📻 radio ES
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For anyone who has never touched a radio

There are thousands of voices on the air.
Right now.

Amateur radio is the hobby of talking by radio to people all over the planet, with no internet or operator in between. This site shows you how to listen to it, understand it and, if you get hooked, take the plunge.

Listen to something now How to get started
7.100 MHz
40 m · at night, all of Europe

Move the dial: each band behaves differently depending on the time of day and the sun.

What amateur radio is

🌍 Talk to the world

With an antenna on your balcony you can reach Japan, Argentina or a base in Antarctica. Shortwaves bounce off the ionosphere and travel right round the planet.

🛠️ Build and experiment

Home-made antennas, soldering kits, software-defined radios, satellites, weather balloons… It's an electronics lab with a licence to transmit.

🚨 Help out when everything else fails

When the networks go down in a flash flood (DANA), an earthquake or a blackout, radio amateurs keep communicating. That's why the hobby exists and is protected by law.

Your route

Your first month on the radio

Four weeks, from listening for the first time to being ready for the exam. Steps tick themselves off as you use the site, and each completed week earns you a badge. Everything is saved in your browser, with no sign-up.

Changing phone or browser? Your progress only lives in this browser. Save it to a file and restore it wherever you like.

Where to begin

Five steps, at your own pace

You can follow the order or jump to whatever appeals most. Your route above ticks itself off as you go.

  1. 1ListenStations from around the world, live receivers, who's talking now and what each sound is.
  2. 2UnderstandInteractive lessons, bands, today's propagation and the Space Station.
  3. 3PractiseMorse, how to talk on the radio and simulated contacts with a QSL card.
  4. 4Prepare for the examFlashcards that bring back what you get wrong, and a mock exam just like the real one.
  5. 5Take the plungeThe paperwork, your radio club, the calendar and a guide for families.

Keep it in your pocket

Install it like an app

One tap and it's on your home screen, full screen and offline: the exam, Morse, lessons and simulated contacts all work on the Underground or out in the countryside. No app store, no sign-up and it takes up almost no space.

Choose your device and follow the steps.

Android
  1. Open radio.bendi.dev in Chrome (or Edge, Samsung Internet).
  2. Tap Install now above. If it doesn't appear, open the ⋮ menu → Install app (or Add to Home screen).
  3. Confirm with Install. The 📻 icon will appear with your apps.
iPhone and iPad
  1. Open radio.bendi.dev in Safari (on iOS 16.4 or later, Chrome works too).
  2. Tap the Share button (at the bottom on iPhone, at the top on iPad).
  3. Scroll down and choose Add to Home Screen. Keep the name “radio” and tap Add.

Apple doesn't allow a direct install button, which is why you have to do it from Share.

Computer
  1. In Chrome or Edge, click Install now or the install icon in the address bar.
  2. In Safari (macOS Sonoma or later): File menu → Add to Dock.