Scout Ahead https://www.scoutahead.org/plans/radio-merit-badge/steps/01M0BG8YG89Q8C4W0DZSV7W850

Task · part of 8(A). Option A, Amateur Radio

8(A)(6). A 10-minute contact, real OR simulated

Optional May not apply Often forgotten

This may not apply to you. You have not answered "Requirement 8: which ONE of the five options?" yet. Answer it and this step will either settle or drop off.

Using proper call signs, Q signals and abbreviations, by voice, Morse code or digital mode. Log it properly and record the signal report. Licensed operators may substitute five QSL cards from five contacts.

Warning. YOU DO NOT NEED AN AMATEUR RADIO LICENCE FOR THIS. The requirement asks for a 10-minute contact that may be REAL OR SIMULATED, logged properly with the signal report. The licence appears only in a note letting licensed operators substitute five QSL cards: a shortcut for Scouts who are already hams, not a condition on anybody else.

Where this step comes from

  1. Radio Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31), Requirement 8(A)(6) · States that the contact may be real OR SIMULATED, and carries the note offering licensed operators five QSL cards as a substitution.

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