Pros and cons of posting callsign

[Logans Run]

I noticed quite a few people opting out of publishing their callsign.
it is public record on the FCC website.
I realize it would take quite a bit of homework to find someone this way ... but you are still on the interwebs.
so tell me ... what do you think the pros and cons are of posting your callsign?

[crypto]

I dont feel the need to post my real name and home address anywhere I dont have to.

Its the same reason my call isnt on my license plate.

[KJ4VOV]

I personally just don't give a fuck. If I piss someone off on the Internet enough for them to actually come looking for me, hiding my call sign isn't going to do diddly squat in terms of security.

[Polie]

I noticed quite a few people opting out of publishing their callsign.
it is public record on the FCC website.
I realize it would take quite a bit of homework to find someone this way ... but you are still on the interwebs.
so tell me ... what do you think the pros and cons are of posting your callsign?

Its actually super easy lol

Just enter call sign and you got a person address lol

http://www.arrl.org/advanced-call-sign-search

or

http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSear ... mateur.jsp

[Logans Run]

I noticed quite a few people opting out of publishing their callsign.
it is public record on the FCC website.
I realize it would take quite a bit of homework to find someone this way ... but you are still on the interwebs.
so tell me ... what do you think the pros and cons are of posting your callsign?

Its actually super easy lol

Just enter call sign and you got a person address lol

http://www.arrl.org/advanced-call-sign-search

or

http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSear ... mateur.jsp

yeah ... I meant its not super easy to find someone without their callsign ... with the callsign its only a click away ... lots of sites for look up ... its kind of a HAM thing to know who you are "working" or talking to.

[SCBrian]

ARISE THREAD LONG SINCE DEAD!

I was reading this thread last week while I lurked in the ZSARC forums learning, and I came across this on craigslist today...

Just a heads up on why a PO box may be the way to go... ADDED BOLDING
Note to self. Get POBOX prior to getting license....


http://charleston.craigslist.org/bks/3166315777.html
Survival Communications in South Carolina - $30 (Charleston)

Perhaps you have prepared for WTSHTF or TEOTWAWKI with respect to food, water, self-defense and shelter. But what about communication?

Whenever there is a disaster (hurricane, earthquake, economic collapse, nuclear war, EMF, solar eruption, etc.), the normal means of communication that we're all reliant upon (cell phone, land line phone, the Internet, etc.) will probably be, at best, sporadic and at worst, non-existent.

As this author sees it, short of smoke signals and mirrors, there are three options for communication in "trying times": (1) GMRS or FRS radios; (2) CB radios; and (3) ham or amateur radio.

In this book he considers each of these options to come up with the most acceptable one.

Included in this volume are the names and addresses of the approximately 9,300 FCC licensed amateur operators in South Carolina, organized by city, then sorted by street, then sorted by house number ... just in case.

13 - ISBN 978-1475084788
10 - ISBN 1475084781


Available from your favorite online or brick-and-mortar bookstore or directly from the publisher at:

Tutor Turtle Press LLC
1027 S. Pendleton St., Suite B-10
Easley, SC 29642

[KJ4VOV]

ARISE THREAD LONG SINCE DEAD!

I was reading this thread last week while I lurked in the ZSARC forums learning, and I came across this on craigslist today...

Just a heads up on why a PO box may be the way to go... ADDED BOLDING
Note to self. Get POBOX prior to getting license....


http://charleston.craigslist.org/bks/3166315777.html
Survival Communications in South Carolina - $30 (Charleston)

Perhaps you have prepared for WTSHTF or TEOTWAWKI with respect to food, water, self-defense and shelter. But what about communication?

Whenever there is a disaster (hurricane, earthquake, economic collapse, nuclear war, EMF, solar eruption, etc.), the normal means of communication that we're all reliant upon (cell phone, land line phone, the Internet, etc.) will probably be, at best, sporadic and at worst, non-existent.

As this author sees it, short of smoke signals and mirrors, there are three options for communication in "trying times": (1) GMRS or FRS radios; (2) CB radios; and (3) ham or amateur radio.

In this book he considers each of these options to come up with the most acceptable one.

Included in this volume are the names and addresses of the approximately 9,300 FCC licensed amateur operators in South Carolina, organized by city, then sorted by street, then sorted by house number ... just in case.

13 - ISBN 978-1475084788
10 - ISBN 1475084781


Available from your favorite online or brick-and-mortar bookstore or directly from the publisher at:

Tutor Turtle Press LLC
1027 S. Pendleton St., Suite B-10
Easley, SC 29642

So? As has been said before, it's all public record. And you can use a PO Box. Or another address.

[SCBrian]

So? As has been said before, it's all public record. And you can use a PO Box. Or another address.

I think my concern is in the way it's presented - as a list of highly possible locations with a s/w radio. Although, yes - with a call sign, you could enter it and search for it. With this it's all broken down and separated out so you can make a 'shopping list' should you choose to.
As was said before by Logans Run & Polie:

"yeah ... I meant its not super easy to find someone without their callsign ... with the callsign its only a click away ..."

This takes all the guess work out of it and makes it an easy for anyone to find out who/where operators are...
But then again, maybe it's just me with some concern about other people knowing what I have/use.

[crypto]

I dont post my real name or address on web forums as a matter of prudence. I dont see any real reason to change that.

[KJ4VOV]

So? As has been said before, it's all public record. And you can use a PO Box. Or another address.

I think my concern is in the way it's presented - as a list of highly possible locations with a s/w radio. Although, yes - with a call sign, you could enter it and search for it. With this it's all broken down and separated out so you can make a 'shopping list' should you choose to.
As was said before by Logans Run & Polie:

"yeah ... I meant its not super easy to find someone without their callsign ... with the callsign its only a click away ..."

This takes all the guess work out of it and makes it an easy for anyone to find out who/where operators are...
But then again, maybe it's just me with some concern about other people knowing what I have/use.

Well, here's how I see it:

During a disaster, in the PAW, etc., Internet access is going to be either non-existent or very limited. Odds are it's pretty much going to be impossible for the average person to suddenly get online and look up the location of their nearest ham. Unless they've done it beforehand, as part of their prep, the average person is going to be clueless. That brings us to preppers, folks like us, who have a plan and a clue. Now a true prepper is probably not going to need anything from the local ham because either A) they are the local ham, or B) they've already gotten their comms sorted out as part of their prep. A "hard core" prepper isn't going to be a problem for your average local ham. That leaves the half-assed, sorta preppers, the mall ninjas, and others of their ilk. Yes, they might have had the foresight to look up their local ham and note where they're located, either online or in a book like this. Will they "come calling"? Probably not. Any kind of disaster or emergency that's serious enough for them to want to visit their local ham is also likely to completely overwhelm them and their half-assed, ineffective preps. They'll be too busy trying to start their piece of crap Harbor Freight generator so they can inflate their air mattress with the plug in compressor they bought to even think about that local ham they looked up a couple of years ago, (and where did that address get written down anyway?).

I also think that in any true disaster movement is going to be very limited, at least initially. The chances of someone on the other side of the county having a copy of the book and "coming calling" with an eye towards doing illegal and immoral things are pretty damn slim. No, the people most likely to have any kind of impact on you during the first week or so of a disaster are going to be your immediate neighbors (who more than likely already know you're a ham), government agencies (who will already know you're a ham), rescue workers (who may or may not care that you're a ham, and who, if you are a ham, you're probably already working with), and the media (who might make a 15 second blurb about hams helping out and then pretty much ignore you afterwards), oh, and looters, who didn't have any foreknowledge of you or your equipment but who are attracted to all the shiny, and who provide a reasonable excuse to practice your Mogadishu Drill.

So, does this kind of book really have any impact on you or me? Probably not enough to be worth worrying about.

[KJ4VOV]

I dont post my real name or address on web forums as a matter of prudence. I dont see any real reason to change that.

And you shouldn't, if that's your choice and what you're comfortable with. Me, I could care less who knows my name and address. Hell, a million junk mail companies already do, and anyone with decent computer skills and a credit card can pretty much get whatever info they want about someone else. It is a very hard thing to be a true "grey man" in today's society, and folks who really want that level of anonymity generally do everything they can to stay out of all the databases, private and governmental. They are not hams, of that you can be pretty certain, and if they are hams you can bet your last dollar that the info in the ULS about them is a long cold trail.

[TacAir]

Couple of thoughts.

Hiding in plain sight -
When I visit a new area, a drive thru the nearby neighborhoods. I look for a few things, but mostly the large antenna(s) that normally mark the house holding a hambone.

It is possible to have a hidden antenna system, with the attendant loss of efficiency. I have found that type of antenna is mostly driven by restrictive HOA rules. I have seen crank up antennas that are all but invisible when not in use and have helped a guy put up a DDRR as well as a large-ish loop ant that looked for all the world like a really big clothesline. I've settled for painting my ant a dull gray - no invisible, but fairly low key.

SPAM! -
I don't post my callsign to try and reduce the sheer amount of spam snail mail coming to my PO box, but even that is a lost cause anymore.


Final thought -
Amateur service communications represent a way for folks to communicate long distances with little in the way of supporting infrastructure.
I have used radio comms as major plot points / a way to move the story along in several of my books as well.

[Tater Raider]

Because I have a PO Box and no physical addy linked directly to my callsign I'm considering vanity plates and a change in nickname. When I get my Extra. In 2014 (target date).

Having a physical addy to look up seems mighty silly to me given the number of operators that are free with information about who is and isn't home and so on. Those folk may as well put a sign in the front yard that says "ROB ME BLIND!!!"

[KJ4VOV]

SPAM! -
I don't post my callsign to try and reduce the sheer amount of spam snail mail coming to my PO box, but even that is a lost cause anymore.

I've not noticed any significant change in the junk mail I receive since getting my call and, as you can see, I'm not shy about using it online. Of course, every case/person is different, so what's true for me today may not have been true for you yesterday, and may change for both of us tomorrow.

[cobra6987]

Couple of thoughts.

Hiding in plain sight -
When I visit a new area, a drive thru the nearby neighborhoods. I look for a few things, but mostly the large antenna(s) that normally mark the house holding a hambone.

It is possible to have a hidden antenna system, with the attendant loss of efficiency. I have found that type of antenna is mostly driven by restrictive HOA rules. I have seen crank up antennas that are all but invisible when not in use and have helped a guy put up a DDRR as well as a large-ish loop ant that looked for all the world like a really big clothesline. I've settled for painting my ant a dull gray - no invisible, but fairly low key.

SPAM! -
I don't post my callsign to try and reduce the sheer amount of spam snail mail coming to my PO box, but even that is a lost cause anymore.


Final thought -
Amateur service communications represent a way for folks to communicate long distances with little in the way of supporting infrastructure.
I have used radio comms as major plot points / a way to move the story along in several of my books as well.

Just thought you would find this interesting.

http://www.g4ilo.com/stealth.html

[crypto]

I've not noticed any significant change in the junk mail I receive since getting my call and, as you can see, I'm not shy about using it online. Of course, every case/person is different, so what's true for me today may not have been true for you yesterday, and may change for both of us tomorrow.

Arent you supposed to be limited to zombie combat tactics?

[KJ4VOV]

I've not noticed any significant change in the junk mail I receive since getting my call and, as you can see, I'm not shy about using it online. Of course, every case/person is different, so what's true for me today may not have been true for you yesterday, and may change for both of us tomorrow.

Arent you supposed to be limited to zombie combat tactics?

Nope, but if you have a problem with my posting here I suggest you contact a mod or admin.

[crypto]

I've not noticed any significant change in the junk mail I receive since getting my call and, as you can see, I'm not shy about using it online. Of course, every case/person is different, so what's true for me today may not have been true for you yesterday, and may change for both of us tomorrow.

Arent you supposed to be limited to zombie combat tactics?

Nope, but if you have a problem with my posting here I suggest you contact a mod or admin.

I am an admin, so that would be redundant.

On the bright side, your group manipulation to evade time-out for a few days will result in us being more diligent in how we enforce time-out in the future.

[NoAm]

I noticed quite a few people opting out of publishing their callsign.
it is public record on the FCC website.
I realize it would take quite a bit of homework to find someone this way ... but you are still on the interwebs.
so tell me ... what do you think the pros and cons are of posting your callsign?

It was quite a discussion last year. People deserve what privacy they would like to have on ZS. Yes it is public knowledge if you look in the right places, but it's like recommending people not to post their tag #'s on the forum as well.

Personal preferences are honored

[KJ4VOV]

I've not noticed any significant change in the junk mail I receive since getting my call and, as you can see, I'm not shy about using it online. Of course, every case/person is different, so what's true for me today may not have been true for you yesterday, and may change for both of us tomorrow.

Arent you supposed to be limited to zombie combat tactics?

Nope, but if you have a problem with my posting here I suggest you contact a mod or admin.

I am an admin, so that would be redundant.

On the bright side, your group manipulation to evade time-out for a few days will result in us being more diligent in how we enforce time-out in the future.

"evade"? Hardly, but being an admin surely you must understand that. Or maybe not... PM coming. No need to clutter this thread with this discussion. Apologies NoAm.

Sent using secret methods known only to squirrels.

And selected hamsters.

[crypto]

Send it to admin.

[KJ4VOV]

Send it to admin.

I am an admin, so that would be redundant.

[The Sentinel]

Hello, here is my 2 cents
The bottom line is the address is for FCC notifications as required. you dont have to live there just have access to the mail.

[charadeur]

Well for me it is simple. If this was a ham radio only forum I would use my call sign. You are right that it is easy for someone to trace my name and address from my call sign. In a ham radio forum all they would know is I am a active ham and may have some radio equipment. However in this forum we discuss firearms, and our preps. I don't want people to be able to put those two things together and decide it would be worth coming after me.