02/02/2018

The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA[1]) is seeking a power increase for radio amateurs. WIA is pushing telecommunications regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authorityÿ(ACMA[2]) to bump up maximum power levels for all three licenses classes to 50 W for Foundation licensees, 200 W for Standard licensees, and 1,500 W for Advanced licensees.

WIA Board member Justin Giles-Clark, VK7TW, said comments would be solicited from the membership before the request goes to the ACMA.

For some time the WIA has pushed for higher power limits for Advanced licensees, who feel the current 400 W HF power limit (120 W on constant-carrier modes) puts them at a disadvantage, especially in contests, while other countries permit 1 kW or more.

In 2013, ACMA ended an 18-month trial that allowed participating Advanced licensees to run up to 1 kW on HF. Currently, Foundation licensees on HF may run up to 10 W PEP on SSB (or 3 W on CW, AM, or FM), while Standard licensees have a 100-W PEP HF power limit (SSB) or 30 W for constant-carrier modes.


[1] http://www.wia.org.au/
[2] http://www.acma.gov.au/

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