Radio Spectrum

Amateur Station Operational Bands/Powers/Modes Permitted

All Amateur Station frequency bands have their maximum power levels and permitted operational modes that must be adhered to.

Other than the recognition of Morse, both CEPT Class types issued under ComReg Amateur Station Licence have access to the same frequency bands as listed in the table below.

Amateur Station Authorised Frequencies
The frequency bands specified in Table 1 below are available for both Class 1 & Class 2 Licences.

Table 1: Amateur Station Frequency Bands

Notes:
With the exception of the bands 0.1357-0.1378 MHz the Maximum Peak Envelope Power is the power measured at the output of the transmitter or amplifier

• In the band 10.140-10.150 MHz all narrowband digimodes within the bandwidth limit of 500Hz are permitted. No news bulletins are not permitted within this frequency range. SSB is permitted but only during emergencies involving immediate safety of life and by the stations directly involved in handling emergency traffic.
• In the frequency range 10.100-10.150 MHz, RTTY is not permitted.
• In the Band 10.000-10.500 GHz the Primary allocation is to the Fixed Service and as such Amateurs may not use the portion of the band between 10.270-10.300 GHz. 

For designation of emission classification please refer to ComReg(08/34)
In the band 28-29.7 MHz: No transmissions between (29.3 and 29.51 MHz) allowed to avoid interference to amateur satellite.

Definitions:

All modes: CW (Morse), SSB and those modes listed by the IARU as Centre of Activities. When using AM, particular consideration must be given to adjacent channel users.

Narrowband modes: All modes up to a maximum bandwidth of 500 Hz, including CW RTTY, PSK etc.

Image mode: Any analogue or digital modes such as SSTV, which remains within the appropriate bandwidths.

Digimodes: Any digital mode such as RTTY, PSK etc. within the bandwidths as specified by the IARU.

Sideband Modes: For frequencies below 10 MHz use lower sideband (LSB), above 10 MHz use upper sideband (USB).

Mobile operation: The Maximum Power at the output of the transmitter or amplifier shall be 17 dBW, with the exceptions of 70.125 - 70.450 MHz where the Maximum Power shall be 14 dBW.

Maritime Mobile: The Maximum Power permitted when in maritime mobile mode shall be 10 dBW.

Additional Authorisation Required

An individual application form (i.e. Additional Authorisation ComReg 09/45(d) must be submitted to use any of these additional authorisation bands below which are for special events or for temporary experimental purposes

Irish Licensed Amateur Stations may apply for frequencies and powers above those listed for particular special occasions, see Sections 5.6 and 5.7.

Technical Conditions of the Amateur Station

This chapter specifies the general conditions attached to a Licence issued under the Wireless Telegraphy (Amateur Station Licence) Regulations 2009 (SI 192 of 2009).

The Amateur Station conditions detail the characteristics of the equipment that need to be considered for the purposes of ensuring that no harmful interference is caused to other licensed services and that the station or any part thereof is constructed, modified, maintained and operated in such a manner as to ensure that the safety of persons or property is not endangered. They do not include detailed equipment specifications.

Nothing contained in these conditions shall absolve the licensee from any requirement in law to obtain whatever additional consents, permissions, authorisations, or licences that may be necessary for the exercise of entitlements under the licence.

System Engineering
The mechanical and electrical construction of the installation shall be in accordance with best practice.

The practice of good system engineering is a necessary requirement to minimise the potential for interference to, or from, radio-communication services operating in accordance with the Irish Table of Frequency Allocations .

Equipment Construction
The amateur station should have all controls, meters, indicators and terminals clearly labelled. Details of the main and any auxiliary power supply from which the equipment is intended do operate shall be clearly indicated.
Controls which, when wrongly adjusted, change the system parameters shall be immediately accessible to qualified personnel only.
All equipment shall be labelled with the manufacturer’s trademark, type designation and serial number.
For home constructed, modified and vintage equipment the amateur shall ensure that they are, operated and maintained in such a manner to minimise the potential for interference to radio-communication services operating in accordance with the Irish Table of Frequency Allocations which can be found on ComReg’s website

No modifications shall be made to any transmitter or RF Power Amplifier enabling operation on bands other than those previously specified in Annex 2.

Every amateur shall have a device capable of measuring Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) and an accurate method to ensure that operations take place on the correct frequency. In the case of ‘home constructed’ equipment a simple frequency counter or synthesised main receiver/ transceiver would suffice.

Non-Ionising Radiation
The Licensee shall ensure that non-ionising radiation emissions from the station operated by the Licensee are within the limits specified by the guidelines published by the International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (“ICNIRP”) .

Particular attention should be paid to the location of antennas and feeders in regards to their proximity to habitations and areas accessible to third parties.

Care should be taken when operating at temporary locations for the purposes of contests, expeditions and during mobile use. When a mobile station is used from a static position the Licensee should consider the use of a reduced power, in particular where there is a possibility that a third party may come in contact with the antenna.


Spurious Emissions
The following limits for spurious emissions are taken from the Radio Regulations of the ITU and concern the Amateur Service.

Notes

1 For any spurious component, the attenuation (mean power within the necessary bandwidth relative to the mean power of the spurious component concerned) shall be at least that specified below and the absolute mean power levels given shall not be exceeded.

2 For mobile transmitters which operate below 30 MHz any spurious component shall be attenuated by at least 40dB without exceeding the value of 200 mW, but every effort should be made to comply with the specified 50mW limit.

3 For hand portable equipment having a power output of less than 5W (r.m.s.) the attenuation of spurious emissions shall be a minimum of 30dB every effort should be made to comply with the specified 40dB limit.

4 The limit for spurious emissions shall be 10mW in Primary bands and 1mW in secondary bands.
 

Note 1 Attenuation in dB below the power supplied to the antenna feeder.

Power Levels
All references to power in these guidelines refer to Watts (r.m.s.) or dB relative to 1W (r.m.s.).

dB (W) = 10log (Po/1)

Where Po is the output power of the transmitter or R.F. Power Amplifier in Watts.

For assessment of licence conditions power will be measured at the output of the transmitter or R.F. Power Amplifier, if one is present. For measurement of power in SSB mode; a 1 kHz tone shall be used and will be adjusted to peak the modulated signal and keeping distortion within the specification of the transmitter.


Morse Code Requirements
In order to obtain a CEPT Class 1 licence, both the Radio Theory Exam and the morse speed test must be passed. The minimum morse code speed permitted is detailed below.