[RTTY] AA5AU SARTG SOAB LP

[Kok Chen]

On Aug 22, 2004, at 10:56 AM, Don Hill AA5AU wrote:

> Two big surprises.  The first was working HS72B on 20 meters.  That's 
> usually
> impossible using low power from here, let alone in the middle of the 
> day (1953Z)
> during a contest.

By the way, the special callsign is used by RAST to commemorate Queen 
Sirikit's 72nd birthday about a week ago.  Ages that are divisible by 
12 have special significance in the Far East since they use 12 
birthsigns.  The Queen holds the HS1B callsign (don't know if she uses 
it much), hence the "B" suffix in HS72B.

King Bhumibol holds the only other current 2x1 callsign (HS1A) that I 
know of.  I don't think he gets on HF, but he takes his VHF walkie 
talkie everywhere he goes and he is responsible for the exponential 
growth of hams (mostly VHF) in Thailand in the past couple of decades, 
thus the need for the E2 block of calls.

There were some 2x1 HS calls by visiting farangs (western foreigners 
:-) way back when.

The "HS" prefix came from the old name for Thailand -- Siam, when the 
IARU was formed.

73 & Saswadee
Chen, W7AY