The walkie talkie thread got me thinking about this. For those who've been meaning to do it, it's time to stop putting it off!

First, the morse code requirement was eliminated years back, and so all you have to do is pass a test in which both the questions and answers are available online for self study. Easy!

But... if you're like me and terrible at sitting down and studying, not to mention being new to radios and very confused as to what all of this technical stuff means, you might try this link in which a helpful HAM goes over every question and answer in video format.

http://www.hamwhisperer.com/p/ham-courses.html

(I'm not affiliated in any way, but it helped me a lot, and I hope it can help you too).

Each video is 10 minutes long, and the technician portion is enough to get you into some of the common wavelengths used. You don't HAVE to do the general or extra portions unless you want to, but they do open up other wavelengths which you might enjoy exploring.

That's about 5 hours of video for the Tech part, so you can knock it out in one afternoon. Don't worry if you don't remember everything precisely, the test is multiple choice and once you see it, it'll come to you. And, it's only 35 questions.

Once you feel you're ready, the arrl website has practice exams, frequently asked questions, and a place to search for exams near you. Sign up for one, pay the fee ($15) and you're ready to rock and roll.

http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-class

There are lots of threads out there on this forum and others about radio setups, from entry level to advanced, and the community is usually very friendly and helpful.