Licensing information
for Viet Nam - 3W, XV
Prepared by: OH2MCN - Veke
& XV6Z / K6SGD - Larry
Status: November 1998, July '99 links added, Mar ‘11
Intro: Comments on Amateur Radio Licensing in
The government formulated a
set of rules and regulations, also for the first time there is an actual
application form. The best thing is the recent (Nov. 98) official appointment
of Mr. Nguyen Bac Ai (in Viet Namese the family name always comes first) as
liaison for reciprocal licensing. Bac Ai is retired from the department that
issues the licenses. He is also President of the Viet Namese Amateur Radio Club
and holds the license of XV2A. Bac Ai probably
knows more about licensing in
XV2A
11 Bis Nguyen Dinh Chieu Str
Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Viet Nam
Tel. 848-829-4912
Fax 848-829-4912
Call signs - The policy at this time is to issue only XV
call signs. The number denotes geographic location Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is
6, New XV
calls are now reserved for commercial use and special events stations only.
I am fortunate in that my call was "grandfathered in" and I can keep
it. You can choose your two or three letter suffix, if it hasn't been used.
Modes - To the best of my knowledge no one has operated anything but CW and
SSB. I will be going on the air with RTTY early in 1999 and other modes are
probably possible if you ask.
Costs - The license itself
will cost about $40. US. In addition you must pay for each amateur band you
use. The cost is about $50. US per band per year, but if you get a temporary
license it can be prorated by the month, or about $4.17 US per band per month.
Licenses are normally issued for one year and renewable, but temporary licenses
are also issued for any length of time up to six months. Temporary licenses can
be re-activated using the same call sign at a future date.
Power - The limit is 500 watts for the HF bands and less for VHF.
Import of Equipment - This
can be a difficult problem as the licensing and customs are completely separate.
It is hard to figure what customs will charge as it depends on many factors.
Delays in processing the paperwork are possible and even likely. Check with Bac
Ai for help and advice.
License Application Forms - The forms and instructions are in Viet Namese! You
must designate the complete address where you will operate. This includes
things like the latitude and longitude, ground height above sea level, antenna
height above ground, etc. Also required is detail info on your antenna and
trasceiver. A big problem in applying for a license overseas is that you must
present your passport & visa at an Viet Namese Embassy or Consulate to have
your signature verified on the amateur radio application, that in itself is
probably going to cost you $40. US, and for most people require a bit of travel
as there aren't embassies or consulates everywhere. There is the problem of
paying the license fees from overseas, which can be complicated. Hopefully, Bac
Ai will be able to simplify things quite a lot and bypass what has up to now
been a long, frustrating process.
At present, Nov. 98, there
are about 10 current licenses in the whole country. Most are in the HCMC area.
I think there is one station on 80 meters and one on 10. Most number would be
on 20 meters. To the best of my knowledge, there is no activity on 160, 6 or 2
meters.
Club Stations - There are now some club stations in HCMC. Temporary use of a
club station may be possible. This is a new thing and it remains to be seen
exactly how and if it will work. Again you can ask Bac Ai for advice on this
and what the current status is.
Potential QTH for temporary license holders - There are a number of small and
medium size hotels that will allow operation and allow you to install a
temporary antenna on the roof. The big new 5 star hotels really can't
accomodate amateurs. Two of the potential possibilities would be ----
Asian Hotel
Tel - 848-829-6979
FAX - 848-829-7433
Contact the General Mgr., Mr. Pham Van Hung
Oscar Saigon Hotel
68A Nguyen
Tel - 848-829-2959
FAX - 848-822-2958
Contact Mr. Nguyen Tran Cat
I hope this helps a little
to fill in the gap in available information regarding amateur radio licensing
in
< loughran
at best.com >
73,
Larry Loughran XV6Z / K6SGD
For travel info see: Destination Viet Nam and SubWWWay to South-East Asia