HF transmission on ham frequencies while sailing through a foreign country

[conachair]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Go to China with a pair of FRS radios you bought at WalMart, and you can be arrested and charged with espionage, simply for trying to bring a radio transmitter into the country without government permission.

Thread drift alert - but you'd be crazy to take a frs radio (which was probably built there anyway) into China, get them out there, available everywhere. It's completely unregulated, every pizza delivery boy, every building site elevator operator has a radio. Good quality robust units available for a decent price as well. And more open types like the baofeng uv5r are available everywhere as well.

[patprice]

Ham channels....Pig troughs ?

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by patprice

Ham channels....Pig troughs ?

Quite so.....

'Marine channels'

'Ham bands'

[El Pinguino]

Passing through = fine

Anchored or alongside = not so fine. In many countries esp the Middle East they used to.. maybe still do...lock and seal the radio room on arrival.

Reminds me of a conversation on one of the maritime ham nets....

Kxxx ' we have just arrived in BungoBungo'

Spectrum Polis ' Its illegal, you shoudn't be transmitting, reciprocal, !!!, rant rant, squawk squawk' etc etc.... big serve....

Kxxx 'Well we haven't actually quite arrived yet...........'

Beware the spectrum polis!

However... yachts passing through the Chilean channels use home callsigns ( in fact they just use ship's name ) on marine frequencies and no one has ever complained even when using the station to pass posreps to the Armada....

I can't remember anyone ever using a callsign on marine frequency nets... anywhere.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by dannyjoh

I have both ham license and ship station license (both issued by US FCC). Am I allowed to transmit on ham frequencies from my boat while sailing through a foreign country? I kind of doubt it but not 100% sure.

1. Territorial waters of CEPT countries (most of Europe, Russia, Turkey, etc.) -- have an Extra Class license and keep a copy of this: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regul...A-11-221A1.pdf and your passport and you're good to go.

2. Territorial waters of the ten (so far) CITEL countries in North and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, El Salvador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela) -- get an International Amateur Radio Permit through ARRL -- fill out one page form and send it (I think) $10 for a one-year permit valid in all the CITEL countries. See: IARP

3. Most other countries -- based on whatever reciprocal operating agreement exists. See: Reciprocal Permit. Many of these countries do not require a special permit.


Countries like Mexico which require a specific permit are actually fairly rare. There's certainly no problem in Europe -- have an Extra Class license and have at it -- even in Russia.


Ignore advice telling you to ignore the rules because "no one is listening." Bullocks. Hams are a friendly and helpful bunch, but most of them very much frown on unlicensed or improper operation, will refuse to talk with you, and may very well REPORT YOU to the authorities. The hobby is self-policing. Why do you need the hassle? Just follow the rules -- it's not that hard to do.

[Comix Bay]

I have both ham license and ship station license (both issued by US FCC). Am I allowed to transmit on ham frequencies from my boat while sailing through a foreign country? I kind of doubt it but not 100% sure.


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Ted VA7YQQ
Comox, BC

[hellosailor]

IIRC the answer is in the question:

"Am I allowed to transmit on ham frequencies [from my boat] while [sailing through] [in] a foreign country?"

Being on the boat doesn't take you out of the country, does it? Regardless of what station you are operating, you still need to be a legal operator in that venue.