Rigid systems

Last night, I was talking with Steve N6TT on 40m about how to escape from the contest being held thgis week end. He told me he would go up to WARC bands as he usually do in contests. I told him I was not licensed for WARC except for 30m. It might make him puzzled a little bit.

The licence system is quite different between here and in the US. We first should get an operator licence and then could apply for a station licence within the priviledges allowed for each class of operator licence. This station licence is a really complicated one. We should apply for each radio equipment we are using.

If we run over 200W output, we should take an exam for the set up by a certain examiner. There are quite some examiners who are licensed by the administrative agency here. They are doing their job as professional. The examination is pretty strict especially as for the interference to the electrical items in the neighborhood.  In case its output power is equal to or less than 200W, we could ask, in stead of taking the above mentioned exam, a private company named TSS to guarantee our radio equipments to be valid. This process is just based on a paper. No actual measurements of the radio specifications etc. Just a paper work. Of course, it costs quite some money for each radio. TSS is believed to be closely related with ceratin head in JARL as well as to be a company accepting people from the related governmental agency after their retirement. It seems JARL has been cooperative to establish and to go on such a system profitable only to the bureaucrats for years. Someone(s) in JARL might get profit from this system as well. JARL has never opposed to this licence system or has never proposed any reformation.

It is illegal to operate radio with the other radio than the ones being specified by the station licence. The mode and band we could operate are also definitely specified. We are supposed not to operate radio with the other equipment than that specified by the station licence.

In addition, ridiculously enough, the station licence is divided into two categories. One is for fixed station while the other for mobile station. We often should apply for these two categories at the same time. Licence fee and a kind of tax each ear are required for each licence category.

Our bureaucracy is rigid itself. So is the sysytem they provide. I am pretty sure this rigid system is depriving us of social activities not oly in the ham radio but also in every field of research, social services and industries. This rigid system is oriented for the bureaucrats' profits and right.

Complaining of this, all I could do is just to listen the number exchanging crazy guys on the air. It sounds pretty good condition on bands so far. Have fun, contesting freaks!