MW/7NRS/P
I can see this call being spotted currently on SOTAwatch. That is not a valid call to use in the UK. Can someone please contact the activator and tell them to correct their callsign as currently they not operating legally!
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Kevin @MW0KXN is accompanying Charlie (NJ7V) and Sandy (W7NRS) who are visiting Wales.
A temporary license was allocated MW/7NRS.
Kevin should be able to provide further info if needed.
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I can remember when the UK civil service employed people who knew the law. MW/7NRS does not comply with the ITU regulations for a callsign whether Ofcom issued it or not. They cannot make up their own rules that go against the ITU regulations they have signed up to.
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I also asked the operator in qso was a letter missing in front of the 7 to which they replied no it is a temporary issued call sign.
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All they had to do was grant permission to use a lesser licence in the UK and tell him to use the CEPT format MW/W7NRS as that would identify the station fully. I keep thinking that government/offiacaldom in the UK cannot get any more incompetent and then we get a gem like this.
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I can’t see anything in Ofcom’s on-line documentation that would permit them to assign a temporary callsign for use in the UK other than with one of the prefixes assigned to the UK by the ITU, i.e. G, M or 2.
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Unless they plan to operate in the UK for longer than 3 months and assuming they hold full licenses in their own country, I wonder why they didn’t simply operate using the CEPT agreement. No need to apply to the host country for a temporary license before travelling.
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A US General licence isn’t valid for CEPT, hence applying for some kind of reciprocal licence which Ofcom have fouled up on.
EDIT: just noticed Sandy is not being used as the diminutive Scottish for Alexander but being used as a lady’s name. Apologies for mis-gendering.
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Log it. Move on. 
I thought female because Grease. Different generation. 
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I bet the both of them are pretty jet lagged after travelling from the US to Wales. I also bet they were both keen SOTA activators, and wanted to do what we all enjoy, activate a summit in a different country which is unique to them. I also think they would have enjoyed their activation today, having lovely weather and great company. Let’s leave them both alone, enjoying using the call-sign Ofcom assigned in black and white. SOTA is a fun hobby, with many great people involved, let’s keep it that way and support one another I hope they both qualified in these tough HF band conditions.
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I 2nd that.
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This is a stunning level of “lack of clue” as @MM0FMF might describe it. No problem with the visiting op who has gone through the correct and proper process to obtain a callsign to use while visiting - and in that respect, the activation is valid AFAIAC.
But what on earth is Ofcom playing at? Ofcom has no business issuing a temporary callsign that would be for a Japanese operator active in Wales! (MW/7N)
Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ll never forget a phone call to Ofcom’s amateur radio licensing department in which I was assured that “the M3 prefix means that it is a Manchester callsign”.
I blame all the people that agreed to the “free licence for life” proposal in the consultation many years ago. This sort of nonsense was inevitable from that moment.
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Yes, exactly the right thing to do let down by British official incompetence!
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I agree. Downsizing of knowledgeable staff might or might not have happened anyway. I was pooh-pooh’d (twice) when I expressed the view on this reflector that going from a fee-paying to no-fee license would inevitably lead to a reduced quality service by Ofcom.
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Sandy and Charlie enjoyed a lovely activation on GW/SW-033. Thank you to all who called in with kind words. They were made to feel very welcome.
The photograph below shows Sandy’s temporary licence.
Lets move on.
MW0KXN, Kevin
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I tried to call Charlie but QSB or equipment prevented a QSO. I was trying out a new QMX. I worked 8 stations in all but nearly all QSOs stated QSB. Not sure if it was conditions or if my radio is not 100%.
The signals on 40m were rather up and down generally though.
Glad to hear that our visitors enjoyed their activation.
(Tuned to a different activator on 20m but could only hear the chaser, still, it seems like the rig is basically working -
https://youtube.com/shorts/Uu2bWSD2304?si=HJN6G61ws5pyxtFP)
73, Colin
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No different to any other public body. If I chose to, I could speed in my car or drink drive every day with no consequence unless I crashed or caused an accident. Three of my vehicles are over 40 years old. Every year I declare that they are roadworthy and have not been heavily modified in the last 30 years for free tax (VED) and MOT exemption purposes. No one comes to my house to check this.
If Ofcom decide to issue an unusual callsign to someone, and it’s in error, even if it were to be reported, I doubt much would happen. It’s a legit call, so should be worth chasing!
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On the plus side, I’m pleased that Offcom were helpful and responsive, it could have been a “computer says no” moment, which would have been much much worse.
Anyway, I was delighted to work Kevin, Charlie and Sandy on 2m from the jetty at Aberdyfi on my handie. Having seen their alert, I took it with me on a day out just in case. Yea! xyl and I celebrated with an icecream 
.
I hope they all had a great day too, and enjoy the rest of their holiday.
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Sadly Ofcom are legally obliged to follow their written rules and procedures and for amateur licences they are required to only issue calls that match the UK Radio Regulations and the format is given. The UK Radio Regulations are a result of the UK signing up to abide by ITU regulations.
Now an illegal call is nothing when we consider the problems in Ukraine or Gaza. But if Ofcom are allowed to issue Japanese calls (7N is an ITU allocated prefix for Japan) and receive no censure then there is nothing to stop the Polish authorities issuing the call SQ/M0EFI to someone. Or the Austrians issuing OE/MM0FMF to someone. The result is anarchy if you are on the air and another station has your call as well and is on the air.
As for paying for a licence giving better service…
If we take 25000 as reasonable for the number of hams (not licences) and we pay the old rate of ÂŁ20 year then that brings in ÂŁ500000
So it costs money to tell people they have to pay, receive the money and issue validation documents. Having seen how much SAP/Oracle/Fujitsu et al. charge, a very conservative estimate for that cost is ÂŁ50000/year leaving ÂŁ450000.
The national minimum wage is ÂŁ12.21/hr and so the pay for a 35hr week is ÂŁ427.51 or ÂŁ22,222/year (which is not a lot for London). A good rule of thumb is it costs an employer 2.5x the salary to employ someone (employer NI, HR, office space, holiday pay etc. etc. ) which means it will cost ÂŁ55555/yr to employ 1 person. So our ÂŁ450000 will provide enough money to employ 8 people on minimum wage. Or 4-6 people if we pay a more sensible rate. And you wont be able to ring fence those people to only work on Amateur issues irrespective of where the money comes from. So paying for a licence is not really going to make any material difference.
Ah but I know of 2 US hams with Extra licences who asked Ofcom for a reciprocal licence in the recent past and were told “we no longer issue reciprocal licences you can operate under CEPT for 3 months then you can take the 3 stage UK licence exams”. If maybe Ofcom staff could read and apply their own procedures we may get some consistency!
And nobody will check anyone actually is licenced or they have safe EMC levels. It’s all based on consent that we follow the rules. Sandy (sorry you’re in the middle of this) has a UK reciprocal licence so if I were she I’d operate as MW/W7NRS as it looks kosher and nobody will question it unlike what is on the licence. And if someone does check you can say you thought it was a typo and they had forgotten the W because what is printed is not a valid ham call.
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