Ooops! An apology.

To learn how to study and sit for the brief multiple choice exam and qualify for the first level amateur (ham) radio license, go to www.arrl.org.  

I used the wrong "Q" signal (QRT) in my first post.  QRT is a sign that you want the sending station to stop transmitting ... 

The monthly journal published by the National Association for Amateur Radio is QST.

Where I live, in Northern Vermont, we have several opportunities for folks to study for and complete the basic exam.  The Burlington Amateur Radio Club offers a program where the license fee is the only cost.

A local ham licensee also offers a one or two day course with a nominal fee attached in which he guarantees the exam will be passed successfully.

I'm sure these types of resources exist in many communities throughout the nation.  The ARRL web site can provide readers a list of amateur radio clubs that exist in the U.S. and possibly in Canada as well.  But, there are also Canadian amateur radio licensing and membership organizations and ARRL may be able to provide a list of those resources as well as offer suggestions to identify resources in Mexico and south.

One cautionary note for those Westy travelers who travel across our northern and southern borders.  In the U.S., the ham radio license is provided by the FCC.  Each nation has an equivolent national licensing authority  If you are licensed and plan to use your amateur radio equipment, you must also give yourself plenty of pre-departure time and communicate with the government authority for each non-US country you will be communicating from with that equipment.  It is a fairly simple process, but does take time.  The ARRL can provide guidelines to licensees about this process. 

Sam Conant