Amateur radio wiki — National Amateur Radio Alliance

Getting started

Brand new to amateur radio? Start here.

What is amateur radio? A one-page introduction to the hobby and the service.
Why get licensed The practical reasons people take the exam.
What you can do with a licence Activities open to you the day your call sign appears.
Your first radio How to spend your first $30 to $300 well.
Making your first contact Exactly what to say the first time you key up.
Common questions Short answers to what beginners ask most.
A short history of amateur radio From spark gaps and "ham" as an insult to a worldwide licensed service.
How ham radio compares to CB, FRS, GMRS and MURS What the unlicensed and lightly licensed radio services can and cannot do.

Everything between deciding to get licensed and holding a call sign.

Licence classes Technician, General and Amateur Extra, and what each one buys.
Getting an FCC FRN The free FCC registration number you need before you test.
Studying for the exam Free question pools, apps and classes.
Exam day What to bring and what actually happens.
After you pass The FCC fee, your call sign, and the first legal transmission.
Vanity call signs Choosing your own call sign, and what the formats mean.
Renewals, moves and name changes Keeping the licence valid for the next ten years.
Volunteer examiners How testing works, and how to become a VE.

On-air practice, bands, modes and the activities built on them.

Bands and band plans What each amateur band is good for, and where to operate in it.
Operating etiquette The unwritten rules — and the handful of written ones — that keep bands usable.
HF operating Making contacts on the shortwave bands.
VHF and UHF operating Local work, simplex, and weak-signal beyond the repeaters.
Repeaters How they extend your range, and how to use one properly.
Nets Scheduled on-air meetings, and the easiest place to start talking.
Digital modes Sending data over the air, from FT8 to packet. 5 sub-pages
CW and Morse code No longer required, still the most efficient mode there is.
Images and television SSTV, fast-scan amateur television, and pictures from the ISS.
Satellites and the ISS Working orbiting repeaters with modest equipment.
Weak signal, scatter and moonbounce Meteor scatter, EME, tropo ducting and QRSS — VHF and up, beyond line of sight.
Contesting Competitive operating, and why it is worth trying once.
DX and awards Chasing distance, and the certificates that record it.
Parks, summits and portable operating POTA, SOTA and taking the station outdoors. 3 sub-pages
Software Logging, digital modes, programming and propagation tools, by task and by platform. 5 sub-pages

Radios, antennas, feedline, power and the shack around them.

Radios and transceivers Choosing and understanding the box in the middle.
Software-defined radio $30 receivers, panadapters and full SDR transceivers.
Amplifiers What more power buys you, and why it is rarely the first thing to buy.
Antennas The part of the station that determines what you hear. 5 sub-pages
Feedline, SWR and tuners What happens between the radio and the antenna.
Coax, connectors and chokes Choosing cable, installing connectors, and stopping common-mode current.
Power, supplies and batteries Feeding the station at home and in the field.
Grounding, bonding and lightning Protecting people and equipment.
RFI and noise Finding what is wrecking your receiver, and what you might be wrecking.
Portable and mobile stations Operating from a vehicle, a park bench or a backpack.
Kits and homebrewing Building your own gear — where to start, what to buy, and how not to burn yourself.

Amateur radio when the normal systems are down.

Getting involved The first five steps for a new volunteer.
ARES, RACES and served agencies Who the organised groups are and how they differ.
Building a go-kit What to have packed before anything happens.
Traffic handling Passing formal written messages accurately.
Training and exercises Courses, drills and how to keep a group ready.

How and why the radio works.

Propagation Why signals travel further at night, and how to predict it.
Electronics basics The handful of formulas you actually need.
Modulation and modes AM, FM, SSB, CW and what the differences cost.
Antenna theory Gain, patterns, polarisation and matching.
Space weather Solar flux, sunspots, the A and K indices, and what they mean for your next contact.

Part 97 in plain English.

Part 97 basics The rules that matter every time you transmit.
Station identification Who you are, how often, and the awkward cases.
Prohibited transmissions The short list of things you may never do.
Third-party traffic and emergencies Letting an unlicensed person speak, and what changes in a real emergency.
Interference and enforcement What to do about a jammer, and what the FCC actually does.

Starting, running and growing a club.

Lookup material: jargon, codes, reports and links.

Glossary Jargon translated.
Q-codes The three-letter codes that survived from telegraphy.
Phonetic alphabet The ITU alphabet, and why you should stick to it.
Signal reports and abbreviations RST, S-meters and CW shorthand.
Useful links Where to go next, off this wiki.
Books, blogs, YouTube, podcasts and live shows Where to keep learning once the exam is behind you.