National Regulations and Guidelines

Technical Requirements

  • The general conditions attached to an amateur station licence include a number of technical requirements for the purposes of ensuring that:
    1. no harmful interference is caused to other licensed services, and
    2. the amateur station is constructed and maintained in such a manner as to ensure that the safety of persons or property is not endangered
  • The licence conditions do not include detailed equipment specifications, however a number of broad requirements are listed …
  • Mechanical and electrical construction of the amateur station installation must be in accordance with best practice
  • All controls, meters, indicators and terminals should be clearly labelled
  • The licensee must have a device capable of measuring Standing Wave Ratio (SWR).  See VSWR
  • The licensee must also have 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.  See Frequency Counter
  • Attention should be paid to the location of antennas and feeders in regards to their proximity to buildings and areas accessible to third parties.  Particular care should be taken when operating at temporary locations for the purposes of contests, expeditions and during mobile use.  See Antenna (Aerial) Safety
  • The licensee must ensure that non-ionising radiation emissions from their amateur station are within the limits specified by the guidelines published by the International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (“ICNIRP”)
  • The ComReg Guidelines include limits for spurious emissions (also called “spurious radiation”), which vary according to frequency band and installation date of the transmitter