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I went through it (admittedly many years ago), but ham licensing wouldn't really do anything for safe radio operation. I learned the real stuff from two very ex

• dgacmu 2y ago
  Me too, but at least there's some stuff in there (for extra) about RF safety. Not a lot, but enough that someone with an extra class license should know that they need to go do some calculations about the safe distance from their antenna based upon radiated power, etc., and hopefully that's enough to get them to actually do it. IIRC there was a question or two in the pool about RF burns. Not much in there that would stop you from electrocuting yourself, though, I agree. Licensing the transmitters is the FCC's other standard approach and would probably work except for radiated power safety and antenna issues -- which can be pretty big. You could easily create significant interference or hazard from a botched antenna or connection. (But also which you don't learn enough from just passing the exam.)
  • bArray 2y ago
    Electrocution I think is an easier risk to manage than the RF side, it's less intuitive and you'll be burned but not necessarily understand why. Ham is better than nothing, but I wouldn't feel personally comfortable operating a 1kW+ AM rig. It seems like it needs more thought, but I still like the idea of de-centralised community AM transmitters operating.