CB or Amateur Radio

[Streetbudgie]

Although I'm an NHS key worker and I'm at work every day I am finding that I have free time at weekends and in the evenings which would normally be filled by going to the pub, so I was thinking about hobbies.
I can't play golf and I used to go fishing and got fed up with it so I started wondering about Radio Amateur  stuff which my Dad used to do.
I had CB back in the early 1980's and loved it, I got right into it and would teak my rigs and ended up with quite a set up with some boots (ahem) which enabled me to go over the top of most transmitters!
Does anyone on here know if CB radio is still a thing?
If not I was wondering how hard/expensive it would be to get into Amateur Radio which I believe is short wave - do people chat over this or is just DX stuff to see how far you can get?
Just looking for something to fill the hours until the pub is open again!

[Oldgit]

pleeze don't become another Tony Blackburn---AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

[Streetbudgie]

pleeze don't become another Tony Blackburn---AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Amateur radio and pirate radio are two very different things..
Pirate Radio is all DAB these days, no more breaking into the roof space of tower blocks.

[Ripsnortingvtwin]

hi there

it used to be night school then a test they you a ham radio man , not sure if its still the same now but worth a call to your local night school

[NorthWestern]

Before I got a scala I used to use a cb on the bike for bike to bike comms ( the old autocom stuff) along with its fm radio (hooked to a headset in the helmet). You certainly come across a fair amount of cb enthusiasts as you ride around. That was only about five years ago.

[NorthWestern]

Oh yeah, I broke my kenwood cb unit so ended up getting a baofeng one for £20,it was actually better, still have it somewhere

[BBROWN1664]

CB isnt what it used to be. Most truckers now rely on traffic updates and sat-nav to tell them stuff or spend all their time talking on the phone/watching TV while they drive . I believe some specific areas of trucking use them. Not aware of anybody thats not a trucker using them these days though.
As for hamming, I am sure it is as popular as it was in the 80's with people chatting to each other over the other side of th eworld. Unlike CB licences which I believe you can still get at the post office, to be a ham you need to get a specific licence from OFCOM and (I believe) pass an exam including morse code still.

[characticus]

Have a play around on some of the SDR sites like http://hackgreensdr.org:8901/
Will let you listen in, see how much activity there is on the bands and whether its of interest.

[Streetbudgie]

Have a play around on some of the SDR sites like http://hackgreensdr.org:8901/
Will let you listen in, see how much activity there is on the bands and whether its of interest.

Cheers buddy I'll check it out

[Streetbudgie]

I've been doing a bit more research this evening and HAM radio seems the way to go, there are a couple of tests and certificates to get but I should have all that knowledge anyway, if not I'm sure it's doable
I wonder if I could apply for my Dad's old call sign, that would be nice.