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KOTA Czechia 2023 — Day 2
· Youth General · Mario, EA1JAY

KOTA, Kids On The Air, has successfully ended day 2 of their camp in Czechia. The participating kids did have a long and eventful day.

On today’s agenda were World Wide Flora Fauna activities from three OKFF entities. Also, various workshops were held, e​.​g. soldering, QO-100, “How to do a good QSO”, SSTV and ARDF on a nearby mountain. Furthermore, all attending took the group photo. In the evening the famous “Off-Air Contest” was held. The day finished with some OL1KOTA shortwave and QO-100 activity.

Stay tuned for the final day at this event tomorrow.

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KOTA Czechia 2023 — Day 1
· Youth General · Mario, EA1JAY

KOTA, which stands for Kids On The Air, officially opened today. This event is organized by the Czech Radio Club (ČRK/CRC) in collaboration with the IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group and marks a new addition to the well-known YOTA program. It’s aimed at a different age group and is considered a Subregional Camp.

Approximately 30 kids between the ages of 10 and 15 have gathered at Trhanov Castle in Czechia. Today’s schedule included their arrival, having dinner, a brief welcome session, and their first workshops on “What is amateur radio?” and “How to have a QSO.” These enthusiastic kids are already on the air using the callsign OL1KOTA. They are operating on the HF bands and the QO-100 geostationary satellite throughout the upcoming weekend.

Additionally, during the camp, participants will have the opportunity to take part in various interactive sessions, workshops, and hands-on demonstrations. The program is designed to provide valuable insights into the world of amateur radio, encouraging a sense of exploration and learning.

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Morocco Earthquake 8 September 2023
· Emergency Comms · Greg, G0DUB

A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.8 has struck central Morocco near Marrakesh at 23​:11 local time on 8th September. The earthquake has caused severe damage in several areas with at least 1,000 people known to have died and many more injured. 

The Moroccan Amateur Radio Emergency Services ( part of ARRAM the Moroccan National Society ) normally operate on VHF/UHF and speaking to Hassan CN8HAN, their Emergency Communications Co-Ordinator on Saturday there was no indication of any HF frequencies in use to respond to the disaster. There are however a number of Search and Rescue teams from other countries heading to the area and some of them have Radio Amateurs as part of their teams. 

ARRAM has not asked for any HF frequencies to be kept clear but as the situation develops and SAR teams arrive it would be good for radio amateurs to take extra care around the HF Emergency Centres of Activity frequencies in case any SAR teams start to use frequencies to talk back to their home countries. See this pagefor frequency usage information in IARU Region 1.

As always, please avoid spreading any rumours about the disaster, pass any requests for assistance to your local authorities/Red Cross/Red Crescent and listen carefully before transmitting.

More information will be posted here if the situation changes. 

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IARU Region 1 ATV Contest 2023 Final Results
· VHF/UHF/SHF · Alex, IV3KKW

The IARU Region 1 ATV Contest was held on 10⁄11 June 2023.
There were 62 entrants from 9 countries competing, using bands from 50 MHz to 47 GHz.
For the second year running, the overall winner was Erwin OE8EGK, who was one of a number of stations who maximised their points through roving to multiple sites.

Note that the future ATV Contest rules are due to be discussed at the IARU R1 General Conference in Zlatibor in November. The Agenda and papers can be found here.

Please don’t forget next year’s IARU ATV Contest on 8⁄9 June 2024. 

Dave G8GKQ will not be coordinating the 2024 Contest and a volunteer to replace him has yet to be found. If you are prepared to take on the role and help promote your hobby, please contact atv@​iaru-​r1.​org.

Here are the Final Results

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