I’ve always thought that sounds fun, but don’t know how to get started.
Radio is great,low cost,fun and world wide !
To get started look up ARRL - American Radio Relay League
http://www.arrl.org
Also look up Hamfest, there’s bound to be one near you
any where in the “57” :)
Try QTH.com and then try ARRL.org to get started. It is a lot simpler than when I first got licensed in 1978.
The net has thousands of Amateur radio “ham” sites for basic beginners to seasoned operators who build, test, design and use their own electronic test equipment, radios and antennas...
I’m able to talk or listen coast to coast or intercontinental, and off the grid if desired, voice or CW.
From Alaska to Tasmania, Antarctica research stations to the Ukraine....To ham special events stations aboard the USS Iowa and many other museum war ships and other venues.
Not quite what you’d find in most people’s cell phone contact list.
Believe it or not, Continuous Wave (CW) otherwise known as Morse code, is a kick and can be very addicting...It enables people to communicate across this continent or intercontinental, with very low power and or just 12 volt batter power. Antennas can be made to be very stealthy.
BTW, CW is not required to pass a test.
You can go solar powered, off the grid, battery, house current in your car, using many modes...Go visit people on a fishing boat, floating in some small cove in a tiny south Pacific Island, or someone in a twin engine aircraft over Montana.
And getting started can be very inexpensive. Good for emergencies, great education tool, meeting new people and a lot of fun.
It's very easy to get a ham license now. There are two good books out there for the entry level tech license. The ARRL book is for those who want a bit more depth. The Gordon West book is for those that want to know the answers to the questions.
The tech test consists of 35 multiple choice questions. They are drawn from a pool of around 300 questions (all are published with the correct answers). Passing is 26 correct. Tests are given by hams who are certified as examiners. In Maine (not exactly densely populated) you can find at least one test session a month within easy driving distance. Cost for the exam (and license) is $15 and the license is good for 10 years and is renewable.
Excellent on-line tests are also available at qrz.com. I've helped several people get their first licenses so far this year and expect to have over a dozen by year's end. One woman I know with no technical knowledge just got her license with about 2 week's of study. Got one wrong on the test.
Most of the people I know who have gotten licenses recently did it for emergency communications purposes. (SHTF or the general issue of addressing communications outages due to storms and the like).
BookMark