Choosing Your First Radio: "Ham radio is an exciting hobby—and there is a lot more to it than just talking on the radio.

"Amateur radio provides a framework that supports a wide variety of interests. With amateur radio as a resource and guide you can • experiment with digital communications and RF/Internet gateways, you can • design and build electronic devices and talk to stations in outer space. You can • study propagation and atmospheric conditions or listen to interstellar signals created by the explosion of stars and much more. Of course, • communications is an important part of the amateur radio world. Meeting new people around town and around the world is tremendous fun.

"Whatever your interests and goals, amateur radio can provide value to your endeavors.

"The very versatility that makes ham radio so interesting can also cause problems. As a new ham or even as an experienced operator trying out a new aspect of the hobby, the huge amount of information available can be difficult to sort through. The Internet can be a valuable tool but with so many people giving conflicting advice, how do you know what's right? That's where this paper comes in. My goal is to give the new ham some basic, general information on radio types, their pros and cons and the ways that they can be used."