Amateur Radio Technician Class Licensing: For 2026 through 2030 License Examinations by Stephen Horan

Amateur Radio is more than a hobby. It is your entry point into the world of radio communications that includes friendship, opportunities for public service, and learning new skills. Because radio has an international and even an out-of-this-world impact, you need an FCC license to participate. The Technician license exam has 35 questions drawn from a candidate question pool of over 400 questions. While the contents of the question pool are in the public domain, there are better strategies than rote memorization for passing the exam. Even if you have a technical background, you may need assistance with the FCC rules, current amateur practice, and amateur radio terminology. This study guide, authored by Stephen Horan, NM4SH, an experienced licensed amateur and former professor of Electrical Engineering, is a handy resource. This Amateur Radio Technician Class Licensing study guide prepares you for the initial FCC Amateur license examination used between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2030. The guide addresses each question in the license question pool, with each chapter covering one of the ten license question areas. For each question, the guide provides the question, the correct answer, and an explanation for that answer. Additionally, the guide explains why many of the answers to the distractions are incorrect. Each chapter starts with relevant background information, tables, and figures to help understand the chapter's topics. You will learn about the regulations governing amateur radio communications, good amateur practice in the operating modes, and basic radio math and electronics through the questions and answers. Stephen Horan, NM4SH, has been a licensed amateur for over 40 years. During that time, he helped develop and lead weekend licensing classes with the Mesilla Valley Radio Club in Las Cruces, NM. Now, he mainly operates with digital modes from his home in Virginia. He holds DXCC certificates for six bands, digital modes, the DXCC Challenge, and multiple ARRL Worked-All-States awards. Visit his author page at https://nm4sh.net/. Steve's professional experience includes 23 years as a professor of Electrical Engineering at New Mexico State University and 12 years as an engineer for NASA, including four years as an RF spectrum manager. In addition to this series of Amateur Radio licensing study guides, he is the author of the textbook Read more