Listen
No licence, no gear, today: real receivers you drive from the browser.
See receivers →Amateur radio for beginners
Listening to the air
As a kid I had a toy walkie-talkie, and now and then other people's conversations crept in. This is what I've gathered to get back to that moment: where to listen, how to learn and what it takes to answer.
Tuner
300 kHz1 MHz3 MHz10 MHz30 MHz100 MHz300 MHz1000 MHz
Amateur
40 metres
The liveliest band to start listening. In the afternoon, voice in LSB from all over Spain; at the bottom edge, Morse and digital modes.
Move the needle with the mouse, your finger or the arrow keys.
Three doors
Learn
The phonetic alphabet, Morse and the Q code, to understand what you hear.
To the cheat sheet →Get licensed
To talk you need a call sign. It's a two-part test and half marks pass.
About the exam →
What you can do without the exam
- Listen to every band, on a WebSDR or with your own receiver.
- Talk on citizens band, 27 MHz CB.
- Talk on PMR446 walkie-talkies, today's toy ones.
- Run your own internet radio or join a free radio station.