FAQ's About Amateur Radio

To reduce the size of each article, the FAQ information is posted in 2 parts:

Table of Contents

Part 1 - Introduction to Amateur Radio
• What is Amateur Radio?
• Who can become a ham?
• Where can I locate information and books on Amateur Radio?
• How much does it cost?
• Where can I take the tests?
• What are the tests like?
• What can I do with a ham radio license?
• What can't I do with an Amateur Radio license?
• I'm interested, who will help me?
• Should I build my own equipment or antenna?

Part 2 - Amateur Radio Advanced and Technical Questions
• What are the different US amateur classes and what can each of them do?
• What is the best way to learn Morse Code?
• What is the standard for measuring Morse code speed?
• What is the standard phonetic alphabet?
• I'm confused. What do all those abbreviations mean???
• What do all those "tones" mean?
• Where can I learn more about Amateur Radio if I live outside the US?
• My apartment or housing complex does not allow outdoor antennas, now what do I do?
• I got TVI...HELP!!!
• Did you know that you can get college credit for being a ham?
• On what frequencies do JPL and GSFC retransmit the shuttle audio?
• Can I take my HT on an airplane and operate it if I get the permission of the captain?
• How do I modify my current Amateur license?
• I'm confused about XXX, should I ask the FCC?
• Is there any information on antique radios?
• Where can I buy vacuum tubes?
• What do I need to get started in packet radio?
• What do I need to get started in satellite communications?
• What is available to get started in ATV, SSTV and WEFAX?
• What are these contests I sometimes hear, and how do I participate?