Handheld (HT) Radio Buying
Baofeng UV-5R Review: Know more about the classic beginner Ham radio
SignalStuff: Great HT antennas -- make sure to get one compatible with your radio!
GMRS HT buying guide from GENOAK
Another GMRS HT buying guide from BeCERTAINN
Educational Channels
Links are not endorsements of anyone's veiled right-wing politics. But these folks do seem to know their stuff.
Ham Radio Crash Course: Great YouTube channel + community for new Hams.
The Tech Prepper: Videos and links on emergency radio comms.
NotaRubicon: Grumpy GMRS radio guy.
Repeaters
RepeaterBook: Database of repeaters worldwide
CHIRP: Program repeater frequencies into your BaoFeng and or many other Ham HTs
Scanning
Uniden BCD436HP: Handheld scanner- — -powerful & relatively easy to use!
Uniden BCD536HP: The mobile version of the above scanner
Arcadian Antenna: Great source for mobile scanner antennas
RadioReference: Database of frequencies and the agencies that use them
Software-Defined Radio
Digital Modes & Data
APRS: Automatic Packet Reporting System for sending GPS coordinates and messages over radio
D-STAR Info: Resources for ICOM's digital voice and data protocol
JS8Call: Digital mode for keyboard-to-keyboard messaging over HF
Winlink: Send and receive email over Ham radio
WSPR: Weak Signal Propagation Reporter for testing propagation with low power
Mesh & Emergency Networks
Meshtastic: Off-grid text messaging without internet, cell service, or a Ham license
MeshCore: Open-source mesh networking for encrypted off-grid messaging using LoRa
AREDN: Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network for high-speed data in emergencies