Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Ham (Radio) On The Cheap

There are lots of reasons to consider getting a Ham Radio License. Sure, it's cool to hack, but more importantly, the cell phone grid in the DC area is pretty dang fragile. Within minutes of a regional incident (as happened in 9/11 and the 2011 earthquake), the voice and texting capabilities of your cell phone are pretty much useless. With only a little research, you quickly learn that Ham Radio is your best bet for communication during a crisis.

Turns out, it doesn't have to be a particularly expensive hobby. Here's one approach that seems like it would work, and it's pretty dang cheap:

So there you go, $45.00 and you've got everything you need to get on the air.

Now I just need the time to study the guide to see if getting the license is even a possibility.

Along with being a low cost preparedness option, the above also seems like a terrific gift for a kid. What a way to open up their world beyond cell phones and text messaging? (Not that there's anything wrong with that world.)

1 comment:

  1. are you actually going to work on getting your license? if so keep me posted. I've been interested in this for years.

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