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Newington CT  October 14, 2016
To all radio amateurs 

SB SPCL ARL ARLX014
ARLX014 King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej, HS1A (SK)

Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), HS1A, died on October 13, after a
long period of declining health. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while his
physician father was at Harvard University, the king, whose name translated
as "strength of the land, incomparable power," was 88.

According to noted DXer Fred Laun, K3ZO/HS0ZAR, the king "was never very
active on the air, and, to my knowledge, the only QSOs he ever made were
from a handheld on 2 meter FM." He said HS1A was often "pictured using a
handheld." He also was pictured with a camera, as photography was one of his
passions, and he was a jazz enthusiast, who played the saxophone.

The Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST), the country's IARU member
society, said on its website that the king was "presented the call sign HS1A
by the Ministry of Communications at Chitrlada Palace" in 1989 in a ceremony
witnessed by RAST officers. He was the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty,
having ascended to the throne in June of 1946, and was the world's
longest-reigning monarch.
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