Bart
Posted on 12/14/2002 10:35:31 AM PST by AmericanInTokyo
North Korea recently rescinded permission for Amateur Radio operation from within its borders.
North Korea Asks P5/4L4FN to QRT
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 2, 2002--The only Amateur Radio station active from North Korea has been ordered off the air. Ed Giorgadze, 4L4FN, had been operating for the past year as P5/4L4FN from Pyongyang. The ARRL subsequently accredited SSB and RTTY operation of P5/4L4FN for DXCC.
"This really hits the ham community hard," QSL manager Bruce Paige, KK5DO, said in a news release. "I, for one, was looking forward to a satellite contact on AO-40. I know that many of you were still awaiting your first QSO."
Paige said that on Friday, November 22, Giorgadze was called into a meeting with the "Radio Regulation Board" without any explanation, and he was politely asked to quit all transmissions and pack all his radio equipment. "Saturday, he spent all day on the roof disassembling his antennas and packing boxes."
Calling the situation "unfortunate" and "the worst possible thing," Paige said North Korean government officials later came by and sealed all of the boxes. When Giorgadze leaves North Korea on December 10 for two weeks of vacation, "he is to take everything with him out of the country," Paige indicated.
Newington, CT: Home of the ARRL.
ARRL: American Radio Relay League, organization of amateur radio (Ham) operators.
P5: Prefix of call signs in Peoples' Republic of Korea.
4L4: Prefix of call sign for hams in the Republic of Georgia.
P5/4L4LFN: Standard method of designating ham (from Georgia) operating in foreign country (PRK).
SSB: Single sideband. The predominant mode of voice communication on the ham bands.
RTTY: Radioteletype.
QSL: Postcard confirming contact.
QSL manager: Organizes exchange of American QSLs with foreign ham stations.
AO-40: Amsat Oscar 40. A recent satellite for amateur use built by the amateur satellite organizaition AMSAT.
QSO: A conversation or contact between hams on the air.
DX: (Long) distance. Applies to contacts with foreign countries, especially overseas.
DXCC: DX Century Club. An ARRL program awarding a certificate to hams with verified contacts with 100 or more countries or other defined geo-political entities. The DXCC Honor Roll lists the hams with contacts with the most countries. Although there are currently 334 entities on the official accepted list, the top hams have about 377 entities to their credit, some of which have been deleted from the accepted list over the past several decades due to political circumstances (e.g., Tibet).
Bart
I think ypu'll find China's hand behind most of our problems if anyone wants to be honest. The nukes didn't proliferate until Clinton passed the PRC our nuke technology.
We've found Chinese arms in Afghanistan. Pakistan has nukes and has passed them on to the islamic countries. N. Korea doesn't do anything without China's permission.
Sometimes I think W is saying to himself...Thank G-d the Twins are 21 at least.
They never liked us very much over there. Add them to the Somalis, Kuwaitis and Bosnians on the roster of Turd World ingrates who hate us for shedding the blood of our young men to defend their liberty.
The Koreans are a crazy bunch. I've heard them described as the Irish of Asia, they love to fight amongst themselves but tolerate no interference from outside.
I say let the fat little dictator up north have the whole place, then we'll see whether the anti-American whacko students and their Molotov cocktails survive for even a month.
-ccm
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