Re:Hacking Ham Radio for Texting
by ryanmercer on Wednesday November 17, 2021 @08:12PM
(#29260996)
>and LARPing as emergency services dispatchers
Uh, they might LARP in your neck of the woods but my county HEAVILY relies on amateur operators for weather related emergencies all year long (tornado country plus snow country).
It's the primary reason my wife and I are getting into amateur radio.
Re:Hacking Ham Radio for Texting
by generalizations on Wednesday November 17, 2021 @07:53PM
(#29260884)
> But you are talking about normal people using radio for normal conversations.
> What it actually gets used for is Boomers chewing the fat
I'm only one data point, but I doubt my generation would 'chew the fat' on a call that anyone else in a wide radius would be listening in on. Not, at least, about anything that's personal. That's the point of my postcard analogy.
The sad part is that the FCC has been more interested in maintaining the status quo than actually continuing the spirit of the hobby. There is nothing experimental or ground breaking about talking to someone states away using an HF transceiver that cost $4k in analog FM. That stopped being innovative 80 years ago. There are a lot of interesting things being done with RF that are off limits to amateurs because they require a business license.
But you are talking about normal people using radio for normal conversations. That's a distinct use case. Its something worth discussing, the FCC has lagged behind there too but its not the same thing as Ham.