Highfields Amateur Radio Club
Useful Info Pages.

Early Days.

In the early days of Amateur Radio (1920 to 1939) you could choose your own callsign, as long as it was not already in use, and they were re-allocated when the original holder died or relinquished it. The Amateur Radio service was ceased during the Second World War.

The use of different modes (TV for example) or methods of operation (mobile) used to require a seperate licence. After various revisions the system we use today was arrived at.

Additional Suffixes previously used with all classes of licence except "GB" callsigns.

The following additional suffixes were to be appended to callsigns to indicate the stated operating conditions:

• /A     Operation from a temporary address.
• /M     Mobile operation from a land vehicle or vessel on non-tidal waters. (Operation from any type of aircraft or airborne vehicle is not permitted).
• /MA     Operation from a moored or anchored vessel on tidal waters or at sea.
• /MM     Maritime mobile operation from a vessel on tidal waters or at sea. (Permission must be obtained from the vessels' master who has the authority to order radio silence when necessary. Also, when in international waters, only those frequency bands permitted in the ITU region being visited may be used).
• /P(i)     Portable operation from a temporary fixed location or address. (This included operation from buildings other than those forming part of the licensee's registered address, tents and caravans etc. which had to be identified by the operator).
• /P(ii)     Portable, hand-held equipment being carried by the operator.
• /T     Fast scan television operation.

Additional Suffixes used today with all classes of licence except "GB" callsigns

The following additional suffixes may be appended to callsigns to indicate the stated operating conditions:

• /A     Operation from a temporary address. (Location should be identified by the operator).
• /M     Mobile operation from a land vehicle or vessel on non-tidal waters. (Operation from any type of aircraft or airborne vehicle is not permitted).
• /MM     (Full Lincence holders ONLY) Maritime mobile operation from a vessel on tidal waters or at sea. (Permission must be obtained from the vessels' master who has the authority to order radio silence when necessary. Also, when in international waters, only those frequency bands permitted in the ITU region being visited may be used).
• /P     Portable operation from a temporary fixed location or address. (This includes operation from buildings other than those forming part of the licensee's registered address, tents and caravans etc. and must be identified by the operator).

NOTE: The use of "/P" NO LONGER applies to the use of hand held transmitting equipment unless it is being used in such a way that that would class it as "/P" (a fixed antenna for example). If you can move away from the current opperating site whilst still operating then it is classed as "/M".

General Notes about the Licences.

1. Callsigns, once allowed to lapse (but see above), are not normally re-issued to persons other than the original licensee. There are certain exceptions to this rule but these are rare (see 2 and 6). Consequently, for licences issued up to April 2000, the approximate date of issue can be determined from the callsign. After April 2000, callsigns in series later than those shown below may be issued, as callsigns may now be requested (just like the early days!).

2. In certain circumstances, a callsign may be re-issued to a person other than the original licensee. This is only usually done in one of two instances:
   i) The new licensee is a close relative of an original licensee who has died.
   ii) A club may take over the callsign of a respected deceased member (as we did recently with GW8NP, ex Cyril Parsons, founder member).
   In all cases the new licensee must have passed all the necessary tests and examinations appropriate to the grade of licence being transferred.

3. The callsign prefixes shown below relate to when the station is located in England. Should the station be located in one of the other six parts of the UK that has its own prefix, then that prefix will be used. The seven countries are:
   England (G, M, 2E).    Guernsey (GU, MU, 2U).    Isle of Man (GD, MD, 2D).    Jersey (GJ, MJ, 2J).
   Northern Ireland (GI, MI, 2I).    Scotland (GM, MM, 2M).    Wales (GW, MW, 2W).

4. Callsigns in the G2 series were originally pre-WW2 "artificial aerial" licences with 2 callsigns. These "AA" licences were re-issued in 1946 as full licences, with the original callsign preceded by the appropriate country designator. Note that these "AA" callsigns must not be confused with callsigns in the 2x0 and 2x1 series, where x is the country designator, which are now issued to holders of Intermediate Grade licences.

5. Callsigns in the G5 series were originally used for reciprocal licences but these were discontinued following the introduction of the current regulations relating to foreign nationals operating amateur radio equipment in the UK. See 8 below relating to amateur radio operation by foreign nationals holding an amateur radio licence when visiting the UK.

6. Callsigns in the G6 series were originally issued to stations transmitting fast scan television only. This practice was discontinued when a specific television licence was abolished and permission to transmit television was incorporated into all UK licences in 1977. The G6 series was then used for Class B licences issued between 1981 and 1983. This is the only instance of previously issued callsigns being cancelled and subsequently re-issued to different individuals, apart from the special cases mentioned in note 1 and in Early Days.

7. Callsigns in the G9 series are commercial licences, issued for experimental purposes and these may not be used on the amateur bands.

8. The holders of valid amateur radio licences issued by countries which have implemented CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-01 are permitted to operate amateur radio equipment within the UK, subject to the various conditions set out in the new licence conditions which came into force on 1 December 2006. Previously, these conditions were defined in the Terms, Provisions and Limitations Booklet BR68. Such operators must use their own callsign preceded by M/, MD/, MI/, MJ/, MM/, MU/ or MW/, depending on the region of the UK that they are visiting.

9. Proficiency in the Morse Code is no longer a requirement for obtaining a UK Amateur Radio Licence, following the decision taken at WRC-03 the World Radio Conference held in Geneva from 9 June to 4 July, 2003, to abolish the mandatory Morse requirements for the Amateur Radio Service relating to operation on frequencies below 30MHz. The Radio Communications Agency decided to merge existing UK Full Class A and Full Class B licence grades to form a single Full Licence having all the privileges of the old Class A grade. The Novice A and Novice B grades of licence have also been merged to become a single Intermediate Licence. These changes took effect on 26 July 2003. The regulations relating to the Foundation Class licence, which include a rudimentary knowledge of the Morse Code, remain unchanged. (The functions and powers of the Radio Communications Agency were transferred to Ofcom (Office of Communications) at the end of December 2003).

10. Stations located in the Channel Islands were originally issued with callsigns having the prefix "GC", which has now been replaced by GJ (Jersey) and GU (Guernsey, Alderney and Sark). The prefix "GC" is now (optionally) used to denote club stations located in Wales.

11. Licences having the suffixes QAA to QZZ are not normally issued.

12. From 4 June 1977 to 12 June 1977 all UK licensees were allowed to use the prefix "GE" instead of the normal country prefix, to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

13. During the whole month of June 2002, all UK licensees were allowed to use the prefix "GQ", "MQ" or "2Q", as appropriate, instead of the normal country prefix, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
    Also during this period, the special callsign "GB50" was used by a commemorative station set up at Windsor Castle, England. This callsign was unique in that it did not contain any suffix letters.

    Update 22 Nov 2009 I received an email with some more information, it reads:
    You may be interested to add the fact that the GV prefix was used from all parts of the UK in the period 05-12 May 1985.
    The prefix was used to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the end of WWII ("Peace in Europe" according to QSL cards).
    The GV prefix was used for special event calls, not personal calls (unlike the GE & GQ prefix). I assume the "V" signified Victory.
    73. Alan 5B4AHJ.
    Thanks for that Alan, you learn something new every day!