bruinlad
Adventurist
I just picked an exam date with plenty of time to study. Devoted one section per day and took the practice exam for that section plus whatever section I did the day before and so on and so forth until I got everything right. This way, I can get a feel for how I'm doing before moving on. On the final section I did the entire tech practice exam. Look for review materials that allow you to show the correct answer by itself so as not to confuse yourself. Feel free to read and understand why it is the correct answer. You will also find that some cases the answer is self-explanatory.
The most important thing is getting you on the air, where you can participate in certain nets, field day, etc. And if you have any desire later on to take on a ham related project, say a go box, an antenna, or say a node, maybe even your own repeater, then you can always go more in depth. I would suggest finding a good elmer willing to mentor you on these things unless you want to go it alone.
On the subject of cheap radios, I've always wanted to try them but I've had a lot of luck w/ used Kenwoods, Yeasus and Icoms mostly through the qrz.com classifieds, that I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Getting a cheap radio to start with is not a bad idea until you really know what features you want and need. Like in my case since I do aprs, all my ht's and mobile have built in tnc's. A good used older ht is the older Kenwood TH-d7ag you usually see them go for less than a buck fifty ($150). Just my two cents. Good luck to you.
The most important thing is getting you on the air, where you can participate in certain nets, field day, etc. And if you have any desire later on to take on a ham related project, say a go box, an antenna, or say a node, maybe even your own repeater, then you can always go more in depth. I would suggest finding a good elmer willing to mentor you on these things unless you want to go it alone.
On the subject of cheap radios, I've always wanted to try them but I've had a lot of luck w/ used Kenwoods, Yeasus and Icoms mostly through the qrz.com classifieds, that I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Getting a cheap radio to start with is not a bad idea until you really know what features you want and need. Like in my case since I do aprs, all my ht's and mobile have built in tnc's. A good used older ht is the older Kenwood TH-d7ag you usually see them go for less than a buck fifty ($150). Just my two cents. Good luck to you.
