Thursday he thought the Vietnam license was 90 or 95 percent done. A couple of days later it has barely moved. He compares the errand to dealing with the U.S. government and says this one is a different kind of difficult.
The office that was supposed to translate and notarize the papers was closed when he got there Thursday. After 5, a government office is closed. Friday he felt sick. A little rain. He decided Monday morning was a cleaner start. He is glad. Monday took the whole day to move, in his count, about one percent.
The first desk will notarize the passport and will not touch the other documents. They send him somewhere else. Five minutes later another person sends him to a completely different address. That office laughs. They will not do it. He is not a citizen. He is a foreigner. The woman tells him to contact his embassy. He calls her cold and rude.
He goes back to the science office where the application started. He explains it. The woman there says this is not right, apologizes, and talks to other people. Phone calls. She has him email the PDF. The problem with the FCC license is that it is not an original in their file. No seal, no stamp. He tells the camera what any U.S. ham already knows. You get a PDF. That is the license. They want the file itself so they can check it is authentic. That is enough for another office to agree to translate it. They will not certify it. They cannot prove where the document came from.
He goes to that office. The woman says she cannot help, and she will not say what she needs. He texts the woman from the science office. She had given him her Zalo account so he could send the PDF. He asks for help. She says call. He calls, puts her on the phone with the clerk, and the clerk explains it. Then a new requirement. Two copies of everything they sign, because they keep one. He has a second copy of the license. A photocopy of the application will do. He leaves the FCC license with her and goes to copy the application.
Government offices in Vietnam close at 11:30 and stay closed for two hours for lunch. He is up against that. She says come back after 2. He copies the papers, eats, and is back about 2:30. Two copies of the application. She stamps them and signs. He asks for the translation. Wednesday afternoon. She had not said that when she told him to return after 2. Wednesday he can pick it up, take the whole package back to the science office, and hope they can file it.
Ten months of waiting. A couple more days is not the part that bothers him. He wants a radio in Vietnam. A remote station back in the United States works. It costs money. It is not the same thing.
Transcript
He thought Thursday had the Vietnam license at 90 or 95 percent. A couple of days later, almost no progress. He says the U.S. government is one kind of difficult and this is another. Thursday, the office that was supposed to translate and notarize the documents was closed. After 5, a government office is closed. Friday he was sick and it was raining, so he waited until Monday morning. He is glad. The day moved him about one percent.
The first office will notarize the passport and not the other papers. They send him to another address. Five minutes later someone else sends him to a different address. That office laughs. He is a foreigner, not a citizen. They cannot help. Contact the embassy. He calls the woman cold and rude. Back at the science office where he started. The woman says this is not right, apologizes, talks to colleagues, makes calls, and has him email the PDF. The FCC license is not an original to them. No seal, no stamp. A U.S. ham gets a PDF and that is the license. They want the file so they can check it. Another office will translate it and will not certify the origin.
He goes there. She says she cannot help and will not say what is missing. He texts the science-office woman on Zalo. She had given him the account for the PDF. She says call. He calls and hands the phone over. Then they need two copies of everything they sign. He has a second license copy. A photocopy of the application is fine. He leaves the FCC license and runs for the copy. Offices close at 11:30 and reopen two hours later. She says after 2. He copies, eats, and is back about 2:30 with two copies of the application. She stamps and signs. The translation is Wednesday afternoon. She had not said that. Then the package can go back to the science office. Ten months already. He can wait a couple of days. He wants to be on the air from Vietnam. Remote back to the U.S. works, it is expensive, and it is not the same.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Thursday and Friday produce nothing?
Thursday he reached the office they had named for translation and notarizing, and it was closed. After 5, he says, a government office is shut. Friday he felt sick and it was raining, so he waited for Monday morning. He was glad he did not split the errand. Monday took the whole day for what he calls about one percent.
What was wrong with the FCC license?
No seal and no stamp. In their process it is not an original. He says every ham who has held a U.S. license knows the document is a PDF and that is the document. The woman at the science office had him email that PDF so they could check it was real. That convinced another office to translate it. They still will not certify it, because they cannot prove where it came from.
What did he leave with on Monday?
Not the translation. The clerk needed two copies of anything she would sign. He had a second copy of the license. He left that copy with her and went for a photocopy of the application. Government offices close at 11:30 and reopen two hours later. She told him to come back after 2. He was back about 2:30, gave her two copies of the application, and she stamped and signed. The translated pages are Wednesday afternoon. She had not mentioned that pickup when she told him to return after lunch. After Wednesday he can take the package back to the science office and hope it is enough to file.