May 2000 QST

By Ian Poole, G3YWXOperating in the UK:A Primer for US HamsNow that US hams can easily operate in many foreign countries thanks toCEPT participation, it’s easier than ever to pack a mini rig or two and makeham radio part of your travels. The UK—a popular destination for many UShams—is a good place to start. Here’s a “leg up” on operating in Britain.ach year Britain receives severalEmillion visitors from abroad.Many will have an interestingtime visiting tourist spots such asStonehenge, Buckingham Palace, the Housesof Parliament at Westminster or some ofthe many castles and monuments aroundthe country. For hams, however, a trip to theUK can also be an opportunity to pack someradio gear and try operating from the otherside of the “pond.”“Hamcationing” can be particularly use-Table 1UK HF Band Allocations in MHz1.81 - 2.003.5 - 3.807.00 - 7.1010.10 - 10.1514.0 - 14.3518.068 - 18.16821.0 - 21.4524.89 - 24.9928.00 - 29.70Table 2UK VHF/UHF Allocations in MHz50.00 - 52.0070.00 - 70.50144.00 - 146.00430.00 - 440.001240.00 - 1325.002310.00 - 2450.0028 May 2000ful for solo business travelers who’d liketo talk to hams from Britain, possibly onthe VHF or UHF bands. For those with accessto HF equipment, a “G-trip” can makeit possible to work DX from a new countryor talk to friends and family back home.FormalitiesWith the increasing “globalization” ofAmateur Radio it’s becoming much easierto operate in other countries with a minimumof formalities. Many countries—nowincluding the US—have signed on to CEPTRecommendation T/R 61-01, a “universal”reciprocal operating agreement among participatingcountries that permit AmateurRadio. US hams can now operate within“CEPT countries” by simply bringing theiroriginal US licenses and proof of US citizenship(a passport is the obvious choicefor this) along with the multilinqual textthat’s included in the FCC’s CEPT PublicNotice, which can be printed from theARRL Web site at http://www.arrl.org/field/regulations/io/cept-ral.pdf.There are two CEPT license designators—Class1 and Class 2. The Class 1license requires proficiency in Morse code(to a given level) and qualifies holders forall operating privileges, including operationon the bands below 30 MHz. USGeneral, Advanced, Technician Plus andAmateur Extra licensees qualify for CEPTClass 1 tickets.Qualifying for a Class 2 license does notrequire knowledge of Morse code and givesusers all operating privileges on frequenciesabove 30 MHz. It’s the equivalent to theTechnician-class license in the US. There isno CEPT equivalent for Novice licensees.When operating in a CEPT country, operatorssign their home call signs precededby the ITU prefix assigned to the countrythey’re operating from. Being temporary,CEPT stations are classified as portable ormobile. In other words, a US ham operatingfrom England would sign M/WZ0ZZZ/P (or/M as appropriate), MW/WZ0ZZZ/P for