2026-04-16

Wireless Women yl.beam #151 april 2026

Contents
2027 Dry Tortugas YL Dxpedition Application
 International Women's Day YL POTA Party 2026
 AC9XK  Alexandra;   Japanese YL club, JLRS POTA
YL-WWA 2026 AWARD RESULTS  
YL Power:  DL3HD Heike,  PD0YL Monique, YB1TIA Tia
Results of the SARL YL QSO Party  7 March 2026
YLWRC {World Radio Community} Whatsapp
Out-and-About  Paula OK2YL in Belize; Mich – F4WEO/ TU5MZ Ivory Coast;
Elvira, IV3FSG/ 3XFSG from Roume Island, Africa; Grace  PJ2/K8LG from Curacao Island
Young Ladies OA of Peru, Faro Torre Reloj & Women's Day
Silent Key: ZL7QT Catherine Hannagan & OM Carlos Almirón LU7DSY  
Contact & Calendar
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2027 Dry Tortugas   YL Dxpedition Application
QST QST QST calling all YL’s to apply for a spot on the 2027 Dry Tortugas (USA) Team! For more information check KC3YQL on QRZ.
Link to application, https://forms.gle/FTf67meJDFwrqvzd7

 International Women's Day YL POTA Party
 AC9XK  Alexandra Auvinen Mahurin     9 March 2026
Today was my third annual YL Pota Party activation in celebration of International Women’s Day! This event continues to be one of my favorites of the year.
International Women’s Day is about recognizing the contributions women make in every space, and amateur radio is no exception. While ham radio has traditionally been male-dominated, women are active operators, contesters, builders, emergency communicators, and leaders. Events like the YL POTA Party highlight that presence and make it visible.
Wonderful weather in Indiana (USA) today, sunny and in the 60s, which beats the last two years which have been cold and rainy. I once again activated Mounds State Park in Anderson, Indiana US-2261 and it was BUSY (both on the air and at the park)!
Logged around 140 contacts in two hours. Three countries, 34 states, 21 CW and 119 SSB. 100 watts on SSB, moved down to 30 watts CW.
I ran 20 meters SSB for most of the activation and then moved to CW. This switch definitely required a mental reset. After working voice for a while my first CW contact came in and I couldn’t decode, couldn’t send, couldn’t….CW.  
I almost called it a day but decided to step away for a short break and come back. After a few QSO’s I got back in my groove, at least until my iPad died. There was also a bee that decided to land on the hand I was sending with…just to keep it interesting 🙃
Grateful for every contact and especially for the women who continue to make their mark in this hobby. This week I’ll be working the YL World Wide Event. Some of it from home and some from a park. I’ll be on SSB, CW and FT8. This is the first YL WWA event so be sure to work all the YL’s that will be on the air this week!   73, 33, 88 de AC9XK
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Yoko Matsuoka JS2IMQ

International Women's Day YL POTA Party
7K4TKB Yukiko Tsuji Maki     11 March 2026
On March 8, four good POTA friends of the Japanese YL club, JLRS, activated from different places—Miho from a snowy field after skiing, Yuko and Yoko from near the ham radio event venues, and Yuki from the heart of Tokyo near the Imperial Palace.
In Tokyo, POTA by handheld transceivers is very popular, and we always get many responses because of the high ham population density in this highly populated city.
We wore soft pink, like the color of Japanese cherry blossoms in early spring.
Even though we're far apart, our signals traveled through the wide spring air, calling CQ somewhere in Japan, and gave us the feeling that we were connected under the same sky. We each enjoyed the same activities in different places, which brought us a sense of togetherness and a bond as fellow YL POTA enthusiasts, as if it were a party up in the air through radio waves, and we were on cloud nine!
[#YLPOTAParty] https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/ylpotaparty
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  YL-WWA 2026 AWARD RESULTS March 09 - 15 2026
Activators Mixed
1. DL5PIA Germany Petra Wurster
2. SV8OVH Greece  MARIZA TSATA
3. SQ8BWA Poland  Agnieszka Pasternak-Haczewska
Activators SSB
1. N0QQ USA   Sandy Raeker  DL1QQ
2. S55BA Slovenia  Barbara Sluga
3. R1BIG Russia   Raisa  Skrynnikova
Activators CW
1. DL5YL Germany Tina  Ockert
2. HA4ZS Hungary Suzy Leidal
3. IN3FHE Italy Helga Ferrante Picelli
Activators Digi
1. OH5YL Finland Sara Hautamäki
2. E20NKB Thailand JC  Goi  Muangamphun  
3. HK3YL Colombia  SANDRA ARANGO

Official: 299 Activators, 51 Countries
Most represented: USA 60; Germany 49; Poland  13;
Argentina 12; Indonesia 12; Italy 12;

Pure YL Power: The 1st. WWA YL was a success! 🎀
What a week! On Sunday, the first WWA YL came to an end and the numbers are simply impressive: 300,509 QSOs were performed in total! 🌍✨
234 female activists from 51 countries were at the start and showed what is in the amateur radio community. Especially our YLs from Germany have delivered well: With 37,945 QSOs they secured the title of "National Winner"! 🏆🇩🇪
The highlights of German radio amateurs:
🥇 Category All Band Mix: 1st place for Petra, DL5PIA (4,981 QSOs)
🥇 Category CW: 1st place for Tina, DL5YL (3,112 QSOs)
📈 SSB Category: I managed to get myself to a proud 6th with 4,239 QSOs.
It wasn't a classic contest, but the live broadcast on hamaward.cloud  triggered a real addiction factor for pile-ups in many. 🎧🔥
A huge thank you to the 48.910 Hunters worldwide for the warm connections!
A big thank you also goes to Max (IW1FRU), Carlo (IK1HJS), the whole WWA team and my co-ordinator Veronika (DL4VER). This screams for a repeat in 2027! 🗓️
Did you also participate? Drop me your highlights.
DL3HD Heike Drechsler 18 March 2026
   Deutscher Amateur-Radio-Club e.V. Bundesverband für Amateurfunk
=--=-=-=-=-==
PD0YL Monique Nuijten-Bakker's Post (from Netherlands):
 just watched some YouTube videos and I discovered that a lot of YLs had their first pile-up in SSB, all thanks to YL-WWA. In the past I had some like the same, but never had what Raisia (R1BIG) and Paula (OK2YL) do. They are great girls doing pile-ups. I did sometimes have a pile-up with CW. Spotting was very important so the hunters knew where we were.
I secretly hope now that we are also allowed to join as activators during the normal WWA. Because I really had a lot of fun and it just leaves you wanting more
                 =-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=
ORARI YL Community Post > World Wide Award (WWA) YL  2026 Activation
From the pile-ups to the long-distance contacts, it was a week filled with great signals and even better connections. Proud to have been a part of this global celebration of YL in amateur radio, with nearly 95% of my QSOs CW successfully reaching from Oceania all the way to Europe. A big thank you to all the hunters! YB1TIA Tia, from Indonesia.



 N0QQ / DL1QQ Sandy, 1st SSB mode 👏 300,509 QSOs, 203 countries, in 7 days
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Results of the SARL YL QSO Party  (South African Radio League)
Saturday 7 March 2026 - 15 logs for the first leg  (6 YL + 9 OMs)
1st Esmarie Lotriet, ZS3EL – 147 points
2nd Sonet de Wet, ZS3SW - 124 points
3rd Gwen Moolman, ZS6GWN - 102 points
4th Dave du Toit, ZS6DDT - 49 points (OM)
5th Martie Venter, ZS6MV - 45 points
6th Lizette Scheepers, ZS6ZET and  (OM) Keith Barker, ZS6Hi - 42 points
8th Wallie Lourens, ZS6WNL - 33 points (OM)
9th Andre Du Plessis, ZR6AGA - 29 points (OM)
10th Esmè Walsh, ZS1YE - 27 points
11th Keith Lowes, ZS5WFD - 25 points (OM)
12th Walter Moll, ZS6BCI - 24 points  (OM)
13th Mark Walker, ZS6MDX - 22 points  (OM)
14th Roy Walsh, ZS1YR - 14 points  (OM)
15th Martin James, V51MJ - 6 points  (OM)
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YLWRC {World Radio Community}
ON5RS Severine Dobbels created a YL community to brainstorm with fellow YLs about "women in the HAM radio world" Are you an YL and would you like to join too?https://chat.whatsapp.com/JFwoQL8qnbvEGmy2sjtP8P
Belgian Radio Amateur Stations
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Out-and-About: Paula OK2YL and her OM Vlad OK2WX on holiday in  Belize  were active as V31YL & V31WX (IOTA NA-073) from March 9th to 22nd, 2026, SSB-CW and FT8.
NOTE:  Paula as V31YL, participated in the week-long YLWWA 2026 activity (March 9-15).
Belize is a Caribbean country between Mexico and Guatemala. more than a third of the country's territory is occupied by national parks and nature reserves.
There are also a large number of Mayan monuments.
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Out-and-About: TU5MZ, Ivory Coast  - Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Mich – F4WEO, Member of YL de France, reports:
My operation from Ivory Coast TU5MZ in 2026 has ended.
TU5MZ from the village of Motobé, made 7749 QSOs from 160 to 6 meters using FT8/FT4.  I used an Icom 7300 barefoot antenna, wire antennas: DH3PZ L-shaped HF5 antenna (+ 30/40 m extensions), KELEMEN 80/160 dipole, and a homemade 60 m dipole.
The HF5 antenna (2011), after 15 years of excellent service worldwide, stopped working after 3 days, despite careful attention to contacts. The Kelemen antenna, configured in an inverted V (9 m), showed a reasonable SWR on 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meters, providing 7 bands that the matching network easily compensated for.
The 60m dipole, mounted as a sloper, operated on 60m and 6m, and then on 30m with 25 watts and a high SWR (working with the JAs every night...!).
Many thanks to the residents and dignitaries of Motobé for their wonderful welcome and kindness. Thanks to Mathurin for his warm hospitality.
Note: There was a 15-hour power outage at the end of our stay. Prolonged water cuts were frequent. As they say, "This is Africa!"
The temperature and humidity were high (32-34 °C, 95%).
Out-and-About: Elvira, IV3FSG will be active as 3XFSG from Roume/ Rooma Island (AF-051), P.O.T.A. GN-0006, Guinea on 11-25 April.
She will operate 160-80-60-40-30-20-17-15-12-10-6m bands, with two low power stations and vertical antennas.
Mode SSB, CW, FT8, FT4 and FT2.
Elvira expects a couple of daily power outages that will force her off the air.
 Out-and-About: PJ2/K8LG - CURACAO ISLAND
Grace Papay, K8LG from USA, was  active as PJ2/K8LG from Curacao Island, IOTA SA-099.
 on HF Bands. March 3 – 10, 2026
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaeMNd2HbFV9HxPDbu2e
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069625084439
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Young Ladies OA of Peru,
“Faro Torre Reloj” 
PER-037, February 20 – 22, 2026
From the “Clock Tower Lighthouse”, in Callao, Peru, the radio operators using their own call signs were active during the American Lighthouse Weekend. Operators were:  Juan Carlos OA4EEE, Martín OA4EFA, Raúl OA4EFI, yl Diana OA4EIW, Julio OA4DXW, yl Sonia OA4DEM, Oscar OA4AMN, and Andrea OA4EKI.
The group achieved a good number of contacts operating on 10, 20, and 40-meter bands.
(Boletin Semanal OA - Radio Club Peruano    Edición No 07 del 24 de febrero de 2026)
 
The Clock Lighthouse became a visual and urban landmark for the residents of Callao, Peru's main maritime gateway.  Its dual function as a lighthouse and monumental clock makes it unique  among South American lighthouses.  Beyond its utilitarian value, the Clock Lighthouse is  a cultural asset that transcends the local to become part of the maritime history of Peru and the Pacific.

Women's Day Celebrated in Peru
Saturday the 21st,March 2026 our Young Ladies OA of Peru,  operated OA4O, the RCP station (Radio Club Peru).  A gathering of OA colleagues sharing their radio experiences.
 One of their objectives in operating the RCP station was to make as many DX contacts as possible, raising awareness of the Young Ladies OA by broadcasting their voices so that they become better known worldwide.
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Silent Key  ZL7QT Catherine Hannagan  
Catherine is SK  2 Feb 2026,  loving wife of Chris  ZL2DX. She passed away peacefully after a short illness.  Chris and  Catherine were active from Chatham Islands, IOTA OC - 038, as ZL7DX and ZL7QT.
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Carlos Almirón LU7DSY

Carlos Almirón LU7DSY   [February 9,1947- 20 March 2026] age 79.
became a Silent Key 21 March 2026.   He was an Argentine Radio and Television Journalist and a leading figure in local sports journalism.

This is very sad news and a shock. Condolences to his family and the greater family of radio amateurs. He leaves a hole that will be felt across the South American continent and beyond. The Southern Lighthouse weekend will never be the same without his guidance! I personally will miss his support of  the YL community. 
I regret we never met face to face, but I am pleased to have called him  'friend'  
Thank you. You go now to a higher frequency, RIP. 88 (ZS5YH) Heather,

Grupo DX Bahía Blanca  - His contributions to our institution and to amateur radio were numerous and significant. His legacy will remain not only in the history of the RC Grupo DX Bahía Blanca, but also in Argentine amateur radio, to which he contributed consistently over the years. Emiliano Gutierrez 
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CONTACT    Over time, people change  emails, callsigns etc.  if any of your details change, remember to let me know, otherwise you are likely to miss news & events.
 yl.beam news: Editor Eda (Heather) zs6ye.yl@gmail.com
newsletters can be found:  https://wrarc-anode.blogspot.com/
Italian Radio Amateurs Union: QTC U.R.I.
https://www.unionradio.it/qtc-la-rivista-della-unione-radioamatori-italiani/
West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society  https://wosars.club/category/yl-news/
https://www.facebook.com/CT2ISX    YLs-Amateur Radio Ladies-Portugal
Ham Yl       https://www.facebook.com/ham.yls

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Calendar
April 18 World Amateur Radio Day
April 25 Marconi Day