I have an Amateur Extra license in the US. I am also a Volunteer Examiner with a couple of organizations. Locally I am a Net Controller for a VHF Net. I am working on my ARES Level 1 Qualification.
Ask HN: How many of you hold an amateur radio license in your country?
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Re: Ask HN: How many of you hold an amateur radio license in your country?
#102I have a GMRS license, which isn't "amateur radio" per se, but can be used in much the same way. The main differences are that you're limited to a narrow band of "channels", and repeaters are not allowed to form networks. The tradeoff is that the license is basically just a fee and requires no test or advanced knowledge.
Re: Ask HN: How many of you hold an amateur radio license in your country?
#103FYI, HN has polls (since you asked "how many of you"): https://news.ycombinator.com/newpoll
I honestly don't think I've ever seen one on the front page
Yeah they're not very popular, partly because they're not very powerful: it's always multiple-choice, answer order doesn't randomise, and I don't think you can see how many unique people even voted (which can vary wildly depending on how many options people click on average). Fwiw, I do like multi-voting better as a default than the usual default of FPTP, but still
There was a short burst of activity shortly after introduction, probably a decade ago by now. Would be interesting to plot how many per week^W year make it to the front page or get more than a dozen votes
Re: Ask HN: How many of you hold an amateur radio license in your country?
#104I do. I'm not sure I like exposing my home address by providing my callsign with my HN account (something to think about for other posters).
> I'm not sure I like exposing my home address by providing my callsign with my HN account Please explain. Surely one simply opts out of having ones address published in your countries call book?
In Canada because of our privacy rules we have the ability to opt out of having our address published in the official government ham database. American hams don't have that option which complicates things for them.
Re: Ask HN: How many of you hold an amateur radio license in your country?
#105I spent a couple months memorizing the test questions/answers with Anki, without learning the theory, and passed the second level test (the one below Extra, I forget the name). I got a cheap Chinese (ABBREE brand I think) radio but never learned how to use it, and am a bit worried about accidentally transmitting if I poke around on it, even if it is probably legal for me to do so (assuming I announce my callsign peri…
If you are interested, find and go to an amateur radio club meeting. The licensing test makes sure you know the regulations and some theory. It does not help introduce you to "ham culture" which is definitely a thing. I learned all the practical stuff from talking with local club members. They are usually overjoyed for new members; if not just go to the next club. Youtube and whatnot helps but it's better to be able…
Interesting idea, thanks!
Re: Ask HN: How many of you hold an amateur radio license in your country?
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow! I know American data protection law is pretty poor, but that really is shocking; such data should not be made public without the users explicit opt-in consent.
They have opt-in consent: it’s a known part of the US ham licensing process that the database is public and searchable, and nobody is forced to get a ham license. In fact, several of the questions on the ham test involve the fact that you can look up operator info online.
That isn't opt-in consent!
Re: Ask HN: How many of you hold an amateur radio license in your country?
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
They have opt-in consent: it’s a known part of the US ham licensing process that the database is public and searchable, and nobody is forced to get a ham license. In fact, several of the questions on the ham test involve the fact that you can look up operator info online.
That isn't opt-in consent!
If you type your name and address into the HN comment box and hit submit, you have opted in to having your address visible in a comment on HN.
The ham registration is the same. Before you can take the test to get licensed, you have to go to the FCC website and enter your information into their public database. It’s clear what you’re doing, you have to actively choose to do it, and it’s the direct outcome of the action you take.
Re: Ask HN: How many of you hold an amateur radio license in your country?
#108I have mine! Good to see other operators. Check out 44Net - right up our alley!
Re: Ask HN: How many of you hold an amateur radio license in your country?
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm not sure I like exposing my home address by providing my callsign with my HN account Please explain. Surely one simply opts out of having ones address published in your countries call book?
In the US it's a public database, and you don't get to opt out of providing your name and a mailing address ( mailing , needs to be valid but doesn't need to be your home address, PO Boxes work). https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp
While PO boxes work, you would have had to set one up prior to getting any licensing since past addresses are retained in the system as well. And then you are paying an unending fee to maintain a PO box just to try and maintain some slight privacy online.
It really is baffling they are so stuck on having full address available to the world. City/state, zip code, Maidenhead locator squares, or a number of other options would be more than enough to place one into a local area without an exact address listed publicly. Until that happens, I definitely will continue to refrain from mentioning it on any online accounts to help keep all the data miners a little more at bay.