My recommendation: find a local-ish club/chapter with sane people. The prepper nuts haven’t really invaded those here. Probably because that would require being social and working together.
Best of luck on the HAM radio journey! Seems like it would be a fun experience.
Oh this screenshot was taken years ago. I got my extra ticket in 2021 (first licensed in 2019). I just keep coming back to it because of how on the nose it is.
I’ve actually been away from the hobby for the most part for about 2 years, and am trying to find ways to get back into it.
Well, best of luck getting back into it!
It would be nice if your ticket came with a subscription to Scientific America and some whiskey tho
Probably a pretty high crossover on radio and guns. I watch ham radio stuff on YouTube and in turn get recommended a load of prepper content 😅
While I can appreciate the desire to maintain order in the midst of chaos, and I can certainly see why radio is essential for that, I’ll never understand the people who say they’re into ham radio because they don’t want to be censored or intercepted in a time of crisis. Ham radio is insecure by design. Your dox yourself every time you give your call sign.
Only if you follow the rules. Those people don’t intend to follow the rules. They don’t want to help, they want to feel powerful.
If you actually want to help, at least on my side of the ocean they have official collaborations/trainings between ham volunteers and agencies for when stuff goes south. I guess the Arrl is (supposed to) organize that?. But I also know of a local initiative over here, where hams volunteered to put like repeaters on town halls and fire stations, just in case.