Your First VHF/UHF HT
Most of us who are new to the hobby start out with a simple HT, typically a Baofeng or something similar. If you’re joining us from one of our classes and you passed the test, you’ll be getting a Baofeng UV-5R (or equivalent) and training on how to use it. Below are some additional resources on this radio and how to use the programming software.
Programing a Baofeng HT Radio
CHIRP Software
Baofeng UV-5R Manual
YouTube Walk-through – Ham Radio Crash Course
Setting up your first home station
Getting and setting up your home station is an exciting part of any amateur radio operators journey into the hobby. It requires a few things to get you going, and can be as simple as a charger for your HT setup on your desk so you can grab it when a call comes through. To something as complex as multiple shelves full of radios, antenna switchers, antenna matchers, digital interfaces, and a computer (or two).
Planning your First Home Station
Coaxial Cable Selection
What do you want to do with Radio?
There’s so much to do with radio. You can operate at home and talk to people in your area on nets using repeaters or simplex with your HT or home station (VHF/UHF). You can talk to people around the world using simplex (HF). You can participate in the many radio contest and special events going on at any given time. You can setup at a POTA (Parks on the Air) location and activate the park, or hunt parks from the comfort of your home. If you’re really adventurous try SOTA (Summits on the Air), and make a call from the summit of a mountain.