Article submission for Huntsville Hamfest... How to Ease Into Ham

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Easing Into Ham

During casual conversations, when I mention that I’m interested in amateur radio, almost invariably, the first question I get is, “How do I get started in radio?” Of course I mention simple walkie talkies, FRS, MURS, CB, GMRS, and ham, but the retort is usually, “No, I want to get involved in serious radio. I want to get into ham!” Ah yes… What folks need to understand is that ham radio (aka amateur radio) is a complex, demanding, and often expensive hobby. I’ve been hacking at it one way or another for three years, have passed both the Technician and General ham exams, and I still consider myself a rank amateur. The real “Elmers” (affectionate name for ham old timers) have decades of radio experience under their belts, and tubes for eyes. But we all have to start somewhere, and here are a few tips I learned from my easing entry into ham…

So, I’m only into radio communications for a few years, and already I own ten radios (some ham, and some GMRS)… What have I learned so far?

  • Don’t rush it! Ham rigs run the gamut from $25 Amazon hand transceivers for very local communication to $10,000+ for serious global communication. There’s a whole lotta’ complexity in there, take your time.

  • Research! Use the Web, YouTube, AI, customer reviews, ARRL and especially advertisements. I’ll bet at least 50% of what I know about radios comes from info in advertisements.

  • Online tutorials are a must! Many use the free service [ HamStudy.org: Cutting edge amateur radio study tools ], and others (myself included) use pay tutorials [ Ham Radio Prep – Ham Radio Online License Class ]. Those organizations use actual questions from the FCC test question pool. I created a stack of roughly 6" of note cards as I worked my way through the course, and a 3-ring binder that contains the AI summary of all 22 ham Tech lessons. You can’t rush that!

  • Join any of the beginner ham groups on Facebook. Ask questions…Be patient.

  • Start with GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service): Use GMRS to get your feet wet with radio stuff, then move on to ham. Here’s my GMRS antenna rig. At least I know what I’m getting into when it comes time to set up a ham antenna. You’d better believe I’m going to be careful!

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    image1920×1440 771 KB

    Looking at the numbers above:
    1: Carefully chosen Ed Fong antenna
    2: Coax painstakingly and gently routed
    3: Meticulous grounding (Duh!)
    These are all concerns for the serious amateur radio operator.

  • Finally, join a ham radio club! I can’t stress this enough. In general, ham operators are extremely helpful without being pushy or condescending. Elmers will keep you safe, and that’s an excellent thing!

All too often, when I talk with folks, or people comment on Facebook or in Amazon reviews, I find enthusiasts who have money burning holes in their pockets and can’t wait to get on the ham airwaves. Sadly, some don’t even want to “waste time” taking the required ham tests… their loss. The simple fact is that any sort of serious ham activity takes time. So for now, go ahead and pick up a $25 ham hand transceiver (HT) on Amazon. (The Baofeng UV-5R is extremely popular.) Play with the radio settings, learn about squelch, tones, repeaters, batteries, range, line of sight, the Scadacore RF line of sight tool, CW… try different antennas, and most importantly, listen (never transmit without a license!) Those little HTs are a great first step of many steps towards becoming a ham. Just go slowly. Ease into ham!

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One problem I see with Amateur Radio in the U.S. is that it’s basically two different services: Technicians on dual-band, and everyone else.

Technicians have very limited privileges below 50MHz (and few, if any, 6-meter transceivers), so basically they’re limited to 144MHz and above. Handhelds are available for cheap, and dual-band mobiles are affordable, so Technicians can have a lot of fun on 2 meters and 70cm; but the rest o us get to play radio on the HF bands (and 6 meters, since many HF rigs now include 6). The price difference between dual-band and HF is so great that many Technicians get sticker shock, don’t upgrade, and eventually lose all interest in Ham Radio. There is also the matter of real estate when it comes to HF antennas; Apartment dwellers, many home renters and most HOA residents can’t have the fairly inexpensive homebrew antennas that are an easy entry point to HF.

Do we need to change the rules concerning privileges for Technicians? I think we probably do. But until that can be done, perhaps we Generals and Extras need to put more emphasis on letting new and perspective Technicians that they can’t work Australia or Brazil without considerable additional work and expense; and in some cases they can’t have the most effective antennas where they live. Don’t discourage them; rather, explain the barriers to getting HF privileges and advise them about ways to overcome those barriers – portable antennas, stealth antennas, which used gear is worth buying, etc.

I’m an Extra, but I live in an apartment and can’t have a permanently erected outside antenna. My solution is to move; I’m currently house-hunting in another town where I can afford a home with a decent-sized back yard and no HOA so I can get more use out of my 7300.

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First, thank you for taking the time to read my article, and thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I’ll try to speak to each of your points.

* About ham becoming two different services:
How true… While my interest in ham goes back to my childhood experience with radios, I recently revisited amateur radio because of two weather events here on Cape Cod. A few years ago our house took a direct hit from a small tornado, and last winter we lost power for four days because of a blizzard. While those calamities were quite tame compared to more severe weather in other parts of the world, they still were a reminder that typical grid communication isn’t always a sure thing. A couple years ago, an old friend (“Jay”) and I decided to establish a more reliable, independent means of communication; namely personal radio. At first, we tried GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) but found the four miles that separate us are too thick in obstacles for GMRS. I was able to mount an Ed Fong antenna on my 2nd story roof, but that’s not an option for Jay, hence we went to ham. (Key to note here that I loathe repeaters, so my comments should be taken in light of simplex only.) It wasn’t until our studies for the ham Technician license were underway that I really looked at the ARRL band plan and realized that we were pretty much restricted to the 2 m and 70 cm bands. And that meant dealing with those short little wavelengths that aren’t much better than the 464 MHz range of GMRS. That’s why I immediately studied for and obtained my General license. Sadly, Jay couldn’t do that, and remained a Tech. So, for the moment we are incommunicado via radio.

* About Techs using 2 m and 70 cm to the point of loss of interest…
Techs typically access repeaters, and in doing so, get the kind of range they’re looking for. Combine that with the relatively high cost of HF gear and the complexity of earning the General ticket, and folks fade away. I just bought my first HF radio, a Xiegu G90, and that was $400 on sale. Jay would never pay that kind of money. I thought about 28.300 – 28.500 MHz SSB for Jay, but then that nasty issue of money pops up again. I will add here that both Jay and I have looked at POC (Push-to-talk Over Cellular) but the monthly/yearly service fee and the dependance on existing cell towers nixed that idea. I hear you about complexity and cost when someone moves beyond Tech.

* The antenna issue is a touchy one for me…
If I want to put an antenna on my roof, that’s my business. (If I want to paint my house purple, that’s my business too.) But I understand “property values” and I try to be open minded. So as a concession, I adapt, succeed… I bought the book, “Salty Walt’s Portable Antenna Sketchbook” by Walt Hudson, and those antennas are both cheap and easy to keep out of sight.

* Concerning changing rules for Techs…
I’m going to disagree here… I’ve heard some of the older ‘Elmers’ talk about the damage done to ham with the removal of the CW requirement, and I have to say I agree with them. Learning Morse code takes a lot of work, and in my experience, the more work a person puts into something, the more he respects it. I’ve read that CB (Citizens Band) has turned into a dumpster fire of communication that anybody can use and abuse. I’m afraid the more we dumb down ham, the more it will resemble CB.

* About Generals and Am Ex explaining the limits of Tech…
If anything, I think folks should know the limits of each license, and I agree about knowledge of different antenna types, used gear, etc. I think much of that work can and should be done by radio clubs… Perhaps membership of an ARRL-accredited club should be required for a Tech license? I just joined the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club (“BARC”) and as I said in my article, I strongly advise everyone with any sort of radio interest to join their local club.

Thanks again for your input! Great reply… Maybe you should consider that as a future article?

73,
Alan Speakman