Extra class here. I mostly listen. When I transmit, it's FT8 or WSPR.
There are a lot of things to do with Ham radio. As mentioned above, the local clubs support community activities like the memorial run, etc. with radio communication. I work the Edmond 4th of July parade and Cycle 66 events. The events typical use the repeater systems which a handheld transmitter or a mobile radio like you want can easily hit the repeaters at 5 or 10 watts. The real fun I have is chasing DX stations worldwide for various certificates / awards on the HF bands. I do this with a base station, antenna tuner, amplifier, and multi-band vertical antenna in the backyard or a G5RV wire antenna in my attic. Voice communication on the HF bands is also fun. I’ve met a lot of people around the country with interesting life stories and learned things about thier local area that I had not heard. Worldwide voice communication on HF is mostly just trading signal reports but occasionally there will be a Ham that wants a short communication regarding the equipment being used. Digital voice communication opens up the ability to have conversations worldwide and Hams do have conversations in that mode. I did hear about a Japanese node / room a few days ago where Japanese Hams and English Speaking Hams meet to help Japanese Hams practice speaking english. Ham radio really is the original form of social media / forums.
