By which I mean, within permitted use, frequency allocations that are actually not hostile to inventive tinkerers and experiment addicts.
counts self as guilty on both counts
Realistically, and it’s kinda a damning reflection on the world radio wise, you’re actually better of working with ISM allocations for your stuff, and the shorter the wavelength the better.
You see, almost any allocation you’ll choose that’s more reasonable is dogged with QRM from power line converters, switch mode PSU’s, LPD and Cellular traffic from ‘smart meters’ and stuff that phones home generally.
Equally, whilst average Joe nobody just ignores it, when your experimental efforts add to it, especially if there’s visual evidence of your setup to be seen, people will literally target you and your milliwatts of traffic whilst hypocritically ignoring the rest.
Sad, but true. That’s partly why the majority of my HF activity is Rx based these days and some VLF experimentation in terms of sub 30Mhz. About the lowest common allocation I work actively is 6m and that’s at the QRP level and mostly after midnight. 70cms, at QRP levels is my most active, with 4m/2m being more of occasionally venturing.
Realistically I’m, ham radio wise, working my experiments on the dark magic SHF territories and outside of ham radio, it’s mostly SHF ISM territory.
It offers a huge technical challenge - most of those IOT makers haven’t a clue about what’s the real complexity of making effective transmitters that are as clean as efficient and even then efficiency and stability is an art form in that territory.
But it does offer one huge advantage - lots of modular garbage to re-engineer into clean RF modules, a glut of dev kits and modules, and for ISM territory, very little issues over TA compliancy and license unless your stuff goes beyond private use experimental use.
The final advantage, it’s incredibly as easy to have complex and efficient antennas that are as stealthy as small, but the price you endure is designing them is easy, making them efficient and wideband is like riding a an extended length razor blade naked at times.
But that’s the price you pay for a quiet life as an experimenter.
Don’t let social ignorance put you off, and equally take almost everything ‘maker’ and RC Hobbyist claims as easy, when it comes to SHF with a pinch of salt that could sink the Titanic. Especially the YouTube crowds efforts to wow you with their latest and greatest warmed up butchery.
Good luck and remember, you can only learn and it’s absolute you’ll take something away from the failures that will pay off later. Sometimes breaking it is the best way to understand it’s flaws and features at the level you need.
says the guy who’s lungs are probably coated in residue of the proverbial white smoke