The IARU Region 3 Newsletter Issue 3/2004, Sept 2004 "The Amateur Radio Service has no formal champion or spokesman in most countries. Therefore it falls to radio amateurs themselves, through their national societies, to perform this function on behalf of not only of existing amateurs, but of all those who will one day elect to enter the field, of future generations of radio amateurs, and most importantly, of the larger society which becomes the ultimate recipient of the enormous benefits provided by a strong amateur radio service." This is an extract from "The Case for Amateur Radio" published by IARU Region 1 some years ago and is quoted here because of its relevance to us in Region 3 even today. K C Selvadurai 9V1UV Director IARU Region 3 >>> 7 MHz changes from 1st Jan 2005 <<< There has been recent mention in the electronic media suggesting that when the revised ITU RR starts to take effect from 1 January 2005, amateurs in Regions 1 and 3 may have a basis to ask for access to 7.1 to 7.2 MHz. A footnote in the WRC-03 revised regulations allocates the band 7 100-7 200 kHz in Regions 1 and 3 to the broadcasting service until 29 March 2009 on primary basis. This means that despite the table coming into force on 1 Jan 2005, the broadcasting service is alternately allocated the band 7 100-7 200 kHz until 29 March 2009 on a primary basis. Hence the amateur service has no claim on this band until that day. Despite the regulatory provisions granting the broadcasting service access to that band on a primary basis, some administrations long-ago granted access by their amateurs to this band on a secondary, non-interference basis. This is because the ITU regulations also provide that administrations may not assign any frequency in derogation of the Table of Frequency Allocations except on the express condition that when using such a frequency assignment, the station shall not cause harmful interference to, and shall not claim protection from harmful interference caused by, a station operating in accordance with the Regulations. Amateurs in the Region 1 countries of Norway, Croatia and San Marino have recently been granted access to 7100 to 7200 kHz on a secondary, non-interference basis. In Region 3, amateurs in New Zealand and Australia have, since the late 1980's, been granted access to 7.1 to 7.3 MHz. Even though amateurs do not have an entitlement, administrations have the prerogative to grant such access on a secondary non-interference basis if they so wish. Of course the chance of gaining early access will be greater if that band is presently un-used or little used by local broadcasting services. Member Societies may wish to evaluate their own situation and work out an action plan that could be suitable. Your Directors wish to learn of any outcome, successful or otherwise, so that the experience can be shared with other Societies. >>> Foreign Amateurs operating from Indonesia <<< Three groups of foreign Amateurs may operate from Indonesia: 1 Expatriates who have taken residence in Indonesia for more than 3 months; 2 Visiting Amateurs (tourists) who come for a short visit of less than 3 months; 3 A group of Amateurs who plan to go on a DX-pedition. Expatriates Who Have Taken Residence in Indonesia They are businessmen, members of the Diplomatic Corps, and professionals who have taken residence in Indonesia for more than 3 months and wish to set up and operate an amateur radio station in Indonesia. They must apply for an Indonesian Licence to the Directorate General of Post and Telecommunication, with the following conditions: 1. In possession of a valid amateur radio licence from his home country; 2. The country he comes from has established a reciprocal agreement with Indonesia (Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Checks Republic, United Kingdom, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden and USA); 3. In possession of a permit to stay for 1 year or more, issued by the Indonesian Immigration, for those who are members of the Diplomatic Corps; 4. In possession of a permit to stay for 3 months or more, issued by the Indonesian Embassy in his Country, for those who are non-members of the Diplomatic Corps; 5. Should the application for the Indonesian Amateur Licence be granted, he will be assigned an Indonesian call sign. Visiting Amateurs/Tourists (Guest Operators) Foreign Amateurs who come for a short visit (less than 3 months) or as tourists may operate the station of an Indonesian licence holder as a Guest Operator, with the following conditions: 1. In possession of a valid amateur radio licence from his home country; 2. He comes from a country which has established a reciprocal agreement with Indonesia or from ASEAN countries; 3. Must report to the ORARI Branch where the proposed station is located; 4. During his transmission from this station, the Indonesian License holder must be present all the time; 5. He makes a call by using the call sign of the Indonesian license holder and stating as operator his own call sign, for example: cq cq cq de YBOMOS op. 9V1UV. Visiting Amateurs on DX-pedition Foreign Amateurs visiting Indonesia with the intention of going on a DX-pedition can do so by submitting an application to obtain a licence to the Directorate General of Post and Telecommunication through ORARI Headquarters, enclosing: 1. Recommendation letter from the Telecommunication Authority of the visitors' home country; 2. A list of the DX-pedition members; 3. Copies of Amateur licences of all members; 4. A list of equipment to be brought in to Indonesia; 5. Destination/location where they propose to operate; 6. When the operation is scheduled to start and for what duration of time. The application should be submitted well in advance of the planned date of operation, say at least 6 months. For further information, please contact ORARI Headquarters by phone (62-21-7581 6884), by e-mail (oraripst@cbn.net.id), or by fax (62-21-766 8725). (Submitted by Musa Suraatmadja, YB0MOS) >>> Application by ASARA for IARU Membership <<< Following the 12th Region 3 Conference, an application for membership of IARU was received from ASARA by the IARU R3 Secretary and this was then forwarded to the International Secretariat (IS) Subsequently a letter was received from the IS which said that the application was to be returned on the grounds that American Samoa is a part of the US Territory represented in IARU by the ARRL. >>> Investigation of Effects of Solar Flares on HF Band <<< Six students at the Catholic Junior College (CJC), one of the pre University Institutions in Singapore recently carried out a 5 month research project to detect radio signals arising from solar flares and study their effect on the HF frequency band. The data collecting system comprised a dual dipole with a radio receiver supported by a computer strip chart recorder. The team experimented with the antenna beam patterns by changing the feed points. In addition to collecting data from their own grounds when the sun was overhead, the team also collected data by computer data loggers connected by internet to overseas radio observatories. Thereby they were able to follow the Sun and were able to collect data for long hours. The team also participated in the Radio Jove Project by NASA of USA (http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/) to capture the radio sounds of Jupiter and the Sun. Though the CJC team was unsuccessful in capturing sounds from Jupiter, they had meaningful results from the studies on the solar flares. The team of students found that increased X-ray radiation by the solar flare caused increased radio interference. The team also concluded that the band of frequencies experiencing radio blackouts in the HF range changes from higher to lower frequencies as the degree of ionization in the ionosphere caused by X-rays increases. This research project has kindled an interest in amateur radio in the team leader Joseph Tey as well as at least one other lady member of the team. A study project in radio astronomy has thus been shown to be a window for introduction to amateur radio which others may wish to emulate. The Region 3 Web site Go to: http://www.iaru-r3.org/ Newsletter Editor: K C Selvadurai 9V1UV, Director IARU Region 3, kcselva@starhub.net.sg Publisher: The International Amateur Radio Union Region 3, P.O. Box 73, Toshima, Tokyo 170-8691, Japan. iaru-r3@jarl.or.jp Tel: +81 3 3944 3322 Fax: +81 3 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. MS Word version of this newsletter is available at http://www.iaru-r3.org/news/r3nl-04-09.doc