I have interest in the field, but know nothing.
VHF handie-talkies (or “HTs”) can be bought new for as little as $150, maybe a bit less. They transmit in the 144-148 MHz, or “2-meter” band. They’re good for simple local communications, extended through the use of repeaters, similar to the way public safety communications work.
A bigger base station that covers the HF frequencies, under 30 MHz, can run anywhere from a few hundred dollars used to over $5,000 new. The newest ones are amazing technological marvels, really. You don’t need a big tower in your backyard, simple wire antennas strung up in a tree can be very effective and get you around the world if conditions are right. HF communications are highly dependent on atmospheric conditions and sunspots, and considering we are STILL at the very bottom of a sunspot cycle, they aren’t always that great right now.
}:-)4
“And do you need one of those antennas (50-ft tower or so)?”
I worked all 50 states on three modes (voice, Morse Code, and Radio-Teletype) using a 30 foot piece of 12 gauge wire and an antenna tuner (ARRL calls it a Triple Play in their awards program). I also talked to over 130 countries using this same piece of wire. I’m limited to stealth antennas because I’m in a dreaded deed restricted community.
WT4Y
A good working new or gently used HF transceiver can be readily found for under $500, and a simple wire antenna that can be made for a few dollars worth of parts from the hardware store is all that’s needed for world wide communications. Amateur radio uses the ionosphere to reflect signals (skip) across vast distances much like the AM radio stations you hear after dark, when even the AM broadcast band can support skywave propagation. It’s the only form of communication that doesn’t rely on infrastructure (such as cell towers, landlines, undersea cables, microwave relays, etc) provided and controlled by others. A low power HF radio is smaller than a laptop, can run from 12 volt battery or renewable power sources, and both voice and digital comms are possible.
Ham Radio and find out more.
One of my most-often used radios is a 5-watt 2-meter walkie-talkie, made by Alinco, that I bought for $30 at a ham-fest.
The 2-meter band is 144-148 MHz, and carries a LOT of ham radio via “repeaters,” which are “re-transmitters” that sit on a high place — mountain, tall building — and relay in realtime between to low-power stations that otherwise would not hear each other directly.
Some repeaters cover a town, some cover tens of miles, and some cover out to fifty to sixty miles, in a big circle in all directions. Two little peanut-whistle walkie talkies could communicate through such a repeater from anywhere to anywhere within the repeaer’s coverage area.
The rest of the story, I’ll suggest you consult the book I cited. But cost isn’t a big deal. You CAN put in thousands, and get VERY complex radios with dozens of features and doo-dads. But “simple” is best — especially for a beginner. And older radios are simpler and cheaper y far — and work just fine.
Antennas can be horizontal wires or ‘beams’ or vertical antennas, 33’ or less. Rule of thumb-the more metal in the air and the higher in the air, the better.
Currently, propagation conditions (atmospheric factors that determine to a great extent, the range of communications) are at an all time low making long distance communications unreliable. The study of propagation can be a lifetime of work.
Strangely enough, these factors also determine weather patterns, e.g., global warming/cooling.
Anyway, you can, at times talk at great distances.
I have been operating ham radio since 1956. During that time I have had contacts with 356 “entities”. An entity is ham nomenclature for ‘country. The reason for so many more than actual political countries is that islands separated from the “mother country” are counted separately. E.g., USA and Hawaii and Alaska count as 3 different entities.
Finally, getting a ham ‘ticket’ (license) is a good idea no matter the reason. It is a fun, great hobby!