Realistic HTX-100 Owner's Manual page 6

6
You are now ready to take your exam. You do not have to
go to an imposing Federal office building in a big city to take
the test, because these days the FCC has authorized ham
volunteers to give all the exams. For a Novice license, the
examiners can be any two ham operators with General or
higher class licenses that are at least 18 years of age and
are not related to you. And the Novice exam is free!
The Novice Class license allows you to use your HTX-100
transceiver between 28.1 MHz and 28.5 MHz. You can
transmit CW (Morse Code) on any frequency, but you can
only transmit voice on 1 0-meter band frequencies from
28.3 MHz to 28.5 MHz. Your HTX-100 can tune up to
29.6999 MHz, but these higher frequencies are reserved
for higher-class licensees. Keep on practicing and learning,
and soon you will have legal access to all the frequencies
accessible with your transceiver. There is no rush, though.
Your Novice license is good for ten years, and even then
you can renew it indefinitely.
Eventually, you will want to get a higher class of amateur
license, with more privileges. Exams for Technician, Gen-
eral, Advanced, and Extra Class licenses are given by
three-member Volunteer Examiner Teams. Hundreds of
exam sessions are held across the country every month,
most on weekends. (You can take the Novice exam from a
Volunteer Examiner Team, too, if it is more convenient.)
When you are ready, you can get a schedule of exam
opportunities in your area from the ARRL.
We have mentioned the ARRL several times. That is
because the League is the national organization that repre-
sents amateur radio in the United States. The League has
more than 150,000 members; most of them· ham operators,
but many are ham operators-to-be. Here is the address of
ARRL Headquarters.
The American Radio Relay League
225 Main Street
Newington, CT 06111
The ARRL staff helped us prepare this section of the
owner's manual, and they would be glad to hear from you if
you need more information, or if you would like to join!
Amateur radio is a great hobby that has enriched the lives
of millions of people the world over. Radio Shack takes
pride in bringing to you the HTX-100 transceiver to enrich
your life.