> talk to a couple other guys about... what they had for lunch today?
Sometimes we talk about the weather, haha. The most common time I use my radio is during bad weather, especially if there are tornado warnings nearby. There are [tornado] spotters using the same local repeater in our area, and sometimes it can be comforting to hear them report a tornado is moving away from you, or dissipating. Otherwise, I think we don't have much to talk about until there is an emergency of some kind.
One thing I like isn't something you need a license to do, but a radio is a great way to listen to existing traffic outside the bands a normal "scanner" would supply. Everything from drive-thru speakers to casino security uses VHF/UHF frequencies, so with a decent dual band handheld you can listen to everything, which can be amusing sometimes.
Another fun bit, is you can look up registered/reserved frequencies on the FCC website. You can't [legally] broadcast on these, but it can be interesting to see all these reserved frequencies and listen in. Sometimes you'll hear chatter among commercial farmers, other times electrical linemen...it's a mixed bag. I also tune into the local county/city emergency frequencies from time to time. I live in a very small rural area, so if you hear sirens, typically I can turn on my radio and alternate between the fire/police/ems frequencies and find out what the sirens were for.
Sometimes we talk about the weather, haha. The most common time I use my radio is during bad weather, especially if there are tornado warnings nearby. There are [tornado] spotters using the same local repeater in our area, and sometimes it can be comforting to hear them report a tornado is moving away from you, or dissipating. Otherwise, I think we don't have much to talk about until there is an emergency of some kind.
One thing I like isn't something you need a license to do, but a radio is a great way to listen to existing traffic outside the bands a normal "scanner" would supply. Everything from drive-thru speakers to casino security uses VHF/UHF frequencies, so with a decent dual band handheld you can listen to everything, which can be amusing sometimes.
Another fun bit, is you can look up registered/reserved frequencies on the FCC website. You can't [legally] broadcast on these, but it can be interesting to see all these reserved frequencies and listen in. Sometimes you'll hear chatter among commercial farmers, other times electrical linemen...it's a mixed bag. I also tune into the local county/city emergency frequencies from time to time. I live in a very small rural area, so if you hear sirens, typically I can turn on my radio and alternate between the fire/police/ems frequencies and find out what the sirens were for.