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What is Ham Radio? (click here)
What is Ham Radio? Amateur Radio (ham radio) is a popular hobby and service that brings people, electronics and communication together. People use ham radio to talk across town, around the world, or even into space, all without the Internet or cell phones. It's fun, social, educational, and can be a lifeline during times of need. You can set up a ham radio station anywhere! In a field... ...at a club station.... ...or at home. Although Amateur Radio operators get involved for many reasons, they all have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles,...
Why should I get licensed? (click here)
Why should I get licensed? Before you can get on the air, you need to be licensed and know the rules to operate legally. US licenses are good for 10 years before renewal and anyone may hold one except a representative of a foreign government. In the US there are three license classes—Technician, General and Extra. Technician License The Technician class license is the entry-level license of choice for most new ham radio operators. To earn the Technician license requires passing one examination totaling 35 questions on radio theory, regulations and operating practices. The license gives access to all Amateur Radio frequencies above...
Ham Radio History (click here)
In 1873, James Clerk Maxwell presented his theory of the electromagnetic field. In 1901 Guglielmo Marconi communicated across the Atlantic with a radio device using high power and giant antennas. To curb interference, Congress approved the Radio Act of 1912, which required amateurs to be licensed and restricted to the single wavelength of 200 meters. In 1914 the American Radio Relay League was founded by Hiram Percy Maxim, who found that messages could be sent more reliably over long distances if relay stations were organized. Transatlantic transmitting and receiving tests began in 1921 and by July 1960 the first two-way contact...
Your First Station (click here)
Your Amateur Radio station may change, but you have to start somewhere, right? Here are some fundamentals that all Amateur Radio stations have in common: Transceiver Power Supply Antenna System The Transceiver Selecting your transceiver will largely depend on how much you want to spend and what you hope to do. If you want to explore long-distance contacts on the HF bands, you’ll need an HF transceiver. If you are interested in chatting with local friends on the VHF or UHF bands, look for a VHF+ FM transceiver. Build Your Own Radio Most hams buy their radios factory assembled,...
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What is Ham Radio? (click here)
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Why should I get licensed? (click here)
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Ham Radio History (click here)
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Your First Station (click here)
Why should I get licensed? (click here)
Why should I get licensed?
Before you can get on the air, you need to be licensed and know the rules to operate legally. US licenses are good for 10 years before renewal and anyone may hold one except a representative of a foreign government. In the US there are three license classes—Technician, General and Extra.
Technician License
The Technician class license is the entry-level license of choice for most new ham radio operators. To earn the Technician license requires passing one examination totaling 35 questions on radio theory, regulations and operating practices. The license gives access to all Amateur Radio frequencies above 30 megahertz, allowing these licensees the ability to communicate locally and most often within North America. It also allows for some limited privileges on the HF (also called "short wave") bands used for international communications. Learn More
General License
The General class license grants some operating privileges on all Amateur Radio bands and all operating modes. This license opens the door to world-wide communications. Earning the General class license requires passing a 35 question examination. General class licensees must also have passed the Technician written examination. Learn More
Amateur Extra License
The Amateur Extra class license conveys all available U.S. Amateur Radio operating privileges on all bands and all modes. Earning the license is more difficult; it requires passing a thorough 50 question examination. Extra class licensees must also have passed all previous license class written examinations.Learn More
For more information, submit our online Prospect Package Request form or call: 1-888-277-5289.
BCARA provides testing opportunities to obtain your amateur radio license without a fee!
This content was created by ARRL.ORG The direct link is:
http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed
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American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.-
2025 ARRL Field Day a Success
Tens of thousands of hams are celebrating a successful 2025 ARRL Field Day! The largest annual amateur radio event is also one of the most beloved, as shown by countless social media posts. Activity was high, with 1536 sites in the ARRL Field Day Site Locator, and that doesn’t even count home stations, portable operations, or other participants.“There’s a reason that hams look forward to ARRL F...
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ARRL Headquarters Will be Closed on Independence Day, Friday, July 4
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ARRL® Logbook of The World® Return to Service
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® will return Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) to service at 10:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.We are happy to be bringing the upgraded LoTW servers online, as we know radio amateurs around the world rely on LoTW to receive QSLs and apply for awards. The improvements we made will make no change in the visual appearance of LoTW but will provide e...
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Call for Nominations for ARRL Director and Vice Director
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The ARRL Solar Report
Solar activity has been at low levels for the past 48 hours, withlow-level C-class flares. There was a narrow coronal mass ejection (CME), likely associatedwith minor flaring from Regions AR4117 and AR4118 between 1439 UTCand 1524 UTC on June 24. Initial modeling indicated a miss, southand behind Earth's orbit. However, it should be noted that analysisof this event is low confidence given the a...
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Field Day Safety – Tips From an Experienced Compliance Officer
By: Bill Mader, K8TE, Section Manager of the ARRL New Mexico SectionOne of the many ways to earn bonus points during ARRL Field Day is to have a Safety Officer on site who makes use of the Safety Officer Checklist [PDF]. Safety shouldn’t stop there! Many pictures of Field Day sites indicate that running that checklist alone is inadequate. Having been involved with safety professionally in the U...