Editorial Policy
How Hamrigs keeps its advice practical and accountable.
A radio can look right on a spec sheet and still end up in a drawer six months later. One wrong assumption about use case, one skipped step in programming, one course recommended for the wrong reason, and a new license goes unused. Hamrigs exists to make those decisions clearer before someone spends money on a radio, a course, or a study method that doesn’t fit what they’re actually trying to do.
How Advice Is Formed
Every guide starts with the operator’s actual situation, not a list of radios to compare. License class, budget, and intended use, hiking, a vehicle, a home base, or emergency prep, all change what the right answer looks like. A setup that makes sense for a Technician heading into the backcountry may be the wrong call entirely for someone building a fixed station at home.
That’s why Hamrigs avoids one-size-fits-all answers when the real answer depends on conditions. If range changes because terrain or a repeater’s location matters, the article says so. If a study method only works for someone with a few hours a week, that gets stated plainly instead of buried under a generic study plan. If the useful answer is “check your local repeater coverage first,” the guide leads with that instead of a spec comparison.
Numbers Need Context
Ham radio advice is only useful when the numbers mean something to the person reading. License fees, question pool counts, wattage, price ranges, and range claims are not decoration. They’re the difference between an article that helps someone decide and one that just sounds informed.
When Hamrigs uses a number, it’s tied to the situation being discussed. A Technician studying for their first exam needs a different framing than a General upgrading to Extra. A 5-watt handheld means something different in flat suburban terrain than it does in the mountains. The goal isn’t to make an article sound technical. It’s to make the number usable.
How Claims Are Checked
Hamrigs uses a mix of Volunteer Examiner observation, FCC documentation, ARRL publications, NCVEC question pool records, manufacturer specifications, and real operator discussions on r/amateurradio, r/hamradio, RadioReference.com, and QRZ.com. Official documentation matters for details like exam fees, question counts, and licensing rules. Community discussions matter because they show the confusion and mistakes that a clean product page or study guide often skips past.
A forum thread or Reddit post isn’t treated as proof on its own. It can point to a real problem worth investigating, but claims about fees, rules, or equipment still get checked against FCC or ARRL documentation and current listings. If a claim can’t be verified or clearly explained as direct VE observation, it doesn’t get presented as fact.
How Radio and Course Recommendations Are Handled
A handheld, mobile rig, HF transceiver, or study course is only useful if it fits the job. Hamrigs doesn’t call something “best” without asking what license class, budget, and use case it’s supposed to serve.
Some new hams need a simple handheld and a clear first step. Others need a mobile setup, a better antenna, or a different study path entirely before spending more money makes sense. If a cheaper radio is genuinely good enough, the article says that. If a product has a real limitation, confusing programming, weak range, a course that overlaps heavily with free material, that limitation gets stated plainly.
Updates and Corrections
Ham radio doesn’t move as fast as consumer electronics, but FCC fees, the question pool cycle, product lineups, and course content can still change. Older advice can also become less useful when a radio is discontinued, a rule is updated, or better source information turns up.
When a correction changes a factual claim, a fee, a product detail, or a recommendation, the article gets updated to reflect it. Routine fixes, broken links, formatting cleanup, don’t need a note. Meaningful updates should improve the reader’s decision, not just create the appearance of being current.
To report an error, use the contact page and include the article URL, the specific claim, and what you think should be checked.
Affiliate Links and Commercial Pressure
Radios and study courses are sold through retailers, affiliate programs, and course marketing. That creates real pressure to turn every article into a sales page. Hamrigs doesn’t take that approach. A product or course mention should serve the licensing or setup problem being explained, not interrupt the guide just because a link can be added.
Affiliate commissions, the hamradioprep.com referral, and display ads help support the site, but they don’t decide whether a radio or a course is right for a specific reader. If something isn’t the right fit, it doesn’t get recommended as if it is. For full details, see the Affiliate Disclosure.
Who’s Responsible for the Content
Hamrigs is written from the perspective of Henry Rhodes, a licensed Amateur Extra Class operator and an accredited Volunteer Examiner with the ARRL VEC who has administered and graded hundreds of FCC amateur radio exams over more than a decade. That work means watching, session after session, exactly where new operators get stuck once the test is over.
The standard for the site is simple: advice should help a real operator make a better decision, not just sound informed. If a guide can’t explain what to check, what to buy, what to skip, or what changes the answer, it needs more work.
If you want to understand Henry’s background or send a correction about a specific article, start with the author page or contact page.