Amateur radio is a unique hobby that blends technical skill, community connection, and the thrill of reaching people across distances. Whether you’re interested in emergency preparedness, exploration, or simply the challenge of mastering radio technology, amateur radio offers something for everyone. If you’ve been curious about getting started, this guide will walk you through the essentials—from licensing to choosing your first radio.

Understanding the License Tiers

Before you can legally transmit, you’ll need an amateur radio license. The good news? The FCC offers three levels of licensing, so you can start at whatever depth matches your commitment level.

Technician Class is the entry point. The exam covers basic radio theory, regulations, and operating practices. Most people pass this with 20-30 hours of study using readily available online resources. Technician licensees can operate on VHF and UHF frequencies, which are ideal for local communication and are where most beginner activity happens.

General Class opens up HF (high frequency) bands, where you can reach operators across the country and around the world. The exam is more involved, typically requiring another 50-100 hours of study, but it’s absolutely worth it if DX (long-distance communication) excites you.

Extra Class is the pinnacle—it grants access to all amateur bands and shows serious commitment to the hobby. If you’re thinking about this level, you’re already hooked on radio, and the Extra exam will feel like a natural progression.

Choosing Your First Radio

Once licensed, you’ll face the fun challenge of picking your first transceiver. Your choice depends on how you want to get on the air, your budget, and your goals.

Handheld Transceivers (HTs) are the most affordable entry point, ranging from $50 to $200. Models like the Baofeng UV-5R have been the gateway radio for thousands of amateurs. They’re portable, durable, and perfect for learning the basics—programming frequencies, understanding repeaters, and getting comfortable with radio protocol. The trade-off is limited range and battery life, but for local nets and practice, they’re ideal.

Mobile Radios (mounted in a car or at home) typically cost $200-$500 and offer significantly more power and range. A mobile radio with a proper antenna can reliably reach repeaters 20-30 miles away and give you much better audio clarity. If you’re planning to participate regularly in local nets or emergency drills, a mobile setup is worth the investment.

Base Stations are the serious player option—stationary radios with dedicated power supplies and antenna systems. These can range from $300 to $1000+, but they give you the performance and reliability to attempt long-distance contacts and participate in nets reliably. If you’re in it for the long haul, this is worth the investment.

Regardless of which type you choose, prioritize reliability and ease of use over flashy features. You want a radio that will work when you need it and won’t frustrate you with complicated menus.

Finding Your Local Community

One of the best parts of amateur radio is the community. Nearly every area has active repeaters—shared transmitters that extend the range of lower-power radios—and local radio clubs that host nets (regularly scheduled check-ins where operators practice).

Start by finding your local repeaters using sites like RepeaterBook. Listen on a repeater’s frequency, get comfortable with the rhythm of conversation, and then jump in on a local net. Established hams love welcoming newcomers, and you’ll quickly build friendships and learn from experienced operators.

Radio clubs (e.g., Bainbridge Island Amateur Radio Club, or BARC) often host in-person meetings, classes, and social events. These connections can turn into mentorships, operating partnerships, and real friendships.

First Projects and Experiments

While your radio works right out of the box, amateur radio thrives on tinkering. Some great starter projects include:

Building a dipole antenna: A simple wire antenna you can make for under $20 and mount in your backyard or attic. It’ll vastly improve your transmission and reception.
Programming custom frequencies: Learn the quirks of your radio—how to program in repeaters, simplex frequencies, and offset settings. If your radio is compatible, learn to use CHIRP.
Participating in a net: Join a weekly net related to your interests (emergency preparedness nets, hiking and outdoor nets, technology nets, etc.) and practice structured communication.
Operating portable: Take your HT to a local park or hiking trail and make contacts from the field. It’s surprisingly fun and teaches you antenna fundamentals.

Resources and Next Steps

Ready to get started? Here are the essentials:

Study for your license: Use moriscode.org or ARRL.org for exam prep materials.
Find repeaters: Check RepeaterBook to discover frequencies in your area.
Join a club: Search for ham radio clubs near you—most have websites and welcome newcomers.
Connect with mentors: Once licensed, ask for an “Elmer”—an experienced ham who takes newcomers under their wing.

Amateur radio is waiting for you. The barrier to entry is lower than ever, the community is welcoming, and the rewards—both technical and social—are substantial. Start with your license, pick a radio that fits your budget, find your local community, and you’ll quickly understand why millions of people around the world stay on the air.

Recently, I bought a Yaesu FT-857D and an ATAS-120 antenna. A couple of weekends ago, KB7YWE and I installed them in my truck. Well, mostly in the truck, as we used the radio from a resting position on the passenger seat. Really, we just wanted to see how well it worked.

The Radio

The Yaesu FT-857D is an all-mode, multi-band radio that covers 160m-6m, 2m and 70cm. It emits 100W of power on HF, which is twice the power of my TenTec Scout. It also has the ability to control the automatic tuning HF antenna, which I’ve described below. The radio has a detachable face plate, making it easy to mount the radio in one part of the truck and use it in another, which should make it easier to find a place to mount it.

The Antenna

The ATAS-120, extended to its 20m operating height, as installed on my truck.

The Active Tuning Antenna System 120 (ATAS-120) is an antenna that can tune itself to the proper length for the frequency that the radio is trying to use. Essentially, you change to the band you want to use, press and hold the ‘Tune’ button, and the antenna will extend or contract to find the correct length of the antenna. It does this by minimizing the standing wave ratio (SWR), which you can observe on the graphical control panel on the radio. This feature is available from 40m-70cm (even though the 2m and 70cm bands use the antenna fully contracted). This works well for me, because I’m renting in a subdivision that has restrictions against antennas, making any permanent setup for the larger antennas impossible.

One thing of note, if you’re going to do an install of this of your own, you’ll need a diplexer. There are two antenna outputs on the Radio, and one antenna to attach for all bands.

The Installation

KB7YWE help me with the install. I’ve always consulted him for his expertise on these matters, because he’s great with amateur radio matters, and very skilled at working with cars (which I’m not).

The antenna mount was a trunk mount that is intended to attach to the lip of a car trunk. It pushes the Xterra hatchback slightly out of place, but that also makes space to feed the coax through the gap. Once we had the radio wired directly to the battery, we were eager to try tuning the antenna.

The tuning was very touch and go. Some bands that were supposed to tune didn’t. However, it was still really cool to watch. The radio has a graphical SWR meter, which you can watch change as the antenna becomes more closely matched with the frequency. To deal with the spotty performance, we decided to turn our attention to grounding. We attached the outer conductor of the coax connection to the screw that held the hatchback door supports. Then, we went back to the radio, and it tuned perfectly on 10m, 15m, 20m, and 40m. We were very happy.

Later, I tried 12m, 17m, and 30m. All of which tuned, but then the former bands did not. Adding a second ground, from the radio chassis to the car body, seems to have fixed this problem.

I still haven’t figured out where I’m going mount the radio in my Xterra. The most logical path seems to be removing the double height stereo from the dashboard, and replacing it with a smaller stereo (maybe one that plays MP3s from SD cards) and the Ham Radio. The downside to this is that I won’t be able to remove the radio and use it outside of the truck. With my current neighborhood restrictions, I do all of my HF from the truck anyway, making this a non-issue.

With this setup, I was ready (and really excited) for Field Day. Next post, I’ll talk about how that went.

Tag: multi-band radio

Getting Started with Amateur Radio: Choosing Your First Rig