[BARC-List] [Fwd: [TipsNet] New Regulations For The Amateur Services]

[Dick Doherty`]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [TipsNet] New Regulations For The Amateur Services
Date: Sun, 06 Jul 2003 13:13:37 -0400
From: kb1ixn <kb1ixn@worldnet.att.net>
Reply-To: TipsNet@yahoogroups.com
To: tipsnet@yahoogroups.com

Hi Folks, Here is a news release from Newsline that just came in........73



 >Note:  We received the following news release from the International
 >Amateur Radio Unionon the outcome of World Radiocommunications
 >Conference '03 and feel it is important for all of you to read.
 >
 >In addition to the data already in circulation dealing with upcoming
 >changes to 40 meters in 2009, this document also has information on
 >overall regulatory changes to ham radio world-wide as the result of
 >the just concluded Geneva Switzerland conference.
 >
 >Also remember that here in the United States we hams must await FCC
 >action to impliment any of these changes.  They do not go into effect
 >until that happens and this could (and will) be several years in the
 >future.
 >
 >It might be wise to keep this on file for future reference as the
 >regulatory change process begins.
 >
 >ARNewsline(tm)
 >
 >---------------------------------------------------------------------
 >
 >NEWS RELEASE
 >International Amateur Radio Union
 >P.O. Box 310905
 >Newington, CT 06131-0905 USA
 >FAX: +1 860 594 0259
 >E-Mail: iaru@iaru.org
 >
 >
 >3 July 2003
 >
 >For immediate release
 >
 >New Regulations For The Amateur Services
 >By Michael Owen, VK3KI
 >
 >WRC-03 IARU Observer Team Member
 >
 >Introduction
 >
 >On 4th July 2003 the World Radiocommunication Conference, Geneva,
 >2003 ended and on the following day, the 5th July 2003 the new
 >international regulations governing the amateur and amateur satellite
 >services, Article 25 of the Radio Regulations, that had been adopted
 >by the Conference come into effect.
 >
 >The language of many provisions in Article 25 as it was before 5th
 >July 2003 was the language of many years ago, reflecting the
 >priorities, structures and attitudes of a time long gone. Provisions
 >such as requiring amateur stations to use "plain language", that
 >communications be limited to messages "relating to experiments", and
 >remarks "for which by reason of their lack of importance, the use of
 >the telegraph service could not enter into consideration", the
 >prohibition of "international communications emanating from third
 >parties", though that provision "may be modified by special
 >arrangements between the interested countries", the requirement for
 >Morse Code, and a number of other provisions are to be found in
 >Article 8 of the General Radio Regulations annexed to the
 >International Telecommunication Convention, Madrid, 1932.
 >
 >The IARU policy was to seek the simplification of the Regulations
 >affecting the amateur services by removal of regulations that were no
 >longer necessary, the removal of provisions that were redundant
 >because the subject matter was covered elsewhere in the Radio
 >Regulations, the updating of provisions to reflect today's attitudes
 >and activities, the identification of some standards for the
 >qualification of amateurs and the addition of provisions that
 >encouraged amateurs to be given the ability to provide emergency
 >communications and to encourage the international recognition of
 >amateur licences.
 >
 >The Radio Regulations, the international regulations, define the
 >fundamentals of the amateur services, and regulate international
 >communications between stations in the amateur and amateur-satellite
 >services. Administrations may and do make additional regulations, and
 >regulate in detail the amateur services in their country.
 >
 >This article compares the previous regulations with the new
 >regulations and attempts to identify what is new and what is
 >different. It does not attempt to explain why the particular
 >provision was adopted in a particular form, which is another story
 >told elsewhere. The numbers used to identify provisions are the
 >temporary numbers used by the ITU in the course of the WRC.
 >
 >Banned countries list
 >
 >The first provision of Article 25, the so called "banned countries"
 >list is a provision that is to be found in the 1932 Regulations, and
 >is almost the same as the previous regulation except that it is now
 >expressed positively rather negatively. The provision reads:
 >
 >25.1 Radiocommunications between amateur stations of different
 >countries shall be permitted unless the administration of one of the
 >countries concerned has notified that it objects to such
 >radiocommunications.
 >
 >That is a provision that has only a limited effect on most amateurs.
 >The balance of Article 25 is more directly relevant to the day to day
 >activities of radio amateurs.
 >
 >What may be transmitted by Amateur Stations
 >The old international regulation relating to what an amateur station
 >may transmit was as follows:
 >
 >"When transmissions between amateur stations of different countries
 >are permitted, they shall be made in plain language and shall be
 >limited to messages of a technical nature relating to tests and to
 >remarks of a personal character for which, by reason of their
 >unimportance, recourse to the public telecommunications service is
 >not justified."
 >
 >This dealt with two distinct matters, the content of messages and the
 >encryption of messages.
 >
 >The phrase "messages of a technical nature relating to tests and to
 >remarks of a personal character" could be construed unnecessarily
 >narrowly, and did not reflect today's world, and the qualifying
 >phrase "which, by reason of their unimportance, recourse to the
 >public telecommunications service is not justified" was both vague
 >and uncertain, and certainly reflected a time when in most countries
 >the common carrier was a government monopoly.
 >
 >So, the old provision was replaced by a new provision as follows:
 >
 >25.2 Transmissions between amateur stations of different countries
 >shall be limited to communications incidental to the purposes of the
 >amateur service, as defined in No. 1.56 and to remarks of a personal
 >character.
 >
 >The term "incidental to" is wide, certainly not requiring a narrow
 >connection with the "purposes of the amateurs service" and as
 >the "purposes" of the amateur service set out in the definition
 >are "self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations",
 >the subject matter goes much beyond "tests". The new provision much
 >more accurately reflects what in fact is the subject matter of
 >amateur transmissions today.
 >
 >Coded Messages
 >
 >It is assumed that the phrase in the old provision requiring
 >transmissions to be in "plain language" meant something transmitted
 >by either voice or Morse that anyone could hear and understand. But
 >today amateurs use many codes, and so what is meant by the
 >phrase "plain language" could become a question in some countries.
 >The language is no longer really appropriate. And, in any event a
 >total prohibition is not appropriate as encryption is required for
 >the control of satellites by command stations.
 >
 >The requirement is not for "plain language" but a prohibition of
 >messages encoded for the purposes of obscuring their meaning.
 >
 >So, the simple phrase in the old regulation was replaced by a new
 >provision, as follows:
 >
 >25.2A Transmissions between amateur stations of different countries
 >shall not be encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning,
 >except for control signals exchanged between earth command stations
 >and the space station in the amateur satellite service.
 >
 >The IARU had suggested that it would be desirable for the exception
 >to be expressed more widely than limited to satellite control
 >signals, but a number of countries resisted this for security
 >reasons. Of course the provision applies only to international
 >communications. Therefore, repeater control signals, which are almost
 >invariably transmitted within a single country and so are subject to
 >national rather than international, regulation, may be encoded unless
 >prohibited by national regulation.
 >
 >"Third party" messages
 >
 >One of the most difficult areas was the old provisions dealing with
 >so called "third party messages." The provisions were as follows:
 >It is absolutely forbidden for amateur stations to be used for
 >transmitting international communications on behalf of third parties.
 >
 >The preceding provisions may be modified by special arrangements
 >between the administrations of the countries concerned.
 >
 >That prohibition of international communication on behalf of third
 >parties is very wide. What is a communication on behalf of a third
 >party? School children speaking to an astronaut is a communication on
 >behalf of a third party, as is participation in the Jamboree on the
 >Air. The provision inhibited preparation for disaster communication,
 >and indeed, international disaster relief communications unless a
 >special arrangements were in place between the two countries
 >concerned.
 >
 >The requirement that the prohibition could be modified by "special
 >arrangements between the administrations of the countries concerned"
 >was slow and clumsy, in many countries involving the ministry
 >responsible for foreign relations.
 >
 >The IARU suggested the suppression of both provisions, taking the
 >view that each administration was fully empowered to regulate its
 >amateurs, and in particular to define what communication could and
 >could not be carried by an amateur station both nationally and
 >internationally.
 >
 >Of course, the fundamental requirement that the amateur service is
 >non commercial is to be found in the definition of the amateur
 >service and Article
 >25.2 set out above.
 >
 >The new provision reads as follows:
 >
 >25.3 Amateur stations may be used for transmitting international
 >communications on behalf of third parties only in the case of an
 >emergency or disaster relief. . An administration may determine the
 >applicability of this provision to amateur stations under its
 >jurisdiction.
 >
 >The exception to the blanket prohibition for cases of emergency and
 >disaster relief is important, and when read with the new provision
 >intended to encourage emergency communication by amateur stations
 >will hopefully lead administrations to adopt new regulations to
 >facilitate such activities.
 >
 >This second sentence of this provision enables each administration to
 >define what is a communication on behalf of a third party, and with
 >whom the stations under its jurisdiction may exchange such
 >communications. If the other station's administration permits the
 >same communication, then the communication may be exchanged
 >internationally.
 >
 >The removal of the requirement for bilateral agreements between
 >countries is significant as the new regulation certainly provides the
 >means by which each administration can permit many activities, such
 >as disaster relief, practice for emergency communication, and
 >educational communications to take place internationally.
 >
 >Morse Code
 >
 >The old regulation that Morse was a requirement for the operators of
 >amateur stations below 30 MHz was found in a provision that read as
 >follows:
 >Any person seeking a licence to operate the apparatus of an amateur
 >station shall prove that he is able to send correctly by hand and to
 >receive correctly by ear texts in Morse code signals. The
 >administrations concerned may, however, waive this requirement in the
 >case of stations making use exclusively of frequencies above 30 MHz.
 >
 >That was replaced with a provision giving each administration the
 >right to decide whether or not Morse is a required qualification as
 >follows:
 >
 >25.5 Administrations shall determine whether or not a person seeking
 >a licence to operate an amateur station shall demonstrate the ability
 >to send and receive texts in Morse code signals.
 >
 >The alternative of simply deleting the old provision was rejected
 >because a number of administrations thought that the matter was so
 >important that a positive decision not to require Morse as a
 >qualification was appropriate. The effect is actually the same: Morse
 >code is no longer an internationally required qualification for an
 >amateur licence, though an administration may still require it.
 >
 >The Qualification of Amateurs
 >
 >Apart from the Morse code as a qualification, the previous regulation
 >provided:
 >Administrations shall take such measures as they judge necessary to
 >verify the operational and technical qualifications of any person
 >wishing to operate the apparatus of an amateur station.
 >
 >This was replaced by a new provision as follows:
 >
 >25.6 Administrations shall verify the operational and technical
 >qualifications of any person wishing to operate an amateur station.
 >Guidance for standards of competence may be found in the most recent
 >version of Recommendation ITU-R M.1544.
 >
 >The reference to the Recommendation is a non-mandatory reference.
 >That is, an administration is not bound to follow it, but it is
 >expected that all administrations will take the Recommendation into
 >account when setting the qualification for an amateur licensee.
 >
 >The Recommendation is very general, for example providing that any
 >person seeking a license to operate an amateur station should
 >demonstrate a "theoretical knowledge of: Radio regulations,
 >international, domestic", and under the heading "Radio system
 >theory", "transmitters, receivers, antennas and propagation and
 >measurements." Consistently with the decisions of the Conference, the
 >Recommendation does not suggest any requirement for a Morse skill.
 >
 >That accords with the IARU position that the Radio Regulations should
 >give some guidance as to the qualification appropriate for an amateur
 >licence, but should not attempt to set a syllabus, as the diversity
 >of environments for which a standard must be set is very great.
 >
 >The identification of a standard, the topics on which knowledge is
 >required, reflects one of the essential elements of the amateur
 >service, namely that an amateur is a person who has demonstrated an
 >operational and technical qualification, distinguishing that amateur
 >from many other users of the spectrum.
 >
 >Power
 >
 >The next provision in the new Regulations is:
 >
 >25.7 The maximum power of amateur stations shall be fixed by the
 >administrations concerned.
 >
 >That is almost the same as the old regulation, but with the words
 >after those words in the old provision being omitted, so the
 >words "having regard to the technical qualifications of the operators
 >and to the conditions under which these stations are to operate" are
 >no longer part of the provision.
 >
 >The application of other provisions of the Radio Regulations
 >Again, Article 25.8 is a shortened version of the previous article,
 >and reads as follows:
 >
 >25.8 All pertinent Articles and Provisions of the Constitution, the
 >Convention and of these Regulations shall apply to amateur stations.
 >That changes the reference to "general rules" to "pertinent"
 >provisions of the current ITU documents and omits the sentence "In
 >particular, the emitted frequency shall be as stable and as free from
 >spurious emissions as the state of technical development for such
 >stations permits." which is unnecessary as the requirements apply to
 >amateur stations in any event.
 >
 >In reality, there is no change arising from the different wording.
 >Probably the provision is unnecessary in any event, but it offered
 >some assurance to administrations that amateurs will abide by all
 >pertinent rules.
 >
 >Call signs
 >
 >Finally, a provision that is the same as the previous provision:
 >25.9 During the course of their transmissions, amateur stations shall
 >transmit their call sign at short intervals.
 >
 >Emergency Communications
 >
 >Then, a completely new provision is included in Article 25, a
 >provision that really needs no explanation.
 >
 >25.9A Administrations are encouraged to take the necessary steps to
 >allow amateur stations to prepare for and meet communication needs in
 >support of disaster relief.
 >
 >That provision should be read in conjunction with Article 25.3, and
 >it is hoped that administrations will make regulations that
 >facilitate amateurs preparing for emergency situations and providing
 >communications in emergencies and for
 >disaster relief. This was an important IARU objective.
 >
 >The international recognition of the licences of visiting amateurs
 >A further completely new provision is added to Article 25:
 >
 >25.9B Administrations may determine whether or not to permit a person
 >who has been granted a licence to operate an amateur station by
 >another administration, to operate an amateur station while that
 >person is temporarily in its territory, subject to such conditions or
 >restrictions it may impose.
 >
 >This provision has been interpreted by some to mean that an
 >administration may, if it wishes, permit a licensee from another
 >country to operate in its territory without issuing a licence, as
 >would otherwise be required by Article 18 of the Radio Regulations.
 >There is some substance in interpretation, as the provision deals
 >with "permissions" and applies only to a person temporarily in the
 >territory of the other administration.
 >
 >The interpretation of the provision is, of course, a matter for
 >administrations, but hopefully it is a provision that will encourage
 >administrations to allow amateurs to enjoy their hobby while
 >travelling by recognising the foreign licence. A global recognition
 >would fill in the gaps left by the CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-01 and
 >the International Amateur Radio Permit of the OAS.
 >
 >The Amateur-satellite service
 >
 >The final two provisions deal with amateur-satellite service, the
 >first being unchanged and reading as follows:
 >
 >25.10 The provisions of Section I of this Article shall apply
 >equally, as appropriate, to the amateur-satellite service.
 >
 >The next provision is the only operative provision in Article 25
 >dealing with the amateur-satellite service. The previous provision
 >read as follows:
 >
 >Space stations in the amateur-satellite service operating in bands
 >shared with other services shall be fitted with appropriate devices
 >for controlling emissions in the event that harmful interference is
 >reported in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 22.
 >Administrations authorizing such space stations shall inform the IFRB
 >and shall ensure that sufficient earth command stations are
 >established before launch to guarantee that any harmful interference
 >which might be reported can be terminated by the authorizing
 >administration (see No. 2612).
 >
 >The provision was unnecessarily complex, repeating obligations that
 >are found elsewhere in the Radio Regulations, particularly Article
 >22.
 >
 >In the end, the following simplified provision was adopted:
 >
 >25.11 Administrations authorizing space stations in the amateur-
 >satellite service shall ensure that sufficient earth command stations
 >are established before launch to ensure that any harmful interference
 >caused by emissions from a station in the amateur-satellite service
 >can be terminated immediately (see No. 22.1).
 >
 >The new provision avoids the repetition in different words of
 >regulations that already apply to the stations, and simply requires
 >that sufficient earth command stations are established before launch.
 >
 >The Definition of the Amateur Service
 >
 >When, in 1996, the IARU commenced its examination of the issues
 >raised by placing Article 25 of the Radio Regulations on the agenda
 >of a future World Radiocommunication Conference, it very quickly saw
 >that the definition remained as relevant and appropriate as it had
 >been over the many years that it been a part of the Radio
 >regulations.
 >
 >It is worth setting out that definition for the sake of completeness:
 >1.56 Amateur service: A radiocommunication service for the purpose of
 >self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations
 >carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorised persons
 >interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without
 >pecuniary interest.
 >
 >Similarly, the definition of the amateur-satellite service remains
 >unchanged:
 >1.57 Amateur-satellite service: A radiocommunication service using
 >space stations on earth satellites for the same purposes as those of
 >the amateur service.
 >
 >The Conference decided that no change was required to those
 >definitions in Article 1.
 >
 >Conclusion
 >
 >The Radio Regulations are the written result of the welding together
 >of the different views of different people with different languages
 >and from different cultures. It is no doubt easy to say that some of
 >the provisions could be expressed more elegantly, and that some of
 >the provisions are not necessary.
 >
 >Of course, it is true that the narrower provisions of the old
 >international regulations have not really inhibited the amateur
 >service in many countries, with administrations preferring a liberal
 >interpretation. But in the long run, the amateur service cannot
 >afford to have countries ignore the international regulations. It is
 >fundamental that the amateurs have appropriate "operational and
 >technical qualifications." A speed limit that is unrealistic and not
 >enforced is going to be ignored. What was appropriate in 1932 may not
 >be appropriate in 2003.
 >
 >In the end it is suggested that the meaning of Article 25 is clear,
 >even if expressed in language different from the language suggested
 >by the IARU. What is important is the substance, not the form, and it
 >is suggested that the changes and additions made to Article 25 by WRC
 >2003 will meet the needs for the future of the amateur service
 >identified by the IARU.
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
 >arnewsline-unsubscribe@egroups.com
 >
 >
 >
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Dan Couture
KB1IXN
ECHOLINK NODE# 22921
MERIDEN,CT USA
Member / ARRL / SKYWARN
www.qsl.net/kb1ixn

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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-- 
Very 73 KA1TUZ Dick
ka1tuz@arrl.net