Ham Radio

There is a licensure process through the FCC. The Technician license is the most basic one and the first one to get. You can look at the ARRL link I put below to find a class in your area or you can buy some prep materials from them and find an exam in your area.

The technician exam is really nothing more than basic radio operation and the laws and regulations you need to abide by if you’re going to transmit. Once licensed, you’ll be able to transmit within a certain frequency band. This is my level of licensure.

General is the next step. There you start to actually get into radio transmission theory and actually get to the point where you need to walk into the exam with a calculator.

Amateur Extra is the highest level of licensure available. That opens up the rest of the available frequencies for amateur use.

I’d venture to say the vast majority of the storm chasers and folks involved in the relief efforts are licensed in the General class. They offer critical communications capabilities where power has been lost and cell tower generators have run out of gas. But there’s still plenty you can do with a technician license. You can dial up repeaters and make phone calls to friends (nothing commercial… like, don’t even order a pizza), contact the ISS, and other things.

Not sure where a CB lands in terms of the laws and regulations, but I think it lies in a very narrow frequency band and is somewhat unregulated, but I could be talking out of my ass on that bit. I do know you don’t want to operate with a frequency range you’re not authorized for, or fuck around in a range you are authorized for incorrectly. Someone who knows more than you and has a glowing neck beard Gandalf would be envious of will come knock on your door and tell you to stop. And if you don’t, he’ll call his buddy at the FCC. Fines can be assessed.

https://www.arrl.org/