[quesera]

Agreed -- I'm with you 100% on the opsec hygiene regiment.

But FWIW, I think "Firstname Lastname Postal_Address" has never been easily kept private (indeed, the winning strategy is subterfuge), and that adding "Callsign" does not change that equation.

Of course it does mean that you shouldn't use your callsign as a pseudonym online. And I am not a person who is comfortable with the idea of a ham vanity plate! :) But with proper hygiene, your callsign is just an arbitrary alphanumeric string that is attached in exactly one place, to another instance of your name/address in the wild.

One thing getting a license would do, is give you an idea of how to maximize your tx/rx options. Understanding RF propagation in varied terrain could be valuable in an emergency situation.

If you already know this stuff, then the license exams are very easy.

[capitainenemo]

Yeah. It's something that interests me and that I wouldn't mind learning, I just don't have an enormous motivation to get a license and the archaic (IMO) requirements on public listing are a part of that. I wish they'd rethink that policy.

But, I could just get some training just to improve utility in an emergency then take the license thing under consideration. I know some hams so wouldn't be too tough to learn the basics.