Get On The Air: A Beginner's Guide

Welcome to amateur (ham) radio! Getting licensed and making your first contact is easier than you might think, and the Indiana ham community is friendly and eager to help newcomers. This guide walks you through every step, from studying for your first exam to keying up and saying hello. Take it one step at a time, and before long you'll be on the air.

1. Learn the basics.

   Start by understanding what the hobby is all about. See our overview of ham radio for the big picture. There are three license classes in the United States: Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. Almost everyone begins with the Technician class, which gives you plenty of privileges to talk locally and start exploring.

2. Study for the Technician exam.

   The best free study tool is hamstudy.org, which offers flashcards and unlimited practice tests drawn from the actual question pool. The ARRL licensing resources (arrl.org) include study guides, manuals, and more. Another popular free option is the KB6NU "No-Nonsense" study guide, a plain-language PDF that explains every question. Most people pass after a couple of weeks of casual studying and practice tests.

3. Register with the FCC.

   Before your exam, create an account in the FCC's CORES system (cores.fcc.gov) to get your FCC Registration Number (FRN). You'll need this FRN when you take your exam so your license can be issued quickly. The FCC also charges a small license fee, paid after you pass.

4. Take the exam.

   Find an exam session near you on our Indiana exam sessions page. You can also search nationwide listings with the ARRL exam session finder or HamStudy exam sessions, which includes remote online exams. The Technician exam is 35 multiple-choice questions, and you need to answer at least 26 correctly (74%) to pass. Volunteer Examiners (VEs) run the sessions and will grade your test right there.

5. Get your call sign.

   After you pass, your new call sign typically appears in the FCC's Universal Licensing System (ULS) within a few business days. You can look it up in the FCC ULS. Once your call sign is in the database, you are legally allowed to transmit. Congratulations, you're a ham!

6. Get a radio.

   A dual-band (2 meter / 70 centimeter) handheld radio, often called an HT (handie-talkie), is the most common first radio. It lets you reach local repeaters and other hams nearby. Many radios are programmed using free software like CHIRP, which makes it easy to load in repeater frequencies (see the CHIRP beginner's guide). Some radios are instead programmed with the commercial RT Systems software and cables. Ask a fellow ham to help you program your first radio if you get stuck. Not licensed yet? You can still listen to live ham activity through an online receiver at websdr.org.

7. Find a repeater.

   Repeaters extend your range by receiving your signal and re-transmitting it from a tall, high-power site. Browse our repeaters list, the county map, and the frequencies & band plan to find ones near you. The crowd-sourced RepeaterBook directory is another great way to find repeaters anywhere you travel. To use a repeater you'll set two things: the offset (your radio transmits on a slightly different frequency than it listens on) and often a PL tone (a sub-audible tone that tells the repeater to open up for you). The repeater listing tells you both values.

8. Check into a net.

   A net is a scheduled on-air gathering with a net control operator who keeps things organized. They are one of the best ways to start talking. See our nets page for schedules. To check in for the first time, just listen until net control asks for check-ins, then say your call sign slowly and clearly (using the phonetic alphabet, e.g. "Kilo Delta niner..."). Net control will acknowledge you and guide you from there.

9. Join a club and find an Elmer.

   An "Elmer" is the ham-radio term for a mentor, and clubs are full of them. Joining a local club connects you with experienced operators who love helping beginners with everything from antennas to operating tips. Find one on our clubs directory. Many clubs welcome guests at meetings even before you join.

10. Learn basic operating etiquette.

    Good operating habits make you welcome on any frequency. Always listen first to make sure you're not interrupting an ongoing conversation. Identify with your call sign at least every 10 minutes during a contact and again when you finish. Use plain, courteous language, and leave a short gap between transmissions so other stations can break in if they need to. When in doubt, listen and learn from how others operate.

That's it! Welcome to the hobby, and we'll hear you on the air soon.