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EUROCOM Newsletter ze 14.05.2009

• 14.květen 2009

1. Parliament Exhibition 2010

As reported in the last newsletter I asked MEP Helmut Kuhne to sponsor our Parliament Exhibition 2010. Helmut Kuhne will not run another term, however he passes “us” on to his probable successor Mrs. Birgit Sippel. I sent the form to him and his assistant Ingo Schiermeyer filed it to the EC administration. The Exhibition Request is now formally done, and already approved. The Exhibition will take place from April 26th until 30th 2010. In this week there will be some activity due to committee meetings and one plenary meeting of the parliament.

I would like to ask again for support from the societies in planning the exhibition. Please forward ideas to possible new focus and naming of the exhibition to me. I will summarize your input and publish the ideas in the next newsletter. Furthermore I would like to remind all of you about the next EUROCOM WG meeting in Friedrichshafen at Friday, June 26th, Room Verwaltungsgebäude 5th floor (same room as always) at 14:00 to 16:00 hours. The planning of the exhibition will be the main topic. If any society would like to participate in manning and preparing the exhibition, please join the EUROCOM WG and send me a note to the eMail given above.

2. EMF Exposure / European Initiative 2008/2211(INI)

One new European Initiative 2008/2211(INI) just crossed my desk and I would like all of you to note it. The initiative asks for a European Parliament Resolution to implement stricter limits for RF exposure to increase the protection status of human. This could be very critical since the Recommendation (1999/519/EC) did use ICNIRP values, which are hard enough to fulfill in an amateur radio environment. Please read the details for yourself as I attach initiative text to this newsletter. If this topic becomes more important the Parliament Exhibition could be used to address this and explain the main differences between a professional transmitting site and a amateur radio station to the MEPs. I appreciate any feedback on how to proceed.

3. Smart Metering / Low Carbon Society

If you follow the link http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=ICT4EE3 you will find a Public Consultation on Information and Communication Technologies for a Low Carbon Society. Also addresses is the topic “Smart Metering”. As you know smart meters could evolve into a high risk application for amateur radio, since in some cases the meters from meter to DSL line is bridged by PLT technology. Furthermore on active smart grids communication between appliances and the meter exist via PLT, too. There are already washing machines on the market containing PLT chips for later use.

It might be a good idea to look into the topic and submit a position paper to the EC, either as a society and additionally as individuals, if you spread the information in your country.

vy 73,

Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE
International Amateur Radio Union - Region 1
EUROCOM WG

Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE - EUROCOM Chairman
Lindenallee 4 – 34225 Baunatal - Germany
Tel: +49 561 9498840 Fax: +49 561 9498850 eMail: "dl9kce at darc-afz.de"

EUROCOM Newsletter z 05.03.2009

• 11.březen 2009

  1. Parliament Exhibition 2010

    As explained in the last newsletter, hosting of the exhibition was no longer possible with our conveners from 2007. I have tried my local MEP, without much success, because the number of groups an individual MEP can convene is limited. Meanwhile I have contacted the bureau of MEP Helmut Kuhne, who will not run another term, however he would pass "us" on to his probable successor Mrs Birgit Sippel. I sent the form to him and his assistant Ingo Schiermeyer filed it to the EC administration. It is time to start planning now. Therefore I ask you again forward your new ideas on the exhibition to me as soon as possible. Up to know I have not received any mail on the topic. All of you are invited to attend the EUROCOM WG meeting in Friedrichshafen at Friday, June 26th, Room Verwaltungs-gebäude 5th floor (same room as always) at 14:00 to 16:00 hours. The planning of the exhibition will be the main topic.

  2. EMF Exposure

    We all remember the EU Recommendation (1999/519/EC) which limits the exposure to electromagnetic fields of humans. This recommendation was not adopted by many member states as I recalled. Just recently I found a paper, named REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION ON THE APPLICATION OF COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION (1999/519/EC). I attach it to the newsletter and ask everyone to closely study the report. It comes to the conclusion that many member states have adopted the recommendation and the limits, some even have legally binding rules.

If anyone has further thoughts on the paper, please let me know if there is anything the EUROCOM WG needs to address. vy 73, Thilo Kootz,

DL9KCE
Chairman EUROCOM WG

EUROCOM Newsletter z 16.01.2009

• 21.leden 2009

Přiložený "EUROCOM Newsletter" informuje mimo jiné o tom, že Evropská komise si od jednotlivých členských zemí vyžádala legislativu, která se týká využití spektra. Dále podává informaci o další výstavě v Evropském parlamentu. V dalším bodě doporučuje jednotlivým organizacím, aby kontaktovaly některého ze členů Evropského parlamentu a hlouběji ho seznámily s radioamatérskou problematikou. V budoucnu to usnadní další kontakty.

Miloš, OK1MP

Dokument je ke stažení zde.


27.říjen 2008

EUROCOM Newsletter

25.10.2008

EU Planner presented to the MEP

  1. EU Parliament Exhibition follow up

    At EUROCOM WG meeting 22 June 2007 in Friedrichshafen, it was proposed to provide a yearly follow up of the EUROCOM Exhibition set up in the European Parliament, Brussels in March 2007. EUROCOM WG proposed to create a special calendar to be presented to the MEP in 2008. This proposal was approved by the IARU Region 1 Executive Committee. A draft, prepared by Jacques Debouche ON5OO, was presented at the informal EUROCOM WG meeting, Friedrichshafen 2008.

     

  2. EU National Days Planner

    The special calendar finally took the form of a planner featuring the National Days of each of the European Union Member States as well as their amateur radio call sign prefixes. The planner, which was created by the RSGB team, headed by Peter Kirby G0TWW and operated by Mark Allgar M1MPA, has been printed in the UK. Planner dimension is A2 (4 x A4) in landscape format.

     

  3. Distribution

    The EU National Days planner will be presented to the 785 MEP with an introductory letter, co-signed by MEP Fernando Fernandez-Martin and Gaston Bertels, IARU Regio 1 EUROCOM WG chairman. See Annex 1. A pdf copy of the EU National Days planner is also appended to this Newsletter. See Annex 2. Distribution will be done 2-3 November 2008, when the MEP have meetings in the European Parliament, Brussels.

 

73

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
EUROCOM WG Chairman

Annex 1: NS0508A1.pdf
Annex 2: NS0508A2.pdf

 


9.září 2008

Na dopis adresovaný Českému normalizačnímu institutu (viz zpráva ze 16.7.08) přišla odpověď:

 


7.srpen 2008

V dopisu Českému normalizačnímu institutu ze dne 26.března 2008 jsme vznesli námitky k navrhované hodnotě LCD (Longditunidal Conversion Loss) 24 dB v návrhu CISPR/I/257/CD. Jak vyplývá z dokumentu IEC (Mezinárodní elektrotechnické komise), byla naše námitka oprávněná, neboť ani jednotlivé národní instituty se na této hodnotě neshodly a navrhovaly hodnoty mezi 0 a 40 dB. Podstatná část připomínek byla proti původní navrhované hodnotě 24 dB. Proto byl přijat nový návrh 6 dB, který podporovala podstatná část komentářů. I naše připomínka adresovaná ČNI se vztahovala k této hodnotě.

Miloš, OK1MP

 


16.červenec 2008

Český radioklub zaslal Českému normalizačnímu institutu následující dopis:

 

Český normalizační institut
Biskupský dvůr 5
110 02 Praha 1

V Praze dne 16.července 2008

Věc: CISPR/I/269/CD

Český radioklub je národní organizací, která reprezentuje amatérskou a amatérskou družicovou radioamatérskou službu v České republice. Tyto služby jsou definovány ITU Radiokomunikačním řádem a kmitočtové spektrum, které využívají je určeno na základě mezinárodních dohod.

Velmi blízce sledujeme vývoj v CISPR, který se týká otázek vyzařování telekomunikačních systémů po drátových vedeních, zvláště pak PLT nebo BPL. Současné experimenty se systémy PLT/BPL s různých zemích ukázaly, že jsou zde předpoklady pro škodlivé rušení schválených radiokomunikačních služeb - nejen služeb amatérských - pokud pro systémy po vedeních nebudou schváleny rozumné limity.

CISPR zpracovává normy na výrobky, které se týkají zařízení použitých v systémech PLT/BPL. Proto si přejeme okomentovat dokument CISPR/I/269/DC , který byl 20 června 2008 zaslán k vyjádření národním standardizačním organizacím. Naše komentáře jsou v příloze a dovolujeme si požádat, aby byly plně vzaty v úvahu při přípravě odpovědi vaší komise v této záležitosti.

S pozdravem

za

Český radioklub
občanské sdružení

Josef Zabavík
tajemník

 


16.červenec 2008

Český radioklub obdržel následující e-mail:

From: Don Beattie [mailto:g3ozf@btinternet.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 10:01 AM
To: ARA; ARA IARU; OeVSV; OEVSV; oe3mzc; BFRR; UBA; UBA IARU; ON7TK-ON7LX@amsat.org; ARABiH; BFRA; BFRA IARU; HRS; CARS; CRC; Milos Prostecky; EDR; EDR IARU; EARA Secretary; ERAU; ERAU; ERAA (Egypt IARU Liaison); SRAL; REF; REF IARU; DARC; DARC IARU; RAAG; MRASZ; IRA IARU; IARC; ARI IARU; ARSK; ARSK IARU; LRAL; LRAL
Subject: Comments on CISPR PLT (BPL) proposal needed now!

To: IARU Member Societies whose countries are IEC members

Your immediate help is needed to protect the radio spectrum from interference from Powerline Telecommunications Systems (PLT or BPL).

Please review the attached message from IARU EMC Adviser Christian Verholt, OZ8CY, and take the requested action. This is very important in order to keep PLT/BPL emissions within reasonable limits. Please note that action is needed before the end of July on this.

Also, the IARU International Secretariat is establishing a global email mailing list of individuals in IARU Member Societies and regional organizations, along with anyone else who is willing to help us, to work together on EMC issues. We plan horizontal communication among this group, to ensure that information is exchanged in a timely and efficient fashion among those who are in a position to take direct action. Christian, OZ8CY has agreed to lead the discussion within the group.

We hope to be able to identify 20 or more Member Societies worldwide who will be active participants in this group. If we can reach this level of participation, we believe there is a good chance that the IARU's objectives in CISPR can be achieved.

Therefore, please identify the appropriate individual or individuals in your Member Society who should be included in this group and advise both me and the IARU International Secretariat (iaru@iaru.org) of their names, call signs and email addresses.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this important initiative.

73

Don Beattie, G3BJ
Secretary IARU Region 1

Attachments:

"How to help us protect the radio spectrum - the standards way" by IARU EMC Adviser Christian Verholt, OZ8CY
Document CISPR/I/269/DC

 


10.červenec 2008

EUROCOM Newsletter
02.07.2008

Minutes EUROCOM WG meeting Friedrichshafen

 

  1. Participants

    The EUROCOM working group meeting was attended by 18 delegates from Germany, Belgium, Poland, the Netherlands, UK, Finland and Austria as well as a member of the IARU Region 1 Executive Committee.

    John Devoldere, ON4UN accepted to take the minutes of the meeting.

     

  2. Follow-up of the Exhibition in the European Parliament Brussels

     

    • The Exhibition panels and posters are stored by RSGB and kept at the disposal of member societies which eventually want to borrow them. Problem is transportation which would be rather costly.
    • RSGB makes artwork (computer files) available to member societies.
    • IARU Region Executive Committee accepted the principle of an annual follow up
    • In 2008, a Calendar featuring the National Days of each of the EU Member States will be presented to all MEP (about 750).
    • The drafted Calendar was presented to the meeting and approved with a few amendments.
    • October 2008, the Calendar will be distributed by MEP Fernando Fernandez-Martin (EA8AK) on behalf of IARU Region 1 EUROCOM societies.
    • An introductory letter will remind the MEP of the Exhibition "Amateur Radio, a European Resource". Reference will be made to the Memorandum of Understanding signed 27 June 2008 between ITU, IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) and IARU. An updated edition of the Exhibition folder will also be appended.

     

  3. Information exchange

    EU Member States must submit drafted regulations related to telecommunications to the European Commission. Most are not directly related to Amateur Radio.

    EUROCOM chairman circulates available documents to the IARU societies of the concerned Member States, as well as to the chairmen of IARU Region 1 External Relations Committee and Radio Regulatory working group.

    In 2007-2008, documents were circulated to member societies in

     

    • Austria
    • Belgium
    • Denmark
    • Estonia
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Ireland
    • Lithuania
    • Luxemburg
    • Netherlands
    • Slovenia
    • Spain
    • Switzerland
    • United Kingdom

    Delegates consider this a valuable service and wish it to be continued.

     

  4. Contributions from the floor

    URE draws attention to the intention of power companies to collect metering and other data using power line communications. Some could use wideband communications, detrimental to HF.

    UK companies are also planning such systems and field tests are going on in Germany and in Austria.

     

  5. EUROCOM working group chairman candidates

    At the upcoming IARU Region 1 Conference, November 2008, EUROCOM WG chairman ON4WF will withdraw.

    Delegates discussed aspects to be taken into account when nominating a chairman for this working group, such as diplomatic skills (lobbying) and, possibly, living near the European Institutions (Brussels).

     

  6. Action points

    Member Societies are invited to forward information concerning power companies planning power line communications for collecting metering data, and possibly the frequencies under consideration (see agenda item 4).

73

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
EUROCOM WG chairman

 


27.březen 2008

Český radioklub zaslal Českému normalizačnímu institutu následující dopis:

 

Český normalizační institut
Biskupský dvůr 5
110 02 Praha 1

V Praze dne 26.března 2008

Věc: Připomínky k dokumentu CISPR draft CISPR/I/257/CD

Prostřednictvím Mezinárodní radioamatérské unie (Intrnational Amateur Radio Union Region 1) jsme byli informováni o návhu uvedeného dokumentu. K tomutu návrhu máme výhrady. Proto Vás žádáme o předání připomínek příslušné národní normalizační skupině.

 

  1. Předpokladem návrhu je, že "Longitudinal Conversion Loss" LCD elektrovodného vedení je 24 dB. Tato hodnota pak určuje útlum vyzařování rádiových vln z elektrovodného vedení. Tato hodnota je však vzdálena od reality, neboť elektrovodná vedení zdaleka nejsou symetrická a dá se tedy konstatovat, že hodnota je nepravdivá! Hodnota LCD se ve většině případů bude blížit 6 dB.
  2. Instrukce z Plenárního zasedání CISPR stanovila, že nový návrh má zaručit stejnou úroveň ochrany, jako zaručuje nynější standard CISPR22. To však není zaručeno v současném návrhu. Proto by měl být současný návrh, v souladu s instrukcemi Plenárního zasedání, přepracován.

V příloze tohoto dopisu jsou tato stanoviska zpracována v anglické verzi. Současně Vás žádáme o sdělení, jak bude s tímto materiálem naloženo.

S pozdravem

za

Český radioklub
občanské sdružení

Ing.Jaromír Voleš
předseda

 


19.prosinec 2007

Další EUROCOM Newsletter informuje o tom, že členské země Evropské unie mají předložit Evropské komisi zákony a předpisy, které se týkají využití kmitočtového spektra. Dále se uvádí kolik dokumentů bylo odesláno v roce 2007 jednotlivým radioamatérským organizacím. V roce 2008, tak jak byli informováni účastníci schůzky ve Friedrichshafenu, se předpokládá opětovné informování MEP (poslanců Evropského parlamentu) o přínosu amatérského radia v Evropské unii.

Miloš, OK1MP

EUROCOM Newsletter
17.12.2007

 

  1. Information forwarding

    European Union Member States must submit their drafted laws and regulations related to use of the radio spectrum to the European Commission. These Laws/Regulations are related to frequencies, power limitations, EMC norms, etc. for all kinds of services, including the Amateur Radio Service. When aware of these drafted texts, EUROCOM WG chairman forwards a copy for information to the member society of the State concerned. At EUROCOM meeting 22 June 2007 Friedrichshafen the participants were asked if the member societies are interested in receiving such general information. The meeting was in favour for continuing this kind of information, not limited to Amateur Radio matters.

    Consequently, in 2007 a total of 89 documents were forwarded to several societies :

     

    State Society Number
    of documents
    Austria ÖVSV 1
    Belgium UBA 1
    Denmark EDR 6
    Estonia ERAU 2
    Finland SRAL 3
    France REF 15
    Germany DARC 28
    Great Britain RSGB 7
    Greece RAAG 4
    Ireland IRTS 1
    Lithuania LRMD 4
    Luxembourg RL 1
    Netherlands VERON 6
    Slovenia ZRS 1
    Spain URE 8
    Switzerland USKA 1
  2. Folder for MEP

    At EUROCOM meeting 2007 in Friedrichshafen it was decided to continue the presence of the Amateur Radio service in the European Parliament Brussels. We intend to circulate a folder to the MEP March 2008, similar to the 2007 Exhibition flyer that was distributed in the mailboxes of the MEP. The folder will refer to the Exhibition and show the main benefits Amateur Radio provides to the European Union:
    - Technical education
    - International friendship
    - Emergency communications

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

73

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
EUROCOM WG chairman

 


1.listopad 2007

Český radioklub doručil předsedovi hospodářského výboru poslanecké sněmovny následující dopis:

 

Vážený pan

Mgr.Oldřich Vojíř, Ph.D.
předseda hospodářského výboru
Poslanecké sněmovny Parlamentu České republiky

Parlament České republiky
Poslanecká sněmovna
Sněmovní 4
118 26 Praha 1 - Malá Strana

V Praze dne 1.října 2007

Vážený pane předsedo,

s potěšením jsme zaznamenali Váš aktivní zájem o uplatňování nových technologií v oboru elektronických komunikací, který jste - mimo jiné - projevil i převzetím záštity nad mezinárodní konferencí Komunikace PLC/BPL po silnoproudých vedeních nn a vn 2007.

Také Český radioklub, který sdružuje největší počet zájemců o radioamatérskou činnost v ČR a zastupuje je i v Mezinárodní radioamatérské unii, vývoj v oblasti těchto technologií intensivně sleduje, v tom i nástup komunikace PLC/BPL po silnoproudých vedeních nn a vn. Komunikace po silnoproudých vedeních (a obdobné technologie) je na jedné straně velmi slibná, na straně druhé však hrozí omezeními pro uživatele kmitočtového spektra, tedy i pro radioamatéry. Je zásadně podstatné, aby i v ČR se prosadily ty technologie, které ohrožení oprávněných potřeb uživatelů kmitočtového spektra předejdou, jak ostatně požadují i směrnice Evropské komise.

V roce 2005 jsme zpracovali informativní Memorandum, které popisuje existující risika, a které jsme tehdy zaslali i hospodářskému výboru PSP minulého volebního období; text si dovolujeme pro informaci zaslat i Vám. K Memorandu se připojila i další sdružení radioamatérů: Českomoravští amatéři vysílači, OK QRP klub, OK DX Foundation, Československý DX Club a Rada SysOpů.

Velmi bychom uvítali, kdybyste ve svém náročném programu - dle možnosti ještě před konáním konference - nalezl čas ke schůzce s námi, na níž bychom Vám mohli náš přístup k problematice dále přiblížit.

S pozdravem

za

Český radioklub

ing.Jaromír V o l e š
předseda ČRK

V příloze: Memorandum Českého radioklubu k problematice širokopásmových datových přenosů po energetických sítích

Na dopis přišla následující odpověď:

 


24.květen 2007

EUROCOM Newsletter
24.05.2007

Commission Decision of 16 May 2007
on harmonised availability of information regarding spectrum use within the Community

  1. Purpose of the Decision

    The purpose of this Decision is to harmonise the availability of information on the use of radio spectrum in the Community through a common information point and by the harmonisation of the format and content of such information.


  2. Common access point

    Member States shall use the ERO Frequency Information System (EFIS) set up by the European Radiocommunications Office (ERO) as a common access point, in order to make comparable information regarding the use of spectrum in each Member State available to the public via the Internet.


  3. Decision

    The text of the Commission Decision is hereto appended. See Annex.

73

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
EUROCOM WG chairman



18.březen 2007

EUROCOM Newsletter
17.03.2007

Commission Decision on ultra-wideband technology (UWB)

  1. Purpose of the Decision
    The purpose of this Decision is to allow the use of the radio spectrum by equipment using ultra-wideband technology and to harmonise the conditions of such use in the Community.
    The EU Commission considers that UWB could provide "a host of communications, measurement, location, medical, surveillance and imaging applications of benefit to various Community policies".
    Therefore mandates were given to CEPT "to undertake all necessary work to identify the most appropriate technical and operational criteria for the harmonised introduction of UWB-based applications in the European Union".


  2. Limitations
    The compatibility studies include "the presumption that equipment using UWB technology will be operated predominantly indoors and that it will cease transmission within 10 seconds unless it receives an acknowledgment from an associated receiver that its transmission is being received".
    Outdoor use "should not include use of a fixed outdoor location or connected to a fixed outdoor antenna or in vehicles. The potential interference caused by such uses requires further study".
    Member States shall allow the use of the radio spectrum by UWB equipment "on a non-interference and non-protected basis, provided that such equipment meets the conditions set out in the Annex to this Decision".
    The Annex fixes maximum e.i.r.p. densities for UWB applications.


  3. Decision
    The text of the Commission Decision is hereto appended. See Annex.

73

Gaston Bertels ON4WF
EUROCOM WG chairman



9.březen 2007

EUROCOM Newsletter
09.03.2007

Exhibition in the European Parliament, Brussels

  1. Inauguration

    Per EUROCOM Newsletter of 11.01.2007, we announced the setting up of the exhibition "Amateur Radio, a European Resource" in the European Parliament, Brussels. The inauguration took place Monday 5 March 2007 at 18h00. About 100 guests assisted. Among them was a group of Spanish hams who visited the Parliament, invited by MEP Fernando Fernandez-Martin, EA8AK. The president of IARU Region1 and several presidents and vice-presidents of national societies were present, representing RSGB, DARC, REF-Union, URE, VERON, RAAG and UBA. AMSAT societies were represented by the president of AMSAT Italy. Shri Suri VU2MY, chairman NIAR (India), was invited by EA8AK. Among other VIP we noted Joachim Strick, leader of NATO's Frequency Management Office, Freddy Baert and David Erzeel of the Belgian Institute of Post and Telecommunications, Mathieu Bolland Chairman SSETI, Jean-Marcel Thomas General Manager Euro Space Center, Adriano Graziosi (ON5GA) General Manager European Social and Economic Committee (retired). MEP Mechtild Rothe (Germany) welcomed the guests, saying how much she appreciated radio amateurs for their commitment in educational and emergency fields. Next Gaston Bertels ON4WF, chairman EUROCOM WG, presented the amateur radio service to the audience, insisting on education, technical research and development and emergency work. The text of this presentation is hereto appended (see Annex). Shri Suri VU2MY presented a gold medal to Fernando Fernandez-Martin EA8AK for his support of amateur radio in India. He offered a silver medal to ON4WF. Finally, Ole Garpestad LA2RR, president IARU Region 1, officially opened the Exhibition.


  2. Exhibition

    The Exhibition was installed Friday 2 March and removed Friday 9 March 2007 by Mark Allgar M1MPA and Nick Evans of RSGB. Tuesday 6 through Thursday 8 March 2007, the Exhibition was manned by several delegates of national societies:
    - Thilo Koots DL9KCE
    - Dennis Härtig DL7RBI
    - Jacques Mezan de Malartic F2MM
    - Sotirios Vanikiotis SV1HER
    - Don Field G3XTT
    - John Pink G8MM
    - Mark Haynes M0DXR
    They accompanied MEP's and assistants who visited the Exhibition and asked many questions. One Polish MEP was interested to become a radio amateur.
    The Exhibition handout flyer, available in English, French and German, was distributed in several hundreds mail boxes ("pigeon holes") of MEPs.


  3. Content

    The content of the Exhibition was developed by an ad hoc working group in the course of a series of teleconferences which became weekly in January 2007. Members of the working group were:
    - Gaston Bertels ON4WF
    - Peter Kirby G0TWW
    - Mark Allgar M1MPA
    - Thilo Koots DL9KCE
    - Dennis Härtig DL7RBI
    - Jacques Mezan de Malartic F2MM
    Input was provided by IARU Region 1 societies and AMSAT societies. Peter Kirby G0TWW drafted texts and Mark Allgar M1MPA prepared the displays whereof the layout was created by a professional stylist employed by RSGB. The working group discussed the projects and oriented the development. Five self supporting panels (2m x 3.20m) represent specific aspects of amateur radio:
    - Emergency activities
    - Space communications
    - Personalities who are radio amateurs
    - Training of the youth
    - Careers directly influenced by amateur radio.
    The text of these panels is in English, French and German. Moreover several posters (1.50m x 1m) provide more detailed information in English on several topics:
    - Who we are
    - What we do
    - Amateur Radio operators in Europe (statistics per country)
    - EU legislation (R&TTY - EMC Directives)
    - Amateur Radio in Space (ISS - Columbus)
    - AMSAT (Ionosfera - Go Mars - SSETI).
    A handout flyer was printed in three languages, covering the topics presented in the Exhibition and providing the addresses of the IARU societies in the 27 countries of the European Union. There were also exhibits:
    - EMC box to demonstrate HF interference by several sources including PLT/BPL
    - CW writer
    - PSK31 (reception)
    - DVD and Internet on large screen (a router was installed by Jacques Debouche ON5OO)
    - Engineering model of Sputnik 40
    - Engineering model of L/S-band antenna for Columbus.


  4. Thanks

    Many thanks to the members of the ad hoc working group and to the members of the team that installed and manned the Exhibition. We also thank MEP Mechtild Rothe and her assistant Jeannette Ladzik and especially MEP Fernando Fernandez-Martin (EA8AK) and his assistant Ophelia Ferrari, who participated to some preparatory teleconferences.

73

Gaston Bertels ON4WF
EUROCOM WG chairman



" Amateur Radio, a European Resource "

Exhibition in the European Parliament Brussels

Opening ceremony 5 March 2007 at 18:00

Presentation by Gaston Bertels ON4WF
IARU Region 1 EUROCOM WG Chairman

Honourable Members of the European Parliament,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

From the very beginning of wireless telegraphy, individuals have been interested in the study of the properties of the mysterious electromagnetic waves. These individuals are called "radio amateurs".

Amateur Radio, born 100 years ago, was officially recognized as a radio service by the International Radiotelegraphic Convention, Washington D.C. in 1927.

Presently, the International Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunications Union, the ITU, a specialized agency of the United Nations, provide these definitions:

Amateur service : A radio communication service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations, carried out by amateurs, that is by duly authorized persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest.

Amateur-satellite service : A radio communication service using space stations on earth satellites for the same purposes as those of the amateur service.

In 1925, delegates of the national amateur radio societies gathered in the Sorbonne University, Paris and founded the International Amateur Radio Union, the IARU, presently organized in three Regions, covering the world.

In 1990, the IARU Region 1 set up the EUROCOM working group, comprising the national societies of the European Communities Member States, now the European Union.

EUROCOM scrutinizes the work of the European Commission and of the European Parliament in domains of special importance to the amateur radio service. When needed, action is undertaken to draw attention on aspects of European legislative projects where vital interests of our service are at stake. This has been the case for the Directive on Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment, the R&TTY Directive and more recently for the Directive on Electromagnetic Compatibility, the EMC Directive. In both cases, most of our remarks have been taken into account, and we are grateful to the Members of the European Parliament and to the European Commission who supported our requests. One of the posters in this exhibition is the expression of our gratitude. Our special thanks to Members of the European Parliament Fernando Fernandez-Martin, Mechtild Rothe, Dr Peter Liese and Helmut Kuhne, who - among others - submitted and supported amendments favourable to the Amateur Radio service during the legislative process.

With this exhibition, we want to present to you, among the many faces of the amateur radio service, those which are of special interest to the community:

- education
- technical research and development and
- emergency work.

In accordance with the very definition of the Amateur Radio service, amateurs shall be duly authorized. The national authorities determine the technical and regulatory matters for Amateur Radio examinations. In Europe, the programme is harmonized by the CEPT, le Comité Européen des Postes et Télécommunications.

Candidates belong to all social categories and age groups, but one thing is certain: Amateur Radio is the ideal preparation of a future career in a wide range of science, technology and engineering roles. Many young people who qualify as Radio Amateurs continue to pursue higher education in science, technology and engineering disciplines. Radio Amateurs provide a valuable reservoir of skills for communications, information and high technology industries, and many amateurs are employed in these areas.

Specialized groups of Radio Amateurs develop new communication techniques. A worldwide digital Amateur Radio network has been developed 25 years ago, long before the Internet. One of our objectives is optimum use of the available electromagnetic spectrum, a most precious and limited commodity. You can see a demonstration of such a system in the exhibition.

Radio Amateurs have over 40 years experience of building and launching satellites, creating reliable systems based on COTS, commercial off the shelf electronic components. An engineering model of one such satellite is shown in the exhibition. In 1997, to commemorate the 40th birthday of space exploration, Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov launched this scale 1/3 model of the original Sputnik by hand from MIR during an Extra Vehicular Activity. Sputnik 40 transmitted bip-bip signals on the amateur radio 2m band. One year later, AMSAT France, the French Amateur Radio Satellite society, built new electronics for a spare model of Sputnik 40 and, when the mini spacecraft was launched from MIR, recorded voice messages of students were transmitted from space to the youth of the world over Amateur Radio.

The Amateur Radio service closely collaborates with the European Space Agency. AMSAT-UK, the British Amateur Radio Satellite society, provides technical support and communication facilities to SSETI, the Student Space Exploration & Technology Initiative

Amateur Radio is also active on the International Space Station. Astronauts, who have an Amateur Radio licence, can operate the onboard Amateur Radio equipment, contact amateur ground stations installed in schools and answer questions from the students, direct from space. This activity is supported by ARISS, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, an international working group of national societies in countries participating to the ISS.

Amateur Radio antennas will be installed on the space laboratory Columbus, which will be attached to the International Space Station later this year. We are working very hard to collect funds for the Amateur Radio equipment on the first ever European territory in Space. An engineering model of the ARISS antennas on Columbus is presented in the exhibition.

Beyond the orbital station there is the Moon and beyond the Moon are the Planets. The German Radio Amateur satellites society AMSAT-DL presently prepares a Mars Mission, a satellite serving as a research platform and an Amateur Radio relay between Mars and Earth.

In the same time, our Italian branch, AMSAT-Italy, is developing an Amateur Radio satellite system aimed at collecting scientific data to aid understanding the radio wave propagation within the ionosphere. This project is supported by the European Space Agency and by l'Union Radio-scientifique Internationale.

Another aspect of Amateur Radio is Emergency work. For over fifty years, Radio Amateurs across the world have been providing frontline communications in times of emergency or disaster. Each country has its own group of trained Radio Amateurs who specialize in providing backup emergency communications to organisations such as fire, police and medical services. In recent times, Radio Amateurs have provided backup communications during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA, the London and Madrid bombings, the South-East Asia Tsunami and most recently hurricane Katrina which hit the Gulf of Mexico and devastated the city of New Orleans. December 2006, President George W. Busch praised and thanked the Amateur Radio community in the United States for their service and commitment.

Thankfully, within the European Union we are not faced with the same level of natural disasters that affect other parts of the world. However, Radio Amateurs in all EUROCOM countries can provide a high level of service, should they be called upon to do so. Amateur Radio operators are able to improvise and provide communications when all else fails. This is a proven resource serving the community 365 days a year.

When the Tsunami struck South-East Asia, December 26, 2004 there was a special Amateur Radio activity, a so-called DX-pedition, going on in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. After the Tsunami struck the islands at 6.29 am, the Dxpedition was suspended and switched over to emergency communications. Operated with a generator and batteries, the Amateur Radio station was the main means of communication with the main land thereafter. Hundreds of messages were handled on behalf of the administration from different islands. Messages of health and welfare of individuals from mainland and islands were handled also. Amateurs from the main land acted as relay stations. Operations continued till the 15th of January 2005 when telecommunications were mostly restored in different islands.

This Andaman and Nicobar DX-pedition was organized by the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR). We have the honour and the pleasure to welcome Mr Shri Suri, chairman of the Institute, who personally participated to the emergency operations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Exhibition "Amateur Radio, a European Resource" would not have been possible without the support of Mrs Mechtild Rothe and Mr Fernando Fernandez-Martin who submitted a request to the Conference of Presidents and the Quaestors of the European Parliament and that request was accepted. Thank you Madam, thank you Sir.

Our Thanks also to Miss Ophelia Ferrari, assistant of Mr Fernandez-Martin, who helped us through the many steps in setting up the Exhibition, as well as to Mrs Jeannette Ladzik, assistant of Mrs Rothe and Miss Barbara Siragusa, head of Art Com, the service in charge of cultural events. Thank you ladies.

This Exhibition is a joint effort of delegates of several Amateur Radio societies, especially the Radio Society of Great Britain, der Deutscher Amateur Radio Club et le Réseau des Emetteurs Français, whereas others societies such as the Amateur satellites societies of Italy, Germany, Great Britain and France provided valuable input.

Thanks to all.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I now introduce the President of the International Amateur Radio Union, Region 1, Mr Ole Garpestad who will officially open the Exhibition.

Mr President, the floor is yours.



2.únor 2007


EUROCOM Newsletter
02.02.2007

Proposed amendment for regulation on safety in electronic communications networks

The Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority proposes an amendment to regulations on safety in electronic communications networks covered by Directive 73/23/EEC, the "Low power" Directive.

The proposed regulations lay down electrical insulation requirements on the connection between the electronic communications networks coaxial wall socket and the connected terminal equipment. This connection is defined as a part of the electronic communications network.

All new and rebuilt electronic communications networks of such kind shall be fitted with such electrical insulation. Retailers of TV sets are required to supply insulated connections.

The text of this proposal is appended in Annex NS0207A1.rtf

------------------------

Proposed amendment for regulation on safety in electronic communications networks.

Laid down by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority on --,--2007 pursuant to sections §§ 1-4 and 2-3 of Act of 4 July 2003 No. 83 related to electronic communications, cf. Part I, Section 2 of the Regulations of 4 July 2003, No. 881, related to the division of functions within the telecommunications authority. Cf. EEA Agreement Annex II Section X (Directive 73/23/EEC with later changes).

------------------------

In the regulations of 27 September 2005 No. 1094 on safety in electronic communications networks the following amendments are proposed:

In section 2 third subsection letter b the text "manufacturers or persons responsible for placing on the market" shall be replaced by "anyone responsible for manufacturing, marketing or selling".

A new second subsection in section 3 containing the following text shall be inserted:

"The connection between the electronic communications networks coaxial wall socket and the terminal equipment is a part of the electronic communications network.

A new third subsection in section 3 containing the following text shall be inserted:

"A rebuilt electronic communications network is any network where the insertion of new cable or components gives altered capacity or bandwidth. Replacement of faulty or damaged cable or components is not considered as rebuilding.

Section 3 second subsection becomes a new section 3 fourth subsection.

A new fourth subsection in section 4 containing the following text shall be inserted:

"New and rebuilt electronic communications networks consisting of coaxial or shielded cables and which is inserted into a building shall be galvanically insulated from the cables in the building. The insulation shall be in conformity with the requirements in section 4 a second and forth subsection."

The fourth subsection in section 4 becomes the new fifth subsection.

A new section 4 a containing the following text shall be inserted:

" Special safety requirements for the connection between the electronic communications networks coaxial wall socket and the terminal equipment

If in the terminal equipment there is a galvanic connection between the AC power line earth and the equipment sockets used for connecting it to the electronic communications networks, and the equipment is directly or indirectly connected to an electronic communications networks, all the connections between the electronic communications networks sockets and the equipment must comply with the requirements in the second and third subsection.

If a 50 Hz AC voltage of 230 V rms is inserted between input and output of the connections shield, the current must not exceed 8 mA rms. If a DC voltage of 2120 V over a period of 1 minute is inserted between input and output of the connections shield, the current must not exceed 0,7 mA during the testing.

It must not be possible to touch the metallic parts of the connection while in use.

In addition to the requirements in the second and third subsection the requirements in regulations 16 February 2004 No. 401 on electronic communications networks and electronic communications services section 9-5 and the requirements in regulations 2 January 1996 No. 3 on electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) for terminal equipment section 4 applies.".

A new section 5 a containing the following text shall be inserted:

"Special requirements for marketing and selling of terminal equipment dealt with in section 4 a

Anyone marketing and selling terminal equipment with galvanic connection between the AC power line earth and the equipment sockets used for connection to the electronic communications networks, has an obligation to supply safety equipment in conformity with the requirements contained in section 4 a and supply a user manual.

The Norwegian Post and telecommunications Authority prepares guidelines on elements of risk and use of safety equipment.".

In section 6 z) the text "ITU-T K.w" shall be replaced by " ITU-T K.68".



25.prosinec 2006


EUROCOM Newsletter
24.12.2006

"Ham Radio, a European Resource"

Exhibition European Parliament, Brussels

1. Input from Member Societies

By EUROCOM Newsletter of 23 November 2006, Member Societies were invited to forward information concerning the number of amateur radio licensees in each country. Seven societies have provided this information:


Country Society Licensees
Austria OEVSV
Belgium UBA 5.000
Bulgaria BFRA
Croatia HRS
Cyprus CARS
Czech Republic CRC 5.452
Denmark EDR
Estonia ERAU
Finland SRAL 5.500
France REF
Germany DARC 79.601
Great Britain RSGB
Greece RAAG
Hungary MRASZ
Ireland IRTS 1.700
Italy ARI
Latvia LRAL
Lithuania LRMD
Luxembourg RL
Malta MARL
Netherlands VERON 12.484
Poland PZK
Portugal REP
Spain URE 50.200
Slovakia SARA
Slovania ZRS
Sweden SSA
Romania FRR
Republic of Macedonia RSM
Turkey TRAC

Societies are invited to forward missing information to EUROCOM WG chairman without delay. In most cases the exact number is not known by the society. It can possibly be asked from the national licensing authority. Otherwise an estimate is sufficient.

We have also received a DVD from CRC (Czech Republic) that can be shown in the Exhibition. Thank you Milos OK1MP.

Please examine carefully document NS0406A1.rtf which was attached to EUROCOM Newsletter News0406.rtf, as well as Newsletter of 23 November 2006.

All EUROCOM Newsletters are archived at : http://www.darc.de/referate/ausland/iaru/eurocom/

Thank you for forwarding all input and any suggestions to EUROCOM WG chairman.

2. Reception

A Reception for invited guests will be set up in the Exhibition, probably on Monday 5 March at 18h00.

We ask each society to forward to EUROCOM WG chairman the name of the MEP they want to be invited. The invitation will be signed by MEP Fernando Fernandez-Martin (EA8AK) who is the patron of the Exhibition.

Please let us know as soon as possible who will represent your society at the Reception.

Access to the European Parliament is strictly controlled by Security Service. Therefore we need the name, first name and date of birth of "external" participants to the Reception. Evidently, this information is not needed for MEP and personnel of the European Commission.

Member Societies are invited to gather this information now and forward it to EUROCOM WG chairman.

73


Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
EUROCOM WG chairman

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



24.listopad 2006


EUROCOM Newsletter
23.11.2006
Exhibition in the European Parliament, Brussels


  1. Progress report

    November 7, an RSGB delegation visited the hall where the Exhibition "Amateur Radio a European Resource" will be set up 5-9 March 2007. Details were discussed with responsible in charge of such events. A general layout of the Exhibition is being prepared. Four panels have been drafted (see annex). Please consider the layout, not the text which is not yet defined.


  2. Input from Member Societies requested

    By EUROCOM Newsletter of 4 October 2006, Member Societies were invited to submit films in Windows Media Player format (DVD), preferably in their national language. This input will be reviewed by the adhoc working group early January 2007. Submissions are accepted till end 2006. Member Societies are invited to forward an estimate of the number of amateur radio licensees in their country. If no input is received to this request before 15 December 2006, we will do an estimate based on the number of society members (extrapolation). These data will be used for one of the displays. Please examine carefully document NS0406A1.rtf which was attached to EUROCOM Newsletter News0406.rtf. All EUROCOM Newsletters are archived at: www.darc.de/referate/ausland/iaru/eurocom/ Thank you for forwarding all input and any suggestions to EUROCOM WG chairman.


  3. Procedure

    Access to the European Parliament is strictly controlled by Security Service. In due time we will ask for name and date of birth of participants to the official reception. Member Societies within the European Union are invited to make arrangements in order to forward the requested information without delay when asked for.


73
Gaston Bertels, ON4WF

EUROCOM WG chairman

Příloha.



17.říjen 2006

Dva maily Johna, G3WKL, k projektu Euroloop:

Subject: Euroloop proposal

All, for a few months I have been representing IARU Region 1 in CEPT's SE24 working group to consider proposals for a new spread spectrum track-to-train communication system, which the proposers want to place across a band 9 to 18MHz. The detailed work is now at a stage when I feel we have a reasonable understanding of the potential problems, so it is timely to share the work with this committee. A summary of the problem, together with the two main papers that I have subitted to SE24 are being placed on the IARU Region 1 website, following the news link at http://www.iaru-r1.org/index.htm. This will be done by around 0900UTC (or earlier).

Over the next few weeks SE24 will be completing its response to working group WGFM, which I understand will make the decision on the proposal.

Please feel free to ask any points of clarification or challenge my working! We need to ensure that we have the potential threat understood.

73 John, G3WKL
RSGB HF Manager



Subject: Euroloop proposal

All, further to this e-mail you should be aware that the SE24 report on this matter has been published for public consultation. Please see ECC Report 98 on http://www.ero.dk/consultation?frames=0

The main Amateur Radio concern with this proposal is for those societies in which Euroloop is likely to be installed. The report states that the following countries might be amongst those adopting Euroloop: Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Hungary & Italy. The likely distances over which interference might be caused can be seen from the section concerning military communications. For Radio Amateurs in other countries the H Field level that the report proposes is unlikely to cause much if any problem from ionospheric propagation and signal aggregation from multiple Euroloop installations.

I will be happy to try and answer any specific questions on this matter, though it may be limited to my particular parts of the final report. We will need to discuss how best to respond to this public consultation. The central issue is whether the proposed limit is a suitable compromise between the commercial/railway interest and our own usage of the Amateur Service.

73 John, G3WKL
RSGB HF Manager



6.říjen 2006

EUROCOM Newsletter
05.10.2006

  1. Exhibition in the European Parliament, Brussels

    As announced by EUROCOM Newsletter of 30.06.2006, an Exhibition devoted to Amateur Radio will be set up in the European Parliament, Brussels in the week of 5-9 March 2007. The Exhibition will be called "Amateur Radio, a European Resource".

    The ad hoc working group has met twice per teleconference and a detailed planning has been developed. The minutes of the second teleconference are hereto attached. See Annex.

    Member societies are invited to submit films in Windows Media Player format, preferably in their national language. An estimate of the number of amateur radio licensees in each country is also requested.

    Please review the minutes of the working group meeting carefully. All input is to be addressed to ON4WF.


  2. National EMC legislation

    Article 16 of the new EMC Directive 2004/108/EC states:

    "Member States shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 20 January 2007. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. They shall apply those provisions as from 20 July 2007. When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States".

    Several Member States have already submitted the draft text of their national regulation to the European Commission.

    We have forwarded a copy of these drafts to the EUROCOM member societies whenever we could get access to such texts.

    The texts are circulated by the European Commission to the Member States for approval.

73

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
EUROCOM WG chairman



4.září 2006

Minutes of EMC working group meeting
held at Friedrichshafen on Friday the 23rd of June 2006at 1200.


  1. Christian, OZ8CY opened the meeting and welcomed those delegates present. It was noted that the start time of the meeting had been announced incorrectly elsewhere as 1400.
  2. Angus, MM1CCR, agreed to act as minute secretary for this meeting.
  3. Actions from last WG meeting:
    Mail exploder for distribution all minutes and other material. Mike, OE3MZC, had volunteered to arrange this but problems have arisen with the preferred domain for Web address. Don, G3BJ, has taken over responsibility for the Region 1 Website, so it should be followed up with him. It was noted that it will be best for e-mails to include a URL pointer to Web texts rather than use attachments.
    Some concern was expressed about using a reflector for draft papers due to the legal complications, It was agreed that any material quoted should be covered by a statement as to the source.
    The preferred method of operation will need to use a Web space with a password for controlled access.
    Don had requested some information for use in a poster and this action has been completed.
  4. Status on PLT
    European countries had reported to the Cocom Committee on the number of interference cases from PLT in their countries. Most had responded although France, Italy, UK, Greece and Cyprus had not. Hilary, G4JKS, reported that five countries have commercial rollouts with ongoing trials in 10 countries. The EC claimed that there apparently had been few interference complaints and most had been resolved, apart from those in Austria.
    The intelligent house application of PLT had received press attention in Finland and the potential nuisance of interference from PLT to alarms classed as critical applications and hence protected was recognised. It was also noted that the alternative of wireless LAN technology was not without threat to AR at 2.4GHz.
    Mike, OE3MZC, spoke of the need to have a common understanding of the limits on interference and reported that there had been two large rollouts of PLT in Austria. Operation of Ascom had been stopped as it was too slow and unreliable. In the city of Lintz, Mainet is still being deployed. The decision of the ministry in Austria was that all cases of interference are illegal and must be stopped in all instances. This is based on a line that no public place should be subject to an interfering field strength which exceeds the NB 30 at 3 metres. However, PLT operators are 50 db above this limit and by way of enforcement they were fined 727 Euros and given 14 days to effect a remedy. Operation has continued and the issue has been taken to a higher court where the result may not be forthcoming for up to three years.
    In response to a question about the credibility of Amateur Radio in Austria, Mike stated that the Amateur Radio Service was highly respected and the figures they had produced had been validated by the Austrian government. This came too late to affect the existing court case as new information cannot be introduced at the appeal level.
    Asko, OH4NX, stated that he had taken the issues to the highest level in the EU commission but difficulties were still encountered.
    Robin, G3JWI, noted that the noise floor in residential locations is usually relatively low if incidental burst type noise is discounted and measurements are made correctly. Using insensitive measuring equipment or taking measurements in an industrial location will give a very misleading picture of the ambient HF radio noise as it affects Amateur Radio
    Mike felt that one way to make the point would be to request a further 30 db allowance on Amateur Radio power limits. The big problem was that in the ITU regulations, and hence in legal terms, harmful interference is not defined, yet national organisations neglect to act on standards and try to act on harmful interference on a case-by-case basis.
    Hilary felt that the JWG Code of Practice would be important in these situations in assisting administrations to resolve problems. The drafting group continues with this work and will try to include a statement that it may be necessary for PLT operations to shut down for short periods for investigations.
    The dangers arising from the spread of in-house PLT using the home plug standard were noted.
    Xavier, EA3ALU, outlined the position in Spain where Telefonica Espania is using in-house PLT for local distribution and there were many complaints of interference. He noted that there was more interference from house wiring than from distribution wires.
  5. Work Items and Recommendations to IARU Reg 1 EC
    Ole, LA2RR, pressed the meeting on what to do next and Hilary noted that there was a need to monitor work in ETSI PLT which was dealing with co-existence between radio and PLT.
    Christian gave an update on the CISPR working group for standard 22 where most members are seeking a no change position and concentrating on coupling factors so there would be no limits on PLT transmit power.
    Hilary updated the meeting on the JWG position re PReN50471. The standard had been sent out for general inquiry. There was no clear consensus within the JWG. and this position was reflected in the comments from national administrations. Work on the standard has been suspended and the only work item being considered by the JWG is the Code of Practice. The idea is to get uniformity of reporting to COCOM so that at a later point the JWG can derive a different type of standard. Mandate 313 is not to be returned to the Commission, so that work could be resumed at some future date.
  6. There was agreement that:
    The EMC working group agreed to ask the IARU for funding so that the group would be able to track developments.
    The group would continue with ETSI membership in order to monitor ETSI PLT but it decided to attend meetings only as considered necessary.
    The group would continue with CISPR meetings
    Christian will do a report to IARU EC and estimate costs. He will need the names of those who could attend the meetings and do reports. Hilary felt that this person should take over coordination of the work that she had been doing, in the interests of consistency.
    Hilary had given reports for the last two years to IARU and notes had been circulated to national societies in July 04 regarding the Draft Standard. In March 06 a request had been made that all cases of interference should be reported to national administrations.

Angus Annan
MM1CCR

5th July 2006

Those present at the meeting:
Robin Page-Jones G3JWI
Mike Zwingl OE3MZC
Asko Myllys OH4NX
Christian Verholt OZ8CY
Tom Segalstad LA4LN
Ole Garpestad LA2RR
Bengt Falenberg SM7EQL
Hilary Claytonsmith G4JKS
Angus Annan MM1CCR
Xavier Paradell EA3ALU
Gaston Bertells ON4WF
Thilo Kook DL9KCE



9.srpen 2006

EUROCOM Newsletter
30.06.2006

1. EUROCOM meeting 23 June 2005 Friedrichshafen - Report

  • PLC : this topic had been extensively developed in an EMC meeting the same day.
    • EC Mandate 313 has been "put on hold", restricting the possibility for national authorities to take initiatives
    • In Spain, PLC has been fully stopped in Barcelona; in some other places deployment continues, but the trend is for PLC to go down
    • In Spain, the administration reacted to complaints by making measurements, but no other action was undertaken
    • In Germany, no complaints from amateur radio operators
    • In Austria there are 2 systems causing interference; the Ascom system has been put on hold
    • ECC recommendation 0504 sets same radiation limits as NB30, but peak values are taken into consideration.
  • EU Commission is asking normative bodies such as ETSI and ECC to take into consideration economic impact when developing standards. Such attitude is not in favour of the Amateur Radio Service, its economic importance not being measurable immediately, since its beneficial influence can only be estimated in terms of educational outreach, vital communications in case of catastrophes, etc.
  • he Quaestor of the European Parliament, responsible for artistic and cultural questions, has accepted the request to set up an Exhibition in the European Parliament Brussels. The request had been submitted by MEP Fernando Fernandez-Martin (EA8AK), representative of the Canary Islands Community.

    The exhibition area on the 3rd floor of the ASP Building has been reserved for the week of 5-9 March 2007. This is an excellent choice : that week there will be parliamentary group meetings in Brussels and the exhibition area is located near the bar, on the crossing of the main halls leading to the meeting rooms.

    During Ham Radio, a special meeting was devoted to this subject. A working group has been set up for the preparation of the event. Members are:

    • Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
    • Peter Kirby, G0TWW
    • Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE
    • Stefanie Schmidt (DARC)

    We are looking forward to suggestions from societies concerning this exhibition.

2. National EMC legislation - Call for Action to the IARU Societies in the European Union

Article 16 of the new EMC Directive 2004/108/EC states:

"Member States shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 20 January 2007. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. They shall apply those provisions as from 20 July 2007. When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States".

Several articles are of significant importance for the Amateur Radio Service. IARU societies are urged to approach their national authorities and ask that care be taken to implement following important texts correctly in national law :

  • Article 1, 2, This Directive shall not apply to (c) radio equipment used by radio amateurs within the meaning of the Radio Regulations adopted in the framework of the Constitution and Convention of the ITU, unless the equipment is available commercially. Kits of components to be assembled by radio amateurs and commercial equipment modified by and for the use of radio amateurs are not regarded as commercially available equipment.
  • Article 2, 1, For the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:
    1. 'electromagnetic compatibility' means the ability of equipment to function satisfactorily in its electromagnetic environment without introducing intolerable electromagnetic disturbances to other equipment in that environment;
    2. 'electromagnetic disturbance' means any electromagnetic phenomenon which may degrade the performance of equipment. An electromagnetic disturbance may be electromagnetic noise, an unwanted signal or a change in the propagation medium itself;
    3. 'immunity' means the ability of equipment to perform as intended without degradation in the presence of an electromagnetic disturbance;
    4. safety purposes' means the purposes of safeguarding human life or property;
    5. 'electromagnetic environment' means all electromagnetic phenomena observable in a given location.

EUROCOM has spent many efforts when the new EMC Directive was examined in parliamentary committee, lobbying MEP's for submitting amendments bearing introduction of these texts in the Directive. Presently it is up to the national IARU societies to work with their national authorities for implementing these texts in national law.

Moreover, EUROCOM has successfully lobbied for a positive reference to the Amateur Radio Service in the preamble of the Directive :

  • 2) Members States are responsible for ensuring that radio-communications, including radio broadcast reception and the amateur radio service operating in accordance with International Telecommunications Union (ITU) radio regulations, electrical supply networks and telecommunication networks, as well as equipment connected thereto, are protected against electromagnetic disturbance.

This the first time the Amateur Radio Service is mentioned in European law as a service to be protected by the Member States. This also shall be referred to in national law.

73

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
EUROCOM WG chairman



25.květen 2006

EUROCOM Newsletter
25.05.2006

  1. Amateur Radio Exhibition in European Parliament, Brussels

    The IARU Region 1 General Conference, Davos 2005, decided to undertake steps for the setting up of an Exhibition in the European Parliament, Brussels. The purpose is to present the Amateur Radio Service to the Members of the European Parliament and promote the image of our service as a valuable European resource.
    Members of the European Parliament have the possibility to set up exhibitions in the Brussels EU Parliament. These events are intended primarily to promote cultural and artistic aspects from Members' constituencies and may not have any underlying commercial purpose or give rise to any commercial activity.
    We have good connections with several MEPs who are willing to support an amateur radio exhibition.
    The EUROCOM WG is in charge of organizing this undertaking.

  2. Getting a valuable reservation

    I asked MEP Fernando Fernandez Martin, EA8AK to support our project. Fernando immediately accepted.
    We submitted a written request to Com Art, the service in charge of Exhibitions in the European Parliament, Brussels. We also kept informed the German MEPs Mechtild Rothe, Dr Peter Liese and Erika Mann who already had been approached on this subject.
    There are several locations within the EU Parliament where exhibitions can be held. The best one is on the third floor, near the bar, where the MEPs have to pass along when they go to the meeting rooms.
    Exhibitions are scheduled for a week, but not all weeks are equally interesting from the exhibitor's point of view. Indeed, during plenary session in the Strasbourg Parliament, the EU Parliament in Brussels is nearly empty. The best weeks are when there are meetings of parliamentary groups in Brussels.
    Fernandez Martin's parliamentary assistant, Lucia Fernandez, actively helped us lobbying Com Art for getting the best possible week and location for our exhibition.
    Com Art has reserved the week of 5-9 March 2007 for our exhibition. In that week, the MEPs gather in Brussels for parliamentary group meetings. Moreover, the location on the third floor, near the bar, has been reserved for our exhibition.
    Com Art has submitted the request for approval to the Quaestors of the European Parliament.

  3. Gathering information

    This week I met Lucia Fernandez in the European Parliament. We had a meeting with Com Art's Barbara Siragusa.
    We visited the location where the exhibition will be held. It is a large place at the crossing of the main halls.
    Near 30 panels (2 meters high and 1.25 m wide) delimit the available surface. Each panel has a small light projector fixed to the top. We may use these panels for presenting posters, pictures, etc.
    We can also use about 20 wooden pedestals about 1 meter high with a 40x40 cm surface. Tables and chairs are also available.
    If we want other equipment, such as closed glass exhibit boxes, etc. we have to provide them.
    We can also organise a reception (1 hour), under the responsibility of hosting MEP Fernandez-Martin.
    Barbara Siragusa provided detailed information on the practical aspects of the setting up of the exhibition.

  4. Preparatory meeting

    The Exhibition working group is convened at Ham Radio, Friedrichshafen on Saturday 24 June 2006 at 10:00, room Bodensee.
    Societies willing to offer their participation are invited to join and detach a delegate to the working group.

73

Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
EUROCOM WG chairman



18.květen 2006

Informace z Rakouska:

HF radio users,

the Austrian Ministry of Telekom has published some audio files that have been recorded during the national emergency communications exercise on 1.May 2006. The recordings demonstrate the interference effect on HF communication on frequencies between 3,5MHz and 10,15Mhz apparently caused by powerline communications on mains wiring in the city of Linz.

The audiorecordings show contacts of stations from military (OEY) and safety of life services (OEK) with amateurs OE1-9).

Three different situations have been used to document this negative effect on this yearly "Safety of Life" exercise:

1) location with no Powerline network nearby
2) location with Powerline (PLC,PLT,BPL) in operation, but low data traffic
3) location with Powerline network and heavy data traffic

Listen yourself and decide if Powerline Communication (Broadband over Powerline) could cause harmful interference as defined in the Radio Regulations by ITU or in the EMC directive by European Commission.

http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/download/hoerprobe_OEK3101.zip
http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/download/hoerprobe_OEY681.zip

Also note the overview table documenting the levels of radiation measured by the Federal Ministry (BMVIT) on public streets in an area where MainNet BPL (PLT, PLC) equipment (e.g. Powerline modems carrying a CE mark) is deployed.
http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/download/stoerfeldstaerke_uebersicht.pdf

It might be of particular interest that reported cases of harmful interference during a national emergency communication exercise (1.May 2006) happened several months after the Federal Ministry BMVIT had firmly ordered the powerline network operators to stop interference (Nov.2005) and a speaker of the Ministry even stated, that FINES have been imposed against the network operator already.
http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/massnahmen.html

If you find this information helpful please distribute to appropiate person.

kind regards

OeVSV- Dachverband
Austrian Amateur Radio Society

Headquarter



24.duben 2006

E-mail z Anglie:

Subject: Euroloop proposal

All, for a few months I have been representing IARU Region 1 in CEPT's SE24 working group to consider proposals for a new spread spectrum track-to-train communication system, which the proposers want to place across a band 9 to 18MHz. The detailed work is now at a stage when I feel we have a reasonable understanding of the potential problems, so it is timely to share the work with this committee. A summary of the problem, together with the two main papers that I have subitted to SE24 are being placed on the IARU Region 1 website, following the news link at http://www.iaru-r1.org/Euroloop.htm.

Over the next few weeks SE24 will be completing its response to working group WGFM, which I understand will make the decision on the proposal.

Please feel free to ask any points of clarification or challenge my working!

We need to ensure that we have the potential threat understood.

73 John, G3WKL
RSGB HF Manager



14.březen 2006

Obrželi jsme následující e-mail:

From: powerline [mailto:powerline@aon.at]
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 11:52 AM
To: EMC VERON; EMC URE; EMC UBA; EMC SSA; EMC RSGB; EMC REF; EMC PZK; EMC MARSZ; EMC LRMD; EMC IRTS; EMC HRS; EMC ERAU; EMC DARC; EMC CRC; EMC CARS; Robin Page-Jones
Subject: measurement datas, diagrams, photos, audio and video files on the official website of Federal Ministry

Powerline News:

The Austrian federal Ministry of Telecom recently published their findings regarding excessive radiations and harmful interference from commercial powerline access networks and trial installations supported by OPERA in Austrian cities (Linz, Pregarten, Neumarkt, Luftenberg) You may find many measurement datas, diagrams, photos, audio and video files on the official website of Federal Ministry, as well as the official statement to EU-Commission regarding this matter. Austria refers to ITU-Regulations and CEPT.ECC-Recommendation (04)05 and took measurements specifically on most HF-frequencies used for "safety of life services" in Austria.

For details see:

http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/index.html - main powerline page
http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/022006.html - infoletter regarding CE-Mark
http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/massnahmen.html - official decre against access plc plt bpl
http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/messberichte.html - many measurements from different locations as .zip-file
http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/initiativen.html - documents filed by adminsitration in standardisation
http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/eccempf.html - ECC Recomendation to assess radio interference
http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/plt/euempf.html - Austrian answer to EU-Commission on Powerline

Please feel free to distribute and check these pages on regular basis, since more information is ecpected soon.

Kind regards

http://www.powerline-plc.info



13.říjen 2005

Obdrželi jsme e-mail a dopis od G3OZF:

From: Don Beattie [mailto:g3ozf@btinternet.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 1:45 PM
To: EMC HRS; EMC OeVSV; EMC UBA; EMC CARS; EMC CRC; EMC ERAU; EMC REF; EMC DARC; EMC MARSZ; EMC IRTS; EMC LRMD; EMC VERON; EMC PZK; EMC URE; EMC SSA; EMC RSGB; SRAL; NRRL; EDR; MARL; ARI; URA; BFRR; ARABiH; BFRA; RAAG; IRA (Iceland IARU Liaison); Davos AttendeeARM; Davos AttendeeARM2; REP; SRR; ARRSM; SRSCG; SARA; ZRS
Subject: prEN 50471

To: EMC Specialists, national amateur radio societies in EU countries
Copy for information only: EC, other IARU Region 1 European Member Societies

Please see the following note from the EMC Working Group

DRAFT prEN 50471 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) - Product family emission standard for wire-line telecommunication networks - ACTION NEEDED

I wrote to you in July, at the request of the EMC Working Group Chairman, concerning the above draft standard (copy of the original note is attached). I am aware that a number of national societies in EU countries have already taken action on this matter.

This letter is to remind those who have not yet taken action that there is now only a little time left in which to make your input to your national standards bodies. I hope Member Societies in the EU who have not yet taken action will do so now.

You can find details of your National Standards Organisation at:
http://www.cenelec.org/Cenelec/About+CENELEC/Our+organization/CENELEC+Members/Default.htm

73

Hilary Claytonsmith,
EMC Consultant, IARU Region 1 EMC WG

To EU States National Amateur Radio Societies, IARU Region 1
cc other Region 1 Societies for information

DRAFT EMC PRODUCT STANDARD PRODUCT FAMILY EMISSION STANDARD
FOR WIRE-LINE TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS - ACTION NEEDED

The long-awaited standard for PLC and other wireline telecommunication networks has now been circulated for consideration by National Standards Organisations (NSO) in each EU member state. Comments on this document will probably (depending on the NSO) be required by the end of this year.

It is vital that each European National Radio Society:

  • Reads the draft standard carefully
  • Finds out what the deadline is for comments to the NSO(s) in your country
  • Discusses and prepares comments
  • Sends those comments to the NSO before the deadline

The IARU Region 1 EMC WG specifically draws your attention to the limits set on page 8 of the Draft Standard. These limits do NOT protect the Amateur Radio Service from harmful interference from PLC networks.

The limits in Tables 1 and 2 should be reduced below that in EN55022. EN55022 is a product standard not intended for networks such as PLC, which will be in operation continuously 24/7 in the domestic environment, with no easily available mitigation measures.

The IARU Region 1 view is that the reductions should be within the range below, having regard to the impact on interference levels:


No interference No harmful interference Harmful interference to weak signals
30dB below proposed limit 26dB below proposed limit 20dB below proposed limit

For these reasons IARU Region 1 cannot accept the Draft Standard as it stands, and urges all National Radio Societies to take the same position.

Please let me know if you need further information to be able to take action as above.

73

Hilary Claytonsmith, G4JKS
IARU Region 1 EMC WG


© OK1XU, 2005