Celebration Of First Great Britain-New Zealand Contact

If you've heard "2SZ" on the HF bands, it's not a pirate. The call sign is part of a special event http://www.gb2nz.com/ to mark the 90th anniversary of the first Amateur Radio contact between Great Britain and New Zealand in 1924. The radio operator in England was 18-year-old Cecil Goyder, operating the Mill Hill School station 2SZ.

The Radio Society of Great Britain, in partnership with groups of amateurs in the UK and New Zealand, invited participation in the celebration by recreating that original contact between the UK and New Zealand on 80 meters, and a lot of the activity has concentrated on that band when propagation has been favorable. The 2SZ call sign joined special event station GB2NZ, operated by various groups, in the celebration, which wraps up in the UK on October 18, the actual anniversary date.

On the New Zealand end of the circuit, ZM90DX http://www.zm90dx.com/ and ZL4AA are on the air, with many individual ZL stations also participating. ZM90DX will be active until October 31. Kiwi sheep farmer Frank Bell, Z4AA, a World War I veteran, was the other operator for the historic October 18, 1924 contact. Amateur Radio had only been authorized a year earlier in New Zealand, and Bell already had set some distance records. These included a September 21, 1924, contact with U6BCP in California, and an October 13, 1924, contact with U1SF in Connecticut.

In later years, Goyder emigrated to the US, where he served as the first communications officer for the United Nations. As for Bell, after being elected in absentia to the executive committee of the new International Amateur Radio Union in 1925, he apparently lost interest in radio. His sister Brenda took over Z4AA to become New Zealand's first female Amateur Radio operator and was the first New Zealand ham to contact South Africa in 1927. She later became a radio broadcaster.

1st G > ZL Contact

K for Kernow

Thursday's edition of the Cornishman newspaper reported Ofcom had agreed to the K Regional Secondary Locator (RSL) proposal for Cornwall (Kernow)

The article says:

John Farrar G3UCQ, along with fellow amateurs Chris Lewis G3NHL and Keith Matthew G0WYS, campaigned for the letter K to be added to the traditional radio call sign – distinctly identifying those in the duchy from their counterparts across England.

Following the announcement earlier this year that Cornwall was to be granted minority status, the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club members decided Cornish radio amateurs should be put on the map.

"We put a dossier together and enlisted the support of all the MPs in Cornwall. Most of the radio amateurs in Cornwall supported it." Cornwall Council unanimously supported the plans at a meeting in September.

Communications regulator Ofcom has now approved the proposal meaning Cornwall is set to become the first county in the UK with a unique sign......

Regional Secondary for Cornwall

EI1A - EI8GQB 20th Radio Activity From Ireland

Olivier ON4EI, is back to Ireland from 18th to 30th October 2014 to celebrate its 20th radio operation from Ireland where he will operate EI8GQB and EI1A during the CQ WW DX SSB contest.

In 2013 and 2014 Olivier scored with EI1A, tops Europe score in CQ WW WPX, IARU HF and IOTA contests in Low Power Single Op SSB category using its temporary field day style antenna park / SO2R station using with green energy.

18m high top loaded vertical monopole for 160-80m-40m bands + 32 radials.....read more

EI DX in October

Mars Mission To Include Ham Radio Operator

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NASA officials, in a surprise announcement today, named their first choice for a five-member crew that will head to Mars by 2025. To the astonishment of many, the man is an amateur radio operator.

The chosen ham, now a soon-to-be astronaut, is Bill Thompson from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Thompson, who is well known in the amateur radio community, is the net control station for the nightly “Midwest 80m Rag Chew Net.” He can often be heard talking about his award-winning milk bottle collection and his fascination with color variations in rare African violets.

Officials at the space agency said a ham radio operator was a natural choice for the mission.

“Yeah, we needed a way to get the other astronauts into a deep sleep for the long journey,” said NASA spokesperson Ned Berkinhopper, ;o)

Long Range DX?