Interested in Amateur Radio?

I have been an Amateur Radio operator since July of 2024, and while that’s not a super long period of time, I want to compile the information I’ve learned as a sort of “starter bundle” of information for anyone interested in the hobby – something I can share to my friends and acquaintances if they ask.

How do I get my license?

While you don’t need a license to listen, if you want to actually participate and transmit, you need to actually get one. Thankfully, getting your first level of license (a Technician license) is fairly easy, and only requires basic algebra skills (the ability to see V=IR, be given two of the variables, and solve for the other – like, what’s the current given a voltage of 3.3V and a resistance of 15ohms) and the ability to study.

If you just want to dip your toes in the tiniest of bits, you can also start by getting a GMRS license. GMRS, or General Mobile Radio Service, is an upgrade to FRS, or Family Radio Service. That’s the service that the radios you’d buy at Walmart for your kids use. A GMRS license only has one thing to do to study – open your wallet and give them $30. Really. The license also covers you and your entire immediate family though, so you, your partner, and your kids, could use it to communicate on vacation (in the country) though!

A wonderful website that got me through my studying is HamStudy.org, an entirely free website, with a cheap mobile app as well (though you can use the website). Hop over there, create an account, and select which license you’re studying for – Technician is the first one you need. From there, click “Study Mode”, and just bang through the answers. It’s okay if you don’t know the answer. Think about it, and try and give an educated guess – some that’s not as easy with, like “which coax type is most commonly used for VHF” – but if you’re wrong, it’ll tell you the answer, and keep bringing it up (along with questions from the same section) until you nail it. Keep this up until you have at least an eighty percent pass rate, then take a practice test if you want to be extra sure.

Once you feel confident to take your test you need to do one more prerequisite – get yourself a FRN, or your FCC Registration Number. Follow this guide on the FCC’s page to register for a new FRN – now you’re ready to take your exam! To find upcoming exams, the ARRL has a website. They’re available both in-person and online, whichever you feel more comfortable with. If you do go online, they’ll want you to have a webcam, a room with nobody in it, all screens covered up, etc. to make sure you aren’t cheating. I had to move my laptop around to show the whole room to them. Either way, you go and take the test, and they’ll let you know if you pass. If you do, within a few weeks (usually) you’ll be issued a call-sign (memorize this with the NATO alphabet – we use that because noise can make telling letters apart hard over the air) and you’ll be ready to start broadcasting!

Here is a warning/tip! In the United States of America, we unfortunately must have the address we use for our license made public. Anyone who knows your call-sign can look up your full name and address using the FCC database (there is no opt-out, it’s a license requirement) or QRZ (which users can voluntarily opt out of, but is opt-in by default, and an international database). This is not meant to scare you! Ask virtually any HAM with their address public – the only thing strangers might send you are QSL cards (little cards that basically say “hey, we talked!” – rare, but an older way people used to confirm contacts, though we have databases many people use now instead). However, if this bothers you severely, you are allowed to use a PO box. Otherwise, just don’t say anything on the air you wouldn’t say in person, and you really won’t have anything to worry about – especially if you aren’t silly like me, and use your callsign online while talking about exactly how to look yourself up on a site with your callsign in the literal domain.

What kind of equipment do I need?

To get into the basics of Amateur Radio, not much, really. Any VHF/UHF handheld (also called an HT) will do you plenty good as a starter. If you just got your license and live here in the United States of America, JumpStart may offer a discount on their Explorer QRZ-1 for a super low cost. Another option I personally recommend in the $150 ballpark, is the BTech UV Pro which has more features for the noticeably higher cost, while still falling in an affordable range.

Many older operators may harbor negative opinions on Baofeng radios, as they’re a cheap Chinese radio brand, and for a long while really weren’t the best of quality. These days, however, even a thirty dollar radio most of the time operates pretty decently, maybe just not the best filtering. If it’s your first radio, get what you can to get on the air, the best radio to use is the one that works for you.

Besides that, you don’t need anything else. Most operators do tend to acquire equipment over time, we’re hoarders like that, but it’s a necessity to do many of the cool things available. An HF station allows using lower frequencies with a higher license, except a limited portion of the 10m band us technicians can use, which are able to reach pretty much across the entire planet, with favorable conditions.

Digital Modes

With a radio with a built-in TNC (Terminal Node Controller), or an external one, you can access digital modes too! The radio traffic you probably think of when you hear radio, or walkie-talkie, is analogue voice traffic. That’s when your direct voice data from the microphone gets modulated using AM (Amplitude Modulation) or FM (Frequency Modulation), and sent out. With digital modes, however, there’s a step in-between you and the modulation. Instead of sending your voice out directly, the computer generates its own audio to send out over the RF. Sometimes, this is it encoding your voice digitally to make it more compact or resilient (like DMR), or it’s generating data without the mic, like when we send photos or files over the radio!

Yes, you read me right, we can actually send photos, files, even video, over the radio waves. You can do straight up IP traffic, like what a browser uses, right over RF, isn’t that cool? It’s all slow, of course, like going back to dial-up days, but it’s still a connection that can’t really be shut down, even in disasters. In the digital domain, HAMs have found ways to do, so much, with the frequencies and hardware we have.

One of the first services I got into, as it’s easy to do so with any FM rig and a TNC; WinLink, email for radio. Send and receive emails just using your radio to a repeater nearby (or peer-to-peer), and there’s also the central WinLink internet relay system, meaning you can access your inbox from any WinLink node in the world that’s TCP/IP connected!

We also have APRS, or Automatic Packet Reporting System, a means of broadcasting out location packets to a connected network, allowing HAMs to see each other on a map, share weather updates from dedicated stations, etc. I personally use it whenever I’m out doing HAM related operations. It can also be used to send short messages, there’s even SMS relays, so you can send somebody a text message (they must register their number to approve receiving texts) over RF using APRS, meaning you could tell your family you’re safe even without cellular.

And I mentioned earlier sending photos. That we can do using SSTV, or Slow-Scan TV. That actually works over analogue too, despite being a “digital” mode, meaning it can actually be used over a normal repeater, which most digital modes cannot be – digital is more sensitive to noise, and a standard record-audio-and-forward repeater just has too much signal distortion for most digital modes. SSTV however, can run on anything!

Groups, Clubs, and Activities!

Playing with the radio is fun, but doing it with others is even more so. That’s why you should see if your area has clubs, activities, or other groups related to radio. Not all are the best, so use your own judgement call, but good clubs can be a great resource. Your area may also have an ARES/RACES/AUXCOM/SkyWarn group; that’s a radio group who is meant to help with emergencies or weather reporting, as a sort of backup communication system.

One of my first experiences with my local combined ARES RACES group was helping run a radio-network (usually just called a NET) for my local nuclear power plant’s emergency shelter drill with the local emergency services. It was intense, but, it gave me an opportunity to learn to use my radio better, and potentially learn to be of help in case of a real disaster. If you lean towards a prepper, or off-the-grid, or even care-for-yourself mindset, I encourage you to try and join your local group too. You need to practice your communication skills before the situation arises, even just knowing how they exchange information. I didn’t know what an ICS form was before participating (they’re FEMA forms for various traffic/information/etc)!

Conclusion

If anything I’ve talked about here sounded interesting to you, please, look into the hobby. Especially if you’re younger! We need more young blood in the community, or else the hobby will simply go silent-key along with its members (a “silent key” is the term HAMs use for a fellow operator who has passed away – when a radio goes silent for the last time) – I’m one of the fewer non-graying members in my community. There are also so many great online resources to explore, from YouTube channels to podcasts dedicated to the hobby.

And hey, if you’re in the York, Pennsylvania region, maybe I’ll hear you on the W3HZU repeater.