Advice for new hams
You have a callsign. Now for the practical bit: what to buy, what to say, and how not to feel like the new person on the frequency.
None of this is difficult, and none of it has to be done in a hurry. Most operators buy one cheap handheld, use it badly for a month, and turn out fine. These pages are the short version of what your club would tell you over the first few meetings.
Your first handheld
What to buy, what it costs, and the one cheap upgrade that makes the biggest difference.
Your first station
Radio, power, antenna, feedline and earth - a home setup in a corner of a room.
Using repeaters
How a repeater turns five watts into city-wide coverage, and how to programme one in.
A VHF contact, word for word
An actual script for your first call, so you never have to invent it under pressure.
Set up your QRZ page
Claim your callsign online so people you work can look you up and confirm contacts.
Operating dos and don'ts
The unwritten etiquette, and the handful of rules that are genuinely rules.
Introduction to HF
Shortwave: how a hundred watts and a wire get you across an ocean.
The single best piece of advice
Listen before you transmit, and join a club. Ten minutes of listening teaches you more about how a frequency is used than any page can, and a club will lend you equipment, programme your radio and put a friendly voice on the other end of your first contact.