so i've been kind of interested in ham radio for a while now, my neighbor does it and it looks really cool but also kind of confusing. i decided i want to actually get my technician license but i have no idea where to start. like do i need to memorize a ton of stuff? is there an actual class or do people just study on their own? i looked up the FCC stuff and it was kind of overwhelming. also someone told me the test has like 35 questions and you need to get 26 right, is that still accurate or did they change it? just looking for some kind of direction i guess, any help appreciated

yeah that question count is still right as far as i know, 35 questions, 74% to pass. honestly the technician exam is not that bad at all, most people are surprised by how manageable it is once they actually sit down with the material. the question pool is public so you're not guessing at what might show up, everything comes from that pool. i'd point you to HamStudy.org first, its free and it kind of learns which questions you're struggling with and drills you on those more. theres also the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual which some people like as an actual book to read through but i think a lot of folks just use the online tools now and do fine. give yourself a few weeks of casual studying, like 20-30 minutes a day, and you should be in good shape. find a local club too because they usually run VE sessions and sometimes even free license classes which helps a lot if you like having someone explain things in person

i just passed my tech last month so pretty fresh on this lol. i used hamstudy pretty much exclusively and it took me maybe 3 weeks studying on my phone whenever i had a few minutes. the electrical stuff tripped me up at first, like the ohms law questions, but honestly if you just do enough practice tests it starts to click. dont stress too much about fully understanding everything right away, some of it makes more sense once you actually have a radio and start using it. the test itself felt easier than the practice exams to me which was a relief