Amateur radio wiki National Amateur Radio Alliance

Member sign in

Sign in with your NARA account to continue on this page.

Forgot your password?
Not a member yet? Join today.

Books, blogs, YouTube, podcasts and live shows

Where to keep learning once the exam is behind you.

9 pages in this section

A curated starting list rather than an exhaustive one. Nothing here is an endorsement or a commercial relationship; the amateur radio media scene is large and this is where most people begin.

Books

Licensing

  • ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, General Class and Extra Class manuals — the standard study

    • path, matched to the current question pools.

  • The Fast Track series (Michael Burnette, AF7KB) — explains why each answer is right, which

    • works better than rote memorization for some people.

  • The free HamStudy.org pools cover the exam without buying anything;

    • see studying.

Once licensed

  • ARRL Handbook — the reference. One volume, everything from Ohm's law to microwave.
  • ARRL Antenna Book and ON4UN's Low-Band DXing — the deep antenna references.
  • Understanding Basic Electronics (ARRL) or Practical Electronics for Inventors — if the

    • theory did not stick.

  • The Complete DX'er (Bob Locher, W9KNI) — still the best book on how to actually work rare

    • stations.

  • Emergency Power for Radio Communications and the ARES field resources for

    • emergency work.

  • Experimental Methods in RF Design (Hayward, Campbell, Larkin) — the homebrewer's bible; see

    • kits and homebrewing.

  • Morse Code: Breaking the Barrier (Dave Finley, N1IRZ) — for

    • CW.

Magazines and journals

  • QST (ARRL) — the US monthly; membership includes it and the full digital archive.
  • QEX — technical/experimental companion to QST.
  • CQ Amateur Radio, The Spectrum Monitor (digital), RadCom (RSGB), **Practical

    • Wireless** — worth a look, particularly for construction articles.

  • QRP Quarterly and the SPRAT journal of the G-QRP Club for low-power work.
  • The Communicator (Surrey

    • Amateur Radio Communications) — a free bi-monthly club magazine, over a hundred pages an issue, with unusually good technical and operating articles; the May–June 2025 issue covers the WARC bands. Every back issue is on that page.

  • The Logger's Bark (Radio Club of

    • Tacoma, W7DK) — a monthly club magazine that reads like a commercial one; issues are also posted on QRZ, and the archive runs back to 1963.

  • Ham Radio Ireland

    • (Galway VHF Group) — a bi-monthly Irish magazine, free as a PDF or a flip-book, covering clubs and special event stations on both sides of the border.

  • SWR Magazine — a free international magazine published in English,

    • Spanish and Italian editions, leaning technical: experimentation, propagation science and operating from outside the US.

Newsletters worth subscribing to

A club newsletter is often better written than the commercial press, and free. These are the ones read well outside their own membership:

  • Amateur Radio Weekly — a short Saturday email of the week's news,

    • projects, videos and events. The single best way to keep up without reading forums.

  • Zero Retries — a weekly newsletter on digital and data modes

    • for people who think amateur radio's future is in packets rather than voice.

YouTube channels

  • Ham Radio Crash Course (Josh, KI6NAZ) — beginner-friendly reviews and projects.
  • DX Commander (Callum, M0MCX) — antennas, and antenna theory made practical.
  • Temporarily Offline / Ham Radio 2.0 (Jason, KC5HWB) — digital voice, DMR, hotspots.
  • W2AEW (Alan Wolke) — genuinely excellent test-equipment and RF measurement tutorials.
  • K6UDA Radio, KB9VBR Antennas, OH8STN (off-grid and portable power),

    • Red Summit RF (SOTA), HB9BLA Wireless (Andreas Spiess) for electronics.

  • ARRL and AMSAT channels for official material and satellite operating.

Blogs and websites

  • QRPer.com (Thomas, K4SWL) — field reports and portable gear, prolific and readable.
  • Hackaday and RTL-SDR.com — SDR and homebrew news.
  • G4NSJ, AA5TB, N4UJW's Hamuniverse, VK1NAM — long-running antenna and project

    • archives.

  • Ham Radio History (W2PA) and Early Radio History

    • for the history.

  • PA3FWM's technical notes and Rudy Severns N6LF's papers for people who like the math.

Podcasts

  • Ham Radio Workbench — projects and construction, long-form.
  • ICQ Podcast — UK-based, broad news and features.
  • Foundations of Amateur Radio (Onno, VK6FLAB) — short weekly essays, excellent for beginners.
  • 100 Watts and a Wire, Ham Radio Crash Course Podcast, QSO Today (interviews),

    • Linux in the Ham Shack (open-source angle).

  • ARRL Audio News — weekly news bulletin.

Live shows and streams

  • Ham Nation — the long-running weekly video show.
  • Ham Radio Live, AmateurLogic.TV — regular video magazines.
  • Club and organization streams: ARRL events, AMSAT symposia, QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, and the

    • Hamvention and Pacificon presentation recordings — most end up free on YouTube.

On the air

The best learning is still on-air: local nets, an Elmer in your club, and hamfests. NARA's National Presenters Panel can supply a presenter for your club meeting on most of these topics.

Suggestions for this list are welcome — sign in and edit the page, or contact NARA.

Last updated Sep 5, 2026. Page history · Sign in to edit