The LCD is a living document.

01/03/15 • 2 min

What use is an F-call? When was the last time you went online and downloaded a copy of the LCD? Do you even know where to find it? Do you know when it last changed and what changes it contained? If the answer is, "I have a copy from 2005 when they introduced the Foundation license.", you have a problem. The LCD changed in 2005 twice, again in 2008, also in 2010 and again in 2013. In total, between 2005 and 2013 there are 546 changes to the document that sets out the conditions to which your amateur license is subject to. Some of those 546 changes are trivial, renaming the department from ACA to ACMA account for about 5 changes, others are more significant. For example, between the 2010 and 2013 issue of the LCD, there were only 21 changes, little ones like changing the date and bigger ones like removing zone restrictions from around Melbourne, Perth and Sydney and adding two new exclusion zones, one off the coast of Exmouth with a 1000km radius and one in the Timor Sea with a 2000km radius. If you add those two exclusions to a map of Australia, you'll find most of the Northern Territory is excluded, half of Western Australia and a big chunk of the north of Queensland. Excluded from what you ask? If you'd read the LCD, you'd know that this was the formal allocation of the 630m band and that Australia added it to the allowed bands for Amateur use, with a few provisos about where you couldn't use it. Between 2008 and 2010 there were 34 changes, gems include conditions under which you can pass message traffic, the addition of the 2200m band and permitting different access control methods. Some of these affect every Amateur, others only the lucky few with ample spare space to run some large antenna systems. In Aviation there is an assumption that the conditions under which you're flying today are different from what they were yesterday and that tomorrow they'll be different again. There are processes for keeping up to date, notification services, subscriptions and the like. In Amateur Radio, there is an assumption that the conditions under which you're operating don't change much at all. The truth is that your Amateur Radio License Conditions are a living thing. Conditions change regularly and sometimes in more ways than you expect. So, get yourself a copy of the LCD, make sure you read and understand it and look for little snakes in the grass that might significantly impact the operation of your station. Tip for new players. In your favorite word processor, you can open the current version of a document and compare it with the previous version using the Compare Document feature. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Previous Episode

Which way is the Grey Line?

What use is an F-call? I recently spent some time talking about the Grey Line, about the way it moves around and how it will help you make contacts along its path. If you recall, the direction of the Grey Line changes throughout the year. As the tilt of the earth affects the direction of the sun on your head, it also affects the shadow line that's drawn across the planet as sun-set and sun-rise occur at your QTH. Of course, you already know this. We experience this change as our seasons. So, if the Grey Line changes direction, the obvious question is, "Which way should you point your antenna?" If you are using a vertical, there isn't much pointing going on, but if you have anything that is rotating, even a mobile station qualifies, there is benefit in actually aligning yourself with the Grey Line. Of course you can look online and see a lovely Grey Line map and use that, but that does require that you have access to the Internet, or a phone with an App or some other technology. But you don't really have to get that technical at all. The antenna you're using has a beam-width that is going to be several degrees wide and local environmental factors are going to impact on your experience, so, here's some figuring. At the equinox, the Grey Line runs North - South, that is, twice a year around 20 March and 22 September. For our quick and dirty calculation, March and September is more than accurate enough. At summer and winter solstice, 21 December and 21 June, the Grey Line runs at the maximum angle, the tilt of the earth, 23.5 degrees. So, every quarter of the year, the Grey Line moves about 23 degrees, call it 21 degrees. So every month the Grey Line moves by about 7 degrees. This is about equal to the width of a man's fist held at arm's length. (104mm) So in December, you'll see the Grey Line running at about a bearing of 21 degrees, in January, about 14 degrees, in February about 7, in March about 0, that is North, and so on. Now the only tricky part is, which way do you go around 0 degrees? Is February 7 degrees east, or 7 degrees west of North? It depends on whether you're north or south of the equator. Here in VK, February is East, April is West, August is East, October is West. To remember that, think that the Grey Line is a FEAST. February is East and August is East. Have fun working the Grey Line. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Next Episode

How do nets work?

What use is an F-call? In the normal day-to-day interaction between amateurs on air we use the procedure to say the other station's call-sign, followed by our own. If there's two people on-air, this is a simple way to have a discussion. But what if there are more? If it's informal, we tend to talk in a circle, that is, we keep handing the microphone to the next person in the line. For this to work, you need to remember who comes after you, so you can hand it over to them. If you want to join in a discussion like this, say your callsign between hand-overs and you'll be asked to join in. It's best to wait for a whole circuit, so you know who is in the discussion and what the sequence of people is. Again, you need to remember who comes after you. Sometimes this descends into anyone talks to anyone, but often that means that one or more people miss out, so be mindful of those who are sitting on the side, they too might have something to share. If the discussion is a more regular occurrence, it might turn into a more formal thing, called a net. There are many different ways of managing a net, but all of them require that you leave some time between each over, to allow new people to check in, or for the net controller, often the convener of the net, to manage the net. A net can be run with a master controller. Picture it like a spoke and hub. The controller sits in the middle like a chair person in a meeting and you speak to the chair, they hand the microphone to the next person. So the controller will call you and you'll call them. You only need to remember their callsign (and yours of course). To join in, announce your callsign between overs, and the next station should acknowledge you and if it's the controller will invite you in. Sometimes you'll be next, sometimes you'll be added to the list, sometimes you'll be placed where the controller thinks it fits best. If you have urgent business, you might say your callsign with the words "with urgent business", so the controller can hand the microphone to you sooner. The 7130 DX net has a controller, often its Roy, VK7ROY in Tasmania. He'll call for stations to check in and create the master list. He'll then call for stations wanting to make a contact. Roy will run through the contact list, encouraging each station to make one or two DX contacts. When the call-list is done, Roy will ask for more stations on the master list, and so on. As an F-call, it's a great way to be heard and make some DX contacts. As a tip, write down each callsign, name and signal strength you hear, since it will help you figure out who Roy is talking to, and it will help you figure out who you might be able to contact. A station in the USA with a signal strength 2 might not be able to hear your station, then again they might. Each on-air discussion has its own set of conventions, or rules. It pays to have a listen to a discussion before you barge in. If two guys are on air discussing their personal lives, they might not want to talk to you and may ignore you. On the other hand, they might want to hear your contribution, since they too were new hams at one point in their life. Have a listen to on-air discussion, be respectful, and participate. It's lots of fun and often leads to lifetime friendships. I'm Onno VK6FLAB