Ham Radio for the New Ham

What to Do the Minute You Get Your

Amateur Radio License

Stan W. Merrill, AI7E

 Ham Radio for the New Ham

Copyright © 2019 by Stan W. Merrill

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 9781091402171
 DEDICATION

To my wife, Helena (KI7UQD), and the other amateur radio operators

who endeavor to make the world a better place through radio.
 CONTENTS

Acknowledgments vii
Preface viii
Why You Need This Book 1
Section 1. Make Being a Ham Part of Yourself 8
Project 1. Print Out Your License 11
Project 2. Frame Your License and Make a Wallet Card 14
Project 3. Memorize Your Call Sign 17
Project 4. Buy a Cheap Ham Radio and Programming Cable 20
Project 5. Brush Up Your ITU Phonetic Alphabet 24
Project 6. Expect a Phone Call that Welcomes You 27
Project 7. Get a Ham License Plate (Optional) 30
Section 2. Prepare Your Radio 32
Project 8. Find Your Local Repeaters 34
Project 9. Unpack and Assemble Your Radio 40
Project 10. Get Acquainted with Your Radio 43
Project 11. Use VFO to Tune to a Frequency and Listen 46
Project 12. Program a Simplex Channel into Your Radio 50
Project 13. Program a Repeater Channel into Your Radio 57
Project 14. Gather Your Most-Used Frequencies 63
Project 15. Organize Your Most-Used Frequencies 71
Project 16. Get CHIRP 74
Project 17. Use CHIRP to Configure Memory Channels 78
Project 18. Scan Your Memory Channels to Find Conversations 84
Project 19. Learn the Most-Used Q-Signals 87
Section 3. Get on the Air! 91
Project 20. Find a Ham Net 93
Project 21. Listen In on a Net 98
Project 22. Ask for a Radio Test 101
Project 23. Check Out Reverse 104
Project 24. Find Other People’s Experiences Online 109
Project 25. Review Cables 112
Project 26. Review Antenna Connectors 116
Project 27. Buy a Mobile Antenna 121
Project 28. Try Out Your Mobile Antenna 128
Project 29. Know How to Announce an Emergency 133
Project 30. Host a Third-Party Conversation 136
Section 4. Involve Yourself with Others 140
Project 31. Find a Radio Club 141
Project 32. Enjoy Other Group Activities 145
Project 33. Join ARRL 148
Project 34. CQ CQ CQ 151

About the Author 154

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you for reading this book. I’m so glad you’ve become part of
the amateur radio family. May you continue to learn and participate
and help others with your communication knowledge and talents. I’m
excited for you. Just think how many experiences you’ve got ahead
of you with radio.
Thanks, also, to the great people who made this book possible.
My amazing wife, Helena, got her Technician’s license and showed
me that I wasn’t the only one who needed a book like this. She also
cheered me on as I wrote it. Gail Seymour made dozens of
suggestions and corrections to improve the book while chipping in
with asides about flea markets and antennas on boats that kept me
laughing. Alan Moran is a real radio aficionado. He tried all the
projects in the book, discovered some mean bugs along the way,
and helped me see some of the places that needed more work.
Gabby Browne edited the manuscript and made it read more
smoothly. Finally, thanks to Les at GermanCreative for the terrific
book cover.
Good luck to you, and best regards, or as Hams say, 73. I hope to
catch you on the air.

AI7E – Stan
 PREFACE

This is the amateur radio book you want on the very day you get
your new ham radio license. (Of course, you can use it after that,
too.)
You’ve studied. You’ve passed the test. You’ve received your call
sign. But what do you do next?
This book will provide the answer. It contains the things they don’t
tell you when you’re studying for your license, but that you need to
know as soon as you’ve got it. It includes 34 easy projects to help
you grow your identity as a Ham, buy and set up your first radio,
overcome the obstacles to getting on the air, and become part of the
amateur radio community around you.
With this book you’ll avoid some of the mistakes beginners often
make. You’ll never have to flail around, wondering what to do or how
to do it. When you complete these projects you’ll not only have your
amateur radio “ticket,” you’ll know how to use it.
Written by Amateur Extra class ham radio operator, Stan W.
Merrill, call sign AI7E, it picks out the key things you’ll use daily from
among the many you had to study to get your license. It guides you
through the experiences you need in order to operate your radio as a
new Ham in the United States.
 WHY YOU NEED THIS BOOK

I drove down a steep mountain on a rutted dirt road that had more
curves than a sidewinder snake. Or maybe I should say more curves
than a twenty megahertz radio wave.
My foot pushed down on the gas pedal.
My father sat next to me in our family’s old Ford station wagon, a
yellow one with brown trim. I could see through the corner of my eye
that he was tense. Every second he grew more agitated, and I felt he
was trying hard not to grab the steering wheel.
“What are you doing?” he asked at last, his voice tight and
anxious. “Why is your foot on the gas?”
“The driver’s license manual said you should accelerate on a
curve to keep the car under control,” I said.
I had aced the driver license written test that morning. I knew the
theory.
 Unfortunately, I had failed the actual driving test. My father had
brought me, a fifteen-year-old boy, to a spot he loved so that I could
practice driving a car and do better next time. That way, I wouldn’t
have to tell my friends I had flunked.
“Gravity is already making you accelerate,” he said. “Put your foot
on the brake when you’re going downhill on sharp curves in case
gravity accelerates you too fast.”
I wasn’t sure I believed him since the manual said something
else, but I was driving his car, so I obeyed. His advice did make it
easier to handle the turns. It was more like being in control and less
like careening around a roller coaster. We made it down the
mountain, but he kept me on city streets for the rest of the day.
When it came time, years later, to take my amateur radio test, I
knew the theory and passed just fine. They had given me the
questions and the answers, so how could I miss? I studied for a
week and passed the Technician and General license test at the
same time. Two weeks later, having studied intensely, I sat for the
Amateur Extra exam. After the three examiners checked my
answers, one of them laughed kiddingly, “Congratulations, but I’m
sorry. This is the last amateur radio test you can take. You’ve run out
of licenses to get.”
I had gotten the top amateur radio license in the United States. I
had studied legal issues, electronics, mathematics, safety, solar
flares and space weather, radio frequency propagation, and
miscellaneous other issues. I also found out that, just like with
driving, the theory had left me with a lot of information, but no idea
how to apply it. It didn’t matter whether I was a Technician, a General
or an Extra. After passing all those tests I still had no idea how to
use a radio.
To make up for my ignorance I read articles on the internet and
watched YouTube videos. There was so much out there that I felt like
I was drowning in a sea of information. It was frustrating. Barely two
or three weeks passed before I wondered if my fleeting career in
amateur radio was over.
One night, a local Ham named Scotty (K7NAL) phoned and
welcomed me to amateur radio. He invited me to sign in to a “net”
each Thursday night. After he’d hung up, I realized that I had no idea
how to set up frequencies and CTCSS tones (Continuous Tone
Coded Squelch System) to reach the local repeater. But Scotty had
given me the incentive to try. It took months for me to get a reliable
transmission. I figured it out, of course, but at turtle speed.
It got worse a year later when my wife, in an astonishing display
of spousal compassion, agreed to get her amateur radio license. She
didn’t have a science or engineering background like I had, and
wasn’t the least bit interested in radio. She did it simply to show she
loved me. It was two weeks of agony for her.
When the email arrived with her call sign, we celebrated. She
agreed to take part in a weekly “net.” But she wasn’t really excited
enough to find out what to do next. She was too exhausted from all
that studying.
All of which led to this book. I studied radio theory to get my
license. So did my wife. You did, too. But what comes next? How
could I actually do radio? What should my wife do now that she had
her license? How should you get started?
I have been a Ham now for long enough to know the answers and
share them with you.
This book leads you through 34 quick projects that will take you
from just knowing the theory to doing real radio. Each project will
take you, step by step, from being a Ham in theory to being a Ham in
practice. You’ll make progress fast. It will be a bit scary and so much
fun!

AN R
 Some readers have asked whether they can jump around in the
book to find answers to questions they have. Certainly you may. It’s
your copy of the book and you’re welcome to use it your way.
However, the book was designed so that each project builds on the
earlier ones to grow your skills. If you’re a brand-new Ham, you’ll
want to consider doing them in order.
Finally, how much step-by-step guidance you need depends on
your background, experience, and technical talent. I’ve tried to make
the steps tiny for those who need a lot of support. If you don’t need
as much as someone else might, feel free to jump over steps you
feel are obvious.

J C …
… you haven’t actually gotten your amateur radio license yet, let
me leave you with some steps to get started. (You can skip this if you
already have your “ticket.”)
Get a study manual. The American Radio Relay League
(ARRL) publishes study guides with all the questions for the
test you want to take: Technician, General, or Amateur
Extra. The guides give you background material, so you’ll
understand what the test questions mean. There are other
guides available by other authors, some of which may be
easier to understand, so check around. You can buy
manuals at major online bookstores, or you can use your
favorite search engine to find “Ham Radio License Study
Guide.”
Some people just want to memorize the test answers.
Several websites are available to help you. I will mention
HAMstudy.org because it is free. It is a terrific website for
studying the answers. It will ask you questions, show you
the answers, and give you practice tests. You will find the
site useful, whether or not you study a manual. You can
search the web to find other sites that may appeal to you.
 Live classes may be available in your area. You may find
them listed at HAMstudy.org or announced at a local
amateur radio club. (See Project 31 for how to find a radio
club.)
Get your FCC Registration Number (also known as your
FRN). To do so:
◦ Go to wireless.fcc.gov/uls/.
◦ Click on the register link. Fill out the form and submit it.
◦ Print out a copy of your registration number and write
down your password. Better still, print multiple copies.
Do not lose the number. You need it in order to take
the test. File it somewhere safe, where you’ll
remember to find it.
Locate a local test session.
◦ Search for tests at HAMstudy.org.
◦ Go to www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-class
and search for tests using the form there.
Take the test and pass it. If you don’t pass the first time, try
again. I’ve never heard any Ham ask another, “How many
times did you have to take the test?” All they want to know
is that you did.
Be patient until your call sign arrives.
As soon as you get your call sign, open up this book and start at
Section 1. (Okay, yes, you can certainly read the book before you
get your license, or while you’re waiting for your call sign. You won’t
be able to legally transmit until you have your call sign, but there’s a
lot to learn, even without that. Just remember to come back
afterward and go through the projects. You’ll be glad you did.)
 SECTION 1. MAKE BEING A HAM PART OF
YOURSELF

The other night I was at a training session for Community

Emergency Response Teams (CERT), a program established by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the US
Department of Homeland Security. It trains volunteers to help in
disasters and is valuable training for anyone interested in survival
and readiness.
We were sitting in a classroom, talking about emergency
communications, also known as “EMCOMM”, discussing what to do
if the cell towers went down or there was no electrical power. A
couple of the trainers were giving information about ham radio, and
they were completely wrong. I said to one of them, “You need to get
your ticket so you can give out correct information.”
He admitted sheepishly that he already had his Technician
license.
“What’s your call sign?” I said.
 “I don’t remember.”
The other trainer dug into his wallet and pulled out a torn piece of
paper with his call sign on it. “I don’t remember mine either,” he said.
“But I wrote it down.”
Both of them had been licensed for about a year, but they couldn’t
even remember their call signs, let alone FCC rules or how to use a
radio. They got licensed because they were interested in EMCOMM,
but they had wasted their time and effort. In a communications
emergency they would be totally unable to use their radios. Using an
amateur radio requires effort and practice. If you’re not going to do
the work, you may as well just have a walkie-talkie.
The problem these trainers had was that they hadn’t taken the
time to make ham radio a part of their identity. When you first get
your license, you may not feel like a Ham. You may not sound like
one to others either, because Hams know certain things. They know
the International Phonetic Alphabet, Q signals, frequency bands, and
the proper way to identify themselves. I recently heard two Hams
threaten to report an individual to the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) because she didn’t know the proper way to
identify herself with her call sign. She got off the radio quickly.
Your call sign is a strange new name to go along with the one
your parents gave you. You need to integrate it into who you are.
Otherwise, a few months down the road, all that work you put in will
be wasted and you will be a Ham in name only. You won’t remember
what you learned, and you won’t have practiced it.
The first projects in this section of the book will have a big impact
on you. They help you look and feel like a Ham, and that is the first
step to acting like one.
At first glance, you may think, “This reminds me of kindergarten.”
The projects are simple and some of them involve skills any five-
year-old has mastered. But they are designed using psychological
principles to help you add a new feature to your personal identity. So
do them. If you’ve already done some of them on your own, good
job.
None of the projects takes long. They’re all easy. But don’t let that
stop you. Don’t skip over them because you think just reading about
them is enough. Doing them makes a big difference in who you
become and how others view you in amateur radio.
 PROJECT 1. PRINT OUT YOUR LICENSE

Congratulations. You have your amateur radio license and your call
sign. You’re officially a Ham. But the only evidence you’re a Ham is a
few blips somewhere in the computers of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) and an email message. Your
first job is to print out a copy of your license so you have something
physical to show.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
A computer with a web browser.
Internet access.
A printer.
At least three sheets of good quality letter-size paper. You
can use copy paper if you don’t have something better.
Your FCC Registration Number (FRN) that you got when
you registered before taking your test.
 Your FCC password.
A pen.

H D I
You’ll need Adobe Acrobat or some other PDF reader software to
open a copy of your license once you’ve downloaded it. Most
computers already have it installed, but if yours doesn’t, search for
“Adobe Acrobat” or “PDF reader” using your favorite search engine.
Download and install your preferred reader.
Retrieve your FCC Registration Number (FRN) and password
from where you filed it when you applied for it before you took your
license exam.
In your browser, go to www.fcc.gov/uls/.
Click on the Log In link for Online Filing and sign in with your FRN
and password.
Notice that you are registered and that you have a call sign.
Click on the link to print your official license. You will receive a
PDF version of your license. Once you have the PDF file,
save a copy of it on your own computer. (If you don’t see a link to
your license, follow the instructions in the Note below.)
Load your printer with three sheets (or more) of good quality
paper.
Print at least three copies of your license.
Sign all the copies of the license and all the wallet cards.
Put one copy in your ham radio file. You’ll frame the second copy
and make a wallet card from the third in the next project.
Note: If you don’t find a link to your official license, click on the
word “now” where it says “download your official electronic
authorizations now.” Enter your call sign and click the Search button.
Scroll down the page and click on your call sign under “My
Authorizations.” Click the “Add” button. Click the “Select All” button
and the “Download” button to get a PDF copy of your official license.
 PROJECT 2. FRAME YOUR LICENSE AND MAKE
A WALLET CARD

When you first get your license, it’s a little hard to believe that you’re
really a Ham. It’s also hard for others to believe, because they have
no supporting evidence. Of course, many of the people around you
won’t care; they are interested in other things. But it’s important to
post your achievement so you and others will have proof that, yes,
you really are a licensed amateur radio operator. Framing your
license and laminating your wallet card will show others that you take
pride in your achievement. They will accept it and respect it more.
It’s part of making your amateur radio status part of yourself.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:

An 8x10 picture frame.

Scissors or a cutting board.
 Two copies of your amateur radio license.
Wallet card size laminating plastic (such as Scotch Self-
SealTM laminating pouches) (optional).
3M CommandTM strips or a picture hanging kit or a nail
(optional).

H D I
If you’re using a new picture frame, it will typically have stock photos
and a beveled mat inside it. A used frame may have an existing
photo. Open up the picture frame and remove any material inside it.
Use a ruler to measure the license, so that it will fit the frame.
With a cutting board or scissors, trim the license. Insert the trimmed
copy of your license into the frame so you can see the license
through the glass. Replace the backing and close the frame.
Take the remaining copy of your license and trim out the wallet
card. Fold it in half. If you want to laminate the card in plastic, follow
the laminator’s instructions.
Clean up the trimmed paper and any other mess from this project.
You want to show others that your license is important to you, and
presenting it in a clean environment helps. (Okay, I know I’m being a
little obsessive-compulsive here. I just want you to look good.)
Show both the framed copy and the wallet card to others you care
about. This is important, even if they aren’t the least bit interested.
It’s like filing a mining claim on a gold strike or putting your name on
the mailbox at your new dwelling or peeing on a tree if you’re a male
wolf. You’re marking your territory.
Set the framed license on your desk or window sill. Or use the
CommandTM strip or picture hanging kit or nail to hang it on the wall.
If there’s someone in your family or circle of friends who is an interior
designer, consider asking the person to help you decide where to
hang or display the framed license. It will involve him or her in your
achievement.
 PROJECT 3. MEMORIZE YOUR CALL SIGN

You feel elated that you’ve got your call sign. At the same time, you
feel that it’s a bit alien, like suddenly being told you’re someone else.
A call sign is awkward, a jumble of random letters, yet this is the new
you. You will be using your call sign over and over. People will get to
know you by it. In my case, instead of being “Stan,” I became
“KI7JVF, Stan,” and later, after getting a vanity call sign, I became
“AI7E, Stan” or just “AI7E” as far as amateur radio is concerned.
It takes time to get used to being someone new. Hams I have
talked to said it took them from a day or two to several weeks. In the
introduction to this book I mentioned the CERT trainers who hadn’t
gotten used to their call sign, even after a year. You don’t want that
happening to you.
You need to learn your call sign so that when someone says it,
you know they’re talking to you. When you say it yourself, you want
to do it without stumbling over it.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
 A computer.
A printer.

H D I
Start a new document with your word processing software.
Type in your call sign. Make the font large enough so the call sign
fills the entire sheet of paper. Make it bold faced or choose a
memorable font. Decorate it however you want.
While you’re doing this, repeat your call sign aloud several times
until it feels comfortable on your tongue.
Print out copies. Post them where you can see them.
Every time you see one of the copies, say your call sign out loud.
You’ll probably feel self-conscious or embarrassed, but it will
motivate you to learn your call sign faster.
Leave the posts up until you don’t need them anymore. Of
course, the faster you get your call sign tripping off your tongue, the
sooner your partner (if you have one) will stop hating you for
cluttering up the house or apartment. However, you might want to
leave the copies up long enough that he or she (or they)
understands that those letters now represent you.
Hint: While we’re talking about “partners” here, if you have one
who happens to be a Ham, it wouldn’t harm your relationship if you
memorized his or her call sign, too. Would it?
 PROJECT 4. BUY A CHEAP HAM RADIO AND
PROGRAMMING CABLE

If you already have a ham radio that handles both the two-meter
(144 MHz) and seventy-centimeter (440 MHz) bands, you can skip
this project. Otherwise, get ready to buy one.
You can do it legally, now. In the United States you could do it
legally before you received your license. You just couldn’t legally use
the radio to transmit. There are other countries where you cannot
legally own or even have a ham radio in your possession without a
license, so count yourself lucky.
If you haven’t already bought a radio, what should you buy?
I suggest that you buy a cheap throwaway handheld radio. Even
though it is inexpensive enough to be disposable, you probably will
always find a use for it. It won’t be a waste of money even if you plan
on buying a more expensive model later.
In order to have meaningful examples and complete the
exercises in this book, you need a real ham radio. I’ll go out on a
limb and suggest you buy a Baofeng UV-5R, which costs about $25
or a little more. Or, if you can afford it, buy a Baofeng BF-F8HP for
about $65. These are small Chinese radios that cover the two-meter
and 70 centimeter-bands. Those are the bands most used by
Technician class operators, and they are used by General and
Amateur Extra class operators, too. The more expensive model can
transmit at eight watts rather than four, and may have a better
antenna. But otherwise the two are very similar. I own several of
each, and in day-to-day usage I can’t tell any difference.
While you’re at it, buy a genuine model PC03 FTDI Programming
Cable for about $21. (You can type that into a search engine to find
one.) Yes, the cable costs almost as much as the radio.
In total, you’ll spend less than $90, maybe even less than $50.
If you’ve read anything about ham radios, you’ve probably heard
that Chinese radios like the Baofeng are not as selective or sensitive
as the much more expensive Japanese radios by Icom, Kenwood, or
Yaesu. That’s possibly true, although I haven’t tested those claims
myself. You may have heard that they are harder to program, too.
You may have even read of people who claim they HATE the
Baofeng radios. That’s fine, they’re entitled to their opinions, even
though they’re wrong. It doesn’t matter. You’re just learning. The
Baofeng radios are great for learning. In addition to ham radio
frequencies, they provide access to National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather and emergency reports
and standard local FM radio stations. The battery charge seemingly
lasts forever. They even include an LED flashlight and a siren. They
are cheap, and they work.
On September 24, 2018, the FCC put out an enforcement
advisory, known as DA 18-980A1, in which it warned that some low-
cost radios were illegal because they were not FCC certified and
authorized. However, the UV-5R’s have an FCC ID of 2AJGM-UV5R
and the BF-F8HP’s have an FCC ID of 2AGNDF8HP. You can see
the approval entries in the FCC database at
www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid if you want to look them up for yourself.
Both radios are capable of transmitting on frequencies outside of the
amateur bands, and you may want to disable transmitting on
channels in these bands to protect against accidentally doing so.
You’ll learn how to do that in Project 17.
When you have some experience and have a better idea of what
you want in a handheld radio, you can buy a different one. At that
point, you can throw away the Baofeng, if you wish. But you’ll
probably hang on to it as a backup radio for when the expensive one
needs repair, or else you’ll wrap it in a Faraday package and put it in
your bug-out bag for emergencies.
For the record, Baofeng did not pay for my recommendation and
it doesn’t earn me a cent. This is just the best deal I know for a
beginning Ham.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
A computer with a web browser (optional).
Internet access (optional).
A debit or credit card, a checkbook or cash.

H D I
If you have an amateur radio shop near you, you can buy your radio
there. They’ll probably suggest you buy something more expensive.
It’s up to you whether you succumb to their sales pitch.
Otherwise, use your favorite search engine to search online for a
Baofeng, or go directly to your favorite online store. Find a deal on
the version of the radio you like and order it. Remember to also order
the programming cable.
Now, if you haven’t got your radio already, stop reading and go
buy one. (Please.)
 PROJECT 5. BRUSH UP YOUR ITU PHONETIC
ALPHABET

As soon as you start listening to amateur radio, you’ll hear people

using a phonetic alphabet. Instead of saying AI7E, they’ll say Alpha-
India-Seven-Echo or instead of KI7JVF you’ll hear Kilo-India-Seven-
Juliet-Victor-Foxtrot. Many countries have their own phonetic
alphabets for local traffic in their own languages, but the International
Telegraphy Union (ITU) version is used worldwide between countries
and in all English-speaking lands. If you don’t know and use the ITU
phonetic alphabet, other operators will immediately wonder if you’re
a legitimate Ham because you were supposed to have learned it
when you studied for your Technician license.
Of course, you had a LOT to learn for that license, and if you
remember ten percent of it you’re to be congratulated. But you do
need to learn it now if you don’t remember it. Most importantly, you
need to be able to say your own call sign when using it.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
 A copy of the ITU International Phonetic Alphabet. (It’s
reproduced below.)
A pen or pencil.
A piece of paper.

H D I
Write your call sign on a piece of paper.
Use the table below to write out your call sign using the phonetic
alphabet.
Practice reading it aloud until you know it by heart.
Copy the entire phonetic alphabet on a piece of paper. (Copying it
will help you learn it.) Post it where you can read it often. By the time
you’re on the air you’ll likely remember most of it.
Whatever you do, make sure you can say your own call sign
phonetically.
 ITU P A
A – Alpha N – November
B – Bravo O – Oscar
C – Charlie P – Papa
D – Delta Q – Quebec
E – Echo R – Romeo
F – Foxtrot S – Sierra
G – Golf T – Tango
H – Hotel U – Uniform
I – India V – Victor
J – Juliet W – Whiskey
K – Kilo X – Xray
L – Lima Y – Yankee
M – Mike Z – Zulu
 PROJECT 6. EXPECT A PHONE CALL THAT
WELCOMES YOU

Within a week or two of getting your call sign you may receive a
phone call from another amateur radio operator. He or she will be
letting you know that someone from somewhere sent you radio
“traffic” that needs to be relayed to you. The caller is usually
someone nearby who has volunteered to pass on the message.
Typically, it will read like this:
GREETINGS BY AMATEUR RADIO X CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW
AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE X ASK DELIVERING HAM FOR
MORE INFO ABOUT THIS MESSAGE X 73
My wife received two messages, one from Kate (K6HTN) in
California and one from Pieter (DL4FN) in Germany. I only received
a single message from someone in California—I was too stunned to
write down the name and call sign of the sender—but it changed my
life.
Hams send this sort of message to welcome you to the group.
Did you notice at the end it mentions that you can ask the caller
questions about amateur radio?
I got the call from K7NAL (Scotty) as mentioned earlier. We talked
for three-quarters of an hour and used up his prepaid phone
minutes. He invited me to participate in the local “net.” A net is a
scheduled activity in which a “net control operator” reads out the call
signs of net members and gives them a chance to check in. Scotty
also invited me to an “eyeball” where I could meet other local Hams
face to face. I decided to participate. That, in turn, got me active in
amateur radio.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
The phone with a number that you gave the FCC when you
registered, or that a reasonable search will reveal to a
prospective caller.
A piece of paper.
A pen or pencil.

H D I
If you get this kind of call, take advantage of it. Ask questions,
especially “stupid” ones. Jot down the answers. Ask the caller for his
or her call sign and, if he’s willing to let you call him with questions,
his phone number. Ask for a recommended radio club to join, and
when or if the club has a weekly “net.” (We’ll talk about nets and
clubs later, but it’s good to get whatever information you can.)
 PROJECT 7. GET A HAM LICENSE PLATE
(OPTIONAL)

If you are a licensed amateur radio operator, most states will let you
use your call sign for your license plate number. If you’re not ready to
advertise your call sign to everyone who follows your car, don’t
worry, this is totally voluntary. But you should know that getting a
license plate is possible.
You’re doing your community a favor by having the license plate
because, in a disaster situation, police and other first responders can
identify you as someone who may be able to help with critical
communications.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
Your own automobile.

H D I
If you’re interested, visit or phone your local Division of Motor
Vehicles (or whatever it’s called in your state). Tell them you’re a
licensed ham radio operator and would like to change your license
plate to your call sign. There may be a fee to do this.
 SECTION 2. PREPARE YOUR RADIO

If you attend prepper conferences or are involved with people who

want to be ready for emergencies, you’ll almost certainly hear
somebody claim that everybody should get a ham radio. “It’s more
powerful than other radios, and if it’s an emergency you can use it
without a license.”
Those hucksters naively think ham radios are like ordinary
consumer radios. They believe all you have to do is turn it on, maybe
switch to an emergency channel, and help is on the way. They
erroneously believe that a ham radio is like a citizen band (CB) radio
or an AM/FM car radio or a cell phone.
You and I know they are in for a BIG surprise.
Ham radios are made for people who are interested in radio. We
want to fiddle with them. We want something that uses our
intellectual effort. We want to experiment.
To be a Ham means being part of a community that shares
information about frequencies and technology. You cannot just
switch on a ham radio and think it’s going to work. You have to—no,
you get to—do a lot of learning and experimenting in order for your
radio to be of any use at all.
In this section, you’re going to find the frequencies of local
repeaters, program them into your radio, and get ready to actually
talk on the air. In an emergency, anyone who hasn’t done this is
doomed to frustration and failure. But it goes deeper than that: this is
one of the key things you have to do to use a ham radio at all.
 PROJECT 8. FIND YOUR LOCAL REPEATERS

Most Technician class operators use radio wavelengths that are

either about two meters long or about 70 centimeters long. Generals
and Extras also use these frequencies a lot. So we’ll employ them
for getting acquainted with radio.
In the United States, the two-meter amateur band encompasses
the frequencies from 144.0 to 148.0 MHz. The 70-centimeter band
stretches from 420 to 450 MHz. As a Ham, you’re entitled to operate
almost anywhere in those bands. In practice, however, most of the
frequencies have been assigned by local users to a “band plan.” The
band plan shows what frequencies will be used by repeaters, which
ones for “simplex” (direct radio-to-radio operation), which
frequencies are allocated to CW (continuous wave or Morse code),
and so on. Following the band plan is what the FCC calls “good
practice,” so it’s important to get to know the one for your area. We’ll
talk more about band plans later, but for now you should know that a
significant percentage of the amateur VHF/UHF bandwidth is
dedicated to repeaters.
 As you know, a repeater is a radio that hears what you transmit
and re-sends it in the hope that operators further away can hear you
and transmit back to you. Repeaters are important for the two-meter
and 70-centimeter bands, because those signals usually only travel
a few miles, depending on the obstacles that are in the way. Since
repeaters are so important for these bands, the first job is to find
repeaters close to you.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
A smart phone or a computer with a web browser.
Internet access.
A printer or pencil and paper (optional).

H D I
The easiest way to find repeaters is to download a free app to your
phone. Go to Google Play (for Android) or the App Store (for iOS)
and search for RepeaterBook by ZBM2. It will use your current
location to show all the repeaters within a specified distance, such as
25 miles. You can change the settings to search for repeaters on
various bands.
Another way to find nearby repeaters is to use your favorite
search engine. In your browser, type something like “amateur radio
repeaters for [your state].”
Go to the links that come up, and search for repeaters near your
location.
Each repeater you find will include its location, frequency and
CTCSS tone (if any). It may also include the offset direction (+ or -).
Sometimes a listing will include other information, but location,
frequency, tone and offset are the key ones.
 The location is often the name of a mountain peak or a building
that is high enough to let the signal travel as far as possible without
obstructions.

Illustration 1: A wavelength. (Public domain image)

As you recall from studying for your license, frequency is the
number of times the signal changes through an entire wavelength in
one second. It is measured as it passes a given point. Radio
frequencies travel at the speed of light or approximately 300 million
meters per second in a vacuum. In other words, if a wave is one
meter long, three hundred million of them will pass a point in one
second. Since a two-meter wave is twice as long, it takes twice as
long for it to pass a point, and only 300,000,000/2 or 150 million
would make the journey in a second. Another way to say 150 million
wavelengths per second is 150 megahertz or 150 MHz. Radio
literature before 1960 or 1970 often referred to cycles per second or
megacycles per second, but the official name for a cycle per second
was changed to hertz in the International System of Units (SI) in
1960.
The frequency listed for a repeater is the one that it transmits to
you, not the one it receives from you. The frequency you use to
transmit to the repeater is specified by an offset, meaning that you
add or subtract a certain frequency to the repeater’s frequency to
transmit to it. The offset can be in a positive (higher or +) or negative
(lower or -) direction. For example, on the two-meter band you
usually add or subtract 600 KHz (0.6 MHz). Thus, if the repeater
transmits to you on, say, 147.360 MHz then a positive offset would
mean you transmit to it on 147.360 MHz + 0.6 MHz = 147.960 MHz.
A negative offset would mean you transmit on 147.360 – 0.6 =
146.760 MHz. (Sorry about the math, but it is just easy addition and
subtraction.)
Most modern radios automatically use the convention that offsets
of 147 MHz or below are negative, and those above 147 MHz are
positive. If an offset for the 70 centimeter band is not listed, it will
likely, but not necessarily, be a negative one of five megahertz.
The acronym CTCSS stands for “Continuous Tone Coded
Squelch System.” Motorola uses the term PL, which stands for
“Private Line” and means the same thing. It is Motorola’s proprietary
term so we are supposed to call it by the more awkward CTCSS,
instead of the easier PL. In practice, however, people frequently just
say “PL tone.” Remember that the CTCSS, or PL tone, is a tone your
radio sends to a repeater to let it know you want it to pay attention to
you. You won’t hear the tone being sent, but the repeater will.
To summarize, the repeater’s frequency is the one it uses to
transmit to other radios, including yours. The offset frequency is the
one that your radio will transmit to the repeater.
As you create your list of repeaters, be sure you include at least
four items (frequency, CTCSS (PL) tone, offset, and offset direction)
for each one. You’ll need them in order to program your radio in
Project 11. You might write the frequencies in a table similar to the
one below, or create a spreadsheet on your computer.
 L R

Location Frequency Offset +/- Notes

 PROJECT 9. UNPACK AND ASSEMBLE YOUR
RADIO

By now, you should have a radio. You’ll need it for most of the
remaining projects. You may have excitedly opened the box, pulled
out the instructions, and set it up the moment you got it. Or you may
have looked at the box with a little trepidation and decided to take
things more slowly. Possibly you’ve been so busy you haven’t had
time to look at the radio.
If you haven’t yet set up your radio, now is the time. If you have,
or you feel confident you can set it up on your own, go right ahead
and skip to the next project.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
A ham radio, such as a Baofeng UV-5R or Baofeng BF-
HP8. (But any amateur radio will do.)
The user’s manual for your radio.
H D I
Whatever radio you use, you’ll have to do the following:
Unpack the radio.
Assemble it.
Provide power.
Set any preferences you’ll need, such as the language
you’ll use.
If you’re doing this on the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8, follow the
steps below. Otherwise, refer to the user’s manual for your radio.

Steps for the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8

Open the box and remove the components.
Find the tiny user’s manual.
Check that you have all the components shown in the
manual.
Install the antenna by screwing it onto the connector on top
of the radio.
If you want, you can install a belt clip and a carrying strap. I
find them useful, but it’s a matter of taste.
Make sure the radio is off, then slide the battery onto the
back.
Switch on the radio. Check the battery indicator in the upper
right-hand corner to see if the battery is charged. If it is not:
◦ Plug the cord into the base of the charger and then into
an electrical socket.
Insert the radio into the charger so that it stands straight up and
the LED on the front of the charger lights up. It will be red while the
battery is charging and will turn green when it is finished.
 PROJECT 10. GET ACQUAINTED WITH YOUR
RADIO

One BIG difference between amateur radio and ordinary consumer

radio is that you have to play with your amateur radio because
practically nothing just works out of the box. You have to configure it.
That implies that you have to know what you need to configure, and
what you want each item you configure to do. You can look forward
to many pleasant hours learning about features and experimenting
with how to use them.
Either that or you can stress out and panic. (Just kidding - I
hope.)
Radios usually come with a lot of documentation. Some of it may
be in the box. Often there is more in the form of PDF files on the
web. It takes time to read through everything, but you’ll want to start
with a section that gets you gets you started and familiarizes you
with the controls. Many modern radios have menu systems to work
through, as well as knobs, buttons and connectors. You need to
know which buttons to push, which knobs to twist, and which
connectors to plug something into.
Now’s a good time to find a quiet, relaxing spot, grab something
to drink or snack on, take out the user’s manual and open it at the
introductory chapter, then settle down next to your radio to get
acquainted.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
Your radio.
Documentation that came with your radio.

H D I
Find the diagrams in your radio user’s manual that identify the
various parts of the radio. Compare the diagrams with your actual
radio. Get used to the layout. See if there is any programming you
need to do before you can use the radio. If you need to download
extra documentation, take the time to do it.

Steps for the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8

Compare your radio with the diagrams in the user’s manual
so that you know what each button and switch does. Here
are a few things to note:
◦ You switch the radio on and off by turning the knob on
the top of the radio.
◦ There is a button labeled [VFO/MR]. It switches
between the ability to enter a frequency using the
number pad (“frequency mode” or “VFO” mode) and
the ability to quickly access frequencies you have
saved in the radio’s memory (“channel mode” or “MR
mode”). In “channel mode” the display shows the
 number of the memory where the frequency is stored.
We’ll talk more about that in the next project.
◦ The screen displays two lines. A button labeled [A/B]
switches back and forth between the lines, so you can
have two frequencies available to select quickly.
◦ There is a number pad. You especially need the
[MENU] key, the up [▲] and down [▼] arrow keys, and
the [EXIT] key.
◦ The rest I’ll leave up to you to learn, including how to
turn the flashlight on and off, how to access
commercial FM radio, how to turn the siren on and off,
and so on. (As I said earlier, there are a lot of features
and part of the pleasure is figuring them out.)
 PROJECT 11. USE VFO TO TUNE TO A
FREQUENCY AND LISTEN IN

Practically every amateur radio has a control called a Variable

Frequency Oscillator (VFO). A better word might be a “tuner,” since
that’s what a VFO does. It lets you cycle through the frequencies that
your radio can transmit on or receive.
On many radios, you use the VFO by spinning a large knob left or
right to get to the frequency you want. A screen displays the current
frequency in numbers. On other radios, you use buttons to punch in
a frequency. Many radios have both options.
Most radios also have a memory that enables you to store oft-
used frequencies for quick retrieval. In the VFO mode you can enter,
or go to, any frequency the radio can use. In memory mode you can
only use frequencies you have saved in memory.
In Project 8 you identified repeaters that are close to your
location. Now it’s time to put one of those repeater frequencies in
your radio and try it out. You’ll use your radio’s VFO control to do it.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
Your ham radio.
A list of local repeaters.

H D I
Whatever radio you use for this project, you’ll have to do the
following:
Turn the radio on and turn the volume up.
Get into VFO mode or find the VFO knob.
Enter the frequency using a keypad or knob.
If you’re doing this on the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8, follow the
steps below. Otherwise, look for “Variable Frequency Oscillator” or
“VFO” in your radio user’s manual.
Steps for the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8
As mentioned above, the Baofeng radios use the words
“frequency mode” and “VFO” to mean you can enter any
frequency. The terms “channel mode” and “MR” refer to
frequencies already saved in memory.
Use the volume knob on top of the radio to switch it on.
Turn it up enough to hear it clearly.
If necessary, press the orange [VFO/MR] button to get into
VFO mode. You’ll likely hear a voice say “Frequency mode.”
Use the number pad to enter one of the six-digit
frequencies from the list of repeaters you created in Project
8.
That’s it. Now, just listen.
If people are using the frequency, you’ll hear them. If not, no one
within the range of your repeater is transmitting at the moment. Try
entering a different repeater by typing in a different frequency. (On
radios where you spin a dial, do that instead.) Don’t get discouraged
if you don’t hear something right away. Listening on amateur radio,
someone once said, is similar to fishing; sometimes you catch
something, sometimes you don’t.
 In most cases, you won’t be able to transmit to a repeater by only
entering the frequency because many repeaters also require a
CTCSS (PL) tone. We’ll work on that in Project 13.
Hint: Often, the best time to hear people using a repeater is
during commuting hours in the morning and afternoon when people
like to chat on the way to and from work. Another good time is
around 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm when there are “nets” going on.
 PROJECT 12. PROGRAM A SIMPLEX CHANNEL
INTO YOUR RADIO

Now you know how to listen to a repeater. The next step is listening
without one. You’ll remember from studying for your license that
“simplex” means talking directly from one radio to another using the
same frequency. This is different from what happens on repeaters,
where you transmit on one frequency and receive on another.
Usually, a repeater is located high on a hill or tower or tall building
so that its signal can go farther than a simplex signal. Simplex is
useful when you want to talk directly with another amateur radio
operator and you are close enough to each other for the signal to
reach. Generally, you want to use simplex whenever possible so you
don’t tie up a repeater.
The term “simplex” is primarily used regarding FM mode in the
VHF and UHF bands and above. HF transmissions use longer
wavelengths that travel farther, so they seldom use repeaters.
 You can’t use just any frequency for simplex operation because
many frequencies are allocated to other purposes, such as
repeaters. Each state in the United States has a band plan that
shows what frequencies are used for repeaters, for CW, for simplex,
and so on. The band plans are coordinated by “frequency
coordinators.” They are licensed Hams who have dug deeply into
finding the best ways to use frequencies for their area, and have
created and maintained the plan. To find out what your band plan is,
go to nfcc.us/index.php/nfcc-coordinators and search for your state.
One simplex frequency that is available everywhere in the US is
the “National Calling Frequency” for the FM two-meter band. A
national calling frequency is one that is set aside for finding other
Hams to communicate with. There is a separate national calling
frequency for each band, such as two meters or 70 centimeters, and
different modes on that band, such as frequency modulation (FM),
single sideband (SSB), and continuous wave (CW). Sometimes,
other Hams monitor the national calling frequency when they are
willing to answer a CQ call from whoever is out there. You can find a
list of these frequencies at:
wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Amateur_Radio.
The national calling frequency for the two-meter band in the FM
mode in the United States and Canada is: 146.520.
Let’s program the VHF simplex national calling frequency into
your radio. You do it the same way you entered a repeater frequency
for listening. As soon as you enter it in your radio you can use it.
But, for the sake of learning, we’ll go one step further by saving
the frequency in your radio’s memory, so you can get to it quickly
without having to enter it again and again. In a later project we’ll
save repeater frequencies, too, but that requires a few extra steps.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
Your ham radio.
H D I
Whatever radio you use, you’ll have to do the following steps for this
project:
Turn the radio on.
Get in VFO mode.
Enter the frequency using a keypad or dial.
Save the frequency in the radio’s memory. This is also
known as creating a “channel”, similar to a channel on a
television. (A “channel” on television is just a frequency
band.) Saving the frequency is optional; it is for your
convenience in using it next time.
You’ll need to know how to set your radio so that you can go
directly to a saved frequency. Depending on the radio, it may be
called “channel mode” or “memo mode” or “memory mode” or a
similar name.
If you’re doing this on the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8, follow the
steps below. Otherwise, look in the user’s manual for how to save a
simplex frequency in your radio.

Steps for the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8

Some radios are easier to program than the Baofengs because they
require fewer button presses. If you can program a Baofeng, you
can probably program any radio. We’ll go through the procedure step
by step, and you’ll find it’s not all that hard. In a later project, you’ll
use your computer to program the radio instead of programming it
manually, and that will make everything even easier.
Use the knob on top of the radio to switch it on. Turn it up
enough to hear it clearly.
If necessary, press the orange [VFO/MR] button to get into
VFO or “frequency” mode.
 Press the [A/B] button to use the top row of the display
(important). A small arrow [▲] will appear next to the top
frequency.
Use the number pad to enter the six-digit national calling
frequency for FM on two meters:
[1] [4] [6] [5] [2] [0]. You need to enter all six digits.
The Baofeng radios have numbered menus. From the menus you
can select an action you want to perform, such as saving a
frequency or choosing the language you want the radio to use. To
use a menu, you first press the [MENU] key, then you select the
menu you want by typing the menu’s number or by using the arrow
keys [▲ | ▼]. In the instructions below, when it says to press keys [2]
[8], for example, that means that you will be using menu 28. Once
you get to the correct menu, press [MENU] again; this will enable
you to use the arrow keys [▲ | ▼] to select an option. When you
have made your choice, you press [MENU] a third time to activate
your choice and then [EXIT] to get out of the menu.
The pattern looks like this: [MENU] Menu number [MENU] Option
[MENU][EXIT]
In this example, we’ll save the national calling frequency that
you’ve just entered in Channel 0 (zero), but there are 127 other
numbered channels that you can also use to save frequencies.
Press the keys on the keypad, as shown below. You’ll have to hit the
keys fairly quickly or the radio will go back to its default state. If that
happens, press [EXIT] and start again.
First, delete whatever is currently in the memory channel (in
this case, Channel 0). If you want to use a different channel,
type its number in place of the zero [0] below. Be sure to
look at what appears on the screen as you press each key.
[MENU] [2] [8] [MENU] [0] [MENU] [EXIT]
 Now, save the transmit frequency in the selected memory
channel:
[MENU] [2] [7] [MENU] [0] [MENU] [EXIT]
Repeat that last line again to save the receive frequency in
the selected memory channel:
[MENU] [2] [7] [MENU] [0] [MENU] [EXIT]
Good, you’re done. Notice that with the Baofeng radios you have
to save the transmit frequency and the receive frequency separately,
even though in simplex mode they are both the same.
The whole point of saving the frequency in the radio is to get it
back quickly. To do that:
Press the orange [VFO/MR] button to get to MR or “channel
mode.”
Use the up [▲] and down [▼] arrow keys to select the
correct channel, in this case, Channel 0. When you select a
channel, the radio will go to it next time you switch it on.

E C
The FM mode national calling frequency for 70 centimeters in the US
and Canada is 446.000 MHz. Assuming your radio can transmit and
receive UHF, save this calling frequency to a memory channel on
your radio.
PROJECT 13. PROGRAM A REPEATER CHANNEL
INTO YOUR RADIO

Now that you have experience saving a simplex frequency, we’ll

save a repeater frequency. It’s not conceptually harder, it just
requires more steps. We need to do a short review so that you’ll
have all the key pieces in mind when you start to save a repeater
channel in your radio. If you’re already comfortable with how
repeaters work you can skip ahead to the next section.
You know that when you use a repeater you transmit on one
frequency and receive on another. Generally speaking, the higher
the frequency, the further apart the two repeater frequencies will be.
In radio speech, this difference in frequencies is called the “offset”
because the transmitting frequency is offset somewhat from the
receiving frequency. Within the laws of physics and the requirements
of your local band plan, the amount of the offset can be whatever the
owner of a repeater wants. Repeaters are owned by private parties
and are subject to their rules. Owners allow other amateurs to use
them out of the graciousness of their hearts. Having said that, there
are customary offsets that have been found over time to work well,
so most repeater owners use them. In the case of two-meter FM, the
standard offset is 600 kilohertz or 0.600 megahertz (which is the
same thing). For 70 centimeters, it is often five megahertz.
The offset also has a sign. That is, it can be plus or minus. That
means you either add (plus) the offset to the repeater’s transmit
frequency, or you subtract (minus) it to use for your transmit
frequency. It is customary, although not necessary, that two-meter
frequencies greater than 147.000 MHz add 0.600 MHz to their
transmit frequency, and those at 147.000 or below subtract it.
Many radios automatically assume that the offset will be the
standard one, and in the standard direction. This saves you work.
But if a repeater uses an offset that is not the standard one, you’ll
have to manually enter the correct one in your radio.
The final thing to know is whether your repeater requires a
CTCSS (or PL tone). Repeaters won’t usually send a tone back to
you, but you do have to send one to them if they require it.
Occasionally, a repeater wants a different kind of tone, called a
Digital Code Squelch (DCS) tone. If so, the listing for it will say so.
There will be a separate menu item on your radio to use a DCS tone,
but the principle is the same as for CTCSS tones. Not all repeaters
require tones, but most do. You’ll need to program in the tone as well
as the offset for your repeater when you are setting up your radio to
use it.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
Your ham radio.
Information about your local two-meter repeater, including
the frequency, offset, offset direction (plus or minus) and PL
(CTCSS) tone, from the list you made in Project 8.

H D I
Whatever radio you use, you’ll need to follow these steps:
Turn the radio on.
Get in VFO mode.
Enter the frequency using a keypad or dial.
Enter the offset.
Enter the offset direction if the radio does not do it
automatically.
Enter the tone (if required).
Save the frequency in the radio’s memory to create a
“channel.”
Saving the frequency is optional. You can always enter it
manually next time you want to use it. But since you’re doing all the
work to set up the channel, you may as well keep it. It will save you
time later.
As mentioned, some radios are smart enough to estimate a
standard offset and direction. Others are even smarter; they’ll listen
to the repeater’s signal and figure those things out. But many radios
require you to do all the work, so you may as well learn how.
If you’re doing this on the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8, follow the
steps below. Otherwise, look in the user’s manual for your radio.

Steps for the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8

To save a repeater channel, start with the steps you already know.
Use the knob on top of the radio to switch it on. Turn it up
enough to hear it clearly.
If necessary, press the orange [VFO/MR] button to get into
VFO (frequency) mode.
Press the [A/B] button to select the top row of the display.
 Punch in the repeater’s frequency for FM on two meters.
Now, add the following:
Enter the CTCSS tone for transmitting. Use the [▲ | ▼]
keys to select the tone you’re looking for. When you enter
the offset frequency, choose 0.600 megahertz for the VHF
channel or 5.00 megahertz for a UHF channel. (Don’t set a
tone for receiving unless for some odd reason your repeater
requires it. It’s unlikely.)
[MENU][1][3][MENU][▲ | ▼][MENU][EXIT]
Enter the offset direction.
[MENU][2][5][MENU][+ | -][MENU][EXIT]
Enter the offset frequency.
[MENU][2][6][MENU][000.600 | 005.000][MENU][EXIT]
Finish up just as you did in the previous project.
First, delete whatever is currently in the memory channel (in
this case, Channel 2). Be sure to look at what appears on
the screen as you press each key.
[MENU] [2] [8] [MENU] [2] [MENU] [EXIT]
Save the transmit frequency in the selected memory
channel.
[MENU] [2] [7] [MENU] [2] [MENU] [EXIT]
Save the receive frequency in the selected memory
channel.
[MENU] [2] [7] [MENU] [2] [MENU] [EXIT]
As you can see, it’s not difficult, but there are a lot of steps and
buttons to push. If you’re out in the field, it’s good to know how to
add a channel manually, as you just did. As promised, there is an
easier way if you have a computer handy, though. Let’s use the next
four projects to do so.

E C
You’ve programmed a two-meter repeater into your radio. Try to
program in a UHF repeater on the 70 centimeter band. You probably
will have something in the 420 to 450 MHz band on your list of
repeaters. The main thing that’s different is that the offset is usually
plus or minus 5 MHz, so you have to add (or subtract) 5 to the
frequency instead of 0.6.
 PROJECT 14. GATHER YOUR MOST-USED
FREQUENCIES

As you work with your radio, you’ll find that you use a few standard
frequencies over and over. Furthermore, the list of those you use will
grow. These will include your local FM repeaters and any simplex
channels that connect with other nearby Hams. Quite possibly you’ll
want some listen-only public service frequencies, such as police, fire,
maritime and weather as well as the “walkie-talkie” Family Radio
Service (FRS) and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) bands.
The Baofeng radios let you pick up most or all of those
transmissions. Many other, more expensive, ham radios will not; they
restrict you to just the ham bands. If you have a radio that supports
other modes besides FM—which the Baofengs do not—you may
also want to listen in on Single Side Band (SSB), AM, CW, and
maybe aviation or maritime traffic.
What you use most often will depend on the capabilities of your
radio, your antenna, your location, local weather, and your personal
interests. Whatever your personal key frequencies are, it will save
you time and effort if you load them all into your radio, so that you
can switch between them quickly. The next few projects will help you
do that with the frequencies you have now. You can refer to them
again when you want to update your list with other frequencies later.
Start by checking your list of possibilities. You already have your
local repeaters from an earlier project. You also have the national
calling frequencies for the two-meter and 70-centimeter FM bands.
If your radio permits, you can add standard frequencies for other
services, such as those below. These are listen-only bands for
amateur radio licensees; we’re not normally permitted to transmit on
them using a ham radio, but we can always listen. Choose the
frequencies you want to try. As your experience and needs change,
you can easily re-program your radio using the free and open source
program CHIRP that we’ll look at in Project 16, or else with
proprietary software that came with your radio.
Weather: You can get 24/7/365 weather reports in the United States
from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Find the frequencies for your location at:
www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/coverage/station_listing.html
Police and Fire: Go to your favorite search engine and ask for
police and fire radio frequencies near you. Often they share the
same frequencies. Nowadays, many police and radio transmissions
are encrypted so you won’t understand what is being said, but it’s
worth checking.
GMRS and FRS: The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) and
Family Radio Service (FRS) are frequencies used on so-called
“walkie-talkies.” They share identical frequencies allocated by the
FCC to twenty-two “channels.” Additional frequencies are used for
GMRS repeaters.
Here’s a list of the FRS/GMRS frequencies borrowed from
RadioReference.com, so you can add any that you want to your
listen-only list. You’ll read more about them below.
 N (2017) FRS/GMRS C T
FRS GMRS
FRS GMRS
Channel Frequency Band Band Notes/Usage
Power Power
width width
12.5 20
01 462.5625 2W 5W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
02 462.5875 2W 5W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
03 462.6125 2W 5W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
04 462.6375 2W 5W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
05 462.6625 2W 5W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
06 462.6875 2W 5W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
07 462.7125 2W 5W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 12.5
08 467.5625 0.5 W 0.5 W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 12.5
09 467.5875 0.5 W 0.5 W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 12.5
10 467.6125 0.5 W 0.5 W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 12.5
11 467.6375 0.5 W 0.5 W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 12.5
12 467.6625 0.5 W 0.5 W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 12.5
13 467.6875 0.5 W 0.5 W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 12.5
14 467.7125 0.5 W 0.5 W (1)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
15 462.5500 2W 50 W (1) (2)
kHz kHz
 FRS GMRS
FRS GMRS
Channel Frequency Band Band Notes/Usage
Power Power
width width
12.5 20
16 462.5750 2W 50 W (1) (2)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
17 462.6000 2W 50 W (1) (2)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
18 462.6250 2W 50 W (1) (2)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
19 462.6500 2W 50 W (1) (2)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
20 462.6750 2W 50 W (1) (2)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
21 462.7000 2W 50 W (1) (2)
kHz kHz
12.5 20
22 462.7250 2W 50 W (1) (2)
kHz kHz
20
467.5500 50 W (3)
kHz
20
467.5750 50 W (3)
kHz
20
467.6000 50 W (3)
kHz
20
467.6250 50 W (3)
kHz
20
467.6500 50 W (3)
kHz
20
467.6750 50 W (3)
kHz
20
467.7000 50 W (3)
kHz
20
467.7250 50 W (3)
kHz

Notes

(1) Shared FRS and GMRS simplex.

(2) GMRS repeater output.
 (3) GMRS repeater input only.
As you can see from the table, both FRS and GMRS can transmit
using a maximum of half a watt on channels 8-14 with a bandwidth
of 12.5 kilohertz. FRS is limited to 2 watts on the other channels and
a 12.5 kilohertz bandwidth. GMRS radios can use a wider 20
kilohertz bandwidth on these other channels, with up to 5 watts of
power on channels 1-7, and 50 watts of power on channels 15-22.
They can also have detachable antennas so you can upgrade to
better ones than the manufacturer provides. FRS radios do not
require a license. For GMRS radios you must have a separate
GMRS radio license from the FCC. There is no test required to get a
GMRS license, but there is a fee that is currently $70 for a ten-year
license. Both FRS and GMRS radios must be authorized under Part
95 of the FCC rules. This means that even though many ham radios,
including the Baofeng models, can transmit on FRS and GMRS
frequencies, it’s not legal to do so because they lack the Part 95
certification.
If you become involved in emergency communications, you may
find it useful to have the FRS/GMRS frequencies on your ham radio
so you can listen in occasionally. If you use them frequently, or you’d
like to transmit to other walkie-talkies, you will want a separate radio
that is Part 95 certified.
Maritime VHF Frequencies: Maritime radio occupies frequencies
between 156 MHz and 174 MHz. The bandwidth is divided up and
assigned to specific uses. Those uses in the US don’t always
correspond to how they are used in other countries. You can search
for maritime frequencies using your favorite search engine if you are
close enough to water to want them.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
A computer with spreadsheet software, or a pencil and
paper.
H D I
Choose frequencies from the channels above and update
your personal list of frequencies.
The purpose of this project is to get you thinking about what
channels you want on your radio. There are still other possibilities
that we have not mentioned, such as the Multi-Use Radio Service
(MURS) and some railroad frequencies. In Project 17, you’ll learn
how to use software called CHIRP to easily add both ham
frequencies and listen-only frequencies to your radio.
In the next project, we’ll look at ways to organize your list so you
can find channels easily.
 PROJECT 15. ORGANIZE YOUR MOST-USED
FREQUENCIES

Almost every ham radio will show its current frequency on its display
when you select a memory channel. In a way, it’s like the old AM/FM
car radios. These radios had (or still have) a set of buttons to select
a frequency such as 100.2 FM or 1160 AM, turn the knob or scan to
it, then push and hold one of the buttons to program the frequency
into the radio. From then on, whenever you press that button, the
radio will tune into the selected frequency and display it. More
modern radios can also pick out digital information stored in the
sideband and display information from it.
Like those older radios, some amateur radios, including the
Baofengs, will only display the frequency. Others will display a
repeater’s call sign and perhaps a note about a repeater’s location or
“QTH.” This makes it easier to remember what a particular frequency
is for.
With amateur radio, you have quite a few frequencies you can
use, plus you can program in the listen-only frequencies. It can
become overwhelming, so how do you organize the frequencies so
that you can find them easily on your radio?
Hams use several different systems. Here are some examples.
Organize them in frequency order, lowest to highest.
Order them based on how often you use each frequency,
from most-used to least-used.
Combine the two previous methods by putting the most
used frequencies first, then putting the remainder in
frequency order.
Put all the repeaters at the beginning, followed by the
simplex channels, followed by weather and other listen-only
frequencies.
Order the repeaters by how far away they are from your
normal location.
Put them in alphabetical order by the locations of the
repeaters or by their call signs, followed by the others in
frequency order.
You can choose the system that makes most sense to you, so
feel free to use one of the systems mentioned or make up your own.
But, unless you only have a small number of frequencies to
remember, don’t be like some people who are too lazy to put their
frequencies into order. It definitely helps to have a system because it
saves you time, especially in an emergency.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
The list of frequencies you made in the previous project.
A pen or pencil.

H D I
 Spend a few minutes thinking about how to organize your
list so it makes sense to you. If you don’t know yet what
kind of organization you want, that’s okay. But keep the idea
in mind because eventually you’ll add more and more
frequencies.
In the next couple of projects, the goal will be to enter your
frequencies into your radio using your computer, which will make
managing them and finding them faster and easier.
 PROJECT 16. GET CHIRP

If you have a computer and a cable meant for your radio, you can
use software to program your radio, instead of using buttons and
knobs. If you’re only adding one or two channels, a computer doesn’t
really make the job easier. The joy of using a computer comes when
you add all the repeaters in your area, oft-used simplex frequencies
such as the national simplex calling frequencies, the listen-only
channels for local public services such as police and fire, GMRS and
FRS radios, a weather channel, and VHF maritime frequencies if
your radio supports them. In an emergency, listen-only frequencies
can be important, and if there is the immediate threat of loss of life or
property, and no normal communication method to contact help, you
can also do so using the transmit features of the radio on those
frequencies.
Another useful feature of software is that you can copy the
channels of one radio to another one. If you make a mistake, it’s also
easier to correct it, too.
 Let’s talk about the cable. Some radios come packaged with a
cable. Unfortunately, most don’t. Furthermore, cables are often
outrageously expensive, in part because they have chips inside them
to work with the corresponding radio. If you’re electronically savvy,
it’s possible to build your own cable in some cases. If that interests
you, you can search the internet for plans for a cable that works with
your radio. Usually, it’s easier to just buy the cable, irksome as the
manufacturer’s prices can be.
Some radios come with their own proprietary programming
software. If your radio was supplied with this software, you can install
it and use it to enter and save the frequencies you use most,
provided it’s compatible with your computer and operating system.
If you have any problems with the software that came with your
radio, or if it wasn’t supplied with software, try CHIRP. It is a free,
open source program created by Dan Smith (KK7DS) and a host of
other dedicated developers. It runs on Linux, Windows and Apple
computers. It supports most radios and has become the de facto
industry standard. Many Hams would think twice about buying a
radio that is not supported by CHIRP.
In this project, you are going to download and install CHIRP on
your computer. You can skip this project if you’re happy with the
software you already have, but it just may be that you’ll like CHIRP
better. This is quite likely if you own more than one radio.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
A computer with a web browser.
Internet access.

H D I
Use your browser to go to:
chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home
 Click on the links that say “Check out the How To Get Help
page, and the rest of the Documentation.” Use both links to
get acquainted with the program. It takes only a few
minutes.
Click on the Download tab.
Choose the version for your operating system, and
download the software.
Install CHIRP according to the instructions.
If there is no version listed for your operating system, try using
the free LiveCD or LiveUSB version. You download it to your
computer and install it on a CD or USB drive, then boot from that
drive. Instructions on how to do so are included with the package. It’s
not as simple as using a version for your operating system, but
CHIRP is useful enough to justify the extra time and effort. When you
are finished using a Live version of CHIRP, you can re-boot your
computer into its normal operating system.
In the next project, we’ll run through how to program your radio
using CHIRP.
 PROJECT 17. USE CHIRP TO CONFIGURE
MEMORY CHANNELS

With CHIRP on your computer, and a list of frequencies you want to

use, you’re ready to program channels into your radio (or radios) and
make it easier and faster to use them.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
A computer.
A cable to connect between your computer and radio.
CHIRP installed on your computer.
Your list of repeaters and listen-only frequencies.

H D I
Turn off your radio.
Connect the cable to your radio and your computer.
Turn on your radio and set the volume to a fairly loud level.
Find CHIRP from the menu on your computer and start it.
Click on CHIRP’s Radio menu and select “Download from
Radio.”
Select the serial port you’re using on your computer, along
with the manufacturer and model number of your radio. If
you don’t know the serial port, try different ports, such as
COM1:for Windows or ttyUSB0 for Linux until it works.
Read any disclaimers and instructions, and click the
relevant buttons to proceed.
CHIRP will “clone” or copy the memory of your radio so you
can make changes to it. When it’s done, you’ll see a
spreadsheet that shows what is currently programmed into
your radio.
Enter the frequencies, locations, PL tones, offsets, modes
and power levels for the stations you want. Note that the
“Duplex” column refers to whether an offset is in the + or –
direction. The frequency you enter for a repeater is its
transmit frequency. The offset and direction will let CHIRP
calculate what to use as your transmit frequency. For
simplex frequencies, the frequency you enter will be used
for both transmitting and receiving.
If you’re interested in adding listen-only frequencies, such
as those for FRS/GMRS, click CHIRP’s Radio menu and
select Import from Stock Config. Choose the group of
frequencies you want, such as US FRS and GMRS
frequencies or the NOAA Weather Alert frequencies. A form
will appear. Use the [+] and [-] keys in the Adjust New
Location portion of the form so that you are not overwriting
the ham frequencies you entered. Make sure there is a
check mark beside each frequency you want included. Be
sure the Duplex column says “(None)” for listen-only
 frequencies to turn off transmitting. Then click OK. The
frequencies will be added to your list.
When you’re finished, click on CHIRP’s Radio menu and
select “Upload to Radio.”
If you’re using another software program instead of CHIRP, read
the instructions that came with it and upload the list of frequencies
you just created.
In the next project, you’ll scan through the channels to quickly
and painlessly see if anyone is on the air.With CHIRP on your
computer, and a list of frequencies you want to use, you’re ready to
program channels into your radio (or radios) and make it easier and
faster to use them.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
A computer.
A cable to connect between your computer and radio.
CHIRP installed on your computer.
Your list of repeaters and listen-only frequencies.

H D I
Turn off your radio.
Connect the cable to your radio and your computer.
Turn on your radio and set the volume to a fairly loud level.
Find CHIRP from the menu on your computer and start it.
Click on CHIRP’s Radio menu and select “Download from
Radio.”
Select the serial port you’re using on your computer, along
with the manufacturer and model number of your radio. If
 you don’t know the serial port, try different ports, such as
COM1:for Windows or ttyUSB0 for Linux until it works.
Read any disclaimers and instructions, and click the
relevant buttons to proceed.
CHIRP will “clone” or copy the memory of your radio so you
can make changes to it. When it’s done, you’ll see a
spreadsheet that shows what is currently programmed into
your radio.
Enter the frequencies, locations, PL tones, offsets, modes
and power levels for the stations you want. Note that the
“Duplex” column refers to whether an offset is in the + or –
direction. The frequency you enter for a repeater is its
transmit frequency. The offset and direction will let CHIRP
calculate what to use as your transmit frequency. For
simplex frequencies, the frequency you enter will be used
for both transmitting and receiving.
If you’re interested in adding listen-only frequencies, such
as those for FRS/GMRS, click CHIRP’s Radio menu and
select Import from Stock Config. Choose the group of
frequencies you want, such as US FRS and GMRS
frequencies or the NOAA Weather Alert frequencies. A form
will appear. Use the [+] and [-] keys in the Adjust New
Location portion of the form so that you are not overwriting
the ham frequencies you entered. Make sure there is a
check mark beside each frequency you want included. Be
sure the Duplex column says “(None)” for listen-only
frequencies to turn off transmitting. Then click OK. The
frequencies will be added to your list.
When you’re finished, click on CHIRP’s Radio menu and
select “Upload to Radio.”
If you’re using another software program instead of CHIRP, read
the instructions that came with it and upload the list of frequencies
you just created.
In the next project, you’ll scan through the channels to quickly
and painlessly see if anyone is on the air.
PROJECT 18. SCAN YOUR MEMORY CHANNELS
TO FIND CONVERSATIONS

One of the pleasant things about having a radio, for me at least, is

that it’s company for those times when I’m a little bored. Now, it’s not
that the conversations, or QSOs as they’re called, are always
intelligent or witty, though some of them are. It’s more that there are
people whom I could contact if I wanted; it eases the need for human
companionship. There’s also my curiosity to learn how far away
people are from me, how far their signals travel, as well as what they
do with their lives.
Now that you have programmed in all those frequencies, you can
quickly scan through them to see who is chatting and find company.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
Your radio programmed with the frequencies you chose.

H D I
Not all radios have a “Scan” button, but most modern ones do.
Switch on your radio, press the Scan button or press the Menu
button and find the scan feature. If you have problems, you can
always check the user’s manual.

Steps for the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8

Turn on your radio and adjust the volume so you can hear
well.
Press the orange [VFO/MR] button, if necessary, to make
sure the radio is in “Channel” mode.
Press and hold the star [*] button until you hear the
“Scanning begins” message. The radio will scan through
your channels and stop temporarily when it finds one that is
receiving. Note that if you just press the star [*] button
without holding, it will put the radio in “Reverse” mode,
which we’ll talk about in Project 23. If that happens, press
and release the star [*] button quickly. Then press and hold
to scan.
To stop scanning, press any of the buttons on the menu pad
except the up or down arrow keys [▲ | ▼].
You can scan all the possible frequencies on your radio (not just
the channels you have programmed) by pressing the orange button
[VFO/MR] to get into frequency mode and then pressing and holding
the star [*] button. Be warned! It can take considerable time to
search all the frequencies, including the many that are listen-only for
Hams.
In the next project, we’ll take a little break to review the most oft-
used Q-signals which are part of the jargon of amateur radio.
 PROJECT 19. LEARN THE MOST-USED Q-
SIGNALS

When you listen to amateur radio, you’ll hear radio jargon. Hams
don’t use much of it; they tend to prefer plain English (or Japanese
or German or Russian or Italian or Finnish or … you get the idea).
You can even use CB radio slang, like “10-4 buddy” but it’s not
recommended. It doesn’t sound right and most Hams look down on
it. It’s a culture thing.
One kind of jargon that Hams do use is Q-signals. You learned
about them when you studied for your license. They are adapted
from Morse code where they are a shorthand form that saves a lot of
keying. A handful of them are used very often by Hams, so that it’s
worth making sure you know them before you start talking much on
the air. You can pick up any others as you need to by searching for
them online.
Note that the meanings below concern how the signals are used
when talking. They have different, though related, meanings for CW,
but you can learn those easily if you decide to master Morse code.
 Mostly, you pronounce a Q-signal by saying each of its letters
separately although the first one in the list below is an exception.
QSO – A contact between two Hams, a conversation of some kind.
Sometimes pronounced “KUU-soh” or “KYU-soh” instead of Q-S-O.
Example: “I really enjoyed our QSO tonight. Let’s talk again
tomorrow.”
QTH – Your QTH is your location, that is, where you happen to be at
the moment. You could say, “My QTH is New Jersey,” or “My QTH is
my home.” If you’re on the road, you might just say, “My QTH is
mobile.”
Example: “When your call sign is called, give your call sign
phonetically, your first name, and your QTH.” (These instructions
are often given by a net control operator to participants in a “net.”)
QRM – Interference, often caused by another radio’s transmission.
Example: “I noticed a bit of QRM with your signal tonight. Maybe
someone pressed their PTT button without listening first.”
QRP – Low power, usually 5 watts or less.
Example: “I just bought a QRP rig with a maximum output of 5
watts.”
The opposite of QRP is QRO, meaning high power, or more than 5
watts.
QSY – Switch to another frequency.
Example: “Let’s QSY to 145.610 to continue our chat and free up the
repeater for someone else.”

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
[Nothing]
H D I
Spend a little time memorizing the oft-used Q-signals so
you’ll understand when others use them.
Here are two bonus Q signals for you. These signals are not used
as widely in actual QSOs, at least not in the VHF and UHF bands,
but they are part of the amateur radio culture.
QST means a “message for everyone.” QST is the name of the
Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) magazine for radio amateurs.
I’ve never heard anyone use it for anything else.
QSL means to “acknowledge receipt.” In ham radio, it usually refers
to a postcard, or sometimes an email message, sent from one Ham
to another to show that a contact was made. It is used more in long
distance (DX) HF contacts than with short distance VHF and UHF
contacts.
 SECTION 3. GET ON THE AIR!

If you completed the projects in the preceding sections, you should

sound and feel like a Ham. You’ll know your call sign and the ITU
phonetic alphabet. Your radio will be ready to use with local
frequencies so that you can listen and talk.
Your next job is to get on the air. A radio is almost useless if you
are not using it to communicate with others. (Have you noticed that
the saying “get on the air” is really a misnomer? Radio waves can
just as easily flow through, for example, empty space.)
It sounds easy to just “get on the air,” but for most of us it’s not.
Getting on the air requires a certain level of practical knowledge that
you don’t learn from the license test materials. Examples include
knowing how to program a frequency into your radio and finding the
frequencies you want to use in your geographical area. You’ve pretty
much solved those problems by completing the projects in Section 2.
But what really keeps Hams off the air is the old familiar FUD:
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. You’re putting your voice out into the
unknown and you don’t know how it will sound to others, or even if
they will hear and accept you. It’s not just about your voice. Do you
have your settings right? Is your signal so weak that no one can hear
you, or so strong that you’re creating a lot of static? Are you using
the correct etiquette? What if you don’t fit in?
I admit it was scary for me. Sometimes, it still is. Luckily, most
Hams are friendly and forgiving.
The projects in Section 3 will get you on the air gently, taking one
doable step at a time. They also get you more familiar with your
radio and how to use it. You’ll get actual practice with VHF/UHF
simplex operation and repeaters.
The goal is to make it so easy that you may not even realize you
were on the air until it’s over.
 PROJECT 20. FIND A HAM NET

In amateur radio parlance, a “net” is a scheduled event in which

Hams check in on their radios. Usually, a net takes place on a
regular basis, perhaps once a week or once a month at an
announced time so that participants know when to join in.
A net has several purposes. It gives you a chance to practice
using your radio. You learn to know the regular members of the net,
and they will know you if you need to contact them for some reason,
such as an emergency. There are nets that consist of Hams with a
particular interest, such as emergency communications, mesh
networking, or satellite contacts. You share information with each
other and learn from each other. Participants in a net may be
amateurs located within the range of a single repeater. Or they may
be national or international Hams using linked repeaters or HF
frequencies. Some nets are for the Amateur Radio Emergency
Service (ARES) with members interested in emergency response.
Others, such as ARRL’s National Traffic Service (NTS), are for
passing messages back and forth. Still others are purely social.
 A lot of nets—perhaps most—are “directed.” In a directed net,
you don’t transmit unless specifically directed to do so by the “net
control operator” who is a person who leads it. He or she starts
transmitting at an agreed-on time, explains what the net is about,
adds any other information that is pertinent, and then calls a roll of
regular participants or “members.” The net control operator may ask
you to answer with:
Your call sign phonetically.
Your “handle” or first name.
Your “QTH” or location.
Whether you have traffic for the net.
Traffic is information that you want to share with other
participants.
Here’s an example of a net control operator calling my call sign
and my answering her.
Net Control Operator: “AI7E.”
Me: “This is Alpha-India-Seven-Echo, Stan, on mobile. I have no
traffic this evening.”
If I said that “I do have traffic,” the net control operator may ask
me to go ahead and share it at that point or she may get back to me
at the end of the net. If what I have to say is short—a sentence or
two—I may just say it immediately rather than announcing that I
have traffic.
Not all nets are directed. But almost always there is a “net control
operator” who starts and ends the net, and who moderates the
discussion so that everyone gets a turn. Once, I tuned into a net
where the expected net control operator failed to show up. Someone
else volunteered to take over and the net proceeded with no
problems.
Most nets are open to anyone who wishes to join in. After the
standard roll call, the net control operator is likely to invite anyone
else listening to check in. Some nets have rules for getting on the roll
as a member, such as checking in three times in a row or signing up
on a website.
If you run into the rare case where a particular net doesn’t
welcome new participants, look around for others.
In this project you’ll search for a net or two that may interest you
and then set up to listen so you’ll get used to how nets work.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
A computer with a web browser.
Internet access.
A printer or a pen and pencil.
Paper.

H D I
Point your browser to www.arrl.org/arrl-net-directory-search/
Click on the “Search for a Net” link.
For this project, choose “Local Nets”, since you have the
best chance of finding something useful there. Obviously,
you can try the others, too, if you wish.
Choose your state from the drop-down menu.
Again, so you’ll have the best chance of finding something
useful, select “2 Meters” for the frequency. Later, you can
search for nets on other bands, such as 70 centimeters or
1.25 meters.
Leave the other fields blank for now. Click the “Search for
Net” button.
Print or jot down some frequencies from the list that comes
up. Be sure to include the offset (+ or -) and the CTCSS
 (PL) tone listed in parentheses, if there is one. For listening,
you only need the frequency, but later, when you want to
talk, you’ll need the offset and any required tone to trigger
the repeater. Also, write down which day and time the net is
customarily held.
Note that only a fraction of the amateur radio nets in existence
are listed in the ARRL directory. You’ll learn about others as you
listen to your radio, or on the web pages of local clubs. If you
received a welcome call, as mentioned in Project 6, you may have
already asked that caller about a net. Also, if you have a friend who
is a Ham, he or she may tell you about nets they are part of.
Hint: If you didn’t find nets that you think will work for you,
monitor local repeaters. You already have a list of them programmed
in your radio. Try tuning into them between 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm
each evening. Many nets take place during this period, so you may
be able to stumble across one.
 PROJECT 21. LISTEN IN ON A NET

With any luck you now know of one or more nets you can listen to.
It’s a good idea, if you have the patience, to listen in on several
before you actually try to transmit. This gives you an opportunity to
learn how different nets work and to find nets that interest you. You’ll
get a feel for the people on each net and determine where you’re
comfortable. Many nets also have websites that you’ll learn about
during the nets. You can find out more about a particular net by
checking its site.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
Your radio.
Your list of nets.

H D I
From your list, select a net you want to hear from.
 Switch on your radio a few minutes before the scheduled
time. Sometimes, you’ll hear chatter, such as calls for radio
checks, a few minutes before the net starts.
Select the net’s frequency from the channels you already
have in your radio, or enter its frequency in your radio using
VFO mode.
Listen to the net and observe how people act. Pay special
attention to the instructions given by the net control
operator. Nets are usually very structured to ensure that
there’s not a lot of “QRM” or interference from net
members. Hams only respond when the net control
operator specifically asks them to do so.

Steps for the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8

Use the knob on top of the radio to switch it on. Turn it up
enough to hear it clearly.
Press the orange [VFO/MR] button to get into Channel
mode. Use the [▲ | ▼] arrow keys to select the channel
that matches the net’s frequency.
If the frequency is not already in your radio, press the
orange VFO/MR button to get into VFO mode and punch in
the frequency. For example, if the frequency is 146.520
MHz, press the buttons [1][4][6][5][2][0].
Listen.
 PROJECT 22. ASK FOR A RADIO TEST

You may have heard other Hams asking for a radio test before a net
is scheduled to start. They want to make sure they have entered the
frequency, the offset, and the tone correctly so that the repeater will
hear them. They may try transmitting at different power levels to find
out from other operators how they sound. If their power is set too
low, other Hams will not hear them clearly. If the power is too high, or
they are talking too loudly, their voice may sound distorted or be
drowned out by static, as mentioned earlier.
You can ask for a radio test at any time, day or night, as long as
no one else is transmitting on the frequency you’ve chosen. If
someone is listening, they may respond if they have a moment to do
so. You can do the same for others when you’re comfortable doing it.
A good time to ask for a radio test is ten or fifteen minutes before
a net because there are often other Hams who are keying up for the
event.

W Y ’ N
 Your radio.
Your list of nets.
Your call sign.

H D I
If the frequency is already in your phone, change to
Channel or Memory mode and select it. If the frequency for
the repeater is not already in your phone enter it in your
radio using the instructions in Project 13.
Listen for at least fifteen seconds to make sure the
frequency is not in use.
Hold down your Press to Talk (PTT) button and wait about
one second for the repeater to hear you.
Say, “This is [your call sign] looking for a radio check.”
Let go of the PTT button. Listen and make a note of
whatever anyone says.
You’re welcome to carry on a conversation if you want.
Finish by saying “Thanks. 73 from [your call sign]. I’m
clear.” or something similar. Remember to say your call
sign. It is required by FCC rules. (In case you don’t
remember, “73” means “Best Regards.” It’s another old
Morse code signal. Some people say “73s” (plural), which is
okay, although technically it’s like saying “Best regardses.”)
If you don’t hear a response when you ask for a radio
check, make sure you entered the correct frequency, offset,
and tone. If everything is correct, try again at another time
or choose another frequency to try.
If no one answers your call, you may still get feedback from the
repeater itself. Many repeaters identify themselves by Morse code or
a recorded voice when they are activated after being inactive for a
length of time.
 PROJECT 23. CHECK OUT REVERSE

Sometimes, when you’re listening on a local repeater, you’ll hear

someone with so much “steam” or static on his or her transmission
that it will be difficult to hear what is being said. Then you’ll hear
someone else say, “I tried him on reverse and I could hear him fine.”
Reverse?
What is that? And why could the listener hear something that you
couldn’t hear from the repeater by using reverse?
The idea of “reverse” comes from the fact that a repeater receives
a transmission on one frequency and transmits it forward on another.
For example, on the two-meter band, it might receive a signal on
147.960 and re-transmit it 600 kilohertz lower at 147.360. You tune
your radio to listen on 147.360 to the re-transmitted signal, but you
use the 147.960 frequency to transmit to the repeater.
The 600 KHz difference is called an offset and it can be either
higher (+) or lower (-) than the repeater’s re-transmit frequency,
depending on how the repeater’s owner set it up. (Yes, we covered
that earlier and, besides, you remember it from the license exam,
right? But having it clear in your mind is essential for understanding
the concept of reverse.)
But what if you were to reverse the two frequencies on your own
radio? You would be listening to the signal on the same frequency
the repeater is listening to, rather than the one it is re-transmitting
on. The frequency the repeater is listening to is the frequency the
radio operator originally transmitted on. In other words, you would be
listening to the radio operator’s original transmission, not the re-
transmission that the repeater sends. In the example above, the
operator would transmit on 147.960 and you would be listening to
147.960, rather than the 147.360 sent by the repeater. You cut out
the middle-man.
If you were to transmit in reverse, you would be transmitting on
the same frequency as the repeater. That would overlap or “double”
what the repeater is sending, garbling the transmission for any
listeners. In practice, when we use reverse, we only use it to listen.
So why use the repeater if you can hear everything on reverse?
Well, that’s exactly the right question to ask. Reverse is basically
“simplex” mode and you don’t need the repeater if you can
communicate on simplex.
Simplex is for situations where you are physically close enough to
the sender to communicate directly on the same frequency. The
purpose of a repeater is to communicate farther than you can in
simplex mode. If, by using reverse, you can hear someone clearly,
you don’t need the repeater. You may as well switch (QSY) to a
simplex frequency and chat there so you’re not tying up the repeater.
Of course, if you’re taking part in a net, and everyone else is
tuned to the repeater, there are likely some participants who are too
far away to be heard on simplex, or from the repeater’s point of view,
on reverse. Switching to simplex would drop you from the net, which
would likely not be what you want.
 If you can hear someone clearly on reverse, you may wish to jot
down the person’s call sign and try to talk on simplex some other
time. Those Hams are the ones you are most likely to be able to
contact in a disaster if a repeater is down.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
Your ham radio.

H D I
Connect to a net on your local repeater or listen to a
conversation (also known as a “QSO,” as you’ll recall)
between Hams on the repeater. (If you don’t remember
how, go back to Project 11 or Project 21 for instructions.)
While you’re listening to another Ham’s transmission, press
the “Reverse” button on your radio.
Older radios may not have Reverse. For example, I have an old
Icom IC-211 that only works on two meters. It lacks both Reverse
and CTCSS tones, so I can’t use it with repeaters. It has superb
sound quality and sensitivity though for simplex operations.
Most modern radios do have a reverse function, but often it is not
labeled as such. Look in the user’s manual for your radio or use your
favorite search engine to find what it is online. For example, I have
an Icom 7100 on which the button is marked XFC. Maybe it means
exchange frequencies or something. (Your guess is as good as
mine.) In terms of how it works, it is Reverse.

Steps for the Baofeng UV-5R or BF-HP8

The “Reverse” button for the Baofeng is the “*” button. Press it once
quickly to go into reverse mode. Press it again quickly to go back to
regular mode.
 Careful! As mentioned in Project 18, if you press and hold the “*”
button, the radio will go into scan mode and will search for a
transmission on other frequencies. If this happens to you, press
nearly any button, such as the Exit button, to quit scanning. Then
select your original frequency again by using the up and down arrow
keys in channel mode or typing in the frequency in VFO mode.
 PROJECT 24. FIND OTHER PEOPLE’S
EXPERIENCES ONLINE

Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “Experience keeps a dear school, but

fools will learn in no other.” By that he meant that there are less
costly ways to learn than by your own experience, chief among them
the experiences of others. Perhaps he would not have flown a kite in
a lightning storm if someone else had done it before him.
The same principle applies to radio, and in particular to buying
equipment. To learn what equipment best suits you, it pays to find
out the experiences of others.
At the beginning of this book, based on my experience, I
suggested what radio to buy as your first one. If you bought one of
them, you now have had some experience of your own with it. What
do you think? Do you wish I had suggested a different radio? Or did I
lead you in a good direction?
Here are some useful places to find people’s experiences about
radios and related equipment.
 eham.net: This website contains reviews by Hams who
have or had particular equipment. It’s a great place to find
out what other users think.
reddit.com: There are subreddits at
reddit.com/r/HamRadio and reddit.com/r/amateurradio as
well as viewpoints scattered through other areas.
Your favorite online retailers: If a piece of equipment is in
stock at a retailer, most likely it will have been reviewed by
others.
Your favorite search engine: Search for the answer to a
specific question.
Be wary; verify that an opinion is based on actual experience. A
substantial number of the “opinions” you’ll read are pure fantasy,
guesses based on what a reviewer imagines, rather than on facts
and genuine experience. I’m sure you’ve heard how Aristotle opined
that if you dropped a large ball and a small one off a tower, the large
one would fall faster and beat the small one to the ground. People
believed that nonsense for about two thousand years until sometime
around 1586 when Simon Stevin and Jan Cornets de Groot actually
dropped lead balls of different sizes from the tower of the Nieuwe
Kerk in Delft, Netherlands. They proved that big and small balls fall
at the same rate. (It may be that Galileo proved it from the Leaning
Tower of Pisa as well but, according to Wikipedia, historians aren’t
sure.)
Remember, facts are always more valuable than opinions.
Also, remember to look at recent reviews, because products
change over time.
You already know how to use a browser to search. Now you know
about eHam.net’s reviews and amateur radio opinions on Reddit,
too. You’ll use the skills you learned in this project in Project 27.
 But before then, here’s a prediction. Since you’re a Ham, I’m 97
percent sure that you are going to want a new piece of radio
equipment sometime soon. In fact, if you continue reading this book,
it’s likely you’ll start looking for a new antenna. Just do yourself a
favor by remembering your research skills and seeking out
experience-based reviews of other Hams before you drop big bucks
on anything important.
 PROJECT 25. REVIEW CABLES

When you studied for your amateur radio license you learned about
cables and antenna connectors. But if you’re like me, you got a little
bit lost in the alphabet soup of names for the myriad cables and
connectors out there. And what difference does it make anyway?
Well, it will make a difference when you buy an antenna—
something you may want to do after the next few projects, to give
your radio better reception, a stronger transmitted signal, and the
added convenience of using your radio on the go.
To help make a good decision about antennas, let’s review the
absolute basic things you need to know about cables. There are
many different kinds and, as you get more experience and work
more on antennas, you’ll likely pay attention to many of them. For
now, we’ll look at coaxial cables which you’ll start using right away. If
you’re already a cable guru, feel free to skip to the next project, but
cables are important in radio, so you may want to review this
information.
 Coaxial cable, or “coax” as it’s commonly abbreviated, is round.
The coax you’ll use for amateur radio has a wire in the center. A
layer of insulation surrounds the wire. A sheath of wire is woven
around the insulation and another layer of insulation covers the
sheath.

Illustration 2: Photo of coaxial cable (Public domain image).

Hams use cables to convey a radio frequency (RF) signal to and

from their antennas. Coax does a pretty good job of providing an RF
highway, and I don’t know any other way you can get by without it in
most situations.
Cables have impedance. That is, they resist or impede the flow of
electricity. The cables used for amateur radio almost always have an
impedance of 50 ohms. Compare that to those used for television,
which typically have an impedance of 75 ohms. When you’re
shopping for coax, make sure you get 50-ohm cable so that it
matches your radio. Just in case, check your radio to make sure it
definitely uses 50 ohms. (There are exceptions to this 50-ohm rule,
but your life will be simpler at this stage if you stick with it until you
start designing your own antennas.)
Cables convey a signal, but they also lose it. Different cables lose
it at different rates. The thinner and more poorly shielded they are,
the more they lose. Also, the higher the frequency you are working
with, the more signal they lose. A cheaper cable will generally lose
the signal faster than a more expensive cable, but it’s also thinner
and more flexible, so it’s easier to work with. If you need a short
length of cable to connect your radio to an antenna, you might want
to opt for cheap. If the distance from your radio to your antenna is
long, you need more expensive cable that is thicker and less flexible,
so you don’t lose too much signal.
Here are the most common coax cables for amateur radio along
with their losses at two different frequencies. This information was
taken from the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual for Technicians, so
it should be familiar.

Type Impedance Loss Loss

(ohms) per 100 per 100
feet (in feet (in
dB) at dB) at
30 MHz 150
MHz
RG-58 50 2.5 5.6
RG-8X 50 2.0 4.5
RG-8 50 1.1 2.5
LMR- 50 0.7 1.5
400

See how, in the 150 MHz or two-meter range, RG-8X cable loses
twice as much signal in 100 feet as LMR-400. (Remember that a dB
change of 3 doubles the gain or loss. In this case the difference in
loss is 4.5 – 1.5 = 3, which is double.) So, before you order cable,
measure how far apart your radio and antenna will be. For a short
run, from the roof of your car to the radio inside, for example, RG-58
will do just fine. If your antenna is sitting out in a field far from your
radio, it won’t be.
 PROJECT 26. REVIEW ANTENNA CONNECTORS

Let’s say that you have a radio, an antenna, and a piece of coax
cable. We just talked about using coax in the previous project. Now
you’ll want to use the coax to connect the radio and antenna so you
can transmit and receive. How do you do it?
That sounds like a silly, obvious question, doesn’t it? You’re
probably thinking to yourself that you use a connector, and you’re
right. There are already connectors on your radio and on the
antenna. But there are different types and sizes of connectors out
there and you need to make sure the connectors on the end of the
coax cable are the right ones for your radio and antenna.
Before we look at some of the connectors, it’s important to
remember two things:
1. Connectors have a gender. There are male and female
connectors. It’s not always obvious which is which. But if there’s a
thin wire sticking out of the center, it’s a male connector. If there is a
small hole in the center, it’s a female. You need one of each gender
to make a connection. There are cables called “reverse polarity” or
“RP” cables that break this rule, but they are not generally used for
ham radio, so you can forget them for now.
2. Connectors are designed for different frequencies. High
frequencies are more demanding than lower ones.
With those two rules in mind, let’s look at three types of
connectors that are heavily used in amateur radio.
SMA Connectors

The SMA
connector is small compared to others that we’ll look at here. It’s
usually found on handheld radios such as the Baofengs. When you
unscrew the antenna from your Baofeng radio (or most other
handheld radios), the connector you’ll find is a “Sub-Miniature
version A” or SMA connector. SMA connectors come in both
genders, male and female. On the Baofeng radio the connector is
male. The one on the antenna is female. On many other handheld
radios, from companies such as Icom, Kenwood, and Yaesu, it’s the
other way around. When you buy anything that attaches to the radio,
be sure to check which connector gender you need.
UHF Connectors
 UHF
connectors were invented in the 1930’s, at a time when what we now
think of as high frequency (HF) was considered ultra-high frequency
(UHF). When the definition changed, the connector kept its name
even though it was no longer entirely accurate. The UHF connector
is designed for use below 400 MHz. Nowadays, UHF is defined as
the frequencies between 300 MHz and 3000 MHz (3 gigahertz),
meaning the UHF band barely gets started below 400 MHz. The
most common connectors on desktop and mobile radios in the
United States are the UHF male PL-259 and the UHF female, SO-
239. You can identify their gender by remembering that PL stands for
plug (male) and SO stands for socket (female). By convention, the
SO-239 is often mounted on the radio and the PL-259 is part of the
cable. It doesn’t have to be that way though, so check your radio and
antenna before you buy a cable with a particular connector.
Note that PL (plug) in the case of connectors does not mean the
same as the PL (private line) used for tones.
BNC Connectors
 BNC
connectors can handle higher frequencies than UHF connectors, up
to 2, 4 or even 18 gigahertz, depending on the model. They are
quick to connect and disconnect, taking only a quarter turn to attach
to the little bayonet-style knobs on the female connectors. They are
more waterproof. I have heard that BNC connectors are being used
more and more, especially on antennas. Having said that, at the
moment you’ll still mostly deal with the SMA and UHF connectors in
amateur radio.
There are several other connectors used in ham radio, but SMA,
UHF and BNC connectors are the key types used to connect coax to
antennas and radio.
Now that we’ve reviewed cables and connectors, you’re probably
thinking about getting an antenna with better reception and
transmission capabilities. In the next project we’ll look at getting you
one.
 PROJECT 27. BUY A MOBILE ANTENNA

It’s often the case that improving your antenna is the best way to
improve your radio experience. If your only radio so far is one of the
Baofengs, the antenna that came with it is the kind that Hams call a
“rubber ducky”.
Sometimes, people disparage the rubber ducky antennas on
these radios. I’ve read several comments in forums where Hams
have opined that they are nothing but trash. They recommend some
other antenna to replace it, usually one that is long and floppy.
Being a proud radio amateur, I once read those opinions and
decided to find a really good antenna to replace the original rubber
ducky on my radio. In search of a replacement, I took my Baofeng
BF-F8HP to a radio club meeting. Several club members gleefully
pulled out other antennas meant to replace the original one, along
with a couple of antennas that weren’t meant for Baofengs, but could
be used with the right adapters. In all, we had half a dozen
candidates for the best antenna for my little HT. One of the club
members grabbed the antenna analyzer, and we tried each antenna
to measure the standing wave ratio (SWR), or amount of radio
frequency reflected back toward the radio, and reducing the power of
the original signal, at various frequencies.
Are you ready for this?
We were shocked to find that none of the antennas beat the
rubber ducky antenna that came with the radio. Some of the other
antennas, that we would have bet money were better, turned out to
be worse.
But that’s only part of the story. SWR isn’t the only measure of
an antenna’s quality. I decided to test three antennas to see which
one transmitted the longest distance since transmission and
reception are things most of us value. The original rubber ducky
competed against a Nagoya NA-771, which at least one other Ham
had reported worked better for him than his other antennas. I also
had a custom antenna that is flexible enough to be tied in a loop. It is
about nine centimeters longer than the Nagoya and over thirty
centimeters longer than the Baofeng’s original antenna. Based on
the length, I gave odds that it would win the contest.
I climbed in the car and drove about a mile from our house. My
wife sat by our Icom 7100 and monitored my simplex signal on
145.610 MHz. At that point, she reported that the transmissions from
all three antennas were loud and clear. I turned the corner and drove
another half mile to put a fairly tall hill between us. She continued to
hear and understand me, but all three transmissions were full of
static. Finally, after another mile or so, the custom antenna gave out.
Static drowned out my voice. Another half mile further on and the
Baofeng and Nagoya antennas were still transmitting steamy, but
audible voice, although it took concentration to decipher. After
another few hundred feet, two high hills were in the way and that
was the end of the conversation. Although there may be small
differences, for practically purposes both the original rubber ducky
and the Nagoya NA-771 were about equivalent.
 Most of the time, I continue to use the original antenna. It is
compact, easy to carry and works as well or better than the
competition. I admit, however, that when I’m showing a radio to non-
Hams, I may attach the long, floppy Nagoya in place of the Baofeng.
It looks more cool and distinguishes the radio from a walkie-talkie. I
just have no technical justification for it.
You probably noticed that this is another situation where people
gave their opinions without facts to back them up. Those who told
me the rubber ducky on my radio was trash were wrong.
That doesn’t mean that better antennas for the Baofengs don’t
exist, just that the ones we tested to replace the factory antenna
were not better, at least, not in the circumstances mentioned. Again,
being practical, the antenna on the Baofengs does just fine when it
comes to reaching the local repeater from my house, especially
when I’m outdoors.
When I go inside, things change though. The walls block the
signals, making them harder to hear. One member of our local club
has an astonishing antenna system that I once suspected could pick
up a pin drop on Mars. He can (barely) make out my signals from
indoors some fifteen miles away over the mountains. But the
repeater, which is seventeen miles away, has a poorer antenna or is
in a worse location, and it only picks up whispers from my Baofeng
when I transmit indoors.
Driving around in my car, I can receive signals quite well on the
Baofeng HT. But transmitting from the car results in the same
problems I have inside the house. The signal is so attenuated
(weakened) by the chassis and electrical system of the car that it’s
hard to punch through.
In other words, even though the rubber ducky is good, there are
times I need a different antenna, one I can use when I’m driving or
when I’m indoors .
 I should warn you; the longer you’re in amateur radio, the larger
the number of antennas you’ll “need.” (The same can be said of
radios, books and other paraphernalia.) Different aspects of radio
demand different designs. You may as well get used to it now, so get
ready to buy an antenna that you can use indoors and in the car.
For your next antenna, I recommend that you get a mobile
antenna that works on at least the two-meter and 70-centimeter
wavelengths. There are mobile radios with three bands, and even
four bands. If you have an inkling that you will someday want a
mobile radio, search for antennas that include all the bands you think
you’ll want. In most areas of the country there’s not much traffic on
the 1.25-meter band. There’s no amateur traffic at all on the 350-390
MHz band because it’s not an amateur band in the United States.
Take that into consideration when looking for a mobile antenna.
I also recommend that you get an antenna that mounts
magnetically on your car, usually referred to as a “magmount.” A
mobile antenna usually consists of two parts: the antenna itself and a
mount that includes a cable and a UHF connector. The mounts are
called “NMO” mounts (short for New Motorola). In addition to
magnetic mounts there are NMO mounts for your car’s trunk and for
when you’re ready to drill a hole in the roof of your car and mount an
antenna permanently for use with a mobile radio. You buy the type of
NMO mount you want, attach it to your car, and screw on your
antenna. When the time comes, you can remove an antenna from its
magnetic mount and swap in a different mount or a different
antenna. You may also decide to buy a second antenna and different
NMO mount, and use the magmount version for other things.
If you also buy the right UHF to SMA adapter, you can attach the
UHF connector that comes on a magmount antenna to a handheld
radio, such as a Baofeng, and transmit while you sit comfortably in
your car or even, in many cases, inside your house. A magnetically
mounted antenna does not have to be used on a vehicle. You can
also use it indoors or out in the field. Remember to get a cable
adapter that’s right for your radio. For the Baofeng, you want one
that has a female SMA connector on one end and probably—check
your connector—a female SO-239 UHF connector on the other. If
you make a mistake, there are inexpensive barrel connectors you
can use to change genders.
You can find a magmount NMO mount, a mobile antenna, and a
UHF-SMA adapter with a quick search online or at your local
amateur radio shop, if you have one.
We’ll talk more about that in the next project.
You’ll notice I didn’t recommend a specific antenna. I easily could.
But this is your opportunity to use the research-related resources
you learned about in Project 24. When you’ve decided which
antenna is best for you, go ahead and buy it. You’re going to want it
for some of the projects that follow in this book and throughout your
career in amateur radio.
W Y ’ N
A computer with a web browser.
Internet access.
A printer or a pen and pencil.
Paper.

H D I
Point your browser at your favorite search engine.
Search for “mobile two-meter 70-cm magmount antenna” or
something similar.
Research different models at online retailers. See what
people’s experiences have been and what ratings they’ve
given.
Select your favorite models and check the experience of
users on eHam.net.
Buy the antenna you decide on.
If you intend to use the antenna for a handheld radio, buy
an adapter to connect the antenna to your radio.
PROJECT 28. TRY OUT YOUR MOBILE ANTENNA

When you receive your mobile antenna, you’ll have more freedom to
talk while you’re on the road and maybe even indoors. Well, okay,
the “indoors” part is still a bit tricky. For one thing, you have walls
that will block part of the signal, no matter what you do. How well
your signal propagates depends on the construction of your house
and where you locate the antenna. You’ll also have to come up with
a replacement for the metal roof of your car—or, in the case of one
Ham I know, the metal roof of his houseboat.
Huh? What am I talking about? Replace the metal on the roof of
your car?
You’ll remember that, when you studied for your license, you
learned about a dipole antenna. In its most basic form, a dipole
antenna consists of three wires. Two wires make up the antenna and
are separated by an insulator. A third wire is the feed line from your
radio to the antenna.
A mobile magmount antenna is two of the three wires from the
dipole antenna. One is the feed line and the other is one side of the
dipole. Since the dipole needs two sides, your mobile antenna is
missing one. Where is it?
The answer is that when you mount the antenna on the roof of
your car, the metal of the roof forms a “ground plane” that makes up
the other side. It reflects the signal from the other side of the
antenna. Ground planes are very useful because they allow you to
create vertical antennas. Ideally, a ground plane is at least half a
wavelength in diameter, with the vertical antenna in the center. For
two-meter frequencies, that means one meter or nearly 40 inches.
For a 70-centimeter frequency, it means 70/2 = 35 centimeters, or
roughly 14 inches. You can adjust these figures based on the actual
length of the frequency you’re using, but these figures are probably
good enough. Many surfaces can serve as a ground plane: metal,
water, and earth are good examples, and even wires spaced out to
form “radials” around the pole can serve. The material does have to
conduct electricity, though.
If you try to use your new mobile antenna inside your house, you
(presumably) won’t have the car roof to stick it on. But you still need
a ground plane. A simple way to solve the problem is to take a metal
cookie sheet or pizza pan and put the antenna in the middle. Ideally,
whatever pan you choose should be steel, so the magnetic base of
the antenna will stick to it, and large enough to provide a decent
ground plane for the wavelength you want to use. Cookie pans work
better for UHF frequencies than for VHF ones because of their size.
You can use any flat metal surface that is large enough, so look
around and see what’s available—a filing cabinet, a refrigerator, a
piece of sheet metal. I did hear from someone recently who claimed
he had success using a tiny Altoid mints container for a high-
frequency UHF signal. It just goes to show that it’s worthwhile to
experiment.
Mounting the antenna on your car is straight forward. Assemble
the antenna and the mounting hardware if they don’t come
assembled. Mount the antenna more or less in the center of the roof
of the car. The magnet should hold it there securely. Run the cable
through an open door into the car. The rubber seal on the door will
usually protect the cable so you can just close the door on it. If that
causes a problem, you can run it through a slightly open window. If
you’re using a handheld, attach the UHF-SMA adapter to the cable,
then unscrew the antenna from your radio. Finally, attach the cable
to the antenna input. Switch your radio on, and you’re in business.
To complete this project, let’s also try the mobile antenna indoors.
W Y ’ N
Radio.
Mobile antenna with feed line.
UHF-SMA feed line adapter for your radio (if required).
Metal cookie sheet or pizza pan or other flat metal surface.

H D I
Find a comfortable place inside your house, preferably with
some windows nearby.
Using the magnetic mount, attach your mobile antenna to a
cookie sheet or pizza pan.
Connect the feed line to your radio, using the adapter if it’s
needed.
Turn on your radio and choose a local repeater.
Listen for fifteen seconds or so to make sure the frequency
is not in use.
Say, “This is [your call sign] looking for an antenna check.”
Be sure to pronounce your call sign clearly and slowly so
listeners can come back to you.
You may have to try at different times of the day. When
someone does answer, thank them and explain that you’re
trying to test a new mobile antenna indoors and would
appreciate knowing how your signal sounds. Hopefully, the
person will say, “Your signal is loud and clear,” or “You’re
five nine,” or “Full quieting,” all of which mean the same
thing. If not, maybe the person will let you test one or two
other locations in your house or apartment. Finish up with
thanks, “73,” and your call sign.
 PROJECT 29. KNOW HOW TO ANNOUNCE AN
EMERGENCY

You never want to have an emergency. The fact is, though, that you
probably will have at least one in your lifetime. The result can be
devastating, so it’s worth it to be prepared. Emergencies are so
important that they are one of the justifications for setting aside
bandwidth for amateurs. The entire Subsection E of the FCC Part 97
rules deals with them.
The FCC definition of an emergency is “immediate safety of
human life and immediate protection of property.” [Section 97 part
403]. There are other definitions of emergencies, even in amateur
radio, such as the one used by the ARRL for the National Traffic
System (www.arrl.org/nts). But, for the purposes of this project, we’re
talking about when someone’s life, health or property is in immediate
danger.
Amateur radio is usually not the best way to communicate about
emergencies unless there’s no other way. You’ll likely be better off
yelling, using your cell phone, calling from a land line, possibly
talking on walkie-talkies (FRS and GMRS radio), or employing a
sneaker net (meaning use your legs or a bicycle). There could even
be times when smoke signals or flashlights are better. That may be
the reason that the FCC restricts emergency communications to
“when normal communication systems are not available.”
In a true emergency, your best bet is to try 911 first. But don’t let
yourself get locked in to believing you have to use one particular
method. In an emergency, the most important thing is to get the
message through to the people who can help.
Having said that, here’s how to handle an emergency using a
ham radio, if that’s your only choice.

H D I
Choose a frequency. The best ones are those with the most
traffic, so choose a local repeater that has some. You might
want to press the scan button on your radio to see if anyone
else is talking at that moment.
Listen to see if someone is talking. Wait for him or her to
stop. Trying to talk when someone else is talking will just
make it impossible for anyone to understand either of you.
When there’s a break, say your call sign and “with an
emergency.” For example, I might say, “AI7E with an
emergency.” Be sure to enunciate your call sign clearly so
others can respond. You can also use the phonetic alphabet
(Project 5) to make it clearer. “Alpha-India-Seven-Echo with
an emergency.” Repeat it once or twice if the signal is poor.
Wait to be recognized. If someone is listening, you should
hear something like “Go ahead, AI7E.” If you don’t hear
anything, switch to another frequency and try again.
Explain the emergency as clearly and briefly as possible.
Say the location and the need. If you have to leave the
radio to give first aid, or for some other reason, leave your
radio on so you can hear replies, and answer questions
where feasible.
Conserve your battery if necessary. If you’re in a location
where it will take some time for help to arrive, set up a
schedule with your listener. For example, say you will
monitor the frequency for five minutes on the hour and half
hour.
 PROJECT 30. HOST A THIRD-PARTY
CONVERSATION

A few weeks ago, a small group of Boy Scouts and their leaders
invaded my radio shack (which is really just a corner of my
basement). Our local amateur radio club had organized an event for
the boys to learn about ham radio. At first, the boys didn’t have any
idea what ham radio is. Neither did their leaders. But did they ever
get excited when they tried it! Since then, several of them have come
up to me with questions.
None of the Scouts or their leaders had a ham radio license, so
we had to do what is known as “third-party” traffic. This means that I
explained the basic rules—no profanity, be courteous, no
background music, no discussing commercial issues, etc. Then I
introduced them on the air using my call sign. I turned the
microphone over to one of them to talk with another Scout located in
another radio shack within the range of the local repeater. The
Scouts each had a turn; when one was finished, I took the
microphone back, introduced another boy, and so on until each had
spoken. I usually repeated my call sign between conversations and,
at the end, I signed off with the call sign of the other station and my
own call sign.
Third-party traffic is welcome on the air, and it’s enjoyable when
you can help others convey their messages or have a new
experience. There are some restrictions, of course. These include:
You have to be there as the control operator at the point of
transmission to supervise. You are responsible for what the
third party says and does.
You cannot transmit third-party messages for someone who
has had their amateur license revoked or suspended,
unless it has been renewed.
If the third-party traffic is to or from a country outside the
United States, that country has to have an agreement with
the United States. Also, you have to transmit the call sign of
the receiving station as well as your own when you finish.
This mostly applies to HF traffic unless you’re using linked
repeaters, including digital links such as Echolink or IRLP,
to get to another country.
Third-party traffic includes messages you pass on for
someone else even if that person does not speak on the air.
For a list of countries that have agreements with the US, see
www.arrl.org/third-party-operating-agreements. Oddly enough, with
the exception of the United Kingdom and the international regulatory
bodies in the cities of Vienna and Geneva, no agreements are listed
with countries in Europe. That means you cannot transmit third-party
traffic to or from other European countries unless it’s an emergency
or for someone who is a licensed Ham.

W Y ’ N
Your radio and antenna.
 If you are transmitting third-party traffic to or from a non-US
country, check the list at www.arrl.org/third-party-operating-
agreements to make sure it’s legal.
The frequency you want to transmit and receive on.

H D I
Make contact with the receiving station in the normal way.
For example, say “[Call sign of receiving station] from [Your
call sign].” Wait to hear back.
Announce that you have third-party traffic and will turn over
the microphone to that party or read a message from him.
Turn over the microphone to the third party or read the
message.
Remember to stay at the control point the whole time and to
give your call sign, or have the third party give your call sign
at least every ten minutes.
At the end, finish with the call sign of the receiver followed
by your own.
SECTION 4. INVOLVE YOURSELF WITH OTHERS

Let’s do a little thought experiment. Imagine you were the only

licensed amateur radio operator in existence. What would you use
your radio for? I guess you could bounce signals off the moon or link
to remote control devices. Anything else?
A radio is mostly useless unless you are involved with other
people. By joining with others, you will learn faster and be of greater
service. You will also have a lot more fun. These next projects get
you working with others to take advantage of your radio, and involve
you in the community of radio.
 PROJECT 31. FIND A RADIO CLUB

Joining a club appeals to some people, but not others. I find myself
in both camps. There are pros and cons to belonging to a club, and
I’ll mention some of them below. But whether or not you join, I
suggest you at least find a club and attend one meeting. Doing so
gives you peace of mind and something of a safety net. Just knowing
there is a club available assures you there is a place you might get
help if you want it.
Let’s talk for a moment about the benefits of a club.
Radio equipment is expensive, and it takes up space in
your radio shack. Many clubs have antenna analyzers,
oscilloscopes, tools for crimping cables, and all sorts of
other gadgets you can borrow as needed to save money
and space.
A club has members who have developed expertise over
time. They can guide you with suggestions about everything
from setting up your first rig to bouncing signals off
 meteorites. In turn, you can get the satisfaction of helping
others with what you know. Many clubs have presentations
at their meetings in which experts reveal leading-edge
information that is difficult, if not impossible, to find in other
places.
You will find members with ideas for new projects, which
you can get involved with. If you have an idea of your own,
you may find others who want to help you with it because
they are interested.
Some clubs teach classes on how to get radio licenses.
Members may also know of other classes being taught.
One of the best advantages of a club is the camaraderie
and motivation that spring from it. Just being by yourself
grows stale fast, especially in radio where you need others
in order to participate. You’ll often come away from a club
meeting feeling alive and inspired.
On the negative side, being in a club will take some of your time.
If you become an active member, it may result in commitments and
obligations to others. Depending on the club, it may mean paying a
small amount in dues to fund a meeting place, projects, a club
bulletin, and possible refreshments.
However, you won’t incur much obligation by attending just one
meeting. You can always say you’re not sure about joining the club
and are just investigating. The thing is, if you don’t attend an actual
club meeting you won’t know whether you find it valuable or not.
Some clubs are better than others, with more activities, more
equipment, and more interesting meetings. Some clubs specialize in
a single area of amateur radio, such as mesh networking or
emergency traffic or satellite communications, while others
incorporate a broad range of interests.
For this project, let’s just concentrate on identifying radio clubs
that you may want to check out. We won’t find all of those available
to you, but with any luck you’ll get a list of candidates.

W Y ’ N
A computer with a web browser.
Internet access.
A printer or a pen and pencil.
Paper.
H D I
Start with the ARRL website. Point your browser at
www.arrl.org/find-a-club.
Enter your search criteria, such as zip code or city. You can
also type in a keyword if you’re interested in finding a club
that offers expertise in a specific area, although, members
with the expertise that you require may not be present when
you arrive, so don’t be too concerned if that happens. Click
the “Search” button. Print out or copy down the search
results.
The ARRL only lists clubs that are affiliated with it. Many
clubs are not affiliated with the ARRL, so you need to also
search another way. To do that, point your browser at your
preferred search engine and type “amateur radio clubs near
[your city]” or something similar. Again, print out or copy
down the search results.
There will likely be some overlap in the results of the two
searches. You still won’t find all the clubs, but you’ll have enough to
work with. Look at the websites of the clubs listed to find out where
and when they meet, and to decide which one (or ones) you’d like to
try. It will be worth your time.
PROJECT 32. ENJOY OTHER GROUP ACTIVITIES

In addition to the clubs and nets we’ve already mentioned, here are
some other social activities. The more of these you get involved with,
the better amateur operator you’ll become and the more fun you’ll
have.

H
A hamfest is a gathering of people interested in amateur radio. The
key feature is usually a flea market where Hams buy and sell radio
equipment. There may also be exhibits and informational programs.
The most famous hamfest is the Dayton Hamvention, held each year
in Xenia, Ohio, but there are hamfests all over the country and
throughout the year. They are a great place to pick up radio supplies
cheaply, and you can spend a pleasant hour or two walking up and
down rows of tables full of radio equipment, some of it new, some of
it used, and some of it antique. Frequently, there are activities for
family members who are not Hams, so they can attend with you. You
can find hamfests in your area at www.arrl.org/Hamfests-and-
conventions-calendar.
F D
The idea behind a field day is for Hams to gather at a venue—often
someplace where using a radio is a bit challenging—and set up
radios, erect antennas, and learn new skills. It is usually held on the
third weekend in June, although individual clubs may elect to hold it
at a different time. Activities vary but, in addition to getting on the air,
there are usually activities geared toward everyone in the family,
including children. Some events last a few hours and others extend
over two or three days, with picnics, camping, contests and
equipment demonstrations. To find a field day event near you, type in
your call sign or location in the form at www.arrl.org/field-day-locator.
Your local club or net may put together its own field day activity or
combine with other clubs and groups.

P S E
There are plenty of opportunities to take along your handheld or
mobile radio and help your community. Among them are charity
races, bicycle races, marathons, parades and fairs. Often, you’ll be
stationed along a route and provide communication in case of
emergencies or logistical needs. You’ll mostly hear about
opportunities on your local net or in a radio club meeting. You can
also contact charities when you hear about a fund-raising event, to
see if you can be of help. Public service events not only help you
gain radio expertise, they are also fun.

E
Many nets are composed of people in a local geographical area.
Occasionally, they will hold an “eyeball” or event where they get
together to meet and see each other. Eyeballs are not limited to
users of a single repeater, but that is the size of groups that most
often plans one, at least in my experience. If someone announces an
eyeball during a net, usually at a local restaurant, try to attend. You’ll
get to see what all those “voices” look like.
 PROJECT 33. JOIN ARRL

You already know about the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).
It’s the organization that works to support amateur radio in the
United States. You may have studied an ARRL manual to get the
background you needed to pass your license exam.
The ARRL is a bit stodgy. After all, it’s mostly run by people old
enough to be grandparents and great grandparents. (But heck, a lot
of us are that age.) The ARRL’s monthly QST magazine reads like a
cross between an academic journal and the society page of a small-
town newspaper, and the layout could use some updating to the
internet age. Yet, the magazine manages to provide something for
everyone each month. Around the world it’s viewed as authoritative.
In fact, so is the entire ARRL organization. Many countries support
and adopt standards and ideas promoted by the ARRL. The league
also lobbies Congress and the FCC to provide changes to laws and
regulations that affect Hams. It publishes books about everything
from licensing to antennas to operating procedures. The manuals
are pricey, but they set the standard for ham radio information.
 In my opinion, the ARRL is the backbone of amateur radio in the
United States. When you join, you support all the work the ARRL
does and you benefit from it.
Recently, I attended a regional conference on digital
communications. There were seminars on topics such as mesh
networking, various digital radio issues surrounding incompatibilities
between D-Star, DMR, and C4FM/Fusion (Yaesu), new uses for
digital modes, and so on. These were fairly advanced topics in
amateur radio. The hundreds of attendees included a handful of
Technician license holders, a large number of Generals, and a super
majority of Amateur Extras. Someone asked how many attendees
were ARRL members and nearly everyone raised their hand. It
shows that those who are serious about amateur radio hold the
ARRL in high enough esteem that they’re willing to pay the dues
each year.

H J
You don’t have to search around to find out how to join the ARRL.
They will find you. They will mail you an offer to join the league using
the address you provided to the FCC. It usually includes a free book
as a bonus for signing on. Just fill out the paperwork and mail it in.
ARRL never actually sent me the free book they offered. I
probably made some mistake in how I signed up. But it didn’t matter;
I found a used copy for fifty cents at a hamfest soon after. I’ve gotten
my money’s worth from the QST magazine that arrives each month
and the email newsletters that I signed up to receive. I’ve also asked
questions by email on several occasions and sometimes (not
always) gotten useful answers. On top of that, the organization is my
voice about radio in Washington. Being an ARRL member is a way
of saying “radio is important to me.”
It’s up to you whether you join the ARRL, but I encourage you to
do it for your first year, at least. That way, you’ll get to know what it
provides, and it will help you feel like you’re a part of amateur radio.
When that letter from the ARRL arrives, seriously consider taking the
plunge.
 PROJECT 34. CQ CQ CQ

If you’ve completed all the projects in this book, you’re pretty much
up to speed on using VHF/UHF for normal amateur radio
communication. Of course, there’s more to pick up. But you should
be skilled enough now to feel at home with other Hams and to do the
things that all Hams do.
You have many more areas of amateur radio to explore. Some of
them include:
HF frequencies and modes.
CW (Morse Code).
QRP or “low power” transmission.
Digital modes over the Internet.
Software Defined Radio (SDR) and signal processing.
Space radio, including satellites, meteor scatter, aurora
reflections, and solar weather.
 Sending and receiving video.
Participation in ARES and RACES for emergency
communication (EMCOMM).
Electronics and radio hardware.
Antennas and signal propagation.
Mesh networks and microwave transmissions.
Becoming a volunteer examiner.
And so on…
You’ll probably buy more radios and other equipment, create a
radio go bag to respond to emergencies, and get involved with
projects at your radio club. Since some of the areas mentioned
above require it, you may eventually get a General or Amateur Extra
license if you don’t have one already.
You know the basics now. You can interact with other Hams. You
speak the language. You have the skills to operate. You’re now a
real Ham.
Your final project is to get on the air again. You already know how
to do it.

W Y ’ N
To complete this project you’ll need:
Your ham radio.

H D I
Turn on your radio.
Select the frequency of a nearby repeater.
Listen for fifteen seconds or more to make sure the
frequency is not in use.
 Press the Push-to-Talk button and wait one or two seconds
for the repeater to come up.
Slowly and distinctly say, “This is [your call sign], [your first
name] calling CQ. Is anyone available for a QSO?”
Wait a few seconds to see if someone responds.
Repeat.
Congratulations, Ham! You’re on the air!
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stan W. Merrill, AI7E, got into amateur radio

because he wanted to be prepared for emergencies. He had already
been through a tornado, two hurricanes, some minor earthquakes, a
wildland fire, and several power failures. As he studied for his
license, he realized that nearly every feature of modern life relies on
radio frequencies (RF) and that amateur radio is the gateway to
much of the world’s most exciting science and technology. He has a
PhD from the University of Chicago and has taught computer
science at a major university. He lives in the Rocky Mountains with
his wife. His hope is that you will have a joyful and happy life and
never encounter an emergency, but if one comes along, he’s
confident you can handle it.

AUTHOR’S NOTE
I hope this book will help make your experience as a new Ham
rewarding and enjoyable. I would really love to hear about your
experiences with it. Please let me know by leaving a review on
Amazon.com.