Cuban Amateur Radio regulations modified
Cuban amateur radio service regulations have been modified to provide the use of segments of the 80 and 40 meter ham bands to the third class operators license holders, that before these new rules could only operate on segments of the 160 and 2 meter bands.
The news was much welcomed by the more than two thousand operators that hold a CL prefix callsign... the first step in a Cuban radio amateur career...
By the way, *the CL prefix holders do not need to pass a CW Morse Code radiotelegraphy test*, but they do have to take a 5 words per minute receiving and also transmitting test in order to upgrade towards a second class operators certificate that opens the way to obtain a CM prefix callsign, that provides access to many more operating privileges...
So, if you start hearing stations on the 40 meter band from *7100 to 7125 kiloHertz* using a CL prefix, be aware that they are a new generation of Cuban radio amateurs that for the first time ever are having access to working DX on 40 meters...
The segment assigned to the CL stations on 80 meters span from *3550 to 3750 kiloHertz*, but very probably you will hear them much more often on 40 meters because the seven megaHertz ham band is open for long distance contacts much more frequently than the 80 meters band.
The maximum power allowed to the CL prefix stations, the Cuban beginners license has been set at *10 Watts*, that they can use on *CW, Single Side band and double sideband voice*.
Raúl E. Verdecie, CO8ZZ
ICPO
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