Area and History

Continent: Asia/Oceania - Grid (Center): 6.0S 107.0O OI33 - Zones: ITU 51, 54 WAZ 28 - Allocations: Until 1968 PK, 1953-1960 JZ0 (Papua), 1965/66 8F (Indonesia), Since 1968 (Indonesia): JZA-JZZ, PKA-POZ, YBA-YHZ, 7AA-7IZ, 8AA-8IZ - IOTA various

The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, (Dutch: Nederlands-Indië; Indonesian: Hindia-Belanda) was the Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the former Dutch East India Company that came under the administration of the Netherlands in 1800. During the nineteenth century, Dutch possessions in the archipelago and its hegemony were expanded, reaching their greatest extent in the early twentieth century. Following the World War II Japanese occupation, Indonesian nationalists declared Indonesian independence in 1945. Thereafter and as a consequence of the subsequent Indonesian National Revolution, the Netherlands formally recognised Indonesian sovereignty in December 1949.

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Amateur Radio from the Dutch East Indies - QSL Gallery

Dutch East-India counts as an ex-DXCC entity until 30. April 1964 (No amateur activities were allowed 1941-45). All later contacts count for Indonesia. We do not know much about the men (and one woman) behind the key and mike. Most operators were of Dutch origin and/or civil servants, officials, or working for the telecommunication systems. They were organised in the Nederland-Indische Vereeniging voor Internationaal Radioamateurisme (NIVIRA). - The QSL gallery was compiled from our own archives and complemented by the Indenesian Amateur Radio Society Organisasi Amatir Radio Indonesia (ORARI) with contributions from various collectiors. A great contribution was made by the Historic QSL Collection PA1AT (marked ÷PA1AT) -- PK Archive with a wealth of information (in Dutch): ext. Link

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My Indonesian station license

By Al Cammarata, W3AWU, Fairfax, VA

I am curious as to the year when the last "legal" amateur radio operation from Indonesia stopped and when it resumed since I note QSL cards for operation in early 1960's.
Sometime in early 1969 Indonesia officially allowed amateur operation for the first time. At the same time, there were three US Amateurs stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Djakarta. They brokered a USA/Indonesian reciprocal amateur radio operating agreement. The first licenses issued to these Americans in Djakarta were YB0AAA, YB0AAB, and YB0AAC. There was also a German national with a two letter YB0 callsign (I think YB0AR) and at least one Indonesian, YB0AB, in Djakarta whom I believe was an official of Dewan Telekomunakasi, the Indonesian licensing authority. Needless to say, when these stations got on the air they were in great demand!
From 1967-1969 I was assigned to the US Consulate, a one-man station in Medan, Sumatra, so I could not leave my post without a relief. I was able to arrange for a swap with one of the operators in Djakarta for one week, and in April 1969 I went to Djakarta on orders as a Diplomatic courier. Jack Hale, YB0AAC, was with the Army Attaches Office. I sent him a note about the possibility of helping me get on the air. He knew the chief of the Indonesian amateur radio bureau and made arrangements for us to meet with him at Dewan Telekomunikasi on a Saturday to apply for my Indonesian license. Jack had an application ready for me to fill out upon my arrival in Djakarta. Since my tour of duty was up in August, I was given permission to operate as W3AWU/YB.

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