CARS is no longer offers license classes due to the many scheduling conflicts we have encountered with prospective students. However, do not dismay! There is now so much free and low-cost material on the internet that we are providing this page to highlight the resources our instructors have found to be the most helpful.
Licensing starts with the Technician class license and progresses to General and Extra class levels. The exams must be taken in that order. There is no time limit on progressing to the next level, it can be done the same day or years later.
Info on all three license classes can be found here:
http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed
For book learners we recommend the ARRL license manuals. They are a good reference to keep after you’ve passed the license class you’ve studied for. ARRL or Amazon sells them. If you buy from Amazon make sure it is the current edition.
This is the ARRL link for the licensing study material:
http://www.arrl.org/shop/Licensing-Education-and-Training/
If you want to buy from Amazon please make sure you have the correct edition as listed on the ARRL site. The question pool changes every three years and the newest edition is not always what Amazon will show you in the Amazon search.
For the Technician, the ARRL youtube channel has a complete video course by Dave Casler KE0OG, which follows the ARRL Technician license manual section by section. It can be found by following this link:
Dave Casler Technician Course – YouTube
is the link for the complete playlist.
For succeeding license classes from ARRL you must be a member to get Dave Casler’s General and Extra class video courses.
Some youtube general class courses we’ve found are:
5/9 Radio has a Youtube channel which reviews ALL of the questions for Tech and General – you can find their playlist here –
https://www.youtube.com/@59radio22/playlists
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Other Resources
HamTestOnline is a great paid solution to learn and pass your test. Affordable and they guarantee results:
http://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/
They offer a class for each license level. Especially useful for General and Extra. The cost is about the same as buying printed license manuals.
Hamstudy.org offers exam prep and resources for VE teams.
Another free offering for the Technician class is the handy cram guide available from KB6NU, who also offers a paid series for the higher classes:
No-Nonsense Technician Class License Study Guide
One of the more useful sites for reviewing the actual questions that are on the exam is:
https://www.qrz.com/hamtest/
where you can find interactive study tests, as well as all the test questions. I recommend that you are passing sample tests at 85-90% before taking your exam. If you are really gung-ho, you can review all potential questions in the pool at QRZ so there are no surprises on the test.
Best of luck,
Lowell NY4D
CARS Education Committee