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How ham radio endures

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161 points CrankyBear | 2 comments | 14 Oct 24 17:26 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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mindcrime ◴[14 Oct 24 18:31 UTC] No.41840419[source]▶
So very true. Ham radio operators, AIUI, played a critical role with emergency communications in the Western NC area in the aftermath of Helene. I believe there were some instances where local PSAP's / dispatch centers were knocked completely offline and they had local ham radio operators helping to dispatch fire/ems resources.

The great thing about ham radio, it really is an inexpensive hobby to get started. Now, once you get into it, you can spend just about as much money as you want (or have access to). But a Bao-feng handheld that costs around $40 or so can work the local repeaters on 2m or 70cm and is a fine way to get started, learn the lingo, etc.

I encourage everyone to give it a shot, and join up with a local AUXCOMM group or whatever you have locally. I have to admit, I'm not as active with our local group as I'd like to be, due to competing demands for my time, but I hope to eventually work things out to where I can get more active.

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mullen ◴[15 Oct 24 20:23 UTC] No.41852715[source]▶
> But a Bao-feng handheld that costs around $40 or so can work the local repeaters on 2m or 70cm and is a fine way to get started, learn the lingo, etc.

Baofeng makes a $25 radio that works on 2m/70cm and with repeaters. If you live in a place where there are hurricanes/earthquakes, there is no excuse to not have one charged up and ready to go. Getting the basic ham radio license is easy.

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eternityforest ◴[16 Oct 24 05:08 UTC] No.41855804[source]▶
How does ham compare to meshtastic in a real emergency? Meshtastic has the advantage that it's license free and you don't have to try to convince people to spend days studying for it.

I have a license and a baofeng, but I don't know much of anything practical about emergency communications.

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kstrauser ◴[16 Oct 24 06:30 UTC] No.41856180{3}[source]▶
It's vastly better, if only because there are more ham radio users geared up, charged, and ready to listen and reply. Meshtastic is super cool and I have nothing bad to say about it. If my life were on the line, I'd much rather have a cheap Baofeng.
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1. 0xEF ◴[16 Oct 24 09:06 UTC] No.41857053{4}[source]▶
This is the correct answer. I have my license and help with Skywarn when I can in my area, also play around with meshtastic. The fact is that meshtastic is pretty cool, but the ham radio community has been around for a century, is far better organized and entrenched with various services, etc. There is far more trust and reliability there.

I look at it this way; meshtastic is for fun, but ham radio is for real work where results carry more weight.

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2. geerlingguy ◴[16 Oct 24 12:56 UTC] No.41858561[source]▶
Meshtastic is also still very much "beta" quality. Unless you spend a bit of time working with it, messing with different radios and antennas, you can end up with a setup that can't get much range at all, negating one of the main features of the mesh.

Though just buying a Baofeng can lead to similar results, as it's not that amazing at reception. In my testing I've only been able to get a good signal within a few hundred meters, which might not be enough to hit an area repeater except in ideal conditions.

Either way, having the knowledge and practice going into an emergency is much more helpful than just the equipment!