OI6S

Sissiradistikilta is a special training branch guild for Finnish sissiradisti trained troops. The Sissiradistikilta Guild was founded in 2017, centenary of independent Finland, and OI6S is the callsign of its military amateur radio club station. Based in Jyväskylä, Finland, the guild is active within the whole country. Amateur radio activity, operations, and locations vary.

Sissi units are a part of the Finnish Defence Forces and their main task is to perform reconnaissance and intelligence operations. Sissiradisti, which meaning mostly corresponds to reconnaissance radio operator (RRO), is the name for specially trained signalists within these troops and as so some of them have also interest towards amateur radio.

About the OI prefix

The prefix OI is reserved for Finnish military amateur radio, i.e. ham radio operation happening within or in ties to Finnish Defence Forces or its tradition. To prevent misunderstandings it's worth mentioning that operation is normal amateur radio activity and amateur radio isn't used for pursuing any military goals. That said, we operate within globally accepted rules and promote good operating practices and ham spirit.

OI award

A special award is available for working stations with the OI prefix. The original rules are available in Finnish. An unofficial translation of the rules as of 2017 follows.

Rules for the OI award

Version 2017 / OH2LGW

1. Contacts accepted for the OI award

Contacts with OI-prefixed stations which consist of stations of the Finnish Defence Forces, the Finnish Border Guard, military tradition associations, museums, and guilds are counted towards the eligibility for the award.

Contacts that been worked before 2010-01-01 are not accepted.

Contacts must have been worked in accordance to the regulations and IARU recommendations in effect. Repeater contacts are not eligible contacts. Different postfixes (separated with a stroke "/") of a station are not counted separately, e.g. OI3X, OI3X/P, or OI3X/M are counted as the same station.

2. Granting the OI award

The award can be granted to a radio amateur, amateur radio club, or a shortwave listener.

To apply for the award, the applicant must present ten (10) contacts with different OI prefixed stations. However, for applicants located outside Finland, five (5) contacts are sufficient for the eligibility.

The contacts aren't required to be acknowledged with QSL cards. A log excerpt printed on paper and confirmed with the signatures of two another radio amateurs is accepted. The award is free of charge.

Applications shall be mailed to:

Timo Virtanen
Petäikönkatu 32
FI-78200 VARKAUS
FINLAND

Application must include the return address information to where the award will be delivered.