Dear OM/YL, The world Amateur Radio Day is celebrated every year on 18th April to commemorate the formation of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) on this day in 1925 at Paris. The QARL celebrates the event every year on 18th April or the nearest Sunday by conducting Ham fair. This year the programme will be held on Sunday, the 17th April. Lake City Contest and VHF Fox Hunt are also held in connection with the Amateur Radio Day celebrations. A special issue of ‘QARL News’ will also be published on this occasion. You are requested to contribute articles and advertisements well in advance. On behalf of the QARL, we invite you along with your family and friends to participate in the programme and make it a grand success. Looking forward for a memorable eye-ball. VHF frequency on QRV CSD repeater 145.350 (-) shift Register online in advance at www.vu2qar.com

Ivan OZ7IS has announced that the first 40 MHz Amateur Radio propagation beacon OZ7IGY is now on the air on 40.021 MHz Background: The European Radiocommunications Office (ERO – now ERC) of the CEPT launched in March 1993 Phase II of a Detailed Spectrum Investigation (DSI) covering the frequency range 29.7 - 960MHz. The results were presented to Administrations in March 1995 with the objective of facilitating a European Table of Frequency Allocations and Utilisations to be implemented by the year 2008. Regarding the Amateur Radio Service the DSI Management Team recommended (among other things) that 70 MHz to be considered as an amateur band AND: “frequencies in the vicinity of 40.680MHz be considered for amateur propagation beacons”. During the IARU, Region 1, C5 meeting in Vienna earlier this year David, G4ASR, told that the RSGB were planning such a 40 MHz beacon. I promised him to take a similar initiative when returning to Denmark.

In July the GB3RAL 40.050 & 60.050 MHz VHF beacons were approved and shortly after OZ7IGY received the permit to operate on 40,021 MHz. On 26th of July (after paying the licence fee) at 18.20 UTC OZ7IGY became operational on: 40,021 MHz near Jystrup (Ringsted), JO55wm, 97 masl / 5 magl. The antenna is a dipole heading 255 / 75 degrees. Will shortly be changed to a Turnstile (X-dipole). The output to the antenna is 22 Watt keying in F1A (frequency Shift Keying) according to the IARU, Region 1, standard. 250 Hz shift. The “licence” is valid for a year and the results of the experiments are to be reported to the ITST. The “licence” is “experimental” on a non-inteference basis and will not create a precedent for any other kind of amateur radio activities in this part of the spectrum! Please report to DX-summit whenever you hear the beacon. Then we can collect data for the report to ITST and may be able to argue for a renewal of the licence next year? In 1993 the head of ERO was David Court, EI3IO (G3SDL, OZ3SDL etc….) I have a feeling that without his “stamp” on the DSI report we would not have had the ever increasing access to 70 MHz throughout Europe or these 40 MHz amateur propagation beacons!

Vy 73 de OZ7IS, Ivan - Email: oz7is at qrz.dk Beaconkeeper – OZ7IGY - http://www.oz7igy.dk/ P.S. We are looking for circulators/ Isolators for the 40 and 50 MHz beacons to avoid backwards intermodulation in the PA stages. We are covered on all other bands but circulators for these frequencies are hard to find as surplus equipment! Can anyone help? Please! ---- Related URL's GB3RAL now licenced for 40 and 60 MHz (7th July) http://www.southgatearc.org/news/july2007/gb3ral.htm Denmark to get 40 MHz beacon (19th July) http://www.southgatearc.org/news/july2007/danish_40mhz_beacon.htm