so i've been interested in ham radio for a while now, my neighbor has a big antenna setup and it got me curious. i looked into it a bit and apparently you need a license? i dont really know what the difference is between the technician and general and whatever else there is. like do i need to pass multiple tests or just one to get started and actually use a radio.

also is there a good place to study for free because i dont really want to spend a lot of money before i even know if this is something ill stick with. someone at work mentioned there was a website with practice tests but i forgot what it was called. any help would be appreciated im kind of lost on where to even start

okay so the good news is you really only need the Technician license to get started and that's just one test, 35 questions multiple choice and you need 26 right to pass. its pretty manageable honestly. the General and Amateur Extra are the ones above that and you dont need those right away, plenty of people stick with Tech for years.

for free study stuff HamStudy.org is probably the best place, it uses spaced repetition so it kind of figures out which questions you keep getting wrong and drills you on those more. also hamstudy has an app if you want to do it on your phone. the actual question pool is public so everything on the real test is literally in that pool, no surprises. i'd say do like 20-30 minutes a day for a couple weeks and you'll be fine. find a local club too because they often run free licensing classes and the exam sessions are usually pretty cheap, like 15 bucks or sometimes free depending on the club.

i just passed my tech about 3 months ago so i was literally in your same spot not long ago. i used the hamstudy site that people always recommend and also the ARRL technician book but honestly the book felt like overkill for just passing the test. the practice tests on hamstudy were enough for me. once i was consistently hitting like 85% on the practice exams i felt ready and i passed first try.

one thing that helped me was not trying to memorize everything and actually understand why the answers are what they are, especially the electrical formulas and the band stuff. it just sticks better that way. good luck, it's not as hard as it seems