Question
Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?
Answer Options
- A) Any amateur licensee who has successfully completed the AMSAT space communications course
- B) Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra class operators
- C) Only those of Amateur Extra class operators
- D) Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
Correct Answer: D
Explanation
An ‘Earth station’ is any amateur station used for communication with an amateur satellite (space station). Unlike the highly restricted ‘telecommand station,’ the privilege to simply communicate via an amateur satellite is widely available to licensed amateurs.
FCC rules authorize any amateur station to operate as an Earth station. The operation, however, remains fully subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator. This means a Technician class operator can work a satellite on frequencies authorized to them, and an Extra class operator has access to the full amateur frequency spectrum, including all space station sub-bands.
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