Area and History

Continent: Africa - Grid: 5N 20O, KH66 - Zones: WAZ 34, ITU 47,48 - Allocation: (ST0), ZA8-ZAZ

Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan is a country in North Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest. While the population of Sudan predominately descends from both indigenous African groups and Arabs, today most tribes in the country have been Arabized and Arabic and Arab culture predominates. Over 97 percent of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The world's longest river, the Nile, divides the country between east and west sides. The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt, with which it was united politically over several periods. After gaining independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom in 1956, Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted autonomy to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a referendum held in January 2011, Southern Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011.
More about Sudan: ext. Link
South Sudan, officially known as The Republic of South Sudan, is a country in East Africa. Its capital and largest city is Juba, located in the southern state of Central Equatoria. The landlocked country is bordered by Ethiopia to the east; Kenya to the southeast; Uganda to the south; the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest; the Central African Republic to the west; and the Sudan to the north.
What is now South Sudan was part of the British and Egyptian condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and became part of the Republic of the Sudan when independence was achieved in 1956. Following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. The second Sudanese civil war ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. Later that year, southern autonomy was restored when an Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed. South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011 at midnight (00:00) local time following a referendum held in January 2011 in which nearly 99% of voters opted for independence from the rest of Sudan. (Wikipedia) - More about South Sudan: ext. Link

Amateur radio in Sudan

In the Anglo-Egyptian condominium (1899–1956) , in reality Sudan was effectively administered as a British possession. Consequently amateur radio was almost entirely restricted to British operators in the communication scene: members of the Royal Signal Corps in the MEF (Middle East Forces) and civil aviation officers.
QSL: K.S.J. Rancombe, RAF Khartoum, 10.04.1939

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Further on file (Selection of other expeditions) and Expedition reports

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Republic of Sudan (09.07.2011 - )

Republic of South Sudan, 09.07.2011->

DX Bulletin 28 ARLD028 / From ARRL Headquarters / Newington CT July 14, 2011
To all radio amateurs / SB DX ARL ARLD028
ARLD028 The Republic of South Sudan Is Now a DXCC Entity
At 10:18 AM (EDT) on Thursday, July 14, the UN General Assembly met to vote on whether or not to admit the Republic of South Sudan as its 193rd member state. The Republic of South Sudan was unanimously admitted and is now a member of the United Nations; a two-thirds majority is needed to become a member of the UN. - Immediately following the General Assembly meeting, the flag of the Republic of South Sudan flew for the first time in front of the UN, ceremoniously marking its membership in the UN. - Now that the Republic of South Sudan is a member of the United Nations, the new country is now a DXCC entity by way of Section II, 1(a) of the DXCC rules. The DXCC Desk will begin immediately accepting QSOs for this new entity, with a start date of July 14, 2011.

CQ Communications, Inc / NEWS RELEASE
South Sudan Added to CQ DX Countries List
(Hicksville, NY July 14, 2011) - The Republic of South Sudan is the newest addition to the CQ DX Award Countries List, It is #342 (Editor’s note: CQ counts Kosovo). Verifications confirming contacts after July 14, 2011 are acceptable for credit. No award credit is available for southern Sudan contacts made during the 1980s and 90s. In addition, South Sudan will count as a country (entity) multiplier for the CQ DX Marathon, the CQ World Wide DX Contest and any other CQ contests that use country multipliers.

First operation: ST0R

22.07.-10.08.2011

Team: EA5RM (Co-Leader), .NP6SE (Co-Leader), YT1AD, K1LZ, N6OX, JH4RHF, RA9USU, K3VN, AH6HY, EA7AJR, EA7KW, IN3ZNR, UA9KGH, UT7CR, DH8WR. - Pilots: AA6G (USA West Coast), N5FG (US-East Coast), JA1ELY (Japan), MM0NDX (Europe) - Website: ext. Link
05 August: ST0R approved for DXCC Final statistics: 121.286 QSO in STØR Database. - 27.994 Unique Call signs. 176 DXCC. 40 CQ Zones. First QSO at 22/07/2011 @ 15:36 | Last QSO at 10/08/2011 @ 07:01- CW: 55.458 - SSB: 47.696 - RTTY: 18.132 (New world Record)

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Z81A, Z81B, Z81D - The first individual licenses

Z81A: James Pratt, K7QI:
"I am now living and working in Juba and wanting to get my ham license here, I had no idea I would be walking into a whole new beginning. After several weeks of meetings and signatures with the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services offices. I finally came to the Deputy Director for Spectrum. What a great guy! It was with him that I discovered no one has their license. Right there, I decided to volunteer to do what I can to help establish amateur radio for South Sudan however; unknown to me at the time, there was another amateur radio operator working for the UN here and we would soon meet and pool our resources together to help bring Amateur radio to South Sudan. Diya is a great guy and is now licensed as (Z81D). - I've been a licensed ham in the States (K7QI) for 38 years now, and a life member and huge supporter of ARRL, I felt that maybe my years of experience would help bring Amateur radio to South Sudan. A huge thank you goes out to ARRL and their assistance and support that I needed to guide me to through the proper channels to finally reach Region 1 where South Sudan really belongs and needs to align with. The Directors, Deputy Directors at the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services are a great bunch of guys! And I greatly appreciate their friendship." (qrz.com)
Z81B: Massimo Stella, IZ0EGB
Z81D: Diya Al Sadi, YI1DZ

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April 2013: Z81X

New countries are born rarely these days but such is the case with the Republic of South Sudan (SS). Initial activity (ST0R) from the newly created DXCC entity largely met worldwide demand for "a new one". That operation was followed by a handful of hams working in the country on behalf of humanitarian and other international organizations. They include the Z81B (European Union), Z81D (UN WFP) and Z81Z (VOA) activities.
Meanwhile, no full-fledged amateur radio infrastructure is yet established in South Sudan. This includes amateur radio regulations, licensing procedures and ways of calling on locals to get involved.
Currently licensing is available only to individuals permanently based in South Sudan.
With these considerations in mind, Radio Arcala (OH8X) is undertaking an initiative to work closely with the local telecommunications administrators and provide them with assistance and a helping hand.
Olli, OH0XX currently in Juba, will be joined by Martti, OH2BH, and during their spare time they will also put newly licensed Z81X on the air.
Mission Goodwill South Sudan is pleased to recognize the support of Mr.
Pekka Haavisto M.P., Finnish Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and Sudan, who played important United Nations and European Union roles in the negotiating process leading toward South Sudan's independence.
We also wish to acknowledge the backing of the Embassy of South Sudan in Oslo, Norway and the valuable assistance provided by Jim, Z81A (K7QI), Diya, Z81D (YI1DZ) and Ken, Z81Z (K4ZW).
Z81X QSL via OH0XX

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9 July, 2013: Z80ID - Independence Day

One day activity only on occasion of the second anniversary of South Sudan's Independence, operated by Diya, Z81D, and Massimo, Z81B - QSL: OM3JW

November 2013: Z81X again

The first press release: A multinational group of Dietmar, DL3DXX; Wayne, N7NG; Hans, PB2T; Olli, OH0XX; Martti, OH2BH; Pertti, OH2PM and Veijo, OH6KN and Tevfik, TA1HZ (team doctor) will be in Juba, South Sudan from November 14 to 28, 2013 and will activate Z81X with an emphasis on low bands, 160m and 80m. The period includes the CQWW CW contest with some single-band entries and low-band SSB focus during the contest weekend.
Hosted by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the group led by Hans, PB2T, President of IARU R1, will conduct a series of workshops and establish a sound amateur radio spectrum management regime and related regulations. It will also introduce Amateur Radio to Ministry of Education. Also participating in these efforts are two local amateurs; Massimo, Z81B (IZ0EGB) and Diya, Z81D (YI1DZ). This part of the program is supported by Yasme Foundation Inc. The plan is to activate three FTDx3000 stations & amps and low-band verticals and beverage antennas. Two different radio locations may be used. The operation will be generator based.
The Z81X Project Goodwill South Sudan is organized jointly by Radio Arcala, DX University, IARU Region 1 and Rock City Investments Co., and the equipment sponsor is Yaesu Musen Co. Ltd of Japan. In support of the DX University we will observe specific relationships between pileup behavior and operator technique. Additional information will be available before the expedition begins. The highest cost item is equipment transport, with courier service the only reliable means of transportation. The group welcomes support from individuals, clubs and foundations to offset some of the high equipment transport expenses.

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