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Ham radio exam
- Thread starter EI52N7W
- Start date
The only study materials i know of specific to ireland are on the irts practice cd sold on the irts website.
The owner does allow copying the material so if you have broadband and a torrent client such as transmission or utorrent I can send you a private torrent of the cd. and other pdf's i have collected from comreg.
Download Examination Files
There is a canadian study site also that i cannot find that is excellent that i used.
I used this site
HamTests - Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) Exam Training
You can use practice tests from any country in IARU region 1. UK is fairly similar. I do not recommend the usa advanced tests as there are large sections on transistor logic and imperial smith charts.
Stay with countries within the metric system. I do not recommend the arrl handbook because of this. The RSGB(radio society of great britain) handbook is an excellent guide for looking up the meaning of any term in a practice exam, but is not necessary to pass.
Wikipedia.org is as good a resource as any for the explanation of terms(not to forget google)
Here is the syllabus which is the only study guide you need heed. The irts cd is out of date and leaves out important legal sections on the comreg.ie website(which you cannot pass without) and misses sections such as impedance transformation through coax and leaves in irrelevant things you won't be tested on.
http://www.irts.ie/downloads/syllabus-2013.pdf
IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, Irish Radio Transmitters Society
IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, Radio Theory Links
IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, Details of the next Theory Exam
IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, downloads of files relevant to amateur radio
Do not get caught up in learning maths for the tests.I was told you won't need a calculator for the exam when I went in. The hardest I had to do was ohms law.
It is important that you learn bandplans and country calls. They are often over looked and will be tested on.
The owner does allow copying the material so if you have broadband and a torrent client such as transmission or utorrent I can send you a private torrent of the cd. and other pdf's i have collected from comreg.
Download Examination Files
There is a canadian study site also that i cannot find that is excellent that i used.
I used this site
HamTests - Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) Exam Training
You can use practice tests from any country in IARU region 1. UK is fairly similar. I do not recommend the usa advanced tests as there are large sections on transistor logic and imperial smith charts.
Stay with countries within the metric system. I do not recommend the arrl handbook because of this. The RSGB(radio society of great britain) handbook is an excellent guide for looking up the meaning of any term in a practice exam, but is not necessary to pass.
Wikipedia.org is as good a resource as any for the explanation of terms(not to forget google)
Here is the syllabus which is the only study guide you need heed. The irts cd is out of date and leaves out important legal sections on the comreg.ie website(which you cannot pass without) and misses sections such as impedance transformation through coax and leaves in irrelevant things you won't be tested on.
http://www.irts.ie/downloads/syllabus-2013.pdf
IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, Irish Radio Transmitters Society
IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, Radio Theory Links
IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, Details of the next Theory Exam
IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, downloads of files relevant to amateur radio
Do not get caught up in learning maths for the tests.I was told you won't need a calculator for the exam when I went in. The hardest I had to do was ohms law.
It is important that you learn bandplans and country calls. They are often over looked and will be tested on.
great site
HamTestOnline - Ham Radio Exam Courses and Practice Tests is an excellent site. I used it for about 2-3 weeks for an hour or two a day and passed my tech and general exams on the same day with a score of 100% each. Some of the older hams lament how easy it is to pass the exams now that you have a question pool to learn from. I'm not going to take sides with those who believe the knowledge of the modern ham operator is severely diluted due to this vs. the ones who believe it was necessary to make becoming a ham easier to save a dying hobby. I just know that things are what they are and new hams should not be looked down upon or ridiculed because they don't know Morse code or can't build a super heterodyne receiver from scratch, that kind of attitude will kill the hobby. Some of these older hams should stop complaining about the current state of ham radio and start mentoring some of the younger guys and pass on their vast knowledge.
HamTestOnline - Ham Radio Exam Courses and Practice Tests is an excellent site. I used it for about 2-3 weeks for an hour or two a day and passed my tech and general exams on the same day with a score of 100% each. Some of the older hams lament how easy it is to pass the exams now that you have a question pool to learn from. I'm not going to take sides with those who believe the knowledge of the modern ham operator is severely diluted due to this vs. the ones who believe it was necessary to make becoming a ham easier to save a dying hobby. I just know that things are what they are and new hams should not be looked down upon or ridiculed because they don't know Morse code or can't build a super heterodyne receiver from scratch, that kind of attitude will kill the hobby. Some of these older hams should stop complaining about the current state of ham radio and start mentoring some of the younger guys and pass on their vast knowledge.
A lot of the new guys don't want to be mentored. After all they scored really high in the exam because they remembered all the answers to the questions and nobody needs to know how to build a dipole anymore. All you need is an internet connection and a credit card. It's all plug and play now if you want.
Note: No I am not one of "those hams" but I have see a definate change in the abilities as well as the attitude of a lot of new hams. It's not all the old hams.
Note: No I am not one of "those hams" but I have see a definate change in the abilities as well as the attitude of a lot of new hams. It's not all the old hams.
no beef here
CK I'm not grouping all old hams together as cantankerous old guys unwilling to help the new guys anymore than I would disagree with your characterization of some of the new hams. There are indeed some of us that want to learn from guys like you. I've posted to this forum several times and you have always been one of the first to reply with some helpful information. The point I was trying to make is that the rules are what they are, I'm not going to refuse to participate out of some sense of justice, just because the current rules make it easier to get your ticket. Ham radio continues to evolve and change because it is indeed a technology based hobby, I might not be able to carry on a qso with you in cw, but I'm learning a lot about and am very interested in the application of software defined radio to the hobby. I hope you continue to be as helpful as you have been and I will continue to appreciate your contributions to my learning
CK I'm not grouping all old hams together as cantankerous old guys unwilling to help the new guys anymore than I would disagree with your characterization of some of the new hams. There are indeed some of us that want to learn from guys like you. I've posted to this forum several times and you have always been one of the first to reply with some helpful information. The point I was trying to make is that the rules are what they are, I'm not going to refuse to participate out of some sense of justice, just because the current rules make it easier to get your ticket. Ham radio continues to evolve and change because it is indeed a technology based hobby, I might not be able to carry on a qso with you in cw, but I'm learning a lot about and am very interested in the application of software defined radio to the hobby. I hope you continue to be as helpful as you have been and I will continue to appreciate your contributions to my learning
I am always willing to help anyone that wants help regardless of their background. I am even willing to help those who don't "need" help even when it is apparent they do. The ones that are hard to help are the ones that say "Screw you. I have a ticket the same as you and I can operate my gear anyway I see fit" and then crank up their D104 they wired up to their 2m rig and commence to overdeviate into the repeater. Some you can help, some don't need help, and there are some that are beyond help.
Must be because of my 2m rig with the D104. Oh wait......you said loud AND clear. That rules out that idea.
Thanks very much , got the email n stuff, looking forward to everything and will enjoy the experiance,
This is something i should of done years ago, But dont know why not,
ps
just getting older,,,,An old friend once said if you dont have a hobby your having an affair, haha i wish lol
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