The world of Hams has always interested me, both as a community and as a hobby. But I am kind of, well, unsure about how, exactly, one becomes an amateur radio enthusiast.
I’m only 20 years old, and most ham radio guys tend to be significantly older. Will it be weird for these guys (say, in a local club(if they exist)) to accept someone my age?
I am an Electronic Technician by occupation, and I doubt that I will have any trouble with attaining the necessary FCC licensing. I’ve done some reading about the equipment one might use as a beginner, and all will be no problem to attain or build.
Based on my experience, the old guys will be nothing but excited and supportive of new blood, especially if you learn code, in spite of the fact that it’s not required.
Check out the AARL, they show 38 clubs in Wisconsin, and qrz.com is a good resource as well.
A mentor in Hamspeak is an ‘Elmer.’ Oddly, I have found Hams to be cliquish and uninterested in helping newbies. Perhaps I went to the club meeting on a bad day. Nonetheless, the hobby is growing older each year. Try to find a local club and hook up with them.
My FIL has been an enthusiastic HAM for many, many years. He keeps trying to interest me and my kids in it (his son, my hubby, already has his license). I’m not interested, but to say the my FIL is interested in “recruiting” young people would be an understatement! He’d be thrilled to take a youn’un under his wing (and, FWIW, you’re younger than most of his grandchildren).
I second visiting the ARRL website. I’m guessing they’ll have links where you can obtain a study booklet for taking a test. Tests are administered not only in clubs, but also at large hamfests.
Look around at the clubs in the Milwaukee Metro area. If you find one that gets all snooty on you, go find another one. CLubs are organized for several different reasons. Some are for electronics enthusiasts, some are for contesting, some are for public service (ARES/RACES). Some have old farts that give the evil eye to anyone who can’t do CW at 20 WPM, some have old farts that love to pass the hobby on.
There has been a gradual shift over the past 40 years of ham radio, and they guys in their 50s+ had a very different experience getting into the hobby (i.e. lots of CW, tubed non-solid state radios, some of which they built themselves) than you (solid- state software driven rigs), but the overall experience of building a system and making contacts. As of February 23, you will not have to know CW to get on the shortwave bands, and getting a Technician class license will give you voice privileges on the 10 meter band (28.300 - 28.500 Mhz), as well as CW on 20, 40 and 80 meter bands. The majority of my contacts have been on those 10 M frequencies.
Go for your license. We need younger people to help keep the hobby alive. E-mail me for more information and questions you might have.
Vlad/Igor
KF4VCC (General Class), Skywarn Net ops, crew member of Red Cross Emergency Communications Response Vehicle 4710.
I just got into ham radio a couple of years ago at the ripe old age of 40. Still considered young for the hobby, every old-timer I’ve run into has been thrilled that new blood is still entering the hobby. I would like to second the opinion that learning the code is vitally important. The FCC has commited a huge error in dropping the requirement but that doesn’t mean you should make the same mistake.
Hello, hekk. Your location says Milwaukee. I’m over here in West Allis.
Head on over to Amateur Electronic Supply on Good Hope and talk with Jeff or Gary.. They’ll set you up with equipment and license info. I’ve bought lots of scanner equipment and manuals there. They’re nice guys and they know what they are talking about.
Wow, you found a bunch of crappy Hams, is all I can say. The vast majority of Amateurs are more than willing to show newbies the ropes and help them get started. When I first got started in the hobby back in '96, I expressed an interest in the 440 MHz band but didn’t have enough money to pick up another rig yet. One of the guys I’d been QSOing with on a local repeater gave me an older Kenwood dual-band 144/440 MHz mobile rig, with the only condition that I should “pay it forward” in a similar manner. I’ve never forgotten that generosity.
I know what Paul is saying - there are some old guys out there that are still mad that no-codes exist, and that you can buy radios in the store (instead of blowing your own glass and hand-crafting tubes), but I’ve run into the same kind of mentality in most every club I’ve been in. Even Elks and Masons have their fair share of crusty old fogies.
Hams come from all walks of life. So you will have some of that, but if you look enough, you will find plenty of the opposite as well.
It IS kind of a nerdy hobby, so there are a fair number of hams that…hmm…shall we say come up a little short in the social skills department. Some of the percieved stand-offishness might turn out to be shyness, so it might need to be a newcomer who breaks the ice. Though again, there are all kinds, and I can think of two hams who are among the most outgoing personalities I know. Do watch out for the blowhard…the one who knows exactly which radio is THE best, and would never touch that other junk, and what kind of idiot uses that antenna, when this type is so much better and REAL hams…you get the idea. I swear there is at least one in every club (and not just ham radio) I’ve ever been involved with.
The hobby has many “branches”, so a beginner is well advised to try out several groups anyway, as the groups tend to focus on narrow aspects of the hobby…most hams I know of end up belong to multiple clubs…say a DX (long range communication) club, and a repeater association (local operation mostly) and maybe an emergency communications/public service group.
If you don’t wish to approach a club, you can go it alone.
Study some of the practice exams previously linked and then head over to a hamfest that offers testing. The ARRL site has some 'fest listings for Wisconsin during the next few months. I didn’t examine them all but I’m certain most of them will have VE testing. I’d wait till after the code requirement drops and go for General. No disrespect to UncleRojelio but I say good riddance.
I went to school at MSOE and found Milwaukee to have a pretty active amateur scene. An elmer in my school’s radio club (W9HHX) was fond of saying tht ham radiois actually 100 hobbies under one name. I think it may be more than that. People enjoy foxhunting, DXing, contesting, emergency communications, repeater planning, slow scan television, satellite contacts, antenna homebrewing, packet…the list goes on and one. Personally, I’m into converting Motorola public safety radios for amature use. I’m also pretty heavily into scanning.
I’m not a very active ham but radio is often on my mind. If you’re thinking about becoming a ham, you’ve already overcome the most difficult barrier to licensing. Go for it!
I’m only 22, and have been a ham for about 7 or 8 years now. Hams (at least around here) are happy to have younger people in the hobby. It’s a wonderful hobby, and I’ll just add my voice to those that are encouraging you. If you’re already an electronics tech, and are technically minded in general, get a copy of The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual and go through it, and you should be able to pass the test within a few weeks.
You may have seen this already, but the ARRL has a website set up for people new to ham radio: http://www.hello-radio.org/.
I’ve been a ham since 1983. Most clubs are good about encouraging young people to join our ranks. Our local club has a new member, a 13 year old who decided he wanted to become a ham. He studied with a couple of our club members, and his father, who accompanied him to our scheduled study sessions, became interested and got his license as well!
Bring it on, hekk! We’ll be happy to welcome you into our fraternity.
73 and very FB, OM!
(Ask your elmer what that means when you find one.)
