Useful Links
- ARES VA
Home page for Virginia ARES section and ARRL-VA.
- ARES VA News - Regularly-updated page with information about local emergency preparedness issues.
- ARRL Web
The national association for amateur radio
AARC Education Committee
These pages will provide information related to education and training for prospective and current hams. Please send your suggestions or requirements to k4the [at] arrl [dot ] net. (This is a work in progress - Updated 3-31-08)
THE AMATEUR RADIO RELAY LEAGUE has all the books and other training media you might need to meet various goals.
- Help For Beginners
- The ARRL Ham Radio License Manuals and other training media are available.
- And many other educational, training and self-study resources are available at the ARRL bookstore.
- The ARRL Certification and Continuing Education courses include an Emergency Communication series. The Technical Series include such topics as Antenna Modeling, Design & Construction; Propagation; Analog & Digital Electronics; RFI; Digital commo; Electronics, etc. See this link for more details
On-Line Exams / Training are available at
- QRZ (free) and Ham Test Online (not free) and reviews of their system are at eHam and also from the ARRL (linked above).
- There are many types of Ham Radio education, training and exam preparation resources. A listing of other materials and consumer reviews by fellow hams is available here.
- The W5YI Group and Gordon West have a comprehensive listing of books and other training media. Their Primary Mission is to assist individuals in obtaining FCC-issued Amateur and Commercial Radio Operator licenses. You can find reviews of some of these products here and here. Many of their products are similar to those available from the ARRL. Some prefer these and others prefer the ARRL guides, so read the reviews.
- You can download free the official Technician, General and Extra question pools from the NCVEC (National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators). Note that we do NOT recommend using these or any commercial equivalents- to just memorize answers. They could, however, be useful in reviewing the material after using conventional learning techniques or in final preparation for an exam. Note that some of the on-line testing sites or other computer trainers will keep score for you and repeat questions in areas of weakness, which these question pools will not do for you.
Handicap
- The Courage HANDI-HAM System has been helping persons with disabilities for over 40 years. The Courage Handi-Ham System provides tools for people with disabilities to learn Amateur Radio and technology skills and to earn their Amateur Radio licenses. They teach technology to people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments. Ham radio, computing and more can be learned at home through the use of cassette tape books, media on disc or at one of their residential camps. More info available at their website
Morse Code
- Real hams do Morse code, as many CW operators say. Even though it is not required for licensing anymore, it is a very useful skill for contesting, DX and getting through in emergencies when nothing else does. It is also an intellectual and enlightening challenge. The Koch and Farnsworth methods of learning are arguably the best. A highly rated freeware with extensive features by G4FON can be downloaded from here and is reviewed here.
PEER INFORMATION
There are numerous hams that have many years of experience and/or knowledge in specialized areas who have constructed very informative web sites that can be used for assistance, research, self-study and just plain enjoyment. A few of them are listed here. Please feel free to give us your feedback and suggest other best-of-the-best links.
