I just got my technician license over the weekend. There are several things I'm looking forward to doing but one of the biggest is trying to connect with my Dad who is in a different state a few hundred miles away. The biggest wall I'm running into is that there seem to be a few different options that I've heard of or been directed towards from others.
Goal: Speak with eachother over radio from our respective shacks in our respective states. I'd also like to eventually connect with folks internationally if possible once I get general in a month or two.
I want to do this as cheap as possible but I also recognize that a Baofeng 5RX, that we both have right now, is not necessarily going to cut it.
What i've been told so far:
DMR. I know that this would let me connect to a talkgroup on a repeater near him. I have found one or two that can reach him that have DMR listed on repeater book. But I don't think he'd be able to hear or access that with an analog radio unless he also picked up a DMR capable radio, right?
HF Band. I know that through propagation we could potentially connect this way but the antenna setup has me wary and my wife has requested I avoid that if at all possible. But if this is the best way then so be it. I simply don't know.
Some other method?
TYIA for any help here.
TL;DR - How can I speak with other HAMs long distance now that I have a license?