2022 Offerings
Ham Class for the FCC Amateur Radio "Technician" License
This class consists of a full day review of the questions asked on the FCC Amateur Radio Technician Exam. Technician is the FCC entry-level license for amatuer operators.
The instructors review the 400+ questions in the FCC Technician License Exam question pool (which covers ten topics, and 35 sub-topics). The actual FCC exam consists of 35 questions, one randomly selected from each of the 35 sub-topics. You need to get at least 26 correct answers to get your lifetime license (issued for 10 year periods at a time, renewable on-line without a new exam).
Los Gatos is no longer in Covid lockdown, so the one-day class will resume being offered quarterly as an in-person class, We try to schedule each Ham Cram for the Saturday immediately following Santa Clara County Fire CERT Class graduations. The next CERT Academy graduates on Nov 5, 2022.
Scheduled in-person Ham Cram classes:
September 24, 2022
November 12, 2022
The flyer for the September 24 class can be downloaded from the FILES section at the bottom of this page (to be stored in the next few days).
To sign up, go to EventBrite.com and search for Ham Cram in Los Gatos (to be listed in the next few days). If you encounter problems signing up, send a note to: K6PLH@yahoo.com or text to 408-827-5127.
As the Brochure points out, you will need an FCC Registration Number (FRN) before the exam. You get one by registering on the FCC FRN webpage. Select the REGISTER "button". The first step will be to create an on-line account within the FCC servers.
Practice Exams
You should plan on taking at least one online practice exam before the class, Recognize that you are likely to answer fewer than 10 of the 35 questions correctly because you haven't taken the class or studied the information. The purpose of taking the practice exam is to get comfortable with taking the exam and knowing what you need to know to get a license. Remember, we are only trying to teach you enough to pass the exam. Your real knowledge will come from using your radio and maybe participating in our various events.
The FCC Technician Class license is perfect for Emergency Communications activity. The more advanced licenses are valuable for purposes in addition to Emergency Communications (such as reaching national and international distances).
Directed Self-Study for the FCC Amateur Radio "Technician" License
For those with good motivation and study skills, who want to get the Technician License NOW, download the one-page flyer (near the bottom of this page) entitled "Guided Self-Study FCC Amateur Radio Technician license" (to be stored shortly).
Almost everyone who has taken practice exams has passed the actual exam at the end of the Ham Cram class, Your comfort level and motivation to absorb the information will increase as a result of taking (a) practice exam(s).
If you have the time and are curious, you can see the full Question Pool below from which the actual FCC exam questions are taken. Many of the questions may scare you, but DON'T worry, you will learn enough in class to PASS, even if you don't believe it now.
We review EVERY question in the FCC Technician Question Pool during the Ham Cram class.
This is a link to Practice Exams and Study materials (flash cards) for the Technician license.
This is a link to the full 2022-2026 question pool for the Technician license.
These are the FCC Volunteer Examiners who administer the FCC Exam for our Amateur Technician Ham Cram class (at the end of the class). If you prefer self-study, you can take the exam from them online, or take the exam from them on-line after the Ham Cram class instead of at the end of the class.
CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Training
Santa Clara County Fire offers CERT training 6 times a year in different locations within Santa Clara County. Here are the details.