Do you want to dive into your ham radio hobby? Hold on! Hold on! Slow your horses. There is something you first need to do before you can go fully into that. And what you need to first do is get your license before you can legally operate a ham radio.
Recommended Reading: Dual Band Mobile Ham Radio
You will be made to take a test that will cover your knowledge in the world of electronics, amateur radio rules and regulations. We have three types of licenses, and they are:
Technician: This license is great for those who are just getting started in their ham radio hobby. This test includes thirty-five questions that will cover the basic ham radio rules and regulations, safety, and basic electronics theory. Once this is complete, you will be licensed for communicating in UHF, VHF, and microwave frequency bands.
General: With this license, you can get all the privileges of the technician license, and you will be able to communicate on frequencies in the High Frequency band (HF).
Extra: This one is quite demanding. You will be required to answer over 700 questions, and of course, you will need to study extra hard for this. If you manage to ace this test, you will have access to the privileges of both the technician and general license, and you will also get access to some exclusive sub-bands.
Getting started with your ham radio will require you to find either a class or a book that you can immerse yourself in, before you take your test. Once you are quite familiar with everything (maybe not necessarily everything, but the most important parts), you will need to look for a local club in your area for a testing session.
Building Your Ham Radio
If you want to get deep into the designs of your own ham radio circuit, you can find a webinar on the internet that will cover certain areas like:
- How to design a complete DC power management system with a built-in charge meter, low voltage disconnect, and a failover switch for a portable radio.
- You will also learn how to make use of your every day through-hole components design to build your very own portable and affordable radio equipment.
- You will be taught the kind of considerations you need to make in your radio circuit design process to select the right transistor, heat sink, package types, and copper width/thickness.