Two CDXC Members (Nigel G3TXF and Bob MD0CCE) were pleased to be able to play a small part in the recent re-launch of Amateur Radio in Kosovo.
CDXCers may be wondering why there has not been an earlier posting on this Reflector about the operation. Both of us were late invitees to the special event, on which Martti OH2BH, has been working with the Kosovar Telecommunications Regulatory Agency continuously for several years. Martti had asked us to treat the information as confidential until the operation started and to allow him to issue the Press Releases under the control of Hans Blondeel Timmeran PB2T the President of IARU Region 1. This was not only sensible from an accuracy standpoint , but it was also only right as Hans PB2T of the IARU was involved, and also, of course, considering the sensitivities around the whole topic of Kosovo. We now have their permission to provide this short report to the CDXC Reflector. The undoubted highlight of our visit to Kosovo was attending a ceremony hosted by the Kosovar telecoms regulator (TRA), where the first of the country's new Amateur Radio licences were awarded. These licences were no ordinary licences. These radio amateurs are no ordinary radio amateurs. Most of them had been off the air for the past 23 years or more, and each was keen to get back on the air again, following Kosovo's move into the new era of full sovereign statehood on 10 September 2012. These eleven Kosovar radio amateurs had each been active as YU8s back in the 'old days' of Yugoslavia. However during the period of the various conflicts which engulfed their region, most Kosovar radio amateurs were unable to operate at all. For the most part their equipment had been confiscated. With the issue of these brand new licences, the presentation ceremony on 17 September was indeed the start of a new era in amateur radio in Kosovo. The event was covered by the main TV station in Kosovo and shown on the 7:30 news; the first QSOs made by the new amateurs were shown on the 11:00 news. Through their newly formed national society (SHRAK) it is hoped that this group will be the nucleus for the re-emergence of amateur radio as a self-training hobby throughout Kosovo, and particularly for the younger generation. The seminar which was organised by the TRA for the presentation of these new licences was attended by the Kosovo MP who is also the Cabinet Minister for Economic Development (which includes Telecommunications), the Chairman of the TRA (the telecoms regulator), and a representative of the Ministry of Education (who sees Amateur Radio as a positive theme that could be usefully introduced both into schools and into technical colleges). The potential benefits of Amateur Radio as a foundation for further studies in electronics and telecommunications were evidently appreciated by those attending the callsign licence presentation ceremony. Hans PB2T, spoke at the ceremonies and also spent a full-day with the TRA (regulator) discussing regulatory and licensing matters. The Kosovar government had been advised by Croatia, Finland and Turkey in the drafting of their telecommunications legislation, and Nik 9A5W had been specifically involved in the legislation related to Amateur Radio. When asked by the newly-licenced amateurs, Hans PB2T told them that Kosovo was not recognized by DXCC at this time, and that this ceremony and his visit had nothing to do with DXCC, but that the purposes of the trip were: - to help insure that plans were in place for the re-establishment of an amateur radio infrastructure consisting of regulations similar to those in other IARU countries, - the establishment of a radio society open to all amateurs in Kosovo, - the development of new licensees and new entrants into amateur radio, - and the development of a robust society in all aspects that would eventually allow them to apply for IARU membership. Hans PB2T accepted the licence for Z60K and became the trustee for the callsign related to this special event. The purpose of the Z60K special event operation was to help to raise awareness of the re-emergence of amateur radio in Kosovo. As with any Amateur Radio station, the callsign is an important feature. The callsign uniquely identifies the operator and the location. As part of the process of establishing its independence Kosovo (which is now recognised by 91 countries including the USA, the UK and most of the industrialised world) the telecoms regulator (TRA) has already set in train both formal and informal processes so that it be allowed to use the currently unallocated national prefix Z6. We were advised that this process was started by a letter sent to the ICAO (the UN's specialised aviation agency) in November of 2011 and that the 25-nation steering group appointed under the UN Settlement Process was still in an advisory and approval position in August 2012 when the Prime Minister announced Kosovo's intention to use Z6. This Z6 prefix would be used for aircraft registration numbers and for amateur radio stations in the usual prefix+number+letter(s) combination. Given that the country is not seeking UN membership at this time - with its attendant automatic ITU prefix allocation - Kosovo has relied on advice by its own experts and advisors and approval by the steering group. Z6 is not currently an ITU allocated prefix but is a free prefix that was selected in order to avoid clashing with other nations' allocations. We understand that the ITU has been notified about the use of the Z6 prefix in Amateur Radio in addition to the earlier November 2011 notification to ICAO. The eleven newly issued licences of 17 September were all in the series Z61xx. Most of the new licencees chose to use the same suffix that they had with their former YU8 calls more than 20 years earlier, eg ex-YU8FF is now Z61FF. As part of the formal re-launch of Amateur Radio in Kosovo, the special event group callsign Z60K was issued to Hans PB2T, IARU Region 1 President. The first QSOs with the new callsign Z60K were made by the new Kosovar operators themselves during the evening following the presentation of the new licences. Unsurprisingly after over two decades of absence from the bands, many were quite microphone-shy at first. However that will soon wear off once they get used to modern amateur radio equipment and as they catch up on the latest techniques and Amateur Radio operating practices. The Z60K shacks set up in hotel rooms were frequently visited by the new amateurs (and other non-amateurs from government and industry), sometimes several times per day as their work schedules permitted, so they could become more familar with operating. At least two of the new amateurs are already on the air from their own stations with their new callsigns, with more expected to follow soon. One not-yet licensed enthusiast who is very computer savvy was given several hours of tuition in Internet and computer related software, including downloading computer logging programs and demonstrations of various websites; he will provide tuition for the others in the Albanian language. RSGB licence manuals and an RSGB Yearbook were left as resource materials for the new Kosovar society. Meanwhile the group special event callsign Z60K was operated on a demonstration basis by a number of the visiting amateurs, including 9A5W, 9A9A, 9A6AA, G3TXF, N2BB/MD0CCE, OH2BH, OH2KI, OH2TA and PB2T. This was not intended to be an all-bands, all-modes major DX-pedition. It was primarily a demonstration activity, and definitely not a major full-blown operation. There were no announced frequencies. The duration of the operation was uncertain. Not all bands and modes were used. There were many interruptions to the operation when there were visitors in the shack or when there were outside meetings, training sessions, and social functions. The various Z60K stations used relatively simple antennas. Nevertheless the callsign Z60K was successfully activated on CW and SSB on 40m-30m-20m-17m-15m. The newly formalised regulations for operating Amateur Radio in Kosovo do not yet include all the amateur bands used elsewhere. For example 80m is still missing, although in the longer term this band may well be introduced. The TRA (the Kosovar telecoms regulator) is now able to issue Z6/xxxx callsigns to visiting radio amateurs. The formalities are very straightforward (eg copy of licence, completion of a one-page application form in English and payment of a €50 fee). We can probably expect a wave of Z6 activity from visiting radio amateurs during the up-coming CQWW DX contests where Kosovo is now a "country multiplier". Full details on the Z6 visitors' licences can be found at < <http://www.art-ks.org/?cid=2,1> http://www.art-ks.org/?cid=2,1> We would like to thank the many CDXC members who worked the Z60K special event station (including some of the new local hams!) and offered supportive comments; they were much appreciated. 73 - Nigel G3TXF and Bob MD0CCE [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CDXC/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CDXC/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: cdxc-dig...@yahoogroups.com cdxc-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: cdxc-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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