And there are pretty active groups in Austin. It is pretty trivial to get a GMRS license for UHF walkie talkies and use of the GMRS repeaters around town, and not too hard to get the basic Technician license to get the real goods and talk far far away.
https://help.mygmrs.com/2466-help-center/5258-faq/18261-how-do-i-get-a-gmrs-license
Fortunately you only need a small amount. $35 plus $30 for a (legal) GMRS radio (for GMRS though really you need two to be useful). Or $4 for Hamstudy, $14 to test, $25 Quansheng radio, $35 to the FCC and bang, you’re on. Donate a little extra to the radio club.
Oh really. I was prepared for $500+…over
Oh heck no.
The Quanshengs are cheap as chips and you can flash some nice firmware on them with signal meters and stuff. Baofengs even cheaper.
https://www.amazon.com/QUANSHENG-UV-K5-Rechargeable-Emergency-Receiver
CHIRP software to program is free.