I was wondering if anyone had resources on amateur radios, including theory, hardware, regulations, and whatnot...
I feel like it would be a cool project to take on, and a good way to take a breath away from internet.
@Arteneko Our use of radios is very .. practical, not really theoretical. But I know there are a bunch of amateur radio fans on here in this thread who would be better to help you out.
@neauoire omg I did see this thread when it started, I didn't think it would've grown this much.
@neauoire @Arteneko Regulations depend on what country you're in. There's a bunch of internationally-agreed-upon standardized frequency bands for amateur radio. Getting licensed differs for each country. This actually seems to give a nice summary of things https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio You can get into just listening in on stuff with a $20-40 USB radio receiver ("SDR" or software-defined radio). That includes picking up image transmissions from ISS, or weather satellites. There's so much stuff!
Hope this isn't too obvious.
This is the amateur radio home base organization in the USA.
@Algot not living in the US, I wasn't thinking about checking there.
The handbook is excellent material.
@Arteneko I operate amateur radio on multiple bands and modes, from digital modes on "shortwave" to satellite communications. Also, fellow LGBTQ person (we're rare in the hobby). How can I help you?
@roadriverrail (Hello there 
)
Uuuuuuh...
How to get started? 
@roadriverrail rather, "where to get started"
@Arteneko Sure! What country do you reside in?
@Arteneko I thought so, so I found some resources to hopefully help you get started. Amateur radio is a licensed service, like flying a plane, so every country has a process for getting a license. For France, I found these links to help you get started. The initial test in France looks about like the US test, which is to say you can probably pass it quite easily.
https://www.r-e-f.org/
https://exam1.r-e-f.org/accueil
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/june/android-app-for-french-ham-radio-exam.htm
@Arteneko If you want to have some fun without any equipment and without taking a test, you should go checkout http://www.websdr.org, which will let you listen to people's ham radio setups over the Internet. I'm here to help if you need it, too.
@Arteneko Finally, if you have any particular interests or goals, I'm happy to help get you find the right resources.
I think this is the info for the exams from part of the Communications Ministry and links to some sample questions (I could not yet find the radio clubs that help you with training; there hopefully is one near you and/or you can do some training online).
I think in FR you have to go straight to a higher level course rather than have the easier "Foundation/Novice" licence of UK and Austria (but passing it gives you more priveliges)
🇪🇺
@Arteneko you could try https://www.r-e-f.org/ for resources and there might be REF meet-ups locally to tap into the experience of other amateur radio operators.
@Arteneko my partner @salad_bar_breath does magic with radio waves. They'll send you a follow request 😉
@elbosso for now, I don't really think I need that, I've already gotten tons of recs. Thanks anyways
@Arteneko Indeed, I'm happy to help here, I'm certified General and mostly into the digital modes of operation, though I'm familiar with many others. There are a ton of resources out there - best place to start is ARRL, but reach out directly if you have any specific questions and I'm more than happy to talk!
@Arteneko
qrz.com, a veritable cornucopia of Ham radio knowledge including practice tests for your license.
@Arteneko
How could I forget hamuniverse.com
I've helped the Ham that runs this site with noise.
While they're operating in the UK, so they have a UK-specific approach towards the licensing and legislation, the Amateur Radio Club from the London Hackspace has an eclectic, international, approach towards the hardware and the technology.
https://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/view/Group:Amateur_Radio :D
Drop a line on their mailing list, and they'll have lots of gossip about how well the different flavours of hardware works. :D
Evidence of strong opinions... :D
cc @neauoire I guess