Boosting My Geek Cred: Earning My FCC License

So I boosted my geek credibility today, I woke up and drove down to Franklin to take my Technician’s Class exam. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been studying for the past month or two. Why?

I became interested in amateur radio (aka Ham Radio) years ago because my Uncle Steve had a pretty sweet set-up and was always communicating with guys from all parts of the world. My nerd-dom doesn’t extend that far, but over the past several years, I have taken a casual interest in it. Mostly I just listen to my scanner, checking out all the radio traffic that is out there. Let me explain ham radio deeper for all of you.

Most, if not all of you have a radio in your car. It’s programmed so you can listen to frequencies between 87.3ish and 108.0 on the FM dial. What you may not realize is that there is an entire spectrum of radio frequencies out there that you can’t listen to because your radio is restricted to AM and FM radio. If you go to Radio Shack, you can pick up a scanner and listen to a lot of the other frequencies (aircraft, police, fire, ambulances, ham radio, 2-way radios, CB radios, etc.).

Within that spectrum of all those frequencies out there are frequencies set aside for amateur radio operators. These operators have equipment that can not only hear different frequencies (just like your car stereo), but can also talk on those frequencies as well! In order to have this privilege, one must be licensed to do so. Currently there are three levels: Technician, General, and Extra. Everyone starts out as a Technical Class license and can “upgrade” their license by taking tests showing they are proficient in protocol, procedure, electronics, antenna set-up, etc.

Sound nerdy? It is. Which is why I’m really only working on my Technician’s Class license for now and debating if I want to go through the hoops to upgrade my license.

So I’m really excited to have finally completed another goal on my To-Do List for 2009. Woo hoo! Time to go on the air… this is Kiel… over and out (just kidding, nobody says that anymore).