There are several ways to get through the math on the Amateur radio license exams. The first is to memorize every question and answer. Or hope that they ask you the questions you memorized.

If you cannot rely on your memory, the second most reliable way is to understand the math on the exam. For the technician exam, the math is not all that difficult and the way you calculate the answers is easily found on the Internet. There are a plethora of explanations and you are sure to find one you understand.

It should be legal to carry a copy of the various formulas that you use to find answers for various problems. So long as those formulas do not contain examples that just happen to be answers on the test. So you could, and should, write all of those formulas down.

So now you have the formulas or understand them. What can you use to calculate them? Your “smartphone?” Examiners will probably not allow them and will, in fact, probably insist that you turn them off. A scientific calculator? They are allowed only if the volunteer examiners can conclusively prove there is nothing stored in memory.

That can be difficult with the number of calculators in the field. Especially with the advance in computer science today. There is an answer, however.

For my exam I purchased a cheap calculator with no special functions for $1.00 at my local Dollar General. If you are just looking to get the Technician ticket, that is really all you will need. Recently I traveled to Phoenix where I visited the Dollar Tree store. I picked up the pictured calculator with all sorts of scientific functions for $1.00.

Still there is probably some way a smart person can add answers to the memories of these calculators. I would recommend that no matter what you use, you consult with the volunteer examiner BEFORE the exam starts. I also recommend that you take the instructions and show them to the VE so that they can ensure that your exam is completely above-board.

As far as I know, slide rules are still allowed.