Special Event Station PA80OV

Radio Club Limburg

 

announces

Special Event Station

PA80OV

Next week, members of Radio Club Limburg (https://rclb.nl) in the North Limburg region of  The Netherlands, will activate:

 

PA80OV is a special event station to commemorate Operation Veritable, celebrating 80 years of freedom.  Operation Veritable, namesake of the station, and the successor of Operation Market Garden, was the northern part of an Allied pincer movement in the Second World War.

We are back in 2025 for the third consecutive time with this special event station; having added another 5 years to our callsign.

Members of Radio Club Limburg will activate the callsign PA80OV from February 13 to 28, 2025, to work as many amateur radio operators across the world as possible. If you're in the area,  you can visit our station in the old town hall in the city of Gennep, The Netherlands between February14 and 16.

Whether you are an amateur radio operator, hoping to contact a new country, a new callsign, or you're a casual visitor, you're welcome to our website:

 https://rclb.nl/pa80ov

We hope to hear and work you.

On behalf of the PA80OV team. 

Jan, PA2P
https://rclb.nl/pa80ov

 

SARC-SEPAR Winter Field Day

Winter FD was pretty good! 

Five of us set up in three sites at Derby reach including Paul VE7VP and 3 newer hams (Carl, Barbara, and Elaine from the last class).  John VE7TI and Summer School graduate Grace VA7LZT came out and Grace was able to work 20m for a while which was great.  We only made around 60 or 70 contacts, but we were operating more casually.  We had a fair number of visitors, both Ham and non-Ham.

A full report will follow in the next Communicator.

~ Andrew VE7LGN

 

 

Manna80 and other Special Event Stations

 You may wish to add these to your calendar

We will publish a report in The Communicator's next issue.

I would like to inform you about a few special event stations we will put up in the next few months. 

February 14,15 and 16th, PA80OV will be operational from Gennep, Netherlands. 
I will be a guest operator, and probably the organisation has written to you allready, but it is nice to know. 

https://radioclublimburg.nl/pa80ov/

~ Sander

----------------------------

The two others are also very interesting. 

At the end of WW2, the Netherlands suffered a hunger winter. Allied forces conducted a humanitarian action called Operation Manna. 
In April this year, 80 years ago, tons of food was dropped over the western part of the Netherlands, saving many people from starvation and death. 

To commemorate this event, we will activate a couple of stations, including GB80MAN, VE80MAN, VK80MAN, PH80MAN. 
We are hoping Poland is participating as well, and we hope the USA will put up a station. 

https://manna80.radio/the-team-in-the-netherlands/

As you have seen some SES from us, we will put up PH80MAN at a former drop zone. 
I have added a flyer with this mail.  This one is in Dutch, but an English version is under construction... will follow as soon as it is done!

Lastly, I would like to inform you about PA82AD. 
This is a call we used 5 years ago to celebrate 75 years of freedom. We held a DX-pedition but due to COVID, we could not really complete our goals. 
Please read the qrz.com page from bottom up. 

https://www.qrz.com/db/PA82AD

To finish this DX-pedition as planned, we will be operational for a very last time. 

Thanks again for reading, and hope to hear you on the bands. 

73, 

~ Sander PD9HIX

 

The Operation Market Garden Special Event Station

Commemorating 80 years 

An important stage in the liberation of Western Europe

Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the German-occupied Netherlands from 17 to 25 September 1944. Its objective was to create a 103 km salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine River), creating an Allied invasion route into northern Germany. This was to be achieved by two sub-operations: seizing nine bridges with combined US and British airborne forces (´Market´) followed by British land forces swiftly following over the bridges (´Garden´).

The airborne operation was undertaken by the First Allied Airborne Army with the land operation by XXX Corps of the British Second Army. The airborne soldiers, numbering more than 41,000, were dropped at sites where they could capture key bridges and hold the terrain until the land forces arrived. The land forces consisted of ten armoured and motorised brigades with a similar number of soldiers. The land forces advanced from the south along a single road surrounded by flood plain on both sides. The plan anticipated that they would cover the 103 km from their start to the bridge across the Rhine in 48 hours. About 100,000 German soldiers were in the vicinity to oppose the allied offensive. It was the largest airborne operation of the war up to that point (Wikipedia ©). Perhaps the most famous, after D-Day, in the history of the Second World War.

As part of Operation Market Garden paratroopers of the Allied forces, such as American, British, Canadian, Polish and Dutch troops, landed in the Nijmegen region on 17 September 1944. The region became a battlefield during Operation Market Garden and most of the inhabitants took refuge in the woods or neighbouring towns. It took more than a week of heavy fighting before parts of the region were temporarily liberated. Many people and military were killed and buildings and bridges were destroyed. At the cost of many young soldiers the important Waal-bridge in Nijmegen was conquered. In our collective mind the entire region was completely liberated in 1944, but this was only for a period of three weeks. There was still hard fighting during the winter and complete liberation was not achieved until may 1945.

YouTube video: Operation Market Garden

The special event

From September 13 to 19 a special event station will be operating in the Nijmegen region of the Netherlands commemorating 8Ø years of freedom. The callsign is PA8ØOMG.

During 7 days they will activate the callsign PA8ØOMG and work amateur radio operators across the world. If you find yourself in the vicinity of Groesbeek and Nijmegen, be sure to visit us throughout the activities of the special event station. We are situated at one of the exact landing grounds of the 82nd Airborne division in 1944. Our website https://radioclublimburg.nl/pa80omg/index.html

~

Commemorating the RCAF Centennial

The Royal Canadian Air Force celebrates 100 years of service and Amateur Radio marks the occasion with special event stations

Surrey, BC – The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is celebrating 100 years of service this April, marking a significant milestone in Canada’s military history. This centennial event offers a unique opportunity to honour the RCAF’s rich heritage, recognize its dedicated personnel, and generate enthusiasm for its promising future.

Throughout 2024, the RCAF will be showcased in a past, present, and future context, emphasizing its contributions to national safety and security, international peace, and global stability. The RCAF 2024 Team is curating a year-long program that includes international, national, and regional events. These events include the RCAF Run, RCAF Gala, Legends of the Sky, and participation of allied air demonstration teams in Air Shows across Canada. The program also includes initiatives to inspire future generations of Canadians through Science, Technology, Engineering  and Mathematics (STEM) activities.

To commemorate this occasion, Amateur Radio operators across Canada and beyond are invited to participate in a month-long event. They will have the opportunity to make contacts around the world on all amateur radio bands and modes using special event RCAF callsigns. These callsigns have been granted to provincial amateur radio groups specifically for this event. In British Columbia, Surrey Amateur Radio Communications is the proud sponsor for VE7RCAF. This callsign will be available for use by all British Columbia ISED certified operators by booking time slots during April 2024.

We're hoping to have all bands and modes worked, including GOTA, POTA, and whatever else you can activate. If you are a VE7 or VA7, you can reserve a time slot. Go to the direct calendar link which is now live at: https://bit.ly/VE7RCAF and look for April 2024. The operating rules are at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_fkPdYJ7DDDSLRVGY6822hJ_gd0nEfy6/view?usp=drive_link. Please use your own callsign as the operator, but VE7RCAF as the station callsign for the log.

The VE7RCAF and several other provincial QRZ pages are also active now. QSL cards and awards will be available to commemorate contacts, and special recognition will be provided to those who contact all the RCAF special event stations across Canada during the month.

The RCAF Centennial is more than a celebration; it’s an opportunity to showcase Air Force personnel and their accomplishments, demonstrate air and space power, enhance the reputation of the RCAF, and proudly honour its distinguished history and heritage.

For more information on the RCAF 2024 Centennial, please visit the official website at RCAF 2024 Centennial: https://rcaf2024arc.ca/

Contact Information: VE7RCAF@gmail.com

~ VE7SAR