Got your licence - what next?
You passed, your callsign is in the FCC database, and you are allowed to transmit. Here is what to do in your first few weeks on the air.
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Check your licence and your callsign
Your callsign appears in the FCC's public database, usually within a couple of business days of the exam. Look it up, download your licence copy, and note the expiry date - it runs for ten years and renewal is free. If you dislike the callsign you were assigned, you can apply for a vanity callsign later.
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Get your first radio
Most new operators start with a handheld VHF/UHF radio, which is inexpensive and gets you straight onto local repeaters. A mobile radio in the car, or a base station at home, gives more power and better range. Do not buy a big shortwave station on day one - use the handheld first and find out what you actually enjoy.
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Join a club
This is the single biggest shortcut. Clubs will help you programme your radio, lend you equipment, put up your first antenna, and introduce you on the air. Nearly every county has one, and most run a weekly on-air get-together that new operators are explicitly invited to join.
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Make your first contact
Listen first. Find a local repeater, hear how people announce themselves, then give your callsign and say you are new. Almost nobody will do anything except welcome you. Nerves on the first transmission are completely normal and they go away after about three contacts.
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Set up a station at home
A station is a radio, a power supply, an antenna and a feedline. Start simple: a radio on a desk, a decent power supply, and the shortest reasonable cable run to an antenna outside. Keep notes of what you own and how it is wired - it makes fault-finding far easier later.
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Sort out an antenna
The antenna matters more than the radio. A simple wire in the right place beats an expensive radio feeding a bad antenna. If you rent, or have restrictions where you live, there are indoor, attic and portable options that work perfectly well.
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Keep it safe and interference-free
Two things to get right early: RF safety - keep people away from transmitting antennas and stay within exposure limits - and interference, so your station does not upset the TV or your neighbours' equipment. Good grounding, sensible power levels and decent filtering solve most problems before they start.
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Try something, then upgrade
Chase satellites, try a digital mode, take a radio up a hill, join a contest weekend, or volunteer for event communications. Once you know what you like, the General exam opens up the worldwide shortwave bands - most people take it within a year.
Beyond voice: digital, satellites and more · the three licence classes
The one-line version
Buy a cheap handheld, join a club, listen for a week, then say your callsign on the local repeater. Everything else follows from that.
Going deeper
Our wiki covers each of these in proper detail - equipment, antennas, bands and privileges, operating practice, digital modes, propagation, satellites and emergency communications - and licensed operators can log in and add what they know.