You passed. Now let's get you on the air.

Pay the FCC, then watch for your callsign

SANDARC submits your exam to the FCC electronically, often the same day you test. The FCC then emails you a link to pay their $35 application fee — anywhere from minutes to a few days later, since they process applications hourly on weekdays but sit idle from Friday 6 PM ET to Monday 8 AM ET. Watch your inbox and spam folder, pay the fee, and your callsign appears in the FCC License Search within a business day or two. The moment it shows up you're legal to transmit — no paper license needed.

Find your local repeaters, then program them

No radio yet? Any dual-band (2m/70cm) handheld from the usual brands is plenty to start — many new hams begin with a radio under $50. A repeater sits on a hilltop and rebroadcasts your handheld across the whole county; it is where everyone hangs out.

Which repeaters are worth programming depends on where in the county you live, and the list changes as clubs retune and retire machines — so learn to look it up rather than trusting any printed list:

• Search RepeaterBook for San Diego County. Filter to 2m and 70cm, and start with the ones marked open, close to you, and recently confirmed.
• Better still, ask a club. The people on a repeater know which ones are busy and friendly — something no database records. SANDARC's affiliated clubs will happily tell you where to start, and most run a weekly net where new callsigns get a warm welcome.

A listing gives you four numbers. Here is what they mean, using the one repeater whose details are the same everywhere on Earth — the one aboard the International Space Station:

Type those into the radio by hand, or use CHIRP — free software that programs most handhelds over USB and saves you doing it twice. The ISS page has the rest of the space-station details if you want your first contact to be a memorable one.

What to actually say

Everyone freezes before keying up the first time. Here's the whole script — it's shorter than ordering coffee:

That contact is a QSO — which brings us to the next module.

The Q codes you'll actually hear

Q codes are three-letter shorthand left over from telegraphy, where every character cost time. On a repeater that pressure does not exist, and most local operators consider them unnecessary jargon — learn these to understand what comes back to you, not to use them yourself. Plain English is the better habit on FM.

Add a question mark and most become questions: QTH states your location, QTH? asks for someone else's. You will also hear 73 — "best regards", the standard sign-off, never "73s" — and break, used to join a conversation in progress or, doubled as "break break", to interrupt for something urgent.

The five rules that matter on day one

Part 97 is long, and you already answered questions on it. In practice, almost everything a new operator needs to remember comes down to these:

• Say your callsign. At the end of every contact, and at least once every ten minutes while you are talking (§97.119). That is the whole identification rule.
• Stay inside your privileges. Transmitting outside the segments your class holds is the one mistake with real consequences — check what your license unlocks if you are unsure.
• Use no more power than you need (§97.313). On a repeater a handheld's low setting is usually plenty, and it saves your battery.
• Listen before you transmit. Not a rule you can be cited for, but the one that earns you a reputation — and §97.101(d) does prohibit deliberate interference.
• No music, no business, no bad language (§97.113). Amateur radio is not a commercial service, and everything you say is public.

Nothing here needs memorizing. Identify, stay in band, and listen first — the rest follows from being a decent operator.

Join a club — it's a cheat code

Every SANDARC member club runs meetings, antenna builds, field days, and license classes. A club is where you'll find an Elmer — ham-speak for a mentor — and where the hobby actually gets fun. Browse SANDARC's affiliated clubs →