Amateur Radio well underway in Kosovo

OH2BH reports on the latest amateur radio developments in Kosovo

“Our recent visit to the Republic of Kosovo highlighted good prospects for the newly established Amateur Radio Association of Kosovo (SHRAK) in its efforts to revitalize the service after decades of hiatus.”

The first training course was conducted in cooperation with the Technical University of Pristina, with additional non-student participation allowed. The first registration phase resulted in some 65 course applicants.

With such a large group involved in the context of regular autumn academic exams, it was decided to proceed with the amateur radio course in several waves while adjusting the course material and working with the local administration with a view to having a reasonable license exam structure in place. The Amateur Radio Examination Commission includes representatives of the Kosovo Telecommunications Administration and SHRAK.

The first course was completed and ten (10) students are about to take the final exam while SHRAK is finalizing the overall process. More will follow shortly. During the course and the preceding registration phase it was also noticed that on-the-air radio operating is needed as early as possible during the course. Therefore work is underway to set up a SHRAK station on the Technical University premises along with renovation of the allocated facilities.

The program was headed by Vjollca, Z61VB, SHRAK Vice President; Feti, Z61FF, Board Member and Driton, Z61DX, Secretary, with Martti, OH2BH, joining at the end as Visiting Instructor who also assisted in the course assessment. Material for the course was provided by the Croatian IARU Member Society (HRS) and the British Member Society (RSGB) under the supervision of IARU Region 1 represented by Hans, PB2T and Nicola, 9A5W.

During the weekend of 14-15 September 2013 a Field Day operation was organized up in the hills of Pristina, utilizing a generator and temporary antennas and participating in the DARC European DX Contest with Kosovo’s first entry as a multiplier in the “Hero” category.