Application for an Amateur Radio Special ... - Ofcom Licensing

www.ofcom.org.uk OfW286
Application for an Amateur Radio Special
Contests Call Sign as a Notice of
Variation (NoV) to an Amateur Full (Club)
Licence or an Amateur Full or an
Amateur Full (Reciprocal) Licence (i.e. for
an individual)
Special Contests Call Signs
Policy and procedure
a) The holder of a UK Amateur radio Full (Club) Licence or an Amateur Full/Reciprocal
Licence may apply for a special contests call sign. This call sign may only be used in the
following contests:
ARRL DX CW ARRL DX SSB ARRL 1.8 MHz CW only
ARRL 28 MHz Multi-mode CQ WPX CW CQ WPX RTTY
CQWPX SSB CQ Worldwide CW CQ Worldwide RTTY
CQ Worldwide SSB CQ Worldwide 160 CW CQ Worldwide 160 SSB
IARU HF Championship
Multimode
IOTA Multi-mode WAE DX CW
WAE DX RTTY WAE DX SSB ARRL RTTY Roundup
BARTG RTTY
IARU 432 MHz to 248
GHz Multi-mode
November Marconi
Memorial 144 MHz
IARU 50 MHz Trophy
Multi-mode
March 144 and 432 MHz
Russian DX
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IARU 144 MHz Trophy
Multi-mode
May 432 MHz to 248 GHz
Contest
(The contests listed above form Annex A which is referred to in the NoV to the licence)
b) The call sign will consist of G or M, a regional locator if applicable, a chosen digit and a
chosen suffix letter, e.g. G8Z or GW8Z etc. 520 call signs have been made available:
(G)(*)(digit)(A-Z) and (M)(*)(digit)(A-Z). (*Regional locator where relevant as listed in the
licence).
c) Applicants should apply on the attached form giving 3 choices of call sign in order of
preference. Current availability may be checked by contacting Ofcom.

d) Allow up to 4 weeks for processing.
e) Individual licensees or club licensees (holder of the club licence) will be expected to
provide evidence of having entered at least 5 of the contests listed in a) above within the
last 3 years and having achieved at least one third of the number of contacts as the leader
in the appropriate table. However, in a contest where the licensee achieves more than one
half of the number of contacts as the leader, (rather than one third), this contest will count
as two contests towards the requirement to have entered five contests within the last three
years. The foregoing criteria in this paragraph will not apply to Clubs until after
31 December 2010. Individual licensees wishing to apply for a special contest call sign
should do so with achievements gained under their own individual call sign, but
exceptionally, until 31st December 2010, such applications may include achievements
gained by the licensee as a single-operator using one club Special Contests Call Sign
(club Short Contest Call Sign).
f) Details of the application will be passed to the RSGB’s Contests Committee for a
recommendation on issuing an NoV. Ofcom will treat the RSGB Contests Committee’s
response only as a recommendation. The NoV to the licence is issued by Ofcom to the
holder of the relevant licence.
g) Licences are issued until 31 December 2010 and subsequently every 3 years. If the
licensee wishes to renew the call sign that was issued, a fresh application must be made
within the period of 2 months immediately prior to the expiry date of the NoV. Unless a
fresh application has been submitted in this period, the call sign will be withdrawn for a
period of 2 years prior to it being made available for general re-issue. Please note that
Licensees who hold a special contests call signs NoV can use the following (RSGB’s
Contests Committee) e-mail address to ask for a reminder about their NoV renewal:
chairman@rsgbcc.org. Whilst the RSGB has offered this facility, please note that the onus
is on the licensee in case of a reminder not being received.
h) The policy will normally be reviewed every two years in January unless circumstances
warrant a lesser period. The provision of including special contests call signs for
individuals will run for a trial period of 2 years from January 2010.
i) Ofcom will issue NoVs directly to successful applicants.
Extract of Terms relating to the NoV for use of special contests call signs:
1. Terms and expressions defined in the Licence shall have the same meaning herein except
where the context requires otherwise.
2. The special contests call sign indicated in the Table above shall only be used for the
contests specified at Annex A [a) above] and at no other times.
3. The special contests call sign shall only be used until [XXXXXX]. Unless a fresh application
is made for renewal within the period of 2 months immediately prior to this date, the call sign
will be withdrawn for a period of 2 years and then become available for general re-issue.
4. Where the licence relates to an Amateur Full (Club) Licence, only members of the club may
use the special contests call sign, subject to the conditions in this Licence.
5. A separate log must be kept in respect of the special contests call sign.
6. The appropriate regional secondary locator (if any) should be used. For guidance see
Section 2 of the Licence - “Notes to the licence” - Note (c).
7. The special contests call sign shall not be used outside the United Kingdom.
8. This Notice of Variation together with Annex A overleaf shall be read as integral to the
Licence and both shall be kept with the Licence.
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Application (Please complete in black using block capitals)
Call signs for use in special contests as listed in a) above are available to UK amateur radio clubs
(i.e. to the holder of an Amateur Full (Club) Licence) or to individuals holding an Amateur
Full/Reciprocal Licence who can demonstrate previous participation and achievement.
Name of club or individual
Call sign
Licence No. (reference of licence)
relating to the call sign above
If the application relates to a club, give name and
call sign of club licence holder
Main station address of club or licensee
Mailing address of licensee to
which the NoV should be sent
Telephone (Home)
Telephone (Work)
E-mail address
Postcode
Postcode
Call signs will consist of either G or M, a regional letter (if applicable), a single digit, and a single
suffix letter (e.g.GM8M, M6Z) – (See b) above)
1 st choice 2 nd choice 3 rd choice
Indicate at least 5 of the special contests (listed in a) above) participated in (Club or individual as
relevant) within the last 3 years, together with the relevant call sign used, Section of the special
contest entered if relevant and the position achieved.
Special contest name Date
Call sign
used
Section of special
contest entered
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No. of
contacts
gained
No. of contacts
gained by the
winner (leader)

Data Protection:
Ofcom is committed to protecting your privacy and to processing your personal information in a
manner which meets the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. See Ofcom's website for
our data protection statement at www.ofcom.org.uk
The information you provide in this form and any information submitted will be used by Ofcom for
the purpose of issuing/amending/validating/surrendering an NoV to the licence for a special
contests call sign.
The special contests call sign, the name of the club and call sign of club where relevant and the
name and call sign of the licensee together with a record of the special contests and section
entered, date of contest, call signs used, contacts gained, number of contacts gained by the
winner and positions achieved may be provided by Ofcom to the Radio Society of Great Britain for
the purposes of assessing the application, co-ordinating and/or publicising the special contests.
The information you have provided in the application form may also be provided by Ofcom to law
enforcement agencies (such as the police and other third parties) for crime and taxation purposes
and the discharging of functions relating to regulatory activities.
Declaration: (To be signed by the club licence holder or the (individual) licensee who will be
responsible for the operation of the station.):
I confirm that the above information is correct to the best of my knowledge.
Name
Signature Date
When completed, please send the form by post to:
Amateur Radio
Ofcom Licensing Centre
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge road
London SE1 9HA
Telephone: 020 7981 3131 or 0300 123 1000
Ofcom use only:
Date received Call sign allocated
Date completed
www.ofcom.org.uk OfW286/04/10
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