So everyone's heard of Amateur Radio, but certified Amateur radio operators are becoming a rarity. It's not hard to speculate why Amateur radio is disappearing, just go to a restaurant or visit the mall you'll see every other person focused on their cell phone.
Even though our nation's cellular networks are growing and becoming more robust, Amateur radio operators still provide an important public service. The largest disaster response by U.S. amateur radio operators was during Hurricane Katrina. More than a thousand ham operators from all over the U.S. converged on the Gulf Coast in an effort to provide emergency communications assistance. Subsequent Congressional hearings highlighted the Amateur Radio response as one of the few examples of what went right in the disaster relief effort.
A good way to be introduced to Amateur radio is to attend a local Amateur radio group event. I have included a link to help find your local group.
- http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club Link to the National Association for Amateur Radio club search.
The next step is to get certified. Many local chapters provide Amateur radio certification tests. Also this year at Defcon they will be offering the exams right at the convention.
- http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session Link to the National Association for Amateur Radio exam search.
The Defcon guys provided a terrific study resource to help you with the exam.
- https://hamstudy.org Free tools to help you study for the Ham Radio license.
Finally you'll need a radio. For my first radio I decided to play it safe and bought a low-priced hand held to get a feel for ham radio. Here it is:
, - Frequency Range: 136-174 / 400-480MHz; 25KHz/12.5KHz Switchable
- 128 Channels 50 CTCSS and 104 CDCSS; Channel Step: 2.5/5/6.25/10/12.5/25KHz
- Dual-Band Display, Dual Frequency Display, Dual-Standby; A/B band independent operation
- Comes with all necessary accessories, backed up by 12 Months Seller Warranty
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