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.
This brings up a parallel point that a couple of us discuss with some frequency.
Being players of the Fallout video games, we play in a nuke blasted scenario not unlike what would happen after a total collapse. It is course, a game. But is holds several solid truths.
One of them is that the average American today cannot start a fire without a match, much less do HAM/Morse code. They cannot build shelter. they would rip their own walls down to burn for fuel in the summer and freeze come winter...if they made it that long. In a Fallout/collapse scenario, that person is dead. Or he is sold/traded into slavery to the ferals/gangs for sex, work or food. (It’s people!)
My earlier joke about ordering pizza is exactly what many modern people would do. If the phone is dead, just go online. Never once thinking that the net is down too.
Most cannot cook, sew, do basic first aid/CPR, hate guns, have no experience with a knife, cannot use basic hand tools or know how to hunt or fish. No carpentry or mechanical/electrical skills outside plugging an HDMI cable into an HDMI socket.
My point? those that do have these skills will live. Perhaps even rule. In the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
This is both reassuring and intimidating. :)
I’ve always been a bit intrigued by ham radio, and I do think I will start to look for the basic equipment and get some learning in.
I used to date a guy who’s dad was a big ham guy, it was fascinating to hang around when he talking. Very many years ago.
I wonder if he wants to sell his equipment.