The Salem West Stake is sponsoring a free course to prepare you to obtain the Technician Class Amateur Radio License.

Who can attend: Anyone age 14 or older. You don’t have to be in the Salem West Stake, and you don’t have to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (There is no minimum age for obtaining a license, but it’s hard to keep up with pace with younger children in the class.)

When and where will the class be held? Thursday evenings March 20 to May 8 (8 weeks) from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the downtown chapel’s Relief Society room (60 S Main St, Salem, UT).

What do I need to know to do OK in the class? Some basic math, including fundamental algebra, sines and cosines, and powers of 10. We also use logarithms a little, but we’ll expect you to have forgotten everything about them.

Will I need to learn Morse Code? No! Morse Code is no longer required for any amateur licenses.

Do I have to buy any books or other study materials? No. We’ll provide class slides you can view online and give you links to other free online resources. We will use the Ham Study programs for practice. Ham Study is free online or the Ham Study app can be downloaded for Android or iPhone for $3.99. You will need to do some study outside of class. I recommend doing a little study daily.

Is radio equipment expensive? While you can pay a lot for equipment, most hams get started with a good hand-held transceiver for around $20.

What can I do with a Technician Class License? The radio frequencies used by Technician Class hams are primarily for line-of-sight communications. By accessing repeaters, you will be able to talk directly to most of Utah County. Most operators use their radios for local person-to-person communications, for emergency communication, and for volunteer services like parades and marathons. There are many possibilities. 

Do I have to take a test to get my license? Yes. Test questions come from a pool of published questions, so you will have seen each question before you take the exam. We recommend taking the test at Eagle Mountain because the tests there are free (the license does cost $35 for ten years), are given quarterly, and are well organized. The instructor is a Volunteer Examiner for that group.

Who is the instructor? Bro. Larry Rees from the Salem Heights Ward. He is a retired physics professor and an experienced teacher. He likes to tinker with all sorts of radio things. He currently serves as the Salem West Stake Emergency Communications Specialist.

How do I sign up? Just email salemwestec@gmail.com. Please contact us soon so we can plan ahead.