ACMA Amateur Radio Regulations Exam cheat sheet

An amateur class licence authorises a qualified person to operate an amateur station in accordance with the conditions of that licence; it is not a personal apparatus licence and no individual paper licence is issued for each station.

The licensee must hold a current qualification (Foundation, Standard or Advanced) appropriate to the licence conditions being used, and the class licence conditions set out the permitted bands, power limits and modes for each qualification level.

A station may only be operated by the licensee or by another qualified person under the licensee's direct supervision, and the licensee remains responsible for compliance at all times.

Amateur stations must not be used for commercial purposes, for broadcasting to the public, or for communications in which the licensee has a pecuniary interest, except as expressly permitted by the licence conditions.

Messages of a distress or emergency nature take absolute priority over all other amateur communications, and the licensee must give assistance where practicable.

Amateur transmissions must not cause interference to other services; if interference occurs, the licensee must take reasonable steps to eliminate it, including reducing power or ceasing transmission if necessary.

The licensee must keep the station's records as required (for example, log details where the licence conditions require them) and must produce them on request by an authorised officer.

Third-party traffic may only be passed where the licence conditions allow it and where the third party is qualified or the traffic is of a permitted category; international third-party traffic requires the relevant authorisation.

The licence conditions prohibit the transmission of profanity, offensive material, false or deceptive signals, and unidentified transmissions.

Three Australian amateur qualifications exist: Foundation, Standard and Advanced; each higher level permits additional bands, higher power and more operating privileges.

The Foundation qualification permits operation on specified bands (including 3.5, 7, 14, 21, 28 MHz and 144 MHz and above) with a maximum transmitter output of 10 watts.

The Standard qualification permits additional bands and a maximum transmitter output of 100 watts, with access to more modes and wider band segments than Foundation.

The Advanced qualification permits all amateur bands and the highest permitted power levels, plus access to band segments reserved for Advanced licensees.

Assessment for each qualification is conducted by an accredited assessor under the relevant amateur qualification syllabus, and a pass results in the award of the qualification.

A candidate must demonstrate knowledge of regulations, operating procedures, radio theory and safety appropriate to the level being assessed.

Qualifications are recorded by the regulator; a licensee must hold the qualification that matches the privileges being exercised and must not exceed those privileges.

A person who has not yet qualified may operate only under the direct supervision of a qualified licensee, and the supervising licensee is responsible for the transmission.

Before transmitting, listen on the frequency to confirm it is not in use; if the frequency is occupied, wait or move to another frequency.

Identify the station at the start and end of each transmission and at intervals during a long transmission, using the correct call sign.

Use the phonetic alphabet for call signs and difficult words, and use standard procedural words (over, roger, say again, stand by) to keep exchanges clear.

Call another station using the form ' from ' and wait for a response before proceeding.

Use the minimum power necessary for reliable communication, and reduce power or change frequency if interference is caused or received.

Distress calls (MAYDAY) and urgency calls (PAN PAN) take priority; keep the frequency clear and assist where possible.

Do not transmit on frequencies where amateur operation is not permitted, and observe band plans and segment restrictions that apply to your qualification level.

Keep transmissions brief and to the point, avoid unnecessary testing, and do not transmit music, broadcasts or material prohibited by the licence conditions.

Australian amateur call signs begin with the prefix VK followed by a digit indicating the state or territory (for example VK1, VK2, VK3), then a suffix of letters.

The digit in the call sign identifies the region: 1 ACT, 2 New South Wales, 3 Victoria, 4 Queensland, 5 South Australia, 6 Western Australia, 7 Tasmania, 8 Northern Territory, and 0 for special or Antarctic-related allocations.

Foundation licensees are assigned call signs with a suffix beginning with the letter F (for example VK2FABC), distinguishing their qualification level.

Standard and Advanced licensees receive call signs with suffixes of three letters not beginning with F, and the regulator allocates call signs from the available pool.

A licensee must use the call sign assigned to them and must not use another person's call sign or an unassigned call sign.

When operating under supervision, the station is identified using the supervising licensee's call sign, or as otherwise specified by the licence conditions.

Call signs must be transmitted in full at the start and end of a contact and at least every ten minutes during a long transmission, using standard phonetics where clarity requires it.

Special event and contest call signs may be issued or used only where authorised, and the normal identification rules still apply.