Friday, July 29, 2016

Hams in Turkey Still On the Air




A report on a website that hams in Turkey had been forced off the air in the wake of the attempted coup against President Recep Erdogan was quickly denied by Turkish amateurs and as of late July, it appears that hams there are still on the air.
 
The initial report stated that more than 3000 amateur licenses had been cancelled by the government, along with shutting down many radio and TV stations. However, a denial was quickly posted on VK3HXT's blog, which quoted TA1HZ as saying "the country is now under 'extraordinary circumstances law,' but BTK the Communications Authority, has not released any announcement about ham radio restrictions."

Several days later, TA1E, the president of Turkey's national ham association (TRAC) posted a message on the organization's website saying that no licenses had been revoked and that "ham radio operators are operating normally." The ARRL reported that several Turkish hams had been heard on 10 meters during a July 21 opening to central Europe.