Amateur Radio

Amateur Radio related items.

Limited Edition RAC 25th Anniversary Challenge Coin

Posted on by VA3DBJ

The Radio Amateurs of Canada have issued the following bulletin with respect to the 25th Anniversary Challenge Coin

For immediate release: https://wp.rac.ca/limited-edition-rac-25th-anniversary-challenge-coin/

In May 2018, Radio Amateurs of Canada was pleased to introduce the special RAC 25th Anniversary Challenge Coin as part of its year-long celebrations. The coin was designed by Mike Hutchison and was custom-designed and manufactured by KingPins for RAC. 

Its design depicts the commitment to a strong 25 years of Amateur Radio with a large maple leaf acknowledging a true sense of Canadian pride. The back design is the classic RAC logo with a beautiful gold crest and accents. It is a unique collectable and is a great collectors piece for any member of the Amateur Radio community. 

In his Message in the November-December 2018 issue of The Canadian Amateur magazine, RAC President Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA, indicated: 

“There has been a good response to the RAC Challenge Coin Program in which a limited number of collectible coins were created in honour of RAC’s first 25 years. These are available to anyone donating $100 or more to RAC. 

Each has a unique serial number (#001 went to the person contributing the most in the first two weeks and the next to go was #073 ). Many contributors picked the year they became an Amateur or other personally significant numbers. 

We still have some Challenge Coins available and they can be ordered by completing the online form or by calling the RAC office. They could be a good way for clubs to honour a member for an important contribution. They would also be a great birthday or Christmas present.” 

Through the RAC Challenge Coin program, we hope to raise sufficient funds to make RAC stronger and enable it to deliver more services and benefits to our members and to Amateur Radio in Canada and internationally during our next 25 years. 

To place an order for the Challenge Coins please visit: https://wp.rac.ca/25th-anniversary-coin/

Alan Griffin
RAC MarCom Director

UKube-1 falls silent

Posted on by VA3DBJ

UKube-1, the UK Space Agency’s first CubeSat, was launched into space in July 2014. It completed its successful nominal mission fourteen month later in September 2015

Since that date, for the past three years, the FUNcube based payload has continued to provide a transponder for use by radio amateurs and, additionally, 30+ channels of real time telemetry for STEM outreach and for use by schools and colleges. These downlinks have operated continuously on the 145 MHz band and more than 450 stations have supported this ongoing activity. They have uplinked the telemetry data to the FUNcube Data Warehouse where it is stored and available for research.

Just before midnight (UTC) on Thursday 18th October, the Warehouse received a data frame from KB6LTY, Christy Hunter in California. This is the last record of signals being received from the spacecraft and since that date, careful observations have failed to detect any signals from either of the transmitters carried by the spacecraft.

An early analysis of the last telemetry received has not shown any obvious anomalies, but this work continues.

Although it is obviously sad for both the amateur and educational worlds to lose such a valuable resource, both AO73-FUNcube 1 and EO88-Nayif 1 continue to operate nominally and JY1SAT and ESEO are expected to launch before the end of 2018.

UKube-1
https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/ukube-1/

Simulated Emergency Test: October 2018

Posted on by VA3DBJ

Date: Saturday, October 13

Note: In Ontario the Simulated Emergency Test will be held on Saturday, October 13 but at Emergency Operations Centres that are located in Municipal offices, that can’t get access on the weekend, the SET will also be held on Wednesday, October 10.

The Simulated Emergency Test is a North America-wide exercise in emergency communications, administered by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the RAC Emergency Coordinators and Net Managers. Both the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) and the National Traffic System (NTS) are involved. The SET weekend gives communicators the opportunity to focus on the emergency-communications capability within your community, while interacting with NTS nets.

RAC administers our Canadian SETs. Among other objectives we aim to strengthen the relationship between ARES and served municipalities and relief agencies. It is vitally important that this be done at the local EC level.

The deadline for receipt of all reports is January 31, 2019.

Note: Please use the SET Report Form. No other format is acceptable for reporting SET activities.

After their chosen SET weekend, participating ECs, Net Managers or others must complete the SET forms online. Please send a copy to your Section Manager (SM) and to your Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) or Section Traffic Manager (STM) as applicable. Please see the SET Report Form to submit an email copy for your own records.

Purpose of SET
  • To find out the strengths and weaknesses of the ARES, NTS and other groups providing emergency communications.
  • To provide a public demonstration to served agencies, such as the Red Cross, of Emergency Preparedness and, through the news media, of the value to the public that Amateur Radio provides, particularly in time of need.
  • To help Radio Amateurs gain experience in communications using standard procedures and a variety of modes under simulated-emergency conditions.
Format

The scoring format reflects broad objectives and encourages use of digital modes for handling high-volume traffic and point-to-point welfare reports out of the affected simulated-disaster area. Participants will find SET an opportunity to strengthen the VHF-HF link at the local level, thereby ensuring that ARES and NTS are working in concert. The SET will give all levels of NTS the chance to handle exercise-related traffic.

Test messages should carry the word “TEST” before the precedence; that is, “Test Priority” on phone and “TEST P” on CW. The text of such messages should also begin with the words “TEST MESSAGE.”

Preparing for SET

Emergency Coordinators

  • Sign up all available Radio Amateurs in the area under your jurisdiction and work them into your SET plans. Make special efforts to attract newly licensed Amateurs.
  • Call a meeting of all ARES members and prospective members to briefly outline (no details) SET activities and to give general instructions. Do not divulge the exact time or nature of the test to them at this time. This should come as a surprise. Take this opportunity to register new ARES members and get up-to-date information on others. Hold an on-the-air meeting if it’s not possible to meet in person.
  • Contact served agencies and explain the intent and overall purpose of the SET. Offer to send test messages to other branches of their agencies and invite officials to your ARES meetings and SET operating sites.
  • Contact officials of any adjacent communities having no active Amateurs and offer to provide representation in Amateur networks for them as well.
  • Arrange publicity in local newspapers and radio/TV stations by preparing an announcement and/or inviting the press to observe your group’s SET operation.
  • Set up liaison with one or more NTS local/section nets (if you don’t already have liaison) so you will have an outlet for all messages out of the local area.
  • Formulate your plans around a simulated disaster. Possible “plots” include: a flood, a serious fire, an ice storm, a missing person, a serious accident (automobile, bus, aircraft, for examples), a broken gas line, a tornado and so forth. Elaborate on the situation by developing a scenario but please be realistic.
During the SET
  • Announce the emergency situation. Activate the emergency net. Dispatch mobiles to served agencies.
  • Have designated stations originate messages on behalf of served agencies. Test messages may be sent simulating requests for supplies. Simulated emergency messages (just like real emergency messages) should be signed by an authorized official.
  • Emphasize tactical communications for served agencies.
  • As warranted by traffic loads, have liaison stations on hand to receive traffic on the local net and relay to your section net. You should also be sure that there is a representative on each session of the section net to receive traffic going to the local area.
  • Operate at least one session (or substantial segment of a session) of the local net on an emergency-only basis. Or, if a repeater is on emergency power, allow only emergency-powered stations to operate through the repeater for a certain time period.
After the SET

An important post-SET activity is a critique session to discuss the test results. All ARES members should be invited to the meeting to review good points and weaknesses apparent in the drill. Emphasize ways to improve procedures, techniques and coordination with all groups involved. Report your group’s effort to RAC and TCA and include any photos, clippings and other items of interest.

National Traffic System

The main function of NTS in an emergency situation is to tie together all of the various local activities and to provide a means by which all traffic destined outside of a local area, section or region can be systematically relayed to the addressee.

NTS routing should be followed. A valid exception is the handling of emergency traffic which should be routed as rapidly and efficiently as possible, bypassing various levels of nets when delivery can be expedited. Another exception is when one station is loaded down with traffic for one region or section. At the discretion of the Net Control Station (NCS), the station may be directed to bypass a normal channel and go directly to a lower (or higher) echelon net.

The interface between NTS and ARES lies in the liaison function between local nets and other NTS nets, particularly at the section level. Responsibility for representation of the local network on the section net lies with the local net manager who may or may not be the EC. Although we usually think of ARES members being the representatives in section nets, it is equally valid to expect NTS personnel to act as liaison to local nets.

At least one net session or substantial segment of a session should be conducted on emergency power. Plan a surprise session or two. Advise the NCS just before net time. If the NCS is unable to operate on emergency power, then someone else must be net control. Only stations operating on emergency power may report in during this time.

Summary

One of the first steps on the way to a successful SET is to try to get as many people involved as possible, especially new Amateurs. In a real emergency, we find Amateurs with all sorts of varied interests coming out of the woodwork. Let’s get them involved in SET so they will know more about how emergency communications should be handled. Promote SET on nets and repeaters. Sign up new, enthusiastic Amateurs. Many of those offering to help will be inexperienced in public-service activities. It’s up to you to explain to them what’s going on and provide them with useful roles. They may like it so much that they will become a permanent fixture in your ARES or NTS group.

Amateur Radio Volunteers in Indonesia Link Earthquake Zone with Outside World

Posted on by VA3DBJ

ARRL – Following a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on September 28, members of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society ORARI and other volunteers have been providing emergency communication for community and government interests. The quake and tsunami destroyed the city of Palu, completely cutting power and telephone connections, as well as the cellular communication infrastructure.

New IARU Region 3 Disaster Communication Coordinator Dani Halim, YB2TJV, said Amateur Radio operators in Indonesia immediately responded to the unfolding disaster, establishing an emergency net on 7.110 MHz. Amateur Radio volunteers from other regions also pitched in to support radio communication for emergency news on 7.110 MHz and 7.065 MHz. ORARI has asked that radio amateurs not involved in the emergency response avoid those frequencies. ORARI also activated the LAPAN-ORARI IO-86 satellite as a back-up communication channel. Some radio amateurs with mobile stations have traveled to the affected region to help.

According to Budi Santoso, YF1AR, on Java Island, the local Palu ORARI representative Ronny Korompot, YB8PR, was among the first contacted. Through his mobile station, he reported on conditions and the response, including evacuations. Sutrisno Sofingi, YB8NT, was also heard on 7.110 MHz using an emergency station he assembled at the disaster site. He said Amateur Radio was the only available communication with the outside world.

Amateur Radio also has assisted government agencies following severe damage to the telecommunication infrastructure. Hams operating on 2 meters were communicating information on which roads were open to allow traffic from the outside.

Halim reported that communication was established from the Luwuk Disaster Management Agency some 430 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter to obtain information on landslides and blocked roads and highways.

Salmin Sahidin, YB8IBD, in Southeast Sulawesi has been live streaming audio of the activity on 7.110 MHz via his Facebook page.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami has claimed upward of 900 lives and caused widespread devastation. Some victims have been reported to be trapped in the debris. The Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency has told news media that, in addition to communication, heavy equipment for rescue operations is limited.  — Thanks to IARU Region 3 and Budi Santoso, YF1AR 

FCC Grants Temporary Request to Permit PACTOR 4 Use in Hurricane Relief

Posted on by VA3DBJ
FCC Grants ARRL Temporary Waiver Request to Permit PACTOR 4 Use in Hurricane Relief

ARRL – The FCC has granted an ARRL request for a temporary waiver of Section 97.307(f) of the FCC’s Amateur Service rules to permit the use of PACTOR 4 digital mode for Amateur Radio communication within the continental US related to Hurricane Florence relief. The grant extends through Tuesday, September 18, and a formal order addressing the request for a 30-day waiver will be issued next week, the FCC said.

Section 97.307(f) of the Commission’s Rules limits the digital data emissions of amateur stations operating below 28 MHz to a symbol rate not to exceed 300 baud, and in the 10-meter band (28.0 – 28.3 MHz) to a symbol rate not to exceed 1200 baud, thus precluding the use of PACTOR 4.

PACTOR 4 is a data protocol that permits relatively high-speed data transmission in the HF bands, and many amateur stations active in emergency communications preparedness are capable of using PACTOR 4, which was used to great advantage, pursuant to FCC temporary waivers, in Hurricane Maria relief efforts, and, more recently in preparing for typhoon relief communications in Hawaii.

“ARRL has recently dispatched equipment to the Carolinas and is actively preparing to assist radio amateurs involved with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and otherwise to conduct disaster relief communications,” ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, told the FCC in requesting the waiver. The equipment includes PACTOR radio modems with PACTOR 3 and PACTOR 4 capabilities.

ARRL’s request proposed limiting the use of PACTOR 4 to radio amateurs in the Continental US who are directly involved with the hurricane relief efforts involving the US mainland. “This request is without prejudice to the resolution of Docket 16-239 [the so-called “symbol rate” proceeding], which is presently pending and addresses the rule section discussed herein,” Imlay added

IARU Focuses on WRC-19 Preparation and Succession Planning

Posted on by VA3DBJ

The Administrative Council (AC) of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) held its annual in-person meeting on September 8 and 9, 2018 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, immediately prior to the IARU Region 3 Conference. The AC is responsible for the policy and management of the IARU and consists of the three IARU international officers and two representatives from each of the three IARU regional organizations.

With the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) now little more than a year away, the efforts of two dozen IARU volunteers to defend Amateur Radio’s frequency allocations against commercial pressures and to seek worldwide harmonization of the 50-54 MHz band are reaching a critical stage. Coordination of this team is an ongoing task leading up to the ITU Conference Preparatory Meeting in Geneva in February 2019 and to WRC-19 itself in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, in October and November. The work involves presenting the IARU positions on the WRC-19 agenda items to national administrations through the IARU member-societies and actively participating in the ongoing preparations being done in regional telecommunications organizations and the ITU Radiocommunication Sector. The potential for crippling levels of interference to radiocommunications from High Power Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) for electric vehicles is high on the list of concerns.

With these challenges in mind the AC reviewed its strategic plan to develop support for Amateur spectrum allocations and approved the action plan for implementation during the remainder of 2018 and 2019. To resource the plan, the IARU budget for the years 2019-2021 was reviewed and adopted. The budget is based upon anticipated financial contributions from the IARU International Secretariat (IS) and the three regional organizations and reflects ongoing efforts to minimize expenses while maintaining the essential activities for achievement of the plan.

The IARU Constitution and Administrative Council policies define the process for filling the positions of IARU President and Vice President for five-year terms. Member-societies and the three IARU regional organizations are invited to participate in identifying qualified candidates for consideration in a consultative process between the AC and the member-society acting as the International Secretariat (IS), currently the ARRL. This process for the terms of office beginning on May 9, 2019 was initiated at the 2017 meeting of the AC and completed at the 2018 meeting. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, formally reported that there was consensus that the incumbent President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, and Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, should be nominated for an additional term. These nominations will be submitted to the IARU member-societies for ratification by mail vote.

Looking to the future, the AC recognized the importance and urgency of succession planning and assigned it an immediate and high priority. Individuals with the qualifications, skills, and willingness to fill volunteer technical and leadership positions must be identified on an ongoing basis in order to maintain the availability of essential personnel resources. Training must be provided so that the volunteer team can function effectively in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.

The growth of Amateur Radio, especially how to attract young people, is a common concern of IARU member-societies. The AC will set out to identify those barriers to growth that the IARU can assist member-societies to address and will encourage member-societies to share successful strategies for growth with one another.

The AC noted with pleasure that considerable progress has been made to develop consistent branding across the IARU and its three regional organizations and thanked the team that has been working on a common design for the four websites. The design was agreed and plans are underway for implementation in the coming months.

The IARU policy on QSL bureaus has been under review for several years. While the IARU QSL bureau system continues to be important for many member-societies and individual Amateurs, escalating expenses represent a growing financial burden for others. Unwanted and undeliverable QSL cards are increasingly recognized as an environmental concern. Possible amendments to the policy continue to be developed for consideration.

In addition to the ITU Radiocommunication Sector the IARU is engaged with the Development Sector, particularly with regard to emergency communication. Additional areas of continuing activity that represent significant effort by volunteer coordinators, advisors, and others include Amateur satellite frequency coordination, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), and the International Beacon Project. Reports from these coordinators and advisors were received with thanks. The AC agreed to maintain its modest annual financial support of the Beacon Project.

The AC noted the actions taken by the IS and the regions to address the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union and agreed to review its implications on an ongoing basis.

After consideration of several possible alternatives the theme for World Amateur Radio Day, April 18, 2019, was confirmed as “Celebrating Amateur Radio’s Contribution to Society”.

Attending the meeting were IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA; Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR; Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ; regional representatives Don Beattie, G3BJ, Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AM, Ramón Santoyo, XE1KK, Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN, and Peter Young, VK3MV. Present as observers were regional executive committee members Jay Bellows, K0QB, Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP, and Don Wallace, ZL2TLL.

The next in-person meeting of the AC is scheduled to be held immediately prior to the IARU Region 2 Conference in Lima, Peru at the end of September 2019. Virtual AC meetings will be held by teleconference as required.

For more information visit:

ARISS Packet System Revives

Posted on by VA3DBJ
An Amazing Recovery: ARISS Packet System Revives

ARRL – Similar to the AO-7 satellite resurrection several years ago, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) packet radio system on the International Space Station (ISS) has begun working again. NASA ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, said over the weekend that reports he’d received indicated that the NA1SS packet signal returned in mid-August.

“It appears it indeed has started working as of about 11 days ago,” Ransom said. “No idea how long it will last, given the degrading state of the current hardware. The longer it lasts, the better.” Ransom said the revived system will fill the gap until a replacement packet module goes up later this year on a Progress supply vehicle and is installed by the crew on a time-available basis. Satellite enthusiast Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, in Arizona reported via the ISS Fan Club site that the ISS packet system was operating on August 25 at 1915 UTC during an 8° pass over the continental US. “I got my position packet through once, no QSOs this pass,” he said in a post.

The packet signal on 145.825 MHz has been copied in Europe, South America, India, and elsewhere. In another August 25 post, Mark Pisani, KK6OTJ, reported copying the packet system during an 18° pass over southern California and said he worked KB6LTY through the system. “Heard over Patagonia Argentina!” Francisco Rodriguez, LU2WBA, enthused in a post on August 24 at 2323 UTC. “Welcome back!” An August 17 post from Marco Antonio, PU2MUS, in Brazil indicated that the system was not active at that time.

Earlier this summer, ARISS hardware team members on the ground reported that they were able to locate a functional duplicate of the ISS packet module that had been in use on the ISS for 17 years before it failed more than a year ago. The packet module has been manifest on the Progress 71P spacecraft launch now set for October 31, with docking on November 2.

ARISS said the subsequent installation will depend on the crew’s busy schedule, but expressed hope that the new packet system hardware could be online again by the end of November.

New FCC Part 95 Personal Radio Services Rules Published

Posted on by VA3DBJ
New FCC Part 95 Personal Radio Services Rules Published in The Federal Register

Reorganized and updated FCC Personal Radio Services (PRS) Part 95 rules have been published in The Federal Register. Among other things, the PRS covers the Family Radio Service (FRS), General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS), and the Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS).

The revised rules allot additional FRS channels and increase the power on certain FRS channels from 0.5 W to 2 W. FRS channels are in the 462.5625 – 462.7250 MHz range.

Effective September 30, 2019, it will be illegal to manufacture or import handheld portable radio equipment capable of operating under FRS rules and under other licensed or licensed-by-rule services. The FCC no longer will certify FRS devices that incorporate capabilities of GMRS capabilities or of other services. Existing GMRS/FRS combination radios that operate at power levels of less than 2 W ERP will be reclassified as FRS devices; existing GMRS/FRS radios that operate above that power level will be reclassified as GMRS devices, requiring an individual license.

Radios that can transmit on GMRS repeater input channels will continue to be licensed individually and not by rule.

Once the new rules are effective, CBers will be allowed to contact stations outside of the FCC-imposed — but widely disregarded — 155.3-mile distance limit.

NIST FY 2019 Budget Would Eliminate WWV and WWVH

Posted on by VA3DBJ

UPDATED: White House petition setup. See below.

ARRL – The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) FY 2019 budget request includes shutting down “NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii” — in other words, WWV and WWVH. Radio amateurs, HF listeners, and others around the world routinely make use of the time and frequency standard signals, which also include propagation information. NIST said eliminating funding currently “supporting fundamental measurement dissemination” would include putting WWV and WWVH off the air for a saving of $6.3 million. The overall NIST FY 2019 budget request is $127 million, which, the agency said, is a net decrease of $49 million from FY 2018 levels.

“The proposed reductions will allow NIST to consolidate and focus on narrower core [fundamental] measurement programs while meeting budget levels,” the agency said in its FY 2019 budget summary. “NIST will focus on basic research while reducing funding for efforts applying some of its breakthroughs into new measurement applications.

The FY 2019 proposed budget cuts developed earlier this year came to light via Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL, who maintains The SWLing Post website, after a number of viewers called it to his attention. He posted an article on his blog.

“I’ve always considered WWV and WWVH to be the heartbeat of the shortwaves here in North America — a constant, timely companion and brilliant gauge of HF propagation,” Witherspoon wrote. I assumed both stations would be some of the last to go silent on the shortwaves.”

NIST said other “illustrative” cuts in the FY 2019 budget include:

  • $3.5 million for Lab to Market, which seeks to accelerate technology transfer from federal laboratories
  • $6.6 million in environmental measurements projects across NIST laboratories, including work measuring the impact of aerosols on pollution and climate change, and gas reference materials used by industry to reduce costs of complying with regulations
  • $5.8 million eliminating the NIST Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Measurements program, including Urban Dome research grants to advance the direct measurement of GHG emissions on the scale of cities or regions.
  • $6.7 million in forensic science, reducing the program size to $7.3 million by prioritizing measurement science in the NIST labs and eliminating program management functions and external grants for the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science and the Forensic Science Center of Excellence 
  • $4.1 million in R&D targeting application of NIST quantum breakthroughs to applied measurement needs, including temperature and atmospheric gas metrology

“I find this budget request very disappointing,” Witherspoon said with respect to the proposed elimination of WWV and WWVH. “Let’s hope, somehow, this does not come to fruition.” He said The SWLing Post would be tracking and posting any new developments.

UPDATE: White House petition to maintain NIST funding of WWV time stations.

I recently read your article concerning the proposed shutdown of the NIST stations WWV/WWVH.
To that end, I have gone ahead and created a Whitehouse petition to see if this decision can be reversed:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/maintain-funding-nist-stations-wwv-wwvh
Would there be any way you could perhaps post the link to this so that fellow members of the SWLing Post could sign it? I believe the more folks we have sign the better chance we have of maintaining the radio stations we have all come to rely upon.

Tom Kelly
Click here to sign!

4U1UN UN Amateur Radio Operation Could Resume

Posted on by VA3DBJ
4U1UN UN Amateur Radio Club Operation Could Resume Later this Year

ARRL – Outside of beacon signals, 4U1UN, the Amateur Radio club station at United Nations Headquarters in New York, has not been heard on the air since 2015, and only then under the commemorative 4U70UN call sign marking the UN’s 70th anniversary that fall, with operation from a ground-level garden area within the UN Headquarters complex. That could change soon. The 4U1UN station, once within the iconic UN building, was dismantled in 2010 and antennas removed in advance of extensive building renovations. But room for 4U1UN — which counts as a separate DXCC entity — was not allocated in the new building layout. UN staffer James Sarte, K2QI, the president of the United Nations Amateur Radio Club (UNARC), said in late July that “red tape” has been a roadblock to getting 4U1UN back on the air.

“It’s taken us years just to get the administration and security to allow us to resume beacon operations,” he told DX-World.net. “Security protocols became much tighter after 9/11. And when renovations [for] the Secretariat were completed, staff were no longer permitted to engage in any activities above the [Secretary-General’s] floor. That said, we’re slowly working to restore operations.”

Negotiations have been continuing off and on for a few years now, but Sarte says that any notion of returning to staffed operations from the station’s former forty-first-floor annex is a thing of the past. “Any such activity from the club will have to be done remotely from a broadcast booth that was loaned to us by the UN’s broadcast services section,” he explained. “The good news, however, is that new equipment was recently donated to the club that would make that a reality. The transceiver, amplifier, and associated network equipment are now in place. We also had a dedicated closed network line installed primarily for that purpose.” Operation would take place from UN Headquarters grounds.

Sarte said the remaining task is to install an antenna and begin testing, which, he estimated, should happen this month, and may already have begun.

“I know many have been waiting for the return of 4U1UN. No one wants to see it back on the air more than I do, but please understand that support for Amateur Radio operations by the [UN] administration has waned over the years. To get where we are today took a lot of cajoling and negotiation.” Most of the burden has fallen on Sarte, who said his workload has increased, plus funds are tight. “But I do promise that 4U1UN will be back on the air soon,” he concluded.

4U1UN is the 34th most-wanted DXCC entity, ahead of such Swain’s Island, Myanmar, and Yemen. Max de Henseler, HB9RS (SK), spearheaded the effort to establish a UN Headquarters Amateur Radio station in 1978. Before that, a UN Amateur Radio station operated as K2UN.