Get your license
The whole path to a US ham radio license: what to study, your FRN, finding an exam in person or online, paying the FCC’s $35 fee and getting your call sign.
Read the guideNew hams
Starter guides
How things work on the air, in plain language.
Ways to use your license
What hams do on the air, from repeaters and nets to Parks on the Air, satellites and emergency service, with what each takes and whether a Technician can join.
Read the guideWhere you can transmit
Technician privileges and frequencies in plain words: where you can transmit and which modes you can use, plus a one-page card to keep by the radio.
Read the guideHam radio for emergencies
An honest guide to emergency ham radio: what a handheld can and can’t reach, a plan, a simple go-kit, joining ARES or SKYWARN, and practicing first.
Read the guideUpgrade to General
What a General license opens on HF, how the exam differs from Technician, what to study, using it the day you pass, and a simple first HF station.
Read the guideVHF vs UHF
VHF vs UHF for ham radio: the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands, which goes farther where, antennas, repeater offsets and calling frequencies, and where to start.
Read the guideHam, GMRS or Meshtastic?
How ham radio, GMRS, Meshtastic and the license-free radios compare: what each costs, who can use it, what it’s good for, and which radios are legal where.
Read the guideYour first contact
Word-for-word scripts for your first ham radio contact: calling on a repeater, answering a call, simplex on 146.520, a net check-in and signing off.
Read the guideRepeater etiquette
How to call, answer, break in and sign off on a ham radio repeater, what to leave out, and a sample contact you can copy.
Read the guideHow nets work
What a ham radio net is, how net control runs one, and exactly what to say at your first check-in, with a sample check-in to follow.
Read the guideSimplex
What simplex means in ham radio (radio to radio, no repeater), the 146.520 and 446.000 calling frequencies, how far you can talk and how to make a call.
Read the guideDMR basics
DMR digital voice for new hams: getting a DMR ID, talkgroups, time slots, color codes, codeplugs, networks like BrandMeister, hotspots and your first contact.
Read the guidePhonetic alphabet
The phonetic alphabet hams use to spell call signs, how to say each word and each number, and a tool that spells your own call sign.
Read the guideSolar numbers
What solar flux, the K index, sunspots and X-ray flares mean for ham radio, which numbers are good, and why they matter on HF but not on your local repeater.
Read the guidePrint and keep
Every guide has a free PDF on its page. Desk cards fit the essentials on one page to keep by the radio.
- Technician band plan desk card PDF, 1 page, 199 KB
- Baofeng UV-5R keypad cheat sheet PDF, 1 page, 232 KB
- Quansheng UV-K5 keypad cheat sheet PDF, 1 page, 225 KB