2

I am new to this hobby and was wondering if anyone could point me to some easy to digest beginner-friendly materials that are relevant to the UK (a lot of my searching has returned US-specific information or at least it seems that way).

I have purchased a radio and am looking forward to its arrival.

tripleee
  • 131
  • 6
Jack Norris
  • 21
  • 3
  • 1
    https://rsgb.org/ Plenty of UK related getting started info there, –  Jun 13 '22 at 12:04
  • 1
    Welcome to ham.SE. Make sure you take the [tour] if you have not done so already. Note that SE sites are not forums, but rather are lightly curated Q&A, which means that questions that request a broad list of resources will both be out-dated in an internet minute, but also will differ across answers, meaning there can never be a "best answer". It may be that your question is closed in favour of you doing a bit more research. –  Jun 13 '22 at 12:25
  • 1
    The RSGB has a Getting Started section on its web site. If your radio has a transmitter remember it's illegal to transmit on it until you have obtained an appropriate amateur radio licence. It's legal to listen to other amateurs on a radio with a transmitter. Listening to existing amateurs is one way of becoming familiar with operating practices. – Graham G8URP Jun 13 '22 at 16:52

1 Answers1

2

I suppose we may as well make this a sort of canonical answer for future queries of the same type.

I'm going to issue a frame challenge. Instead of providing a list of resources, any of which could be out-of-date the moment it is provided, I'm going to advise you do what I advise all new hams to do:

Find a local club and join it. This hobby is one of the few that still benefits from actual local expertise and potential face-to-face meetups. Many clubs have Slack channels or forums where you can ask for up-to-the-minute information on any part of the hobby. Many will own various repeaters so you can even ask questions while operating your VHF set, or during regular nets. Most are very welcoming to new hams.

Your local club will probably suggest you join your country/locale's amateur radio society as well. There are business reasons for clubs to ask you to do so. But it is also the most direct way for you to stand up and be counted when delegations from your country/locale meet up with the ITU when deciding on things that directly impact you as an amateur. It would not surprise me if you were granted a year's membership to something like the RSGB when you got your amateur license.

You don't say where you are, other than the UK, so I don't know if the RSGB applies to you where you live or not (I believe it speaks on behalf of all amateurs of Great Britain and "crown dependencies", but what do I know?).

But UK hams are advised to start at the RSGB first (see items like "Getting Started" or "Education"), to consider joining your country's society, and to definitely search out local clubs. As mentioned in a comment, the RSGB even has a club finder.