Setting yourself up on QRZ is probably one of the most important things you should do once you’ve got your callsign and you’re starting out on-air. Frustratingly, setting up your QRZ.com account isn’t as easy as you’d expect, so here’s a quick quide to QRZ, to explain the basics.

What is QRZ.com?

Think of it as the phone book for radio amateurs. Most licensed hams around the world have an entry in QRZ – some with basic information, such as name and location, whilst others have photos, online logs, hundreds of photos, and a transcript of their life story.

How do I get set up?

Getting an entry onto QRZ is free, but it’s a two-step process. Here’s what you need to do.

Step 1 – Get your callsign entered into the QRZ database.

1. Go to the QRZ.com forum and register for a forum account. You’ll be sent an email to confirm your registration.
2. Once you have the email, click on the link in the email to confirm, and you can create a password
3. Once logged in, go to the QRZ Forum Database Help Section and press “Post New Thread”
4. Post a message in the forum asking for callsign to be added. You’ll need to include your callsign, name and address
5. Wait until one of the QRZ volunteers approved your request (normally a few hours)

Step 2 – Set up your QRZ.com entry

Once your callsign has been entered into the database, you will be able to create the page, and add your details:

1. Go to the main QRZ homepage www.qrz.com and in the top right, enter your QRZ username and password (from Step 1).
2. Once you have logged in, look on the blue bar in the top right’ and you should see your callsign
3. Hover over your callsign, and you should see an option to edit your callsign
4. Select the first option to update your name, address and email
5. Select the second option to add some information about yourself
6. Select the third option to add or edit pictures

That’s it – hopefully you have your basic QRZ.com listing online, and other amateurs will now be able to look you up and find out more about you. More advanced features, such as live logs, QSL cards, etc can all be added should you wish.