so ive been interested in ham radio for a while now, mostly because my neighbor does it and it seems pretty cool, but i honestly have no idea where to even begin with the license thing. i know theres different levels or classes or whatever but i dont really understand the difference between them or which one i should go for first. do i need to know morse code? someone told me you dont anymore but i wasnt sure if that was still true. also how hard is the test actually, like is it the kind of thing you can study for in a week or does it take months. any help would be appreciated i feel like im going in circles just googling stuff

ok so the good news is you dont need morse code anymore, they dropped that requirement back in 2007 so youre fine there. the license levels are Technician, General, and Amateur Extra — Technician is the entry level one and thats where everyone starts. the test is 35 questions multiple choice and you need to get 26 right to pass, and honestly its not that bad at all.

the best thing i can tell you is just use HamStudy.org or the Gordon West book, a lot of people swear by the book but i personally just drilled flashcards on hamstudy for like two weeks and passed no problem. the question pool is public so what you study is literally what shows up on the test, theres no trick questions or anything. just put in maybe 30-45 mins a day for a couple weeks and you should be good. look up a VE session near you through the ARRL website when youre feeling ready, some clubs even do walk-in testing which is nice if youre the type that just wants to get it done

passed my tech last spring after about 10 days of studying so it definitely doesnt take months or anything like that. i used the HamStudy app on my phone mostly just during lunch breaks at work. one thing i'd say is dont just memorize answers without understanding anything, like for the electrical stuff and the basic antenna theory it actually helps to get the concept a little because some of the questions are worded differently than what you might have memorized. but even if you just grind the flash cards you'll probably be fine honestly