STOP: No more ORRA Licenses for members until further notice

[Gemaskerde Tuinvurk]

With immediate effect.
No further radio licenses for 4x4Community members will be issued by ORRA.
In the interim in order to apply for an ORRA license, you will unfortunately have to apply via regular regional offroad 4x4 clubs.
Radio licences, although pirate use is heavy in SA, is highly regulated by ICASA, and they do not issue unlimited licenses, I will be working with ORRA to find a way to resolve this, but there will not be a quick fix as I think it is a unique situation they, and us are now found in.
No further membership confirmations will be forwarded to ORRA.
The communication from ORRA is published on the forum, on the thread as below:
https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/sh ... ost1059480
Dirk Erasmus
SA 4x4 Community Forum

Can we still get licences through FWD club of SA? Or are we affected as well?

[4ePajero]

From the link to 4x4community:

To this account, we have analysed that the 4x4 Community Forum has in excess of 300 VFH Licenses and 108 x 29 MHz licenses, yet it only pays for a membership base of 200 people. To this account, ORRA will immediately cease issuing any further licenses, and will raise the issue within the AAWDC as well, as this is certainly not a healthy business position. The 4x4 Community Forum also exceeds most other constituted clubs’ license to member ratio.

I am not going to wade through all the posts there, but I fail to understand how it came about that 4x4comm. pays for 200 if there are 300+ members!
Do the 4x4comm. members pay that forum a fee for this?

Set the record straight and carry on with life!

[Gemaskerde Tuinvurk]

no idea - i'm not clear on the process... hope Eric can give us some insight...

[SimonB]

This only affects non-paid for membership clubs with large memberships, such as 4x4community which while members of AAWDC will probably in future not be part of ORRA. Normal clubs like 4WDCSA will not be affected.

ORRA has slowly been reigning in control, and I can understand why.

[4ePajero]

OK, since we are bombarded with acronyms:

PKIVSFDOLM !









(Please keep it very simple for dof okes like me!)

Is there a way to get a licence through POCSA (not being a member of 4x4community, ORRA, AAWDC or 4WDCSA)?

I sit with 3 Kirisun radios which I would like to 'legalise'.

[SimonB]

Is there a way to get a licence through POCSA (not being a member of 4x4community, ORRA, AAWDC or 4WDCSA)?

I sit with 3 Kirisun radios which I would like to 'legalise'.

In a nutshell, no. They have now taken away one of the benefits of being a member of AAWDC from us. However you can apply to ICASA independently. I will ask Eric for the procedure and post it here.

[Roy]

Hi

The other way is to write the RAE (amateur exam) exam and get a license which will then cost you R120 a year for all frequencies.
Class A exam for over 25 year old people and Class B for under 25's. Class A gives a Zs license and B a ZU.
Roy

[SimonB]

Hi

The other way is to write the RAE (amateur exam) exam and get a license which will then cost you R120 a year for all frequencies.
Class A exam for over 25 year old people and Class B for under 25's. Class A gives a Zs license and B a ZU.
Roy

This is not correct. Being a registered radio amateur (HAM) operator does not grant you carte blanche to all frequencies, and only to the allocated HAM frequencies. ORRA's frequencies are commercial, for which one still needs an approved license application.

[SimonB]

I am not going to wade through all the posts there, but I fail to understand how it came about that 4x4comm. pays for 200 if there are 300+ members!

Gerard

This is something that AAWDC put in place, not 4x4comm. If I had gone ahead with out AAWDC application this is exactly the same fee I would have paid - R5 per member capped at 200 members. Clearly this model is flawed. Not only that but our voting rights are also capped at 200. The fact that Pajero Club members (or 4x4community members) do not pay a R400+ membership fee to a club does not mean their interest in the 4WD industry is any less.

We're not talking paid-up union membership here. It is more subtle but no less important.

[JohanV]

I kept on thinking i wasnt to "dof" and could grasp a concept fairly easy. . . . i think i was wrong but i might be wrong about that also.

I have read posts and topics all over these forums and still have no clue as to how these freakin radio signals and licenses work and how to have them legally.

i have 4 "license free" radio's that works with AAA batteries and i was planning on getting upgraded models that works on a license and have fair bit more range when communicating on trails and in the mountains between 2 vehicles.

Anyone want to point me to the "Dummies Guide" for radio communication and getting radio's?