Putnam County ARES hosting amateur radio classes next month

The Putnam County ARES/RACES/PCAUXCOM VE Team will be offering an amateur radio technician-level licensing class starting Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m.

The organization will also hold an amateur radio general-level licensing class starting the next day on Wednesday, Aug. 21, also at 7 p.m.

Both classes will be hosted at the Putnam County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), 1600 W. CR 225 South, Greencastle.

The technician-level class is scheduled to run 12 weeks on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 p.m., while the general-level training is scheduled for the same 12 weeks at the same time, but on Wednesday evenings.

Both are regarded as slightly-accelerated classes which will require study outside of classroom instruction.

The recommended book for the general-level class is “2019-2023 General Class: FCC Element 3 Amateur Radio License Preparation” by Gordon West, which costs $21.32 on Amazon Prime.

The book needed for the technician-level class is “2018-2022 Technician Class: FCC Element 2 Amateur Radio License Preparation” by Gordon West, which costs $21.71 also on Amazon Prime.

These books are also available at other places, but do not but any earlier versions or any book not good for 2018 to 2022.

Other up-to-date resources may be used or referenced during the class. Having these books is not a requirement to attend the classes and to take the amateur radio license testing, but it is highly recommended.

Testing for both classes is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. at the EOC. Both the class and test will not cost any money.

It is recommended to register for the class, the test and - for the technician-level class - with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) before testing.

Contact George Edenfield at gedenfield@yahoo.com with questions or to register for the classes.