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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 16th, 2023

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  • A story I heard was that it was the poor indigenous farmers who were forced to cultivate coffee for the Dutch. They weren’t allowed any of the beans they grew, but were able to collect it from the dung of civets that prowled around near the plantation. Of course, once the colonizers learned that it tasted “good”, it was commoditized too.

    Might be apocryphal.



    1. Study free materials available online.
    2. Take free practice tests.
    3. Look for license exams in your area, or take an online one. Exam fees in my experience have been ~$25 and go towards whichever club is proctoring.
    4. Pay the $35 FCC licensing fee and get your callsign.

    Theoretically, that’s all you need. It’s possible to use certain internet linked amateur transmitters for no cost as long as you have a valid callsign. However, I promise it’s a lot more fun with a real transceiver. You can buy a bare minimum, highly hackable handheld VHF/UHF transceiver for as little as $20.

    Or you can slowly give your soul to the moneypit of HF equipment…