It's funny when ever I mention to someone I am a Ham Radio Operator they either say so you talk around the world or they say what is that. Once I explain what Ham Radio is all about they do seem pretty interested. The biggest concern they seem to have is what does the license cost. The second concern is boy that's an expensive hobby.
I usually explain next that yes it can be expensive, but it does not have to be. I get them to realize that one the license does not cost anything, but some of your time. As far as the cost of Ham Radio Equipment goes you can buy a used Ham Radio off Ebay for a pretty good price. Also if you are starting out there are some fairly inexpensive Ham Radios through Amazon for 2 meters that are fairly cheap. You can also build a 2 meter quad antenna for very low cost. The other items are going to be a power supply, which MFJ makes some that are not too expensive. I would also invest in a swr power meter and again MFJ makes some that are not bad at all in cost.
It's also good to explain that as time goes by you will acquire various types of Ham Radio Equipment. Let them know they start out in uhf and vhf primarily and then when they go for the General Ham Radio License they can get into HF. That's where a good used HF Ham Radio will come into play and there are lots to choose from. There are also some New Ham Radios from Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood and Alinco that make what I like to call starter Ham Radios. That's not to mentio some off brand Ham Radios that do a decent job.
