Hi all,
Just in case you aren't aware, the UK has dropped the Morse requirement for
access to the HF bands as from the 26th July 2003.
Prior to this, the old Class B calls (generally G1, G6, G7 and G8 plus three
letter suffix) only had access to 6m and above, but have now been granted
full HF access.
Some of these class B's opted to take a "Morse assessment" and were given M3
callsigns, but limited to 10 watts at the antenna, and no access to the 10m
band.
This means that some M3 callsign holders will revert back to their old class
B callsign.
One such example is Keith MU3EFB, who will now be using GU6EFB.
Those who have taken the UK "Foundation Licence" will remain with their M3
calls.
You may also find a few 2E1 callsigns on HF. This series was previously
allocated to the Novice B class. They have now been granted access to the HF
bands, but with a 50 watt limit.
The M3 calls have the usual "country" designator, as in MD, MI, MM etc.
Callsigns beginning with 2E1 are England, but the remainder follow the usual
format, for example: 2D for IOM, 2I for Northern Ireland, 2U for Guernsey
etc.
Please beware of this when you enter the SARTG contest this coming weekend,
as I am sure there will be a few "similar" callsigns about! Just be careful
when using the master call list.
You may well find a good few G1/G6/G7/G8 calls on the bands in SARTG, and
future RTTY contests, so don't be too surprised about the new calls.
Hope to see you all in SARTG, but the bands need a big boost!
73 de Phil GU0SUP
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