Is It Time to Get a Ham Radio?

Which is a proxy question for the real question: How close do you think this country is to collapse and totalitarianism?

In a fractured nation with a toxic public square, ham radio -- even in this always-online digital age -- is a thriving part of civil society. It's a signal in the noise. And what's more, it's a robustly American institution. But more on that in a moment.

Ham radio is booming, spurred on by several trends. Covid lockdowns forced people to stay home. Old radios were dusted off, while thousands of new ham operators were licensed to take to the airwaves.

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Many come to ham radio through prepping. The hobby's usefulness in a grid-down situation was demonstrated in the Maui fires, when amateur radio operators stepped in after the cell phone system went down, passing along information to civilians and first responders alike. The nature of ham radio clears away the fringiest of preppers. It is governed by the Federal Communications Commission; it requires an exam, license, and registration with the federal government. That leaves the rest of us -- every American who recalls the empty store shelves at the height of the pandemic and every Texan who remembers the deadly freeze of 2021 -- to benefit from ham radio.

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What makes ham radio so uniquely American?

First, it's an enduring public square. It was the first social media, but it carries on without the bitterness and acrimony on social media platforms now. Part of this is because it's not anonymous. Operators are required to identify themselves by their call signs every 10 minutes that they are on the air and at the end of every conversation. And part of it is because the FCC has rules against profane language on public frequencies, and the ham community is largely self-policing.

On the ham radio airwaves, connections are made, civilities are exchanged, and contacts are often recorded in logbooks (either on pencil and paper or online). Deeper relationships can form through local amateur radio clubs and meetups, but even casual chats provide the connection Americans clearly crave.

It has been said ham radio is "a hobby, where you use the hobby to talk about the hobby." That's true, but let's check back with Robert D. Putnam. Bowling Alone was never really about bowling -- it was about community.

Next, ham radio is ruthlessly DIY. In an age of throwaway electronics and user-friendly interfaces, ham radio operators look down on mere "appliance operators." Hams will build their own radios from kits, and then they'll cobble together their own antennas from trash, old speaker wire, and attitude. There's a bustling YouTube community of hams to help new licensees with the more complicated aspects of the hobby. But DIY -- known as homebrewing in the community -- is the goal. You might even call it "self-reliance."

Ham radio is also inexpensive and service-oriented. Financially, the barrier to entry is low. Handheld ham radios can be had for as little as $25, though "shack in a box" transceivers can cost thousands of dollars. Hams put their radios, their resources, and their skills to work for their communities. Many hams build "go boxes," with radios and solar panel systems that let them operate in areas without power or working infrastructure.

posted by Ace at 02:56 PM

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