In 2018, I was running through the depths of the internet, looking for information about installing an over-the-air TV antenna in order to ditch my cable service. That led to a rabbit hole of information about the vast types of frequencies, antennas, and eventually found my way to amateur radio transmission.

This naturally led me to yank out my old walkie-talkie set, used on occasion but never for anything serious. Tuning in to a few channels, I could hear folks talking over the GMRS bandwidth, but unfortunately the radios were gimped so I didn't have the equipment (or license) to return fire. I decided to purchase my own GMRS license since it was cheap and no exams were required. But once I started learning about the amateur (HAM) frequencies, I wanted to expand my privileges of talking over the air and connecting with others who had long been attached to this old-style world of communication.

Purchasing handheld devices meant for amateur frequencies wasn't hard at all. The only rub was getting an official license from the FCC, which requires you to take an exam. Out of the 3 levels offered (each one allowing more use of lower frequencies), I stuck to the first one, as there were plenty of stations in use.