Morocco October 2015

[GeorgeG]

I got to the bottom of the legal radio use thing in Morocco. Got in touch with this guys http://www.arram.org/home/Contact and guess what....with my international hobby radio permit (class 1) I can legaly hold and use AM/FM radio ( which is CB). It gets even better-we all can do that as I can declare all the radios as mine! We can enter Morocoo with proudly erected aerials and mics on the dashboards. Hehe!

 

[Gary Stockton]

What license do you hold George? AFAIK you need an Advanced amateur radio license to operate internationally (in countries that are signatory members of the agreement) and you're not really able to take a group of unlicensed radio users into those territories. Admittedly Maroc may be different especially with regard to CB so I'm curious.

Cheers

 

[mussy]

I always take my aerial off because of the ferry.

Have never hidden the mike or cb and never had an issue.

There is so much chaos going on at the borders anyway....

 

[Pete Girling]

Hi Mark,

Good to see the trip planning is going well. We'll be in Morocco 22 Oct - 5 November so probably won't see you at Timnay this time.

Regarding insurance, if you've got a green card for Morocco from your UK insurer, you're covered - there's no need to buy additional insurance locally. If you do buy insurance in Morocco be aware that it's third party only and you'll get nothing if you total your truck. It's really only a "keep out of jail" card if you're involved in an accident.

I've been travelling to Morocco for over 10 years and never had an issue with radios either at the port, en route or at checkpoints. Admittedly we use UHF radios with only 6" antennae. Just be sensible and remove large antennae and turn sets off in sensitive areas.

Be aware that the chaps by the side of the road between Tanger Med and Fnideq aren't quite as happy/smiley these days. 2000 miles from home and desperately trying to get to Europe... No need to worry and security in Morocco is generally very good. You'll be turned back from any risky areas in the south.

With regard to satellite phones, check which countries your service plan covers as some don't include Algeria. If you're in the south of Morocco travelling near the border, you may not get any service just when you're in a remote area where there is no mobile phone coverage.

Have a great trip,

Peter

 

[Chris]

Bugger.

Just got to the bottom of my insurance issues. I am insured in Morocco but they won't issue a green card? Why is that then. Well now I have my glasses on I can read that it actually says.....









Monaco.

 

[Gary Stockton]

ROTFLMAO. That's funny

Oh well, we'll get it sorted in-country

 

[GeorgeG]

What license do you hold George? AFAIK you need an Advanced amateur radio license to operate internationally (in countries that are signatory members of the agreement) and you're not really able to take a group of unlicensed radio users into those territories. Admittedly Maroc may be different especially with regard to CB so I'm curious.

Cheers

You're absolutely correct! I got that advanced one which is class 1- international (good for Morocco).Years ago I got class 2 which is just for local use in BG and is for the 2 meter band (140+ Mhrz). PMR(440+ Mghrz) can be used by anyone unlicensed here.I took exams twice (class 1 & 2) at Bulgarian communications regulation commission http://crc.bg/index.php?lang=en and I'm good to go. My initial is LZ1COW( LimaZuluOneCharlieOscarWhiskey) Yes cow. All my buddies chose three letter animals PIG, OWL....It is all fun.LEGAL FUN!
I didn't say I can take unlicensed radio users with me. I said I can claim all the radios in all the cruisers as mine at the border or anywhere in the country. As long as you dont use them at the moment you're not considered a user.There's no limit to the number of CB radio units I can bring with me to Morocco.

 

[Gary Stockton]

Cool. My amateur callsign is 2E0ZIM. For now. Going for my Advanced in August I hope ;-) which will enable me to use HF, VHF and UHF internationally.

 

[GeorgeG]

COOOOOOL! I'll keep my fingers crossed in August! It's alot of material you have to cover. Like I said before -I don't understand it, just learned it almost by heart! The only reason I took the exams is to be legal around the world when travellig. I think radio communication between all participants when overlanding or just offroading around the corner is essential a must!

 

[Chris]

Being genuinely curious, just how complicated is using a radio? I understand the power of these sets and we don't want fighter planes falling out of the sky and taxis going to pick up the wrong person, but what are the principle points of what you have to actually learn and take exams on? Sure again I get that if you fly commercial aircraft but for chatting to people?

Never looked into it myself, but obviously I'd love a radio that got me more than 2 miles with a following wind.

 

[Gary Stockton]

You need to understand the physics really for the useful stuff. CB / VHF / UHF is limited - HF is where it counts and where you're in a populated area and bad antenna design screws your neighbours tv signal etc.

Mostly anorak stuff at that level - building rigs, designing antennas, entering competitions etc. Day to day not needed really.

Need a full license to operate HF/ VHF/ UHF external to the UK.

And a different license for marine radio ...

 

[MarkW]

Being genuinely curious, just how complicated is using a radio?.

Chris, you remember that set up with 2 tins and a piece of string?

Well using a radio is the same as using that, except its wireless [emoji23]


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[MarkW]

Hi Mark,

Good to see the trip planning is going well. We'll be in Morocco 22 Oct - 5 November so probably won't see you at Timnay this time

Have a great trip,

Peter

Hi Pete.

Shame we'll miss a beer or 2 at Timnay this year. We'll be on the boat back home on the 22nd. Guess we'll cross paths somewhere as we head north. If you see a convoy of 80's with my old banger in front give us a wave


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[GeorgeG]

Mark, did you complete planning the route?
Cheers!

 

[MarkW]

No not yet, the route I have planned across the desert needs a little fine tuning. The stretch between Assa and Tata is very narrow between the main road and the border and my gps maps have no tracks, we could just head off but we may jus be making life difficult driving a few 100 meters from the road. I need to investigate this area more, we could loop up into the Anti Atlas and little way but the route was closed last October.

Then I need to find an return route north at the moment we get to Erfoud have a day off and then have about 4 days before we need to be back in Spain. I have an outline 2 day High Atlas route so now need a connecting section to join the dots. If we do my outline High Atlas route we could head west from Erfoud and then up through the Jebel Sarho which is fantastic.

Or we could forge that and head north from Erfoud into the empty quarter and then back through a little bit of the middle atlas.

It will get sorted out before we go but might not be very soon as I only have limited internet at the moment

 

[Gary Stockton]

I like the idea of the ground breaking bits - i.e. off the beaten track, but not making roads

 

[AndyCook]

I recommend crossing the Jebel Sarho, very scenic mountain ridge and nice bumpy trails.


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[GeorgeG]

... If we do my outline High Atlas route we could head west from Erfoud and then up through the Jebel Sarho which is fantastic.

I recommend crossing the Jebel Sarho, very scenic mountain ridge and nice bumpy trails.

Sounds like a plan to me!

 

[MarkW]

Done three routes across now and found some really interesting pistes to try last year, it is a stunning area

 

[MarkW]

Hi Guys

Bit limited on internet access atm, but I have been looking at our route while I can't surf for porn, got a load of fine tweeks to check out but to confirm some of these I need the old interwebs and a working Google earth connection so I can double check the pistes are actually there on the ground. Over on the HuBB reports are still coming in that some damage remains on the pistes from last Novembers storms but there is evidence of 4x4's getting through most places.

At present its just a case of fine tuning the routes and then reworking the timings to fill up our time in Morocco. I expect to tweek the routes to allow us to arrive Erg Chegaga mid afternoon and get some dune driving in before finding a nice cap site and watching a classic desert sunset with a cold tinnie. Following day I think it might be best to have a easyier day head up to Zagora, get the trucks checked over and restock on supplies before heading out for another Wild Camp.