Hams and privacy

When I hear operators give out their call sign over the air, I am able to go to google and find their home addresses in various Call Sign databases.

If I pass a test to get certified to broadcast, do I sign away all of my privacy rights, or can I request anonymity?

Some hams use a PO Box for their address.

Weaksignal said:

Some hams use a PO Box for their address.

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I would take that option if I got licensed. Is their any way to get registered as a John Doe, so only the FCC knows who I am, or can anybody who hears me announce my call sign find my complete name?

OP, I used to think about that too, but I realized the fact is , if someone wanted to find me they easily or with little effort could. So at the end of day, I could care less that someone can look me up on QRZ or the FCC database.

If you want to be licensed and keep your address private, you can get a PO Box. As far as your name, I highly doubt the FCC will allow you to use John Doe or any other alias. Much like a driver's license, your FCC license has to be your true identity.

Another thing you will have to be prepared to do is show forms of identification to even sit for the exam, that must be verified by the examiners, I had to show my DL, to which three separate examiners had to sign off that they personnaly verified I was who I said I was. I have since found out in other areas this is only done by one examiner, so it depends on the VEs I guess.

My point is, if you want to be a ham, you are going to have put some of your personal information out there for the world to see and folks are going to be able to look that up that you contact on the air. I don't think there is anyway you can get around that and get licensed.

Unfortunately you do sign away a lot. I have done for years what WeakSignal suggested; I use a P.O address.
It used to be that you could look up a ham's birth date and some other info, but that was ended some time ago. Never the less, you can't hide if you use your government issued callsign,

...........But few hams seem to have a problem with that.

..........................................CF

Most people don't know that there is a ton of information out there via public domain. Most also done know what the term Radio Operator on the license plate of my two vehicles refers to and they could honestly care less.

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Use encryption. You have the right to your privacy. Don't let all of the know it alls tell you it's illegal, because it's not. No one is going to put you in jail for it.

W5PKY said:

Most people don't know that there is a ton of information out there via public domain. Most also done know what the term Radio Operator on the license plate of my two vehicles refers to and they could honestly care less.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

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LOL you know what Colin my coworker just asked me last night what the AC2OY stood for. To the OP if you hide your ADRESS and I work you then we can't exchange QSL cards for me that's another nifty thing about amateur radio if you want to do that. I honestly my cable provider gave more imforation away that anybody else could.

Coyote-Frostbite said:

Unfortunately you do sign away a lot. I have done for years what WeakSignal suggested; I use a P.O address.
It used to be that you could look up a ham's birth date and some other info, but that was ended some time ago. Never the less, you can't hide if you use your government issued callsign,

...........But few hams seem to have a problem with that.

..........................................CF

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Your personal security is more important than most people realize and being a ham does NOT throw you into the limelight IF you take precautions. I personally advise not to use amateur call plates but that's a personal choice. You are required to have a mailing address per Fcc regs but that does NOT have to be your actual residence. I have several addresses I use for different reasons and that and other tactics can give you some privacy. :wink: 73, n9zas

Mars_P25 said:

Use encryption. You have the right to your privacy. Don't let all of the know it alls tell you it's illegal, because it's not. No one is going to put you in jail for it.

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If you become a licensed amateur radio operator in the U.S., you are subject to the rules imposed by the Federal Communications Commission in Part 97.

I call your attention to the following:

§97.113 Prohibited transmissions.
(4) Music using a phone emission except as specifically provided elsewhere in this section; communications intended to facilitate a criminal act; messages encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning, except as otherwise provided herein; obscene or indecent words or language; or false or deceptive messages, signals or identification.

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gewecke said:

You are required to have a mailing address per Fcc regs but that does NOT have to be your actual residence. I have several addresses I use for different reasons and that and other tactics can give you some privacy.

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The FCC requires your "correct name and mailing address" but does not define what "correct" means.

§97.23 Mailing address.
Each license grant must show the grantee's correct name and mailing address. The mailing address must be in an area where the amateur service is regulated by the FCC and where the grantee can receive mail delivery by the United States Postal Service. Revocation of the station license or suspension of the operator license may result when correspondence from the FCC is returned as undeliverable because the grantee failed to provide the correct mailing address.

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Another concern is license plates. If you have ham plates, people can look you up that way too. Although I suspect that most people couldn't tell a ham plate from a personalized license plate and wouldn't get the significance.

FWIW I have a box number.. (I live in the boonies and don't have a physical house address). So that's what shows on my QRZ page and the Canadian government database.

Dragon, you've got to show ID to test, and that goes on your license. No way around it. As several have pointed out, a PO box will give your actual home location a little cover. It has to be an actual address where you get at least some mail. After that, there's nothing else legal that you can really do.

If you want to set up some code phrases with friends to obscure what you're really talking about, nobody's going to know. But really, that's getting down into the 6th grade secret squirrel stuff.

Mostly, the best cover is to avoid the Streisand Effect. Trying to cover your tracks while out in public just makes you look like, well, somebody covering his tracks. And yes, when you are on the air, you are out in public. Just get a PO box and get a license and get on the air. "Just another 2x3 callsign" makes you just another unnoticed face in the crowd.

AC2OY said:

LOL you know what Colin my coworker just asked me last night what the AC2OY stood for. To the OP if you hide your ADRESS and I work you then we can't exchange QSL cards for me that's another nifty thing about amateur radio if you want to do that. I honestly my cable provider gave more imforation away that anybody else could.

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Funny thing about how mine is set up…I tried to change the address to a current (local) address but the FCC didn't change it. That was about 400 miles from the address listed on my license as I was spending much of my time in Lubbock county. Vehicles are still registered in Lubbock county as well. Now I spend a lot of time in tarrant county but I'm in hays and Lubbock county every few weeks…

dragon48 said:

When I hear operators give out their call sign over the air, I am able to go to google and find their home addresses in various Call Sign databases.

If I pass a test to get certified to broadcast, do I sign away all of my privacy rights, or can I request anonymity?

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People who think they have any actual anonymity these days amuse me....

Oh, and there is no "broadcasting" in ham radio.

I am going to elaborate a little on W5PKY's comments-- Maybe this is changing the subject a bit.

Does anyone recall the old FCC requirements to keep them informed of any ham operations away from their station location lasting more than 48 hours? (!)... They used to require you notify them- in writing- in *Each!* FCC District you would be traveling thru if you were mobile, and away for more than 48 hours. For each FCC District (I think there were 19.) you sent their Engineer-in-Charge a timeline of your proposed operations (routes etc.), the make and model of your vehicle, license plate numbers and contact information. You could operate "Portable" away from your regular licensed location for up to a year by notifying them thusly, but only for 1 year.... and you had to give your location every time you ID'd,- and no "Portable... or Mobile 6 etc"..it had to be specific-- either by announcing it on phone or using a "/ " and callsign area if on CW.
After a year you had to change your station license (a new callsign if out of your regular district, ie: like WT5SOL for your precious W6XX etc- there were no vanity choices then- you got what they gave you- ....
Or you had to get a separate station license for your "Portable" location, as many did..... but then many of us continued to keep our favorite calls and looped about the regulations like circus clowns. Fortunately the FCC did away with all this foolishness... Oh !!, and don't get me started on the log book requirements, especially when operating mobile (you had to keep one- with written descriptions of where you were transmitting).

All in all, today I think your identity is far safer, Ham Radio-wise, than back in the "Good-Old-Days"- it is certainly a lot easier and the hobby is only the better for it
.....................CF

I have a P.O. Box as my address for my license. As for anonymity, if that is paramount for you, then go CB instead. No license required!


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Back in the "Dying Days" of the CB License the FCC said that you could get on the air while awaiting your official callsign by using your Social Security Number prefaced by a "K" !... Talk about changes........

............................CF

jwt873 said:

Another concern is license plates. If you have ham plates, people can look you up that way too. Although I suspect that most people couldn't tell a ham plate from a personalized license plate and wouldn't get the significance.

FWIW I have a box number.. (I live in the boonies and don't have a physical house address). So that's what shows on my QRZ page and the Canadian government database.

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You are correct. Most people do not get the significance. I have my call sign on my license plate and the only people that recognize it are other hams.

The general public generally tries to figure out what it is suppose to mean. They think there is something cryptic in the scattering of letters and numbers. For example, my license plate says K7MEM. And most people want to know why it doesn't start with K9 and how is MEM a reference to dogs. Of course, I do have four dogs and they are often all in the back seat.

I also live in the "boonies". Even though I have a physical address, no mail would get to me, if my box number was not attached to the end of my zip code. And even the physical address is misleading as it put me in the town of Ash Fork, AZ. But in fact, I live several miles north of Ash Fork, in different county. Ash Fork is just where I pick up my mail. My area (known as Keibab Estates West or the KEW) is really part of Williams, AZ which is about 16 miles east.

And just as a side note, in many states there are two kinds of plates you can get with your call sign. There are Vanity plates and Amateur Radio plates. The Amateur Radio plates usually have some picture of a antenna tower and lightening bolts, and says "Amateur Radio" on the plate some where. Whereas, the Vanity plate just has the call sign, with no reference to Amateur Radio. I have just the simple Vanity plate. Maybe that is why most people can't figure it out.

Martin - K7MEM

Unfortunately, people can get your personal information from your license plates, whether it's a ham call sign or not.

The general public cannot run your license plate.

As mentioned above, encryption is in fact illegal on ham frequencies. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Also, you must identify your station in some clearly identifiable mode every 10 minutes. FCC regs specify that station identifications for all radio services must be "in English" if done in a voice mode. A CWID used to be a requirement for digital modes, but I'm not sure whether that has been changed.