WANSARC Vol 36 Issue 11 2005.pdf - Western & Northern Suburbs ...

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New Amateur Licenses Come into Force At the first moment of Wednesday 19 October 2005 the new Australian amateur license structure came into force. At that time, the Determination made by the Australian Communications and Media Authority amending the Amateur License Conditions Determination became the law. What does it mean It means that as from that time the Foundation license exists, and we hope that the first Foundation Licenses will be issued by the end of that week, to those who qualified at the trial Foundation training course conducted by the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society on the weekend of 15 and 16 October. The amateur Foundation licensee can only use a transmitter that has been manufactured commercially, can only use voice, on either SSB, AM or FM or Morse using a manually operated Morse key, and not more than 10 watts output power ssb or 3 watts output power AM, FM or CW. The Foundation station can operate on the 80, 40, 15 and 10 meter bands as well as the 2 meter band and the band 430 to 450 MHz, subject to necessary bandwidth restrictions. It means that the Standard license now exists, and this license includes the existing Novice, and Novice Limited licensees, who now can use any emission mode with a necessary bandwidth not exceeding 8 kHz on the 80, 40, 20 and 15 meter bands, and any emission mode with a necessary bandwidth not exceeding 16 kHz on the 10 meter band, the band 52 to 54 MHz, the 2 meter band, and the bands 430 to 450 MHz, 1240 to 1300 MHz, 2,400 to 2,450 MHz and 5.650 to 5.850 GHz, with no change to the current output power limits of 100 watts and 30 watts. It means that the Advanced license exists, and this license includes the existing Unrestricted license, the Limited license and the Intermediate license, who can use any emission mode with a necessary bandwidth not exceeding 8 kHz on all bands below 24.990 MHz, any emission mode with a necessary bandwidth not exceeding 16 kHz on the 28.00 MHz to 29.70 MHz band, any emission mode with a necessary bandwidth not exceeding 100 kHz on the 6 and 2 meter bands and any emission mode with no bandwidth restriction above 420 MHz, and with no change to the current output power limits of 400 watts and 120 watts. Full details of the Determination and other administrative details including the arrangements being made by ACMA to substitute new licenses for existing licenses can be found at the ACMA website, www.acma.gov.au, and all amateurs are urged to check that site for the full and authorative information. The WIA welcomes the changes. WIA President, Michael Owen, VK3KI, said today “The WIA welcomes these long awaited changes, and in particular welcomes the new Foundation license, which we hope will encourage many newcomers to our exciting interest. We also know that there will be many amateurs operating on the 40 and 20 meter bands for the first time with those bands available to Standard licensees. We urge all amateurs to make all these newcomers welcome. The WIA would also like to acknowledge the cooperative approach of ACMA in establishing the new syllabi for the various licenses and the establishment of the new WIA assessment of competency system relying on WIA accredited and registered Assessors, essential for the practical assessment required for the Foundation qualification and, indeed, for any first amateur license.” “Our only regret is that we believe that the power limits of 3 watts for AM, FM and CW for the Foundation license, while perfectly logical, is unrealistic given the output power of commercially available equipment, particularly older equipment, and that the power limit should be 10 watts. The WIA has already drawn ACMA’s attention to this problem, and has requested that the limit be changed at the first opportunity. That apart, the WIA believes that these changes to the Australian amateur license structure will strengthen our hobby, and encourage many more people to become licensed radio amateurs.” If you were in any doubt that the WIA is an effective organisation then the new structure should leave you in no doubt of the Institutes ability to effectively negotiate on our behalf. The new conditions should please everyone, and all with no loss of privileges in any area. WANSARC Vol 36 Issue 11 2005 Page 2 of 8
A bulletin to members from Amateur Radio Victoria New license structure begins Key points at a glance: • New license structure begins 19/10/2005 • Expect new replacement licenses through the post • WIA rolls out the new Assessment for Competency • First group qualifies for their Foundation Licenses • Class License for short-term visitors – not yet The three tier amateur licensing system officially in force on Wednesday, 19 October, through an amendment to the Radiocommunications License Conditions (Amateur License) Determination. Approved by the ACMA Board on 12 October and announced 18/10/2005, it simplifies amateur licenses by combining the five current license types in two - Standard and Advanced. It also introduces the new entry level Foundation License. The first to qualify for the Foundation License under the WIA Assessment for Competency conducted by Accredited Assessors are now awaiting their licenses. Many more are expected in coming months. Due to an anomaly in the new LCD, the Foundation License has been given only 3-watts output power for AM, FM or CW, but 10-watts PEP for SSB. The WIA has raised this situation with ACMA and the intention is to increase the 3-watts to 10-watts. The ACMA says that all existing amateur licensees will be issued with new replacement licenses. Novice and Novice-Limited can on the commencement day use the Standard License operating privileges. However all licensees need to wait until they received their new license before seeking any changes such as to a call sign. Along with the new license structure comes the harmonizing of license conditions and qualification requirements, where possible, with those of other countries. This is resulting in a re-alignment of the theory syllabus to international requirements for the Standard and Advanced Licenses. The new Assessment for Competency system to determine the qualification of individuals for amateur certificates of proficiency was introduced on 14 October by the Wireless Institute of Australia. It was trialed in Queensland on the weekend of 15-16 October. That resulted in 16 people, the youngest aged 10, are declared competent after their Foundation License assessment. The Assessment for Competency system through a network of WIA Accredited Assessors will be rolled out across the nation in coming weeks. The current WIA Exam Service Invigilators continue to have a role to play in conducting paper-based multichoice theory and regulations exams for the Standard and Advanced licenses. They can also team up with an Assessor and provide assistance to them. Only Assessors can conduct the Foundation License assessments and the practical assessments required for those who aren’t already radio amateurs who want to take get a Standard or Advanced license. The license restructure is one of the final actions for the ACMA to flow from its extensive public review of Amateur Service regulation that begun in August 2003. The first step was the removal of the Morse code proficiency requirement for access to the HF bands, and that occurred on 1 January, 2004. Likely to be the final matter implemented from the review is the introduction of a Class License for visiting radio amateurs. This is expected to begin before the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March 2006 to enable duly qualified overseas radio amateurs to operate for short-term visits without the need to take out an Australian license. They will then be able to operate under their home call sign /VK* - Amateur Radio Victoria Foundation webpage www.amataeurradio.com.au/foundation WANSARC Vol 36 Issue 11 2005 Page 3 of 8
Page 1: WANSARC NEWS Incorporated in Victor
Page 5 and 6: over there is no extra fee, the $31
Page 7 and 8: Laughter is a medicine… THINGS WE

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