Unattended operation
2d.1 Recall that the Licensee may conduct Unattended Operation of a
Beacon, for the purposes of direction-finding competitions, for remote
control of the main station or for digital communications.
Recall that the remote control link must be by radio in an amateur band, limited to 500mW maximum transmit power.
Recall that unattended operation does not include providing for general use by other amateurs.
For many Amateur
Radio transmissions the Amateur has to be present in the
"shack". However there are some applications of Amateur
Radio where the Amateur does not have to be present in the "shack" or
at the site of the transmitter. These include:
1. If the Amateur runs a beacon. I.e an automatic
transmission on a specific frequency which enables other amateurs
to monitor the conditions on the band. Beacons can be heard
throughout the Amateur Bands.
2. The setting up of station for direction finding
competitions . For example a transmitter is designed to
send out its callsign at regular intervals. This may be
hidden in a wood where the public or amateurs have access.
Competing stations use directional antennas to find the
station.
3. The remote control of the main station. The main station could
be located away from the main QTH, but controlled by
a radio link. This radio link must be in an
amateur band and radiate no more than 500mW maximum transmit
power. The link has to be set up so that no other amateurs are able to
gain access.
4. Digital Communications. For example an amateur station may be set up
as a digipeater for packet or APRS packet signals. These are
picked up and rebroadcast, allowing digital signals to be broadcast over
long distances.
NB Access to the operation of remote stations is only allowed by the licencee and is should not be available to other amateurs.
2e.1 Recall that a person
authorised by Ofcom may require the Licence holder to keep a log of all
transmissions made over a specified period of time. Log Keeping
There was a time when all transmissions had to be recorded in a
Log Book which was periodically checked and signed by the then GPO.
This is no longer the case. However there are times when a
representative of Ofcom my require that you keep a log of your
transmissions. For example if there is a complaint of interference or
breakthrough from your transmitter the Log could be used to check if
you were transmitting at the time. Or if the problem only occurs on
specific bands or frequencies. The Ofcom representative will tell you
what to record, but this will normally be date, time, mode, frequency,
power and antenna in use. It can be useful to record the results of
tests carried out to check that you are not causing interference.
