How to Get Started as a Ham Radio Operator

Series Summary

The true origin of the term "ham" seems to have been lost, but there are several theories. It may be a shortcut way of saying the first syllable of amateur radio or it may have originally been used simply as an insult from radio professionals. Hams start out in amateur radio for many reasons, but they all have a basic knowledge of radio technology and regulations in common.

In this series of amateur radio videos, our experienced ham shack operator tells you the basics, such as how to set up and license your our ham radio station, but more importantly, he shows you how to have fun once you have done so. Learn easy steps for extending the range of your radio, as well as how to interface it with your computer with Callbook software. Not sure how to format your entries into your logbook? Our expert will show you how. Would like to know more about morse code but afraid to ask? No worries, Expert Village will tell you everything you need to know.

Video Transcript

"Hi. For Expert Village, I'm Kurt. We're continuing our series on amateur radio, today, and this section, we're talking about the fun things you can do after you have your ticket or your license, and are a ham radio operator. I think there are seven or eight of them, so let's start right now listing them. First one is DXing. You can communicate with people anywhere on the planet, that's what it means- foreign country communications. The bands that you typically use are the ten to a hundred and sixty meter frequency range, and you can communicate with them. Obviously, you get to learn your language skills a little bit, as well. Sometimes the bands are up, sometimes they're down. Secondly, emergency and disaster communication. Organizations in the amateur radio community, as the Amateur Radio Emergency System, the ARES and the National Traffic System, the NTS, prepare amateurs through training that you can assist in cases of disaster, national emergency, and other issues. The third piece is just technical goofing around and experimenting. You can do this from any walk of life- you can be a technician, you can be a teacher, a scientist, or even a retiree, done with work and having fun using and doing Ham Radio. This is probably the main attraction to the hobby for most, it was for me, and hopefully it is for you. You can make just a simple antenna, to as complex as making a transmitter, like this. Or you can hook up communications between this and your computer. The fourth thing is contesting. Now almost every weekend, there's an amateur radio contest going on on some band and in some mode. Hams get on the air, and you compete to make the most contacts in a limited period of time. It also checks band conditions, which is kind of interesting, too. Until then, this is N7QJM, we are QRT and 73's to you!"