The IARU Region 3 Newsletter Issue 4/2001, December 2001 Whilst this issue is put together, a survey form has been circulated to member societies. Feedback will help identify desired changes to the Newsletter to meet expectations of members. Your views will help to garner a sense of belonging and cohesiveness within IARU 3. Please therefore do submit a response to the survey. K C Selvadurai 9V1UV Director IARU Region 3 >>> September 11, 2001 <<< The horror and shock caused by the terrorist attack on that fateful Tuesday will be long remembered. It was a tragedy with far reaching consequences. There were several amateur radio operators amongst the victims. Region 3 expresses its deep condolences to the families of those amateur operators as well as the other grieving families. We feel especially for the young children so cruelly left orphans, and families of the Police officers and Fire Dept staff who lost their lives in the call of duty. Our hearts go out to the many amateurs who volunteered long duty hours providing communication support at key field sites, aboard supply trucks at the distribution warehouses and such like. As stated by Larry Price, W4RA, President of IARU, "The international community of radio amateurs stands united against terrorism and remains dedicated to communicating across geographic, political, and cultural barriers as a means of increasing mutual understanding" >>> WRC-2003 <<< The whole of Article S25 of the International Radio Regulations is on the agenda of the World Radiocommunications Conference being held in 2003, making it a major conference for the Amateur Services. Earlier Newsletters have described some of the preparations made by IARU and the importance and the complexity of the work. The provisions for travelling to other countries can be improved and provision is sought to encourage administrations to recognise the amateur licences issued by other administrations. This will allow temporary operation by radio amateur travellers without excessive paperwork. The IARU seeks a new provision urging administrations to take the steps necessary to allow amateur stations to prepare for and to meet communications needs in the event of a natural disaster. This is something many of us take for granted in our own countries but it is far from universal. International communications by radio amateurs on behalf of third parties are now prohibited unless special arrangements have been made with the authorities concerned. This provision was adopted in 1932 and intended to protect the government telecommunication monopolies. The recent privatisation of telecommunications in many countries has made the provision obsolete but it remains a stumbling block for the exchange of welfare messages by radio amateurs on behalf of the victims of disasters. The time for this prohibition to be dropped has long passed. IARU has prepared a draft new Article S25. It covers everything needed in the international regulations for the amateur and amateur satellite services. The new text prepared by IARU for Article S25 is at: http://www.iaru.org/fasc5out.html. It is important for all amateur radio societies to have a good working relationship with their administrations and for the administrations to know the IARU position and to show positive support. The support of your administration at WRC-2003 is needed. This is vital! >>> Directors Meeting Aug/Sept 2001 <<< The Directors held a meeting in Yokohama, Japan from 30th Aug to 1st Sept 2001. The main business commenced with a report by the Secretary followed by Directors reporting on their activities. Arasu Manohar VU2UR, Monitoring Service Coordinator, in his report, lamented only 4 national societies contribute regularly. Of particular note was the 24MHz wide band pulse transmissions affecting amateur communications in 24.950 to 24.995 MHz range. The Directors noted a general apathy and lack of interest towards IARUMS work. It is hoped that the circular issued by the Secretariat in July 2001 will help to garner some interest. The Directors were appreciative that despite the handicap following a recent accident, Jamie Pye ZL2NN, Beacon Coordinator, submitted a comprehensive report. He mentioned that the garbled transmission referred to in his report to the Darwin Conference was apparently due to a hardware failure in the ALC circuit of the transceiver. Two beacons VR2HK and 4S7B were reported to be off the air. Jamie wishes to have reports on the status of Region 3 International Beacons. They should be sent by email to jamiep@clear.net.nz, or by normal mail to Jamie Pye, IARU Region 3 Beacon Coordinator, C/o NZART, PO Box 40 525, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. The Chairman of STARS, Masayoshi Ebisawa JA1DM reported on plans to dispatch educational books to amateur radio societies or appropriate organizations and requests that Region 3 societies contribute suitable material for STARS. A survey has been conducted amongst societies that were sent educational material in 1999 and 2000. He also mentioned that considering there are only a few ham stations in Iran because of the restrictions, KARL would donate a Korean manufactured HF transceiver to promote amateur radio in Iran. Brenda Edmonds VK3KT Convenor Harmonization of License Qualification Committee reported that the committee is in the process of coming together and will address what is to be done. The Directors were of the view that since the ITU Radio Regulations are in the process of change, there seemed to be no urgent need to harmonize the synopsis nor change the examination items. Action on the tasks following the Darwin Conference had commenced earlier by email. The Directors considered the motions and recommendations that needed discussion. Courses of action appropriate to each topic were agreed. The Directors considered what workshops should be conducted at the next Regional Conference and the appropriate time slot. Of special importance will be the discussion of papers concerning diminishing numbers of radio amateurs as had been requested by the Darwin Conference On finances of Region 3, recognizing the financial burden being borne by member societies, the Directors sought to trim the Region 3 expenditure budget. All categories of expenditure were screened and some changes to the budget were approved. >>> AC Meeting <<< The Administrative Council (AC) met on 6-8 October 2001 in Guatemala City, Guatemala, following the 14th General Assembly of IARU Region 2. The principal business at the Guatemala City meeting was to continue preparations for WRC-2003, which has several items of importance to the amateur services on its agenda. AC resolved that member societies be urged to seek, as an interim measure, Morse code testing speeds not exceeding five words per minute. Setting aside any previous relevant decisions, IARU policy is to support the removal of Morse code testing as an ITU requirement for an amateur license to operate on frequencies below 30 MHz. The present and anticipated future requirements for radio spectrum allocations to the amateur and amateur-satellite services were also reviewed, updated and approved. Member societies may wish to note that the theme for World Amateur Radio Day, 18 April 2002, was selected as "Amateur Radio: Continuing Innovation in Communication Technology." AC noted the growing popularity of the IARU HF World Championship and urged HQ Stations of member-societies to participate. >>> ARDF <<< The Region 3 ARDF Championships that were attended by Director Park HL1IFM, were held in Mongolia from 24th to 28th August. The Hon Minister for Infrastructure, Mr. B Jigid declared the event open. There were 107 competitors representing 7 societies. An event of special note was the award of a medal to Director Park HL1IFM. In recognition and appreciation of his personal contributions towards the advancement of communications in Mongolia, Director Park was awarded an honorary medal by the authorities in Mongolia for "Excellence in Telecommunications" >-< The Region 3 Web site >-< Go to: http://www.iaru-r3.org/ Newsletter Editor: K C Selvadurai 9V1UV, Director IARU Region 3, 9v1uv@sarts.org.sg Publisher: The International Amateur Radio Union Region 3, P.O. Box 73, Toshima, Tokyo 170-8691, Japan. E-mail: iaru-r3@jarl.or.jp Tel: +81 3 3944 3322 Fax: +81 3943 8282 The statements or opinions in this Newsletter do not, unless otherwise stated, necessarily reflect the views of IARU Region 3, the Directors or the Secretariat. Items from this Newsletter may be freely copied for publication by member societies of IARU.