Getting Licensed
New to Ham Radio? Learn how to get your license, pick a call sign, and make your first contact.
Amateur radio has one gate: the licence exam. Everything else — which radio, which antenna, which band — follows from the privileges your licence class gives you. In the United States there are three classes. Technician unlocks every amateur band above 50 MHz and a slice of HF; General opens most of the HF spectrum; Amateur Extra adds the remaining HF segments.
The exams are multiple-choice, drawn from public question pools and run by volunteer examiner teams, often in a single morning. Most people pass the Technician exam after a few weeks of steady study, and many sit the General exam at the same session once they get the bug.
Once you have a call sign, the fastest way to progress is to get on the air: listen first, learn how the bands are organised, then make a contact. The guides below walk that path in order, from choosing a licence to your first HF contact.