1. Why radio
What amateur radio is and what people do with it. Why a channel of your own, dependent on nobody, did not go out of date when the internet arrived.
2. Your callsign
Licence classes A, B and C, the examination board, forms AZ-1 and AD-1, what it costs and how long it takes. The procedure as of September 2026.
3. Martial law
Why amateur transmission is restricted, what stays available with no permit at all, and where to find out what applies today.
4. The wave
The one equation everything else grows from: λ = c / f. Why an antenna for 145 MHz is the length of a forearm and one for 80 metres will not fit on a balcony.
5. The bands
Why 80 metres carries Europe at night and only your neighbour by day. The ionosphere, MUF, the skip zone and QSB — explained so that you can use them.
6. Decibels
Why 100 W against 5 W is not twenty times better but 13 dB better. And why the receiver matters more than the amplifier.
7. Modulation
How a voice turns into a radio wave. How SSB differs from AM, why amateurs use SSB, and why CW is audible where a voice no longer is.
8. The signal chain
What happens to a signal inside a receiver. The mixer, the local oscillator, the intermediate frequency and the image — at the level of «why», without formulas.
9. The antenna
Why the antenna matters more than the transceiver or the amplifier, why height decides more than the type of antenna, and what to start your first one with.
10. The feeder and SWR
Why a cable is a line with an impedance rather than a wire. What SWR actually means, why a tuner does not cure a bad antenna, and which connector goes where.
11. The transceiver
RF gain, AGC, filter width, NB, NR, RIT — what you actually turn, what you switch on when needed, and what never to touch.
12. Safety
The dullest chapter and the only one that saves property and lives. Lightning protection, earthing, RF exposure and mains power — without scaremongering and without invented standards.
13. Your first contact
What to say into the microphone, and in what order. The phonetic alphabet, the 59 report, Q codes — and why you first have to ask whether the frequency is in use.
14. Locator and log
What the six characters KO50gk mean, what to write down about every contact and why confirmation matters. Maidenhead, ADIF, LoTW and paper cards.
15. Digital and FT8
Why FT8 takes up two thirds of the air, what exactly flies through those 12.64 seconds, and why your clock has to be accurate to the second.
16. Awards and contests
Why chase awards, how contests work and why multipliers matter more than speed. Where to start so that you do not give up in the first hour.
17. Where to go next
Where to grow after the handbook: antennas, CW, building, digital modes, satellites, QRP. And where to ask when you are stuck.