Comment by bityard
1 day ago
Hams take pride in being largely self-policing because this is one of the things that keeps the FCC interested in reserving sections of the spectrum for ham use.
Also, I love hackaday for their articles but the comment section there is among the worst on the Internet. You'll find more enlightening discussions on the wall of a truckstop bathroom stall.
> comment section there is among the worst on the Internet
Some would argue it's right up there with HN ;)
Oh but HN is so much more interesting to watch. Recently someone built an app to find property near public lands, and to watch an infantanlized, largely urban population be pendanticly confused at an ungoverned existence.. its like having an ant farm.
I got the Technician license mid 2026 as a genuine ignoramus and super newb. I crammed hard for the test (might have been wise to go for General) but operating in the VHF/UHF (repeater) landscape, I lost much of my initial enthusiasm. Not much going in the handheld realm (HF is where it's at), though the discipline, etiquette and kindness is admirable, and clearly, the hobby tends to draw a particular type of person. I might buy a GMRS license too, which requires no test, can be useful, and is far less formal than Ham.
Not in the budget yet for HF gear, though I do have an RTL-SDR Blog (Rx only) I need to figure out.
As a former trucker; the form of enlightenment one acquires between those walls is limited, and mostly, a dissertation on the virtues of breatharianism and kumbhaka.