Mese: Maggio 2021

The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) was entered into force in 1961. So this year it’s the 60th Anniversary. 

WAP (www.waponline.it)  wish to promote the participation of the Ham Radio world to mark the celebration.  

The idea is that at least all the 12 original signatory countries (or even more) would initiate an activation with one or more SES ( as for example  EA6ØANT, CE60ANT, PYxANT,  YV6ØITS, LU6ØANT, KC6ØATS, etc.) for a limited timeframe in autumn this year 2021, similar to what we do for the Antarctic Activity Week»

The event will be open worldwide to the Hams who would like to join. Proposed run is October 1^st, through December 31^st 2021, but this lapse is not mandatory.  Participants with special callsign will get a related WAP-Reference  number.

A free ATS 6Ø online Award will be issued to mark the participation. An invite to draw one or more specific Awards for this particular event, is still open  to Clubs, printers or individuals.

So far, Hams from the following Countries: Germany, Bulgaria, Chile, UK, Italy have the special callsigns in the “Application Process”, waiting for confirmation. Hams from other Countries are also planning their participation and gradually they will let us know  
Chile , thanks to  Ricardo Velazquez  CE3HDI, President Radio Club Aeronautico – Chile – CE3RAC has requested  CE6ØANT, GMØGAV has requested GB6ØANT. Currently Germany has 2 Special Calls waiting for confirmation.

OE3DMA Alex Wagner have just received from the authorities his  OE6ØANT and his operating period will be July 1^st to dec.31^st 2021. WAP special reference to OE6ØANT has been issued as WAP-315. Congrats Alex, great shot!

WAP asks those interested to participate in the event with a SES , to send a mail to:
Volker DL8JDX (info@strecke.de) or to
Gianni I1HYW (varettos@tin.it) in order to pre-register the eventual participation and issuing the WAP Reference number, related to the Special Callsign.

Information and updates will coming in due course, Join the event, join the 60th Anniversary of ATS!
While looking forward to having a successful event, WAP wish everyone to enjoy Antarctica as much as we do 

Thanks to Jim Reisert AD1C  and  Alan Jubb 5B4AHJ for their continuous research and help, WAP has just issued a new Reference to the US Ellsworth Mountains Camp referred to the activity of KC4USW.

 First of all, Ellsworth Mountains Camp (WAP USA-NEW) has not to be confused with Ellsworth Station (WAP USA-31) and Ellsworth Base (WAP ARG-14)

KC4USW was QRV from McMurdo Station, Ross Island (WAP USA-22), in 1957  before moving to Ellsworth Mountains Camp, from where he was QRV until February 1959. CQ May 1959 gives the last day of operation from Ellsworth Station as 1959,Febr.1^st  (letter from W8LIO).

MARIST Archives & Special Collections has available a recording of an interview with Antarctic explorer Captain Finn Ronne from amateur radio station KC4USW, Weddel Sea, Antarctica, dated 1957, Nov.11.
For sure,  QSL of that date (pic on the Left) is a genuine one for Ellsworth Mountains Camp at 79°07’00” South,  85°39’00” West, on Ellswort Mountains, Weddell Sea area (The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norway at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norway is the King Haakon VII Sea. Much of the southern part of the sea is covered by a permanent, massive Ice Shelf field, the Filchner Ronne Ice Shelf).

Ellsworth station, the one we know after 1957-1959, was another entity built later , that’s why  KC4USW has been used when  QRV from Ellsworth Station in 1979-80, and why CQ January 1996 reports KC4USW as QRV from Ellsworth. 1979-80 QSL (tnx ND4V): Note that the 1979/80 QSL shown in Club Log says “Ellsworth Mts (Mountains)”. (See pic on the Right here below)

A bit of history

(Ellsworth Mountains Camp mistakenly called Ellsworth Station) was built by US Navy Seabees under the command of Capt. Finn Ronne with the support of the Icebreackers USS Staten Island and USS Wyandot.

The originally planned site for the station was Cape Adams, but when the terrain proved impractical due to huge ice cliffs, an alternate location on Gould Bay was selected, on the western coast of the Wededell Sea over the Filchner Ice Shelf, and close to the Argentinean Belgrano I Base (WAP ARG-Ø5).

Part of the scheduled agenda for the IGY, Ellsworth Station was commissioned on 11 February 1957 and less than two years later, on 17 January 1959, was handed over to the Argentinean Antarctic Institute. Along with the handover, the United States government gave all the buildings, facilities, and existing food supplies while Argentina provided the logistical and administrative services necessary for the continued operation of the station. It was agreed that scientists of both countries would work together at the place in technical studies and scientific research.

Feasibility of the station came into question when structural problems caused by the unstable ice had the base half-sunken during most of the spring. To protect personnel and equipment, Ellsworth Mountains Camp (mistakenly called Ellsworth Base) was closed and all of its staff and equipment were evacuated on 30 December 1962, during the 1962–63 Antarctic summer campaign. It continued to be inspected periodically by Argentinean exploration teams: it was eventually covered by snow and ice. The Filchner Shelf sector where it was located as split off a giant iceberg, and then it drifted through the Southern Ocean, where the base’s remains have been lost at sea.

So, it looks like the Ellsworth Station (WAP-USA-31) and Ellsworth Base (WAP ARG-14) both at  77° 39’ S, 41° 05’ W were the same one. The 1^st,  the one managed by US, the 2^nd  managed by LU when it was turned over to Argentina.

Ellsworth Mountain Camp  (WAP-USA-NEW) was located at 79°07’S, 85°39’W and it was in activity only  from 1957 through 1959.

The ones reported active from 1979-80 and 1996 are referred to Ellsworth Station 77° 39’ S, 41° 05’ W, so,  2 different locations which may confuse a bit.

Following the KC4USW  QSL dated 1957, WAP is issuing WAP USA-46  reference to Ellsworth Mountain Camp,  79°07’S, 85°39’W on Ellswort Mountains, Weddell Sea area

 TNX Jim AD1C and Alan 5B4AHJ.  Note and info on KC4USW have been updated the in Club Log  at: https://clublog.org/test.php?call=KC4USW

A budget plan includes $344 million New Zealand dollars (US $247 million) to rebuild Scott Base (WAP NZL-Ø1) in Antarctica, which has been used by scientists since it first built in 1957 . The outdated buildings and facilities that keep the residents alive in the coldest, driest, windiest place on earth have deteriorated,” Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said. “Doing nothing would eventually lead to the closure of the base.” (Pic aside show the actul Scott Base settlement)

The project would involve demolishing the existing 12 buildings, which were built in the early 1980s, and replacing them with three large, interconnected buildings. The rebuilt base could accommodate up to 100 people at a time. One of the new buildings would be used for accommodation and dining, one for science, and one for engineering and storage. A windfarm that produces renewable electricity would be overhauled.

The 2021 Budget held some great news for Antarctic scientists and researchers at the University of Canterbury. This project will replace the existing base and Ross Island Wind Farm, achieving the goal of a sustainable and long-term presence in Antarctica

Read more at:  https://www.miragenews.com/antarctic-researchers-react-to-budgets-scott-563507/  and  https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/new-zealand-spending-plan-includes-rebuilding-antarctic-base#:~:text=The%20budget%20plan%20includes%20%24344,it%20first%20built%20in%201957.

Station “P” was a British base camp at the head of Mateev Cove on the east side of Hannah Point, 62°39’16”South, 60°36’48” West on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica that supported survey, geology and biology field work, from 29 December 1957 until 15 March 1958. It was a temporary, mobile camp for use by field parties on Livingston Island. It has not been the practice to assign letters to field camps, so the letter “P” was used as the intention had been to erect a Hut. RRS Shackleton was holed when transporting the Hut, parts of which were used to repair the ship.

The Camp was occupied by a six-member team led by Hugh Simpson.

Hannah Point forms the east side of the entrance to Walker Bay and the west side of the entrance to South Bay. Surmounted by Ustra peak to the north, with Liverpool Beach extending between the peak and the tip of Hannah Point with an ice-free area ca. 122 hectares (300 acres).

Hannah Point (the Point) is a narrow peninsula undulating upward to knife-edged ridges and vertical cliff edges 30-50 metres above sea level. There is loose scree on higher slopes and ridges, evidence of rock falls, and a Jaspar mineral vein. Ash-covered slopes link the Point to the flat open beach area of Walker Bay. (Pic aside show Hannah Point landing beach)

(British mapping in 1821, 1962 and 1968, Argentine in 1959 and 1980, Chilean in 1971, Spanish in 1991, and Bulgarian in 2005 and 2009).

Station “P” or Fileld Camp do not exist anymore, actually the area has high concentration of diverse wildlife: nesting gentoo, chinstrap, and a small number of macaroni penguins; nesting southern giant petrels; southern elephant seals.

The Antarctic Treaty System is the whole complex of arrangements made for the purpose of regulating relations among states in the Antarctic. At its heart is the Antarctic Treaty itself. The original Parties to the Treaty were the 12 nations active in the Antarctic during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58.

As you know the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) was entered into force in 1961. So this year it’s the 60th Anniversary. 

See https://www.ats.aq/e/antarctictreaty.html and   https://www.ats.aq/devAS/Parties?lang=e

WAP shares DL8JDX’s idea to promote the participation of the Ham Radio world to mark the celebration.  

DL8JDX Volker wrote: «I would like to organize one (or even more than one) special event calls in Germany. The idea is that at least all the 12 original signatory countries (or even more) would initiate an activation with one or more SES for a limited timeframe maybe in autumn this year 2021, similar to the AAW»

The event will be open worldwide,  to the Hams who would like to join. Proposed time is June 1^st 2021, through December 31^st 2021. 

Even special ATS 6Ø online Awards would be a good attraction to the HAM community (invite to create the Award is open to clubs, printers or individuals).  Of course, participants with special callsign will get a related WAP-Reference  number.

Let’s launch the 60^th ATS event:

WAP asks to those interested in the event, to send a mail to:

Volker DL8JDX (info@strecke.de) or to

Gianni I1HYW (varettos@tin.it) or to

Max IK1GPG (wap_info@virgilio.it) to pre-register the eventual participation.

If the number of participants will be such as to guarantee a certain level of adhesion and give the right emphasis to the initiative, then it will be possible to launch the 60^th ATS event

While looking forward to having a successful event, WAP wish everyone to enjoy Antarctica as much as we do.  More details and update,  will come later-

Rifugio Elefante is an Antarctic refuge located in the ice-free area at the foot of Fourcade glacier (62° 15’ 18″ South, 58° 37′ 56″ West) is located about 1000 mts from Punta Stranger,on the Potter peninsula of King George Island.

The refuge is a construction of 25 m², used from March to October by research groups as a resting point.

Recently,  members of the Solar Energy Department (CNEA) stepped on the Antarctic, did install on the site, an autonomous system that would provide energy to the “Elephant Refuge” located 2.6 km northwest of Carlini Base (WAP ARG-2Ø) of the Argentine Antarctic Institute.

Being Rifugio Elefante  WAP ARG-NEW, we hope someone in the near future can activate it on Ham radio HF bands!