ZM90DX - special ZL 90th anniversary callsign

After World War 1 and with the banishment of radio amateurs to the supposedly "useless shorter wavelengths" an amazing period of radio exploration took place.

Amateurs all over the globe soon learnt that far from being useless these wavelengths seem to allow communication over long distances.

Amateurs in ZL were at the forefront of this activity with the first ZL to VK QSO in April 1923, and then world record distance QSOs between ZL and Argentina in May 1924, ZL and California in September 1924, ZL and Connecticut on the US east coast just weeks later, and the ultimate Z4AA Frank Bell's QSO with Cecil Goyder G2SZ in London on 18 October 1924.

To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the record breaking activities of these early pioneers of Amateur Radio, ZM90DX will be on the air between 1 October 2013 and 31 October 2014 on all bands 1.8 MHz to 1.2 GHz and beyond in all modes.

Activated by the Kiwi DX Group, an informal group of DXers and contest enthusiasts, ZM90DX will be used around New Zealand and a special commemorative QSL card will be available as well as an award program for contacts with ZL during this period.

Not only will ZM90DX be active at expected times and on expected bands, but in the spirit of those early pioneers the ZM90DX operators will also be calling CQ on bands and in directions one may not necessarily expect with the intention of exploring the boundaries of radio propagation.

This will be an unparalleled opportunity for Amateurs all over the world to work ZL while celebrating the exploits of those early trailblazers whose work paved the way for radio communications as we know it today.

More informaton -  http://www.zm90dx.com/.


60 Metre activity weekend

The South African Radio League (SARL) is holding a 60 Metre activity weekend starting at 00:01 on Saturday 9 November and ending at midnight on Sunday evening 10 November.

The activities will be on 5 260 kHz. The objective is to study propagation conditions between as many stations in as many areas of South Africa and elsewhere as possible.

Make at least one contact in as many time slots as possible. The time slots are as follows: Saturday and Sunday: 00:01 - 06:00, 06:00 - 10:00, 10:00 - 15:00; 15:00 - 18:00 and 18:00 - Midnight.

Please keep an accurate log, recording both your and the locator of the station you worked and an accurate signal report.

Please at the top of your log give details of your station and the antenna and power used. Please mail the log to propresearch@sarl.org.za before Thursday 14 November. All logs received will go into a lucky draw with lots of prizes to be won. Only stations registered for 5 MHz operation may participate.

GB0HE

The Norman Lockyer Radio Group will be operating GB0HE on Sunday 20th October to celebrate the 145th anniversary of the discovery of the element Helium (HE) by Sir Norman Lockyer.

The station will be located at our group HQ at the Norman Lockyer Observatory Sidmouth. We are located at 650' asl just to the east of the coastal town of Sidmouth.

Activity will be on most HF bands depending on conditions and with some limited VHF activity on FM and SSB and via our on site repeater GB3SW.

More details etc - http://www.qrz.com/db/GB0HE