Does anyone still use ham radios?

What exactly IS a HAM radio? I used to see license plates on cars stating they were HAM operators but always wondered what that was.

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What exactly IS a HAM radio?

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I believe it's a short wave radio that can send as well as receive

I know David Letterman was still into it w/in the last 10-15 years. And, many years ago, Marlon Brando would sometimes hold conversations with people in a honking Fargo accent and tell them he was a truck driver from Nebraska.

Pre-internet, it was a way for celebs to communicate anonymously.

Shortwave radio. Usually hear about it during natural disasters and most commo is out.

They also do a thing where thy collect a receipt of transmission thing with everybody they've ever talked to.

Then hang it on the wall like a deer.

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They claim it will be the only working communication when the grid goes down.

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Well, I can tell you this much. During the Katrina debacle, I was working at a hospital right in the affected area. All landline telephone, cell phone, Internet and electricity were down immediately when the storm hit.

We also had Sat phones and the hospital had what is called a HEAR radio.

None of it worked. If you could manage to stand in the right place, you could make contact with authorities with the Sat phone.

Amateur radio operators showed up and were the only ones who could make contact with authorities, relay messages, etc.

They saved our asses.

LC

I've thought about getting into it. I still know my morse code and that you need it for a license. Know nothing about the radios themselves, costs, etc. I know sky is the limit if you want to go that far.

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Message Posted by Tiger Ryno ya'll went HAM

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I chuckled.

Meh

Like someone said earlier, it's a life saver when comms go down.

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Does anyone still use ham radios?

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Art Bell does.

Seems like it'd be a pretty fun hobby, but maybe I'm just a nerd.