Call signs in Korea

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Call signs in Korea are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting on the Korean peninsula. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally in South Korea by the Korea Communications Commission in the Ministry of Information and Communication. [1] Not much is known outside of North Korea how amateur radio is regulated, although a foreign amateur was asked to appear before the "Radio Regulation Board" in 2002. Also, North Korea's Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries recently issued an operating permit, which was countermanded by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Posts.

Contents

Call sign blocks for telecommunication

The International Telecommunication Union has assigned the Koreas the following call sign blocks for all radio communication, broadcasting or transmission: [2]

Call sign block
DSA–DTZKorea (Republic of), South Korea
D7A–D9ZKorea (Republic of), South Korea
HLA–HLZKorea (Republic of), South Korea
HMA–HMZDemocratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
P5A–P9ZDemocratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
6KA–6NZKorea (Republic of), South Korea

[3]

While not directly related to call signs, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) further has divided all countries assigned amateur radio prefixes into three regions; The Koreas are located in ITU Region 3, ITU Zone 44 and CQ Zone 25.

Call sign assignments for amateur radio

Amateur radio or ham radio call signs are unique identifiers for the over 42,000 [4] licensed operators in South Korea with none known in North Korea.

The 1947 ITU Conference in Atlantic City, U.S.A., assigned the whole Korean peninsula the HLA–HMZ range of call sign prefixes for amateur radio use. [5]

The Korea Communications Commission now issues call signs for amateur radio operators in the 6K (170 call signs issued), D7 (22), DS (834), and HL (3,049) series for amateur use. [6] The HMA–HMZ and P5A–P9Z ranges are reserved for North Korea, although the only three known stations operating from there used a P5 prefix.

The Korea Contest Club special callsign of D9K is non-standard, with no separating numeral. It is on Chuja Island as part of an IOTA DXpedition. [7]

Geographical prefixes

Call sign areas of Korea Koreacallmap6.jpg
Call sign areas of Korea

It is unknown if North Korea assigns a separating numeral after their assigned prefix based on geographical regions. Based on the manner in which P5/4L4FN (above) signed as a foreign national, there seems to be no protocol.

South Korea assigns their prefix separating numeral according to the following geographical location:

Amateurs in the HL block retain their suffix no matter which call-area they live in, for instance an HL1AAA who moves to Busan automatically becomes HL5AAA. Amateurs assigned calls in the DS or 6K series do not have a unique suffix. In the case above a DS1AAA who moves to Busan must use DS1AAA/5 as there may be a separate DS5AAA assigned.

North Korea licensing

Only North Korea and Yemen do not issue amateur radio licenses to their citizens, although in both cases a limited number of foreign visitors have been permitted to obtain amateur licenses in the past. HamCall.Net lists 19 amateur stations in North Korea assigned in the P5 series, although the specific call signs themselves remain unknown. [6] A Serbian amateur writes that he was "licensed" as P5A, but that he was not allowed to operate on either occasion he was in the country. [9]

In 2001 and 2002, Ed Giorgadze of the Republic of Georgia operated as P5/4L4FN with the "oral permission" of North Korean authorities and was recognized by the ARRL DXCC desk as a valid operation. [10] Giorgadze worked 3,307 U.S., 189 Canadian, 2,902 Japanese stations, and amateurs in 167 DXCC entities. [11]

On Friday, November 22, 2002, Giorgadze was called into a meeting with the "Radio Regulation Board" without any explanation, and he was politely asked to quit all transmissions and pack all his radio equipment. [12]

Two previous authorized amateur stations were reported as P5/OH2AM on May 14, 1995, with 20 QSOs, and one of the few, specifically North Korean call signs of P51BH (OH2BH) on April 21, 1999. The latter did an amateur radio demonstration for North Korean officials with 263 QSOs. [13]

In 2005, The Lone Star DX Association president Michael Thomas reported that an official with North Korea's Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries committee issued a permit to operate to KA2HTV, but that the Ministry of Telecommunications and Posts withdrew permission once the operator was in the country. [14]

A station claiming to have the call sign of P5RS7 operated in 1992, but was not in North Korea. [15] The Ten-Ten newsletter wrote that this station was operating from over the border from North Korea in Vladivostok, Russia. [16]

Unsuccessful or unverified North Korean Stations/False P5 claims

The 2010 edition of the Southern California DX Club newsletter lists the following as either unverified, false claims or valid claims where permission was eventually refused for foreign operators in North Korea: [17]

  • OK1DTG/P5: Josef Zabavik was with the Czech army stationed in N.K. in 1992. He claims "verbal permission" to operate and worked stations on the 40m, 20m and 15m bands. Station P51DTG was suspected of being a pirate station, unaffiliated with Zabavik.
  • P5RS7: reported on December 19, 1992, claim disallowed by ARRL for ethics violations.
  • HA0HW: denied operating privileges by N.K.
  • JH1AJT and JH4RHF: installed a ham station at Pyongyang and lectured on the ham hobby. Forbidden to turn on the rig.
  • HM0DX: was heard in 2000 calling himself "Kim", receiving hams used beam settings to locate him in Japan.
  • P5/KA2HTV: medical doctor on humanitarian trip to N.K. Took ham station with him, but was denied operation permission on what was described as a "mix-up" by N.K. authorities.

Foreign nationals operating in South Korea

Amateurs holding licenses in other ITU jurisdictions can apply to the Korea Communications Commission for a one-year license to operate in South Korea. [18] International operators must use the call sign HL#/<home call sign>; for instance an American amateur with call sign KA1AAA in the Pusan area would sign as HL5/KA1AAA. Resident foreign nationals can apply for a Korean call and are issued with a Korean call HL#Z ... The 'Z' is reserved for foreign national Korean calls.

US military personnel

United States military personnel in South Korea are prohibited from communicating with amateur radio operators in North Korea. [19] The Commander, 1st Signal Brigade (NETCOM), is tasked with issuing amateur radio operating licences and call signs to U.S. military personnel in South Korea.

USFK personnel will operate with an HL9 call sign. Novice class operators will have an 'N' as their last suffix letter, Technician class will have a 'T' as the last suffix letter, and General class and higher will have 2x2 or 2x1 call signs.

USFK personnel are also prohibited from working mobile or from transmitters in private automobiles.

See also

Related Research Articles

DX-pedition amateur radio "expedition"

A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators and DX listeners, perhaps because of its remoteness, access restrictions or simply because there are very few radio amateurs active from that place. This could be an island, a country, or even a particular spot on a geographical grid. "DX" is a telegraphic shorthand for "distance" or "distant".

Amateur radio international operation

Amateur radio international reciprocal operating agreements permit amateur radio operators (hams) from one country to operate a station whilst traveling in another without the need to obtain additional licenses or permits.

Call signs in New Zealand are no longer generally used to identify broadcast stations. However, New Zealand's radio stations were once known by their call signs and would usually broadcast their call signs as a number followed by X, Y, or Z, and another letter. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU and nationally by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), formerly the Ministry of Economic Development. The ministry is also responsible for providing policy advice to Government on the allocation of New Zealand's radio spectrum to support, efficient, reliable and responsive wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure.

Amateur radio in India

Amateur radio or ham radio is practised by more than 16,000 licensed users in India. The first amateur radio operator was licensed in 1921, and by the mid-1930s, there were around 20 amateur radio operators in India. Amateur radio operators played an important part in the Indian independence movement with the establishment of illegal pro-independence radio stations in the 1940s. The three decades after India's independence saw only slow growth in the numbers of operators until the then Prime Minister of India and amateur radio operator, Rajiv Gandhi (VU2RG), waived the import duty on wireless equipment in 1984. Since then, numbers have picked up, and as of 2007, there were more than 16,000 operators in the country. Amateur radio operators have played a vital role during disasters and national emergencies such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, and bomb blasts, by providing voluntary emergency communications in the affected areas.

An amateur radio net, or simply ham net, is an "on-the-air" gathering of amateur radio operators. Most nets convene on a regular schedule and specific frequency, and are organized for a particular purpose, such as relaying messages, discussing a common topic of interest, in severe weather, emergencies, or simply as a regular gathering of friends for conversation.

Amateur radio Use of radio frequency spectra for non-commercial purposes

Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communication. The term "amateur" is used to specify "a duly authorised person interested in radioelectric practice with a purely personal aim and without pecuniary interest;" and to differentiate it from commercial broadcasting, public safety, or professional two-way radio services.

Call signs in the Middle East are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting in the Middle East. Call signs are regulated internationally by the International Telegraph Union (ITU) and nationally by local government and international agencies in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, The Palestinian Authority, occupied territories and other nations or DXCC entities.

Amateur radio call signs in Africa are codes used to identify all radio communications, broadcasts and transmissions. The International Telecommunication Union assigns Africa as ITU region #1. It has assigned call signs prefix blocks to countries including 77 DXCC entities in and off-shore of Africa. Western Sahara is not a DXCC entity but uses SØ as a prefix.

Call signs in Argentina are unique identifiers for communication. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally by the Comisión Nacional de Comunicaciones of the Argentine government.

Amateur radio call signs are allocated to amateur radio operators around the world. The call signs are used to legally identify the station or operator, with some countries requiring the station call sign to always be used and others allowing the operator call sign instead.

Call signs in Russia are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally by Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation. The latter is responsible for providing policy on the allocation of Russia's radio spectrum to support efficient, reliable and responsive wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure.

Call signs in Mexico are unique identifiers for telecommunications, radio communication, radio broadcasting and transmission. They are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally by the Federal Telecommunications Institute, which regulates broadcast stations, wireless telecommunications and spectrum use.

Call signs in Asia are rarely used to identify broadcast stations. In most Asian countries, broadcast stations use other forms of identification. Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan are exceptions to this rule. Amateur radio stations in India, Pakistan, Korea and Japan are allocated call-signs.

Call signs in Europe are codes consisting of a three letter country code and a series of letters and numbers, used as unique identifiers for broadcasting and telecommunications. These are not designated formally to all broadcast stations in Europe like they are in other parts of the world, but some broadcasters have developed their own makeshift call signs. It is quite common that instead of regular call signs abbreviations of the stations' names are used. In most of Europe, TV and radio stations have unique names, such as ProSieben in Germany, France 2 in France, Nova Television in Bulgaria, Antena 3 in Spain, etc.

Call signs in Canada are official identifiers issued to the country's radio and television stations. Assignments for broadcasting stations are made by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), while amateur stations receive their call signs from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Conventional radio and television broadcasting stations assignments are generally three, four or five letters long and almost exclusively use "C" call signs; with a few exceptions noted below, the "V" codes are restricted to specialized uses such as amateur radio.

Call signs in Antarctica include a three letter region code and a series of numbers and letters.

Call signs in Barbados include a three letter country code, and a series of letters and numbers.

Call signs in United Kingdom include a three letter country code, and a series of letters and numbers.

Broadcast call signs are call signs assigned as unique identifiers to radio stations and television stations. While broadcast radio stations will often brand themselves with plain-text names, identities such as "cool FM", "rock 105" or "the ABC network" are not globally unique. Another station in another city or country may have a similar brand, and the name of a broadcast station for legal purposes is normally its internationally recognised ITU call sign. Some common conventions are followed around the world.

Prefixes that are used for radio and television are usually allocated by ITU. They also form the basis for, but do not exactly match, aircraft registration identifiers. But in some cases, especially among amateur radio operators other, by ITU unallocated, callsigns are used when operating from disputed areas or countries that are internationally not (yet) recognized. They can be:

References

  1. ↑ Korea Communications Commission
  2. ↑ International Telecommunication Union country call sign assignments Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ ITU Table of Allocation of International Call Sign Series Archived March 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Triennial Report from KARL". iaru-r3.org. Archived from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  5. ↑ 1947 ITU Conference-Atlantic City Archived July 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 HamCall.Net Callsign divisions listed by prefix
  7. ↑ D9K at QRZ.COM
  8. ↑ AMATEUR RADIO OPERATIONS CONTROL FOR US PERSONNEL IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, April 2010
  9. ↑ dr hranislav milosevic - yt1ad homepage
  10. ↑ ARRL newsletter April 5, 2002
  11. ↑ AMSAT P5 stats for P5/4L4FN ending Nov 2002
  12. ↑ NORTH KOREA ASKS P5/4L4FN TO QRT
  13. ↑ The Southern California DX Club Newsletter, October 2010
  14. ↑ Lone Star DX Association www.dxer.org/lsdxa
  15. ↑ P5RS7 1992 Not North Korea
  16. ↑ Ten Ten News March 3, 1996
  17. ↑ SCDXC Newsletter 2010
  18. ↑ KARL Korean Amateur Radio League, international operation form.
  19. ↑ AMATEUR RADIO OPERATIONS CONTROL FOR US PERSONNEL IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
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