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Comment by fevercell | Hacker News Reader

When I was studying to get my Technician-class ham radio license a few weeks ago I was slightly curious as to why there were questions relating to space stations and satellites, like "any ametaur with a radio license can contact the ISS" and such, but I paid those thoughts no mind as I was being hasty trying to legally fiddle with my APRS tracker in a weather balloon.

I should re-review those exam questions; I might be licensed to do a lot more than I know I can.

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Can't ham radio operators also be drafted involuntarily in times of disaster and war? Incidentally, America suspended all amateur radio operations during WWII.

Ham operators are understood to have a role in coordinating disaster communications but it's on a voluntary basis. They're no more or less subject to being drafted than anyone else. Your name and address does end up in a public database, however. (I'm talking about the United States. I have no idea about anywhere else.)

Does not registering for selective service impact your ability to get a ham licence? I know it impacts some things.

All you'll need to do is show up with a photo ID and take a written exam, but you will likely have trouble getting a photo ID without registering for selective service (if you're a male 18-25). That's how they got me, I refused to register because I believed the draft was unjust, but was pressured into getting a driver's license and had to sign my draft card to get it.

Could you get a driver's license in another country?

To be honest we've reached the end of my expertise but I think that would work. This thread from 2007 says it will work as long as you don't represent a foreign government.

https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/ham-license-for-no...

Looking at the current form 605 it still doesn't seem to list any citizenship requirement, only that you do not represent a foreign government.

https://www.arrl.org/files/file/VEs/NCVEC_Form_605_July_2022...

I think the deciding factor would be whether you can convince the examiner the ID is legitimate.

> Name and address end up in a database

You can get your license using a PO box... it's not perfect, but its better than giving everyone your home address.

> Can't ham radio operators also be drafted involuntarily in times of disaster and war?

Approximately anyone can.

Just to clarify, no, we cannot be involuntarily drafted because we are amateur radio operators. However, should we be drafted in time of need, our experience in radio does help direct the likely path we would end up taking.

You also bring up an interesting time in ham radio history that a lot of newer hams are largely unaware of; WWII. Amateur radio thrives on communication globally, so anyone from the US could talk to anyone from any other country. The need for restrictions of the bands became obvious in the years leading up to the US entering the war, with various countries that were once accessible by radio going dark. The US logically followed suit, but operators were still monitoring.

There's a great article on this time in amateur radio history here; https://bw.billl.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Radio-Histor...

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