Operando en Catalunya: 27/6 - 10/7/2026

On the Bands Operating Procedures
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Hola a todos,

Visitaré a la familia de mi novia en Cataluña entre el 27 de junio y el 10 de julio de este verano, y pensé que sería el momento perfecto para probar a operar en otro país ahora que tengo mi licencia completa. Probablemente solo llevaré un equipo portátil sencillo de 2m/70cm y tal vez participe en algunas cumbres SOTA pequeñas cerca de Barcelona.

Tengo algunas preguntas sencillas sobre el uso de indicativos. Primero, si opero en Cataluña, supongo que lo correcto sería anteponer EA3/? a mi indicativo habitual. Al revisar las activaciones de Castell de Montjuïc EA3/BC-086, veo muchas activaciones internacionales, pero con una mezcla de prefijos EA/ y EA3/. Agradecería cualquier indicación sobre cuál es la opción más “correcta”.

Asimismo, considero que mi indicativo habitual es MM1ROS, pero aquí en el Reino Unido eso indicaría específicamente que opero en Escocia (y cambiaría a M1ROS si opero en Inglaterra, MW1ROS en Gales, etc.). De nuevo, ¿sería más correcto usar EA3/MM1ROS o EA3/M1ROS?

También agradecería cualquier ayuda con español básico para hacer QSOs en 2m. He estado intentando aprender, y mi español no es muy bueno, ¡pero no quiero ser ese tipo que llega y espera que todos hablen inglés! Viendo algunos vídeos en línea, he podido aprender algunas frases básicas como “cumbres en el aire”, “setenta tres”, etc., pero cualquier otra frase útil sería bienvenida. ¿Estoy en lo cierto al pensar que el término correcto para el símbolo “/” es “barra”? Por ejemplo: Echo Alfa Tres, Barra, Mike Mike Uno… etc.

Muchas gracias,
Ross

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Hi all,

I’ll be visiting my girlfriend’s family in Catalunya between the 27th of June and the 10th of July this summer, and I thought it’d be the perfect time to try operating in a different country since achieving my full licence. I’ll probably just be bringing a simple 2m/70cm hand-held setup, and maybe operating a few smaller SOTA summits around Barcelona.

I have a few simple procedural questions around use of callsigns. Firstly, if I’m operating in Catalunya, I’m assuming the proper thing to do would be to preface my home callsign with EA3/? Looking at the activations for Castell de Montjuïc EA3/BC-086 , I can see a lot of international activations, but with a mix of EA/ and EA3/ prefixes. Any guidance on which is the more “correct” option would be appreciated.

Likewise, I would consider my normal callsign to be MM1ROS, but here in the UK that would specifically indicate operating in Scotland (and would change to M1ROS if operating in England, MW1ROS in Wales etc.). Again, would the more correct choice be to use EA3/MM1ROS, or EA3/M1ROS?

I’d also welcome any help and assistance with some basic Spanish for making 2m QSOs. I’ve been trying to learn, and my Spanish isn’t great, but I really don’t want to be that guy who just turns up and expects everyone to speak English! Through watching a couple of online videos, I’ve been able to pick out some basic phrases like “cumbres en el aire”, “setenta tres” etc. but any other useful phrases to know would be appreciated. Am I right in thinking that the right term for the “/” symbol is “barra” - for example: Echo Alfa Tres, Barra, Mike Mike Uno… etc.?

Many thanks,
Ross

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The RSLs are only for the UK so you drop them when away. The CEPT doc TR 61/01 says which prefix you should use for each country. I think for Spain it’s just EA but EAn is also OK.

A common issue is disagreement between CEPT docs and local docs and custom and practice. They should be the same but they get changed and the changes take a long time to work through. Don’t forget to have a copy of your licence, TR 61/01 and your passport with you just in case you meet some keen local law enforcement types! Though in 35 years of operation outside the UK I’ve never been checked.

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Hi Ross!

You can use EA3/ (“barra”). It is very common here. Using EA/ is also correct, but we are very used to the EA3/ format.

Regarding your planned activations: you may find some chasers on 2 m, but don’t expect too many. Depending on the day, it is possible that some summits may be difficult to qualify. On 70 cm… sorry to say, but there is quite a high chance that you won’t find any chasers at all.

Feel free to write to me, by email for instance, with the dates when you plan to be active from the summits. I’ll be happy to help by spotting you and sending a message through some WhatsApp groups. That said, even I sometimes struggle to make 4 contacts on VHF!

A basic response from your end would be:

EA3GNU de la EA tres barra Mike Uno Romeo Oscar Sierra - bien recibido - tu señal cinco nueve, gracias por el QSO, setenta y tres.

If you need any advice about which summits to visit, just let me know, OK?

73!
Alberto EA3GNU

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Hi Ross,

As you will be operating under the CEPT reciprocal arrangements TR61/01, it states that you should prefix your home callsign with just EA/ Your callsign is M1ROS (the second M is the (now optional) Regional letter and not considered part of the legal callsign by Ofcom). Always go by what the local regulator accepts; if Alberto says use EA3/M1ROS then I would follow that local advice.

What I would like to add to this conversation is to get a copy of the local regulations, covering band usage (bandplan) and power levels. The second point is probably not going to be an issue if you are only taking an HT, more so if you are planning to operate on the HF bands.

Make sure that HT has an EC approval and record its approval number, as stated in the user manual or online. Don’t have any loose wires in the setup, which I presume you will have in your carry-on luggage if flying. If driving down, this is less of an issue.

73 Ed.

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Hi Ed,

Yes, that makes sense from the regulatory point of view. I was only referring to what we are used to hearing on the air here in EA3, perhaps more as a matter of local habit than strict regulation.

Just trying to add my two cents from a local perspective!

Best 73,

Alberto EA3GNU

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EXACTLY! Which is why I said to Ross, " Follow local advice”. More important are any bandplan differences for Ross on 2m & 70cm - can you point him to those bandplans and perhaps also a list of local repeaters, please?

73 Ed.

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I would need to know where he will be in order to give him a list of available repeaters. There is one in Montjuic and another in Tibidabo for instance (2m, 70cm, analog and digital), but others provide coverage to other regions of EA3.

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Thanks for all the inputs: this fun wee gap between what the rules say and what local custom always provides some head-scratching moments. Sounds like operating EA3/M1ROS will be the way to go. The guidelines issued by URE suggest either is valid:

I’ll only be operating with a 5W handheld, probably primarily on 2m - I’m really there on a family visit with my girlfriend and probably won’t go out on any dedicated SOTA excursions (it’ll also be about a week after hopefully completing a 155km ultramarathon, so I likely won’t be feling too dynamic!).

I’ll be in Barcelona on my own for a couple of days for the Tour de France stages on the 4th and 5th of July, so might be able to activate EA3/BC-086 Castell de Montjuic and/or EA3/BC-079 El Tibidabo while I’m there. Otherwise, EA3/BC-084 El Montgròs or EA3/BC-082 Puig de l’Aliga are closest to where we’re staying.

This sort of thing is very very helpful, thank you - there’s often a bit of gap between what I think makes sense to say, compared to what people would actually say - my girlfriend is usually good at correcting me on the daily stuff, but less so with the radio!

In terms of band plans, it looks a lot like Spain sticks to the same IARU Region 1 band plan as we use here in the UK around 2m anyway. One small question - here in the UK, the FM Simplex channels are “officially” at 12.5kHz spacing, but in reality most people tend to operate based on the older 25kHz spaced channels - does a similar thing happen in Spain at all?

It also sounds like 145.500 is the standard calling channel - would it be normal operation to call CQ SOTA on 145.500 and then QSY to another frequency? I’d tend to do that here in the UK - call on 145.500 at first, QSY to a clear frequency, and continue making QSOs on that frequency until no further contacts could be heard, then return to calling CQ on 145.500 if necessary.

Many thanks again for everyone’s helpful inputs!

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Or:

EA3GNU de l’EA tres barra Mike Un Romeo Oscar Sierra - ben rebut - el teu senyal cinc nou, gràcies pel QSO, setanta-tres.

Source? Sóc mig Catlàn. :star_struck: :red_circle: :yellow_circle:

Pero mi Castellano es mejor que mi Catalán. / El meu castellà és millor que el meu català, però. :sweat_smile:

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You can stay on 145.500 for the whole duration of your activation.

Regarding local repeaters, you can use these (others might be able to help you too, I’m not very active on the repeaters)

Analog:

Montjuïc: 438.875 (-7.600 KHz) FM, Tone 123,0Hz

Tibidabo: 439.125 (-7.600 KHz) FM Tone 114,8Hz

Montserrat: 145.700 (-600kHz) FM Tone 88,5Hz

Montseny: 145.600 (-600kHz) no tone

Digital:

Montjuïc (D-Star, C4FM): 145.650 (-600 KHz)

Tibidabo (DMR BM): 438.412,5 (-7.600 KHz)

Source:

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