Yes, I have had my license for several weeks (on my screen, the callsign is even listed), To request permission from the web site, it is required. Even before requesting access to the repeaters, I hear others granted access almost daily. I fully understand repeaters are privately owned and as such, they are free to do as they wish. Two of them are listed as open. The Janesville one is the only that requires permission. If not for hearing other newcomers since I have applied, I might think the grantors are on vacation, ill or just too busy. I am considering setting up a repeater in my area, but at this point, I have no proof my new radio actually transmits. The vast majority of traffic I hear is on the repeaters that are all 30-50 miles away. It seems I am the only one in the vast corn and bean fields of northwest Illinois that has a "base station".