• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

The LED The newsletter of the Livingston Amateur Radio Klub (LARK) Howell, Michigan March 2020 ++++Notice: There is no Klub meeting this month due to unavailability of a meeting room Who 8 Darrell’s Spicy Bacon W8DSB Unfortunately, no Spicy Bacon this month, since as many of you may know, our fearless leader has been feeling a bit under the weather. We expect an inspiring missive next month. Part 97- Station Identification How often must I identify? And, just how am I to identify? Let's take a look... §97.119 Station identification. (a) Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station, must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station. (b) The call sign must be transmitted with an emission authorized for the transmitting channel in one of the following ways: (1) By a CW emission. When keyed by an automatic device used only for identification, the speed must not exceed 20 words per minute; (2) By a phone emission in the English language. Use of a phonetic alphabet as an aid for correct station identification is encouraged; (3) By a RTTY emission using a specified digital code when all or part of the communications are transmitted by a RTTY or data emission; (4) By an image emission conforming to the applicable transmission standards, either color or monochrome, of §73.682(a) of the FCC Rules when all or part of the communications are transmitted in the same image emission (c) One or more indicators may be included with the call sign. Each indicator must be separated from the call sign by the slant mark (/) or by any suitable word that denotes the slant mark. If an indicator is self- assigned, it must be included before, after, or both before and after, the call sign. No self-assigned indicator may conflict with any other indicator specified by the FCC Rules or with any prefix assigned to another country. (d) When transmitting in conjunction with an event of special significance, a station may substitute for its assigned call sign a special event call sign as shown for that station for that period of time on the common data base coordinated, maintained and disseminated by the special event call sign data base coordinators. Additionally, the station must transmit its assigned call sign at least once per hour during such transmissions. (e) When the operator license class held by the control operator exceeds that of the station licensee, an indicator consisting of the call sign assigned to the control operator's station must be included after the call sign. (f) When the control operator is a person who is exercising the rights and privileges authorized by §97.9(b) of this part, an indicator must be included after the call sign as follows: (1) For a control operator who has requested a license modification from Novice Class to Technical Class: KT; (2) For a control operator who has requested a license modification from Novice or Technician to General Class: AG; (3) For a control operator who has requested a license modification from Novice, Technician, General, or Advanced Class to Amateur Extra Class: AE. (g) When the station is transmitting under the authority of §97.107 of this part, an indicator consisting of the appropriate letter-numeral designating the station location must be included before the call sign that was issued to the station by the country granting the license. For an amateur service license granted by the Government of Canada, however, the indicator must be included after the call sign. At least once during each intercommunication, the identification announcement must include the geographical location as nearly as possible by city and state, commonwealth or possession. So, the first question to answer is: Am I a space station or a telecommand station? Probably you are not, but let's make sure. A space station is defined in Sec. 97.3 (a) (41) as “An amateur station located more than 50 km above the Earth's surface.” And a telecommand station is defined in Sec. 97.3 (a) (45) as “An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify or terminate functions of a space station.” So, unless you are in orbit or acting as a controller of an orbiting station, you are going to have to conform to the requirements of Sec. 97.119 (a) which says you must identify ever 10 minutes in the course of a QSO and once at the end of the QSO. And, just how are you to identify? Well, you use your “assigned call sign” on your “transmitting channel”. And, of course, you are prohibited from signing the call sign of someone else. And, you must identify using an emission mode which is authorized for the transmitting channel you are using. You can use CW if it is an allowable emission mode where you are transmitting, and if you send by hand, you can use any speed you want. But if you are using an automatic device used only for identification, you are limited to 20 words per minute. If you identify in phone, you must use the English language, and using a phonetic alphabet is encouraged. If you are using RTTY to identify, you must use a “specified digital code” when all or part of the communication is RTTY or data emission. If you identify with an image emission “conforming to applicable transmission standards” in either color or monochrome, you must consult Sec. 73.682 (a) of the FCC rules when all or part of the communications are transmitted in the same image emission. I remember a heated argument among the old “Groucho Marx Net” a/k/a the “Midwest Information Net” on 3967.5 kHz, who always operated on phone, as to whether an operator could identify, using CW and an iambic keyer by hand, at a speed faster than 20 words per minute. The conclusion was that an operator can do so, and only the no coders who were using W8RJ's automatic CW identifiers (see http://www.romacsoftware.com/) were limited to 20 words per minute. The no coders generally broke that rule on a regular basis, but I must defer to those previously known as “Official Observers” as to any violations. The issue in simple terms is whether a station, talking on phone, could identify using CW. The answer is yes, since CW is a permitted emission in almost all frequency sub-bands, and there is no requirement that identification must be made using a particular emission type. Of course, on the CW only sub-bands, one could not identify using phone, since phone is not a permitted emission in those sub-bands. When identifying, a station can using a self-assigned “indicator” using a slant mark or using a word that denotes a slant mark. For example, someone could identify as “QRP” or “portable” or “mobile” or something else, as long as the self-assigned identifier isn't in conflict with another FCC rule or is not a prefix which is assigned to another country. So, KT8Y could not sign “KT8Y portable VP2E”, unless, of course, KT8Y was actually basking in that Caribbean paradise. And if he did so, it would have to be “VP2E portable KT8Y”, for reasons explained below. There are a few FCC “indicators”, which many of you may be familiar with, which must be used after passing an upgrade examination and before requested license modification is issued. For example, when a Technician class licensee successfully passes the Extra class exam, and requests an upgraded call sign, then he or she must use “/AE” when operating under Extra class privileges. Part 97 does by its terms authorize the use of “/POTA” or “/SOTA” or even “/BOZO”. I don't think using “/I AM AN IDIOT” is authorized by Sec. 97.119(c), since the rule speaks to a “word” not “words”. The rule does say that the indicator, if self assigned, can be used before, after, or both before and after the assigned call. I'll bet you didn't know that when operating under a special event callsign, the rule requires identification at least hourly of the station's assigned callsign. When you are operating as a guest operator at a friend's QTH and your privileges exceed your friend's privileges, you must sign your friend's callsign/your callsign. When an “alien” is operating in the USA under a reciprocal license, if the alien is a Canadian, the alien identifies with a USA identifier using a letter and number showing location AFTER his or her Canadian callsign. For all others, the USA identifier is sent BEFORE the home callsign. Same thing goes for USA operators using reciprocal licensing in a foreign country. The above QSL card for VP2E/KT8Y was not an operation under reciprocal licensing, but Anguilla required the geographic identifier BEFORE the operator's callsign. When I went back to Anguilla in 1993, I requested a “normal” callsign and was given VP2EST, hence the double calls on the QSL card. So, when using reciprocal licensing, VE3XXX when in the USA signs “VE3XXX/W8” if operating in West Virginia. And G5TTT signs “W4/G5TTT” if in Florida. Why the difference? I have no idea.

Load more

  22

Copy Link