FCC Part 97
Jun 14, 2022
The Federal Communications Commission, as we noted in previous posts regulates not only Ham radio, but all of the radio spectrum available. In almost all cases of radio services, a license is required. Some requires testing, like Commercial Radio-telephony and Amateur.
A ships license for non-commercial boats for HF requires a license, but no testing. There are other examples, but we won’t cover those now.
To be able to get a license you must demonstrate knowledge of the rules and regulations for Amateur Radio. The law governing this is C.F.R 40, Part 97. (Side note, C.F.R. 40, Pat 95 concerns other radio services, such as Citizens Band, Ground Mobile Radio Service and Family Radio Service).
The full text of CFR 40, Part 95 maybe found by clicking this sentence.
Here is an excerpt:
§ 97.1 Basis and purpose.
The rules and regulations in this part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles:
(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
(b) Continuation and extension of the amateur’s proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.
(c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communication and technical phases of the art.
(d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.
(e) Continuation and extension of the amateur’s unique ability to enhance international goodwill.
97.1 a – Emergency communications. One of our main purposes, to help authorities, among others, by providing communications in situations where resources might be limited, or operators are limited, or in circumstances where emergency services might be over whelmed with fighting fires or other emergencies limiting response time, or exhausted crews.
This is nothing to sneeze at either. I’ve personally operated radios during major fires in Colorado, assisting both Fire and Emergency Medical services with man power, running radios, passing message traffic when they had few if any radio operators capable of doing the job we do. I have operated both inside Emergency Operations Centers and out in the field near the fires. I have personally operated during the Pikes Peak Hill climb (a race to the top of the mountain every year) and bicycle marathons assisting with Medical services when we had bikers “fall out” from exhaustion, injury or other reasons.
This part is very important to our writing here, and something you need to take to heart. You might be able to pick up a radio, key the transmitter and talk, but can you expertly pass a message you received over the phone, verbatim, without changing the meaning and still pass the full text of the message cogently and so the receiver understands you?
This is part and parcel of the training you do as an Amateur. You get involved in message traffic passing to assist you in EmComm. As a Prepper, you will want this skill if you are ever pressed into service to assist someone as a Ham.
Test Questions
By the FCC’s regulations, they help you get your license. Here is how they do it.
The FCC provides for, and the Volunteer Examiners maintain, question pools for all the license classes. There are 10 times as many test questions in the pool as you will receive on each test.
You may find a link here: Question Pools (ARRL Web site)
What many find useful is studying from a book or manual, and then reading through similar questions and understanding how they are asked, what they ask and what responses you will want to use to get the question correct.
The Technician License will present to you 35 questions, asking about technical aspects, safety and regulations.
The General test asks you 35 questions, similar to the Tech license, but much more detailed and technical.
The Extra requires you to take a test with 50 questions, asking about technical, safety and regulations. There is a lot of math, formulas, and technical questions. You will need to demonstrate a wide variety of knowledge to earn this license, including about antennas, modes of operation, electronic and radio frequency theory, among other things.
The America Radio Relay League (more on them at a later time) has many resources and books you may purchase from them for each of the classes of licenses. I would urge you to visit the ARRL web site and look into some of the study guides they offer. After you receive your license, they have other resources for the new (and old) Amateur such as guides on Radio operation, antennas and other helpful manuals. They put out, once a year, the “ARRL Amateur Radio Operators Handbook”.
This massive tome contains new and old information about radios, operations, new modes, old modes, antennas, building techniques and much, much more. I used to collect them ages ago, but gave away all my manuals when I moved aboard our ship, as space was limited.
As you might have noticed, we try to keep these little entries relatively short, provide some pertinent information and move on, so as not to overwhelm you.
As we proceed, we will be putting together some “Lessons” to help you to understand more of the technical aspects for testing. You are urged to start at the beginning. If you must, ask a question in the comments. We will try to respond to them. Your largest asset in getting your license though, is YOU, and YOUR brain. Not me. Not others. We can answer questions, even teach classes, but you must be motivated yourself, by yourself, and for yourself to master the information. No one can take your test for you, or get that license for you.
In the end, it’s all up to you.
So – hang in there and start your plan on how you will proceed.
Until the next entry…
73
Rick, N0NJY
