Radio Amateur Society of Thailand
Encyclopedia
The Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST) (in Thai
, สมาคมวิทยุสมัครเล่นแห่งประเทศไทย) is a national non-profit organization
for amateur radio
enthusiasts in Thailand
. The organization is founded under the royal patronage of the King of Thailand, and qualifies as a charitable entity pursuant to a Thai Ministry of Finance declaration. The organization was founded on August 22, 1963 by a group of amateur radio operator
s who met at a restaurant in Bangkok. Among the first orders of business was to address official objections to the communications of radio amateurs in Thailand with amateur radio operators in other countries. The RAST represents the interests of Thai amateur radio operators and shortwave listeners
before Thai and international telecommunications regulatory authorities. RAST is the national member society representing Thailand in the International Amateur Radio Union
.
Amateur "ham" radio operations in Thailand are permitted via an examination in the Thai language for Thai nationals and others who may be permanent residents OR via a reciprocal awarding of a Thailand license based on the presentation of a valid license from a few other countries (the list includes USA and is expanding; consult the RAST web site for the latest list). Each reciprocal agreement must be arranged via treaty between Thailand and other nations. Licenses have a five year term, renewable. The international assigned prefixes for ham call letters in Thailand are HS and E2; numbers and letters are added behind these letters to identify each individual licensee or radio club (example: HS0AC and E20AAA). There are about 300,000 licensed operators in Thailand, but only a couple of dozen operate on the HF frequencies; the others utilize the 2 meter band.
RAST holds monthly member meetings the first Sunday of each month in a Bangkok venue. Guests are welcome. Officers and Board Members are elected regularly and hold two year terms.
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
, สมาคมวิทยุสมัครเล่นแห่งประเทศไทย) is a national non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
for amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
enthusiasts in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. The organization is founded under the royal patronage of the King of Thailand, and qualifies as a charitable entity pursuant to a Thai Ministry of Finance declaration. The organization was founded on August 22, 1963 by a group of amateur radio operator
Amateur radio operator
An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio...
s who met at a restaurant in Bangkok. Among the first orders of business was to address official objections to the communications of radio amateurs in Thailand with amateur radio operators in other countries. The RAST represents the interests of Thai amateur radio operators and shortwave listeners
Shortwave listening
Shortwave listening is the hobby of listening to shortwave radio broadcasts located on frequencies between 1700 kHz and 30 MHz. Listeners range from casual users seeking international news and entertainment programming to hobbyists immersed in the technical aspects of radio reception and DXing...
before Thai and international telecommunications regulatory authorities. RAST is the national member society representing Thailand in the International Amateur Radio Union
International Amateur Radio Union
The International Amateur Radio Union is an international confederation of national amateur radio organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union...
.
Amateur "ham" radio operations in Thailand are permitted via an examination in the Thai language for Thai nationals and others who may be permanent residents OR via a reciprocal awarding of a Thailand license based on the presentation of a valid license from a few other countries (the list includes USA and is expanding; consult the RAST web site for the latest list). Each reciprocal agreement must be arranged via treaty between Thailand and other nations. Licenses have a five year term, renewable. The international assigned prefixes for ham call letters in Thailand are HS and E2; numbers and letters are added behind these letters to identify each individual licensee or radio club (example: HS0AC and E20AAA). There are about 300,000 licensed operators in Thailand, but only a couple of dozen operate on the HF frequencies; the others utilize the 2 meter band.
RAST holds monthly member meetings the first Sunday of each month in a Bangkok venue. Guests are welcome. Officers and Board Members are elected regularly and hold two year terms.
External links
- Radio Amateur Society of Thailand official English languageEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
web site - RAST Database Database of RAST, Ready for search