Amateur Radio - The cheap way to communicate!
The equipment doesn't cost a lot and the call charges are free!
I have been licensed since 1994. The main reason for becoming a radio amateur is to allow me to build and use my own radio equipment. My Radio Station is made up mostly of home built equipment and ex - PMR.radios (Radios' that were used by the gas and electricity boards etc).
My main interest in amateur radio are Homebrew and Data modes using a PC. Datamodes can be just chatting on a keyboard or sending pictures to the other side of the world.