You’ve just passed your test! Now what?
One of the best things about amateur radio is the “can do” attitude of so many of those who are involved. Every ham was a new ham once–and everyone can learn more. It just takes time and patience.
Below are some things that might be helpful:
- Get a radio. Ask for help if you don’t know what to buy.
- Ask a ham to see his or her “shack” (their radio equipment).
- Listen or participate with other new hams on our “Now What?” net. You can send an email to nowwhat@valleyradioclub.org.
- Attend our monthly “Now What?” group for new hams at Norkenzie Christian Church, 2530 Crescent Ave., Eugene, Oregon, on the 3rd Thursday of each month.
- Look at this basic operating guide.
- Start to learn Morse code.
- Come 30 minutes early to one of our club meetings to our “Elmer” table and learn from an experienced ham.
- Ask questions on our regular VRC Tech Net.
- Ask questions on the VRC Reflector.
- Get on the air–with our help and equipment–at our club’s “Get on the Air Station.”
- Look things up on the Internet–we do too!
Amateur radio can be a springboard to an enormous variety of things to get involved in:
| Antenna building | Kit building | Radio repair | |
| Antenna physics | Maintenance & Operation | Repeaters | |
| Contesting | Mobile HF | RF design | |
| Awards for Worked All States (WAS), DX Century Club (worked 100 entities–DXCC) | Morse Code | Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) Hunting | |
| Basic science | Neighborhood emergency radio | Search and rescue | |
| Boy Scouts on the Air | Net control | Sherriff assistance | |
| Communicate on different bands (1.25m, 2, 6, 10, 15, 17, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 160) | OR Defense Force | Short wave listening | |
| Community service | Pacific Seafarers Net | SSTV (Slow Scan TV) | |
| Digital communication | Participating in nets | Stand alone repeater | |
| Earth-Moon-Earth (moon bounce) communication | Physics of electronics | Study radio spectrum | |
| Electronics | Physics of waves | Support running & bike races | |
| Emergency prep | Portable communication | Technology | |
| Experimenting | Propagation | Tube rigs | |
| Family communications | Public service | Volunteer Examiner (VE) testing for new hams | |
| Fox (or bunny) hunting (direction finding) | QSL cards | Voice communication | |
| Homebrew transmitters | Radio astronomy | Volunteering in your club | |
| Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) | Radio control | Wireless internet communication 802.11 | |
| Radio in RV |
