I have seen the term "hobby phone" in a few reviews.  I assume this is a safe phone which cannot be traced back to you.  Is this the case?  If so, how safe are they and how do you get one?

The best way to get one is to go to WalMart, Target, etc. and get one like a TracPhone that you can buy and add minutes to.  Go to a public library or an internet cafe' and register it to whatever name and address you want to (that way no IP address back to you).  Buy the phone with cash and always buy your minutes with cash.  If someone you've spent time with gets arrested or if you start having any problems with anyone, toss that phone in the trash and go buy a new one.  They are about $30 - well worth it.

Great advice.  Thanks for the info.

As the others said, pay cash for everything.  I picked up a $10 Samsung Tracfone at WM.  Went to the library and activated it.  One trick if you do get Tracfone....when you go to activate it, it will present a screen asking for "mandatory" fields, including name, address, email, etc.  But if you scroll all the way to the bottom, there's a "Skip this step" button.  You don't have to enter any information.

Or it WILL get traced back to you!

That's really the only way to get "busted" by having a trac phone.

A hobby phone has much more to do with covering your tracks with an SO than legally.

You pick a Google Voice number when you sign up and then you can adjust the settings in your account so that the number calls through your cell phone but shows up to the caller as the number you picked.

I have one and I tested it with another phone when I was setting it up and even asked guys what showed up the first few times I used it. The only number anyone sees is the number I picked.

It's just like domain name masking of a redirect, but for phones.

And the main reason a hobbyist would use Google Voice is to keep any communication with providers off of their real cell phone without having a second phone. The Google voice number will still show up, but only that number when making or receiving calls. You can set it up so no texts or voicemails are on your real cell phone as well.

Many guys prefer a trac phone for keeping their hobbying a secret from an SO, but some have tried Google Voice and like it better (it's a newer thing, so still catching on). Some do both (sign the trac phone up to Google Voice so the only thing on the trac phone is the Google voice number). It's a matter of personal preference which also has to do with your level of paranoia about a third party (besides your SO) being able to link you to providers through phone contact. Many see the risk as minimal. Some see everything as some combination of spy versus spy and big brother. If that is the case with you, you might want to get a "hobby car" too so they don't track you gong to incalls via satellite.

There are several far more indepth threads on the hobby phone on here.  However, here is a quick thought for anybody who might have had the same problem I did.  

I live in a relatively small town that is fortunately very near a large city.  Unfortunately, activating my tracphone on the internet at the library or internet cafe simply was not an option.  Also, I did not want to activate my tracphone from my home computer or my work computer (duh !).    

The solution that worked for me was I went to the gas station at one of the busiest intersections in my town one evening and used the pay phone there to activate my tracphone.  After I was done I even got my change back that I used to pay for the call.

PS:  Also, don't forget that having a hobby email is probably as important as a hobby phone.