Before I jump too far into my question-by-question lessons of the Amateur Radio Technician Class question bank, I figured it might be a good idea to discuss some FCC rule resources. Many times throughout the test bank, there will be references to “Part 97” and many of you might have absolutely no idea of what is being referred to.

Well, in regards to ham radio, Part 97 is the section of the FCC rules that governs amateur radio. In it you will find a variety of information from the basis and purpose of amateur radio, to licensing methods and requirements, as well as rules that must be followed when operating a ham radio station.

Part 97 is part of a much larger rule set (Title 47) that contains all of the rules and regulations of and set by the FCC. Officially speaking, Part 97 is actually “47cfr97″ or “Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 97″ or “47 CFR Part 97″ or “Part 97 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations”. A sort of table of contents of Title 47 can be found at the FCC’s website. From there, you can click on the link to Part 97 and view the different rules and regulations governing amateur radio.

Anyone who is a ham radio operator or is interested in becoming a ham radio operator should be familiar with the rules in Part 97. While I’m not saying that everyone should read through it word for word (it would be a good idea though) you should at least browse through it and see what it contains.

Many of the questions that are asked in the question bank for the test to become a licensed ham radio operator are based on information that is found in Part 97. However, I will pull out the parts of it that you need to know to pass the test, give you the information, and provide links to those parts in the posts which they are mentioned.