Ham Radio For Dummies. H. Ward Silver

www.reddit.com/r/hamradio

       Instagram: #hamradio or #amateurradio

      New platforms are being introduced every day — Slack and Discord both have a lot of ham radio content, for example. Use the platform’s search tools to look for ham radio or amateur radio. Most posts and threads will treat those search terms the same so there will be a lot of overlap, but searching for both will find just about everything they have to offer.

      

The Internet is full of misinformation and, ham radio being a technical hobby, it can be hard to tell the helpful from the inaccurate. If something seems a little too simple for a complicated question, or if you just don't understand the claims, get some second opinions. Asking a mentor often leads to learning something completely new. This is where an experienced mentor can be really helpful!

      As a beginner, blogs and individual websites can be very valuable in finding answers to common questions. One blog that’s very helpful for newcomers to amateur radio is KB6NU’s Ham Radio Blog (www.kb6nu.com). Run by Dan Romanchik (KB6NU), it offers study guides and news. Dan writes books and guides for newcomers, too.

      Videos, podcasts, and webinars

      There’s nothing quite like a demonstration to find out how to do something, such as put on a connector, make a contact, tune an antenna, or assemble a kit. Many video and photo websites are available to speed you on your way to ham radio success; YouTube (www.youtube.com) and Instructables (www.instructables.com/howto/ham+radio/) are just two of the options. Instagram (www.instagram.com) and Vimeo (www.vimeo.com) have quite a few ham radio videos, too. The YouTube channel of Randy Hall (K7AGE — www.youtube.com/user/K7AGE) has quite a few good instructional videos, for example.

      Also available are several nicely produced talk show–style programs that have large followings. Here are a few of my favorites:

       Ham Nation on TWiT.TV (twit.tv/shows) covers operating and technical topics in an informal and fast-paced format. A new show airs every week.

       Ham Radio Now TV (www.hamradionow.tv), hosted by David Goldenberg (WØDHG), is a weekly podcast that tackles all sorts of interesting topics. Pearce’s web page lists many other audio and video programs.

       Ham Radio Newsline (www.arnewsline.org) is a podcast structured like a news program with the latest ham radio-related stories. It is produced by Neil Rapp (WB9VPG).

       QSO Today (www.qsotoday.com), produced by Eric Guth (4Z1UG and WA6IGR) includes podcasts, videos (mostly interviews), and blog entries. This is a great way to meet some of ham radio’s leaders and learn about specific topics, too.

      

It’s hard to use a dictionary to look up a word you don’t know how to spell! It can be the same with ham radio. If you don’t know the right name for something, your online search can be pretty frustrating. You can use the Google Images service (images.google.com) to help, though. If you have a mental picture of what you’re looking for, describe it in the images search window and click on some images that look right. Then follow the links to the web page the image came from.

      Email reflectors

      The first online communities for hams were email lists, known as reflectors. Reflectors are mailing lists that take email from one mailbox and rebroadcast it to all members. With some list memberships numbering in the thousands, reflectors get information spread around pretty rapidly. Every ham radio interest has a reflector.

      Focused online communities like those on Groups.io (groups.io) offer much more than just email distribution. They also offer file storage, photo- and video-display, messaging, and excellent member management. To take advantage of these groups.io services, create a personal account; then search the service (use “Find a Group”) for amateur radio or ham radio.

Table 3-1 lists several of the largest websites that serve as hosts for reflectors. You can browse the directories and decide which list suits your interests. (Be careful, though, that you don’t wind up spending all your time on the reflectors and none on the air.)

TABLE 3-1 Hosts and Directories for Ham Radio Reflectors

Website	Topics
www.qth.com	Radios, bands, operating, and awards
www.contesting.com	TowerTalk, CQ-Contest, Amps, Top Band (160 meters), RTTY (digital modes) — look under “Contest Lists” and “Other Lists”
www.dxzone.com/catalog/Internet_and_Radio/Mailing_Lists and www.ac6v.com/mail.php	Directories of reflectors and forums hosted on other sites

Because my main interests are operating on the HF bands, contesting, and making DX (long-distance) contacts, for example, I subscribe to the TowerTalk reflector, the CQ-Contest reflector, a couple of the DX reflectors, and the Top Band reflector about 160 meter operating techniques and antennas. To make things a little easier on my email inbox, I subscribe in digest format so that I get one or two bundles of email every day instead of many individual messages. Most reflectors are lightly moderated and usually closed to any posts that aren’t from subscribed members — in other words, spam.

      

As soon as you settle into an on-the-air routine, subscribe to one or two reflectors or groups. They are great ways to find out about new equipment and techniques before you take the plunge and try them yourself.

      Online training and instruction

      Webinars (online video seminars hosted by an instructor) are very common. Many of these events are archived, such as those hosted by the World Wide Radio Operator’s Foundation (www.wwrof.org) webinar is the next-best thing to your mentor being there in the room with you. Many conferences are also recording their sessions and posting them online for you to learn from. Contest University (CTU — contestuniversity.com)