WITH the new ‘K’ for Kernow callsign, Cornwall’s Poldhu Amateur Radio Club will be on the air making contacts across the world in celebration of Cornish Minority Status.

From January 1, Cornwall’s Radio Amateurs began using their ‘K’ callsigns, to denote Kernow, to celebrate the National Minority Status granted to Cornish people in 2014.

This is thought to be the first tangible evidence of the new status, and has been welcomed by Cornwall’s MPs, by the leader and members of Cornwall Council, and by the Grand Bard of Gorsedh Kernow.

After months of negotiations by members of the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club, acting on behalf of all of Cornwall’s amateurs, the procedure, known as a Notice of Variation (NoV), was agreed with OfCom.

Details are given on the club’s website and all of Cornwall’s hundreds of radio amateurs are encouraged to apply for the NoV so they can add the letter K to their call sign, regardless of whether or not they are members of clubs or the Radio Society of Great Britain.

In the pre-launch phase, over 50 of Cornwall’s Radio Amateurs took out their ‘K’ callsigns with OfCom. The ‘K’ will be valid throughout 2016.

The ‘K’ identification will generate more ‘on the air’ activity in this highly technical hobby where applicants have to pass rigorous examinations before being granted a transmitting licence.

This is the first time an English county has been granted unique amateur radio identification, and the publicity will enhance the standing of Cornwall worldwide — more than 6,000 Americans have already viewed details of the identification on a website.

For more information on how to apply for the NoV visit the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club website at www.gb2gm.org