Amateur radio can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be. I've drifted in and out over the years, and recently found myself really enjoying a super

Amateur radio can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be. I've drifted in and out over the years, and recently found myself really enjoying a super basic 2M handheld (ICOM V-80) which can be had for $50 on eBay. It's so simple you can easily memorize every function, and it's surprising that even something so basic has so many functions to explore. I think that's why I like it so much. Now in the digital era, you can spend $250 on a handheld that can literally reach any spot on the globe. The primary digital platform for amateur radio, D-STAR, allows cross-band communication by connecting to the internet. A lot of the cost of amateur radio is people trying to get the best equipment possible to transmit and receive via FM modulation over the longest distances with the best possible audio quality. But that's just one aspect. That's what costs a bundle, but there's much more to it than just that. IMO, what's interesting about radio is that, if you know how to use it, you can get a message from anywhere to anywhere else on the planet… or even low earth orbit. It requires minimal infrastructure and it can work with AA batteries. The community is very friendly and people are happy to help/relay messages. Honestly, amateur radio, for me, is a lot of what the internet used to be when it was difficult to use. Since amateur radio is still relatively difficult to use it keeps the trolls away.