Covid-19 Increased interest in Ham Radio and Off Grid Communication
The Modern Prepper
In the beginning of 2020, as we started to see Covid take hold in America. We also saw that many people weren’t ready. To my circle I’m seen as “the guy with the radio”, and that really reflected when people started coming to me for advice for off-grid communication. As people were panic buying the last stocks of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, there was a surge of people who realized that a collapse of society also meant a collapse in traditional communication. Although most of these guys thought a Baofeng was the golden ticket to salvation, they were thinking of amateur radio, and that’s whats important.
The Bored and Lonely
There’s quite a bit of hobby’s you can get into at home. The problem with most is that they can get lonely. The awesome thing about ham radio, is that it’s a perfect match with social distancing. Not only are you safe at home, away from others, but you can get your social interaction fix along with it. The hobby is centered on communicating with others from often times, remote locations.
The Data
Google search data for the term “ham radio” boosted to an all time high within the past 5 years in the beginning of 2020.
Conclusion
As the world was trying to come to grips with what we were dealing with, I feel as if the amateur radio hobby itself benefited from the ordeal. It opened peoples eyes to that fact that we as a society, are still fragile, and it’s always important to be ready if the need comes for unconventional communication. It also helped us slow down a bit as a country, kept us indoors, and let us play radio for a lot longer than we typically do.