Category: Getting Started

  • 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…

  • How ExamTools and Other Online VE Platforms Work Behind the Scenes

    From the VE side of the screen, here’s what an online testing platform is actually doing during a session.

  • RadioID.net and DMR ID Registration: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

    Part of our Getting On The Air guide. Before you can transmit on DMR, whether through a hotspot or a repeater, you need a DMR ID. This trips up a lot of new hams because unlike a callsign, it is not something the FCC assigns you automatically. It is a separate registration you have to…

  • Mentoring a New Ham: How to Be a Good Elmer

    Part of our Clubs and Nets guide. Elmer is one of those ham radio traditions that everyone talks about fondly and almost nobody explains well. It just means a mentor, someone experienced who takes a new ham under their wing and helps them actually get on the air instead of just passing a test and…

  • Technician’s Expanded HF Phone Privileges: What’s Actually Been Proposed

    Part of our Getting Licensed guide. I see some version of this question in beginner forums constantly: did Technicians just get more HF privileges? The short answer, as of today, is no. What exists is a long running ARRL petition asking the FCC to expand Technician HF privileges, not an adopted rule change. I want…

  • Extra Class Deep Dive: Is the Upgrade Worth It?

    Part of our Getting Licensed guide. I hold Extra, and I will tell you upfront that the honest answer to whether you need it is usually no. That is not me talking myself out of my own license. It is just accurate. Extra is the smallest practical jump of the three upgrades, and most of…

  • How to Read a Repeater Directory Listing (RepeaterBook, TravelPlus)

    A repeater directory entry is dense with abbreviations. Here is what each field actually tells you.

  • General Class Deep Dive: What Changes When You Upgrade

    Part of our Getting Licensed guide. General is the upgrade that actually changes how you operate. Technician gets you on the air. General gets you onto HF in a real way, and for most people who caught the bug on 10 meters or borrowed a friend’s rig for a POTA activation, this is the license…

  • Setting Up a Personal Ham Radio Website or QRZ Bio

    A good QRZ bio is the first thing a lot of hams see about you. Here is what actually makes one useful.

  • How to Become a Volunteer Examiner: The Process, Start to Finish

    Becoming a VE is simpler than most hams assume, and the hobby needs more of them.

  • Remote vs In-Person VE Testing: What’s Actually Different

    Online exam sessions are real, FCC-recognized, and in some ways more convenient than driving to a hamfest testing room.

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