Want to Get Involved in Amateur Radio?

​

The HAM Radio license, it seems, is one of the biggest prepping mysteries. Communications will be very important in any disaster, be it a local disaster, a regional event like tropical storm Joan or Thomas, or even an all-out grid down event.  I myself fell prey to the notion that getting a license was reserved to folks who didn’t have friends and lived in their mother’s basements. Heck, the previous requirement of knowing Morse code was enough to scare me away. Fortunately, things have changed for the better.

I’ve previously espoused understanding a subject before investing a great deal of money or going for the credentials, yet the deeper I get into this hobby the more I disagree with the sentiment. There is way too much to know about HAM radio. Taking this approach will lead to disappointment and a failure of accomplishment No, I’ve concluded that HAM radio is best learned “on the job”.

Lots of folks have the attitude that HAM radio shouldn’t involve a license. True, we don’t own the airwaves. But understand that the airwaves are broken up, by frequency, and allocated for different purposes. The misuse of these airwaves can cause tragic events, from a missed call for help from a police officer to a plane crash. Also consider Amateur radio operators are very proud of their hobby and personal accomplishments. Pirate stations are often tracked down and turned in, at that point it can be a hefty fine and jail time. For those that feel “the Government” is going to someday come knocking at your door because you are an amateur radio operator, stand in line, they will be there for your guns, food stocks, and political beliefs first. If you make if through those rounds of confiscation your HAM radio will be next.

Back to reality. So, how can attaining a license for HAM radio in 30 days be possible? Simple, the testing isn’t that hard and the format of the test (multiple choice) lends itself to quick study.

​

How and Where To Begin Attaining Your License

​

As I mentioned before, attaining the license requires you to pass a test. Currently, there are actually two different licenses available for amateur radio operators in Curaçao. The Novice (N) and General (C) license. The novice (N) license will get you talking regionally and will be most useful for local communications, (see Page 5)

 

The General class (C) license opens up worldwide communications. As we alluded, the way the tests are structured are the key to attaining your license without spending months or years understanding the subject. The novice (N) test consists of 30 questions and the General (C) test consist of 40 questions. Each question has four multiple choice answers. Passing the test requires you to answer 75% of these questions correctly. These tests are administered (2 each year) by Bureau Telecommunications & Post (Curaçao). For more information and registration contact BTP here

 

Finding the Questions

 

Now what? You must find the questions that are going to be on the test. Fortunately for us, there is an excellent resource out there that will be the crux of your study. (dlza.nl) is where I have directed and helped get licensed. The method seems to work, so why not share? The site is in Dutch and easy to understand for us and contains all of the questions you will find on the all of the licensing tests. For more information Click the button below!

 

​