The ARRL Letter
December 2, 2021
* Two 160-Meter Events in December Give Nod to 1921 Transatlantic
Tests
* Dayton Hamvention Expects to be Live Event in 2022
* ARRL Podcasts Schedule
* Fall ARRL Section Manager Election Results
* YOTA Month Continues to Expand into the Americas
* ARRL Learning Network Webinars
* IARU Reports Another Over-the-Horizon Radar System is Under
Construction in India
* ARDC Grants Will Expand Emergency Capabilities in Haiti and the US
Virgin Islands
* Announcements
* Amateur Radio in the News
* ARRL Author, QST Technical Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR, SK
* Past ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Director Claude Maer, W0IC, SK
* The K7RA Solar Update
* Just Ahead in Radiosport
* Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions
Two 160-Meter Events in December Give Nod to 1921 Transatlantic Tests
In December, there will be two opportunities for 160-meter operators to
fill the airwaves with activity and to test skills and stations on that
band. The events take place a century after the transatlantic tests of
the 1920s, which ushered in the dawn of international amateur radio
communication.
This famous cover of the
January 1922 issue of QST
trumpets the success of the
Second Transatlantic Test and
lists the stations that Paul
Godley, 2ZE, copied (or
received) in Scotland.
The annual ARRL 160-Meter Contest begins at 2200 UTC on Friday,
December 3, and ends at 1559 UTC on Sunday, December 5. This 42-hour
CW-only contest is most similar to the original transatlantic tests.
This contest typically attracts a good crowd and presents a challenge
to operator skill and station performance.
The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) is planning to activate
special call signs to commemorate the centenary of the tests. Stations
from the UK and Crown Dependencies will use up to seven different call
signs, each having a "6XX" suffix: G6XX, England; GD6XX, Isle of Man;
GI6XX, Northern Ireland; GJ6XX, Jersey; GM6XX, Scotland; GU6XX,
Guernsey, and GW6XX, Wales. In addition, listen for UK stations
appending the suffix "/2ZE" to the station's call sign. Use of this
commemorative suffix has been authorized for use December 1 - 26 by
Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator.
On December 12 -- and not to be confused with the ARRL 160-Meter
Contest -- ARRL and the RSGB will jointly sponsoring the 160-Meter
Transatlantic Centenary QSO Party. This 6-hour event will run from 0200
to 0800 UTC. The event coincides with the 100th anniversary of the
successful Second Transatlantic Tests. Participating stations will
operate only on CW, trying to contact the two official call sign
activations, W1AW and GB2ZE. The stations may listen for callers 1 kHz
above their transmitting frequency, to shift the pileup from their
transmit frequency. They may also periodically ask for DX callers only.
The exchange is call sign and signal report.
The cover of the December
2021 issue of QST
commemorates the centenary
of the Transatlantic
Tests, which contributed
to the rise of
international amateur
radio communications in
the 1920s.
During the QSO Party, ARRL will activate W1AW from Newington,
Connecticut. RSGB will activate GB2ZE with help from a team of
stations, including members of the GMDX Group of Scotland sharing the
operating duties. GB2ZE commemorates the call sign of Paul Godley, 2ZE,
who was sent by ARRL to the UK to lead the second Transatlantic Test in
December 1921.
W1AW will be active for all 6 hours. Stations operating as GB2ZE will
follow this schedule:
* 0200 UTC, from the commemorative station at Ardrossan, Scotland
* 0300 UTC, from GM3YTS
* 0400 UTC, from GM0GAV
* 0500 UTC, from MM0ZBH
* 0600 UTC, from MM0GPZ
* 0700 UTC, from GM4ZUK until 0800 UTC, or until the band closes at
sunrise.
The GMDX Group will award a quaich -- a traditional Scottish drinking
cup representing friendship -- to the first stations in North America
and the UK to complete contacts with both W1AW and GB2ZE during the QSO
Party. A commemorative certificate will be available for download.
Participants will not have to submit logs. The official logs from W1AW
and GB2ZE will be used to determine the winners and for certificates.
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