“Is anyone out There?” - HamRadio (lemmy.zip)

submitted 4 days ago by Blondie@lemmy.zip to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

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Is anyone else thinking about going back to old school tactics of the ham radio. With the build up of fediverse, Meta, flock, Alphabet and now LG tv’s now spying on us in our own homes, getting a ham license and building one of these from scratch would not only gain some different kind of knowledge, but maybe if internet/cellular networks were to fail or get “taken over” there would be a backup system of communication. The old string and can trick only works with your neighbors. I know there is some serious ramifications if you don’t get licensed and tap into ham radio frequencies, and it doesn’t take much to get one… I don’t know if ‘tuning that dial” is dying out. But we may need to. Maybe it’s a dooms-day prepper kinda thing for me to say, and I don’t consider myself one at all since I only have 3 rolls of toilet paper in my house albeit I am a Costco member. I’m just curious if anyone else that is pulling away from the fediverse is also thinking about learning the Ham radio Trade also?

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[-] eleijeep@piefed.social 20 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

With the build up of fediverse, Meta, flock, Alphabet and now LG tv’s now spying on us in our own homes

I’m just curious if anyone else that is pulling away from the fediverse is also thinking about learning the Ham radio Trade also?

What's going on with the Fediverse that makes you put it in a list with these companies?

Is this concern trolling?

"Joined 8 hours ago" seems like a strange move for someone who is "pulling away from the fediverse."

[-] Blondie@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

No, I’m honestly asking people about ham radios.. and if people think of building or if they have or are thinking of getting licensed for them, if they just buy them. I am, and didn’t know if they were thinking of using freewaves to chat with other people. I don’t like the way things are going with having my iPhone having me give so many permissions to use Siri, and Google and the Camera, they all have different rules for tracking Data about me, about what they are doing. Can’t my phone just let me use it and they stay away from my facial movements and my biometrics and store them for their data. It just concerns me. And it’s not that me and I’m paranoid they picking on little old me, it’s everyone. Makes me question why do they want it. From all of US. It feels very 1984 and Terminator. I just don’t like it and wanted to ask if people were using Grassroots equipment. Not trolling or rage-baiting. I’m not about that. That’s why I’m in No stupid questions. Non judgement zone. I don’t have all the knowledge, I have some eeery feelings and just want to ask what people are doing out there.. where ever they are. ;). I got some good info from some others.. places to start.

[-] BottleBoardBakon@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 days ago

The fediverse was made as a decentralized alternative to all those companies they listed 🤣

[-] floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

There's a whole new technological niche born in the space between the modern internet and old school AM/FM radio. AX.25, meshtastic, meshcore, reticulum, just to name a few. You are absolutely not alone in wanting to build a resilient, grassroots communication network that relies on good old radio waves from and to your antenna rather than 8 layers of "providers", and people have built cool new things to bring some "modernity" to the same basic principles

[-] Blondie@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

Yes, I’m just feeling with all the spying on my in my home through my phone, all the Machines are just getting too overwhelming. I feel that if there was going to be a revolt from everything, going back to grassroots would be a thing, but learning it when you need it is too late. Until the FreeWaves aren’t Free anymore….. I have some research to do and a project to start! It’s feeling 1984 and Terminator all coming together at once, with Pink Floyd playing in the background, Welcome to the Machine. So Dystopian! As a person who’s getting started in this, and I will do my research, I don’t have any Linux background, and if AX25 is Linux, that is out for me. Do you have an opinion on any of these? I’ve been taking apart boom boxes since 1980s and have built my own PC years back when that was the cool thing todo.

[-] beliquititious@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 days ago

The mesh stuff looks so interesting. I wish I had the money to experiment with it, but like 3d printing, fpv racing, and Arduinos before it, I'm too broke and too much of an antisocial loner to really participate.

[-] floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 days ago

Meshtastic/core is the cheapest hobby listed here by far, you can get a Heltec on AliExpress for like 20$ and it has no running costs. You also don't need to be social, you can just lurk and help expand the network by being a repeater station :)

[-] farmgineer@nord.pub 5 points 4 days ago

I'm a licensed HAM. I basically never touch the stuff at the moment. I want to get a good HF radio, but it's so expensive and I might also be losing my job.

If you are in the US, do not use it unlicensed unless you want a visit from the FCC and I think federal charges.

[-] Blondie@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

Right!! I know that, and I’d want to get my license.. I’m avoiding government officials lol.

I already was chosen for a special US Census, which non of my neighbors or anyone I knew got. I did some research on it, and they were selective on who they were choosing for it. I feel very uneasy about it, they wanted to know my route to work, my commute times, time I left, how much my house was worth if I sold it today, how many bathrooms it had, bed rooms, how much I made, how many routers I had in my home, my cell phone carrier… It was very exposing. And now with iPhone having Unit 8400 working on it and putting their entrails in it, I just feel so exposed. Grass roots is where I feel if shit hits the fan, I’m going to need to know this trade so I don’t feel isolated. If I don’t need it, GREAT! I love hearing new things! I wouldn’t say I’m paranoid, but I’m feeling 1984 and Terminator aren’t just movies anymore.

[-] NOPper@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 4 days ago

To just get in the air if you can't borrow one, look into QRP radios. They're under 10W, but thats enough to go thousands of miles in good conditions with even a halfway tuned antenna. You can get kits for under $40 if you dont mind soldering, and not much more if you want assembled.

Listening alone is fun, and you do not need any license for that!

[-] Blondie@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

Interesting!!! I am a txt chatter, but not a vocal chatter… I do like to Lurk!

[-] NOPper@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago

Look into modes like FT8! All the fun radio stuff, no chit chat.

[-] CameronDev@programming.dev 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

!amateur_radio@lemmy.radio

Plenty of people do are still doing ham radio.

~~There isnt much risk being unlicenced, enforcement seems sporadic and unreliable.~~ I own a bunch of handheld radios that ideally I should have a licence for, but for road trips it hardly matters.

But at the same time, getting licenced isnt expensive or difficult, so you may as well just do it. The only reason I haven't is that I don't want to waste a bunch of Sundays going to a class to listen to year 10 electronics.

[-] Blondie@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

And thank you!! I subscribed!!

[-] Blondie@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

GOOD! then I will have plenty of people to talk to!

I do plan on getting licensed, I know I can buy hand held Ham, but I love a project, so I’d like to build my own out of old spare parts. The uglier the better. Any suggestions on the hand held? What sets some apart. Do you have a favorite?

[-] CameronDev@programming.dev 2 points 1 day ago

I am not really qualified to comment on the quality of the handhelds, but have a few baofengs (don't know the model), a quangshen uv-k6 and a radtel rt-470x. All of them likely illegal, probably excessively spectrally noisy. But they are good for road trips.

[-] 667@lemmy.radio 11 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

There isn’t much risk being unlicensed

This is awful advice considering how utterly simple it is to get licensed.

Speaking for US licensees, one only needs to memorize the question bank (legal and encouraged) and take the exam.

It can be done remotely. I did all of mine remotely, and have never set foot in any club or classroom.

Operating without a license will quickly become apparent to any experienced operator. Do not do this.

If one thinks the airways are dead, please check this spectral image of 20m I snapped a couple of years ago: https://lemmy.radio/post/3735300

[-] Blondie@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

I did see the class/test was all online.. easypeasy! I really don’t want to be fined.. so loose the chance to not have a license. I’m def going to do it. I hear if you use a hand held it’s easier not to get “caught” as you are mobile. But it’s not expensive. Doing it.

[-] 667@lemmy.radio 2 points 1 day ago

I assume you’re in the US, so you can use hamstudy.org. From there you can schedule your exam online and take it online. I did my Tech from a beachside resort in Philippines during the pandemic, and my General and Extra from an AirBnB in New Mexico. Two of my examiners were Australian, and each of them in different parts of the US as well.

With daily study, you should be able to knock out each license level in about a month each.

[-] Blondie@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

I am in the US, and yes, online course work, and in my state, it’s 15$ to take the test at a testing site near my home for the technical license. Thanks for the recommendation on the online course, there are many to choose from, and some of the websites are .. messy.

[-] 667@lemmy.radio 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Certainly! It’s a bit of an unspoken duty to encourage others to get licensed. It’s one of the accomplishments I most adore.

You can do it in person, but hamstudy should also provide remote options as well. I did mine from a beach on a Pacific Island!

[-] Blondie@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 hours ago

Yes. Thanks for the recommendation and the link to follow more ham friends and get ham information.

[-] CameronDev@programming.dev 1 points 4 days ago

I agree in general, but not every country has a simple and easy licencing system. And if your just acquiring radios for shit-hits-the-fan scenarios, rather than regular use, expending the effort for a licence doesnt make sense to me.

In Aus, its a multiday in person class, with exams at fixed times during the year. And I've seen the course work, its mindnumbingly easy, it should be an online multiple choice. I would do it in a heartbeat if it were online.

[-] NOPper@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 days ago

Maybe an unpopular opinion and I'm sure you don't agree but even if you're only looking at radio for some weird apocalyptic situation, the knowledge you need to be licensed is there to teach you standards and best practices that will only improve your odds of successful communication without stepping on other people trying to do the same. Its not (all) some bureaucratic bullshit there just to make a buck or let The Man control you. You said it yourself, its easy. Just do it and know you can actually check the box without screwing up someone else's message or screaming into frequencies nobody is listening on anyway. Its a test to make sure you're a responsible member of a community.

[-] CameronDev@programming.dev 3 points 3 days ago

I agree thats how it should be, but the licencing here in Aus doesnt line up with that.

The knowledge involved in the actual licencing isnt actually that useful for actually operating the radio. It was mostly tailored to designing radios from the ground up, and it was basically late highschool electronics.

The knowledge you need to operate the radios properly is all available online.

In my case, I am using handheld radios on the CB bands. I have limited the power correctly, but because they are capable of more power than allowed, that makes them require a licence, even when used in normal CB bands. It doesnt make sense for me to waste multiple Sundays to get a licence I am not actually going to take advantage of.

So here in Aus, it is just beaurocratic bullshit. And like I said, if it were online, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2026

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