Prep Comms - Ham Radio: The Test..........

Episode Date: January 31, 2026

Ham radio testing is where a lot of people stall. Not because it's hard. Not because it's unfair. And not because access is restricted. In this episode, I talk plainly about why testing exists, why it's required, and why the arguments around it haven't changed in years—even as access has become easier than ever. I've watched this cycle repeat long enough to recognize the pattern. People fear the test, pass the test, and then freeze because they don't know what to do next. The test was never the real problem. This isn't test prep. It isn't a debate. And it isn't a defense of tradition. It's an explanation of how the system works, why it's structured the way it is, and why getting past the test is simply the doorway—not the destination. Ready to Go Further? If this episode clarified things for you and you're ready to stop guessing, here are the two ways I help: 1. The 30/30 Ham Radio Challenge A simple, daily plan to earn your license and actually start using ham radio. No cramming. No drama. Just steady progress. https://www.familyconnectsystem.com/3030welcome 2. The 90-Minute Communications Planning Session If you want to talk through your situation—distance, family, expectations, and realistic options—this is where we do that. No gear sales. No theory. Just clarity. https://www.familyconnectsystem.com/first-five-minutes If neither of those are for you, that's fine too. This show exists to explain the landscape, not convince anyone to walk it.

It's PrepCom's podcast. It's cold at the end of January, 2026. The snowstorm did not destroy us, and I'm here talking about amateur radio testing. Yep. Now, listen, you guys have got to know. I am the guy who likes the system we have in place. There's a couple of tweaks I would like to make in regards to allowances for technicians in digital HF, but they don't call and ask for my opinion. With that said, testing is necessary. If you want to utilize this kind of stuff to talk to those kind of people, you have to pass no less than one written test. Not even a written test anymore. You can do it from your recliner in your pajamas online. It's an amazing process.

I'm so happy about it, actually, which may surprise some of you. But my youngest son took his technician class license. on the laptop in the house. It was amazing. What a fantastic experience. Okay, so if you don't know, you do have to pass a test to be a ham radio operator.

I have a 30-30 challenge, 30 minutes a day for 30 days, and you'll pass your test. The link will be in the show notes below. It's free. It doesn't cost you anything unless you sign up for one of the paid services that I recommend.

But if you want to use the free ones, that's fine. It's just you and I, 30 days, you're passing. I can't guarantee it because I'm not charging you for it. But good Lord, 30 minutes a day for 30 days, you'll probably pass it within about 10 or 15 days. But I call it the 30-30 because it sounded better.

And that's one of my favorite rifle rounds. Okay. Testing. It is required. No Morse code. You don't have to do that anymore. You don't have to know Morse code. You probably never will ever use it unless you're that guy. And if you want to be that guy, I'm so good with that

because I am so thankful that people still keep the old stuff going. I'm the analog guy, but I'm not. not the guy that's wanting to spend time figuring out how to learn more scope. I would rather do packet. I'd rather do digital stuff. That's me. You may love it and I'm so happy for you. All right, you may not like any of it and you just want to take a test for $35.

Either way, if you're going to be a ham, you've got to pass a test. Now, I know there's some. I can just see, like in the book of revelation where it talks about the gnashing of teeth. I can see that in my mind's eye. If you're still here, you're gnashing your teeth at the idea that you have. have to pass a test to get an amateur radio license. And I'm just going to tell you, flat out, I don't care. Again, I've been here since 2014, plenty of arrows in the back.

I've been creating a long time in this space. And I've heard the arguments from day one. I didn't have codes, so I'm not the same kind of ham. Okay, well, tell that to the FCC, because your license and my license says the same thing. And I don't care if you know it or not. I don't care if you take your test with a VE or if you take your test, or if you take a VCC, or if you take it online, none of these, I just don't care anymore, guys,

but I'm here to finish teaching what I started teaching and now we're talking about testing. So if you're one of those that don't believe you should have to take a test or that I'm a sad hand because I'm encouraging somebody to take a test, check out, this stuff is not for you. Okay? All right, next.

All right, so testing is required, and I promise you it's not a big deal. So back in the day, my wife wanted a swimming pool. And I wanted my wife to, get her amateur radio license. And my wife had just beat cancer at this point. This is like 2020. And she'd beat cancer so she can conquer anything, right?

And she's like, I don't want a swimming pool. And I said, I want some amateur radio licenses in this house. And she said, well, if I take him past my test, can we get a pool? And I'm like, sure, she's never going to do this. That was a Sunday. And by about 4 o'clock that Sunday afternoon, she was signed up. for the ham test online, along with my eldest daughter, who was 15 at the time. And they sat and studied Sunday.

They studied Monday after work, Tuesday after work, Wednesday after work. And then Thursday till that afternoon. And they both went, and they both passed their technician license exams the very first time. My wife, the hairdresser, missed none. And my daughter, she only missed one who went back six weeks later, she did, and got her general class license to outdo her brothers. So it's very, very easy. I've got the 30-30 challenge.

You can get in there. It'll help a lot. So passing the test is not a big deal. It's just an entryway barrier. It's a little door you have to walk through. You pay a little bit. It's a tax. But it gives you some capacities and capabilities

that your mind right now may not be able to comprehend in regards to your ability to communicate offline as a prepper, right? Ham Radio will do things for you that you don't even know about yet. Or maybe you've heard somebody talk about it and you don't believe it, but probably 99% of that is true. So, don't have to know worse code. You do have to take a test.

It's about 35 bucks or something like that. You can do it online. You can do it in person. It's not a big deal. I just told you how my wife and daughter studied four days and passed. My youngest son just got his tech last year. He was a 30 minutes a day for a 30-day guy. He passed.

My baby daughter's studying. She's trying to drag it out, but she's going to get it because everybody in the house at that point will have theirs. And I'll be seven for seven. And, you know, as a dad, that's not a bad number. So beyond that, a lot of people take the test. Now, they'll get over the hump of not wanting to take a test, but they'll take the test, and they'll take the test, and they'll get their license. And they'll be an amateur radio operator. and they've got some equipment because everybody does,

because everybody has an Amazon account, and they've got the radio with the microphone in their hand, and they're licensed, and they're listening, and they never press the push to talk key. It's right there on this radio. They never push the press to talk, because they're afraid they're not going to say it right. They're afraid that they're afraid that they're going to sound stupid,

or they're afraid that it's they're going to say the wrong words or not remember the person's calls and the one thing the one thing that just drives me nuts about this particular situation is they earned it and now they're too afraid to use it imagine having a car in your driveway and a driver's license in your wallet and you're afraid to go to McDonald's maybe you're afraid to go somewhere you really like to go I'm afraid to go to McDonald's sometimes. But here's the deal. It's your privilege.

You've earned it. So go put it to use. Don't be afraid of the microphone. Now that, not everybody wants to hear a chatty Kathy, okay? And if you're Kathy, I'm just using that as an example. But for real, just press the button. And one of the easiest ways, and I guess I'll probably talk about this later, but one of the easiest ways is just to announce yourself,

this is kilo four charlie delta november i'm a new ham radio operator looking for a radio check now i can tell you in 99% of this nation if somebody hears that you're about to have a conversation and that person does not care if you're getting it right or not so don't be afraid of the microphone now a lot of people still ask me because guys i get questions all the time locally online Please, that's fine. I'm not mad about it. It's just you can get inundated from time to time. Why is there a test?

Why do I have to take a test? Well, you have to take a test because that's the rules. I don't want to take a test. I think it's stupid. I have to take a test. Okay. Your opinion doesn't change the rules. It's kind of like being a house where your dad who has rules,

and if you don't follow the rules, well, then you get the consequences or you don't get. And that's the same way with this. Why is there a test? There's a test. It helps you understand what you're walking into. It's a privilege. It's a service that we can help our neighbors with. It's fun, man. Don't get me wrong. It's, if you're a geek, ham radio is it. But it's also a great service. And I've watched them. Hurricane Helene has probably got to be one of the best examples in the last decade I could put my mind to where amateur radio operators served their fellow citizenry at a level that we have not seen maybe since Katrina.

Or maybe one of the fires out west that I'm unfamiliar with. Thing is here, there's a license for a reason. The test is easy to pass. And if you want the best answer for preppers and communications, this is it. Now, God, I didn't want to go there. but I will because I hear so much about I don't want to be in a government database and I've already covered this. God, I hate this conversation.

I don't want to be in a government database. You are. You have a phone. You're probably watching this on your phone that listens to everything you say and reports it all back to some nerve center somewhere. Let's be honest. Let's be serious. It's not tenfold stuff.

We know. So why not go ahead? You've got a CWP, probably. You're looking at Survival Blog. You're in all those Facebook. Are you serious? Those Facebook groups are kind of weird, guys. You're in them and you're like, well, I don't want to be on a database. Bro, you've been on a database since you was listening to Alex Jones on a podcast player. Okay. So anyway, don't let that prevent you from gaining privileges that you may not even have an understanding of what it can do for you and your family in regards to emergency communications. You can't beat AM radio. So there's a test. I got notes right here. Now, this is the quiet part that I have learned to love to say out loud because, because again, I've been here since 2014 and I've been encouraging folks from then or before to get your license and whatever. And the deal is this, the test is not hard. I just told you about

my wife and daughter passing in four, four and a half days of study or so. It's not hard. And you know why it's not hard? Because you can go right now to the 30-30 challenge and sign up, and you can either buy into a subscription study service, or you can use one of the free services, whichever one you'd like. And as you study, you're not just studying random radio theory or some crazy algebra equations. No, you're actually studying the test, the questions and the answers. Yeah. I mean, it's easy. than getting a driver's license, y'all. I mean, if people who push back on this actually realized how easy it was, they would scoff at their own questioning. It almost doesn't make sense.

You're questioning something that's so easy. They literally give you the test and the right answers to the point that it was just a matter of minutes after I sat down with my general exam. I knew the material so well that I just went to. straight through. Well, golly, what about the math? I didn't do the math. You don't have to do the math if it's memorized because the question you're studying and the correct answer that goes with it is what's on the test. Now, I'm not going to say that A is always A and C is always C, but the actual answer to the questions are what you're studying. You're studying verbatim the question that's being asked. And you're studying verbatium.

Verbatium, what is that? I saw some kind of ironman chemical. You're studying verbatim the actual answer. That's why if you'll study 30 minutes for 30 days, you can pass the test. I'm serious. It's memorization. Now, nobody wants you to know that because back in the day, it was a lot harder than it is today.

So a lot of the old guys are like, you need to know it. You do have to know it to pass it. but do you need to know the... I got Google. I've got books. I've got things I can go back in reference if I need it, but I wanted my license, and I suck at math.

So what did I do? I memorized all of them. You might have two or three math problems on any exam, except the extra exam. It has a lot more math, but the first two, tech in general, have usually have three to four, maybe three to four math questions on it. And if you've read the question

and you haven't memorized, you know exactly what answer goes in you and just yeah yeah that's the quiet part out loud so that's why when I get these arguments oh it's too hard I don't study it costs too much I just I don't understand that you have the test it's almost like laying it down beside the exam and just copying it over 30 days you'll pass this thing oh my gosh now another thing that kind of hiccups people in regards to the test can y'all tell that I've been at home with my family like three or four days. And I just had to get out of the house for a few minutes.

And I'm not trying to take it out on you. But I'm just trying to be real with you. Because, again, I've been here since 14 in the ham space, just trying to bring the truth to people because it's not what some out there make it out to be. Not all of us are jerks. Not all of us are sad hams. Not all of us are tools.

Not all of us are lids. Whatever we're called nowadays, because we took a couple of tests, not all of us are like that. There's some of us, most of us, just like me, that want to see you pass because we want you to get on this stuff right here and be able to talk all over the world or across the town. Whatever your family needs, that's what I'm here trying to help you understand. Okay. So one of the things that really gets people is thinking about the equipment.

Oh my gosh. Well, if I pass, then I got to buy stuff. My wife said I couldn't buy anything. Guys, I've already shown you a radio here that will talk around the world that I traded. a $100 antenna for. Okay. I got lots of radios, and I'm not taking the phone down to show them, but they're all in here, and I may have, I don't know,

maybe $2,000, maybe $3,000 in the whole thing, maybe. And that's, I mean, there's peripheral stuff, sure, but you can get on the air right now for $120 with a little micro radio. I'll put it in the show notes. You throw a wire up in a tree. Dude, you can talk all over the world with that. Seriously, go follow some of my Instagram friends. They'll show you.

I think it's a true SDX or something like that. I don't have one, but there are $129. I should buy one just because it's little and cool. But I like 100 watt plus radios, and I'm not trying to play in the woods. So don't get hung up on the test. Don't get hung up on expensive equipment, because unless you're the guy that has to have the latest, greatest, newest bestest,

you can get by with some stuff. Like I've got a radio right over here. Brand new, they're only $650. It's a HF radio with six meters. So it's like shortwave bands. 100 watt radio detachable phase. You can use it in your car. You can put it in a box.

You can put it in a backpack. You can leave it right here in the air conditioning or the heat that's running right below. And you can talk all over the world. You can connect your computer up to it with a little box or dig. Oh, yeah, you got it all. man you have it all Ft891 okay so the brand new six hundred fifty bucks you could buy

them use for four hundred fifty dollars or less look it okay so there's some of you right now they're like you don't understand bro I've been a ham since 11 when I got my license my wife and I had just come out of losing our business our home and three vehicles we were run out of town and had to start over with nothing had no cell service. We had no internet. It didn't exist where we live. We live so far out. Just now we got internet like last October. Crazy. But greater than that, we had lost it all right. And we were a single income family. I was a stay-at-home dad homeschooling five kids. So my wife, every time she made, was trying to catch up what we left behind, plus buy groceries for today. So I'm not saying you get to

buy everything at the first of the front end. I'm not saying it's not hard. I'm not saying that you You might have to like give up your cold beers or your marlboros or whatever if this is something you want to do, but I can tell you this, for me it's been worth it. Was it fast? No, no. Did it take a little time? It did. Did I have to kind of get by our scrowns a little bit to do what I was wanting to do? Yeah, but you know what, dude, it was worth it. I'd do it again. It doesn't take these half a million dollar add-ons built to your house full of equipment to do what you can do with a radio that can go down in your pocket. So don't let the testing get in the way. Don't let the money get in the way. Don't let somebody saying you're not smart or you're not good with math or you don't

test well. 30 minutes for 30 days, you'll pass. All right. Gosh, I've got to, I've ranted. I have ranted this show. But this is a pain point, I guess you would call it a point of aggravation or whatever for me. Because I've just so over it all. And I'm such a, such a nice, generally nice easy going guy, but this complaining about having to take a simple test to have access to frequencies to talk anywhere you want to talk, the argument against that is so petty for me. I just, I have a hard time with that. So, I mean, it is what it is. I'm not going to re-record it. I'm just going to push it because I owe you a show, and I appreciate you being here. If you stuck around this long, man, we buddies, right? Thank you for your comment.

I've got guys going through the challenge right now. Some of them are getting ready to test. I think someone messaged me the other day. They're scheduled for the 31st to take their test. So I'm excited to hear from you guys as you're in the process of the 30-30 challenge, as you're testing through the 30-30 challenge. And when you get your call sign, I'd love to know I might even have something I could send you. So, yeah, it's a lot going on, man.

Prepcoms is here. We're hammering this ham radio thing out. I know this video probably won't do good in the algorithm, but I'm not doing it for the algorithm. I'm doing it because I promised you. I'd help you learn about the ultimate preparedness communications method. And that's how I'm radio. We see it play out time and time again.

All right, I better go because I'll just start rambling really bad here in a few minutes, but it's getting cold. I can't feel the fingers on my left hand. So guys, thank you for being here. God bless you. I hope you and your family are doing well and we'll see you soon on the next episode of the prepcoms podcast 73 y'all