My Novice license and Upgrading
 

I obtained my Noice license back in the early 80's. I kept renewing
my ticket, but along the way I physically lost the license after a
break from ham radio and a move.

So a few years ago I contacted the FCC and now have, in my possession,
my Novice ticket from 1998-2002, and my current ticket from 2002 to
2012.

I am planning on upgrading to Technician class. Assuming I pass the
test, will either of my Novice tickets grant me "Technician with HF
privileges"? And when I eventually upgrade to General, will that also
satisfy my General code requirement?

Thanks.
Erik

Erik wrote in message ...
I obtained my Noice license back in the early 80's. I kept renewing
my ticket, but along the way I physically lost the license after a
break from ham radio and a move.

So a few years ago I contacted the FCC and now have, in my possession,
my Novice ticket from 1998-2002, and my current ticket from 2002 to
2012.

I am planning on upgrading to Technician class. Assuming I pass the
test, will either of my Novice tickets grant me "Technician with HF
privileges"? And when I eventually upgrade to General, will that also
satisfy my General code requirement?

Thanks.
Erik

Yes the possession of the Novice license will mean that you will have the
"Tech with HF" privileges. Those HF privileges will be the same as the
Novice license. However what you gain are complete VHF/UHF and higher
privileges.

When you upgrade to General, your Novice license will satisfy your General
code requirement so don't lose it.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

In article , Erik Erik writes:

I obtained my Noice license back in the early 80's. I kept renewing
my ticket, but along the way I physically lost the license after a
break from ham radio and a move.

So a few years ago I contacted the FCC and now have, in my possession,
my Novice ticket from 1998-2002, and my current ticket from 2002 to
2012.

That's excellent, Erik!

I am planning on upgrading to Technician class. Assuming I pass the
test, will either of my Novice tickets grant me "Technician with HF
privileges"?

Yes. You will have those privileges as long as you retain the license
documents.

And when I eventually upgrade to General, will that also
satisfy my General code requirement?

Yes again - even if the Novice license itself has expired.

--

I suggest that you try the General and Extra tests the same time you go for the
Technician. Besides being good practice, the VE fee entitles you to try them
each once. You might wind up with a General or even an Extra, and not have to
worry about keeping the old license documents around.

73 es GL de Jim, N2EY

Thanks Dee & Jim, that's what I was hoping to hear. Looking forward
to taking and passing my Tech test. Not sure if I'll try to tackle
more exams in the same day, but it's a thought...!

Erik

In article , Erik Erik writes:

Not sure if I'll try to tackle
more exams in the same day, but it's a thought...!

Try them anyway, even if just for practice.

btw, practice exams for all three license classes are available at various
websites. I take them every few months just to stay in practice.

73 de Jim, N2EY

On 06 Nov 2004 13:52:30 GMT, PAMNO (N2EY) wrote:


btw, practice exams for all three license classes are available at various
websites. I take them every few months just to stay in practice.

I've been using the exams at eham.net. Do you think those are
generally representative of the material on the real exam? I've been
passing those without too much trouble so far.

Erik

Erik wrote in message ...
On 06 Nov 2004 13:52:30 GMT, PAMNO (N2EY) wrote:


btw, practice exams for all three license classes are available at
various
websites. I take them every few months just to stay in practice.

I've been using the exams at eham.net. Do you think those are
generally representative of the material on the real exam? I've been
passing those without too much trouble so far.

Erik


They are representative as they take a random selection of questions in the
correct ratio from the question pool. However, since the question pool is
several hundred questions, there is an infinite number of combinations.
I.e. you won't see the same combination of questions on your test as you do
on the sample tests.

If you know and understand the material, such as how to calculate a dipole
length rather than just memorizing the length for the specific question, you
will have no problem.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

I suggest that you try the General and Extra tests the same time you go for the
Technician. Besides being good practice, the VE fee entitles you to try them
each once. You might wind up with a General or even an Extra, and not have to
worry about keeping the old license documents around.


That's similar to what I did a few years ago. When restructuring
happened back in 2000, I had a Tech plus (with the old style tech,
general written and novice code). I had the option of doing
a paperwork upgrade to a general, but I took and passed the
extra writtens. That locked in credit for 5WPM I had with
the old tech plus. Which I passed at an FCC field office,
I had to copy and send code. With a straight key they had
mounted to a desk. That's back in the olden days of
50 cent gas...

In article , Erik Erik writes:

On 06 Nov 2004 13:52:30 GMT, PAMNO (N2EY) wrote:


btw, practice exams for all three license classes are available at various
websites. I take them every few months just to stay in practice.

I've been using the exams at eham.net. Do you think those are
generally representative of the material on the real exam? I've been
passing those without too much trouble so far.

IIRC, the practice exams on eham use the actual Q&A that appear on the real
exam. So if you can easily pass the practice exams, there's a very good chance
you'll pass the real thing.

73 es GL de Jim, N2EY