Im looking for a send and receive set,
not worried about a liscense
I'm afraid I won't be much help as I don't have any HF gear.
However, I will say that practice using one's gear is important. Buying a radio and expecting to use it in an emergency without getting a license with which to practice operating is a lot like buying a gun, reading the owner's manual, never shooting it, sticking it in a closet and expecting to use it when the need arises. While you do not need a license to simply listen and I will agree that getting a license isn't the only way to learn about radio communications, you will not be able to transmit legally to get an idea of how your gear actually works if you need to contact someone in an emergency. The information you learn in conjunction with licensing lays the framework for your understanding of how radio communications work in general, such as radio wave propagation, being a responsible operator (not producing interference for others using the bands), etc.
I am interested in getting the beginners license at some point...I bought a boefeng(?) hand held unit but have no idea how to use it currently... I would like to know all of the basics & begin the process to get licensed sometime this year.
if anyone has any advice I would appreciate it! Justin
I recently got my license and I used the ARRL study guides that I got from my public or university library. However, ARRL (American Radio Relay League) study books are a bit long and oftentimes the library will have outdated books. The information in the outdated books is still mostly good, but the question pool at the back of the book will not be in current use. As to the length of the books, there are other resources out there that are shorter, such as the no-nonsense study guides put out by KB6NU:
http://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/ I read the technician (first license level) no-nonsense study guide and it was useful for learning the answers to the questions in the pool, but it didn't give as much context for the information as the ARRL study books. I tend to remember information better if I understand where it came from, rather than just trying to remember unconnected facts and figures. Given that your location says you're just outside of Omaha, the Omaha public library has the newest edition of the technician study guide put out by the ARRL:
http://omaha.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1710874060_the_arrl_ham_radio_license_manualAll of the questions for the exams are online (or can be found in the ARRL study books). I used practice exams online at qrz.com There are other free ham practice tests online (google for them), but I used QRZ because it keeps track of how many questions you've answered correctly from the entire pool. I took practice tests until I had answered each of the questions correctly and was getting 85%+ consistently on the practice exams.
You can find an exam session here:
http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session This is what you should bring to the exam:
http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session As to #4, I would suggest going to the FCC website before you plan to take the exam and register for a FRN (FCC Registration Number) so you can put the FRN on your testing paperwork instead of your social security number:
https://apps.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do The exam cost is $15. If you pass your exam, you can take the next level exam for no extra charge in the same session. I am cheap and took all three license level exams in the same session.
