Getting Started with Ham Amateur (Ham) Radio

[BassWrangler]

We have a few members here who are interested in Amateur (Ham) Radio. There are also several of us who are licensed ham radio operators, including @Bigun who has been active with the hobby for many years. I am starting this thread to give folks a place to ask questions and discuss the topic.

It's been 12 years since my last exam, but I'll try to answer any questions, and hopefully some of the folks more recently active in the hobby can fill in the gaps.

General Resources

The AARL (Amateur Radio Relay League) s the largest US association for amateur radio. They publish the study guides for the exams, and other reference material, and are sort of like the NRA for amateur radio: https://www.arrl.org/
HamExam.org has practice tests and flash cards that will help you prepare for taking the license exam: https://hamexam.org/
HamExam also has a page with links to the study guides for the different license tests: https://hamexam.org/study-materials
Repeater listings (good to find repeaters, but always try and confirm info with the web site of the repeater owner): https://www.repeaterbook.com/i
Unofficial callsign database: https://www.qrz.com/
RadioID.net: Where you would get an ID to transmit on a DMR radio: https://radioid.net/

(There are tons of resources - if you know of some good ones, post to the thread below and I will add them to this list)

Getting Licensed
To transmit or own a radio capable of transmitting on the US amateur radio bands, you will need to get a license from the FCC. There are three levels of license:

• Technician
• General
• Amateur Extra

As you go up in license, you are allowed to transmit on additional bands.

You can find a place to take the exam, along with some instructions on what you need to do ahead of time here: https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session
Many amateur radio clubs administer the exams, and it's a good idea to meet the people in the club. You can find the closest club here: https://www.arrl.org/find-a-club
I recommend checking into the clubs, seeing if there is a "Hamfest", or at least a club meeting, you can go to. You will find people there are happy to help beginners, and a Hamfest is a good way to take a look at equipment, and observe radio operation and procedures.

Equipment
There's a ton to say about Ham radio equipment, but I strongly recommend waiting to buy until you have your license. Your local radio club can help steer you in the right direction. I generally recommend people start out with a handheld radio. You can do a lot with just a handheld, including talking to other Hams via repeaters, listening to satellite transmissions, and there are even times where, with the right antenna, you can talk to the International Space Station. If you retain an interest in the hobby, you may eventually get a more powerful Mobile radio (which can be used in your car, or at home), or even a base station, fixed installation antennas, etc.

[Cyber Liberty]

 

[libertybele]

Thanks for the info on getting licensed @BassWrangler

[BassWrangler]

Here's some motivation for the seasoned citizens on the forum:



Elderly couple breaks out of Tennessee assisted living facility using Morse code
By Tamar LapinMay 2, 2021 | 3:48pm | Updated

A series of dots helped them make a dash for it.

An elderly couple used their knowledge of Morse code to escape from an assisted living facility in Tennessee, according to a report.

The husband and wife, who have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, were able to decipher and memorize the code to an electronic door lock at the Elmcroft of Lebanon home, the Nashville Tennessean reported.

They were missing for about 30 minutes on March 2 before a stranger found them walking about two blocks from the facility, according to state Department of Health documents obtained by the newspaper.

The husband said he had “previously worked with Morse code in the military” and used that experience to learn the code of an electronic keypad as staffers punched it in.

He and his wife were then able to unlock the door of the home’s secure memory unit — and make a break for it.

https://nypost.com/2021/05/02/elderly-couple-breaks-out-of-assisted-living-facility-using-morse-code/

[rustynail]

Buy used equipment.  Buying new may put you on a list. 

[Bigun]

Thanks @BassWrangler I'll do my best to answer any questions anyone may have in the future.

in addition to the information posted above, I highly recommend this site for your licensing preparation.

https://hamexam.org/

Totally free and it works!  Register and it will take up your study right where you left off the last time.

I recommend going through the full set of flashcards for whatever element you are prepping for (easier said than done as you will soon learn).  Once you have done that, take a few of the practice exams for that element and you will be ready to go.

[DB]

 

[Skull]

Had my General ticket from 1962-67 or so.  Suppose K3RSS is being used by someone else nowadays. 

Ah, good ole Morse -.-.  --.-  is about all I recall.  Over at Gab there are about seven Ham Groups & one of said Morse code is no longer required for any level of ticket.

When I was in USAF at Hamilton Field I got a chance to play with the Log periodic 20 element beam, on a 100ft tower atop a hill, plus a Collins S line.  Got confused with dipping the plate and peaking the grid or something and blew out the expensive Klystron tube on the KW amplifier.  The MARS operator was quite civilized about it, but no more playing with K6FCT, as the non-MARS call sign was.

Nowadays, just too old and stupid & poor to fuss with equipment.  Sometime I will bore you with how I nearly was killed putting up a  40 meter dipole.

[BassWrangler]

Had my General ticket from 1962-67 or so.  Suppose K3RSS is being used by someone else nowadays. 

Ah, good ole Morse -.-.  --.-  is about all I recall.  Over at Gab there are about seven Ham Groups & one of said Morse code is no longer required for any level of ticket.

When I was in USAF at Hamilton Field I got a chance to play with the Log periodic 20 element beam, on a 100ft tower atop a hill, plus a Collins S line.  Got confused with dipping the plate and peaking the grid or something and blew out the expensive Klystron tube on the KW amplifier.  The MARS operator was quite civilized about it, but no more playing with K6FCT, as the non-MARS call sign was.

Nowadays, just too old and stupid & poor to fuss with equipment.  Sometime I will bore you with how I nearly was killed putting up a  40 meter dipole.

Yes, that call sign is now owned by Ronald S Schilling, who apparently requested it as a vanity callsign.

When I unloaded most of my Ham gear about 10 years ago, I sold the little log-periodic that I had. That's one of the things that I regret selling. It broke down into pieces so you could move it. It was dual band, UHF/VHF, so much smaller than the one you used. But very useful for satellite comms.

[BassWrangler]

My wife is going through the ARRL book to get her license. I'll let you all know what her experience is. We're planning on leveraging the web site that @Bigun recommended.

Speaking of which @Bigun - do you know anything about Yaesu System Fusion? I hit a new Yaesu FT3DR HT, and was thinking of trying it out on a repeater that RepeaterBook says supports it, but I have no idea how it works.

[Bigun]

My wife is going through the ARRL book to get her license. I'll let you all know what her experience is. We're planning on leveraging the web site that @Bigun recommended.

Speaking of which @Bigun - do you know anything about Yaesu System Fusion? I hit a new Yaesu FT3DR HT, and was thinking of trying it out on a repeater that RepeaterBook says supports it, but I have no idea how it works.

@BassWrangler

All of our club repeaters are Yaesu and support System Fusion. My base station radio supports digital modes and I've played with it some but not really into it all that much.  You can connect to people all over the world via the WIRES system, but it seems not to be real radio to me.  I guess I'm just an old foggy. Some of our club members are wild about it.

Some of our club members are wild about it.

[Skull]

Just looked WIRES up:

WIRES stands for Wide-Coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System

So radio signals, 6 or 2 meter kinds? are repeated, but what means enhancement?

[Bigun]

Just looked WIRES up:

WIRES stands for Wide-Coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System

So radio signals, 6 or 2 meter kinds? are repeated, but what means enhancement?

Well, you do need a radio to access a WIRES enhanced repeater. Our club operates one.

You bring up the repeater which is connected to the internet via the WIRES system and get connected to another repeater of your choosing somewhere in the world.  The people on each end are talking to the local repeater via radio but everything in between is via the internet.

[Skull]

You bring up the repeater which is connected to the internet via the WIRES system and get connected to another repeater of your choosing somewhere in the world.  The people on each end are talking to the local repeater via radio but everything in between is via the internet.

Tnx Bigun. Sounds like WIRES is not pure radio for sure.  Resembles FaceTime or Skype without any picture.

[DB]

I have a Heath SB-1400 I bought in the eighties...

[BassWrangler]

@BassWrangler

All of our club repeaters are Yaesu and support System Fusion. My base station radio supports digital modes and I've played with it some but not really into it all that much.  You can connect to people all over the world via the WIRES system, but it seems not to be real radio to me.  I guess I'm just an old foggy. Some of our club members are wild about it.

Some of our club members are wild about it.

Thanks, @Bigun. My wife and I drove up closer to the repeater to try it out - there's a really nice dog park (a huge open field with a fence around it) up there, so we took the dog too. I wasn't able to reach anyone via voice, which is not too surprising around here (lots of repeaters that are only active during nets). However, when I pressed the "X" button on my HT, it connected up and showed me a list that had one other repeater in it - one that's a fair distance away. I selected that, and was able to download and upload text messages, but I wasn't ever able to do that with voice. I guess I need to read more about it and try another repeater.

Unfortunately, the none of the repeaters reachable from my house via HT support YSF.

@Skull - I found this presentation which seems to be a good intro to YSF and WIRES-X:

[Bigun]

I have a Heath SB-1400 I bought in the eighties...

That's a good piece of equipment @DB and probably will bring more than you paid for it on the market today

I have owned a lot of Heathkit equipment over the years. Most recently an SB 220 which I picked up for very little at an estate sale.  Replaced the electrolytics, updated the keying circuit, and added a parasitic suppression kit before I sold it after obtaining the ALPHA 89 I now own.

[Bigun]

Thanks, @Bigun. My wife and I drove up closer to the repeater to try it out - there's a really nice dog park (a huge open field with a fence around it) up there, so we took the dog too. I wasn't able to reach anyone via voice, which is not too surprising around here (lots of repeaters that are only active during nets). However, when I pressed the "X" button on my HT, it connected up and showed me a list that had one other repeater in it - one that's a fair distance away. I selected that, and was able to download and upload text messages, but I wasn't ever able to do that with voice. I guess I need to read more about it and try another repeater.

Unfortunately, the none of the repeaters reachable from my house via HT support YSF.

@Skull - I found this presentation which seems to be a good intro to YSF and WIRES-X:

Cellphones, which are just radios, have really done a number on repeater usage all over @BassWrangler

[BassWrangler]

Cellphones, which are just radios, have really done a number on repeater usage all over @BassWrangler

For sure, and I guess a lot of people think it's a silly hobby for that reason. But that can be said of most hobbies...

[Skull]

@Skull - I found this presentation which seems to be a good intro to YSF and WIRES-X:

Both my browsers are in a panic and warn me not to open that link.  So I will not - for now.

[Bigun]

For sure, and I guess a lot of people think it's a silly hobby for that reason. But that can be said of most hobbies...

Yep!  Right up to the moment their cellphones quit working when a hurricane, or some other disaster strikes.

Try talking on your cellphone then!  (Don't tell them, but a text message will go through even when you can't even think about talking on one.)

[Bigun]

Both my browsers are in a panic and warn me not to open that link.  So I will not - for now.

Try this @Skull

http://systemfusion.yaesu.com/wires-x/

[BassWrangler]

Both my browsers are in a panic and warn me not to open that link.  So I will not - for now.

It's just a slide presentation from some HAM group in Kansas City

[BassWrangler]

Try this @Skull

https://systemfusion.yaesu.com/wires-x/

@Skull - I watched this video from Yaesu last night. It was a decent overview of YSF and Wires-X.


https://youtu.be/FiQcmAb_e70

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Yep!  Right up to the moment their cellphones quit working when a hurricane, or some other disaster strikes.

Try talking on your cellphone then!  (Don't tell them, but a text message will go through even when you can't even think about talking on one.)

Yeah but you don't need a HAM license for that. CB or FRS/GMRS radios will do in a pinch.