It seems obvious that the city of Birmingham wants Motorola equipment for its new radio system. The question is whether or not the courts hearing the case will allow the city to get its way. Contacts made during the event will be eligible for a special commemorative certificate. On the international scene, word that the first ever Individual Amateur Radio Operator's License exams were scheduled to be held July 16 and 17 in up to 26 cities. Organized by the Chinese Radio Sports Association, the tests covered five different categories of hobby radio operations.
Different requirements exist for the different classes of hobby radio operations.
The contents of these exams are said to have included Chinese radio regulations, approved communication procedures and radio theory. For high frequency operation the tests also included examinations on international phonetics and Morse code. No word on how many candidates were tested, and how they did. When the Coast Guard received a report from a ham radio operator in Panama that a vessel carrying individuals fleeing from Cuba was being fired upon by a Cuban patrol boat, it requested FCC assistance to confirm the distress and to provide a location fix. The FCC direction-finder network pinpointed the signal.