5 ms·
IME getting a license is not really that valuable unless you care about phone or CW. Also, if you do get a license, register it to a PO box.
by rhinoceraptor 7y ago
IME getting a license is not really that valuable unless you care about phone or CW.
Also, if you do get a license, register it to a PO box.
- sciurus 7y agoYou need a license to transmit in the digital portions of the amateur bands as well.
- rhinoceraptor 7y agoTrue, but there are a ton of cool things you can do just in ISM. And depending on where you are, your local repeater may not be the most welcoming place, especially if you're not the typical middle age white male.
- ac29 7y agoDepends what you're looking to do. ISM bands are limited to 1W transmit power, and the lowest frequency band with more than a few kHz available in the US is the 902-928 band. High frequency and low power combined tend to mean relatively short range. That being said, I work with 900MHz radio for a living (among other bands), and you can get impressive results in the 1-20 mile range with the right technology and infrastructure. A $10 ham license opens up a significant amount of bandwidth, and power up to 1500W.
- kawfey 7y agoIt's valuable if you care about transmitting. Sure you can transmit under part 15 or other unlicensed transmission rules, but you have to maintain extremely low power that is typically not very useful for communication. On PO Boxes, I don't think it does much to thwart a person looking for your address. It's one single barrier, but anyone can find anyone's legal mailing address via whitepages/public record using only a name and location.