Amateur Radio Service

Resources

Where a new license gets used: the national association, a club near you, the volunteer program that puts radios to work after an earthquake, and the FEMA courses those programs ask for. Each link opens in a new tab.

National

• ARRLThe National Association for Amateur Radio: licensing, clubs, publications, and the exam session finder.

Licensing

• Get an FCC Registration NumberYou need an FRN before exam day; the exam session files your license under it. Register at the FCC's CORES.
• FCC license searchThe official database: look up any callsign or name, and watch for your own license to appear after the exam.
• QRZ.comThe callsign lookup most hams use, with each operator's own page.

Exam sessions

• W5YI VECRemote and in-person exam sessions. I had a good experience with the W5YI VEC, which the San Francisco Radio Club also recommends.
• HamStudy session finderEvery volunteer examiner group's upcoming sessions, in person and remote, by location.

Clubs

• San Francisco Radio ClubThe city's club, founded in 1909.
• East Bay Amateur Radio ClubW6CUS, with its site on qsl.net. Serves Berkeley and the rest of the East Bay; meets in Kensington and on Zoom.
• San Mateo Radio ClubW6UQ. The Peninsula club nearest Burlingame; meets in San Mateo and on Zoom, and its Thursday net is where new hams ask questions.
• Millbrae Amateur Radio ClubNext door to Burlingame; holds exam sessions before its monthly meeting.

Burlingame has no club of its own, so the two nearest are listed. For anywhere else, use the ARRL club search.

Emergency response volunteers

• SF NERTNeighborhood Emergency Response Team, San Francisco Fire Department. Free training for anyone who lives or works in the city.
• Berkeley CERTCommunity Emergency Response Team classes, on the City of Berkeley's Disaster Preparedness Trainings page. The city asks that you take its Berkeley Ready class first.
• Central County Fire CERTThe CERT program for Burlingame, Hillsborough and Millbrae.

FEMA courses

Free online classes in how an emergency response is organized. The ARRL's ARES task book requires the four below, and volunteer programs commonly ask for them. Each is a few hours of reading and an online exam; the certificate comes by email.

• Get a FEMA Student IDNeeded before you can take any FEMA course. Register once, free, and keep the number; every exam asks for it. Use Retrieve SID first in case you already have one.
• IS-100.C: Introduction to the Incident Command SystemHow an incident is organized and who reports to whom. Start here.
• IS-200.C: Basic Incident Command System for Initial ResponseICS at work on a single incident; builds on IS-100.
• IS-700.B: An Introduction to the National Incident Management SystemThe national system that ICS is part of.
• IS-800.D: National Response Framework, An IntroductionHow local, state and federal response fit together.

Every independent study course is listed at training.fema.gov/is. A newer letter replaces an older one now and then; take whichever is current.