ÍRA Introduction to Icelandic Radio Amateurs

1. ÍRAIntroduction to Icelandic Radio Amateurs Introduction made at the NRAU meeting in Karlsborg, Sweden, 10–12 October 2008 Halli Tordarson, TF3HP ÍRA Reserve Board Member &former ÍRA Chairman hartor@hi.is

2. ÍRA – From the Beginning • ÍRA (Íslenskir radíóamatörar / Icelandic Radio Amateurs) was founded in 1946, the same year that Icelandic Post- and Telecommunications authorities had revoked the suspension of radio amateur activities. • ÍRA is the Icelandic national association of radio amateurs, with an official role assisting the Post and Telecoms Administration (PTA) in matters relating to radio amateurs.

3. ÍRA – Current Board of Directors • The 2008-2009 board of ÍRA comprises: • Hrafnkell Eiriksson, chairman TF3HR • Gudmundur Sveinsson, vice chairman TF3SG • Arsaell (Seli) Oskarsson, treasurer TF3AO • Gudmundur Loeve, secretary TF3GL • Sveinn Bragi Sveinsson, board member TF3SNN • Jon Gunnar Hardarson, reserve member TF3PPN • Haraldur (Halli) Tordarson, reserve member TF3HP TF3HP TF3HR TF3GL TF3AO TF3SG TF3SNN

4. ÍRA Club Operations • ÍRA rents its facilities from Reykjavik city • Club meetings are held every Thursday evening at 20.00; lectures on special topics are held once a month during the wintertime; special activities are organized during the summertime. • The club house is located at Skeljanes in Reykjavík; position 64° 07' 33" N and 21° 56' 58" W; locator HP94AD.

5. ÍRA Radio Activities • Main organized activities are • Icelandic Field Day (first weekend in August) • International Lighthouse Weekend

6. Website and Bulletin Board • Brand new wiki-based web page at www.ira.is • All ÍRA members can log in to edit all pages and add content • A group of editors monitors overall structure and content guidelines • Main features • Personal space (i.e. website) for each member • No web editing softwarerequired – done straightin the browser • Gentle learning-curve • Full version control andback-track capability • Very interactive andsuitable for working onjoint projects • PHPBB bulletin board

7. New Members • ÍRA manages the radio amateur courses and conducts the examinations on behalf of the Icelandic Post and Telecoms Administration. • The PTA is more and more trusting ÍRA to conduct the entire examination and validation process • All teaching is volunteered from amongst ÍRA members • The courses are organized over 15 weeks, 3 hours twice a week, typically with a lecture on Tuesdays and solving problems on Thursdays • There is a separate exam for the radio theory and the regulations parts • Study materials include various handouts, old exams and additional material from the ÍRA study materials website • ÍRA have also videotaped the entire series of lectures, and made this available on our website as well • New amateurs are encouraged to apply for a call sign, and are offered a one-year free ÍRA membership, although without voting rights • There is increased use of the “/Qx” option to allow apprentices to get on the air; this only needs to be reported to the PTA but not applied for

8. Spectrum Usage • The Icelandic PTA have been very forthcoming in granting Icelandic amateurs use of the frequencies that we have asked for, on par with the neighbouring countries: • On 60 metres, Icelandic amateurs currently have 2nd access to the following spot frequencies* (kHz):5280, 5290, 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373, 5400, 5405.*3 MHz maximum bandwidth, with 200 W maximum PEP, and permitted modulation CW or USB • On 160 m, Icelandic amateurs can apply for access to the 1850–1900 kHz portion for contesting only, by special application to the PTA each time • On 70 MHz, there is currently interest in acquiring similar rights as Scandinavian radio amateurs (activity managed by vice chairman Gudmundur Sveinsson TF3SG, dn@hive.is)

9. Import of non CE-marked equipment • Import of radio equipment that does not bear the CE mark is prohibited to the general public. • Annex 1 of the EC directive on Radio & Telecommunications Terminal Equipment makes an exemption for radio amateurs. • The PTA were concerned that this might be misused to import non-CE equipment and resell it to the general public. Some misunderstanding of what rules applied in Iceland vs. European Union were also a part of it. • The matter took well over a year to resolve, whereby amateurs can import non-CE marked equipment for amateur use but must sign a document with a “gentleman’s agreement” that they will not resell it or misuse. • This only applies to non CE-marked equipment that can be used outside the amateur radio spectrum (e.g. a Chinese VHF handheld radio that works from 130 MHz – 174 MHz). Normal amateur equipment from the USA is no problem.

10. QRM Issues • Broadband over Power Lines (BoPL) • BoPL was offered commercially by Reykjavik Energy in the early 2000s • Technological hurdles and problems with the vendor resulted in the project being abandoned • Recently, however, Iceland Telecom (Síminn) have commenced offering in-house Ethernet over Power Lines to connect Set Top Boxes for digital TV • There have been no reports of interference because of this, but the exposure is still limited (…no, luckily it’s not this bad in TF land!)

11. Emergency Communications • Icelanders are fortunate enough to have a large corps of volunteer rescue associations, organized nationwide by ICE-SAR (www.icesar.com) • ICE-SAR owns and operates an extensive VHF repeater infrastructure, and are currently moving into a TETRA-based nationwide communications system to be run in parallel with the VHF system • Consequently, the role of Icelandic radio amateurs is not as great as it would be otherwise • There is nonetheless interestamong Icelandic amateurs tosomehow make their mark inEmComm, but it is up to ourselves to define that role. • Any ideas?

12. ÍRAIntroduction to Icelandic Radio Amateurs Introduction made at the NRAU meeting in Karlsborg, Sweden, 10–12 October 2008 Halli Tordarson, TF3HP ÍRA Reserve Board Member &former ÍRA Chairman hartor@hi.is