Top 5 Mistakes New Hams Make - Ham Radio 

I'm a new ham looking for guidance. Your sober, common-sense advice is a great sign that I've come to the right place.

I’ve been involved in several serious hobbies of the years and this is great advice for any hobby

Just an FYI. DO NOT USE "BREAK BREAK" unless you have an emergency! According to the ARRL, "break break" is only to be used to interrupt a conversion with a priority or emergency message. If you want to get into a conversation it is good practice to simply throw out your call sign. Never say "BREAK BREAK" to get into a conversation.

Love your channel bro! I'm a relatively new Ham, I got my Tech back in April and my General in October...The thing that sets your channel apart from the rest is your not constantly pushing new gear, your videos are educational and that is what is needed..

My $40 TYT HT radio is hitting the club repeater, I have no idea how I sound, but I hear everyone and the net controller hears me, so I am slow rolling my upgrade. I am going to purchase a mobile rig next, starting with an antenna. I hope it improves the HT tx while I save up for the radio. I am enjoying the hobby so far and truly appreciate RU-vid for the sharing of tribal knowledge. Thank you for creating this video.

Great video. I have had my ham license since 2019 and never really did anything with it. I was one of those who wanted to get into the hobby but family and circumstances came first. I have stuck with it since getting my technician in 2019 and have now studied and operated with a local club. As of october of last year I was able to upgrade to general, and just this past march 17th I tested and upgraded to extra. I fully agree with the fact that you never stop learning. I am working with my local club to learn more about tube radio and amps, and how to fun and repair them. I am also learning from our repeater trustee on how to maintain those and keep them running. The more you raise your hand and want to learn, the more fun you will have in the hobby. There is nothing like your first DX contact in non-ideal connections with a barefoot setup and getting a confirmed QSO. 73s to all Ryan - W8PNP

Great advice-for all hams-new or old. The grumpy and or know it all types caused me to walk away from the hobby for years. And they were the ones wondering why there were fewer new hams! Keep it up- 73 AA7MO-Mike

I'm one of those guys that took the tech and general at the same time. My reason is the repeaters in my area aren't very active. So I'm on HF, but I know I don't know jack about the stuff that most technicians get into. Know what you don't know can be part of that keep learning part.

One of your best videos, Ape - excellent summary for new and seasoned veterans, alike. Thanks for taking the time to put these tips together - much appreciated. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Don't chase DX with ever increasing power - learn to use the antenna force and all will be well young Skywalker :-).

New expensive gear is nice, but, always a but, the more a rig costs, the more complicated it is! This is why my 12 year old step son always had to program the VCR back in the day! Even a "simple" UV5R is daunting to a new ham, imagine facing the menu system on a modern SDR transceiver if you have no real knowledge of digital modes, even the different "flavors of Morse keys could stump new boy or girl. Remember the KISS Principal (Keep It Simple Stupid), get the basics right and then with a sound knowledge base, move on up to more versatile gear, There is no fun sitting in front of 3 grands worth of kit and not know how to switch the darn thing on! 73 Jim M7BXT

I really enjoy your presentation style. Keep up the good work!

Great tips. Number 5 is my favorite of the bunch. Gotta keep learning!

Great video. Sage advice. Continue learning is a big part of any hobby.

This was a great topic to talk about. I got my Technician in 2019 and just upgraded to General last month. My experience with the amateur radio community has been a great and educational experience. The guy who introduced me to amateur radio has been doing it since 1963, and he’s one of the most humble and enthusiastic person I know. I’ve seen the Elmers in the area really take a lot of people under their wing and teach new operators when ever they can. I thought you were dead on about purchasing equipment, and getting to use the radio prior to making the purchase will save you money and headaches later on. Thanks again!

Great video. Honest, straightforward suggestions. Thank you.

Well presented, articulate, and informative. Thank you.

Awesome episode, just some basic down to earth guidance and recommendations. Keep up the great work/content.

Great video with good advises. Thank you.

Excellent advice. Thank you!

Excellent tips... thank you

Great advice. Thanks!

Super helpful. Thank you.

Very informative, realistic, helpful video! Thanks for your work. Well done and much appreciated!

Excellent video. I appreciate the clear information presented in a calm thoughtfull way. No noise and hype.

I haven't started into ham yet, but great advice! I think you could apply the same advise to many hobbies. Especially, for those that know enough to help others. Be pleasant, helpful, and promote what you do. What good is a hobby (especially one revolved around communication) if you don't have others to enjoy it with. Thank you for taking the time to create this great content.

Good information, really enjoyed it.

Great information,... thank you

Listening March 2021 .. new Ham .. great down to earth advice and direction.. thank you ..

Really like your honest down to earth style! Great for me a newbie. 73’s

Definitely some great advice not only on the Ham front but gear in general.

Great advice Ape.

Thank you for speaking what I have been thinking. Truth.

Great Video, thanks for helping me out.

Great insight. just what I was searching for. I'm just beginning my journey inti armature radio. Retired and looking for something new. Have been on CB for many years and want to extend my options and learning capabilities Thanks

Thanks Have been interested in a very long time just started looking up vids and studying but really enjoyed your calm collected Top 5 mistakes...... Thank you.

Thanks for the video, and thanks for your channel.

Great video and thank you for making it as a new ham I have been trying to make the best decisions and this video helped.

Thank you for some sage advice.

Great aproach !!! Congratulations !!!

Thanks for the great video!

Thanks! I'm taking my Tech exam in a couple weeks. Your style and info calmed me down a bit. I'm taking a deep breath, crossing my fingers and aiming-to-pass.

I've had to use radios for over 25 years in a couple of jobs, never as a hobby. I do like to follow this hobby though and I have a shortwave radio to listen to you operators from time to time. All of these things you mentioned concerning transmitting and receiving are very important. It's really the ESSENCE of radio operation. Send or receive the required information and know if you need to reply or wait for a reply(aside from an acknowledgment). Done.(and have pen and paper at hand all the time) Know what you have to say before you key up. And have your ears ready to hear the message the first time.

Very well put together video Ape 👍

Thanks. I'm new and that was helpful.

Really enjoyed your video I am not a new ham as have held an advanced license for 30 years. I have taught over 300 in the last 12 years to get a license thru our local community college. I am going to include these thoughts when I start my next class(right now classes are canceled due to covid. Keep up the video's Joe WX7XX Wood River Amateur radio

Thanks, very good info well presented. 73 from Central NY.

Fantastic content man. Wish this was around when I was a new ham. Keep on being awesome man. Also.... Team replay for the win!

Thanks for the information .. I’m a starter and your instructions are usefull!

Cool video! Thank you for sharing

Awesome advice for everyone.

SmokinApe great information thanks for sharing👍

Great info!!!

I’ve been watching so many videos “geared” towards newbies and yours by far have been a pleasure to watch and learn. Strait to the point and open minded. No “it’s my way or it’s wrong!” No off topic fluff! Watched one we’re he went in for almost 10min about his weight gain 🤦🏻‍♂️ needless to say he lost me quick. Keep up the informative and well produced videos. And BTW, of all the vids I’ve endured, you’re the only one that I’ve subscribed to. 👍🏻👍🏻

Excellent job!! Informational, encouraging, and just what I needed. It should be common sense, but there is so little of that to be found these days.

Awesome video and great advice for new hams I wished I would of heard this when I got my ticket !

Great video for a soon-to-be new ham. Love the typo too the explanation works.

Good advice for life in general.

I love fish sticks. We call them fish fingers here in the UK. Your advice on not being "set and forget" and also just making a decision and not procrastinating is good and something I should take note of.

Great video. I need to make one along similar lines for my channel.

I had a few criteria that had to be met before I bought my first radio, space, cost and functionality, which is why I chose the Yaesu FT991A, it's basically a "shack in a box", reasonably priced and does it all.

Great video

Great Video, I'm a little late for the first bullet point i may have more equipment than i need right now as a tech but I am ready for the the future when i get my general and extra tickets.... I'm still learning a lot, currently studying for general, taking it one step at a time... heck a lot of nights I have to tell my self to go to bed and stop watching ham videos, listening/talking on repeaters or reading because I will never go to bed...lol Between The Smokinape, HRCC and Ham radio 2.0 and a couple others I have plenty to watch and learn from.... heck one day maybe I will be youtubing about ham radio just like you ! :D

This is the video I always wanted to see at any stage of owning a radio, it seems I find out much more only after a purchase has already been made & I can never know too much.

I really like the just be nice line!

I am a new Technician Class ham, very good video! Good advice, and I will take it to heart.

New radio enthusiast here. I have a gmrs license and a baofeng 5rm. I’m still teaching myself how to adjust the settings and program it correctly, with the information provided by repeater stations online info. I’m still finding new questions a month later, because some terminology is used and some is not, based on the spreadsheet on chirp. So when I think I’ve got an idea, I find more Information that I didn’t know existed. It’s hurting my brain, but I will get my licenses and all necessary equipment for hf/vhf/uhf communications. I’m not sure what is driving me to join this community, but i was really excited in the first couple conversations that cam in on a local repeater this afternoon. The topics were antennas, masts, electronics components, traffic, radio contacts we’ve made while on vacation, and people met at ham fest…nerds.

Great job! All hams new and old will appreciate it. Adding another point and I cover this on my QRZ page, if you get bored with ham radio try something new in the hobby. I've know guys that all they ever did was contest and that was the only time they turned on their radio. Finally when they got 5 band DXCC and have contacted every DX entity, in every mode, on Tuesday afternoon or whatever they end up quitting the hobby out of boardum. So sad that this all they see ham radio is good for. It's a hobby. Relax and enjoy all of it ! Lastly I love your final point. DON'T BE A GRUMP! I run across way too many bitchy, crabby hams that end up scaring new young hams away. Smile! Everyday above ground is a good day because one day you'll be looking up at the roots of the grass! 73, K9AT

Great advise I am a new ham along with my son and agree. I not sure if I made a mistake but not sure it was the best choice to start with a HT vs. a mobile rig. I ended up buying a FT3DR for me and a UV5R for my son. Both are great radios I do think I will use all the functions of the FT3DR eventually but I may have been better off buying another UV5R and a mobile rig so I had a little more power along with a better antenna.

Thank you so much for this video you have no idea how much it has helped me, I have tons of questions but nine times out of ten I don’t ask because after thinking about it I’m afraid it’s just another dumb question.

Just subscribed, thanks

Nice video Ape!

Thanks for the video for us newbies! I have just started studying for the technician’s license. Found a nearby club. Thankfully, they welcome all and do not require membership to attend their meetings. Looking forward to going to one of their meetings and just feeling it out to see if a) ham radio is an interest I definitely want to invest the time and money into and b) if so, if it’s a club I’d like to become a member of. So far, I love that it’s an ongoing learning process and a fascinating hobby.

Man, I wish I had watched this video earlier this year... to be technical I currently own seven radios.... one of which I actually currently use! You hit a lot of important angles that only experience teaches you, really good talk here! Much of this advice applies to a lot of other things in life! You should be a hundred years older, sitting on a tall mountain, smoking a hookah and waiting for noobs like me to climb the mountain!

Thanks a lot dude. That was great

I'm a brand new UK foundation license holder. I did loads of reading before buying anything and settled on a Retevis RT3S & MMDVM Hotspot which I built on an old Pi 3B+ to get me started. All in, the cost was less than £100 and I have Worldwide Comms. I don't have the possibility for HF antennas so DMR has been a Godsend. I just love the hobby... the respect that is shown to others is what makes me smile most. Such a good bunch of helpful and knowledgeable people in Ham Radio World. Great video Ape, some very useful info in there!

I'm a new Ham (KK7MLS), and I like your approach. You are a genuinely good man. Thank you!

True, good advice. There is always something new to learn, even the old stuff. It kind of keeps that kid alive in you. I'm about 70 and everything still excites me as though I was still 16. Fish sticks and crackers ... funny you should say that, story of me life mate.

I agree with your points, here. And the phrases "Be nice & always stay open to learning more" are two that I really agree with. I have been a Tech for 20 years and still have fun with it, but until now was never really interested in long range HF. (To much money, equipment and antenna, etc...) So now I may try for my General license. And being nice is always good, because the person your chatting with, may be a jerk. But its the new and young Hams, that are monitoring the same conversations, we must consider. We don't want classy Ham Radio to become trash talking CB! P.S. And I like a hard copy reference book. But can't lay my hands on my old Tech guide. It might have gotten lost in my prior life?

Ape, this is one of those gap materials vids that is of great value for this hobby... tnx! 73, KF6IF

Best advice I can give. Is join a club. I've been a HAM since 2016, and I've been a member of a Ham Radio club since I became a HAM. I've learned a lot, and I'm still learning. If you want a hobby where every thing is working right, right out of the box, Ham isn't it.

Thanks for this. 73 ☘️

Thank you

Good advice

Great vid. Any radio you get will have more features on it than you will ever use. I don't use the first radios I purchased. I have progressed in the hobby so I bought different equipment to suit my changing needs. I still own the old ones because I know how to use them and I can Elmer someone with them If I need to.

I have had my tech ticket for over a year now. I use DMR exclusively. I tried 10m once, I used the wrong term on my first contact and that dude tore me apart and then got other hams involved. I have never worked 10m since. I found DMR and I have had no issues.

Ape... This is a great video... I went to General on day one and sometimes I think it was a mistake. After a year I still am clueless on HF except FT8.

Good stuff.

Awesome my new friend

Important points that can be applied to many hobbies/interests/activities.

I am starting cheap and even though I do not have high-end stuff, I am thoroughly enjoying the journey. I plan to stay here for a while until I pass my general and then, depending on how I like it, I will make a decision then. Good advice...

Listening from Kentucky The Bluegrass State,..... like your videos my new friend

I just subscribed. I found myself nodding in agreement as I listened. Much of the information applies to numerous different hobbies. I forget who it was who said it to me, but long ago I learned that respectful criticism, respectfully received, can change lives.

I’ve found it helpful when someone is telling me about something they really like, I ask them to tell me what they don’t like about their “product x” they speak so highly of. No product is perfect.

I don’t have my license yet and this is great to know. Thanks

I’m studying for my HAM license and already bought my first Yaesu radio. Can’t wait to start using it. 👍🏽

Thanks for the video! I earned my technician 2-22-21 then my general 3-22-21. I love my newly found hobby. I agree with the financial statement. I was quite embarrassed of my $25 baofeng uv-5r HT at first. I've added a bigger battery, and a better antenna. From all the signal reports I've asked for everyone has said it sounded great. I also have a Btech uv50x2 now it's a great radio as well. I hope I'm able to get a HF radio soon, just can't get past the price... anyways, thanks for the video!

Thank you. I am a new ham with a 7300 and attic antenna trying to find my way.

Thanks for your good advice, Take it from a someone who has been a ham for 44 years, and my brother a ham for 64 years.

Remembering to actually **enjoy** your hobby is a much bigger deal I think than most people realize. I've gotten deeply involved in volunteer leadership in other hobbies in the past and forgot to actually enjoy myself, and wound up burning out **hard**. I'm going to be trying to **not** do that as I get into ham!