HamRadio (or AmateurRadio) is an often overlooked hobby for many HackerPersons but can be infinitely rewarding and fun. It might appear on the surface to be a single consolidated hobby, but it's more accurate to look at it as 100 different sub-hobbies underneath a trench coat. If you like the idea of using physics and engineering to bounce waves around, chances are that HamRadio has something for you.
The barrier to entry has been significantly lifted in recent decades mostly due to the wide availability of cheap programmable handheld transcievers (i.e. walkie-talkies). BaoFeng and QuanSheng brand HTs are very popular with hams and can be had on sites such as AliExpress for as little as $30 or less. The author of this article rocks a QuanSheng UV-K5(8) with F4HWN firmware and a 48-inch Abbree folding antenna. For a VHF handheld, the ratio of performance-to-price on one of these puts far more expensive radios from established brands to shame.
So you've got yourself a radio, now what? You can stick to being unlicensed, which you might want to if don't want to commit too hard: listening is a fun enough hobby in itself, as is messing with people on unlicensed walkie-talkie frequencies, but even that gets boring after a while and you might not always be comfortable skirting the edge of the law. Luckily, there's a way you can avoid this and open yourself up to a whole new world: getting your AmateurRadio license.
The process and what legal priveliges you get will depend on your country, but it usually follows a formula of 1. Studying regulations and radio theory, 2. Finding an examiner for your region, 3. Taking a short multiple-choice exam, and 4. Getting your callsign. If you found a radio examiner in your town he's most definitely involved in a local club, too. Talking on local repeaters is how a lot of people start operating, and getting to know local hams is a good part of the hobby: a lot of them are very welcoming and love nothing more than hearing a new guy show up.
BurgerLand citizens may have to go though more graduated licensing steps in order to get the priviliges they want (see "Going beyond"), while programs in other countries may give you wider operating priveligies in one fell swoop as long as you show enough proficiency. You'll be expected to do your own research in any case, so get informed: your local club might offer courses and books, but you can probably study everything you need using freely-available materials online.
TODO