Among the amateur radio DX entities listed DXCC, existujú také, ktoré svojou geografickou a politickou podstatou vzbudzujú rovnakú zvedavosť ako samotný rádiový signál prichádzajúci z ich smeru. Jednou z nich sú Suverénne základňové územia Akrotiri a Dhekeleia na ostrove Cyprus. Tešiť sa môžeme na prevádzku ZC4RHThis call sign belongs to Dave G4WXJ, an experienced British radio amateur who regularly returns to this area and provides DX contacts to radio amateurs from all over the world.
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Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekeleia
To understand why ZC4RH is interesting and valuable to the DX community, it is essential to know the geographical and historical background of the area from which the station broadcasts.
The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekeleia are a unique geopolitical entity. They are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom located directly on the island of Cyprus, forming two geographically separate areas: Akrotiri in the west and Dhekeleia in the east. The combined area of the two areas is approximately 254 km², which is approximately three percent of the total area of the island.
The creation of these territories dates back to 1960, when Cyprus gained independence from British colonial rule. The condition for the recognition of Cyprus' independence was that the United Kingdom would retain full sovereignty and jurisdiction over these two strategically valuable areas. The legal basis was enshrined in the London and Zurich Agreements and registered with the United Nations under treaty number 5476. The reason for British interest is clear: the island's strategic location on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean, close to the Suez Canal and the Middle East, guarantees the United Kingdom a military presence in an area of exceptional geopolitical importance.
Územia sa riadia britskými zákonmi, no majú osobitý štatút. Nie sú priamou súčasťou Spojeného kráľovstva and jeho legislatíva tu platí len v obmedzenej miere. Zaujímavosťou je, že platidlom na týchto britských územiach je euro, nie britská libra, and všetky archeologické nálezy zo základňových oblastí patria Cyperskej republike. Oblasť Akrotiri zahŕňa aj chránené mokrade so soľným jazerom, kde sa rozmnožujú morské korytnačky and kde sídli jediná kolónia supa bielohlavého v tejto časti Stredozemného mora.
From an international telecommunications perspective, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has assigned these territories a separate prefix, ZC4, distinct from the Cypriot prefix 5B4. This fact makes the connection with the station ZC4RH a full-fledged DXCC entity, distinct from the regular Cyprus.
ZC4RH and activations from the KM64VX locator
The call sign ZC4RH is associated with Dave G4WXJ, who returns to the sovereign base areas repeatedly and transmits from the locator KM64VX. As part of the activation planned for the period from 25 to 30 May 2026, Dave will offer radio amateurs connections on 40-6m; CW, SSB, FT8
QSL ZC4RH
Confirmation of the connection is as important for DX operators as the contact itself. QSL management for ZC4RH is provided by Philipp DK6SP.
The following options are available:
- QSL via bureau (through national organizations)
- elektronické potvrdenie cez Logbook of the World (LoTW)
- direct request via the OQRS system on Club Log
Dôležitá poznámka pre tých, ktorí sa snažia dohľadať staršie spojenia: Dave G4WXJ and Philipp DK6SP pracujú na digitalizácii starých papierových logov and ich postupnom nahratí do systémov Clublog and LOTW. Tento proces je časovo náročný, no prebieha. V prípade akýchkoľvek nejasností ohľadom zalogovaného spojenia je možné kontaktovať DK6SP priamo e-mailom.
