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Hi all,
I attended the 6 monthly UKRCC (UK Radio Control Council - UKRCC - Home Page) meeting yesterday. For those of you that don't know, this group was instrumental in the introduction of 2.4ghz which has seen a step change in the way we fly our aircraft, they are the guys that:
- defend the current frequency allocation and seek extensions.
- be involved in the harmonisation of R.C. frequencies within Europe.
- be involved in the preparation of new or updated technical standards.
- advise and assist R.C. users on relevant matters.
- liaise with the Office of Communication (OFCOM) and other official organisations on R.C. frequencies.
So what happened this time.....
Lots and lots of discussion about things like frequency use, CE markings etc, but the relevant information for this group is as follows:
FPV vtx signal strength:
We should all be aware that Ofcom regulate spektrum use in the UK. Air to ground signal strength for the legal use frequencies are 10mw for 2.4GHz and 25mw for 5.8GHz. I along with others have been fighting this for some time and have asked for a clear indication about the potential to increase these ratings - my arguments have been based on safety to people and property NOT to encourage FPV flights beyond the competent observers unaided visual line of sight and a ceiling height of 400 feet - in other words compliance with the Air Navigation Order which applies to us all.
Robin Donoghue of Ofcom was at the meeting. I asked him about Ofcom's position, this is what was said (I got this wording approved by him today):
Power rating for 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz:
Robin from Ofcom confirmed that there will be no relaxation of the current 10mw rating for 2.4ghz and 25mw for 5.8ghz. They have NOT dismissed the investigation however, currently they are not able to change the air to ground rating because of the legal constraints that they must comply with. The real issue appears to be the potential for interference with other users of the frequency and if that may constitute a regulatory issue. Bear in mind that the potential conflict for the air to ground rules probably applies mostly to the military. The only way of sorting that out is to investigate this in detail and this would need to involve the military and that's a bit of a problem. Sorry guys it just isn't going to happen at least in the near term.
So - out of interest I asked a question - "how many people have been brought to task from the FPV community for infringing the power rule?" We were told that very few have ever been prosecuted. Robin confirmed that Ofcom does not really wish to use their resources to simply police the written regulations rather they are committed to ensuring that specific and persistent spectrum interference is dealt with and that under those circumstances the written regulation is enforced.
Now I'm not about to interpret that and nor am I going to comment, so please don't ask me to!
Commercial UAV flights:
I and several others on this forum are qualified CAA approved commercial UAV pilots which means we are licensed to carry our aerial work. Once again, just to be clear, if anyone takes to the air to record any form of data (eg pictures or video) with the intent to obtain any form of commercial gain then you are committing an offence if you are not properly authorised to carry out the work. Moreover, if you do this work without having the correct CAA permissions then you will not be insured as you are operating outside the ANO to which you must be compliant.
Currently the term used for aircraft that are used for this have been given several descriptions, the most used has been UAV or UAVs - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system. The EU has now issued a roadmap for the harmonisation of rules across Europe and these types of vehicles will now be called RPA's - Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems.
Currently anything having a maximum take off mass (MTOM) of 150kg or more is governed by European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) competency, while an RPA with a MTOM below 150 kg are ruled by national Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs). This is supposed to change and everything will come under EASA. Personally I cant see this happening especially as the CAA's CAP722 is being used as the benchmark for other Countries, it doesn't really make any sense and tbh other Countries will fight it.
If you are interested in reading the RPAs Roadmap - the link is here: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/secto...roadmap_en.pdf
Other stuff:
Frequencies were discussed - nothing really to mention other than 5G (mobile) is in the pipeline and the most likely frequency may be 2.3Ghz as the military have indicated that they may wish to release a part of that band - there will still be a 10MHz separation and Ofcom do not see any issues with our use (modellers) of the 2.4Ghz sepctrum.
The next meeting will be 6th November.
Cheers,
I attended the 6 monthly UKRCC (UK Radio Control Council - UKRCC - Home Page) meeting yesterday. For those of you that don't know, this group was instrumental in the introduction of 2.4ghz which has seen a step change in the way we fly our aircraft, they are the guys that:
- defend the current frequency allocation and seek extensions.
- be involved in the harmonisation of R.C. frequencies within Europe.
- be involved in the preparation of new or updated technical standards.
- advise and assist R.C. users on relevant matters.
- liaise with the Office of Communication (OFCOM) and other official organisations on R.C. frequencies.
So what happened this time.....
Lots and lots of discussion about things like frequency use, CE markings etc, but the relevant information for this group is as follows:
FPV vtx signal strength:
We should all be aware that Ofcom regulate spektrum use in the UK. Air to ground signal strength for the legal use frequencies are 10mw for 2.4GHz and 25mw for 5.8GHz. I along with others have been fighting this for some time and have asked for a clear indication about the potential to increase these ratings - my arguments have been based on safety to people and property NOT to encourage FPV flights beyond the competent observers unaided visual line of sight and a ceiling height of 400 feet - in other words compliance with the Air Navigation Order which applies to us all.
Robin Donoghue of Ofcom was at the meeting. I asked him about Ofcom's position, this is what was said (I got this wording approved by him today):
Power rating for 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz:
Robin from Ofcom confirmed that there will be no relaxation of the current 10mw rating for 2.4ghz and 25mw for 5.8ghz. They have NOT dismissed the investigation however, currently they are not able to change the air to ground rating because of the legal constraints that they must comply with. The real issue appears to be the potential for interference with other users of the frequency and if that may constitute a regulatory issue. Bear in mind that the potential conflict for the air to ground rules probably applies mostly to the military. The only way of sorting that out is to investigate this in detail and this would need to involve the military and that's a bit of a problem. Sorry guys it just isn't going to happen at least in the near term.
So - out of interest I asked a question - "how many people have been brought to task from the FPV community for infringing the power rule?" We were told that very few have ever been prosecuted. Robin confirmed that Ofcom does not really wish to use their resources to simply police the written regulations rather they are committed to ensuring that specific and persistent spectrum interference is dealt with and that under those circumstances the written regulation is enforced.
Now I'm not about to interpret that and nor am I going to comment, so please don't ask me to!
Commercial UAV flights:
I and several others on this forum are qualified CAA approved commercial UAV pilots which means we are licensed to carry our aerial work. Once again, just to be clear, if anyone takes to the air to record any form of data (eg pictures or video) with the intent to obtain any form of commercial gain then you are committing an offence if you are not properly authorised to carry out the work. Moreover, if you do this work without having the correct CAA permissions then you will not be insured as you are operating outside the ANO to which you must be compliant.
Currently the term used for aircraft that are used for this have been given several descriptions, the most used has been UAV or UAVs - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system. The EU has now issued a roadmap for the harmonisation of rules across Europe and these types of vehicles will now be called RPA's - Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems.
Currently anything having a maximum take off mass (MTOM) of 150kg or more is governed by European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) competency, while an RPA with a MTOM below 150 kg are ruled by national Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs). This is supposed to change and everything will come under EASA. Personally I cant see this happening especially as the CAA's CAP722 is being used as the benchmark for other Countries, it doesn't really make any sense and tbh other Countries will fight it.
If you are interested in reading the RPAs Roadmap - the link is here: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/secto...roadmap_en.pdf
Other stuff:
Frequencies were discussed - nothing really to mention other than 5G (mobile) is in the pipeline and the most likely frequency may be 2.3Ghz as the military have indicated that they may wish to release a part of that band - there will still be a 10MHz separation and Ofcom do not see any issues with our use (modellers) of the 2.4Ghz sepctrum.
The next meeting will be 6th November.
Cheers,
thanks for the information Simon. Much appreciated! I'll take a look at the document now. 
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