Category: Getting Started

  • Understanding Reciprocal Callsigns: /W, /VE, and Portable Designators

    Part of our Getting Licensed guide. Those slash-marked additions to a callsign, /W, /VE, /4, and similar, look cryptic to a new ham but follow a consistent, logical system once you understand what each type is communicating. Domestic Portable Designators: Operating From a Different Call Area US callsigns are tied to a specific call district…

  • Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts: How They Work, and Ham Radio’s Role

    EAS and WEA are not the same system, and understanding both tells you exactly where ham radio actually fits in.

  • Band Plans vs Frequency Allocations: What’s Actually Different

    Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. New hams often assume band plans carry the same legal weight as the FCC’s actual frequency allocations, and mixing these two up leads to real confusion about what is actually required versus what is just strongly encouraged convention. Frequency Allocations: The Actual Law The FCC’s…

  • Installing a Ham Dual-Band Mobile Radio in Your Vehicle

    Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. Installing a dual-band mobile follows the same basic principles as any mobile radio install, and getting the fundamentals right the first time saves you from chasing mystery problems down the road. Power: Straight to the Battery Run power leads directly to the battery rather than…

  • Tools Every New Ham Should Own for Basic Station Work

    Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. You do not need a full electronics bench to get started in this hobby, but a handful of basic tools will save you real frustration on your first antenna build or connector job. The Essentials A good wire stripper sized for the gauges you actually…

  • Choosing Your First HT: A Buyer’s Framework Beyond “Just Get a Baofeng”

    Part of our Handheld Radios (HTs) guide. “Just get a Baofeng” is common advice for a new ham’s first HT, and it is not wrong exactly, but it skips over a decision that deserves a bit more thought than grabbing the cheapest radio on the shelf. What a Budget Radio Actually Gets You Radios like…

  • Understanding FCC Enforcement: What Actually Happens If You Violate Part 97

    The FCC does still enforce Part 97. Here is what the actual escalation path looks like.

  • What Happens When You Key Up: A Beginner’s Walkthrough of the Transmit Chain

    Pressing PTT feels instant. Here is everything your radio actually does in that split second.

  • 3D Printing for Ham Radio: Antenna Mounts, Cases, and Field Accessories

    A $200 printer solves a surprising number of small ham radio annoyances that nobody sells a product for.

  • Tower and Mast Permitting: Navigating Local Zoning Beyond PRB-1

    Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. I have written before about what PRB-1 is and what it actually protects. This post is about the part that comes after you understand PRB-1: the real, practical process of getting a tower or tall mast permitted with your local jurisdiction, which is a very…

  • VE Session Day-Of: What Actually Happens During Your Exam

    Part of our Getting Licensed guide. I run VE sessions regularly, and the single biggest source of test-day anxiety I see is not the material itself. It is not knowing what the actual process looks like. So let me walk through exactly what happens from the moment you show up to the moment you have…

  • Automatic Control vs Remote Control Under Part 97

    Part of our Getting On The Air guide. Part 97 defines several categories of station control, and automatic control versus remote control is a distinction that matters a lot more than most hams realize, especially for anyone running a repeater, a hotspot, or a remote-operated station. What Remote Control Means Remote control means a control…

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