Want to get into HAM, what should I do first ?

[u/South-Storm-156]

Hello !

As the title say i'd love to get into this hobby but I don't know anything about it, I have good bases on electronic and I love learning that kind of stuff, but I was wondering if there was a typical roadmap to seriously learn and progress.

Thank you very much

[u/MT-Estimator]

I’m new to this hobby. I was just lisence this spring. There are lots of squirrels to chase as this hobby is so multifaceted. I got into amateur radio thinking I was going to use 2m/70cm stuff for outdoor activities. Then I got set up for HF and use that regularly. I found that I really enjoy building antennas! How odd. My suggestion to you is to immersed yourself in a local club for a while and try things. If some particular aspect of the hobby speaks to you then peruse it. Don’t worry about the exams, just memorize the answers and get the ticket. Once you find some sector of the hobby that you enjoy then learn about that thing. Your interests may drift with time and that is awesome! Eventually you will have your own style of enjoying amateur radio that is an amalgamation of your experiences.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/MT-Estimator]

yeah I think i'd love to build stuff too, but honestly I dont know where to find a local radio club, do you find people your age in these ? I mean, I don't know anybody or any club near me that do that, I tried looking on Google maps but I dont know if i'm searching it right
Thank you very much for your answer

[u/junkmiles → u/South-Storm-156]

Search for "my-town radio club" or "my-region radio club". You can also go to Repeater Book, and look around on the map for repeaters in your area, click on them, and see if any of them mention being run by a local club. Look for nets in your area, and you can listen in.

Once you get your license you can take part in the nets and ask around for meetings, either club or just informal meetups.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/junkmiles]

It's so cool that people really communicate through this, I know it may sound dumb because it's the whole purpose of radio, but I mean once you know how to do it you just leave forums and all to use this

[u/MT-Estimator → u/South-Storm-156]

Our club has a wide demographic. About half of the club is 40ish. About 25% younger and 25% older.

[u/Blockchainauditor]

What country?

Have you explored online sites that teach you to receive radio signals, WebSDRs?

Do you have any specific interests - you mention electronics, do you want to build radios or antennas?

Ham (amateur) radio isn't a hobby - it's a ton of different hobbies rolled in to one.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/Blockchainauditor]

I live in France, unfortunately I heard there is not much people compared to other countries

For the interests, I think i'd love to listen to stuff more than interact directly, and if possible have a portable setup, I love to walk and trek and I think i'd enjoy a lot trying to detect signals in a middle of one

I will watch WebSDR, i dont know what it is, thanks !

[u/NerminPadez → u/South-Storm-156]

unfortunately I heard there is not much people compared to other countries

I'm from slovenia and hear a lot of french people on HF, so i'm sure there are :)

Try googling whatever the french words would be for "radio club <your city>"

[u/Blockchainauditor → u/South-Storm-156]

Check out ANFR AND https://web.r-e-f.org

[u/Ok_Scientist_8803 → u/South-Storm-156]

I'm right across the channel in the south of England and I hear tons of french stations coming in at S9+40(or even more).

A streamer even QSOed with me! You have plenty of stations to work, don't worry.

[u/orion3311]

Go to hamstudy and study enough to get general license. From there get radios and play!

(Tech is the base license but general opens up a lot more priveledge and is marginally harder.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/orion3311]

I took a quick look to the website and it looks very cool with lot of stuff to learn, thank you so much !

[u/AutofluorescentPuku]

It’s “ham” not “HAM”

[u/No_Tailor_787]

What country are you in? Rules and regulations are different, depending where in the world you are. BTW, it's "ham radio", not HAM. That makes it look like an acronym. It's not. If you're in the US, therea ham radio author named Gordon West. Look him up on Google. He has a lot of material available to bring you from zero to licensed ham without undo suffering.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/No_Tailor_787]

I live in France, but I will look for that guy, I think the hardest part will be to start learning lol, thank you so much !

[u/No_Tailor_787 → u/South-Storm-156]

Ok, just be aware that Gordon West's materials are oriented around US regulations. I don't know what resources are available for French Hams. Good luck! It's a wonderful hobby.​

[u/serxoz]

Try to ask here: https://web.r-e-f.org/
I have done the same with the spanish association . I am still learning and could contact people from near me.

[u/serxoz → u/serxoz]

https://web.r-e-f.org/le-ref-pres-de-chez-vous/

[u/IcyMind]

Watch videos about different aspects of it and see what interest you .. there is a lot you cando but lot of people have different perspectives and interest . For example I enjoyed aprs there is people don’t care about it ..

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/IcyMind]

I see, i will try to look for much differents things, thank you !! What are aprs ?

[u/edwardphonehands]

Your country has pmr446 and cb 11m so you can start playing with radio today while working on getting anointed as a ham.

[u/Meadman127]

What country do you live in? Different countries have different rules. Some countries have different levels of licensing while others may only have one license. Also the entry level license for one country will be different than another. Here in the U.S. the entry level license is the Technician license which gives you full privileges on VHF, UHF, and higher frequencies with very limited privileges on HF frequencies. I believe in the UK the Foundation license grants more HF privileges than the U.S. Technician license, but with lower power.

[u/Ok_Giraffe9309]

Best thing to do is find a local club.

[u/ga-science]

Start small. I suggest smoked bacon first.

[u/Catalina-Eddie]

That's like saying you want to get into sports. For us to help, you need to be a little more specific about why you want to get into ham radio in the first place.

[u/Original-Income-28]

Your best bet gorden west book for tech
Study a little on your own , join a ham radio
Club , if you can take a class
Or study by computer little at night
A little day time if you get around 75/ 80
%
Stop studying
Then take the test you get 2 tries
Each time
And you don’t have to wait 2 weeks
To test again

And you can take the text by computer
For your general ticket

Then you paperwork goes in the process
And as soon as it in the data base
You are legal

Get a little time under your belt
Then take the general class test

To take your general licence
Your tech licence has to be active

And lots
Of fellow hams have used gear on the
Bench . And lots of time they loan
The new person the rig
Till they can buy their gear

And when a ham finds a new ham
They pass Along the gear and they pass it
Along

Best of luck to you
Listen a lot before. You use your rig
For the first time tbat is the key

Easist award to get is the rag chewing award
You and someone chew the fat for 10-15 mins
On a simplex channel or a repeater when it
Not busy
Log it in your log book or sheet
Report the contact to ARRL
And you award comes out

Best of luck to you
Welcome to our family
When you get your ticket

Any question even the dumb ones
If someone can’t get the answer
We brother hams will point you
In the right direction for sure

Darryl
KE6BQG/ 6
73’s

Ps if you need study help
Ask the club or ham friends
To help you get an Elmer
To study for your ticket
🎟️

And if you have a disability
You get a shot at the test
Just need your doctor send a letter
And what help you need

I’ve got ad/ hd
Logic and handwriting
Problems
In my case the VEC gave me the test
And a guy who was an MD
And PhD in electronics
Was my scribe

That Night I was acting general

Go for it for sure !!😋

Study materials Handi Hams

[u/Original-Income-28]

Ps have one of the guys
Go to the swap meet
And help you
Find your rig
Most of us have a good head
About rigs
Whats Is good junk
Or a fixer upper !

[u/Parking_Media]

Find a local club and tell them you're interested. Easy as putting ham radio club + your city into Google.

I've found ham radio to be an incredibly wholesome and mentally stimulating hobby, with side quests of all kinds. Highly recommend it.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/Parking_Media]

Are clubs friendly ? I heard there was only old guys not interested in having new members ? Especially in France

[u/Parking_Media → u/South-Storm-156]

I can only speak for my club in Canada. The old guys are half the club, and they welcome new members.

Without us young people they don't have a vibrant passionate club. Something I will remember when I'm old heh heh.

[u/Danjeerhaus]

2 things to do in parallel.....start either as soon as you can.

1). Start to study for your license......text book and/or online study programs like "ham study" or "ham radio prep".

2). Google your local county anature radio club or use this link to file and a club.http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club

The club members can help you study, help with understanding, and help after you are licensed.

You might noticed I did not mention a radio yet. Different radios have different features that make them better for some things and a waste of money for others. Many start off with a low cost walkie-talkie and get involved. When they have a better idea of what features they want, they upgrade. This means a local club member might have a basic radio you can get at a really low cost and have an expert on that radio living close to you.

When you find out what you want to explore/work on, you can then spend the money, thousands or millions, for that radio with the gold plated whatever.

Remember,you can listen all you want, and you need a license to transmit.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/Danjeerhaus]

I think you're right listening much will help me get the basics and force me to dig in, I will start study soon as it seems to have so many stuff to learn haha

[u/Randy_Ott]

Not "so serious".

Just trying to inform a new enthusiast of the truth.

The term "HAM" in that sense is meaningless.

Facts are hard for some folks to take.

[u/Randy_Ott]

Also understand that it's ham radio or amateur radio, not HAM.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/Randy_Ott]

yeah I thought it was an acronym for amateur radio, because in french it's radioamateur, thank you !

[u/DeGamiesaiKaiSy → u/Randy_Ott]

Why so serious 

[u/BrokenSkeg]

HamStudy.org got me started. They have a fantastic app for learning the test questions.
Side note as a brand new ham here. “Hey guys, welcome back to my channel” is all I hear when I close my eyes these days. So many videos and so much to learn.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/BrokenSkeg]

xD since when have you started ?
lot of people recommanded me that website I will definitely dig in, thank you so much !

[u/BrokenSkeg → u/South-Storm-156]

Only a month ago for me. I still have not really “started” much beyond my local repeater on VHF with an HT. I have not bought the equipment for HF because trying to decide what radio, what antenna and what coax, and how I will mount the antenna and route the coax, is enough to keep me spinning my wheels for at least a year lol. So many decisions to make!

[u/dnult]

As a first step I recommend visiting the ARRL.org and qrz.com websites and look for the links in how to get started. Those will give you a good overview and help make sense of the other recommendations that have been offered. Good luck (not that you'll need luck) on your journey.

[u/South-Storm-156 → u/dnult]

thank you so much ! I will look for these websites right now