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Third-Party Operating Agreements

International Third-Party Traffic -- Proceed With Caution

Occasionally, DX stations may ask you to pass a third-party message to a friend or relative in the States. This is all right as long as the US has signed an official third-party traffic agreement with that particular country, or the third party is a licensed amateur. The traffic must be noncommercial and of a personal, unimportant nature. During an emergency, the US State Department will often work out a special temporary agreement with the country involved. But in normal times, never handle traffic without first making sure it is legally permitted.

US Amateurs May Handle Third-Party Traffic With: 

V2 Antigua/Barbuda
LO-LW Argentina
VK Australia
V3 Belize
CP Bolivia
E7 Bosnia-Herzegovina
PP-PY Brazil
VE, VO, VY Canada
CA-CE Chile
HJ-HK Colombia
D6 Comoros (Federal Islamic Republic of)
TI, TE Costa Rica
CM, CO Cuba
HI Dominican Republic
J7 Dominica
HC-HD Ecuador
YS El Salvador
C5 Gambia, The
9G Ghana
J3 Grenada
TG Guatemala
8R Guyana
HH Haiti
HQ-HR Honduras
4X, 4Z Israel
6Y Jamaica
JY Jordan
EL Liberia
V7 Marshall Islands
XA-XI Mexico
V6 Micronesia, Federated States of
YN Nicaragua
HO-HP Panama
ZP Paraguay
OA-OC Peru
DU-DZ Philippines
VR6 Pitcairn Island*
V4 St. Kitts/Nevis
J6 St. Lucia
J8 St. Vincent and the Grenadines
9L Sierra Leone
ZR-ZU South Africa
3DA Swaziland
9Y-9Z Trinidad/Tobago
TA-TC Turkey
GB United Kingdom
CV-CX Uruguay
YV-YY Venezuela
4U1ITU ITU - Geneva
4U1VIC VIC - Vienna

Notes:

* Since 1970, there has been an informal agreement between the United Kingdom and the US, permitting Pitcairn and US amateurs to exchange messages concerning medical emergencies, urgent need for equipment or supplies, and private or personal matters of island residents.

US licensed amateurs may operate in the US territories under their FCC license.

Please note that the Region 2 Division of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has recommended that international traffic on the 20 and 15-meter bands be conducted on the following frequencies:

14.100-14.150 MHz
14.250-14.350 MHz
21.150-21.200 MHz
21.300-21.450 MHz

The IARU is the alliance of Amateur Radio societies from around the world; Region 2 comprises member-societies in North, South and Central America, and the Caribbean.

Note: At the end of an exchange of third-party traffic with a station located in a foreign country, an FCC-licensed amateur must transmit the call sign of the foreign station as well as his own call sign.

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