When I began my ham radio journey I was looking for elmers. I was interested in building things, HF, and CW. Russ Thompson (KX5G) was one of the first to help. He gave me a power supply (that I still use). I also met up with John Langridge (KB5NJD) who helped me configure a number of home antennas and gave me my first set of paddles. I think I must have sent John at least a thousand emails asking questions. He politely responded to every single one of them.
And yet. . . it wasn’t enough.
My desire to learn could not be satisfied. I turned to media of all kinds. Books, blogs, podcasts, etc. Over time I have cultivated a list of media I enjoy. I thought I should share it. If YOU are wanting to learn more and have worn out your actual Elmer, here are some places you can learn a lot!
Blogs:
Podcasts:
Books:
Solder smoke Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics – Bill Meara
Elements of Radio – Marcus and Horton (This book is out of print, but you may find it at a ham fest. I did.)
Solid State Design for the Radio Amateur – Hayward and Demaw (Also out of print)
Experimental Methods in RF Design- Hayward, Larkin, and Campbell (this book is the follow up to solid state design. It also appears to be out of print.)
YouTube Channels:
QRP School – I actually got to meet Cliff on an NPOTA activation this year
WG0AT – Steve is the goat guy featured twice in QST this year. He is often manning the Buddipole table at HamComm.
QRP CW – I believe this guy is in Spain, but he always has interesting short videos
And if you are looking for the Rocky Balboa Radio video — I think this is it. The Rev. George Dobbs of GQRP fame talks about why QRP.
So — If your new to radio and interested in building things or learning things, these are some resources to get you started. Enjoy!
-Steve-
KF5RY