French Ham Radio Exam Changes

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French Ham Radio Exam Changes

After 8 years of waiting a new amateur radio, decree has finally been published in the French Government Official Journal

The most significant change is the way amateur radio exams are marked (see Article 2 of the Decree).

France only has one amateur radio exam which is the equivalent of the CEPT HAREC or all three UK exams combined. The French HAREC exam comprises 40 questions to be completed in 45 minutes. 15 minutes are allowed for the 20 Rules and Regulations questions and 30 minutes for the 20 Technical Theory questions.

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Help for CW Beginners

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Newcomers to CW often have difficulty finding stations to work at slow speeds. To address that problem there is a small group of dedicated radio amateurs who regularly help beginners to take that 'Giant Leap' and use CW on air for the first time.

They have a Facebook page ‘SLOW CW UK’ and invite members from all parts of the world to join them.

For those interested in taking their first steps into what might be referred to as the 'Dark Art' of CW communication, have a listen out around 3.555MHz plus or minus QRM most evenings from around 1930 to 2030z.

The group has specific activity nights on Wednesday and Saturday evenings but one or two of them can be found around those frequencies most evenings often calling "CW SLOW".

These amateurs take some of the fear out of using Morse code on air for the first few times. So, if you feel you can copy CW at around 10 words per minute or more then answer their CQ calls or arrange a sked. Most of them are retired so daytime skeds can be arranged as well as evening ones.

Update to EMF Guidance

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Ofcom has published simplified guidance on its new electromagnetic fields (EMF) licence condition.

On 1 March 2021, Ofcom published an update on the new condition we are proposing to apply to spectrum licence holders using equipment that can transmit at power levels higher than 10 Watts EIRP (or 6.1 Watts ERP).

Ofcom also published detailed guidance on how licensees can ensure they comply with the new condition as well as an updated version of our EMF calculator, which helps licensees assess their compliance.

Ofcom has published additional simplified guidance for spectrum licensees including:

  • Simplified guidance for all spectrum users

  • Additional guidance for maritime radio users

  • Additional guidance for amateur radio users

This update includes tailored guidance for specific radio users designed to help them comply with the new licence condition. It also includes instructions on how to use our EMF calculator. The guidance is currently in draft form and we welcome feedback on these documents by 16 April 2021.

EMF calculator - https://ofcom.cmail19.com/t/i-l-mdkjdud-wklhkthju-j/