Dial has a long history of offering classes to prepare students for their amateur license exams.  We have been holding free classes for over 30 years.  The student's only financial investment in the class is to purchase the text.  Classes have been held at Miami University Middletown and generally follow Miami's calendar.  The Technician class usually starts in late August.  The General course ends after Thanksgiving.  Spring classes begin in late January and continue though early May.  Classes are held on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm.  The technician and General classes are offered every year. They last 6 weeks and are followed by an exam session.  The Amateur Extra preparation class is offered less frequently.  It is a 12 week class that is typically offered every other year during the spring. 

Instructors are Dial members.  Students are likely to 'see' different instructors every class meeting in the Technician and General preparation courses.  Some of the more technical topics for the Extra are broken into two consecutive weeks with the same instructor.  Still, over the entire class, you may expect to 'see' more than six different instructors.

 

Requests for information about upcoming classes can be obtained from K8CM or N8GGE.

 

Exams

We have also been giving amateur examinations since the Volunteer Examiner program was instituted by the FCC.  Presently we are working under the Laurel VEC program - of a the few programs that does not charge for exams.  Our Volunteer Examiner team is composed of members of Dial and BCRA.  Dial tends to offer about 4  or 5 exam sessions per year.  Exams normally occur on Wednesday evenings.  Registration begins at 6:00 pm and the exams begin once the registration process is complete.  Details about upcoming exams can be obtained from KD8W or K8CM.

 

Examinees need a FCC Registration Number ( FRN ) prior to the examination session. If you are already licensed, you have a FRN already.  If you are trying for your first license, you can register at the link above or go to FCC.gov and search for FRN. 

 

Everyone needs a valid photo id.  Hams that are upgrading need to bring a copy of their signed license.  The photo id and copy of the license will be placed in your folder and returned one the exam process is complete. 

 

We receive very prompt service from Laurel and typically the FCC database is updated within 5 days after an exam session.