Subj : Other Ham Radio News To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Mon Dec 24 2018 10:04 am I've been running ham radio nets since I was first licensed in 1991, so I ought to know what I'm doing (hi hi). But, with the logs now, I check the callsign databases, as I'm just entering the callsigns in a textfile, then I add info for the logs after the nets. But, the main reasons I check the database are to get name and location information...but more importantly, to check if the license is expired. Several months ago, on a net that I ran, I asked "Without looking at your ham radio license, do you know when it expires??". Except for one other person besides myself, everyone else said "No"...I was shocked!! Anyway, in prepping the logs for a net last night, I discovered that one ham's license was due to expire within the next 3 weeks. However, with the U.S. Government in "partial shutdown", that includes the FCC, which grants ham radio licenses (new, renewal, upgrade), and callsigns (sequential and vanity)...for both ham radio and other services. There is no indication on how long the shutdown will last...and there'll be a huge backlog of callsigns to process, once the government shutdown ends. The ham radio licenses are good for 10 years, with a 2 year grace period after expiration to renew without loss of callsign or privileges. However, both of those are LOST if the license is more than 2 years being expired. At minimum, the individual has to take the Technician Class exam to get back into ham radio...but it's not like "the old days", where if you were formerly a 20 wpm Amateur Extra Class ham...you had to take the Novice, Technician, General, Advanced, and Amateur Extra Class exams again, plus a 20 wpm Morse Code test (they figured if you could copy 20 wpm, you could copy 5 wpm and 13 wpm). Nowadays, if you were a former Novice or Technician Class licensee, you're "starting over", as if you had never taken a ham radio license exam. But, if you were previously a General, Advanced, or Amateur Extra Class licensee, partial credit is available...yet you still have to take and pass the Technician written exam. General and Advanced Class hams get credit only for Element 3, the General Class license. Former Advanced Class hams are DOWNGRADED to General, since both the Novice and Advanced Class licenses were ended in 2000...but holders of those two can renew them at the appropriate time. Former Amateur Extra Class hams get credit for Elements 3 and 4. But, both of these still ahve to take and pass the Technician exam. With the lapsing of their license, their callsign is also forfeited. So, if they had a 1x2 or 2x1 callsign as an Extra Class ham, it's very likely they won't get it back...even though the Vanity Callsign system. Besides, even if one applies, there's still a 21 day waiting period, and if someone else has applied for that callsign before the original holder does, the original holder likely won't get it. However, I know many Extra Class hams who still have their 2x3 Novice type callsign...and my callsign is a vanity type Novice Callsign...even though I'm an Amateur Extra Class ham. In short, if you're in the final days before license expiration, and if the government shutdown continues for a good awhile, you're going to be QRT (off the air) in short order...and will remain such until the shutdown ends, and your license is renewed. Plus, if you're in the final days of the "2 year grace period", and if the government shutdown continues for a good while, you're going to lose your license and callsign, and have to "start over". So, before you press to go to the next message, look in your ham radio shack, or in your wallet...or go to one of the callsign databases online (QRZ, HamData, etc.), and look it up. If your license is expired, you can NOT legally check into a net...let alone get on the air...and Net Controls do NOT have to log you in this case. Besides, not keeping track of the expiration date of your drivers license, can end up costing you a huge fine, or sending you to jail. The same can apply for transmitting on an expired or lapsed ham radio license. Daryl Stout, WX1DER, UALR Ham Radio Club VE Team Liaison --- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32 * Origin: RadioWxNet: The Thunderbolt BBS tbolt.synchro.net (801:1/2) þ Synchronet þ Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com .