ASHLAND, MA PEBMIT NO.7 - Quarter Century Wireless Association

Q. lbur comrnent regarding incentive lieensing was
so very, very right. Perhaps an incentive to grant
spectrum-based privileges to new licEnsees may have
merit, but to have taken away frcquencies from
those who had previously earned them, is another
thing altogethen I struggle to understand how an
Extra Class - with no telegraphy skills - is entitled to
work telegraphy in the lower 25 KHz of the CW
bands. and yet one who previously earned those
privileges at 13 wpm, and can handle close to 30
wpm is not.
A. Thank you.
Q, We have members ofi our net who are very (oncerned
about the Net Control using our cluh station
call *ign without appending l4 to the call sign. Can
the Trustee allow different Net Control Stations to use
the call sign *naked?"
A. That is the trustee's choice, unless the operator license
class held by the SCO exceeds that of the station licensee,
(see Section 91 .119(e)); or unless the SCO is a recent
upgrade with a CSCE (see Section 97 .119(f)); or unless the
station is transmitting under the reciprocal operating
authority (see Section 97.1 19(g)).
Section 97 .119(c) says that 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. lf an indicator is
self-assigned (as in your scenario), it must be included
before, after, or both before and after, the call sign. No selfassigned
indicator may conflict with any other indicator
specified by the FCC Rules or with any prefix assigned to
another country.
Q. As the truste€ for our club station, can I use rthat
call sign at my office and in myr car?
A. That decision is the trustee's (that's you). "Use that call
sign" is hamslanguage for taking responsibility for the station
transmitting properly on amateur service spectrum. See
Section 97.5(a).
Q. When linking two local rep€aters (with different
call signs) to better facilitate emergency communiea'
tions, is it permi:sible for each repeater to repeat the
lD from the other?
A. Yes, as long as each station achieves compliance with the
station identification requirement in Sectron 97.119(a) by
transmrtting its assigned call sign as necessary.
ln order to transmit legitimately but one of the call signs
in both station l.D. announcements, one of the two station
licensees would have to transfer physical control of the station
apparatus to the other, per Section 97.5(a). The recipient
would have to accept accountability for the proper
operation of both repeaters.
Quarter Century Wireless Assoclatlon
Q. I am the trustee for a local club repeater. I was
asked by a local rouple if they are permitted to speak
in their native Portuguee on the repeaten My understanding
is that it is allowed so long as they lD every
10 minutes in English, I was then informed that this is
corre(t if communicating sirnplex, but not if communicating
via repeater. My main concern is that neither I
nor any of our eontrol operators speak Portuguese
and therefore cannot maintain control, Right?
A. Right you are. The SCO of the repeater would have to
have some way of determining that any communications
being transmitted - in a language that he or she does not
understand - is compliant with the transmissions authorized
in Section 97.111 and that they do not run afoul of the
transmissions prohibited by Section 97.113. As for the station
identification announcement, Section 97.1 19(bX2) says
that for any FCC-licensed amateur station being identified
by a phone emission, it must be in the English language.
Q. As I understand,it, the 200 watt limitation on 30
meters is dependent upon the dass of operator lice*se
of the station control opcrator. Thsse handy charts
showing bands, emission typesr etc., however, don't
make any such distinrtion. llUhat's the real scoop oil
this?
A. Section 97 .313 codifies our transmitter power standards.
Some of the paragraphs in that section are based upon the
class of license granted to the SCO, but not those pertaining
to the 30 meter band. Paragraph 97.3'13(c)(1)is the
operative requirement. lt says: No station may transmit with
a transmitter power exceeding 200 W PEP on the 10.'10-
10.1 5 MHz segment.
Q. When I aperate from my house in Florida {my permanent
address is in PA). I usa my third district call
sign. We are there no rnore than 4 months at a time. I
have not notified the FCC that nry address is temporal-
Iy in Florida and have used rny call sign without any /4
or /W4 on the end. Should I notifu the FCC of my temporary
address changes even of short duration?
A. Not as long as you can receive mail promptly from the
FCC. Section 97.23 says that each license grant must show
the grantee's correct name and mailing address. The mailing
address must be in an area where the amateur service is
regulated by the FCC and where the grantee can receive
mail delivery by the United States Postal Service.
Q, Do I sign my call as l4 or 1W4?
A. Section 91.119(c) authorizes you to append any selfassigned
indicator as long as it does not conflict with any
other indicator specified by the FCC Rules or with any prefix
assigned to another country.