to 9:20
Break
3.       SWR Measurement SWR, reflection coefficient, SWR measurements, antenna analyzers, vector network analyzers 9:30 to 10:20
Break
4.       Oscilloscope measurements Time domain, bandwidth, scope probes 10:30 to 11:00
5.       RF Measurements Frequency domain, spectrum analyzers, SDR receiver, transceiver tests, power measurement 11:00 to 11:30
Discussion and wrap up 11:30 to noon

Location and Registration

Cherry Creek School District Educational Services Center
4700 S. Yosemite St.
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Please register with the RMHAM web site so we know how many to plan for.  There is no charge for the class.
https://www.rmham.org/wordpress/rmham-university-2018/
Here are my slides in pdf format:
Practical Amateur Radio Measurements

If you need the original powerpoint slides, send me an email.

73 Bob K0NR

Are Recent Technicians Getting on the Air?

Our radio club (Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association) offers a 2-day Technician license class which has resulted in over 300 new Technician licenses in past years. We also offer a number of activities to help new licensees get started in ham radio. Still, we wonder how many of our newly-minted Techs have actually gotten on the air and are actively using amateur radio.

To assess that, I surveyed 258 people that went through our Technician license class from 2010 to 2017. We’ve actually had more students than that get their license but I don’t have valid email addresses for all of them. To improve the response rate, I kept the survey short at 5 questions.

The response rate was 42% which is quite good for this type of survey. I suspect there is a response bias in that active ham radio folks are probably more likely to reply to this survey. People that have lost interest are less likely to reply. That’s just my opinion; I don’t have data to support that.

 

Almost half of our Technician class students upgraded to General but only a few went on to Extra. Overall, I see this as a good result but I expected to see a few more Extra class licensees.


 

Most of the respondents have been on air recently: 60% of them have made a radio contact in the past 6 months. On the other hand, that means about 40% of not made a contact in half a year. It is disappointing to see that 13% have never made a ham radio contact.


There is quite a range on how active the respondents are with 45% making 10 or fewer contacts in 6 months.

 

About one half of the survey respondents are members of our radio club. Some of them are also members of other radio clubs in the area. Some of our students travel a long distance, up to 100 miles, to attend this class so it makes sense that they find a radio club near their home.

 

Most of the respondents reported being active on 2m/70cm FM. About 18% of them are on HF Phone. The total for all forms of HF operating (CW, digital and phone) is not shown on the chart but it is roughly 20%. While roughly half of the respondents have their General or Extra class license, only 20% are actually using the resulting HF privileges.

Conclusions

My broad conclusion is that our radio club should continue to provide opportunities for our members to develop their operating skills and expand their radio operating. I filtered the responses to our club members only to see if our club member responses are any different from the larger group. Basically, our members indicate they are somewhat more active than the rest of the respondents but the overall story does not change.

Obviously, this is a small slice of data relevant to our local situation. It may not apply to other parts of the country.

What do you think?

73, Bob K0NR

General License Class: Black Forest, CO Feb 24/Mar 3

Sat Feb 24 and Sat Mar 3 (8 AM to 5 PM) 2018
Black Forest Fire Station
11445 Teachout Road
Colorado Springs, CO 80908

 

The General License provides access to regional and worldwide communications on the HF bands, greatly expanding your ham radio fun!

• Upgrade from Technician to General Class radio privileges
• Pass your FCC General Class amateur license exam Mar 10*
• Live equipment demonstrations and activities
• Learn to operate on the HF bands, 10 Meters to 160 Meters
• Gain a deeper understanding of radio electronics and theory
• Take the next step with antennas, amplifiers, digital modes

Registration fee: $30 ($20 for under 18 years of age)

Prerequisite: Students must already have their Technician License
Students must have the required study guide:

HamRadioSchool.com General License Course
Second Edition, effective 2015 – 2019, $22.95

* Free FCC exam session on Mar 10 at Black Forest Fire Station 9:30 am.

To register for the class, email: Bob KØNR  bob@k0nr.com

Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association

Technician License Class – Black Forest, CO

Time: Saturday Sept 30 and Saturday Oct 7th (8 AM to 5 PM) 2017

Location: Black Forest Fire Station 1
(intersection of Burgess Rd. & Teachout Rd., Black Forest, Colorado)
Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association

The FCC Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio, and the very best emergency communications capability available!

  • Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
  • Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
  • See live equipment demonstrations
  • Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
  • Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
  • Find out how to participate in emergency communications

For more background on ham radio, see Getting Started in Ham Radio.

Registration fee: $30 adults, $20 under age 18
In addition, students must have the required study guide:

HamRadioSchool.com Technician License Course
Second Edition, effective 2014 – 2018, $21.95

Advance registration is required (No later than one week before the first session, earlier is better, first-come sign up basis until class is full.)

To register for the class, contact: Bob Witte KØNR
Email: bob@k0nr.com or Phone: 719/659-3727

Where are Those New Hams Coming From?

The Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association just completed another successful Technician license class resulting in 21 new Technicians plus one person that passed both the Technician and General exams. We survey the class a week or two later to get their feedback and capture some demographic information. In recent years, our Technician class has consistently filled to capacity, causing us to ask the question “Where are those new hams coming from?”

The key relevant question on the survey is:

I’ve abbreviated the response choices so they read better on the graph. For example, “Comms during disasters/event” actually says “For communications during disasters or other major events” on the survey. These 18 responses represent over half of the students so they are representative of the class. However, it is a small sample size overall, representing just one class at one time at one location in the US. I will add that the survey results from our other classes are very similar.

The two highest responses, both with 67%, are Comms During Disasters/Event and Backcountry Comms. It was no surprise that communications during a disaster would be a prime motivation for getting a ham radio license. Per FCC Part 97, this is one of the stated purposes of the Amateur Radio Service.  Here in Colorado, many people have had the recent experience of wildfires disrupting communications causing them to look for alternatives. In general, the prepper movement is causing people to think in terms of disaster preparedness. Communications in the backcountry includes hikers, climbers, fishermen, dirt bike riders, four-wheel drive enthusiasts and anyone who spends time in the mountains. There are many locations in Colorado that don’t have cellphone coverage, so people are looking for alternative communications. This is likely a regional phenomenon…I don’t think you’d see “backcountry communications” on the short list of amateur radio interest in downtown Chicago.

Radio as a hobby gathers 50% of the responses, followed by 39% interested in learning about radio communications. This says that about half of the students are pursuing ham radio as a hobby. I wonder if this is different that the historical average from 20 years ago? I suspect it used to be higher but I don’t have any data to support that. This would likely be a leading indicator for how many of these new licensees get deeply involved in ham radio activities. I have seen students start out with a narrow focus on emergency preparedness but then discover there’s a lot more to ham radio that they choose to pursue.

What do you think about these results?

73, Bob K0NR

Technician License Class – Black Forest, CO

Time: Sat Feb 25 and Sat Mar 4 (8 AM to 5 PM) 2017

Location: Black Forest Fire Station 1
(intersection of Burgess Rd. & Teachout Rd., Black Forest, Colorado)
Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association

The FCC Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio, and the very best emergency communications capability available!

  • Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
  • Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
  • See live equipment demonstrations
  • Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
  • Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
  • Find out how to participate in emergency communications

For more background on ham radio, see Getting Started in Ham Radio.

Registration fee: $30 adults, $20 under age 18

In addition, students must have the required study guide:

HamRadioSchool.com Technician License Course
Second Edition, effective 2014 – 2018, $21.95

Advance registration is required (No later than two weeks before the first session, earlier is better, first-come sign up basis until class is full.)

To register for the class, contact: Bob Witte KØNR

Email: bob@k0nr.com  or Phone: 719/659-3727

General License Class (Black Forest, CO)

ft-991Ham Radio General License
Two-day Class

Black Forest, Colorado
Two class sessions on Sat Sept 24 and Sat Oct 1 (8 AM to 5 PM) FCC Exam session on Oct 8th
Location: Black Forest Fire Station
Intersection of Burgess Rd. & Teachout Rd.

The General License provides access to regional and worldwide communications on the HF bands via ionospheric skip, greatly expanding operational capabilities!

  • Upgrade from Technician to General Class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC General Class amateur license exam Oct 8 *
  • Live equipment demonstrations and activities
  • Learn to operate on the HF bands, 10 Meters to 160 Meters
  • Gain a deeper understanding of radio electronics and theory
  • Take the next step with antennas, amplifiers, digital modes

Registration fee: $30
(No FCC exam fee required at Oct 8 exam session)

InGeneral Book addition, students must have the required study guide:

HamRadioSchool.com General License Course
Second Edition, effective 2015 – 2019, $22.95

Current FCC Technician License required for registration. Advanced registration is required by Sept 10th or earlier. First-come registration acceptance until class is full.

To register for the class, contact: Bob Witte KØNR

Email: bob@k0nr.com  or Phone: 719/659-3727

Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association.