NEW DIRECTIONS RADIO

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Furthermore, you can operate away from the home station location...in the woods, from another house, on a bike, in a truck or on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Many foreign countries will let you transmit from within their borders if you have a U.S. license.

Except for the Novice level (which is intended just to get you started), ham licenses are renewable for five-year periods upon payment of a $4.00 fee. No additional test is required. Once you're in, you're in. Unfortunately, the application fee for a new permit is up to $9.00.

While there's no way to contact another ham on demand (unless he leaves his receiver on and tuned to your calling frequency), you're free to operate as much as you want to and can set up schedules to meet friends on the air at a given time, on or near a given frequency.

Along with these privileges, the FCC lists a strange mix of prohibited activities. Using your station for any "pecuniary or business interest" is forbidden. So is "broadcasting" to the general public, transmitting music, sending secret codes, using "obscene, indecent, or profane words, language or meaning". There are also a few other restrictions that come a bit closer to common sense.

GETTING THAT LICENSE

A whole lot of stuff has been published on how to get your ham license. Some of it's good, some so-so and some is junk you wouldn't want at any price. I'm in the process of collecting and wading through a stack of books, pamphlets and code courses, but won't have the job completed and reviews ready 'til next issue. For those who can't wait, here are some partial results.

THE RADIO AMATEUR'S LICENSE MANUAL, published by the American Radio Relay League, Newington, Connecticut 06111. Price: $1.00 postpaid. This is a big bargain and an absolute must. It contains complete details on the licensing procedure, locations of FCC examining points and schedules of tests, study questions and answers for all classes of license and the complete FCC amateur rules and regulations. The work is updated frequently to include recent rule changes, so send to ARRL for your copy...the one in the library, or even for sale by your local radio store, is probably out of date.

AMECO RADIO AMATEUR QUESTION AND ANSWER LICENSE GUIDE, available from Comtec Books. Greenville, New Hampshire 03048. Price 75¢ postpaid. Not a substitute for the ARRL License Manual, or as big a bargain, but a good supplementary source of study material for the Novice and General Class licenses. Worth the price.

I've had an opportunity to review four code courses so far, and will have a detailed analysis when all the results are in. The only one I've yet seen that I can recommend without any reservations is the Pickering Radio CODEMASTER CM-1. The tape provides instruction and practice material up to nine words per minute (somewhat beyond the Novice requirement). It's available in either cassette or 3-3/4 IPS reel-to-reel format at a price of $6.95 postpaid. Another tape, CM-11/2, provides additional practice material at higher speeds to prepare for the Conditional and General Class exams, and is also available at $6.95 from Pickering Radio Company, Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871.

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