Packet radio is making a big comeback. A lot of smart younger people have recently taken an interest in it and will be doing new things with it. You can join them with the entry level ham license.
Think about the possibilities of what you could do with this.
Packet is a great place to start.
Guys, the only reason I am still not joining you in testing these radio comms is that you use word license too much, which I am alergic to. What happens if I use it without a license? Who is gonna catch me? How can I evade? If you talk more about this, then that is much more attractive. I ain't gonna comply to any rules of anybody just for the sake of it. That is my life goal, and no compromises here.
I understand this sentiment, ham radio may not be for everyone. Getting a ham radio license in order to get the benefits of using ham radio is an intrusion on individual liberty that is just as severe as having to get a drivers license to get the benefits of driving a car.
Furthermore, many take issue that having to use a call sign on air as it is also analogous to needing to display a license plate while driving a car. Many find that they will not be living up to the highest virtues that they hold dear if they ask the government for permission to drive a car or to use a radio. These folks are left with no choice but to live without driving cars or using ham radios. I will never argue against a person who has come to this conclusion. I will let them live as they choose and I will move on to talk about ham radio to other folks.
With all of that said, I would encourage you to continue to learn more about ham radio perhaps you will come to the conclusion it would be worth going thru the process as it currently exists. Definitely look into meshtastic, it allows you to do things without a license that you would not be able to do in ham radio with a license.
BUT, you can drive without driver's license. If you try correctly, there are good chances you will not get cought. And if you are rich, no problem even being cought. Well, a little inconvenience at the moment you are cought. But other than that, if there is only a monetary fine for breaking the law it means the law applies to poor people only.
I thought submitting to the Tech license only allowed a few small bands, with morse and voice only. Do the FCCers really allow a Tech to transmit data?
Short answer,
Tech can transmit data on some desirable spectrum.
Longer answer,
This chart shows the privileges for the various licenses, frequencies and data transmission types. The 3rd column shows what the Tech License can do. The red portions are where data can be transmitted. You can do a lot with this.
Children pass the tech exam all of the time. The general license is marginally more challenging, basically the same sorts of questions with a few more details about HF bands. You should just go for it, you won’t regret it.
https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band%20Chart/Band%20Chart%20-%2011X17%20Color.pdf
