Archive - July 2024

GB80DDAY England

In 1944 the US Air Force (USAF) 438th Troop Carrier Group were based at RAF Greenham Common Airbase, near Newbury, Berkshire UK. This would be critical in transporting men of the US Army 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions in the build up to D-Day in June 1944. The airbase had over 400 of the Waco CG-4A gliders (figure 1), along with their Douglas C46 & C47 towing aircraft, and were used to carry troops, jeeps and munitions for the D-Day operation.
 
US General Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force, himself paid an important visit to Greenham Airbase on the eve of D-Day and saw the first of the Airborne troops take off for France (figure 2).
June 6th 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the recently restored air traffic Control Tower at Greenham is being recognised as an important part of the WW2 commemoration in West Berkshire. To make a contribution to this very important time in WW2, the Newbury And District Amateur Radio Society (NADARS) will be using a very special call sign at our permanent HF radio station at the Control Tower
Earlier this year, Phill Morris G6EES submitted a detailed proposal to Ofcom (the UK Government Regulator) requesting that we be issued with a very unique callsign GB80DDAY (80th D-Day). This is unique because GB special event call signs are usually only a single number and two or three letters (we needed two numbers and four letters ! ). After requests for more information from Ofcom they granted us the call sign.
 

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VY0ERC Nunavut, Canada

Pierre (VE3KTB) will be qrv from the Eureka Weather Station on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut (IOTA NA-008) between 27th July and 7th of August 2024 as VY0ERC.
 
He will be qrv as and when possible between his heavy work schedule.
 
QSL via M0OXO OQRS

3Y0K Bouvet Island, Antarctica

Team Leader – We’re still negotiating the contracts for a DX-pedition to Bouvet Island. This DX-pedition will be a large scale operation with 20-24 operators and we are searching for 4-6 more CW/SSB operators to complete the team www.3y0k.com <http://www.3y0k.com/>.
 
We are looking into several options how to execute the expedition, where the focus right now is the logistics of the helicopters. We previously in late June received the helicopter permit from Norwegian Polar Institute, and thus have all permits we need to activate Bouvetøya. The helicopter permit allow us to setup camp on either the SE or the SW side of the island. In 1927, the first Norvegia expedition
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hjalmar_Riiser-Larsen…> landed on Bouvetøya, and claimed it for Norway. They also landed on “Larsøya” a small rocky island at the SW part of Bouvetøya. Our landing permit extend from the plateau above this SW corner all the way to the SE part at Cape Fie. 99 years after the Norvegia expedition we plan to land on Bouvetøya with helicopters. Our permit is valid for a helicopter operation in the period November 2025 to March 2026.
 

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GB2NZ – Spanning the globe

The VERY start of global radio communication

 

October 2024 marks the centenary of a seismic event in radio communication – the first trans-global two-way radio communication. On these pages you can read about the event, how it happened, and who was involved.  You can also learn about the centenary celebrations taking place to recognise the event. Use the index to explore the pages and learn more about GB to NZ by radio.

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VE3KTB/VY0 Nunavut

Qsl Cards received from the Printer today for the May activation of Victoria Island (IOTA NA-006), Nunavut by Pierre VE3KTB.
Cards will be out in next week’s mail.

YJ0VK Vanuatu

”Team YJ0VK is heading back to Vanuatu 20-27 August 2024.
The team enjoyed the location and operating conditions so much we’ve decided to head back for a short activation. As per last time, the bands will be 40-6m, and most of the operation will be CW with some FT8.
 
The team comprises four operators: Luke VK3HJ, Chris VK3QB, Patrick VK2PN and Olgierd VK5XDX.
 
More news to follow…..”

7O8AD / 7O8AE Yemen

I have uploaded the entire 7O8AD log to LoTW – 43.000 QSOs. Thanks for being in the pileup – it was great fun! 7O8AE will also be uploaded now.
 
In addition we have completed our mission to provide families in Yemen with electricity. We have donated solar panels to families in Dhihamri that did not have electricity, and done the installation. They now have lights and cooling during hot summer months. I wish the future will be bright for Yemen, it was truly an amazing island to visit!
 
I am working on the next one, it has taken me 6 years, let’s see what future will bring!

ZL7DX / ZL7QT Chatham Islands

A re-design of cards for Chris ZL7DX on the Chatham Islands. The new card features Chris’ wife Catherine. Her Call is Callsign ZL7QT (nice suffix 🤭)

A41CK / A42K Oman

Qsl Card design now completed (tnx Syl DX TK4TH) and cards are printing at UX5UO Print Shop.

GB80DDAY

In 1944 the US Air Force (USAF) 438th Troop Carrier Group were based at RAF Greenham Common Airbase, near Newbury, Berkshire UK. This would be critical in transporting men of the US Army 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions in the build up to D-Day in June 1944. The airbase had over 400 of the Waco CG-4A gliders (figure 1), along with their Douglas C46 & C47 towing aircraft, and were used to carry troops, jeeps and munitions for the D-Day operation.

US General Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force, himself paid an important visit to Greenham Airbase on the eve of D-Day and saw the first of the Airborne troops take off for France (figure 2). Read More