Amateur (ham) radio is a medium by which people can communicate on specific frequency ranges designated by the FCC for personal, hobby, educational / training, or emergency purposes. While the Ratzlaff family uses ham radio for some or all these purposes at various times, our primary use of ham radio is for emergency communications in the interest of family preparedness and their associated training. We have five licensed ham radio operators in our family at DN40dh (ITU Region 2, CQ Zone 3, ITU Zone 6, Call Sign Area 7, DXCC Entity 291, GPS 40.297161, -111.6950295):

Noji Ratzlaff (KNØJI)

Lisa Ratzlaff (KR5LYS)

Ricky Ratzlaff (KDØWRV)

Eric Ratzlaff (KG7EKY)

Jake Elliott (KG7JZP)

For those who would like to get into ham radio, or who just want to know something about it, we've put together a few resources to help you.

Helpful ham pages

About — What is ham radio? basic overview
FAQ because you have a lot of questions
Study and Licensing exam material, class material, where and how to study
Glossary terms, acronyms, phrases, jargon, codes, and even a few pics
New hams where to start once you get your license, or will soon get your license
Repeaters how to use them, terminology, listings in and near Utah, links to other listings
Frequencies amateur, FRS, GMRS, CB, MURS, police, fire, EMS, Utah County, programming
Groups amateur radio clubs, nets, ARES, RACES, TERT, ERC, other service organizations
Equipment what to buy, where to buy them, programming, recommendations, manuals, specs, DIY
Education how stuff works, antenna theory, debunking myths, ham radio history
Resources FCC (government), ARRL (regulatory), VEC, software, events, contests, space, vanity call signs, license plates, other
Humor because we enjoy laughing at ourselves

Quick Links

What radio and antenna you should get first Join the Utah Valley Amateur Radio Club (Facebook group) Ham radio best practices (etiquette) How to apply for a vanity call sign Upcoming contests What to do in an emergency

Quick Ham Study and Licensing Links

Recommended Study Method Sign up for an Orem City ham radio course Utah exam sessions Ham radio course slide show PPTs

Other ham stuff

FCC Ham Radio License Search (or any FCC license)


QRZ search or QRZ main page and logbook (log in for full privileges)


Morse Code practice (must log in)


Amateur Radio Frequency Band Allocation Chart Utah VHF / UHF Band Plan (plus 10 m and 6 m)

take my card

Current radio and weather conditions

(None of these are live, so reload this page to refresh the data)

the lower the AP (0 through 400) and KP (0 through 9) the better (SFI = solar flux index, SN = sunspot number)

pink dots mark website visitor locations

number of QSOs vs. maximum QSO distance (SF = solar flux index, SN = sunspot number)

latest spotted QSOs

(blah at the moment)

Other interesting amateur radio-related links

Hamdata (interesting ham radio and licensing statistics) HamQTH (info on individual call signs) Elimination of the Morse Code requirement The youngest ham radio licensees

Ratzlaff home at sunset on New Year's Day 2015