ARRL Online Resources

• We Do That! - Information about Amateur Radio and how to become a "ham" operator.
• ARRL New Ham Desk -E-mail the New Ham Desk when you need extra explanation on a topic or just have a question.
• ARRL Licensing Information
• Club Search Page - Find clubs in your area
• License Search - Look up other license holders in your area or search for your own call sign after passing your exam.
• Licensing Class - Find license classes in your area
• Exam Session Search - Locate upcoming exam sessions
• First Steps in Radio  

Practice with the actual questions until you're confident of success!

• QRZ.com
• eham.net
• AA9PW.com
• KB0MGA.net

• A Helpful Discussion about Power and Decibels
• A Helpful Discussion About Converting Units
• Tutorial on Scientific Notation
• The Metric System
• Tutorials on Math for ARRL On-Line Courses and License Exams

• ARRL Operating Manual - covers many ham radio operating topics
• Ham Radio for Dummies - your "desktop Elmer" covering operating and technical topics
• QST
• ARRL Bulletins - Bulletins on general news, DX, Propagation, satellite tracking information (Keplerian)
• W1AW - the ARRL's club station broadcasts bulletins and code practice all year long

• Band chart of US Amateur Radio Technician Privileges to download and print

• Download this printer ready chart including commonly used Q signals and the ITU phonetic alphabet to accompany your Technician Band Chart.

• Complete US Amateur Radio Spectrum Band Chart

• Communication Procedures, ITU Phonetic Alphabet, RST System, UTC Time Conversion Chart

• Yahoo! groups - enter "ham radio" into the Search window
• Yahoo group for new hams
• eham.net - Web portal with news, email lists, and classified ads
• QRZ.com - Web portal and call sign database
• Googlegroups - enter "ham radio" into the Search Groups window
• QSL.net - Numerous individual and club Web pages
• AC6V's Amateur Radio and DX Reference Guide - Glossaries, links, and files on all facets of Amateur Radio

• AMSAT - largest amateur satellite organization
• Handi-ham - resource for disabled hams and ham students
• TAPR - sponsor and organizer of digital communications initiatives
• YLRL - activities of interest to female operators

• Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) – ARRL-sponsored emergency communications organizations
• Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) - works with civil defense agencies
• Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) – provides humanitarian relief and assistance
• Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) — works with the National Hurricane Center
• SKYWARN Severe weather watch and reporting system — works with the National Weather Service

• FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
• FCC Universal Licensing System
• ITU

• ARRL Publications - The ARRL is the largest publisher of books and materials for hams and about ham radio.
• Ham Radio History - more information on how ham radio came to be the worldwide phenomenon it is today.
• Glossary
• List of Abbreviations

On page 1-21, the term “short wave HF bands” (and subsequent references to “shortwave” or “short waves”) refers to radio waves with a frequency between 3 and 30 MHz and wavelengths of 100 to 10 meters, respectively.  These are the frequencies used by “short-wave broadcasters."  The term originated during the 1930’s to distinguish broadcasters operating in the local or regional AM broadcast band below 2 MHz (also called “medium wave” or abbreviated MW) from the long-distance broadcast services operating at higher frequencies.