83 lines
3 KiB
Markdown
83 lines
3 KiB
Markdown
---
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tags: [radio, ham-study]
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---
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UK call signs have two parts:
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- licence level and regional locator
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- three letters unique to the operator
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The prefixes for licence level are as follows:
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| Prefix | Level | Example |
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| ------ | ------------ | ------- |
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| M7 | Foundation | M7ABC |
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| 2x0 | Intermediate | 2E0ABC |
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| M0 | Full | M0ABC |
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> Note that for intermediate (and intermediate only), you **must** include the
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> regional locator. The second character ("x") is a placeholder for the country
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> code
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The regional locators are as follows. Their inclusion is mostly optional,
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particularly if you are in England and contacting others in England, unless you
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hold an intermediate licence in which case inclusion is mandatory.
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| Code | Region | Pneumonic |
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| ---- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------ |
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| E | England | |
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| W | Wales | |
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| M | Scotland | Think "Macdonald" |
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| I | Northern Ireland | Think "Ireland" |
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| D | Isle of Man | Think "Douglas", the capital |
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| J | Jersey | |
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| G | U | "U" is the second letter of Guernsey |
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Some examples:
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| Call sign | Meaning |
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| --------- | ------------------------------ |
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| ME7ABC | Foundation, England |
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| 2M0ABC | Intermediate, Scotland |
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| MD7ABC | Foundation, Isle of Man |
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| 2J0ABC | Intermediate, Isle of Man |
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| MU0ABC | Full, Guernsey |
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| MI0ABC | Intermediate, Northern Ireland |
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| MW7ABC | Foundation, Wales |
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## Suffixes indicating operation type
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These are also optional but can be useful - indicated by a slash after the call
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sign.
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| Code | Meaning |
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| ---- | -------------------------------------------------- |
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| /M | mobile: car, pedestrian, inland waters |
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| /A | alternate postal address |
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| /P | temporary: a field or rally event with no postcode |
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| /MM | maritime mobile (vessel at sea) |
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For example: MM7ABC/M would mean "Foundation, Scotland, mobile" and 2E0ABC/A
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would mean "Intermediate, England, alternate address".
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## When to give your call sign
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You should state your call sign as "frequently as is practicable". Good
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occasions:
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- calling CQ
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- making contact with someone you've found from CQ
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- changing frequencies
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- changing supervision
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## Supervision
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You can let other people transmit using your call sign under your "direct
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supervision". Anyone doing this must understand the conditions and limitations
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of the licence they are transmitting under and operate in accordance with them.
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## Emergency use
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In cases of disaster or emergency, you may allow a member of a user service
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(emergency services, St. John Ambulance, Red Cross, government department) to
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transmit using your equipment.
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