Amateur radio in Olmeria

Amateur radio is a popular hobby in Olmeria, particularly among the older generations. The first amateur radio license in Olmeria was granted in 1921 and the well-established regulations of the Olmerian Amateur Radio Union formed the basis for many of the recommendations made in the charter of the International League of Radio Amateurs, which is itself based in Njaholt. The OARU is overseen by the government's Ministry of Communication.

History

TBC

Example QSL card featuring Metzettan callsigns.

Licensing

License offered in Olmeria for radio amateurs include Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Special and Experimental. For most citizens only the first three are desired. Novice license holders generally go on to acquire better licenses to access more bands and use higher outputs; at the novice level no more than 5 Watts can be used for broadcasting. This rises to 20W at Intermediate and 50W for Advanced. Experimental Licenses allow access to frequencies not usually associated with amateur radio, including microwave bands. Morse code is required knowledge for Advanced License Examinations but has not been required for Novice users since the early 2000's. Special licenses are granted on a temporary basis to run a station in commemoration of some event or competition.

Callsigns

The ILRA recommends all amateur radio callsigns take the following format; 2 letters signifying country of origin, 1 or 2 digits signifying region within a country and 3 letters, either randomly assigned or chosen by the licensee; therefore all Metzettan callsigns begin with MZ, with the following 1 or 2 digits designating the following area/rank;

0	Imperial Government	25	Gomssi	50	Experimental License	75	Unassigned
1	Hanzeong	26	Kangssi	51	Experimental License	76	Unassigned
2	Inyang	27	Choju	52	Unassigned	77	Unassigned
3	Wassi	28	Unassigned	53	Unassigned	78	Unassigned
4	Zeolla	29	Unassigned	54	Unassigned	79	Unassigned
5	Jaegyu	30	Unassigned	55	Unassigned	80	Metzettan Spacecraft
6	Zeowon	31	Unassigned	56	Unassigned	81	Unassigned
7	Mwolla	32	Unassigned	57	Unassigned	82	Unassigned
8	Uchyeo	33	Unassigned	58	Unassigned	83	Unassigned
9	Maritime Amateurs	34	Unassigned	59	Unassigned	84	Unassigned
10	Yeulla	35	Unassigned	60	Jinju	85	Unassigned
11	Zeosanggi	36	Unassigned	61	Unassigned	86	Unassigned
12	Hitui	37	Unassigned	62	Unassigned	87	Unassigned
13	Hansang	38	Unassigned	63	Unassigned	88	Unassigned
14	Panyonggi (except Choju)	39	Unassigned	64	Unassigned	89	Unassigned
15	Jamsu	40	Military Abroad	65	Unassigned	90	University Clubs
16	Kitaessi	41	Metzettan Arctic Base	66	Unassigned	91	Unassigned
17	Seocheong	42	Metzettan Antarctic Base	67	Unassigned	92	Unassigned
18	Ungsang	43	Unassigned	68	Unassigned	93	Unassigned
19	Hokae	44	Unassigned	69	Unassigned	94	Unassigned
20	Namussi	45	Unassigned	70	Special License	95	Unassigned
21	Dengjo	46	Unassigned	71	Special License	96	Unassigned
22	Neju	47	Unassigned	72	Unassigned	97	Unassigned
23	Ankae	48	Unassigned	73	Unassigned	98	Unassigned
24	Yuwon	49	Unassigned	74	Unassigned	99	Unassigned

It is anticipated that as the number of radio amateurs grows, as yet unassigned codes may need to be opened for very populous areas such as Galko. Overseas territories are assigned codes even if they have no permanent residents (e.g. staff of the Polar World Archive, who use prefix MZ42).

OARU

The Olmerian Amateur Radio Union represents the interests of radio hams in the country and runs a QSL card bureau, publishes books and a magazine, runs contests and offers awards, as well as conducting the exams required for licenses which are issued by the Ministry of Communication.

Allocated spectrum

Metzetta currently opens all bands described by the ILRA to its citizens however some only with certain licenses and in certain modes(Morse, voice, digital, etc); higher frequencies in particular are usually somewhat restricted. MARU published the following table for guidance;

Band		Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Special	Experimental
LF	2200m	No Modes				All Modes
MF	630m	No Modes			All Modes	All Modes
	160m	Morse Only		All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
HF	80m	Upper Half Only; All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	60m	Upper Half Only; All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	40m	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	30m	Morse Only	Morse and Digital	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	20m	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	17m	No Modes	Morse Only	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	15m	Voice Only	Voice Only	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	12m	Lower Half Only: Morse Only	Morse Only	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	10m	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
VHF	6m	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	4m	No Modes	Morse Only	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	2m	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	1.25m	No Modes	Voice Only	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
UHF	70cm	All Modes	Voice Only	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	33cm	No Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	23cm	No Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
	13cm	No Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes	All Modes
SHF	9cm	No Modes				All Modes
	5cm	No Modes				All Modes
	3cm	No Modes				All Modes
	1.2cm	No Modes				All Modes
EHF	6mm	No Modes				All Modes
	4mm	No Modes				All Modes
	2.5mm	No Modes				All Modes
	2mm	No Modes				All Modes
	1mm	No Modes				All Modes
THF	Sub-mm	No Modes				All Modes