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G0FTD > RADIO 21.11.06 00:11l 170 Lines 7374 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 000815323PZT
Read: GUEST DK5RAS
Subj: Re: Licencing in ZL
Path: DB0FHN<DB0MRW<DK0WUE<DB0RES<F5GOV<F5KBJ<F6GAQ<ON0BEL<CX2SA<GB7YFS<
GB7PZT
Sent: 061120/2205Z @:GB7PZT.#24.GBR.EU [Kidderminster] #:81500 XSERV410h
Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:05:09 +0000
From: g0ftd@gb7pzt.#24.gbr.eu (Andy)
To: radio@ww
Subject: Re: Licencing in ZL
I asked - So, how is licencing done in ZL ?
Dave ZL3AI and Packet Patriot responded, thanks Dave, much appreciated.
> We have only one grade of ham licence now. Except for five Novice class
> hams who are a remnant of a now discontinued grade. Some hams who have seen
> the success of Foundation licences in other countries would like to see
> such a licence introduced here.
I suppose it's not worth the administrative hassle, and I suspect that one
day we in the UK might turn full circle and have only one licence too.
The Foundation Licence concept is a great thing, but has revealed a couple
of points. Firstly, there seems to be two types of FL. One is usually a
family member, sons and daughters, XYL's, who have probably grown quite
accustomed to radio related banter and techniques. The category of FL usually
makes a fine operator. Then we have the complete newcomer or ex-27Mhz operator
which I'm afraid has it's problems, because the FL training is just not
good enough - by far. No I'm not jumping on any bandwagon looking for cheap
jokes, but I speak honestly. Many have probably never even heard an amateur
radio signal until they get licenced. This is in contrast to the traditional
route, an an SWL. The latter is in my opinion the better route.
So ZL's, if you get the chance to introduce FL style licencing, make sure
that the training is adequate for the task.
> Our ham licences are currently a matter of some concern and there is
> ongoing negotiation between NZART and officialdom (RSM - Radio Spectrum
> Management which is a branch of MED the Ministry of Economic Development)
Yes, it has been widely reported over here in the UK.
A shame rally, as for us in the UK you could say that we've never had it so
good.
OK, so back in the dark ages, all radio was *very* tightly controlled.
The GPO, Home Office, the old Radio Regulatory Dept, and the Radio
Investigation Service (RIS) were all the previous incarnations of the
"radio police" ;-)
Then came the Radiocommunications Agency, who lightened up a little, but not
that much. The "amateur radio dept" under the stewardship of a well known
licenced radio amateur did a very good job at making sure amateur radio
got what it deserved. However that had to be done within the RA's rigid
"command and control" framework which made change very difficult for *any*
and *all* radio users.
It soon started a "spectrum audit" which revealed (and I have it here in
an RA report) that the UK Frequency Registration Board was hopeless in
showing who the real spectrum users were, leading to claims of "no spare
frequencies are available".
It appeared that there were committees and study groups, and expert panels
within the RA, but their coordination was poor and very scatter gun.
The phrase "left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing" springs to
mind.
Then came OFCOM, (Office of Communications).
Well it has to be said that this is where the real change and liberalisation
has occured. Free licences, and free NoV's. NoV's are Notices of Variation.
NoV's are what we apply for to run things like 5Mhz channels, packet BBS
and repeaters.
These were previously done by the RSGB, but after years of complaints about
the Potters Bar Loony Asylum, these tasks were taken off of them.
OFCOM has also done something that has never been done before.
Real democracy in licencing changes.
You can register for email updates for *every* minute change, and OFCOM
consults on everything. There is no distinction of individual responses,
business or radio societies.
Many amateurs including myself, have long argued that some of the arcane
regulations should have been given the chop bmany many years ago.
Logs books are being scrapped, anyone can use the station so long as they
are supervised, daft rules about "greetings messages" lasting 2 minutes
to the Pitcairn Islands and other rubbish are getting the chop too.
I wonder if the UK was the last nation to scrap logbooks for ham radio ?
> PRS (Personal Radio Service) or "UHF CB" has no individual licence or fee,
> and is 40 channels on UHF around 476 and 477 MHz. Eight channels are
> allocated to repeater use. Type Approved equipment.
I had a go at UHF CB when I was in VK5 land. The CB repeaters attracted
all the loonies. The UK once had UHF CB on 934Mhz and I still have it.
It wasn't very popular because it wasn't plug and play like 27Mhz.
It got scrapped when the demand for the spectrum was for the cellular
phone network came.
27MHz remained, legally with 80 channels FM only. You still need to pay for
a licence today, same as the old amateur radio price, 15 pounds sterling.
Not many users have one but I think it's on the cards to scrap it at some
point. The usership has long diminished, but it gets used now in a way as
originally proposed (as a low power radio system for general purpose use).
It used to be full of cranks, ugly women looking for a mate and other
sad souls.
Not sure why the UK is so anti CB and ssb. The QRM risks are minimal now.
It must be remembered that the UK still had VHF TV when the original late 70's
CB craze started, and tvi was a real problem. It got scrapped in 1985.
UHT TV is the norm and so is satellite tv, the risks are now minimal.
We have something called PMR446 here, at present 8 FM channels on 446MHz
with half a watt e.r.p. Licence free for anyone to use.
On the other side of the coin, illegal radio useage must be at an all time
low. The 6Mhz pirates are rare, and the weekend broadcasters are rarely
heard, though Holland seems to have plenty of them ;-)
Just above the top end of the medium waves (1610 - 1660khz) seems full of
Dutch pirate broadcasters these days.
Band 2 broadcast pirates continue to operate in major cities, but rarely
anywhere else. I have heard only a few in recent years. They usually
appear when an illegal "rave" is going to take place. They act as a way
of getting ticket sales for a few weeks and then vanish forever.
27Mhz users are still around playing dx'ing with ssb (illegally), but
not in great amounts, and many appear to have cleaned up their act.
By this I mean they seem to be using better equipment, less interference
problems and have even taken to data modes.
SSTV on 27.700 is popular in europe and some packet radio is in evidence
too, but I'm not aware of any UK activity these days.
Inteference problems caused by CB, legal or illegal no longer even registers
on OFCOM's radar - it's just not a problem anymore.
At least amateur radio is showing small signs of life again.
The last 15 years have been DIRE, the who scene collapsed and amateur radio
just floated in a vacuum. Amateur radio publications have reflected this,
often being devoid of useful content or publications folding up never to
be seen again.
Anyway I'm waffling...
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ 73 - Andy ³
³ G0FTD ³
³ Whitstable, Kent ³
³ Winpack-AGW ³
³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³
³ ³ Û ³ ³
ÀÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÙ
G0FTD @ GB7PZT
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