XPost: rec.radio.amateur.policy, uk.radio.amateur   
   From: no.sp@m.com   
      
   On 06/08/16 14:38, Ian Jackson wrote:   
   > In message , Brian Reay  writes   
   >> On 06/08/16 13:06, Ian Jackson wrote:   
   >>> In message <001a114f3c6221bb17053965c405@google.com>, Southgate Amateur   
   >>> Radio News RSS Feed  writes   
   >>>   
   >>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>> The RSGB website reports Ofcom have been re-issuing old amateur radio   
   >>>> call  signs   
   >>>   
   >>> It looks like the end of amateur radio as we know it.   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >> I don't see why.   
   >>   
   >> It has happened in the UK and elsewhere for years. Just because you   
   >> don't approve of it doesn't mean it will 'end amateur radio as we know   
   >> it'.   
   >   
   > We have discussed this before. Some (I for one) consider callsigns as   
   > something treasured and personal. Others see them simply as a sort of   
   > serial number, and as of little relevance as (say) the serial number on   
   > your TV or driving licence - so their attitude is essentially "So what?   
   > A callsign's a callsign".   
      
   I appreciate your opinion but not everyone shares it. I do to an extent   
   in that I think the previous holder should either give permission   
   (perhaps by saying they are happy for the callsign to generally to be   
   reused or reused by some who is related etc.) or after a set period. I   
   believe the period in the US is 2 years but I'm not sure. The US vanity   
   call I picked hadn't, as far as I know, been previously issued.   
      
      
   >>   
   >> Many people won't wish to change call signs they have held for years.   
   >> Some will wish to get an 'old' call sign, for whatever reason, if it   
   >> is to gain so 'kudos' by seeming to be more 'established' than their   
   >> really are, then chances are it will be pretty obvious to those who   
   >> they come into contact with and it will backfire. I know a couple of   
   >> cases of this, it was very, very, obvious. Both had gone to some   
   >> lengths to acquire the old call signs (it was some years back). I   
   >> believe at least one is no longer active, having met so much ridicule   
   >> due to his incompetence etc. (Despite having passed the Morse test!)   
   >   
   > But in this case, it looks like OFCOM have simply started re-using any   
   > available callsign that has lapsed or is otherwise no longer current -   
   > apparently without any consultation with the RSGB (who I hope would have   
   > vigorously opposed it).   
   >>   
   >   
      
   I'm not so sure that is the implication of the 'news', at least the part   
   about OFCOM. It could be no more than an over sight, rather than an   
   active change in policy. I would expect such a change in policy to   
   require consultation, which hasn't happened.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)