For some the FRS/GMRS option is inadequate for emergency communications.  They seek to become radio amateurs.   This is a viable option only if one is willing to learn amateur radio; that is go beyond the 1-day ham teach-to-the-test courses which over 90% of the people pass.  The ham radio option should be used only when one wants to go beyond emergency communications and wants to enjoy ham radio as a hobby.  It is a false assumption to think that one can get a ham license license, keep the radio in the drawer until the emergency happens and then try to use it.  The radio may not work, it may not b programed properly and most of all one would have forgotten how to use it, what frequencies and procedures to use.   If one is unwilling to gain and maintain the needed knowledge, skills, and abilities one is better off with FRS/GRMS. 

Amateur radio licensing has been radically changed by restructuring by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  Previous it was a federal crime to reveal what was on the licensing examination.  After restructuring the question pools, the actual questions and their answers were published.  People who have tried unsucessfully for years to pass the licensing exam now passed.  Passage rates are typically in the 90th percentile.   

FCC has also delegated it power to examine applicants as well as to determine the content of the question pool to volunteer examiner coordinators (VEC).   There are 14 VECs.  Two of the VECs are national, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national organization of amateur radio, and the W5YI group, a private company.  The other VECs are regional.  The Question Pool Committee (QPC) is made of of three VECs.  The ARRL and W5YI are permanent members.  The Chairpersonship of the QPC comes from the other 12 VECs.    

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