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Originally Posted by ol trunt
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That is an old version, but its 98% correct and it is an excellent overview. Good find!
Note that equipment cost isnt trivial, but basically ANY HF rig made in the last 20 years will do splendidly. You can pick-up very servicable "boat anchor" units for next to nothing on FleaBay, eHam, etc. Or get a cheap, new Chinese rig for a couple hundred bucks. Its all good.
As many folks on here tend towards radical self reliance, this may be a good subject for a new thread. However, until then, if you want to start on the path towards becoming an amateur radio operator, check-out the ARRL (American Radio Relay League). You can also tap into your local ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) group. The latter folks will certainly be experts on Winlink (we all use it), and part of their mission is to "Elmer" the noobs, so they will be an excellent resource.
Becoming a ham may sound scary and technical, but its not. No Morse code is required and there are only 35 questions (need 26 to pass) on the Technician exam. There are lots of (free!) study aids and the test is only about $15. I'm an FCC Volunteer Examiner and I can tell you that the pass rate is huge: Only 4 of the 86 people I have tested failed to walk out of the test session without a license.
So... Go for it! Having free remote-access email as well as a skill that will be supremely useful if (when?) the grid goes down is a winner in my book.