Once again, I am in the middle of teaching a Technician license class and I notice that some of the exam questions seem off target. I look at the exam through the lens of “what does a licensee need to know to get started at the Technician level?” My approach is more pragmatic than purist. ... Read more

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Ham Radio License Class

Buena Vista, Colorado 

The Technician license is your gateway to the worldwide fun and excitement of Amateur Radio

• Earn your ham radio Technician class license
• Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 meters and higher
• Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
• Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam in class

Schedule:

Sat    May 9th    1-4 pm In-Person Kickoff Session
Wed  May 13     7-8 pm Online – Review session via Zoom
Wed  May 20     7-8 pm Online – Review session via Zoom
Wed  May 27     7-8 pm Online – Review session via Zoom
Sat    May 30     1–3:30 pm In-Person Review and Exam Session
(The exam session is open to everyone.)

Most of the course content will be delivered via the Ham Radio School online system, requiring about 20 hours of independent study by the student. Each chapter includes an eBook reading section, an instructional video, a review summary, a lesson quiz, and optional depth learning media. Our instructors will provide additional instruction and coaching during in-person and online sessions.

The in-person sessions will be at the Casa Del Rio Clubhouse in Buena Vista.
The fee for the class is $29.95.
Advance registration is required by May 1st.

Note: the FCC also charges a $35 license fee to issue your license, payable after you pass the exam
.
To register for the class or to get more information, contact:
Bob Witte KØNR    [email protected]

Sponsored by the Chaffee-Lake Amateur Radio Association

Click here to download Technician Class Flyer – May 2026

The post Technician Class – Buena Vista, CO appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

The Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association is offering an amateur radio license class that includes the Technician (beginner) license material and the General license material. You can pursue Technician, General, or both!

Starts March 1st

• Earn or upgrade your FCC Amateur Radio License.
Earn the FCC Technician license or upgrade to the FCC General license.
• Convenient online learning with personal assistance and demos.
• Learn to operate ham radio for emergency communications.
• Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM radio repeaters in Colorado.
• License exam session included, all learning materials included.

Instruction:

• A 20-hour, paced course of study
• Initial session equipment demonstrations
• Student self-study with the Ham Radio School Technician or General License Course, includes eBook readings, Video instruction, Focused reviews and quizzes, Optional in-depth learning media, Practice exams
• One-on-one personalized support from a knowledgeable and experienced ham radio operator
• Regular review sessions for Q&A, extra help

Schedule:

• Introductory Session, In Person  Sat March 1, 1-4 pm Woodmoor Barn, Monument
• Zoom Instructional Review Sessions: Thursdays 7 to 8 pm
• FCC License Examination Sat March 29, 10:30 am Monument Library
• Get On the Air Session, In Person  Sat April 5, 1-4 pm Woodmoor Barn, Monument

Class registration fee:  $50 Technician or General  ($40 under age 18)
Register for Technician
Register for General

For questions, contact Bob Witte KØNR:  b[email protected]
Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association

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Lately, I’ve encountered many people who apparently believe their radio is a Talisman. What is a Talisman, you say?

Talisman – An object marked with magical signs and believed to confer on its bearer supernatural powers or protection.

These people purchase some kind of two-way radio and have it stored away in their desk or closet, believing that having it will confer communication powers during an emergency. (Not to pick on Baofeng owners, but these radios are almost always a Baofeng UV-5R.)  In many cases, they have the radio programmed with a long list of radio frequencies that have been identified as being good to have during an emergency. These are usually a mix of amateur radio, Family Radio Service, General Mobile Radio Service, Multi-Use Radio Service, search and rescue, and local fire and police frequencies.

Usually, the owner of the Talisman Radio has no real idea of how these frequencies are used. Again, someone told them they are good frequencies to have in a SHTF scenario. They often don’t know how to operate the radio or know what to expect in terms of its communication capabilities. It is simply a magical device that will save them when bad stuff happens.

Sometimes these people take the basic step of getting their amateur radio Technician license. I applaud this decision as it is the first step towards learning about ham radio. It also provides the proper license for legally using the radio on the ham bands. Unfortunately, many of these people just memorize the questions long enough to pass the exam and don’t gain any useful knowledge. This is a fundamental error. A much better approach is to focus on acquiring skills, knowledge, and equipment as part of their emergency preparedness plans. (Serious preppers know and practice this.)

If you are the owner of a Talisman Radio, I urge you to build your skills and get your ham license (if you don’t already have it.) There are many good license books available and the Ham Radio School online course is an excellent approach to learning this material. If you encounter Talisman Radio owners, please encourage them to get some training and learn how to use the radio. Don’t offer to program their radio with a bunch of frequencies they are not licensed to use and that may cause considerable trouble in the frequency spectrum. Encourage and help them but don’t enable their dependence on a Talisman Radio that will only let them down.

Training, training, training.
That’s what I think. What’s your opinion?

73 Bob K0NR

The post The Talisman Radio appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

The Chaffee-Lake Amateur Radio Association is offering an introductory ham radio license class in June. We will make good use of the Ham Radio School online Technician course, supplemented with in-person instruction and mentoring.

The Amateur (Ham) Radio Technician license is your gateway to the worldwide fun and excitement of Amateur Radio

• Earn your ham radio Technician class license
• Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam in class
• 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

Schedule

Sat   June 1    1-3 pm In-Person Kickoff Session
Wed June 5    7-8 pm Online – Review session via Zoom
Wed June 12  7-8 pm Online – Review session via Zoom
Sat   June 15  1–3:30 pm In-Person Review and Exam Session

Most of the course content will be delivered via the Ham Radio School online system, requiring about 15 hours of independent study by the student. The content is delivered in bite-sized video lessons, followed by online quizzes to check your knowledge. Our instructors will provide additional instruction and coaching during in-person and online sessions. The in-person sessions will be at Casa Del Rio Clubhouse in Buena Vista, Colorado.

Register now

The fee for the class is $29.95.
(The FCC also charges a $35 license fee to issue your license, payable after you pass the exam.)

To register for the class or to get more information, contact:
Bob Witte KØNR
[email protected]

The post Technician License Class – Buena Vista, CO appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

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
[email protected]

The post All New Technician License Class – Monument, CO appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

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. 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.

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.

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.

The post Ham Radio School Does Video! appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.