What can i do with my node, being a novice ?

[calkob]

Hi all i am a real bitcoin enthusiast and have been following bitcoin closly since 2011.  However I have very little experience in programming or using cmd.  so i was wondering as a novice what cool things can i do with my bitcoin node over sending and receiving transactions and looking at the debug window?  or am i better just staying away from it and let it run, to be honest i want to learn more about bitcoin and the underlying workings.

[BurtW]

Are you running the standard download - which does not run a full node by default.

Or, have you set it up to be a full node?

If you want to help the network please set up your node as a full node.

Once you have a full node you can do a few things, although I don't know if they are that interesting.  Every once in a while I look at the list of connections, make sure I have the 8 out and 8 in (I limit my node to a total of 16 connections and I also limit the bandwidth so it does not affect my Netflix and Amazon prime video).  I also take a look at who is connected to me, sometimes that can be interesting.

[calkob]

yeah running a full node, 8 out and an average of 30 in.  i was thinking more like stuff i can do in the console window.  cheers anyway

[franky1]

seeing as you want to learn a bit more of the inner workings of bitcoin via the console (things the GUI doesnt show)
here is a list of commands you can use
https://bitcoin.org/en/developer-reference#bitcoin-core-apis

with these commands you can learn about the nodes connected to you.
you can get details about blocks and other transactions.
you can manually make transactions or verify transactions(may help you learn more about it)

after all the GUI only really displays transactions linked to your addresses. so there is a mountain of information you can gain from using the commands

[Carlton Banks]

yeah running a full node, 8 out and an average of 30 in.  i was thinking more like stuff i can do in the console window.  cheers anyway

Learning how to handle the Bitcoin tx script would be a good idea, I'm actually intending to do this myself at some point. This will make you more employable in the future: those without the skills to check that important scripts (e.g. someone setting up an inheritance for a partner or other loved ones) do what they're supposed to will lack the confidence to assess scripts themselves, they may want someone they can trust to check things over and reassure them. Especially so if the conditions in the script are at all complicated/out of the ordinary.

[coindancer]

i am also quit new to bitcoin.
i like the idea of a full node. how much would i need to invest to run one? what about the noise level and ongoing cost? is it really a good way to learn more about the technical aspect of bitcoin in a practical way?

[calkob]

Thanks Franky and Carlton Banks 

i am also quit new to bitcoin.
i like the idea of a full node. how much would i need to invest to run one? what about the noise level and ongoing cost? is it really a good way to learn more about the technical aspect of bitcoin in a practical way?

The cost of your elctricity to keep the computer running 24/7 which in my opinion isnt that much and at least 90GB hard drive space to store the block chain, which increases rather quickly so bare that in mind, if you want to run it long term you my need a few TB of space.  I started my node in december 2015 and it was around 60GB required its currtnly around 86GB.