NEWS UPDATE
I’d like to thank James, K2QI current President of UNARC/4U1UN for his detailed and informative reply:
I’m the current president of UNARC/4U1UN. What Doug wrote is true; red tape has hampered the club’s return to the air. It’s taken us years just to get the administration and security to allow us to resume beacon operations. Security protocols became much tighter after 9/11. And when renovations to the Secretariat were completed, staff were no longer permitted to engage in any activities above the SG’s floor.
That said, we’re slowly working to restore operations. Unfortunately, fully manned ops from the old 41st floor annex is now a bygone conclusion. Any such activity from the club will have to be done remotely from a broadcast booth that was loaned to us by the UN’s broadcast services section. The good news however is that new equipment was recently donated to the club that would make that a reality. The transceiver, amplifier, and associated network equipment is now in place. We also had a dedicated closed network line installed primarily for that purpose. The only remaining thing left to do is install the antenna and begin testing which should be happening sometime in early August.
I know many have been waiting for the return of 4U1UN. No one wants to see it back on the air more than I do, but please understand that support for amateur radio operations by the administration has waned over the years. To get where we are today took a lot of cajoling and negotiation. On top of that, the club’s membership has also reduced in number, and with everything at the UN now requiring funding, the club simply doesn’t have the budget to pay for services that once used to be provided for free. The past 10 years has essentially been a one man show. It doesn’t help that my workload has increased significantly requiring me to travel much more frequently than before, taking even more time away from being able to manage the club’s affairs.
To all those waiting to hear from us, I sincerely apologise and ask that you be a little more patient. But I do promise that 4U1UN will be back on the air soon.
JULY 25, 2018 — Situated in the heart of New York City is the United Nations Headquarters Building. This particular “DXCC entity” (4U1UN) is ranked at #34 most wanted on Club Log.
Read that again – #34 most wanted.
Put in perspective and it’s more wanted than Swains Island (KH8/S), Kermadec (ZL8), Tokelau (ZK3) to name a few “rare” ones. How can this be?4U1UN has a QRZ page (last updated in 2015) and a Facebook page (last post over 12 months ago). Heck, it even has a dedicated webpage (last news in 2015). Indeed, there was even an update on DX-World in March 2017 – see here. Why the lack of interest?
Far be it from me to criticize the US – because as we all know it’s the “Superpower of the World” – but I can’t help feeling a touch of irony that even today the only signal coming out of that building is a beacon and not a full-blown ham radio station as of yesteryear. I mean, come on, this is 21st century USA and nobody (within power or know-how) can organize a basic 4U1UN shack? What’s the issue? Can the ARRL not help?
I have read the “Administration” in charge is the problem with regards no available room or shack space, but who really knows? It appears rather “closed-shop” with no real meaningful response from those within the 4U1UN circle as to why this most wanted DXCC in mainland USA is not active.
Is there much point to 4U1UN being a DXCC entity if the powers-that-be can’t even borrow or rent a room within the UN Building to operate a simple ham radio station?
Another question could be: Which will be activated next…P5 or 4U1UN ?!
Helpful or insightful replies welcome.
73 Col MM0NDX @ DX-World.net
