Ham radio guides for beginners
Plain-English guides to getting licensed, choosing gear, putting up an antenna, and getting on the air — grounded in FCC Part 97 and ARRL references.
US band plan & Technician privilegesA US Technician license grants full voice, data, and CW privileges on all amateur bands above 30 MHz, including the popular 2m…How to tune antenna SWRTo tune antenna SWR, sweep the band with an SWR meter or analyzer and find the frequency of lowest SWR. If the…How to get your licenseTo get your US ham radio license, study the current Technician question pool, then pass the 35-question Technician (Element 2) exam by…Ham vs CB vs GMRSFor license-free family use, FRS bubble-pack radios are simplest. For more power, repeaters, and a whole family on one $35 license with…Program a Baofeng with CHIRPTo program a Baofeng with CHIRP, install the free CHIRP software from chirpmyradio.com, connect a working FTDI programming cable, and download the…How far can a ham radio reach?A handheld ham radio typically reaches 1-5 miles simplex, a mobile 5-15 miles, and a repeater can extend contacts to 20-50+ miles.…Repeaters explainedA repeater is an automated station, usually high on a tower or hill, that receives your signal on one frequency and instantly…Antenna basicsA ham radio antenna turns your transmitter's power into radio waves, and it matters far more than watts. The core types are…UHF vs VHFVHF (2 meters, 144-148 MHz) travels farther over open ground and vegetation, so it wins outdoors and in rural areas. UHF (70…Getting started roadmapTo get started in ham radio, follow six steps: pass the US Technician exam (35 questions, need 26), buy an inexpensive dual-band…Grounding & lightningGrounding and lightning protection means bonding your antenna mast and coax to a single-point ground, adding a coax lightning arrestor where the…RF exposure safetySince May 2021 the FCC requires every US amateur station, at every power level, to perform and keep an RF-exposure evaluation. It…Ham radio glossaryHam radio has its own shorthand. "73" means best regards, "CQ" is a general call inviting any station to reply, and a…