Wendy gets Licensed!

When we decided to buy a boat and move aboard, Wendy and I divided up the things we needed to learn. Since I already knew plumbing, electrical and engines, I stuck with those and Wendy offered to learn emergency medicine, ham radio and Spanish. Emergency medicine was an obvious choice for Wendy; as a speech therapist she had worked in hospitals and nursing homes for years. She took an intensive three day course specifically designed for offshore cruisers and learned a lot of valuable information. The offer to learn ham radio was a big surprise; Wendy has never used our VHF radio and she doesn’t even like talking on the phone.

VHF radio is a common form of communication on the water, whether in lakes or along the coast, everyone communicates using VHF. Even now when everyone owns a cell phone, VHF is the first option on the water. While there are some rules that go with using a VHF, if you are only using the radio in the US there are no license requirements. That changes if you leave the country. Many people don’t know or maybe don’t care, but if you use a VHF outside of the US you need to be licensed by the FCC. The license is simple, just fill out an application and submit a small payment.

Ham radio is a little different. It does require a license to operate where ever you are. Once again, even with the popularity of cell phones, ham radio is very useful. Most areas have ham radio nets that can help with communications in case of disaster. For example, down here in FL, if a hurricane hits and an area loses power, all the cell phone communications will be down. A ham net can keep communications going by running their radios off of generators and helping to coordinate emergency efforts. Most counties around here have ham radio stations and regularly give the tests for people to get their licenses.

The reason ham radio or SSB radio is so popular with cruisers is the range. VHF is a line of sight transmission, meaning that at sea with an antennae at the top of your mast you may be able to transmit and receive about 50 miles. SSB uses much longer wavelength signals. These waves don’t pass through the upper atmosphere, instead they bounce off of the upper atmosphere and back down to earth. That allows transmissions to travel hundreds or thousands of miles. In some cases you can talk to people on the other side of the world. Another reason for their popularity is a modem can be connected to the radio and you can receive and transmit text emails. Unlike satellite, once you have the radio, modem and a license there is no extra change for usage. It’s not fast, but it is functional.

Our boat came with an SSB radio which allows us to communicate on ham frequencies, but neither of us were licensed. Wendy stepped in to take up the challenge of getting her ham license, so we didn’t just have a $5000 paper weight on our boat. It turned out to be more of a challenge than she realized.

To start, there is not just one license, but three. In the past, part of the test was learning how to use Morse code, but that requirement was dropped 10 or 15 years ago. Now you just need to learn some basic electronics, wave length vs frequency, frequencies you are allowed to use based on your license, antennae design, how weather and atmospheric conditions affect transmission, the regulations of transmitting and a bunch of other stuff. Then you can take the Technician test. After that you learn a lot more and you can take the General test. To gain access to the common frequencies used by cruisers you need the have at least a General license, so that was Wendy’s goal when she began.

As an electrical engineer, I would have had a big leg up on Wendy in studying for the exam, but I had no time and Wendy had plenty. As a speech therapist, this was like learning a new language for Wendy. She found a course online and started studying about an hour a day. The Technician license requires about 30 hours of study and the General, another 30 hours. It took Wendy about three months to get through all the material then some review and practice tests. 

The tests are available at random times and locations. You can look online to see when and where the next test will be given close to your location. Wendy found a test location that was about 30 minutes away that would be giving the exams shortly after she completed her studies. It was just a show up and take the exams arrangement, no need to let them know in advance. Wendy did contact them to see what she needed to bring with her; number 2 pencils, a basic calculator and the $15 fee. 

The tests are given all in a row and they grade them as soon as you finish. If you pass, you can take the next one. Wendy took the Technician and passed, so was allowed to take the General. She passed the General and was allowed to take the Extra which is the top level. She had not even looked at the material, but there is no additional cost so she went on and took the Extra exam. She didn’t pass. She did get her General license which was her original goal and a week later her call sign was assigned by the FCC (KM41FN) and we’ve added that to our boats license. 

The exam prepares you for everything you need to know to transmit and receive radio messages on the SSB, except how to use it. Now Wendy has a license and we have an SSB radio that is all set up and ready to go, we just need to figure out how to use the thing.