>>1158519All sorts of radio is very active in Europe, especially amateur radio.
Just listening is super inexpensive, especially for HF. You can often get by with literally a long piece of random wire for an antenna and the receivers are reasonably priced. Look at
swling.com for info on getting started with shortwave listening.
primetimeshortwave.com has broadcast schedules. If you want to tune around for free and listen to all kinds of stuff from your mom's basement, check out
websdr.orgWhen it come to transmitting and getting an amateur radio license, there is a massive array of things to do and ways to communicate. Voice communication isn't the only option. There's all sorts of data modes as well. Signals can be bounced around the ionosphere, off satellites, off the moon, off meteors and aircraft, or just repeated through other radios or the Internet. You can send voice and data, hunt transmitters, and even control aircraft.
If you do decide you want to get licensed, find a local club first and hang out with them for a bit. That way you can figure out what aspects of the hobby you want to pursue.
Often while /out/, I'll work satellites, maybe do morse code over HF with low power, listen to nearby repeaters with my handheld, or try to play with data on a tablet and a tiny portable radio. SOTA and IOTA are good /out/ related amateur radio activities, too.
I generally prefer not to take my radios innawoods but sometimes it can be a nice diversion.
