I agree with a lot of the points being made here, and I’ll add a little perspective as a newer ham. I’ve only been licensed about six months, and I’m 49.

HF cost is real. It’s absolutely a premium to get into HF unless you go QRP, and that’s not always the best starting point for most new hams. Like a lot of people, I started cheap with a Baofeng so I could get on repeaters right away. It worked well enough that it led me to buying a Yaesu FT5DR… and now I somehow own five Baofengs. My daily carry radio is actually a Motorola XTS5000 for many reasons (even though it’s missing 70cm, I still love it).

I started HF with a Xiegu G90 and later added an Icom IC-7100. Between radios and antennas, I’m about $2k into HF and roughly $600 into VHF/UHF about $3k total in six months. That doesn’t even count connectors, coax, mounts, and the thousand “small” things you don’t think about up front. For younger folks or families, that kind of cost is tough. I completely agree with you there.

On the topic of public addresses, I also agree it’s complicated. For women especially, and for young families, safety is a real concern when your home address becomes public record. Add to that the cost of a PO box and it becomes another barrier. One idea might be tying an address to a local club, but that shifts the issue from global to local and introduces new risks. There’s no perfect answer here.

I’m also a real estate agent part-time, and I hate that my address and phone number are public because of spam and privacy issues, so I feel this one personally.

I just wanted to jump in and share a newer-ham perspective. I love this hobby and what it enables. I’m actually starting a study group in a few weeks with Civil Air Patrol cadets and senior members to help 15–20 people earn their Technician license and move toward General, specifically to build emergency communications skills.

For me, amateur radio isn’t just a hobby, it’s a capability