Me, my dad Tom @M1EYP along with the rest of the family will be on holiday in the Republic of Ireland (EI) on the first week of April. I have been reading in the EI licencing regulations ComReg0945R4-1.pdf to which I am surprised that over there that it is still a requirement to keep a log and even log your CQ’s which is a bit of an inconvenience when activating a SOTA summit. Requirements of logbook keeping were removed from the UK back in 2006 and I seem to recall to my best knowledge that when there was logbook keeping requirements in the UK that unlike EI there was no requirement to log your CQ calls, I could be wrong though.
It would not surprise me if loads of overseas radio amateurs visiting EI are not aware of the logbook keeping requirement and not aware of the fact that you’re required to log your CQ calls also. I am wondering what EI radio amateur think of the current logbook keeping requirement in EI and what they think of the requirement to log all your CQ calls while in EI also.
My first UK licence was issued in 1982 and that did have a requirement to log CQ calls. Although the Irish requirements are different to the UK they don’t look too bad to me. I already log almost everything they ask for in my notebook for SOTA. Each time you change band you write down the time and frequency band. Write CQ when you call CQ and each callsign. It doesn’t say you need the exact times for each CQ or callsign.
My old paper log book that I have never (yet) had the heart to throw out includes:
Test for BCI
Test for TVI
CQ calls (which for a class B licencee (pre-HF access) with only 2m and living in a valley, resulted in a lot of wasted paper)
Time “Station closed down” each day
I can’t remember if all of these were licence conditions or just I had been recommended to do them as “good practice”. I recall there was some wording along the lines of needing some (all?) of these records to be kept in case of a visit from the Secretary of State?
I was rather pleased that upon return from a hiatus, I could log things on my own terms.
I suspect that not too many people would be ill-advised enough to (against their callsign) publish on the internet where they may not comply with the conditions of their own EI licence. I suspect this falls under the same categorisation for others as always being contactable on a phone line on 60m when operating portable.
I remember when my license was issued (by the Postmaster General) I saved log space by logging CQ as a single event from the first call to the first answer. This seemed to pass muster as my station and log were inspected twice before regular inspections were discontinued. I get Andy’s point about policing but a minimal effort for a visitor to show good faith to the rules would be courteous.
If a Tree Falls in the Forest, and There’s No One Around to Hear It, Does It Make a Sound?
The age-old question of whether a falling tree makes a sound when there’s no one around to hear it exploits the tension between perception and reality.
Similarly when it comes to visitors keeping logs of CQ calls.
Or solve the problem by not calling CQ and just place spots instead. No need to log them then
It does take me back to when 1st licenced and CQs had to be logged. It seems a long time ago now, it must be, I had hair!
There are a couple of other requirements but they may not affect your operation.
Use of the QO-100 sat as a visitor can only be done via a special event permit (30 Euro) from a specific location. The 2.4GHz band is not covered in the CEPT agreement because it is an Additional Authorisation Required band. I have an e-mail from the regulator to confirm this. I was contemplating going to the un-activated squares but abandoned the idea at 30 Euro per square / summit. I guess this also applies to the 60m band.
If you have home brew equipment it needs to be fully labelled, this may affect any HF ATU Tom takes. This would have affected the QO-100 transverter system in my case.
be delighted to meet up with yourself and Tom when you over for a summit or two perhaps. Some of the regulations are hangovers from the 1927 Wireless Telegraphy Act. A good civil servant may amend something in an earlier document but heaven forbid he deletes anything HI. If you want to email direct I will clarify, as was alluded to in the thread " to publish is to be damned" HI HI
Thank you everyone for your input in response to my initial post. I did not realise that the UK use to have the same logging requirements as EI many years ago such as logging CQ calls. Seems that EI is stuck in the dark ages when it comes to logging (no offence to anyone in EI). Although not really convenient when activated a SOTA, I will be adhering to to the EI logging requirements when activating SOTA summits over there.
It’s only an age-old question for some philosophers but not for physicists. If one defines ‘sound’ as pressure variations travelling in a medium like air then it happens (every time).
If one defines ‘sound’ as the sensation sentient beings (like humans) detect then no if not in, er, ear shot
I log all QSO’s in log4om. It doesn’t need to be a physical paper book. We are also supposed to log all transmissions, so that would include CQ calls with no replies. I’ve pretty much stopped doing that now, but do still an odd time. Luckily I usually get responses to my calls, so it’s not that often I’m faced with the “dilemma”. Maybe EI is deemed a bit more exotic than mainland Europe? I log these calls to the user CQ0REPLY, which skews my Portugese stats a bit !
I’m not aware of anyone having had their log book examined by Comreg, but I’m not long at the game.
If you’re planning on anywhere near the south east (ish), Galtees, Knockmealdowns, Comeraghs, Wicklow give me a bell.
I recall Richard @G3CWI writing on this reflector a few years ago that he felt unburdened once he stopped logging his QSOs. Since then I record only my SOTA and WOTA activation QSOs and even then without reports.
Hhhmm, can’t see how maintaining a logbook over the years puts us in “the dark ages” . I enjoy having a record to look back on of both memorable and the pretty ordinary qsos. I only feel mildly insulted
