Foundations of Amateur Radio

Starting in the wonderful hobby of Amateur or HAM Radio can be daunting and challenging but can be very rewarding. Every week I look at a different aspect of the hobby, how you might fit in and get the very best from the 1000 hobbies that Amateur Radio represents. Note that this podcast started in 2011 as "What use is an F-call?".

Can you be a Professional Radio Amateur?
Jun 8, 2025 – 03:56
What's really happening at the IARU?
Jun 1, 2025 – 09:49
What do you think you're doing?
May 25, 2025 – 03:03
How does your member society represent itself?
May 18, 2025 – 08:28
A brief introduction to the HamSCI community
May 11, 2025 – 04:59
Can we figure out how much the Sun really affects propagation?
May 4, 2025 – 06:37
Being an amateur without either radio or antenna
Apr 27, 2025 – 03:50
Becoming Mode Agile
Apr 20, 2025 – 03:21
Playing Games On-Air
Apr 13, 2025 – 04:37
What is Amateur Radio really about?
Apr 6, 2025 – 04:41
What is the difference between a Dummy Load and an Antenna?
Mar 30, 2025 – 05:57
Echos from the past, 150 ms ago
Mar 23, 2025 – 06:36
Bald Yak 11, the goo between hardware and software
Mar 16, 2025 – 05:57
DX on a dummy load?
Mar 9, 2025 – 07:00
What's the story you'd like to tell yourself?
Mar 2, 2025 – 04:20
Bald Yak, universe 10, how does all fit together?
Feb 23, 2025 – 07:09
Bald Yak, droplet 9, fosphor and the impertinence of software
Feb 16, 2025 – 05:07
Bald Yak, arena 8, paying attention to the details
Feb 9, 2025 – 05:46
Finding your path in this hobby
Feb 2, 2025 – 03:48
Bald Yak, scene 7, building a circuit without burnt chicken smell
Jan 26, 2025 – 05:56
WSPR beacon QSY to 15m
Jan 19, 2025 – 05:02
Ham Challenge
Jan 12, 2025 – 03:37
Bald Yak, scene 6, chaos will reign
Jan 5, 2025 – 06:13
Bald Yak, scene 5, debugging
Dec 29, 2024 – 05:02
Bald Yak, week 4, time
Dec 22, 2024 – 05:13
Bald Yak - week 3 - Push To Talk
Dec 15, 2024 – 05:39
Bald Yak - week 2
Dec 8, 2024 – 07:02
Bald Yak - week 1
Dec 1, 2024 – 05:30
Suddenly there were 700...
Nov 24, 2024 – 05:24
Why does your Wi-Fi connection drop out when cooking lunch?
Nov 17, 2024 – 06:58
A new radio every week ...
Nov 10, 2024 – 06:06
Unexpected miracles ...
Nov 3, 2024 – 06:55
The venerable QSL bureau
Oct 27, 2024 – 07:46
Amateur Radio connects you in unexpected ways
Oct 20, 2024 – 04:29
Surprising ideas that change you forever
Oct 13, 2024 – 04:14
What does an actual minimal set-up look like?
Oct 6, 2024 – 02:29
How effective is the IARU?
Sep 29, 2024 – 08:16
Dark Sky for Amateur Radio
Sep 22, 2024 – 03:29
The history of our hobby
Sep 15, 2024 – 03:22
Adult Fans of Amateur Radio
Sep 8, 2024 – 06:08
Keep It Simple Stupid
Sep 1, 2024 – 03:33
How to lose more than half of your membership?
Aug 25, 2024 – 05:40
In the beginning was the contact
Aug 18, 2024 – 07:02
Internet access across HF radio
Aug 11, 2024 – 05:06
What kind of hobby is amateur radio?
Aug 4, 2024 – 06:11
Does the IARU actually represent you?
Jul 28, 2024 – 07:34
Being a Maverick is part of the deal
Jul 21, 2024 – 04:50
Planning for Contest Success
Jul 14, 2024 – 04:24
About Australian Callsigns
Jul 7, 2024 – 08:08
How does the IARU work?
Jun 30, 2024 – 05:33

Recent Reviews

KK4RR

Wonderful podcast

I’ve been a radio Amateur for over 50 years. I find this podcast to be informative and entertaining. Both the subject matter and method of presentation should appeal to new hams and many many veterans. I give this podcast 2 thumbs up. KK4RR
headp

Informative and to the point

I like that the episodes aren’t full of extraneous talking, nonsense and opinion. Each episode has a topic and it stays focused.
BPS19

Great podcast!

Well produced, interesting, and informative.
Arcadiajeff

My favorite Ham podcast.

Bite sized nuggets of wisdom regarding this hobby. Onno makes even the most difficult concepts of amateur radio accessible to a newbie like me. I subscribe to 5 Ham podcasts- but this has helped me the most.
hicksdp

Great Information and Comfortable Style

Onno does a great job of boiling down his topics into nice-sized presentations. In a few minutes, he provides basic information and gives the listener a foundation for further research and experimentation. Onno's style is very smooth and comfortable, making this podcast enjoyable and informative.
Catlike Rider

Gets me thinking

Thanks for a brief podcast that really gets me thinking about what I have and what I am doing with amatuer radio K1WJM