The point of ham radio is to attain communication without dependency on others or other technologies. The cheap Baefung radios that work on 2 m at the technician class license level only work about 18 mi point to point. To go further you are reliant on 2 m repeaters. E.g., some other person, hardware, or point of failure.

The 20 m and 40 m bands will get you nationwide across the entire US and occasionally to Central America and Europe on 100 watts. This can be attained with a Yaesu FT-891 class radio and a simple end-fed wire antenna such as an MFJ-1982MP. Cost for both is less than $800. You need a general class license to be legal.

Do not be misled by all the talk about the cheap Baefung 2m radios as useful prepper solution. They do not get you squat if the repeaters go down. Get yourself on 20 or 40 m for nationwide and international comms. 80m is also very useful for 300 to 400 mi radius.

You have the ability to call blindly and connect with individuals but it is very easy to do a little homework and identify the many nets that are out there. These are purpose-oriented groups which meet at certain times on certain frequencies. It's a great way to find information and resources.

I have a Yaesu FT-991A and an MFJ-1982MP antenna strung up over a limb in a pine tree and have communicated diagonally across the entire US and as far away as Slovenia with zero dependency on anyone else.

Get your general license. When you start the process The first step is getting what the FCC calls and FRN. This is a number you use in all future correspondence with the FCC. Get a PO box so that you can provide that as the address. Once you obtain your call sign the address on file with your FRN will become publicly available. Your identity and location is publicly available via the FCC ULS database. A PO box gives you some degree of privacy.

https://www.arrl.org/

https://poal.co/s/QStorm/255019

A few years back I got a portable HF shortwave radio receiver that takes 4 AA batteries. Mine is a Sangean but there are many different makes & models.

I extend the whip antenna and use alligator clips to attach it to a 100' wire I ran perpendicular to my house. That's it.

From just before dusk to several hours after dusk, I can pick up broadcast stations worldwide. I have listened to english broadcasts coming out of asia & europe. Cuba broadcasts all day long on some bands. I've kept a log book of frequencies and times, for later reference.

In addition to these worldwide broadcasts, ham radio operators sometimes talk to each other directly in a modulation called "SSB" - think of it like a trucker CB type of person-to-person communication, but can reach potentially from Florida to Alaska. More commonly you'll find conversations between people in a state or a few states over. With the right ham radio, you can listen to global broadcasts in HF as well as flip to single sideband (SSB) mode and listen for these individual communications.

Transmitting / talking at these frequencies requires a license. However anyone can pick up a receive-only radio and listen.

So a ham radio provides access to a global network of what are essentially AM radio stations, as well as ability to listen in on individual or group person to person SSB communications.

Moreover, many ham radio operators are registered to assist in the event of an emergency. So while the other ham operators are responding to the emergency, I'll have exactly the right equipment to listen to all the information & chatter firsthand, without it being filtered through other sources.

In a grid or internet down situation, it is access to regional or worldwide information without any infrastructure required except some easy to charge batteries and a 100 foot wire.

First you need a pig. Once the pig is large enough, stick antennas on it.

No license required.

Ham Radio.

Hamfag here. There are three levels of license from the FCC in the USA. Each license level requires you to pass a written test. The tests in the USA used to be administered by the FCC but now are given by volunteers with FCC oversight. Morse code is no longer a requirement but it is still useful to know. There are similar license levels and tests in other countries.

Technician is the first and easiest license to obtain. A lot of this test is about radio operating procedures, rules and regulations, etc. There is a little bit about electromagnetic theory. This level grants you access to the VHF and UHF bands and frequencies (2 meters, 1.25 meters and 70 centimeters) as well as limited access to the 10 meter band and CW (Morse code) in some other bands. The U/VHF frequencies are limited to line of site propagation (~10 - 15 miles depending on terrain). Transmitting through a repeater you can reach much farther but still only regional at best. Equipment for U/VHF is pretty inexpensive. Baofeng radios are cheap, but you get what you pay for. You can spend anywhere from $50 - $400 on equipment.

The best equipment is available from the "Big Three" radio manufacturers (Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood). These are all Japanese manufacturers; there aren't any USA based manufacturers left that still make amateur radio equipment that I know of. Baofeng is the best known Chinese manufacturer of amateur radio equipment. They are cheap but you get what you pay for. If you are just starting out in amateur radio a Chinese handheld transceiver is a good option to see if you like the hobby before spending more money though. Alinco is another Japanese company that also makes decent equipment but they aren't as big as the others.

General class license is the next level. The test is a bit harder but not too terrible. If you finish your Technician test with enough time you may be offered the chance to take the General test at your same testing session. General class is where "real" ham radio begins on the HF bands. You have privileges on all of the amateur radio bands but not all frequencies of those bands. With HF you can communicate across the world if conditions are right. The equipment to get started on HF is a bit more expensive but you can get a HF rig for ~800 - 900 dollars. Used equipment is less of course, but again you get what you pay for. You will also need an antenna but a simple dipole antenna can be bought or constructed relatively cheaply.

The final license level is Amateur Extra. The test is quite a bit harder, but nothing insurmountable with some dedicated studying. The only real benefit to Extra is that it grants you access to all frequencies on all amateur bands. There is enough spectrum granted to the General license however to make this an only modest benefit however. Many hams stay at the General license level for many years and are very happy there. So don't go rushing to get Amateur Extra just because it is "the best". You don't need any special equipment to make use of the additional Amateur Extra frequencies.

Another good resource (in the USA at least) is the Amateur Radio Relay League (www.arrl.org). Some don't like them because they haven't done "enough" to protect amateur spectrum. There is some validity to that criticism but they're the best resource that I know of and they are only a civilian organization so they can only influence the FCC so much. They do have good resources for licensing and testing however.

edit added additional details edit 2 fixing typos and adding details

Ham test prep app by iversoft on Android.

Just buy a shitty 50$ baofeng and start playing around with it. I suggest a USB connector so you can DL frequencys

Study for your amateur radio license online. You can also do the exam online. http://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/