KF5HSY here and just wanted to say hello to the HAMS, working on a new project and thought I's say hello. Working on getting a BBS setup and one day getting it radio ready, so hello.

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Dthomasdigital wrote to All <=-

KF5HSY here and just wanted to say hello to the HAMS, working on a new project and thought I's say hello. Working on getting a BBS setup and
one day getting it radio ready, so hello.

Cool.
I haven't really ever connected to a bbs over the air waves.
I suspect I'd have to do something like packet over hf or something
since vhf is short range.


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Re: Just saying Hello to the
By: Khronos to Dthomasdigital on Mon Jan 19 2026 06:30 pm

I suspect I'd have to do something like packet over hf or something
since vhf is short range.

There are digipeaters!

Packet BBSes are usually a bit different from 'dialup' BBSes. Usually just run on a TNC but sometimes on a PC, with very short and minimal menus and features.

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KF5HSY here and just wanted to say hello to the HAMS, working
on a new project and thought I's say hello. Working on getting
a BBS setup and one day getting it radio ready, so hello.

Greetings from N5VLZ in Arkansas.

Daryl

... Suit of Armor: A knightgown.
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Packet BBSes are usually a bit different from 'dialup' BBSes.
Usually just run on a TNC but sometimes on a PC, with very
short and minimal menus and features.

The NS2B BBS in Penfield, New York, has both RF and telnet access,
and they have a weekly packet net most Monday evenings.

Daryl, N5VLZ

... Astronauts are out to launch.
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Re: Just saying Hello to the
By: Daryl Stout to phigan on Tue Jan 27 2026 10:11 pm

How long does it typically take to get this license? To become a ham radio op that is.

James,
telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
IRC www.irccloud.com/irc/ricksbbs/channel/ricksbbs

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On 30 Jan 2026, James Goble said the following...

Re: Just saying Hello to the
By: Daryl Stout to phigan on Tue Jan 27 2026 10:11 pm

How long does it typically take to get this license? To become a ham
radio op that is.

a technician's license is really easy to get .. and in fact a lot of people
do get them (perhaps unwanted lol) because of insistance from an SO or someone else.

there are only 35 questions.. some of the questions are *extremely* easy. and they're multiple choice. some of the choices are obviously wrong, leaving you with something like a 50/50 shot on a lot of them.

if you know the FCC is responsible for radio communications in the USA and you get that question, you've got one right answer..

by extension, if the FCC is responsible for licensing, from whom do you think you'll get an email to download your printable license from? (the FCC doesn't mail anything anymore.. they're cheap as heck)

some of them you might not know off hand but are easy to remember.. something happened just before they sent you that email.. they put your license in the ULS database.. so what proves you have a license, if they don't care whether you have a printed license or not? when you search the ULS database and your license is there :)

there are a lot of questions about the rules, but you'll probably be interested in them anyways.. like where beacons are allowed (if you can hear the beacons that means there's probably good radio propagation toward/from where the beacon is, etc) or how repeater frequencies are chosen (you have things like repeater councils that coordinate them so they don't interfere with each other.. and you might get to know a lot of those people or want to run a repeater yourself someday)

anyways.. imo the time isn't very long. if you mostly retain stuff you read, it's not very complicated where i think you'll be studying that hard. they offer ham-in-a-day classes at hamfests and fully expect you to pass.

you'll probably wait longer for the license to show up in the database than you did studying..

Also, try to avoid paying somebody to take the test if you can:

https://larc-vec.org/home.php

it really rubs me the wrong way when your first interaction with your local hams is handing some dude $40 for no reason

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James,

How long does it typically take to get this license? To become
a ham radio op that is.

It depends how much time you want to take to study the material.
You can't just walk in off the street without some preparation. You
will be tested on rules, regulations, frequencies, propagation, RF
safety, and electronic theory (including Ohm's Law).

In the United States and its territories, the National Council Of
Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) generate a Question Pool,
in the public domain, of a set of questions devised by licensed ham
radio operators of these classes:

General -- for the Technician exam
Advanced -- for the Technician or General exam
Amateur Extra -- for the Technician, General, or Amateur Extra exam.

The Question Pools change every 4 years, depending on changes with
rules, technology, etc. There are also schematic diagrams, where you
have to identify certain components. The pools have to contain at
least 10 times the number of questions on an exam.

The Technician and General exam have 35 questions, and the Amateur
Extra exam has 50 questions. So at minimum, if you decide to go for
all 3 in one sitting (it can be done, but it's not easy), you have
a minimum of 1200 questions (multiple choice) to know...and the total
could be over 1700 questions.

I personally recommend HamTestOnline (hamradiolicenseexam.com).
While a fee based course (6 month subscription), they offer a money
back guarantee if you fail the exam. Back in 2007, in studying 2
hours a day for 2 weeks (you will burn out if you do any more than
that), I went from Technician to General in 14 days, and from General
to Amateur Extra 13 days later.

They cover not only the questions, but the concepts...so you are
learning something, and not just memorizing answers. When you get to
80 percent studying, start taking practice tests. When you start
scoring 85 percent or better on a regular basis, you are ready to
take the exam, and will likely pass.

Yet, as noted above, if after adequate study and practice tests,
you still fail the exam, send them proof of the failure, and they
will cancel your subscription, and refund your money.

With "internet radio" (for those like myself with medical/health
issues, or for those with antenna prohibitions), you can still talk
to hams around the world with just a Technician Class license.

Daryl Stout, N5VLZ, Volunteer Examiner Team Leader
University Of Arkansas At Little Rock Ham Radio Club

... Do you, Ham, take Radio, to be your lawfully wedded spouse??
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Re: How long does it take?
By: Mortar to James Goble on Fri Jan 30 2026 09:28 pm

questions that you should've already learned. Hams have little patience for such people.

Those are the jerks you don't want to talk to anyway ;).

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Re: How long does it take?
By: Daryl Stout to James Goble on Tue Feb 03 2026 05:47 pm

I personally recommend HamTestOnline (hamradiolicenseexam.com).
While a fee based course (6 month subscription), they offer a money

Do you get a cutback from these guys? If not, I think you should mention the free alternative, hamstudy.org.

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Re: How long does it take?
By: phigan to Daryl Stout on Mon Feb 09 2026 08:17 am

I would recommend Jack Tiley's FREE website: https://www.ad7fo.com. His study guides are the best there are anywhere, paid or free.

It would help if you had your RadioTelephone (repairman) license already or even a Certifided Electronics Technician license. I got mine a few decades ago when they offered 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class repair licenses. Now they are just RadioTelephone licenses.

Whatever course you take, study the material and not the question/answer. When the question has a formula, know how to transpose the formula in every manner. Know all normal formulas by heart. I made flash cards and studyied for weeks just the forulas.

Cheers,
KD4LLC

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Re: How long does it take?
By: phigan to Daryl Stout on Mon Feb 09 2026 08:17:40

Do you get a cutback from these guys?

"Kickback".

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