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5 January 2019 Kids Day
· Youth General · Lisa, PA2LS

The 5th of January it’s again Kids Day. This event is especially created to promote Amateur Radio to youth. This is a moment where you can share your amateur radio hobby with your family, grandkids, friends, scouts or even to the general public. This day can be the first time for youth to experience a real radio QSO, hopefully they get interested in becoming a licensed amateur radio operator.

You could make use of this suggested exchange: Name, age, location and favourite colour. Be sure to work the same station again if an operator has changed. To draw attention, call “CQ Kids Day.”

Suggested frequencies IARU R1:
10 Meters: 28.350 to 28.400 MHz
15 Meters: 21.360 to 21.400 MHz
20 Meters: 14.270 to 14.300 MHz
40 Meters: 7.080 to 7.120 MHz
80 Meters: 3.650 to 3.750 MHz

Other suggested frequencies by ARRL:
12 Meters: 24.960 to 24.980 MHz
17 Meters: 18.140 to 18.145 MHz
40 Meters: 7.270 to 7.290 MHz
80 Meters: 3.740 to 3.940 MHz

Next Kids Day will be 15 June 2019.

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Indonesian Tsunami — 22nd December 2018
· Emergency Comms · Greg, G0DUB

Dani YB2TJV, the IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Co-Ordinator reports that Amateur Radio is active in the response to the tsunami that happened on Dec 22nd, around 2130 local time.

Hundreds of people been killed or injured after the tsunami hit the coast around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait with hundreds of buildings damaged. The Indonesian Government says the possible cause of the tsunami was undersea landslides after the Krakatoa volcano erupted.

The Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean. The deaths were reported in the Pandeglang, South Lampung and Serang regions. The disaster management agency warned that the death toll is likely to rise further, adding that high seas as a result of the full moon may also have contributed to the strength of the waves.

Radio Amaters in Banten Province, have already taken positions to support Emergency communications needs,

The emergency frequency for VHF will be announced soon, but for HF as usual Orari will use 7.110 MHz. Please stay clear of that frequency if there is a chance you may cause QRM to their operations.

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Call for application: Youngsters On The Air Bulgaria 2019
· Youth General · Lisa, PA2LS

We are proud to announce that the 9th edition of Youngsters On The Air will be held in Bulgaria, close to the capital city Sofia. BFRA (Bulgarian Federation of Radioamateurs) will be hosting the event, which will take place in the summer of 2019.
In this YOTA Camp we will be continuing with our train-the-trainer (TTT) program, which will be the main theme of the week. Participants will be working on the future of amateur radio and will be involved in workshops where they gain skills to start similar amateur radio youth events when they are back home. With this we are aiming to create a snowball effect, there will be more and more YOTA events all over the world. This also allows other youngsters and newcomers to enjoy amateur radio.
Last YOTA we kicked off our train-the-trainer program, the first outcomes are available on the TTT website.

TTT will not be the only topic of the event, there will be time to enjoy amateur radio as well, think about visiting LZ9W, kit-building or visiting the factory of ACOM. We will be enjoying Bulgaria and get the opportunity to see a part of the beautiful country. Since there are many nationalities visiting the event, there will cultural elements in the event. One of them will be the intercultural evening, where all participants bring foods and drinks from their home country.

Previous events have shown that all participants are having an unforgettable week, where many new friendships are started. To obtain a better understanding of such an event you are encouraged to have a look at the gallery and video clips from previous YOTA camps at www​.ham​-yota​.com.

Participants
Each IARU R1 member society is invited to take part with a team, of maximum 5 persons. The final team size will be dependent on the number of total applications. A team consist of a team leader and team members. We request member societies to select motivated youngsters with an organisational and hands-on mindset. This request requires a commitment from member societies to support these youngsters when they return home after the event.

Team leader
- Age 18 – 30 years, since we are highly focussing on a train-the-trainer program, it is preferred to select a youth coordinator or person who is eager to organize amateur radio youth events.
A person that already attended to a previous YOTA Camp is preferable.

Team member
- Age 15 – 25 years
- Have not been on previous YOTA summer camps
If a member society has a valid reason to select a participant who has been to a previous YOTA event, the IARU R1 Youth WG needs to be aware of this and will make the final decision.

All participants, including team leaders, should take part in the entire program.

When: 11 to 17 August 2019
Location: surrounding of Sofia, Bulgaria
Fees: €25 per participant
All other costs (accommodation, food, activities) are covered.
Teams will be picked up at the airport/railway station and transported to the venue, or shall come the venue with own transportation.

After the event
It is expected from all participants to take after the event actively part in the TTT program of IARU R1 and that they submit their youth programs and plans. This will be shared as well on the TTT website. All participating teams are committing to write an article about the event for the magazine and/or website of their member society.

Should your member society be interested to participate, please respond by filling in the form (https://​goo​.gl/​f​o​r​m​s​/​E​z​e​j​a​q​n​T​i​T​A​Y​v​h​t83) before 1 February 2019. Remember, there is a limit of 80 participants. Make sure that you apply in time. We will announce the participating countries, including number of team members, shortly after the deadline date.

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Emergency Comms Activities in Region 1 — Oct 13⁄14
· Emergency Comms · Greg, G0DUB

October 13⁄14 is a busy weekend in IARU Region 1 with two major exercises and at least one emergency happening.

In Oman Younis A41MA reports that as Tropical Storm Luban heads towards Oman and Yemen the National Committee of Civil Defence has deployed resources to the South of the country ready to deal with the flooding predicted to hit the area. An initial four amateur radio volunteers are present to help provide links to any isolated locations. This operation is initially on VHF but HF is ready to be used if required. Storms in this area generally go under-reported but are just as severe as other disasters with the previous two tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea claiming nearly 300 lives.

In Spain their ‘Field Day 2018’ exercise takes place today ( 13th October ) with a focus on Net Control activities. HF is expected to be in use on 7110, 7145, 7175 and 14315kHz. Winlink and VHF/DMR will also be used. Full details are available at https://​emergencias​.ure​.es/​f​i​e​l​d​-​d​a​y​-​2​0​18/ .

Finally Radio Amateurs in Romania are participating in an European Community Exercise in their country. ModEx 2018 will call for the use of 3710 and 7130kHz along with VHF/DMR, full information is at https://​www​.radioamator​.ro/​i​n​f​o​.​p​h​p​?​i​d​=​795 .

All exercises and actual emergencies should be expected to identify as ’emergency exercise’ or ‘exercise’ on the air. When these events are watched by representatives from our Administrations it is important that Amateur Radio is seen positively so please allow the operators room to operate.

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Cuba — Hurricane Michael
· Emergency Comms · Greg, G0DUB

In preparation for the effects of Hurricane Michael on Cuba, the Cuban Federation of Radio Amateurs are activating their emergency nets on the 40 and 80 meter bands.

Frequencies in use until further notice will be

40 meters primary 7110 kHz
40 meters secondary 7120 kHz
80 meters primary 3740 kHz
80 meters secondary 3720 kHz

Operation is foreseen to be on SSB voice and digital modes as required and the co-operation of other radio amateurs is requested in keeping these frequencies QRM free.

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