The IARU 2019 Region 1 ATV Contest was held on 8/9 June 2019. There were 55 entrants from 9 countries competing, using all bands from 432 MHz to 76 GHz.

The overall winner was Wim PE1EZU. The best DX was a 70 cm ATV Contact between Rolf F9ZG and Jean-Michel F1AGO at 293 km.

Participation was reduced from last year (100 to 55), possibly because of the distraction caused by ATV Activity on QO-100.

The team from Belarus dominated the 16th High-Speed Telegraphy (HST) World Championship in mid-September, sponsored by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Belarus came away with more than two-thirds of the medals, with several other countries’ teams sharing the rest. Representatives of 19 countries participated in the championship, which took place in Albena, Bulgaria, sponsored by the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs.

Belarus team member Stanislau Haurylenka, EW8GS, ran up a score of 291,597 points, to top the old world record of 288,671 in the male RufzXP category. The top speed achieved during the attempt was 943 characters/minute or 195 WPM. Teodora Karastoyanova, LZ2CWW, set a new female record in the event, with 293,877 points and a maximum speed of 943 characters/minute or 195 WPM. Last May, she set an official female record in the Romanian Championships with 286,944 points.

The Radio Amateur Society of Australia (RASA) has successfully negotiated the issue of 2 x 1 callsigns (e.g. VK2A) for VK contest stations.

The block will be managed directly by the ACMA’s outsourced provider, the Australian Maritime College (AMC). AMC will issue a letter of authorisation to each successful applicant. There will be no separate licence issued.

2 x 1 callsigns will be available for Advanced licence holders, and each callsign will be issued for 12 months. The callsigns are only for use in contests – they are not available for general use.