Category: ICQPodcast

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Avro Lancaster 80th Anniversary Of The 1st Operational Sortie

In March 1942 the first sorties of the AVRO Lancaster aircraft took place. This commemorative event for Lancaster aircraft is being simultaneously partnered in the UK by callsign GB80LAN; and, in Canada by callsign VE80LAN organised by Hamilton Amateur Radio Club, and Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum and, in Australia by callsign VK80LAN organised by the Western Australian VHF Group. They want to commemorate those involved with the Lancaster.

Also of interest, is that the Lincoln Short Wave Club will be operating GB6IBC from the International Bomber Command Memorial on 5th March 2022.

Unusually Ofcom has given permission for the call to be used at several different locations. Currently confirmed operations will take place from the three active RAF Station Amateur Radio Clubs at RAF Waddington, RAF Cosford and RAF Halton. Also the call will be on the air from ex RAF East Kirkby which is now the home of the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre and Lancaster “Just Jane”.

CURRENT SCHEDULE:- (subject to amendment)

  • RAF WADDINGTON 2nd – 8th

  • RAF EAST KIRKBY 9th – 12th

  • RAF COSFORD 15th – 21st

  • RAF HALTON 1st & 22nd – 28th

In Australia, the WA VHF Group requested for the special event call sign VK80LAN to be available through March. VK80LAN hopes to be operating from the radio room in the Lancaster Bomber at the RAAFA Aviation Heritage Museum in Bull Creek, a suburb of Perth. A roster of operators wishing to take advantage of operating the special event callsign during the month is being drawn up.

Further info is available from the QRZ pages and Museum links as only snippets have been included here – https://www.qrz.com/db/VK80LAN

Also, checkout the WoSARS CALENDAR entry as to who is working the stations.

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URESAT-1 – A chess playing ham radio satellite

“……………….One of the projects that is confirmed is a chess game that will allow radio amateurs to play having as an opponent the on-board computer sending FSK frames with the movements, to which the on-board computer will answer in its telemetry. Several radio amateurs are working on the project and if it is completed by the time the satellite is due to be delivered, it will be included………………” Read more – HERE .

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GB100 2MT (‘Two-Emma-Toc’) marking the Centenary of British Broadcasting – Special Event station 14th February Only!!!

(EDIT (COX) 14th – See POST#1946 . (TDX & COX work them at Writtle))

On 14th February 1922 the Marconi Company began to broadcast a five-minute program of speech and music within the weekly half-hour calibration transmission. The broadcasts were made weekly on Tuesday made using the callsign 2MT from an ex-army hut in the village of Writtle near Chelmsford. Initially, the station had only 200 Watts and transmitted on 700m (428 kHz) using an inverted-L antenna.

The enthusiastic team, led by Captain Peter Eckersley, assembled their transmitter together with a gramophone player, microphone, and on occasions a piano from the local public house, to entertain listeners. The regular announcement; “This is Two Emma Toc, Writtle testing, Writtle testing”, became quite well known.

This was the first regular wireless broadcast for entertainment in the UK and its success provided the foundation for the formation of the BBC later in 1922.

Members of Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS) will operate a special event station to commemorate this historic event. A special callsign, GB100-2MT, is active during February – and on 14th February will operate from Writtle, close to where the original broadcasts were made. Operating will be on HF, as well as locally on VHF/UHF.

QSOs will be confirmed on LOTW and eQSL. Sorry no QSL cards, or bureau.

Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS) – http://www.g0mwt.org.uk

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Work Svalbard (JW) On Microwave

The very first Svalbard QO-100 Satellite DX-Pedition will take place 22-24 April 2022 from Kapp Linné – Isfjord Radio at 78° North.

They will operate two QO-100 satellite stations under the callsigns JW0W and JW100QO, while JW0X will be used by another team for contacts on shortwave.

With QO-100 only 3° above the horizon, Kap Linné was the only suitable place in the area with Svalbard at the edge of the satellite footprint. Looking for a suitable location to stay and getting there, is one of the biggest challenges and cost drivers for the team.

More information – https://amsat-dl.org/en/svalbard-qo-100-satellite-dx-pedition/

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German North Pole DXpedition

Operators Martina DF3TS and Thomas DC8TM will activate Svalbard (EU-026) as JW/homecalls to start their DXpedition between April 9-12th. Activity will be on SSB and FT8.

They will then be active from a Russian “Severnyi Polyus” the Scientific Polar Drifting Base (enclave by RFF) approx. 80kms from the North Pole on the Arctic Ocean where they will activate the WWFF area RFF-0176.

Operators will use their special callsigns DP0LE (like POLE) and RA/DC8TM/P and RA/DF3TS/P to represent the Russian flag of the camp between April 14-17th. More info HERE .

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TM100AA – 100 Years Of Amateur Radio In France

QSL Card – CLICK for QRZ.com

For the ‘centenary’ of the first official authorization of an amateur station, the REF (THE FRENCH TRANSMITTER NETWORK) will use the call sign ‘TM100AA’ from 1st to 15h September 2021

The call sign “8AA” was assigned to André Riss on September 3, 1921.

André was born in 1894, in Boulogne and was authorized at the age of 27 to use a transmitter of his own construction with a power of 1 kilowatt.

It became “eF8AA” (Europe France 8AA) in 1927, then “F8AA” in 1932.

He joined the REF in August 1927, n ° REF 423.

André was active until his death on March 2, 1982.

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Janet K0JE and Janice K0JA – Ham Radio Twins

The 86-year-old identical twins studied electrical engineering and worked for pioneering computer companies at a time when few women had careers in STEM fields.

Janet and Janice Robidoux, have stuck together through a lifetime of adventures, which include building and racing canoes, driving RVs to every state and studying STEM [ANTRANIK TAVITIAN, STAR TRIBUNE]

They’ve travelled the world via the airwaves as avid ham radio operators, a hobby they took up in their teens…………..Read MORE .

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Come And Join Us On The ICQPodcast Digital Group

The ICQPodcast is the proud owner of a digital talk group.

Accessible on many modes linked together through the ICQPodcast gateway, you can talk to your friends, fellow listeners and even your favourite ICQPodcast Presenter!

Even if you don’t own a digital radio, you can still get involved using either a smartphone app or listen in like a shortwave listener.

Find out more about the ICQPodcast DMR Group – https://www.icqpodcast.com/icqpodcast-digital-voice-talk-group

ICQPodcast DMR Group FAQ – https://www.icqpodcast.com/icqpodcast-dmr-faqs

73 ICQPodcast Team

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ICQ Podcast Now 13 Years Old!!!!

Hi fellow ‘Hams’

This week we were confused, as we heard doors slam, toys were thrown and attitude from our little baby.

Martin and Colin looked at each other and realised that the ICQPodcast is now a teenager – 13th years old.

What a year we have all had. Hamfests have fallen by the wayside, COVID has removed the connection with clubs and friends and travel restrictions have restricted field operations.

During this time, your ICQPodcast team has continued to produce shows fortnightly. The DMR network is bring together listeners from around the world to build friendships and knowledge.

Your help is vital to make our teenager happy

Now, as we celebrate our thirteenth birthday, with listeners in over one hundred countries, and countless friends made along the way, we are asking for your annual support to keep the ICQPodcast free of commercial adverting.

Single Donation

Our most popular donation, one-off donation of £13 to celebrate twelve years of the show – http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

Subscriptions Keep the Lights On. One-off donations are easy, but to really support the show, consider a subscription donation. Many listeners support the show from as little as £1 a month – http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

Your support has been amazing

It’s hard to put into words the encouragement and positivity that have been received from listeners over the years. When times have been tough, a kind word or comment about the show gives us the strength to continue.

Keep your family and yourself safe during these times
Thanking you in advance

73 ICQPodcast Team

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