SOTA in Japan - Equipment

Hi all,

I’m hoping to travel to Japan in May and would like to try for an activation during my visit. I’ve seen the documentation to apply for a license, which seems pretty straight forward. I’m more interested in any input on getting a “Technical Standard Certification Number” for my rig. I was hoping to take an MTR-5b with me, but I don’t want to run into trouble, as I consider the rig mostly irreplaceable.

If anyone had gone through the process of getting a TSCN for a rig they used in Japan, I would very much appreciate your comments.

Thanks and 73,

Scott - W1ZU

There is a SOTA Japan Yahoo reflector which you might want to join. The SOTA folks in Japan are very friendly. See Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos

I asked your same question but for a KX3. The response was:

"Homebrewers or kit assemblers can apply for a “certification” directly through JARD (Japan Amateur Radio Development Association) or via JARL. I applied through JARL via snail mail, because my Japanese is very bad. I forgot how long it took. I did not get a specific certification number but I did get my sticker! When you get the sticker, it means your radio is certified for use. The sticker is required to be affixed to the radio. Application entails payment of a fee. See Application Procedure for Foreign Amateur “Assurance of a radio without …”

To get the certification I submitted the KX3 schematic diagram and other manuals, IIRC. Everything is found on the Elecraft site."

Good luck and enjoy your Japan trip! 73, Guy/n7un

Guy,

Very helpful, thanks. I was wondering if I needed to send in the radio or if documents would suffice. Sounds like I might be able to do it with the latter. Thanks for the tip on the SOTA Japan reflector, I’ll head that direction.

73,

Scott - W1ZU