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No Ham License? Listen Anyway In Your Browser
(hackaday.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
It happens all the time?
Relative to the prevalence of ham as a hobby
Yes. It is not uncommon.
Also, the license gives one some knowledge about what one is actually doing with the transceiver. Without that it isn't really a hobby anyway. It just becomes an illegal walkie talkie.