Before Hamrigs
I am a licensed Amateur Extra Class operator and an accredited Volunteer Examiner with the ARRL VEC. Over more than a decade, I have administered and graded hundreds of FCC amateur radio exams, mostly Technician sessions, sitting across the table from people right as they cross from “thinking about ham radio” into “licensed operator.” Most of that work comes down to one moment: the second someone finds out they passed, and the look on their face when they realize nobody explained what happens next.
That sounds small until you have watched it happen a hundred times. Someone passes, asks about their call sign, and then asks the real question: what do I actually buy, and how do I not sound like an idiot the first time I key up? I started hamrigs.com because most study guides stop at the exam, and new hams kept walking away from that table with no answer to either question.
Why It Shows Up In Everything I Write
A VE session shows you the same failure points over and over. Someone buys a radio before they understand their own use case, then can’t figure out why it doesn’t do what they expected. Someone programs a handheld by trial and error and gives up before finding the local repeater. Someone gets their license, goes quiet for a year, and eventually lets it lapse without ever making a single contact. These are not rare stories. I have watched fewer than half of the new hams I certify make a contact in their first year.
That is why I do not write about ham radio as if one radio or one path fits every new operator. A cheap handheld is sometimes exactly right, and sometimes it’s the reason someone gives up in month two. The useful answer depends on what someone actually plans to do: hike with it, keep it in a truck, run it from a home desk, or hand it to a kid who just passed their own exam.
How I Write
My goal is to explain the hobby by what actually happens when someone tries it, not by how the manual describes it. If a repeater offset matters, I explain why a radio sits silent without it. If a wattage number matters, I explain what it changes in real range, not just on a spec sheet. If a course is worth the money, I say so, and if it isn’t, I say that too.
I also try to stay honest about what I don’t know and what depends on the person reading. Not every new ham needs the same radio, the same study method, or the same first step after passing. Good advice should help someone make a decision, skip the mistakes I’ve watched happen at the exam table for years, and actually get on the air instead of leaving the radio in a drawer.
Get In Touch
For corrections, questions, or notes about a licensing or setup question, you can reach Henry by email or follow his additional field notes on Medium.