A Course in Practical Skills for New Licensees

David Haycock KI6AWR with members of the Radio Club of Alameda has developed a curriculum that is focused on practical skills to get new licensees comfortable with getting on the air.  This curriculum was developed specifically for trainees joining the Alamada CERT team. He shares the story, lessons learned and two versions of the course syllabus with us. The syllabus walks through the topics of simplex and repeaters, programming radios and simplex and repeater protocols.  Students are also required to participate in a weekly net. 

8 Hour Course

3 Hour Course

Though Morse code requirements have been eliminated there is still strong interest in becoming proficient at CW operation.

You can refer students who are interested in learning and practicing Morse code to our online resource page for informaiton about learning strategies and practice tools.

Some lesson plans for instructing Morse code are provided here.

Here are some popular code practice oscillator projects:

• W8WG's Cheaper Beeper
• ARRL's NYT Code Practice Oscillator
• N4UAU's World's Smallest Code Practice Oscillator

Make sure your students get started right! Review this universal, international guide to operating ethics and operating procedures for all radio amateurs here.

Getting Started with Ham Radio is an ARRL publication title from ARRL author, Steve Ford WB8IMY that provides valuable information for new radio amateurs.  Instructors may want to incorporate some of this material in licensing classroom curriculum or provide it as part of a follow up class after students receive their license. The publication is available from the ARRL online store.  Much of the content is also published on the ARRL website at www.arrl.org/get-on-the-air.

Choosing a Radio

A supplement on Choosing a Ham Radio is included in the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual.  It is also published on the ARRL website at: www.arrl.org/buying-your-first-radio along with a spreadsheet to compare radio features.