Posts Tagged ‘Special Event’
Tomorrow starts Manna/Chowhound Weekend
Manna@80!
Operations Manna and Chowhound were lifesaving food drops to Northwest Holland 80 years ago, just prior to the end of World War Two. Over 20,000 people had died from starvation and a colder than normal winter. Allied pilots and support staff from the UK, the US, Canada, Poland, and Australia dropped over 7,000 tons of food behind enemy lines.
There are 10 special event stations operating in these countries Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27. If you contact 4 or more, a special event certificate will be issued. Check QRZ.com for any of the following callsigns or Manna80.radio on the web where the stations’ current operating frequencies are available via HamAlert.
Participating stations:
The UK
2. GB80MAN: International Bomber Command Centre
3. GB8MAN: Royal Air Force Station Binbrook
4. GB80CHO: 100th Bomb Group Museum in Thorpe Abbots
The United States
5. W4C: Boca Raton Amateur Radio Assn
Canada
6. VB7MAN: Surrey Amateur Radio Communications in Surrey, BC
7. VB6MAN: Calgary Amateur Radio Club at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta
8. VE1MAN: Pictou County ARC in Picton, Nova Scotia
Australia
9. VK80MAN: Bull Creek Aviation Heritage Centre Perth, Australia
Poland
10. SN80MAN: The SP5KAB Radio Club
We hope to make contact with you.
![[IMG]](https://manna80.radio/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG_1100-768x494.jpeg)
VB7MAN is ON AIR!
Mark VA7MM and others are our first guest operators
A recent VB7MAN QSO with Jake, KC7WXD, in Nevada.
Jake is an antique wireless experimenter and the chirpy note of the Command Set at VA7MM using VB7MAN, obviously caught his attention. The photo is of Jake’s homebrew 802 tube transmitter. His QRP signal at 2.5 W with the 802 transmitter was a perfectly copiable up here in BC.
If you would like to be a guest operator using the MANNA@80 callsign VB7MAN, have a look at the calendar for available slots and send us a note at [email protected]. You can use any band and any mode anywhere in BC.
~
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.
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/
----------------------------
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.
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.
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: [email protected]
~ VE7SAR