HAM Radio License

January 2014

The radio frenquency spectrum is divided up and specific frequencies are allocated for specific uses.  Our SSB radio operates in the HF spectrum (~3 – 30 MHz) and the frequencies in the range most often used by yachties are those allocated for marine use and those allocated for amatuer use.  To transmit on the marine bands you need a ship station license for you boat and a marine operator permit for at least one person on board.  These are easily obtained online from the FCC in the US.  The ship station license is how you get your call sign (ours is WDG6445) and your MMSI number (which is used by DSC calling in both VHF and SSB radios).  The marine operator permit seems like just one more way to squeeze money out of you, because you don’t have to pass a test or anything, you just pay for it and get it.  Before we left home, I actually went one step further and did take a class and passed a test to get a marine operator license, because I thought I could stand to learn a thing or two.  So, I’m actually qualified, licesne wise, to operate radios on commercial vessels if I ever feel like a career change.  A lot of the radio nets in mexico were conducted on marine bands, so those were the ones I could check in to, and even net control for.

To transmit on the amateur frequencies you have to get a different license, known as a HAM license.  HAM radio operators are by no means limited to marine uses, in fact most are land based.  I never did bother to get a HAM license while still at home, because I didn’t think it was necessary and then I missed another opportunity to do it in La Paz, because I simply didn’t feel like studying.  Once upon a time, you had to know morse code to pass the HAM license test, but since they did away with that requirement licenses are much more accessible, but I still didn’t feel like studying.

Then we spent the summer in the sea, and the main source of daily weather was a voice broadcast by Geary on the Sonrisa Net, which happened to be a HAM net.  So, I could listen, but I could never check in.  It was like not being allowed into the cool kids club.  Well, not really, but I started to see that there may be a need for a HAM license as we proceed on our voyage because you never know what radio nets we’ll encounter and which ones we’ll want to participate in.

So, I started studying.  They give the test monthly at the Yacht Club at Paradise Village, so when I started studying it was early January, and I had about a month to prepare.  I learned that there are varying levels of licenses, and in order to trasmit on HF frequencies I actually had to pass two tests (technical and general classes).  I started studying for the technical license figuring I would take that one and then the following month I would study for the general.  Calling it “studying” is a bit generous.  Basically, I just took the practice tests over and over again on qrz.com until I could consistently pass.  Not a very noble way of passing the test since I was simply memorizing as opposed to learning and understanding the material, but it’s not like I’m going to build my own HAM radio shack, I just want to be able to transmit on HAM frequencies using my SSB radio.  Two days before the test I realized that we may not be in Banderas Bay the following month, and if I didn’t get a chance to take the general I still wouldn’t be able to do that.  So, I started cramming for the general test too.  Pretty much non-stop the day before the test I sat on the computer taking practice test after practice test. 

The day of the test I hitched a ride from La Cruz up to Paradise Village with Romany Star, and I was still studying a few topics I had jotted onto a post-it note.  Turns out I’m the biggest geek every, because I passed the tests easily, and worried over nothing.  So, now I’m KK4WYW (my HAM call sign) and I am now part of the cool kids club.