December YOTA Event

This December, the IARU Region YOTA event supporting several youngsters from Member Societies will become active with YOTA as a suffix in the call sign.

From Friday 1 December to Sunday 31 December 2017, the annual Youth on the Air (YOTA) event takes place and YOTA stations will attempt to make many contacts worldwide with each other.

Whilst not a not a formal contest, supporting youngsters on the air and to let them realize that there are hundreds of other youngsters around the world that feel just the same as they do about the hobby. The main aim is to get our youngsters on the air and for them to make contact with youngsters all over the world.

The SARL will register as an IARU Member-Society participant and obtain the special callsign ZS9YOTA which will be registered as an educational callsign for use by clubs and individuals during December.

More Information - http://www.sarl.org.za/

Park Radioactive Special Event

For seasoned operators of amateur/ham radio hobbyists who want to try something new, over the weekend of 25th-26th November 2016, operators in Australia have the chance to activate a park.

The opportunity is part of the 2017 VKFF Activation Weekend for the World Wide Flora and Fauna (WWFF) program, with the purpose of ‘drawing attention to the importance of protecting nature, flora and fauna, and to encourage the development of radio skills, especially in portable operations’.

The WWFF program encourages amateur radio operators to operate portable from designated parks and/or protected nature areas around the world, and in turn generate attention for these areas, whilst providing the amateur radio community an interesting and rewarding activity.

24 Locations across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia will be activated by 14 operators.

WWFF - http://www.wwffaustralia.com/

630m Special Event

3rd November 2017 marks the 1906 Berlin Treaty - marking 500 kHz as the International Distress Frequency.

On 11th November 2017, Amateur Radio stations will mark the occasion, and there recent access to the 630m band by transmitting on 630 metres with a special licence exemption, and listening on 10, 80 and 40 metres, along with Canadian Radio Amateurs and Maritime Radio historical Society (MRHS).

Station WD2XSH will be transmitting in the 472-479 band, along with some operation on 500 kHz.

The Maritime Radio Historical Society will activate its KSM/KPH transmitter at Bolinas, California, for a mini “Night of Nights” with special messages and bulletins.