hoshnasi @

Disagree!

Do you still need a ham license to transmit on a emergency frequency you use for employment?

Love my uv6r..ha. It does not have all the goodies and options available as the uv 5r so I handle with care, complete xmit check out, buzy ch lockout engaged, programmed in my licensed band allotment, respect that bandwidth and share the air. Never stop learning about the hobby and be prepared for the unexpected. Build your own fixed base antenna, and your quick setup portable and your fox hunt hand beam/yagi to find the stashed hidden transmitter ! Hi hi and seek 73, everyone Kb8qlz

@@EMTxLIFE no I my case county holds the liscence

Obama’s brother?

@@7seasons31 😂😂😂 Definitely not. Probability of one being his brother here is very low. Though I know his half brother a bitter guy known as Hussein Obama

@@7seasons31 Winston Churchill brother?

Rather than pander to arrogant HAM's, how about breaking them of the delusion that BaoFengs are "HAM radios"? From other videos it's clear you know that... They're Part 90 radios HAM's may conditionally use, under old regulatory notions that HAM's know how to build or maintain gear, which today means proprietary computer test beds and robotic pneumatic SMD PIC's and micro-bath wave soldering. Ahem, really? Just like telcos have "4-wire" fiber, or before that microwave, or talk about T-1's that are DS-n but not T-carrier ancient history. FWIW, I've had an FCC 1st or broadcast inclusive General w/ RADAR since mid 1970's, so may be a graying non-HAM, licensed to handle HPA's that could melt most HAM gear, literally. I own some BaoFeng stuff because it's an amazing value for what it is. Better videos on 3rd party software to make up for BaoFeng's crap or the poor keypad UI could be helpful.... And I do set some channels to be incapable of accidentally transmitting, with a mix of Part 90, NOAA, public safety, marine, etc programmed. It'd also be nice to have a better display to identify what channels are, as that's hard to remember (maybe some high views video producer could hint that to BaoFeng?).

County 022

I just passed the technician and General exams and honestly I knew two to three answers from tinkering around with my Baofeng UV-5R. I have been using it as a scanner and listening the protocols of local nets. Baofeng is what got me in ...... now it’s forward. 😀

Connect it ti an 200 watt rf amp with an external antenna lets see if they those 5 watter yaesu can still transmit around you, let see if they can modulate with each other, lol! If your class B. You are allowed 500 watts max on hum

It's okay to love your cheap baofeng brother.

Update - Extra passed. Still have much to learn. Ham KZfaq videos are a great place to start. Baofeng still a part of the arsenal. 73

Agreed

I am having a problem finding a ham radio group in the area I live in in south Louisiana that can help me with my test and help me with my radios

Fuck yeah.older wiser

Say it brother...mine too😊👍

I had a Courier Ham radio.

@@kenwardjcoker9555 AMAZON HAS THEM EBAY HAS THEM TOO. YOU CAN GO ONLINE TO ORDER A FEW.

This is a good point. But I feel that first group should probably do a bit more outreach to bring other in and teach them the way they feel they people should be taught.

I am a licensed ham operator and could care less about unlicensed operators. People can do what they want as long as they accept the risk of doing so. In an emergency, you do what you have to do. For me, being licensed allowed me to join a club and learn how to use the equipment and ask questions as I am not very bright!!

James Becker good. But there are a lot of licensees who don’t feel that way.

@Ghost Rider I thought you were just an opinionated iggernant ass until I realized you don't exist and you're just trolling. Nice one! The grammar fuckups really added a layer of realism, too.

The "technical side" of the exam is only one third of the test. The exam includes questions on radio theory, radio law and operating practices. That's what separates Amateur Radio Operators from those on the Criminal Band. B.F. makes a version of their HT that is a tri-band, it includes the 220 band. as well as the 2M/70CM bands. It uses the same battery as the dual band version, but it also includes an additional antenna for 220. Yes, I know that it's now called the 222 band, but I have been using repeaters on that band before the Funny Candy Company chopped the lower 2 MHz off. So I still call my Midland and my B.F. a 220, and I only refer to my Sako as a .222.

rookie. i have a repeater (two baofengs) in the living room, ht in each room........sometimes i hang a carrier on myself.

Make sure to use 8Watts

Like on ALF. Lol.

Lol, that's called HAM shack, where you have big ass box equipments which are capable to do the work heavy. But these walkie talkie are mobile

That's because there is another ham that is not VHF or UHF it's called h F a m. Real ham

@@wokzip so is the CB with a hundred watt linear on skip..

I just bought my first SWR meter. I was laughing because I have only known old guys to have them. then I remembered my age.

Its true

Ok, NOW, I'm going to get one!! Not until you told me that important little tidbit though. 👽

That was Elan Musk. Its in that damn Tesla plugged into the cigg socket

NASA CANT EVEN REACH A BLACK HOLE. Lol If they could, you'd have been dead long ago. You been watching too much star trek.

Everything nasa has ever said is a lie

That is true, but its going to be hard to an effective operator if you don't learn the skills and practice now before anything bad comes our way.

Yeah but if you dont know protocol and your calling for help will you get the help you need

@@iwantosavemoney Unless you are contacting someone you already know, you'd be wasting your breath. In a true SHTF world chances are no one is coming to help you. They are all trying to survive themselves.

@illyounotme sometimes when dealing with the government and licensure if the license has lapsed and it has not been too long of a. Of time you might be able to sit in the money in and get your license anyway renewed that's just my hypothesis dealing with the government

It doesn't now. Fuck all these rule nazis. This AMERICA, not the snooty UK

I've found that to be true. The loudest critics still own one or two. Its OK for them to own them, they just don't want everyone else that hasn't met their expectation to have them.

Exactly i hold a A full UK Licence M1 from the Old City & Guilds I find this and expectation is a real stumbling block but all we can do is inspire and educate rather than condemn. As condemnation is futile just brings disappointment and sows the seeds of resentment which is Japanese knot weed of the hobby both hard to be rid of and requires expensive intervention.

Hang in there Robert, I have been a ham since I was in the Boy Scouts I am now 62 years old now, I have owned several old tube receivers Halicrafter, National 33 and a National 109 and a Yasue HT, and just today I decided to become active again in Ham radio so I ordered the programming cable a 771 antenna and the radio for $78.00 I paid for my yasue 23 years ago.

stay strong papa

American hams do not see what you are saying, they expect EVERYONE on the air to have thousands of dollars / pounds worth of gear you may use only on special occasion.. They LOVE to tell you what they want you to do and list off all their expensive crap to gloat about in the comments sections on here and on forums whether its actively per post or in a signature for the sole purpose to make people like you feel inferior.. I say if all you can afford is an under $100 HT and you enjoy it, good deal.. You are no less of a ham op IMO..

What a great kid. I can buy whatever radio I want and I chose a BF8-HP, amazing piece of tech. I am sorry for your health problems but obviously you've have a very loving daughter.

I'm an Extra myself, and the only radio I have at the moment is a Baofeng UV-82. The few times I've used it, it worked like a charm. 73, de NK4TE

+Steve Pace , You pegged the nail right on the head! I was fortunate that my are was very hospitable for a new HAM starting at 20 years old. I got more help and encouragement than I could ever repay. There's so much negativity on the internet when there should never be in the first place!

Great comment!

yes, rule number one. do NOT get one of these radios. lets be honest. that is not doing any new ham any favors. especially all the other hams on the air that have to listen to the signal from a bofang. i am an extra class ve and would not recommend this radio to anyone.

I always seemed to get the "I learned it the hard way, you need to do it, too!!" from the "cranky old hams"... fortunately, there aren't too many of them around here...

Steve Pace totally agree ! Some of the “ old hams “ me included ... would like to see the younger ones carry on the interest in ham radio, and the diversity that it offers. I met “ old hams “ that would rather see the interest in the same die rather than forego code, and simplified testing just because “ they “ had a tough time getting into the hobby when they were young. Let me tell you as a former Federal Government employee that worked in communications / enforcement for over 35+ years ... as hungry as the Commerce is for the lower frequency spectrum, they would LOVE to get their hands on the 140 to 150 meg band and the uhf / 440 ( 70 cm ) band, would be a God send for them as well and you know the old saying, “ use it, or lose it “ and that Steve is my two cents worth.

I dropped one off a 200 foot tower onto a metal building. Scared everyone inside. The frame is a little bent but the battery still attaches and it works.

hang on let me go try to one up this story brb.

My 5RA has been my convention radio for 12 years. Not missed a beat.

I do this with my Kenwood all the time - a lot of radios are at least capable of this Edit: but, you know, costs way more. Just pointing out that as a planet we’re pretty good at making hard plastic now.

County 022,

Hey, Chuck Hodges. Did you get it from Wish?

@@sharenagray8102 huh? Wish?? My friend on search and rescue dispatch base station oredered it for me! I have no idea where but I like my baofeng

I like that analogy.

you mean gateway drug.. you dont start with crack and move onto other less powerful drugs lol

I have 6 baofengs. I'm still technically breaking the law but i am not bothering anyone. I'm going to take my test in December.

Did you pass???? Any tips

Ronald k4get what are the big three?

@@toneloc415 Kenwood, Yaesu & ICOM are my guesses.

What are the big three?

Michael Menges nope I’ve had my license longer than you have been alive, there’s no snobbery son just people interested in the hobby of radio communications, you have nice day now

@@stevenbarrett7648 your reply is snobby and proved him right lol. Nice try though "son"

@@stevenbarrett7648 You demonstrated my point to a tee with your condescending comments. Not really sure what your license holding time has to do with my original points made. You don't even need a license at all to listen to 7200, 3860, etc and hear the behavior thats going out on the air by mostly Extra class operators while they gripe and complain about their precious frequency space being handed over to the "lower class sub-human operators" So what CW is no longer part of the testing requirements? Most who complain about that couldn't pass the CW test if it were given to them today. Don't hear them complain about no RTTY or PSK operating skills being part of the test. If you have a problem with my statements then come back to me with factual information, I welcome the respectful debate and leave the dogmatic statements behind.

@@stevenbarrett7648 listen to you, lol. You have zero self-awareness. I've considered getting involved in ham, but if people like you are involved, I'll pass. Have a good day, son.

StewartLucrative Don't you mean ”old man” or ”pops” or even ”old fart?”

Yeah I am in the same boat. I love the radio scene I’ve always been into it since I was a kid but I don’t like the fact that my personal info is on a public website and I have to identify myself and anyone who’s listening can see where I live and my name. I’m all for training and etc but I don’t understand that part of it. Also I listen to the local repeater and any time someone new comes in they get trash talked and ignored by the old farts.

Grzegorz Durda There is a difference in elitism and hard work. Do the work to receive your license.

So true.

I have no problem using cheap equipment if it's decent. I wouldn't trust my life to that thing. For another $10 You can get a Wouxun which is actually a fabulous little radio.

I'd avoid buying Chinese radios off eBay. Go through Amazon. Easier to return if something goes wrong.

True

Ash, well no, not really. We dislike "Baofeng Techs" who buy these radios after they get their tech licenses and think that's all there is to ham radio because they think a rubber duck works perfectly fine inside a car while they commute. Their weak signal fail to hold repeaters and they refuse to even contemplate upgrading to a mobile. ..and upgrading to general or extra is out of the question! *A pox on them!*

The receive on these things sucks - I can't hear a mile with one, line of site.. down a road! I could see the guy. I knew he was transmitting because the guy next to me with the Kenwood HT heard just fine. They are a great back up radio.. the one you toss in the car, but as a first radio? No!

Mary Joseph must be broke

Of course it's broke. It's a Baofeng.

I can see you made your general! Congrats!!!

It actually receives better than the expensive brands. It is completely unlocked.

STUDY and pass your license exam NOW! Don't be like the "first time gun buyers" that have something that they do not know how to use properly.

@@indridcold8433 “receive better” and “wider band” are not the same thing.

I bought my latest UV5R on Amazon as a package deal, with external mike, charger/cradle, USB programming cable for $52 US... You can't beat that!!!

@@lvsluggo007 me too. It is a great learning platform.

They rank high on eBay too.

@@lvsluggo007 i ordered one from amazon for 25$

Is there an adaptor (that fits into battery compartment) that will allow their radios to be powered externally (plugged into wall/cig lighter inncar/etc)?

I don't think that last statement of yours is quite accurate; have you actually ever _tried_ to strike your radio with a stick..? I bet you'll find you can hit _anything_ if you just believe in yourself... Now go out, punch an oak tree and above all, keep your chin up!

@@Jah_Rastafari_ORIG, I have a severe tree shortage in my area-what with having burnt them all down trying to load them up as various antennas, but I'd like to test your theory nonetheless... Being the innovative sort and not averse to improvisation-I'd appreciate it if you'd stand still for a minute while I visualize an oak tree. *swings stick* You'll do for now. ;)

Yeasu. Rsdio

I got my ham license in '93 when I lived in the states and I had to learn code then.. It changed soon after. I forfeited my US ham license and got a Russian one when I left the states.. The rules here are easy and common sense based..

As the excellent video points out, the Baofeng have their place!

John: of course there are more than a few "hams" on CB if you monitor MHz

Frank Stapanowich

P Toth you know that little strap that's attached to the side of the radio with a loop on the end? It's there for a reason. Perhaps you should look into its purpose.

I have dropped my Icom - many times - it didn't break. I dropped the Baofeng and it broke.

Agreed, somewhere in Red Rock outside Las Vegas is a Baofeng Bf-f8hp with a Nagoya antenna and extended battery... I didn't bother retracing my steps which could have caused greater risk to everyone.

Mary Joseph no IT NOT

I have a feeling a baofeng might not make it through a full net control session. Cheap doesn’t mean reliable. But kudos for trying it.

Mark Wahl: And so does some of the kids in my area. When i heard them first, i thought they had toilett paper ducktaped on their mouthes and couldn't understand them at all. The reason was their dirt cheap and bad PMR-Radios that had pretty useless microphone capsules built in. I recommended them to buy better radios (Baofengs) to go with them instead. I programmed them to PMR and Freenet channels for them and they were much better to understand then. Two of these kids are licensed ham radio amateurs and one is currently working on it. I know that using them on PMR and Freenet is illegal, but it is not hurting anyone and kids learn to apply to rules themselfes without getting limited by the technology of the device itself. PMR is a european wide license free frequency range like GMRS/FRS in the United States it is on 446 Mhz and has by now 16 analog channels Freenet is a german frequency range, also license free and has currently 6 analog channles on 149 Mhz.

I understand MURS is leagle to use with no licence under 2 watts (double check that). BaoFeng can be programmed with all 5 MURS channels. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-Use_Radio_Service

I am a licensed General and this was my 1st 2-meter radio. I hated it Transmit performance with the stock antenna sucks, Menu system is difficult to use, Moving VFO to memory when offset's and PL tones are involved is hard. Why did you like this radio? I want to like it, but after spending $60 dollars or so for a new antenna and programming cable it still seems sub-par at best. I have an FT-60R that puts it to shame. I wish I had just spent money on that instead. Anyway best wishes and 73.

peter bernheim: Sure, the Baofengs are not really good radios, but for the money they are a good buy. First of all, these radios make a good entry level TRX for people getting interested in HAM-Radio stuff.

....s

The larger tube radios were likely for working High Frequency (HF). Those radios can still be rather larger today, but we cram alot more features in them than in the past. This hand-held radio is more of a more power walkie-talkie.

HAH!

That's great. I bought a three pack myself, one for each go bag. Given the issues with my VX-6, it was money well spent.

Hangfire or hey better yet don't buy them at all and quit yer bitchin......

and one rd-5r!

Out of curiosity, how did you use it for Airsoft? Don't you have to be licensed to transmit?

@@TheALPHA1550 You're supposed to be, but the radio works just fine without a license. I'll admit to having talked a lot on a Baofeng unlicensed, but I was totally unaware of the ham licensing system.

@@Porty1119 Don't you only have to be licensed for a certain range of frequencies? How would you use it in middle of combat

@@TheALPHA1550 Headsets presumably, maybe even throat mics

@@TheALPHA1550 Back in the day when I was into airsoft I heard of some guys using "different, more powerful walkie talkies". Now I see they must have been some Baofengs probably, or something similar, programmed for PMR446 (EU FRS equivalent) (of that I'm sure because they would still talk with their mates using walkie talkies) which does not require a license and I don't think it's really scrutinized. I know that a UV5R would exceed the power rating of PMR446 and also has a detachable antenna which a PMR radio is not supposed to have. The boost in power would only be a benefit to us and at the end of the day it's a bunch of guys running around the woods for a couple of hours in a week. I'm not aware what evil can come of it. On the other hand the people just buying a UV5R and using it as is out of the box with the pre programmed channels? Seems concerning. I read somewhere (could have been this very channel) to simply wipe the UV5R when it arrives and put in some local transmitters and channels I want to use and to make sure they are ham frequencies, because it ships with some random frequencies set up, some of which are outside of ham and that I could get in trouble by accident, broadcasting on some of them.

Bruh

Make the test (in Canada) less convoluted and I'd be happy to get a licence. It prevents folks from trying

Thanks for watching!

+Ron Smith indeed!

A modern econobox is faster, more reliable, handles better, safer, gets better gas mileage, and less expensive than an old Ferrari.

Actually, at no point in my casual observation did I imply that the Baofengs had no problems. The thrust of my comment was simply that many people cant afford expensive radios and purchase the Baofengs. I have read some of the reports and would not deny the issues. I do however also notice that there is an element within the radio community that seems to resent them for being a poor man's radio and not fit for use of the more seasoned and elite demographic. They seem to be selling quite well.

Ron Smith: but are there not mid tier radios ...pricewise?

You make some interesting points jayw654. I'm not a HAM, but I do listen on my UnidenBCD396T scanner. I bought it used but almost new on Ebay when they first came out. Absurdly expensive at the time, even used. Now, Baofeng has a digital model HT that will scan most of what I listen to for less than 1/4 what I paid for my Uniden (also made in China). I can understand your frustration, although I doubt I could tell one radio from another just from a scanner. If my scanner died, I would probably buy the Baofeng digital just to use as a scanner for no other reason than cost. I guess I'm mostly puzzled by the FCC (non?) approval of Baofeng radios if they don't comply with the industry standards, but can still be imported. I wish you good luck dealing with this, but it appears that the horse is already out of the barn and they are here to stay. Cheers / Ron.

Thanks!

Yes

I love this comment dude and never more spot on. Been trying to kill my Lee for years now to 'upgrade'. I'm now of the opinion that I would actually be paying for a downgrade because I'll be damned if anything else could take the punishment I've thrown at that little red chunk of metal. Like the little steam engine that could and with thousands of pressed rounds down range she's still thinking she can and chugging right along. Hell was so impressed I ended up adding another and not because the first showed any sign of slowing down. I've now got other presses but that cheap ass lee still handles the brunt of the work. Damn thing will probably outlast me at this rate haha

In my experience, nothing wrong with a Lee, they’re pretty damn tough. Using a Dillon Progressive these days to speed things up a bit for large pistol ammunition. Just about out of primers and there aren’t any left in the US. Wonder why? Little sarcasm there.

It doesn't need to languish on the shelf. Use it. Other people may be listening who aren't in the habit of pressing the button first, but will answer.

I don't have a license unfortunately, and it costs quite a bit of money :(

@@hussssshie it's actually just 15 dollars for the license test (in us at least)

Here in Europe is about: $300 in formation/training at a bare minimum $30 to apply for the exam Only if you pass the exam (which I think it was another $20...) And nother $150 for the license. Now.. all this is if you want to use a walkie or a fixed radio in your vehicle. If you want a nice bench radio with an antenna on your roof, you also have to pay for an additional yearly insurance. Not sure about the price of said insurance, but you get the point... It's an absolute wallet rape

@@hussssshie Holy crap! We sure have it lucky here.

Better than military? Which one...the People's Army of China?

Raymond Frye your assumption that Military radios are superior amuses me lmao

@@icebox829 Well,it stands to reason that military spec. radios have to be rugged, for all types of terrain, under fire,etc...unless,of course, they're built for some specialized, intelligence agency.IMO

Ours are tough, water proof, and have high-tech encryption.....that is all. The range sucks for sure

@@GruntProof the range?

How does the radio do on 220?

I don't have any radios to compare it to. Listening to repeaters transmitting on 2 meters and 1.25m the 2 bands come in at nearly the same s/n with a nagoya na-320a antenna. Not sure how it is on TX

Its really weird, there is a small percentage or people who hear a click, most do not. I can't hear it for example when I edited or replayed the video. Can you try watching on another computer or phone? I'm curious if you hear it there.

I got it too. It sounds like a slow metronome. Listening on full sized budget Sony headphones via an iphone 6S.

Edouard Prest yeah I heard it also

yep, sounds like a metronome.

Isn't that just the background music?

This is true.

Except that I may die of laughter the day the SHTF and I get to watch that crowd try to program their radio for the first time, one that likely spent the past however many years sitting on a shelf waiting for that day, without the benefit of documentation (the booklet that comes with Baofengs is only useful for tinder), without the benefit of internet guides, and without the Chirp software and the necessary programming cable. By comparison, getting those ancient stored batteries charged will prove to be the simplest of those challenges, though they may need the full charge just to get their first frequency entered successfully! The reality is that no radio, whether cheap or expensive, is going to do anyone any good in a SHTF scenario if you never learned to use it properly and stayed current on how to operate it long before the emergency (especially complex programmable type radios) -- disasters are a terrible time to try and pick up new technical skills on very short notice -- and there is no legal way to really practice with these radios unless one first earns their license. For those reasons, and more, I would argue that for the unlicensed SHTF crowd these radios are probably best thought of as reasonably broadbanded FM receivers and that they should probably plan on using FRS/GMRS radios for their communications (particularly now that GMRS handhelds no longer require a license *if* the antenna is integral and the transmit power is 2W or less). Most will be surprised to learn how short the effective range of two handheld radios is under typical usage conditions as most people tend to believe they can talk to their partner or group, also using a handheld radio, from many miles away whereas 1-2 miles is typically closer to the practical upper limit under nonidealized conditions (and even that is often a stretch for simplex operation).

Ethan Poole I’m “licensed” General class ham. But what makes you think that paying $15 and memorizing question answers makes you, me or any other “ham” superior to those that don’t bother with ham radio. You are ASSuming that people won’t go ahead and program the radios and use them for other stuff prior to “SHTF”?? That’s pretty narrow sighted. People use Frs and Gmrs radios without that “magic” ham ticket and they seem to be able to figure them out even in their “non ham stupor”. It’s not that hard to program these radios and they are much cheaper than a set of Frs/Gmrs radios. I’m sure folks will do just fine without a paid for “license”

Bootyhunter1971 My comment is based on quite a bit of experience of watching such people buy the radios, pack them up in a closet or bugout bag where they far too frequently remain for many years, long dead batteries and all, with the expectation that they can be unpacked 10-20 years later and still be working...even lithium batteries will not hold up to that kind of neglect long term. As with any skill worth preserving, one can only remain proficient at a skill with as much technical background requirements as amateur radio if one actually regularly uses such equipment. After 9/11 there was a big push to not only license new hams in many critical sectors but also equip them with all the required gear that they would need to operate both regularly and in an emergency -- greater than 90% of those users at most used the gear perhaps once, if at all, and ever since then it is squirreled away at home and in various institutions with the magical expectation that it will "just work" and that decades later, with absolutely no practice, they will all still somehow remain competent radio operators despite having ever used any of their gear (much of it was never even programmed unless they allowed a local radio club to setup the equipment initially and many of the radios of that era depended upon batteries to maintain their program memory in SRAM which will be failing in the near term). Many of our hospitals have federally funded and well outfitted amateur stations (HF/VHF/UHF) that have been locked away ever since shortly after 9/11 and have never been inspected, much less actually powered on and used, ever since the day their local radio club first set it all up for them (even those clubs can not secure permission to access, jinspect and test the gear) -- yet they assume it will all still work (antennas, coax, and all) when the day comes they truly need it. The reality, of course, is that when we show up to bail them out we will all have to bring our own gear and start over from scratch as it is unlikely that much of what is still there will be in working order after so many decades of neglect! But the issue really is about lack of familiarity and regular practice and ongoing maintenance of the gear. While a basic FRS/GMRS radios are fairly straightforward for the average person to figure out, even without any radio experience, with their fixed channels and very limited setup options, configuring any amateur VHF/UHF HT is a daunting task by comparison for those that are unfamiliar with what all the myriad menu options (mode, deviation, squelch tones/codes being but a very few of up to a hundred menu options) do or mean...Baofeng just makes things that extra bit more challenging with their very quirky programming behaviors and useless factory manuals (in a real SHTF scenario there is no Miklor website nor KZfaq videos to draw upon). So yes, the small minority who get licensed, actually use the gear regularly and maintain it throughout the years, will be perfectly competent users of those radios -- but when upwards of 90% only buy the radios and squirrel them away for who knows when expecting to magically know how to operate and program an utterly foreign piece of technology that they assumed would work just like a channelized CB, they are the crowd that I am referring to because in my experience they are the vast majority. Even excluding the "prepper" crowd (and I do not use the term derisively as there is nothing wrong with being prepared) less than half of all newly licensed Technicians will ever even get on the air and actually use their license, something that I (and many others) believe has a lot to do with the fact that the exam does not even come close to teaching the new ham the things they need to know to choose their first radio, power supply, antenna, coax, station grounding, etc., resulting in far too many newly licensed hams throwing in the towel out of frustration and confusion. I am working with several other hams at the moment to try and create new educational material to help bridge that divide for new hams as we would like to see many more of these newly licensed individuals actually get on the air for once.

If shtf do you think ppl will care about a license? Hell I hunt the mountains of Appalachian, never bought a license and have no plan to.