---
id: ham
title: 1.2 Licensed (HAM) Operation
sidebar_label: 1.2 Licensed (HAM) Operation
---

import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs';
import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem';

:::warning
By changing these settings, you are self certifying that you are licensed to operate in the mode you have chosen. Failure to comply with your local regulations may result in fines.
:::

## Overview

:::note
This written US only, may or may not be applicable elsewhere.
:::

Meshtastic can be used by both unlicensed people and licensed operators. If you use Meshtastic with your ham radio license, there are additional privileges and restrictions to consider.

|                           Privileges                            |                         Restrictions                          |
| :-------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------: |
| <ul><li>Additional Power</li><li>Higher gain antennas</li></ul> | <ul><li>Unencrypted</li><li>Identified with your ID</li></ul> |

## Settings

| Setting | Acceptable Values | Default |
| :-----: | :---------------: | :-----: |
| set-ham |     `string`      |  `""`   |

### set-ham

If you are a licensed HAM operator, you can set this variable to be your ID.

:::warning
By changing these settings, you are self certifying that you are licensed to operate in the mode you have chosen. Failure to comply with your local regulations may result in fines.
:::

#### Set HAM ID

<Tabs
groupId="settings"
defaultValue="cli"
values={[
{label: 'CLI', value: 'cli'},
{label: 'Android', value: 'android'},
{label: 'iOS', value: 'iOS'},
{label: 'Web', value: 'web'},
]}>
<TabItem value="cli">

```shell title="Set HAM ID"
meshtastic --set-ham KI1345
```

  </TabItem>
  <TabItem value="android">

:::info
Configuring this setting is not yet available for the selected platform. If this is incorrect please update the documentation for this page.
:::

  </TabItem>
  <TabItem value="iOS">

:::info
Configuring this setting is not yet available for the selected platform. If this is incorrect please update the documentation for this page.
:::

  </TabItem>
  <TabItem value="web">

:::info
Configuring this setting is not yet available for the selected platform. If this is incorrect please update the documentation for this page.
:::

  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

## Details

Toggling `set-ham` changes your device settings in the following ways.

|         Setting          | `set-ham` Default |              Normal Default               |
| :----------------------: | :---------------: | :---------------------------------------: |
| `is_licensed` (Protobuf) |      `true`       |                  `false`                  |
|  `long_name` (Protobuf)  |       `id`        |               User Defined                |
|     `psk` (Protobuf)     |       `""`        | See [Channel Settings - psk](channel#psk) |
| `short_name` (Protobuf)  |       TODO        |               User Defined                |

# Ham Operators

(This written US only, may be applicable elsewhere)

Meshtastic can be used by both unlicensed people and licensed operators.

Having a ham radio license grants you addition privilages and restrictions.

# Additional privilages

- Additional power
- Higher gain antennas

# Restrictions

- Unencrypted
- Identified with your ID

# Let's do it!

Remember, by doing this you are self certifying that you are licensed operate in the mode you have chosen. Failure to comply with your local regulations may result in fines.

## Use the Python CLI

Meshtastic is designed to be used without a radio operator license. If you do have a license you can set your operator ID and turn off encryption with the [Python CLI](/docs/software/python/python-uses#ham-radio-support):

```shell title="Expected Output"
# You should see a result similar to this:
mydir$ meshtastic --port /dev/ttyUSB1 --set-ham KI1345
Connected to radio
Setting Ham ID to KI1345 and turning off encryption
Writing modified channels to device
```