Bredhurst Receiving and Transmitting Society |
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2. Licence Conditions |
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| Syllabus --- in this colour
Licensing Conditions 2a Identify types of Amateur Licence 2a.1 Recall the types of Amateur Licence. Recall that more advanced classes of amateur licence exist and that they allow greater facilities and the ability to build/modify transmitting equipment Recall that many other countries do not currently accept the UK Foundation licence. There are three levels or tiers of amateur radio licence:-
No grade of licence is prevented from building receivers as it is the transmitters that would cause interference to other pieces of electronic equipment, rather than a receiver.
The Foundation licence only gives you the permission to operate whilst in the United Kingdom. This is because, whilst there is recognition for what are is called a "Advanced" UK Amateur Radio Licence for reciprocal operation in other countries, there is no such blanket recognition of all the UK amateur radio licences. Further it is the choice of the administration of other countries to decide what reciprocal arrangements are made and not for the radio amateur to assume. Thus, as UK is the first country to have a "Foundation Licence" at the moment no mutual reciprocal agreements have yet been made. |
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| 2b Format of amateur
callsigns
2b.1 Recall the format of Foundation, Intermediate and Full call signs. Recall that secondary identifiers are used but be able to state only those for the Foundation Licence. Format of Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced callsigns Let's consider just England for a moment with regard to callsign structure:- Foundation Licence M3AAA An M3+3 letter call eg M3AVI signifies a Foundation Licence holder in England, Intermediate Licence 2E1AAA A 2E1+3 letter call and a 2E0+3 letter call both signify an Intermediate Licence holder grade and in England Advanced ( was also know as FULL) Licence M0AAA An M1+3 letter call and a M0+3 letter call both signify an Advanced Licence holder grade in England also called a FULL Licence Holder. Why is England so important ? The Amateur Licence areas in the United Kingdom is split up into regions :- England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Island, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey. The callsign around which all other callsigns are based at Foundation level is the England callsign of M3 + a further 3 letter. To indicate a region other than England there are secondary identifiers used with the "England" callsign. this is explained below. Secondary identifiers also known as Regional identifiers For the Foundation and Advanced licence levels Secondary Identifiers, sometimes called REGIONAL IDENTIFIERS are used, (note the absence of the mention of the Intermediate level we mention this just below the pictorial map). Scotland M, Wales W, Northern Island I, Isle of Man D, Jersey J, Guernsey U.
With the Intermediate Callsigns the E for England as used as 2E1+3 letter call is substituted for the other secondary identifiers. for the other regions the E is replaced by the alternative secondary identifier For the course exam you will be pleased to hear that you only have to learn how the Secondary Identifiers would be used for a Foundation Licence Holder. As already stated :- An M3+3 letter call (eg M3AVI) signifies a Foundation Licence holder in ENGLAND For the other regions the secondary identifier is added immediately after the initial "M" as shown below. MM3+3 letter call would indicate the licence holder has his main station address in SCOTLAND MW3+3 letter call would indicate the licence holder has his main station address in WALES MI3+3 letter call would indicate the licence holder has his main station address in NORTHERN IRELAND MD3+3 letter call would indicate the licence holder has his main station address in Isle of Man MU3+3 letter call would indicate the licence holder has his main station address in GUERNSEY MJ3+3 letter call would indicate the licence holder has his main station address in JERSEY
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2c Licence terms and conditions.. 2c.1 Recall the requirements for station identification. The Licensee, shall transmit the Callsign specified in the Licence and any Modifier applicable under the provisions of this Licence:
Modifiers are the Regional Secondary Locators as outlined above and modifiers are also the suffix /A, /P or /M as outlined below. When operating at locations other than the Main Station Address, it is recommended that the following suffixes be used:
Main Station Address means the main station address stated in the Licence; Alternative Address /A means a fixed postal address in the United Kingdom other than the Main Station Address; Temporary Location /P means a fixed location in the United Kingdom which is not the Main Station Address or an Alternative Address; Mobile /M means the Radio Equipment is located in the United Kingdom:
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| 2c.2 Recall the requirement to only send
messages to other amateurs.
The Licensee shall only address Messages to other Amateurs or to the stations of those Amateurs. A "Message" means a signal which conveys information to or from Radio Equipment operated by an Amateur in accordance with a United Kingdom Amateur Radio Licence;
All non amateur radio licence holder who gain access to the amateur bands are considered as pirates. Do not speak to them but should you inadvertently come across one don't be the policeman of the bands - just ignore and stop the conversation. Should you be called by a station in response to your CQ call and that other station fails to give a callsign when asked then break off the contact and assume that they were a pirate. The Licensee shall be permitted to use the Radio Equipment to discuss any topics of mutual interest with other Amateurs, and to seek to receive and impart any information and any ideas. The items that you talk about must be personal to you or be of a technical nature. You will often hear stations telling each other about their equipment especially their rigs and antennas.
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| 2c.3 Recall that secret codes are not
permitted.
Messages sent to other amateurs shall not be encrypted for the purpose of rendering the Message unintelligible to other radio spectrum users. The Licensee may use codes and abbreviations for communications as long as they do not obscure or confuse the meaning of the Message. Thus the "Q" Codes which are in general use by amateurs are not considered as secret code as far as this section is concerned.
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| 2c.4 Recall that broadcasting is not
permitted.
Broadcasting means to send a message without expecting a response. Thus calling CQ is not Broadcasting where as chatting on the bands as if you were a radio station heard for general listening is not permitted.
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| 2c.5 Recall that only the licensee, or
another UK licenced amateur operating under his or her supervision, may use
the Radio Equipment.
With certain exceptions the Licensee shall ensure that the Radio Equipment shall only be operated by the Licensee personally and by no other persons. However The Licensee may permit the operation of the Radio Equipment by a person who holds a current United Kingdom Amateur Radio Licence provided that any such operation of the Radio Equipment is carried out in the presence of and under the direct supervision of the Licensee and that such persons are made aware of, and of the requirement to comply with, the terms, conditions and limitations of this Licence. Recall that in certain circumstances the licensee may allow the equipment to be used by a member of the User Services. "User Service" means the British Red Cross, St John Ambulance, the St Andrew's Ambulance Association, the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service, the Salvation Army, any Government Department, any ‘Category 1’ responder, and any Category 2 responder as defined in the Civil Contingencies Act (2004). NOTE: that the nature of the circumstances and the identity of the users services are not examinable. |
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| 2c.6 Recall of the requirement to notify
Ofcom of change of address.
The Licensee must give immediate notice to Ofcom either in writing or by means of Ofcom’s on-line licensing system of any change to the Licensee’s name, Main Station Address (or mailing address if different) from that recorded in this Licence.
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| 2c.7 Recall that a person authorised
by Ofcom has the right to inspect, require the modification, close down or
restrict the operation of the Radio Equipment.
A person authorised by Ofcom may require the Radio Equipment, or any part thereof, to be modified or restricted in use, or temporarily or permanently closed down with immediate effect if, in the opinion of the person authorised by Ofcom: (a) a breach of this Licence has occurred; and/or (b) the use of the Radio Equipment is causing or contributing to Undue Interference to the authorised use of other radio equipment. Ofcom may require the Radio Equipment to be modified or restricted in use, or temporarily closed down either immediately or on the expiry of such period as may be specified in the event of a national or local state of emergency being declared. Ofcom may only exercise this power after a written notice is served on the Licensee or a general notice is published. Any general notices will be posted on the Ofcom website. The Licensee shall permit any person authorised by Ofcom: (a) to inspect the Licence; and (b) to have access to the Radio Equipment for the purposes of inspection, examination and testing, at any and all reasonable times or, when in the opinion of that person an urgent situation exists, at any time to ensure that the Radio Equipment is being used in accordance with the terms of this Licence.
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| 2c.8 and 2c.9 Understand
and apply the Schedule to the licence. Identify allowable frequencies and
power limits.
There is one question in the exam on the VHF section and one on the HF section. Below you will find the schedule to the amateur Life time licence as it appertaines to the Foundation licence. You must understand the schedule and know how to apply it to your operating. Column 1 There are several columns the most important of which is the first one Frequency Bands in MHz. This sets out where in the radio spectrum you may operate. Column 2 The status in the UK of the amateur service. This means whether amateur radio is the primary user or preferred user of that segment or if amateur radio is a secondary user meaning that if another legitimate transmitter is operating on that frequency then it must continue unimpeded. Column 3 Of no real consequence to Foundation licence holders are they cannot operate through satelites but of course interest for the exam as it is in the schedule. Column 4 The second most important column as it states the amoint of power that can be radiated. Not ERP applies in some cases. You will learn more about that in a later section (Feeder and Antenna) about half way down the page.
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