University Station Activates to Welcome New Pope

Two days after the conclave of cardinals had elected Pope Leo XIV, amateur radio station HV5PUL - the Pontifical Lateran University - was on the air in the Vatican City State in the heart of Rome, celebrating. The station's administrator, Luca Della Giovampaola, IWØDJB, reported that traffic was lively on 20 metres SSB and 17 metres FT8. He said that the simple 100-watt station logged an estimated 400 contacts in four hours. Propagation was challenging and so, with the exception of one Japanese station, all the contacts were within Europe.

It's not often a new pope is chosen, nor that HV5PUL is put on the air. Luca said the callsign is active mainly on Saturdays in connection with special occasions, such as the opening day of the university's academic year -- and of course, the election of a new pope.