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Amateur radio is not that hobby. There are significant restrictions on what it can be used for. And providing uncensored communication for others is not allowed
by ianburrell 2y ago
Amateur radio is not that hobby. There are significant restrictions on what it can be used for. And providing uncensored communication for others is not allowed.
Amateur radio is not for public use like public park. It is like a public golf course, where have to pay for membership and can only use it for certain things.
Also, amateur radio does not have that much spectrum for the bandwidths we expect for internet. That is what has kept the spectrum from being taken away.
Much of the high frequenecy spectrum does have is shared with ISM bands.
- simonw 2y agoI agree that understanding the restrictions on HAM usage - including the ban on encryption, and strict rules on what kind of material can be broadcast (since anyone can hear it) - is really important. You don't have to pay ongoing fees: the initial outlay in the USA is $35 for the license (you have to pass the exam) plus the cost for your equipment (~$70 for the cheaper HAM radios on Amazon), but after that there are no ongoing charges.
- BenjiWiebe 2y agoThere is a renewal fee for the license, every 10 years. But it's negligible.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- nobodyknowin 2y agoDoes one have to take a test for renewal? Or is it a one and done type thing?
- simonw 2y agoYou don't have to take the test again. I believe you only have to take the test if your license expires at the end of the ten years AND you wait more than two years before renewing it again.
- nobodyknowin 2y agoThank you for your response. I did get my novice license (or whatever the lowest license is called) but never got an old borrowed radio to actually transmit. Then life kind of got in the way. I keep meaning to get back into it, the sstv and various data networks are really cool. I really dig the analog tech.
- wkat4242 2y agoYeah even if you move to another country you don't have to do the test again. You can just transfer your license.
- wkat4242 2y agoDepends on country. In Holland the fee is substantial and yearly (60€ I believe). In most other EU countries it's once off but the Dutch government wants money for everything.
- sharksauce 2y agoWhat's your go-to ~$70 radio? I have a couple of Baofengs but you get what you pay for with those.
- avidiax 2y agoI have heard good things about the Quansheng UV-K5/8/99. Primarily because there is a hack firmware available. If you want a "good" HT as an introduction to the hobby, then the Yaesu FT-65R or older FT-60R are both good. A "do everything" (analog) radio might be the Yaesu VX-6R, which I previously owned. It excels on reception, and is a "tri-band" radio, but the extra band was not useful in my experience.
- gh02t 2y ago> where have to pay for membership and can only use it for certain things Just to clarify for people who might be interested-- this is not a perfect analogy in that you don't have to pay to participate in amateur radio. You have to pay a fee to take the license exams but it's a token amount, and you don't have to pay regularly to use any ham services that I know of. Apart from buying a radio, of course.
- smitelli 2y agoIn the US it’s currently $35 for the FCC renewal, which comes up every ten years.
- kayfox 2y ago> pay for membership Not in every country or even always in the US. In Canada there is no government fees for ham radio, if the test giver wants to charge a fee, they can, but most do not. In the US there are clubs that pay for new hams fees out of a fund for that purpose.