Radio Merit Badge
The nine requirements, with requirement 8 drawn as its five options so their very different costs are visible before choosing, and the log comparisons drawn behind the listening that produces them.
10 steps (69 parts inside them). 38 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 13 August 2026 · About Radio Merit Badge
No questions answered
This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the 2 questions at the address above takes out the parts that are not for you.
Which of this applies to you
You have not answered anything yet, so this is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering 2 short questions will take out the parts that are not for you.
Your progress
73 steps can be started now; 5 are waiting on something else.
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The steps
Stage 1 of 10
1 step
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1. Radio safety Requirement
Three explanations. The only requirement on the badge about not hurting yourself.
Stage 2 of 10
1 step
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2. Radio fundamentals Requirement
A chart you draw and label, then three definitions discussed with your counselor.
8 parts, 1 ticked
Stage 3 of 10
1 step
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3. How radio waves travel Requirement
A diagram and two explanations.
Stage 4 of 10
1 step
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4. Information by radio Requirement
Four topics discussed with your counselor.
Stage 5 of 10
1 step
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5. Radio hardware and services Requirement
Five parts, one of them a diagram you draw.
Stage 6 of 10
1 step
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6. Radio regulation Requirement
Three topics discussed with your counselor.
Stage 7 of 10
1 step
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7. Cell phones Requirement
Five explanations. Everything here is about a device you already own.
Stage 8 of 10
1 step
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8. ONE of five options, and they are nothing like the same size Often forgotten Decision
E is eight explanations and one outing with walkie-talkies. C is six hours of logged listening that must be split between daylight and night. D needs a fox hunt somebody else runs and a receiver somebody else provides. Compare the cost before the subject.
THESE FIVE OPTIONS ARE NOT THE SAME SIZE. Option E is eight explanations and one outing with a pair of walkie-talkies. Option C is six hours of logged listening that the requirement forces you to split between daylight and darkness. Option D cannot be finished alone at all. It needs a fox hunt somebody else organises and a receiver somebody else provides. Compare what each costs before you compare what each is about.
36 parts
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8(A)(6). A 10-minute contact, real OR simulated Optional May not apply Often forgotten 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.
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8(C). Option C: Shortwave and Medium-Wave Listening Optional May not apply Often forgotten SIX HOURS MINIMUM, AND IT CANNOT BE DONE IN ONE SITTING. 8(C)(1) is four one-hour shortwave periods with at least one in daylight and at least one at night; 8(C)(2) is two one-hour medium-wave periods, one of each. The day and night split is stated by the requirements, not suggested, and the two comparison steps that follow have nothing to work on until both halves are done.
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8(C)(3). Compare your day and night logs Optional May not apply Usually comes after 8(C)(1). Four one-hour shortwave sessions.
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8(C)(4). Explain the night-only distant stations Optional May not apply Usually comes after 8(C)(2). Two one-hour medium-wave sessions.
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8(D). Option D: Amateur Radio Direction Finding Optional May not apply Often forgotten CHECK THAT A FOX HUNT EXISTS BEFORE YOU CHOOSE THIS OPTION. 8(D)(4) has you take part in one using a provided receiver. If no club near you runs ARDF events, this option stops at the antenna you built in 8(D)(3) and the last two steps cannot be met. Where there is an active club it is one of the best things on this badge.
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8(D)(4). Take part in a fox hunt Optional May not apply Often forgotten Usually comes after 8(D)(3). Build a simple directional antenna.
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8(D)(5). Show on a map how you found the fox Optional May not apply Usually comes after 8(D)(4). Take part in a fox hunt.
Stage 9 of 10
1 step
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9. Careers or a hobby, one of the two Decision
Both end in a discussion with your counselor, and both may involve interviewing somebody.
2 parts
Stage 10 of 10
1 step
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Counselor signs it off Milestone
The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.
Usually comes after 9. Careers or a hobby, one of the two.
Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.
This plan is a planning aid: the current Boy Scouts of America publication is always the authority, and the sources used here are listed in full. Each step names its own.