Getting Licensed

Can't work out how to become a HAM?

Well, here you go:

Step 1: Go here and find your closest club and contact them. You can probably avoid the rest if you're an independent type. Even if you are, you should still contact the local club and become known. 

Step 2:  Go here read the info, buy The Foundation Manual and learn it.

 

Step 3: Go here go to the Foundation License section and learn the content. It's a little out of date, but if you've got the above, you'll be able to spot the differences.

Step 4: This is a good time to have done Step 1, and perhaps you can get some radio time in with some local hams, as that will help you get ready for that pesky exam you need to do. 

Step 5: Go here and grab the syllabus for the Foundation exam so you know what to expect. 

Step 5a: Go here and visit the VK HamEd website to do test yourself against the style of questions you'll face on your exam. It won't ask you anything that you don't need to know. I used an earlier incarnation extensively to test myself prior to my Foundation exam, and I'm starting to use it again as I dig into the Standard.

Step 6: The folks you met in Step 1 will be able to help you with doing your exam. If you insist on not doing step 1, then go here and chat with VEA about doing an online exam. You're going to need to have the practical side down pat (you read that in Step 5 yeah?). The good news is that the Foundation license isn't difficult. It can seem a bit foreign to start with, but you'll get over it. 

Step 7: You'll pay to do your exam, and that payment goes to AMC. You'll also pay for your callsign recommendation. Whoever does your exam will give you instructions in advance. 

Step 8: Wait for the AMC to assess your exam, process your callsign recommendation and send to ACMA. Eventually you'll receive your Certificate of Proficiency to say you passed (you're still not licensed yet) and you'll be contacted by ACMA to pay for your license. Once that's paid, you're good to go.

Q&A:

Radios: You don't need a license to own a HAM radio. You do need a license in order to transmit on it. So you can indeed start amassing gear while you're studying. Be mindful of the power limits for the license you're going for, and make sure that your gear supports those power limits and the specific bands allowed by your license. 

You will find that some hams will refuse to sell second hand amateur gear to non-hams. That's a choice they make, and you need to respect that. You can always contact them and tell them that you're preparing to get your license. They may not be interested, but hey, what's the harm in trying?

Antennas: Do seek guidance for the folks you were in contact with in Step 1. Don't expect anyone to give you the same answer, and definitely don't expect someone to give you a definitive answer on what you should buy.  The perfect antenna is a unicorn, and most people have better chance of winning bags of pixie dust than they do having the space/finances to afford as close to perfect as you can get.  You'll need to do some research, think about what you want (bands), what space you have, and what limitations might exist on your property. Antennas are compromises in one way or another. Do research, ask questions, plan for the future and accept that what you start with will probably be something you change in 3 months, and probably another 40 times in the next two years. Experimentation is part and parcel of the hobby. What works perfectly for the ham next door may be completely useless to you, so you'll be chasing unicorns, and that's OK. If you're lucky, you'll come up with something that suits your needs quickly. 

All the other stuff: The best rookie advice I can give you is:

Power supplies: Stay away from cheaper switch mode power supplies - even those advertised on eBay that say they are suitable for HF radio. You'll need to spend money, or buy one and deal with the potential for interference. If you've got a functional deep cycle or car battery surplus, these can do the job. They're also handy for running the radio when you drop out the mains to chase sources of interference.

Vertical antennas: Radial Free antennas are less than ideal, especially if you found them on eBay. Some people get great mileage out of them. Some absolutely will not. They will be noisy. Personally, I use one. Good for FT8. A bit noisy for phone. A vertical for a V/UHF is usually fine, and you'll normally find these will have some kind of ground plane. The other option is to use a yagi style, but these a directional so you may find that limiting.

Cheap radios: Be mindful that the bands vary between countries. A radio targeted at one market might be missing part of the band here. Some can be modified to get around this, but pay attention. Also make sure that the radio lets you set your power appropriately. There are plenty of radios (and some not so cheap) that might have increments of 5/15/25w. For a foundation license, you're stuck at 5w with that radio. If you're mainly using VHF, and have a nice clear line of sight to a local repeater that will do the bulk of your VHF work, then that might be OK. Trying to key up a repeater 100km away might be a challenge (though I've done it at 5w...). 

Baofeng handhelds are common, and are good starter radios. Normally Baofeng are handhelds (HT), and can be purchased for a fraction of the cost of the Japanese built big names. They're not perfect, but they're pretty good "bang for buck". Be mindful that there are now Baofeng knock offs floating around - some fakes, and some using parts that Baofeng rejected due to failures/quality control. Still, for $30~, set your expectations accordingly. There is a big difference between a $30 Chinese radio and a $500 Japanese radio, but they generally do the same thing. It doesn't hurt to upgrade the antenna to something better.

Secondhand radios: Be mindful that old radios might have some good mojo. They might also be full of other peoples problems. Old radios seem to go for good money. Some are absolutely bulletproof. Be mindful though of their capabilities - ability to handle split frequencies required for repeaters, CTCSS tones, etc. If you're planning on using things like IRL repeaters, does the radio you're looking at support DTMF tones (and even then.. was it an add on that this particular radio may not have)? Don't forget when looking at HF radios, if you don't have an antenna resonant (or not very resonant), you'll probably need an antenna tuner. Unlike V/UHF radios that will generally allow you to set a specific power output in watts, HF radios may not be so obvious - my Icom IC-706MKIIG is a great example of this - despite doing HF/VHF/UHF, its power settings are a L/1-9/H scale that varies in actual power output based upon which band you're on. Level 8 on UHF is 10w. The same level on HF will be around 80w. On 6m, it's different again. Unless you're buying a newish, modern SDR driven model that has everything down to the tuner built in (like a Xiegu G90), you may need to find something with a power meter. 

The Ham Community: You'll discover that the community is diverse, and within it there are some "political" issues going on and some folks can get rather animated about certain issues, attribution of problems toward specific groups and what not. It's part and parcel of any long term, well established community. It's important to know that it's there; much like you're told to listen to other hams before you start transmitting, pay attention to the social media groups. You'll soon start to see what the "delicate" subjects are, and you may choose to give them a wide berth. 

There are a few on social media whose attitude isn't as welcoming as what you might find in your local club. Some come from a generation who had to learn morse code and other assorted things that made the entry bar into the hobby a lot higher and more technical than it is these days, and they're still a little cranky about it.. because, well, quite simply, you don't need to. 

Don't let that put you off!  Even the cranky buggers can be a wealth of useful information when they jump off the horse and decide to contribute back to the hobby (i.e. by giving you advice). The vast majority of hams remember that they too were new once and most appreciate that entrance into the hobby has had to change to appeal to a new generation of hobbyist.

Contrary to popular belief, clubs aren't entirely made up of retired older gents (though yes, they do seem to be well represented). There are younger folks involved, and there are certainly some ladies floating around. The older generation have a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience that needs to be absorbed!

Put in some time into learning and listening. That's a good part of what this hobby is all about.