ZB2/GI-001 (The Rock of Gibraltar) 24-04-21

Thanks for the detailed info Ed. I knew there was something in the offing but couldn’t remember the full details. It’s a shame the rules get so complicated but I suppose it keeps civil servants employed :wink:

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Yes, the battery is in the AZ. High quality mapping is available - no need to resort to OSM. The summit is positioned at the highest point according to LIDAR (but it’s hard to be exactly sure as another point some 10s of metres north is only a few cm lower). I’d imagine the battery must be pretty well secured into the bedrock!

To supplement the AZ map that is already in the ARM I just made a clearer one.


The base layer used for this map is © National Geographic Institute (Spain) © Instituto Geográfico Nacional. Used in accordance with Order FOM / 280/2015 licensing.

Orthophoto layer:


The base layer used for this map is © National Geographic Institute (Spain) © Instituto Geográfico Nacional. Used in accordance with Order FOM / 280/2015 licensing

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If the reciprocal licence is issued by GRA as “ZB2/MM…” then surely that is correct Andy? As you yourself say, it is up to the local licensing authority in such a case, not Ofcom.

Yes Tom, if the document issued say ZB2/MM0… then that is the call to be used. The issue is a quite considerable number of people who live in constituent countries of the UK where RSLs (regional secondary locators) are used, believe their call sign is the version featuring the RSL when it isn’t. Their call is the unadorned version. I have had licence documents saying M0FMF, MM0FMF and now M#0FMF as even Ofcom try to get people to understand what their call actually is. If you tell the man in some overseas licencing body your call is MM0FMF when it’s M0FMF, it’s understandable he uses that when issuing reciprocal calls etc.

Using an RSL in a CEPT style call isn’t going to cause the sun not to rise. Nobody will get hurt! It’s just annoying to see a call saying “I’m in Scotland” and “I’m in Gibraltar” at the same time.

Doesn’t annoy me.

With M, MM, MW etc being different DXCCs, it is perfectly understandable why people use their home call in this regard.

It is obvious that in recent years, some Ofcom staff haven’t understood amateur radio particularly well. Ofcom has tried to come up wit some kind of logical system - probably more to serve IT/data requirements than amateur radio context. It would be better served by just going along with the logic that most radio amateurs instinctively apply.

Anyway, with the suffices being unique regardless of secondary locator, there is little harm in using the concept of one’s “home call”. As you say, the sun will still rise.

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Not directly relevant to the point you are making but as a side-comment - Please check http://www.arrl.org/files/file/DXCC/2019%20DXCC%20Current.pdf
You will see there are no separate “Mx” nor “2x” callsign prefixes listed in the latest ARRL DXCC prefix list.
(M - just M, is listed along with G and GX on one line). It looks like the UK call sign lettering system (with RSL) confuses the ARRL as well.

73 Ed.