H. Ward Silver - Ham Radio For Dummies

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 3-1lists 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 3-1Hosts and Directories for Ham Radio Reflectors

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.

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 ) is a good example of a day-long event with many presentations that are recorded and available online. Chances are, any conference or hamfest that presents speakers and training sessions will record and publish the videos for you to watch any time.

If you can take an in-person class to study for your FCC license exam, that is a good way to learn the material in-depth. You may prefer to study on your own, though. If that’s the way you choose, there are study books and online resources for you — I discuss them in Chapter 5. Some books are combined with online practice exams, such as the ARRL’s license manuals and the ARRL Exam Review for Ham Radio software.

Before you get started on getting a license, you should browse the available materials by doing an online search for ham radio license study . You’ll find quite a number of choices ranging from simple flash-cards to interactive videos. Some are free, and none are terribly expensive. Take a look at what’s available so you’ll be ready to go when you decide to dive in and get started!

Many new hams get their licenses to support public service activities. Does that sound like you! If so, you might be interested in getting some training on how hams organize themselves to provide that service. Many ham radio public service groups use the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) model, called NIMS for the National Incident Management System. The FEMA training website (the Emergency Management Institute — training.fema.gov/is/crslist.aspx ) lists numerous free courses, some of which may be required to become part of a public service team. Start with the current version of course ICS-100 to learn about this common method of managing public service activities.

Portals provide a comprehensive set of services and function as ham radio home pages. They feature news, informative articles, radio buy-and-sell pages, links to databases, reflectors, and many other useful services to hams. Here are three popular portals:

QRZ.com (the ham radio abbreviation for “Who is calling me?”) evolved from a call sign lookup service — what used to be a printed book known as a callbook — to the comprehensive site ( www.qrz.com ) that you see today. The call sign search features are incredibly useful, and the site offers a variety of call sign management functions.

eHam.net ( www.eham.net ) provides forums, articles, reviews, and classified ads for equipment sales. You will also find real-time links to a DX-station spotting system (frequencies of distant stations that are currently on the air) and the latest solar and ionospheric data that affects radio propagation.

DXcoffee.com ( www.facebook.com/DxCoffee ) is typical of a site with a theme. This site is all about the fun of DXing or trying to contact distant stations. There are hams traveling to exotic locations all the time. By watching a site like this, you’ll know when they’re going and their plans for operating. (DXing is discussed in more detail in Chapter 11.)

To get in touch with other hams, find your local radio club! Although online help is convenient, there’s no substitute for in-person contact and making friends. The following are true for most hams and clubs:

Most hams belong to a general-interest club as well as one or two specialty groups.

Most local or regional clubs have in-person meetings, because membership is drawn largely from a single area.

Almost all clubs have a website or social media presence, some kind of newsletter, and usually an email distribution list or Twitter feed.

Specialty clubs focus on activities. Activities such as contesting, low-power operating, and high-altitude ballooning may have a much wider (even international) membership. See “ Taking Part in Specialty Groups,” later in this chapter, for more information.

Clubs are great resources for assistance and mentorship. As you get started in ham radio, you’ll find that you need answers to a lot of basic questions and maybe some in-person help. I recommend you start by joining a general-interest club (see the next section). If you can find one that emphasizes assistance to new hams, so much the better. You’ll find the road to enjoying ham radio a lot smoother in the company of others, and you’ll find other new hams to share the experience.

Before you start, remember that you don’t have to immediately join a club “for life.” You can attend a few meetings as a visitor to get a feel for the group. If you decide to join, most memberships are for a year and you can decide to renew or not. It’s very common to be a member of a few clubs before you find one or two that are right for you. And if you change your ham radio style later, you can join a different club!