What changed
Books, blogs, YouTube, podcasts and live shows — edited Aug 30, 2026 by Unknown editor
This is the first recorded version, so every line is shown as added. Note: Imported from content/wiki
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A curated starting list rather than an exhaustive one. Nothing here is an endorsement or a
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commercial relationship; the amateur radio media scene is large and this is where most people
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begin.
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## Books
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**Licensing**
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- *ARRL Ham Radio License Manual*, *General Class* and *Extra Class* manuals — the standard study
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path, matched to the current question pools.
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- *The Fast Track* series (Michael Burnette, AF7KB) — explains why each answer is right, which
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works better than rote memorisation for some people.
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- The **free** [HamStudy.org](https://hamstudy.org/) pools cover the exam without buying anything;
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see [studying](/wiki/licensing/studying).
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**Once licensed**
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- *ARRL Handbook* — the reference. One volume, everything from Ohm's law to microwave.
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- *ARRL Antenna Book* and *ON4UN's Low-Band DXing* — the deep antenna references.
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- *Understanding Basic Electronics* (ARRL) or *Practical Electronics for Inventors* — if the
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theory did not stick.
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- *The Complete DX'er* (Bob Locher, W9KNI) — still the best book on how to actually work rare
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stations.
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- *Emergency Power for Radio Communications* and the ARES field resources for
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[emergency](/wiki/emergency) work.
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- *Experimental Methods in RF Design* (Hayward, Campbell, Larkin) — the homebrewer's bible; see
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[kits and homebrewing](/wiki/station/kits-and-building).
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- *Morse Code: Breaking the Barrier* (Dave Finley, N1IRZ) — for
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[CW](/wiki/operating/cw-and-morse).
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## Magazines and journals
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- **QST** (ARRL) — the US monthly; membership includes it and the full digital archive.
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- **QEX** — technical/experimental companion to QST.
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- **CQ Amateur Radio**, **The Spectrum Monitor** (digital), **RadCom** (RSGB), **Practical
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Wireless** — worth a look, particularly for construction articles.
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- **QRP Quarterly** and the **SPRAT** journal of the G-QRP Club for low-power work.
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- **[The Communicator](https://ve7sar.blogspot.com/)** (Surrey Amateur Radio Communications) — a
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free bi-monthly club magazine with unusually good technical and operating articles; the
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[May–June 2025 issue](https://ve7sar.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-communicator-may-june-2025.html)
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covers the [WARC bands](/wiki/operating/warc-bands).
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## YouTube channels
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- **Ham Radio Crash Course (Josh, KI6NAZ)** — beginner-friendly reviews and projects.
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- **DX Commander (Callum, M0MCX)** — antennas, and antenna theory made practical.
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- **Temporarily Offline / Ham Radio 2.0 (Jason, KC5HWB)** — digital voice, DMR, hotspots.
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- **W2AEW (Alan Wolke)** — genuinely excellent test-equipment and RF measurement tutorials.
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- **K6UDA Radio**, **KB9VBR Antennas**, **OH8STN (off-grid and portable power)**,
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**Red Summit RF (SOTA)**, **HB9BLA Wireless (Andreas Spiess)** for electronics.
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- **ARRL** and **AMSAT** channels for official material and satellite operating.
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## Blogs and websites
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- **QRPer.com** (Thomas, K4SWL) — field reports and portable gear, prolific and readable.
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- **Hackaday** and **RTL-SDR.com** — SDR and homebrew news.
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- **G4NSJ**, **AA5TB**, **N4UJW's Hamuniverse**, **VK1NAM** — long-running antenna and project
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archives.
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- **Ham Radio History (W2PA)** and [Early Radio History](https://earlyradiohistory.us/index.html)
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for [the history](/wiki/getting-started/history-of-amateur-radio).
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- **PA3FWM's technical notes** and **Rudy Severns N6LF's papers** for people who like the maths.
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## Podcasts
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- **Ham Radio Workbench** — projects and construction, long-form.
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- **ICQ Podcast** — UK-based, broad news and features.
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- **Foundations of Amateur Radio (Onno, VK6FLAB)** — short weekly essays, excellent for beginners.
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- **100 Watts and a Wire**, **Ham Radio Crash Course Podcast**, **QSO Today** (interviews),
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**Linux in the Ham Shack** (open-source angle).
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- **ARRL Audio News** — weekly news bulletin.
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## Live shows and streams
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- **Ham Nation** — the long-running weekly video show.
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- **Ham Radio Live**, **AmateurLogic.TV** — regular video magazines.
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- Club and organisation streams: ARRL events, AMSAT symposia, QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, and the
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Hamvention and Pacificon presentation recordings — most end up free on YouTube.
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## On the air
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The best learning is still on-air: local nets, an [Elmer](/wiki/reference/glossary) in your
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[club](/wiki/clubs), and [hamfests](/wiki/clubs). NARA's
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[National Presenters Panel](https://usnara.org/presenters) can supply a speaker for your club
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meeting on most of these topics.
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Suggestions for this list are welcome — sign in and edit the page, or contact NARA.