New to Radios, just picked up a few Baofengs and wanting to learn

[vtwinjunkie]

Hello all,

I am new to the world of radios. I have been reading articles and trying to figure out how to study for the technician (amateur) ham radio license.

At this point I am obviously only using my new baofengs for listening, but I dont know much about that either.

Anyone that could point me in the direction of either finding training/classes for the technician license test and also give me some info on what types of things I can pick up on my new radio would be really swell!

Thanks all

 

[richardbritt]

What I would do first is look at the link below for a ham radio club near you.

Search for ARRL Affiliated Clubs

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.

www.arrl.org

There are several good books to help study for the technician test. One is published by ARRL and the other by W5YI. Some clubs give classes and use one these books or the other. If you want to listen to a ham repeater go to Repeaterbook.com and search for a local repeater. Just don't be tempted to transmit until you pass the test. If you make friends by joining a local club, I am sure some of the members will be happy to let you talk on their radio while they are with you. That's called third party and legal and give you a feel to see if you like it.

There are a few clubs in Tidewater, Richmond and Northern Virginia that I know of and are friendly and welcome new people interested in ham radio. I am sure there are plenty all over.

Good luck. It's a good hobby. I have been in it since high school in 1976. I am still learning about new things to do with my radios. It's always fun and educational and a good way to make friends.

Regards

Richard

 

[cmdrwill]

Hamtest on line

 

[vtwinjunkie]

What I would do first is look at the link below for a ham radio club near you.

Search for ARRL Affiliated Clubs

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.

www.arrl.org

There are several good books to help study for the technician test. One is published by ARRL and the other by W5YI. Some clubs give classes and use one these books or the other. If you want to listen to a ham repeater go to Repeaterbook.com and search for a local repeater. Just don't be tempted to transmit until you pass the test. If you make friends by joining a local club, I am sure some of the members will be happy to let you talk on their radio while they are with you. That's called third party and legal and give you a feel to see if you like it.

There are a few clubs in Tidewater, Richmond and Northern Virginia that I know of and are friendly and welcome new people interested in ham radio. I am sure there are plenty all over.

Good luck. It's a good hobby. I have been in it since high school in 1976. I am still learning about new things to do with my radios. It's always fun and educational and a good way to make friends.

Regards

Richard

Thanks for this great info!
I will definitely look into the clubs in my area. in the mean time is there anywhere I can look to find frequencies used in my area to program into my hand held to hear things other than static!?

Hamtest on line

Have you used this? It looks like a great resource

 

[tglendye]

Try this ARRL Exam Review for Ham Radio™ for testing. That is the practice test I used when I was studying. Also, you may want to pick up the ARRL Technician manual. Studying the manual and the practice questions will help prepare you for the test, and once you're licensed, on the air.

What area are you in? The www.repeaterbook.com is a pretty decent resource for frequencies. Not sure what band your Baofeng is, but it's probably 2 meter or 70cm, so look in repeaterbook for those bands. And good luck.

 

[cmdrwill]

Have you used this? It looks like a great resource
[/QUOTE]

Yes I have used Ham Test Online. I like it much better than the others. And it does track you progress ect.

 

[BaoFeng_Blogger]

Have you used this? It looks like a great resource

Yes I have used Ham Test Online. I like it much better than the others. And it does track you progress ect.
[/QUOTE]

Ham Test Online is who I used for my General. Passed first test without any problems.

73 to ya...

Just Me