I’ve been a licensed ham since 2007, and my activity has waxed and waned over the year. One thing I’ve noticed is that intimidiation can play a big factor in the hobby. I’ll speak for myself, but it can be a bit daunting to pick up the mic and call CQ or even answer a CQ call on SSB to think “well, what am I going to talk to them about besides the signal report??” Not just the talking part, but soldering and assembling kits can induce a bit of anxiety. “What if I mess it up? What if it doesn’t work? What if the thing releases the ‘magic smoke’?!”

I’m here to tell you–so what? It’s a hobby. Yeah, there are generally-accepted good practices that we should all keep in mind, but a large part of our hobby is experimentation. Things may break, we may deviate from “best practices”, and we might not remember all the things from the test. As long as you’re operating your station within the limits of your license class, so what?

“But amateur operators should…”

Okay, yes, there are things we “should” do. We should strive to learn from our mistakes and improve our operating practices. I will submit to you, however, that the only way to make mistakes is to try. Try something you don’t know. Want to experiment with digital, FT-8 is a good place to start due to its simplicity. From there, you can expand into other digital modes like PSK-31, RTTY, APRS, packet, and others. Once you understand how your computer can operate with your radio, understanding the other modes becomes easier. Want to learn to solder? Look into getting a quality soldering station (buying the cheapest iron will frustrate you) and buy a few soldering kits online from Amazon. They’re usually low cost, so you won’t be out big bucks if you make a mistake. From there, you can look at getting kits that are a bit more complicated and learn from there.

The main takeaway I would have for new people in the hobby is to just do something–understand there may be some folks that give you unsolicited feedback, but be open to it. If they have valuable advice, then incorporate it into your practice and learning. If not, thank them and move on. It’s a fun hobby, and I’d highly encourage you to jump in and try new things.