Kevin Standlee (kevin_standlee) wrote,
Kevin Standlee
kevin_standlee

Japanese Ham License

Lisa wants to be able to take some of her amateur radio equipment with her to Japan and to operate there, at least a little bit. After a bit of investigation through the ARRL, we found that we needed to submit an application via the Japanese Amateur Radio League and pay a fee of JPY8000 (about USD67). Unfortunately, JARL says they don't accept credit cards (that would be the easy way), and the only way to pay is by bank wire transfer or by international money order drawn in JPY. The post office here says that they only issue IMOs in US dollars. My local Bank of America branch said, "You could apply for a draft online and they'd mail it to you in a few weeks." But we need to submit the application at least sixty days before we arrive in Japan, and it's pretty close to that now.

So there was nothing left but to do a wire transfer. It's annoying to have to pay $20 in fees for a $67 payment. Now I have to wait one day for the wire to cycle through Bank of America's system so that it shows up in my online banking and I can print out a record of it having happened -- BofA does not send fax confirmations anymore -- and include it with the application form, so that JARL can match Lisa's application to the payment they'll receive tomorrow.
Tags: ham radio
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