The dates of the 2008 AMSAT-UK Colloquium are Friday 25 July to Sunday 27 July, at the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. This will be our 23rd Colloquium, and as usual, we hope to hope have an interesting and fun programme for all our visitors.
 
Under 'Information for New Members' are a few new menu items which link to the secure online joining & renewal website.
 
The AMSAT-uk members area is open on proof of membership to AMSAT-uk. The automatic self-registration is disabled to prevent bogus registrations.
 
New Amateur Radio Licence document

A new Amateur Radio Licence document has been announced by the UK Regulator Ofcom.

The key changes are:

  • Amateur Satellite Service granted to Foundation Licensees
  • 28 MHz band granted to Foundation Licensees
  • 10 GHz band (1 Watt max) granted to Foundation Licensees
  • Rigs used by Foundation licensees no longer need to be CE marked. This will enable the use of cheap ex-PMR equipment for the 50/70/144/430 MHz bands.
  • Kits for Foundation merely need to be ‘commercially available’ as per IR2028
  • Foundation holders can now transmit Digital and Analog Amateur TV
  • Foundation and Intermediate licensees may use up to 500mW ERP to remotely control their station
  • During disaster or emergency exercises, any UK Radio Amateur licensee can offer to pass exercise or emergency traffic
  • Intermediates now get all higher Microwave Bands, preventing the loss of 76GHz+ access
  • Greater Clarity has been introduced for unattended Personal Beacons in the new Schedule-2
  • Full licensees have unprecedented scope in Section 10 for unattended and remotely operated stations and beacons (for personal use) via secure links that may use Internet, WiFi or other amateur bands.
  • /A (Alternative fixed station) has been reintroduced and /P & /M are now more clearly defined for temporary and mobile stations
  • Callsign suffixes /A, /P, /M and /MM are now optional.
  • Club prefixes remain optional (a change from the initial draft version)
  • Restrictions on emission types abolished, permitting greater experimentation
  • Logbooks no longer mandatory, except for interference investigations

Ofcom are to be congratulated for consulting widely on the new document and for taking note of the feedback provided by Radio Amateurs. The new licence is concise and easy to read, a considerable improvement on the three BR-68's it replaces.

Related URL's:

Sample Amateur Radio Licence Document:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/amateur/Licences/samplelicence.pdf

Ofcom Amateur Radio Licensing Consultation:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/aradio/

IR2028 Specification (may have moved):
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/tech/interface_req/ir_2028.pdf

Comments on the original July 4th Draft BR68 that this replaces:
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/july2006/br68_first_impressions.htm

 
 

© 2008 AMSAT-UK
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