Aufstieg und Fall von Romeo Stepanenko UB5JRR
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The Rise and Fall of Romeo Stepanenko UB5JRR Aufstieg und Fall von Romeo Stepanenko UB5JRR |
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Von/From UB5RR, Simferopol, bis/to 3W3RR, Saigon
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| Romeo's UB5JRR QSL | XV2A, The Club station | Romeo's 3W3RR photo QSL | 3W3RR, Vietnam, 1989 |
| Romeo Stepanenko wurde 1966 geboren in xxx, Ukraine. Wahrscheinlich hat ihn sein Vater, Wladimir Stepanenko UB1RR zum Amateurfunk gebracht. Wir wissen wenig über Romeos Kindheit, Jugend und Militärdienstzeit. Wir wissen auch nicht, wann er seine Lizenz erhielt. Er selbst schreibt erst über seine Situation Anfang 1989: "Ich hatte mein Studium in Mathematik und Computerprogrammierung an der Universität Simferipol abgeschlossen, hing mein Diplom an die Wand und arbeitete einige Zeit für den Bergrettungsdienst (Klettern ist mein zweites Hobby)." Da war Romeo bereits mit Aloyna verheiratet, die ebenfalls kurz zuvor graduiert hatte und ihre gemeinsame Tochter xxx aufzog. Um mit ihm während seiner Abwesenheit in Kontakt zu bleiben, legte auch sie die Lizenzprüfung ab und erhielt das Rufzeichen UT5JDA. Romeo hatte inzwischen bei einem Sowjet-Vietnamesischen joint venture angeheuert, bei Kiulong, und ging Ende 1989 im Auftrag dieser Firma nach Vietnam. "Der Minister für Telekommunikation dieses Landes wollte einen Amateurfunk-Verein gründen, und nach kurzer Bedenkzeit übernahm ich die Aufgabe, den Kursbetrieb zu führen, eine Klubstation zu errichten und das Regelwerk für den Amateurfunk auszuarbeiten. Tagsüber unterrichtete ich die künftigen Funkamateure; nachts funkte ich selbst als" 3W3RR. | Romeo Stepanenko was born 1966 in xxx,
Ukraine, son of Vladimir Stepanenko UB1RR who most probably introduced him to
amateur radio. Nothing is know, to date, of Romeo's childhood and youth, or of
his military service. Nor do we know where and when he obtained his license.
His own accounts start in early 1989: "I had graduated from Simferopol
University, majoring in Maths and Computer Programming, put the diploma on the
wall and for some time worked for the Mountain Rescue service (mountain
climbing is my second hobby)." By that time Romeo was married to Alyona who
had recently graduated from college and raised their daughter xxx. In order to
talk to him during his absences she even passed her exam and got the call
UT5JDA: Romeo, meanwhile, had enrolled with a joint Soviet-Vietnamese company,
Kiulong, and on that firm's payroll went to Vietnam, in late 1989. The Minister of telecommunications of that country wanted to create an Amateur Radio Society; so, after a little thinking, I accepted a job to conduct courses for new hams, create a club station, produce rules and regulations for the Vietnamese. During the day I taught my hams-to-be; at night I got on the air and operated" 3W3RR. |
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| 1S0XV/1S1RR April/May, 1990 |
1S0RR September 1991 |
1S0XV | 1S1RR |
| Zitat aus Romeos Bericht: "Im
Februar <1990> hatte ich bereits gute Kontakte mit den lokalen
Behördenvertretern in Saigon aufgenommen, um mich über eine ...
Möglichkeit zu informieren, Spratly zu aktivieren. ... Schließlich
stellte sich heraus, dass diese Angelegenheit nur auf höchster Ebene in
Saigon geregelt werden könne. Am 17, März brachte mir XV2AA um zwei
Uhr früh ein Telex: Die Innen-, Außen-, Kommunikations- und
Verteidigungsminister hatten die Angelegenheit besprochen und ihre prinzipielle
Zustimmung erteilt. Unglaublich! In so kurzer Zeit! ... Gut, dass uns INDEXA
einen Großteil der Probleme abnahm! ... Eine Besprechung mit dem
Generaldirektor von Kiulong und dem Kommunikationsminister folgte; Yuri nahm
daran teil. In der Folge verfügten wir innerhalb weniger Tage über
ein Schiff und alle Genehmigungen. In höchster Eile kauften wir ein:
Verpflegung, Generatoren, Treibstoff und Material. ... Zwei Wochen vor der
geplanten Abreise brachte Alex UL7PCZ aus Moskau die Ausrüstung von INDEXA
und seine Selbstbau RTTY-Anlage. Wir waren die allerersten Ausländer im vietnamesischen Teil der Spratlys. Auf den größeren Inseln liefern sich die Vietnamesen von Zeit zu Zeit Schussduelle mit den Chinesen. Unser Standort war zum Glück unbesidelt! Wir brachen aus der Cam Ranh Bucht auf, gut gerüstet für die gefährliche Überfahrt. Wir brauchten zwei Tage, hatten bestes Wetter, und die Vietnamesen konnten unser Glück kaum fassen. Die Landung war rauher als das Wetter: Wir mussten die Ausrüstung Stück für Stück bei Ebbe an Land tragen. In den ersten Tagen wehte heftiger Wind, aber in der Folge herrschte absolute Windstille... Da waren wir also, mitten im Nirgendwo: Romeo Stepanenko, 3W3RR; Yuri Loparev, RL8PY; Alex Lebedev, UL7PCZ; Anatoly Lazarev, RL8PZ; Yuri Brazhenko, Yuri Meshalkinr, Victor Levashev, Trieu, XV2AB, Hoa, XV2AAC, and Da XV2AAD saßen nicht an den Geräten, waren aber als Helfer unentbehrlich. Wir hatten in den ersten paar Tagen wirklich Glück mit besten Ausbreitungsbedingungen auf KW ... aber dann, als hätte jemand die Gardinen zugezogen ..., kamen nur noch sporadisch Signale durch. Deshalb haben wir nur anfangs in Fonie gearbeitet und hatten am Schluss 40% aller QSOs in CW gefahren. ... Ab sechs Uhr früh Lokalzeit gingen für 5-6 Stunden sämtliche Bänder zu. Außer VK/ZL auf 28MHz war nichts zu hören. ... Am fünften oder sechsten Tag überhitzten die Generatoren und wir mussten sie in aller Eile reparieren. Sie gaben uns bis zuletzt zu schaffen; einmal mussten wir sogar total pausieren. Und dann ging uns der Treibstoff aus - erstens, weil wir aus Geldmangel zu knapp kalkuliert hatten, und zweitens, weil irrtümlich ein volles Faß auf dem Schiff geblieben war. Volle acht Tage Betrieb fielen aus, weil wir auf die Rückkehr des Schiffes warten mussten, das endlich Treibstoff und neue Generatoren brachte. Wir funkten dann noch weitere sechs Tage. ... Als alles wieder an Bord gebracht war und nur noch eine Station betriebsklar war, machte ich unter meinem eigenen Rufzeichen 1S1RR in sechs Stunden 1027 Verbindungen. Als wir nach einem langen, intensiv zugebrachten Monat aufbrachen, waren wir physisch und emotional erschöpft. Es regnete! Zum ersten Mal regnete es! Die folgenden zwei Wochen steckten wir in Vietnam fest und konnten kein Ticket nach Moskau kaufen. Ohne Geld hausten wir zu fünft in der Klubstation 3W8AA und hungerten. ... Nur weil uns der Direktor der PTT ein bisschen Geld spendete, hielten wir durch." Ed(ward) Kritsky, NT2X, der DX-Koordinator für INDEXA ergänzt: "Sie haben über 40.000 QSOs geschafft. Der Trip kostete die Sowjets 36.000$, jeder Operator legte an die tausend Rubel dazu - ein knapper Jahreslohn -, um mitfahren zu können." ...und abermals Kaum von der (vorgeblichen) Myanmar-Expedition zurück, traf Romeo im September 1991 in den Straßen Saigons "einen alten Bekannten, der für die Regierung arbeitete. Es stellte sich heraus, dass dessen Bruder Kapitän eines Forschungsschiffes im Südchinesischen Meer war und anderentags für einen Aufenthalt von drei bis vier Tagen nach Chuong Sa in den Spratlys auslaufen sollte." Romeos Entschluss war rasch gefasst. Diese Chance musste er nützen, denn seine Lizenz galt bis Ende 1991. "Das Team, die "Bande" war alles andere als erfreut über diese 'gute Nachricht', kam aber dann doch mit. Nach dreißig Stunden auf See landete das Schiff auf einer kleinen Insel unweit von Dalat. ... Auf der Insel gab es so gut wie keinen Schatten; wir holten uns also unverzüglich einen argen Sonnenbrand. Jeweils zwei von uns saßen am Funkgerät, während die beiden anderen mit allen Kleidern im Wasser hockten, um sich zu kühlen. 56 Stunden und 10.000 Kontakte später verließen wir die Insel." <Ed Kritsky, NT2X, zitiert nach: "The DX Magazine", Oktober 1992> |
Quoting from Romeo's report: "By
February <1990> I had established some good connections with the local
officials in Saigon and started gathering information ... to look into the
possibility of a Spratly operation. ... Finally it was becoming clear that this
matter could be resolved only in Hanoi, at the highest level. On March 17th,
XV2AA came to meet me at 2am with a telex - there had been a meeting - and the
Ministers of Defence, Telecommunications, Internal, and Foreign Affairs had
approved the idea in principle. This was unbelievable - in such a short period
of time! ... Good thing INDEXA took on a major chunk of our load of problems!
... Another meeting was held with the General Director of Kiulong and the
Minister of Telecommunications; Yuri was there too. Because of this meeting, in
a matter of days we had a ship and all permits. Food, generators, fuel and
supplies were purchased in a terrible rush. ... Two weeks before departure in
the island, Alex UL7PCZ, arrived from Moscow with INDEXA's equipment; he also
brought his home-made RTTY gear. There wasn't a single foreigner on the Vietnamese part of the Spratly Archipelago before we went there. On the larger islands there are military bases where, from time to time, the Vietnamese have shootouts with the Chinese. Well, at least the place where we were going to was deserted! We departed from Cam Ranh Bay by transport vessel, well equipped for sailing in the dangerous waters. Our trip took two full days. The weather was great and the Vietnamese couldn't believe our luck. The landing was worse than the weather and everything had to be taken ashore by hand during low tide. The wind was blowing for the first few days, but after that the air didn't move a bit. ... So here we were, in the middle of nowhere: Romeo Stepanenko, 3W3RR; Yuri Loparev, RL8PY; Alex Lebedev, UL7PCZ; Anatoly Lazarev, RL8PZ; Yuri Brazhenko, Yuri Meshalkinr, Victor Levashev, Trieu, XV2AB, Hoa, XV2AAC, and Da XV2AAD did not operate but were of tremendous help. We got truly lucky for the first few days with great conditions on HF ... and then, as if someone closed the curtain, ... just occasional signals. That's why we operated on phone only in the first few days. At the end we had 40% of all QSOs on CW anyway. ... Starting at 6am local time we would lose all propagation for 5-6 hours. Nothing was coming in, except VK/ZL on 28MHz. ... Sometime on the fifth or sixth day of operation the generators overheated and we had to fix them in a hurry. They continued to misbehave throughout the operation forcing us off the air. At one point we were running out of fuel - not enough was bought because of shortage of money. Because of an oversight, the vessel that brought us left with a 60-gallon barrel of fuel! For the next eight days we were off the air, waiting for the ship to return. The ship finally arrived, bringing more fuel and a new generator. We were on the air again for a further six days. ... When everything was loaded onto the ship, and only one operating position remained, I got on with my 1S1RR call and made 1027 contacts in six hours. By the time we were leaving - it was a long month indeed - we were exhausted, both physically and emotionally. It rained - the only rain we saw there! ...For the next two weeks we were stuck in Vietnam and could not buy a return ticket to Moscow. With no money left, five of us lived at the club station, 3W8AA, all the time, almost starving. ... Thanks to the generosity of the PTT Director, who gave us some money, we got through." Ed(ward) Kritsky, NT2X, DX Coordinator for INDEXA added: "They made over 40.000 QSOs. The trip cost the Soviets $36.000; the ops themselves each spent about 1.000 roubles - roughly the annual salary for some of them - in order to go." ...and again After returning from his (alleged) Myanmar expedition, in September, 1991, "walking down in the street <of Saigon> Romeo met an old aquaintance who worked for the government. It turned out his brother was the captain of a boat conducting sea research in the South China Sea, and leaving the next day for Chuong Sa, in the Spratly Archipelago, for 3-4 days." Romeo quickly decided it was a chance not to be missed, since his permission for the Spratly operation was valid until the end of 1991. "The 'gang' on the other hand, wasn't happy at all to hear the 'good news', but ultimately went along. Soon after we boarded the ship and 30 hours later landed on a small island not far from the island of Dalat, in the Spratlys. ... There was very little shade on the island, so we got burned by the ferocious sun almost immediately. Two of us would operate while the other two would sit in the water, cooling off with all their clothes on. ... 56 hours and another 10.000 contacts later we got off the island." <Ed Kritsky, NT2X, quoted from "The DX Magazine", October 1992> |
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Romeo's Spratly Report abridged (English) - with some background information about 3W3RR | ||
Romeo's Spratly Report in full length
(English) - in: "The DX Magazine", January, 1991  |
Januar/January & Dezember/December 1991: XA0RR Afghanistan
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| YA0RR 01/1991 QSL front |
YA0RR 01/1991 QSL back |
YA0RR 12/1991 Standard QSL |
YA0RR 12/1991 Special QSL |
| Ein Land mitten im politischen Chaos
wieder auf den Amateurfunkbändern zu aktivieren, mag ein fragwürdiges
und waghalsiges Unternehmen gewesen sein - aber einer hatte sich diese
verrückte Idee in den Kopf gesetzt: Romeo Stepanenko 3W3RR, der offenbar
über ausgezeichnete Kontakte im Hintergrund verfügte. Dass Romeo ein
hochrangiger Funktionär des sowjetischen Geheimdienstes KGB gewesen sei,
bleibt bis heute ein hartnäckig verbreitetes Gerücht. Wie Romeo zu seiner Lizenz kam, wollte er nicht verraten; er begnügte sich in der Öffentlichkeit mit einem Dank bei Yuri Brazhenko, dem Präsidenten der Handelsfirma "Moscow-Boston International Ltd." - und sicherte sich die Rückendeckung der allmächtigen ARRL. Erst als im Dezember 1990 von dort grünes Licht für die Anerkennung der geplanten Operation kam, von Ed Kritsky NT2X die Zusage der weltweiten Koordinierung, aus Japan und den USA finanzielle Unterstützung und von der zuvor genannten Firma ein uneingeschränkter Kreditrahmen, konnte das Unternehmen starten. Romeo nahm als Partner seinen Freund Valery ("Larry") YL1WW von der Klubstation in Riga mit. Am 31. Dezember 1990 flogen die beiden von Moskau ab - und landeten zwei Stunden später in Taschkent: Die russische Militärmaschine hatte ihren Kurs geändert. Erst am 2. Januar 1991 konnte ein "halb-militärischer" Flug nach Kabul angetreten werden. Die am Flughafen erwartete sowjetische Abordnung war aufgrund einer Kommunikationslücke ausgeblieben - nicht die erste unangenehme Überraschung, wie sich bald zeigte. Beim Auspacken der Ausrüstung auf dem sowjetischen Komplex in der Stadt erkannte man, dass in Taschkent die meisten Antennen und einige Geräte gestohlen worden waren. Selbst die Sowjets wagten sich nach 21 Uhr nicht mehr auf die Straße, ab 22 Uhr herrschte Ausgangsverbot, und von da an wurde auf jeden Passanten ohne Vorwarnung geschossen, die regierungsfeindlichen Kräfte waren auf 30km an die Stadt herangerückt und belegten sie mit Dauerbeschuss - das war alles andere als eine günstige Ausgangslage. Wer irgendwo eine Antenne errichten wollte, wurde automatisch zur Zielscheibe aller kämpfenden Parteien. Kein Wunder, dass der sowjetische Botschafter seine Zustimmung zum Aufbau der Station auf von seinen Landsleuten kontrolliertem Gelände untersagte. Zudem hatte nicht das Kommunikationsministerium die Lizenz ausgestellt, sondern ein hochrangiger Beamter - dessen Namen Romeo nie preisgegeben hat. An offizielle Unterstützung war nicht zu denken - also beschlossen Romeo und Larry, auf eigene Faust zu handeln. Am 5. Januar fanden sie Unterschlupf in einem Vorort Kabuls, Larry baute drei Meter über Grund eine fast unsichtbare Loop-Antenne aus dünnem Draht auf - alles andere wäre Selbstmord gewesen -, und damit wurden auf 10m die ersten QSOs gefahren, mit 100 Watt, denn das Geräusch eines Generators hätte unerwünschte Neugierige angezogen. In der Folge wechselte das Team vierzehn Mal den Standort, von komfortablen Einfamilienhäusern bis zu primitiven Erdlöchern. Neunzig Prozent der Verbindungen wurden mit der "Afghani Special" getätigt, einem 21 m langen Draht, auf den zur Tarnung Wäsche zum Trocknen hing. Ohne Antennentuner (der war in Taschkent gestohlen worden) ließ sich damit auf allen Bändern arbeiten. Nur kurzeitig gelang es, eine Quad für 10 und 15 m, eine Yagi für 20 m sowie Antennnen für 6 m, 160 m und die WARC-Bänder in Betrieb zu nehmen; das Risiko war zu groß. Schon am dritten Tag gab der TS440 den Geist auf, wenig später kapitulierte die FL-2100-Endstufe vor den Schwankungen der afghanischen Netzspannungen. Von nun an wurde der verbliebene IC-726 mit einer sowjetischen Eigenbau-Endstufe kombiniert, und dieses Gespann bewährte sich - auch, als aus Geldmangel der Honda-2800-Generator verkauft werden musste. Sank die Netzspannung unter 180 V, kamen von der Taste nur noch Punkte, keine Striche - und wieder musste ein neuer Standort gefunden werden. An den beiden letzten Tagen gelang dennoch das Kunststück, sogar einige QSOs in RTTY zu führen. Die Expedition wurde am 21. Januar 1991 mit dem Rückflug nach Moskau beendet - und mit 31.128 Verbindungen im Logbuch. Romeo Stepanenko 3W3RR erneuerte später seine Lizenz, wählte in der Höhe von Termez einen Standort dicht an der tadschikischen Grenze, nahm UJ8JLT und Anatoly A. Prozorof UB5JIM mit und tätigte problemlos ab dem 12. Dezember 1991 24.000 QSOs. Die Anerkennung für das DXCC erfolgte unverzüglich. |
The idea of reactivating amateur radio
in the middle of political chaos was certainly both a questionable and daring
undertaking, but one man held on to this crazy idea: Romeo Stepanenko 3W3RR,
who allegedly used his excellent personal contacts to further this adventure.
Due to his secretive activities a widespread rumor stubbornly existed that
Romeo may have been a high-ranking official of the Soviet secret service KGB.
Romeo did not want to disclose how he obtained his license but was content to publicly thank Yuri Brazhenko, the president of the commercial firm "Moscow-Boston International Ltd." and he immediately sought the support of the omnipotent ARRL. Finally in December 1990 the planned operation was given the green light and the undertaking began with worldwide coordination by Ed Kritsky NT2X, and the financial support from Japan and the USA, and from the previously mentioned firm came an unlimited amount of credit. Romeo took as his partner his friend Valery "Larry" YL1WW from the club station in Riga. On December 31, 1990 the pair flew from Moscow - and landed two hours later in Tashkent. The Russian military machine had altered their course. Not until January 2, 1991 could a half-military flight to Kabul be taken. The Soviet delegation, expected upon arrival at the airport, failed to materialize due to a gap in communications. As it would turn out, this was not the last unpleasant surprise to occur. During the unpacking of the equipment in the Soviet complex in the city, it became apparent that most of the antennas and some of the equipment had been stolen in Tashkent. The Soviets themselves would not risk going out into the streets after 9:00 PM, and at 10:00 a curfew came into effect. After that time, any passersby could be shot without warning. The government opposition was 30 kilometers from the city and kept it under continuous bombardment - this was anything but an ideal situation to venture out in. Whoever wished to erect an antenna anywhere was automatically a target of all the warring parties. No wonder that the Soviet ambassadors prohibited the construction of the station in the occupied land. In addition, the license did not come from the communications ministry, but from a high-ranking government official whose name Romeo had not surrendered. Since further government support could not be expected, Romeo and Larry decided to act on their own. On January 5, they found a hideout in a suburb of Kabul and Larry built a 3-meter-high almost invisible loop antenna from thin wire as anything else would be suicide. With this antenna the first 10 meter QSO's were made with 100 watts because the sound of a generator would have drawn unwanted attention. The team changed their location altogether fourteen times, from comfortable single-family dwellings to primitive foxholes. Ninety percent of the contacts were made with the "Afghani Special", a 21 meter-long wire, on which laundry was hung for camouflage. Even without an antenna tuner (it was stolen in Tashkent) it was possible to operate on all bands. Only for a short time was it possible to use a quad for 10 and 15 meters, a Yagi for 20 meters and antennas for 6 meters, 160 meters, and the WARC bands - the risk was too great. Already on the third day the TS440 went dead and a short time later the FL-2100 finals surrendered to the deviation of the Afghani line voltages. From then on, the remaining IC-726 was combined with a Soviet-built final stage, and this pair proved very useful. Due to financial difficulties they were forced to sell the Honda 2800 generator. When the line voltage sank below 180 volts, only dots came from the key, and no dashes - and again a new station location had to be found. On the last two days it was even possible to pull off a few QSO's using RTTY. The expedition ended on January 21, 1991 with the return flight to Moscow, with 31,128 contacts in the logbook. He successfully renewed his license and selected a spot in the mountains of Termez close to the Tajikistan border, took UJ8JLT and Anatoly A. Prozorof UB5JIM on the trip and succeeded, with only a few particular problems, after the 12th of December 1991 to make 24,000 contacts. The recognition for the DXCC certificate came without delay. |
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Romeo's Afghanistan Report in full
length (English) - in: "The DX Magazine", August, 1991 |
Zwischenspiel/Interlude - August 1991, Moskau/Moscow
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| Das Weiße Haus in Moskau The White House in Moscow |
August
1991: Widerstand/Resistance |
August
1991: Sieg/Victory |
UA3A/NT2X Ed(ward) Kritsky |
| Deutsch | Russia's "White House" in Moscow is
the seat of the Russian government. The building figured prominently on the
morning of 19 August 1991: Soviet officials launched a coup. Boris Yeltsin left
for the Russian White House shortly after the coup was announced, encountering
tanks and armored personnel carriers along the way. At 1 p.m. he climbed atop a
tank positioned just outside the building, denounced the coup as
unconstitutional, and called for Gorbachev's release from house arrest.
Meanwhile Muscovites moved in to protect the White House, and by Monday evening
had set up barricades and formed a human chain around the building. By
Wednesday morning, tanks and armored personnel carriers approached the
barricades under orders to storm them, and in the ensuing fighting several
civilians lost their lives. Most soldiers, however, refused to fire on the
crowds, and the coup attempt soon faltered Amateur Radio played a great role during those days - with station RA3 operating directly from the White House: "On Monday, August 19, 1991, Andy Gromov, UA6XGL... agreed to begin transmitting the decrees from his home station, and did so until his transceiver failed. Then an invitation came... to set up on the sixth floor of the White House." Andy reacted immediately: "I installed my homemade transceiver and a 300-watt amplifier using a power cord cut from a vacuum cleaner for interconnecting cables. For cooling, we set my amplifier on a garbage pail with a fan. ... RA3 came on the air at 2 AM Moscow time August 20. and began transmitting the first of many decrees from Russian President Boris Yeltsin. ...The military soon began jamming us.... By Tuesday, August 20, some amateurs in Moscow had discovered the frequencies being used by the putschists. They began reporting ... tank movements around the city to the White House." "Jamming of RA3 reminded of the infamous Russian 'Woodpecker', a frequency-sweeping, over-the-horizon radar. To avoid this, RA3 moved frequency, confusing the nonamateur jammer operators with ham jargon such as Q signals, 'Up five,' and so on. On the morning of August 20, two representatives of Moscow-Boston International arrived: Yuri Brazhenko and Romeo Stepanenko. They brought an IC-726 to replace Andy's homemade transceiver. "RA3 was received all over the USSR, where amateurs taped our broadcasts for delivery to local government officials and for the newspapers. Foreign embassies and the US Department of State also began tuning to RA3. ...Also on the 20th, station R3B was set up on the 20th floor of the White House. There ... one of the popular homemade amateur ... transceivers [was modified] to transmit AM on the broadcast band .... This enabled citizens throughout Moscow proper to receive Yeltsin's decrees on their table radios." "Late on the 20th, the first attempt at a military assault on the White House began, and we were terrified for our lives." The Amateur Radio operators at R3A/R3B were: UA1ZCU, UA6XGL, RW3DP, UV3DCX, UA3DMC, UA6YHP, UV3ACQ, RA3AA, UA3AOC, UA3ANL, and UA9-163-075. Quoted from: "Meanwhile in St. Petersburg" by Robert S. Howe, K1MZB and "The 'White House' Operation" , and from: "Soviet Hams Rally Against Coup" by Edward Kritsky, NT2X, in: QST November, 1991. |
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| XY0RR, September 1991 | Roman 4K2OT | Romeo working CW | The camp site |
| Nur wenige Tage nach Romeos
spektakulärem Auftritt in Moskau landete er - so schien es jedenfalls
damals - den nächsten Coup: Ab dem 30.08.1991 wurde Myanmar, das
frühere Burma, durch eine DXpedition aktiviert. Dabei handelte es sich um
den ersten (zunächst) offiziell anerkannten Amateurfunkbetrieb nach fast
dreißig Jahren. Myanmar zählte daher zu den meist gesuchten
Ländern der Welt. Fünf sowjetische Funkamateure betrieben für
zwei Wochen die Amateurfunkstation XYØRR. Beteiligt waren neben Romeo
Gena, UA9MA, Roman, 4K2OT, und Harry, RA3AUU. Gesendet wurde vornehmlich in
Telegrafie auf 14.020, 21.020 und 28.020, in SSB auf 14.195, 21.295 und 28.495
kHz. XYØRR wurde jedoch auch schon in den Abendstunden auf 7.003 kHz
gehört. Die QSL-Anschrift für XYØRR lautete: Romeo Stepanenko,
Box 812, Sofia 1000, Bulgarien. Obwohl bereits Zweifel an der Legalität dieser DXpedition geäußert wurden - sowohl was die Sendegenehmigung als auch was den Standort betraf -, anerkannte das DXAC (DX Advisory Committee) nach Begutachtung der beigestellten Unterlagen die Operation für das DXCC. |
Romeo Stepanenko and Ed Kritsky:
"What made <XY0RR> possible was a chain of incredible events and
coincidences. ... It was easier to get <a license> than we had originally
thought. ... A group of four was formed: Harry RA3AUU, Gena UA9MA, Roman
4K2OT/UB1KA and Romeo himself. ... <In Yangon> the team loaded their
wares onto a military helicopter. Suddenly it turned out that the operating
position was no longer to be in the Miei Islands, as was originally discussed.
It was in the Golden Triangle. ... At some time prior to our arrival, a patch
of land had been cleared for the operation. ... We were briefed by the chief of
the guards: an area of 20 x 30 meters was assigned for the operation, and
leaving this area wasn't desireable. ... By the last day of operation we were
absolutely exhausted and couldn't take it anymore. The helicopter arrived,
forcing us to shut down altogether. We pulled the plug ... on September 11,
with a total of 50.007 contacts in the log." First doubts Yoshi Hayashi, JA1UT, had been trying before, for quite some time, to obtain a license for Myanmar. In January 1990 he met with Lt. Col. Than Tut, Director General of the Information & Broadcasting Department, Ministry of Communication. They discussed the possibility of opening amateur radio. Later, Lt.Col.Than Tut was replaced by Lt.Col.Kyi Lwin. Yoshi and his friends travelled to Yangon in May and November 1990, and again in August 1991. Lt.Col.Kyi Lwin proposed to raise the question of the resumption of amateur radio at a cabinet meeting. Then the XY0RR operation by Romeo Stapanenko, suddenly appeared. DXAC gave DXCC credit to this operation. Meanwhile, in response to a query, the Myanmar Central Government sent a telex to JA1UT stating they had not granted any such licences or permissions for amateur radio operation to foreigners. |
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Romeo's Myanmar Report in full length
(English) - in: "The
DX Magazine", September/October, 1992 |
1991/92: Romeo, der große Held - Romeo the big gun
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| Airborne in a balloon... | ...maritime mobile... | ...in Liechtenstein (26.03.91)... | ...and at the ITU HQ in Geneva (27.03.91) |
| Deutsch | It was Romeo's greatest time. He was celebrated as a hero, invited to every major hamvention, honoured guest and everybody's darling. He obtained a US license and, in fact, collected call sign after call sign in incredibly short time - adding up to about fifty. Romeo was the highlight at the Dayton hamvention, in 1992, where we signed QSL cards and met his buddies. |
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| Romeo & Alyona Stepanenko USA, 1991 |
With Tim Pearson KU4J New England Convention, 1991 |
With Gennady, AB2AP and Alex, N2YXA, Dayton, 1992 |
Signing QSLs Dayton Hamvention 1992 |
August 1992: 9D0RR Iran / December 1992: P5RS7 North Korea
| Deutsch | DXCC HAPPENING. Documentation has been
received and approved for Romeo's 9D0RR operations from 5th August 1992 to 17th
August 1992. Also, QSL cards for operations by Iranian amateurs for QSOs on
20th August 1988 and after are now being accepted for DXCC. Previously rejected
cards may be returned for DXCC credit. <DXCC Release> P5, NORTH KOREA. It has been reported by Kan, JA1BK, that Romeo (aka 3W3RR, YA0RR, 1S0RR, 9D0RR) is in North Korea operating as P5RS7 thru the end of the year. P5RS7 was first reported (December 19) on 7045 kHz working JAs around 0020z. Then later P5RS7 was reported working the west coast of the U.S. on 28495 kHz around 0115z. From 0215 to 0547z, P5RS7 was active on 21295 and 14195 kHz. QSL via JA1HGY. THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE ON THE NORTH KOREA OPERATION, THAT WAS RECEIVED FROM THREE DIFFERENT SOURCES: After long and difficult preparations, a group of amateurs found an opportunity to operate from NORTH KOREA (P5...). "In view of the most complicated political situation (which is well-known) the expedition has a higher probablity of failure then of success. A license was issued by the military authorities of NORTH KOREA. It holds certain guarantees that the upcoming operation will take place. However, the DXpedition organizers have serious concerns because there are many conditions, restrictions and stipulations imposed upon them. This DXpedition, if it takes place, doesn't wish to undermine the major work done by the IARU group consisting of W1RU, OH2BH and others. In our case military (not civilian) license was issued. Moreover, the first operation from a previously "closed" country frequently "opens" that country for future ham radio activity. The organizers decided not to appeal for funds and support to any clubs and associations before the upcoming operation, even though the expenses are very high. The risk is just too big and we feel we cannot risk other peoples money. Everything was organized and funded privately by individuals from several countries. After the DXpedition is over, DXAC shall receive ORIGINALS of all available documents, licenses, passports, photographs, perhaps even video shots on location. Because of restrictions imposed upon the operators, they can transmit only correspondent's callsign and his report. Please don't ask any questions on the air. Address all inquiries to the manager, JA1HGY. Donations can also be made via JA1HGY, any support is welcomed. Proposed callsign for the operation: P5RS7 (papa five radio sierra seven), to QRV _ONLY_ CW and SSB. Standard DXpedition frequencies, QSX up! There will be no RTTY or WARC bands due to restrictions. We shall announce the names of all operators when the expedition is successful. We thank you all beforehand for being disciplined and understanding. Wish us good luck. 73! From the operators and organizers." ** AN UPDATE ON THE P5 (Minutes before going to print!) ** There was an announcement around 2151z December 20th that the P5 operation was taken off the air by local authorities. Then almost 30 minutes after the announcement, P5RS7 appeared on 7001 and then moved to 21022 kHz. * REMEMBER - WFWL! |
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| 9D0RR - Iran August 1992 |
9D0RR - Iran August 1992 |
P5RS7 - North Korea December 1992 |
5A0RR, 1993 |
| Romeo berichtet: "Ursprünglich
waren für 5A0 sechs Operators vorgesehen, aber aus Geldmangel mussten wir
uns auf drei beschränken: Said (ein Libyer), der das Rufzeichen 5A0RR
besitzt, Danny LZ2UU und ich. Während der Aktivierung, die fünf Tage
dauerte, haben wir über 11.000 Verbindungen
getätigt. Zufällig fand die Expedition zum gleichen Zeitpunkt wie der arabische Gipfel in Kairo statt, was sich durch hitzige Sicherheitsvorkehrungen in jener Region auswirkte. Nachdem die Expedition beendet war, wurden Danny und ich von der libyschen Spionageabwehr beschuldigt, einen Anschlag sowohl auf den ägyptischen Präsidenten Mubarak als auch auf den libyschen Staatschef Gaddafi vorbereitet zu haben. Zu allem Übel wurde uns noch vorgeworfen, unter dem Deckmantel Amateurfunk die Kommunikation des Drogenhandels über türkische Schiffe im Hafen von Alexandria und Bengasi gestützt zu haben. Natürlich war dies alles Unsinn, aber wir wurden trotzdem in einem libyschen Gefängnis inhaftiert, wo wir vier Wochen verbringen mussten. Unsere ständige Bitte um Kontakt mit dem russischen und dem bulgarischen Konsulat wurde mit Verletzungen und Folter beantwortet. Diese unschönen Erfahrungen haben meine Gesundheit schwer beeinträchtigt, und ich befinde mich noch immer in ärztlicher Behandlung. Wie durch ein Wunder führten Umstände, die ich später einmal schildern werde, zu unserer Freilassung. Said, 5A0RR, ein exzellenter CW-Mann, wird unter seinem noch zwei Jahre gültigen Rufzeichen in Libyen weiterhin aktiv bleiben. Wir überließen ihm einen FT-990, eine FL-7000-Endstufe und eine Mosley-Antenne. Es blieb leider keine Zeit, ihn auch im SSB-Betrieb einzuweisen." <Deutsche Textfassung zit.n.: CQDL 11/93, S 785> Romeo versprach, die erforderlichen Nachweise für 5A0RR und P5RS7 an die ARRL zu senden. Eine Kopie des Logs von 5A0RR sei in Bulgarien. LZ2UU werde via Box 812, Sofia, den QSL-Versand besorgen. Romeos Bericht endete mit den Worten: "Unbegründete Kritiken mit falschen Anschuldigungen aus der Amateurfunkgemeinschaft haben mich sehr getroffen. ... Tatsächlich mache ich mir Gedanken, ob ich meine Anstrengungen, die seltensten Länder der Welt zu aktivieren, weiter fortsetzen soll." |
Romeo states, "Originally, plans
called for the use of six amateur radio operators for 5A, but due to the lack
of funding we had to limit ourselves to three operators: Said (Libyan), who
currently holds the call sign 5A0RR, Danny, LZ2UU and myself. During the
operation, which lasted five days, we worked over 11,000 stations. This DXpedition coincided with the International Arab Summit being held in Cairo, so National security throughout the region was at a fever pitch. The Dxpedition was terminated when Danny and I were accused by Libyan counter-intelligence and Egyptian police of planning to assassinate both President Mubarak and Libyan Leader Quaddafy. To make matters worse and even more bizarre, they said we were using ham radio as a cover for illegal drug trafficking by communicating with Turkish ships in the ports of Benghazi and Alexendria. We were both arrested and placed in the Libyan prison and held incommunicado. This unpleasant experience, the details of which I will not go into at this time, has caused my health to deteriorate greatly and I am currently under doctor's care and receiving medical treatment. Said, 5A0RR, will continue to operate from Libya under this call sign which is in effect for two years. We left him an FT-990, a FL-7000 amp and a Mosley antenna. He is an outstanding CW operator but might be limited in his SSB operating since we didn't have the opportunity to train him in this mode." <Excerpts from Romeo New Release, August 1993, received by Ed, NT2X> Romeo claimed he would present the necessary papers for 5A0RR and P5RS7 to the ARRL. Copies of the log of 5A0RR were in Bulgaria and QSLs were sent by LZ2UU via Box 812, Sofia, Bulgaria. |
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| The rising star (Moldava, August 1990)... |
...and big gun (4L/AH0M, 1993)... |
...is a fake! (Gag QSL by WX9X) |
And so are his buddies! |
Das Blatt wendet sich / The tide turns
| DX Bulletin 11 ARLD011 - From ARRL
Headquarters Newington CT - February 21, 1996 To all radio amateurs SB DX ARL ARLD011 ARLD011 Awards committee vote The ARRL Awards Committee met recently to review submitted documentation for the 1992-93 P5RS7 operation submitted by Romeo Stepanenko. After a review of all material available, the Awards Committee voted unanimously to disqualify Romeo Stepanenko from participation in the DXCC program. This disqualification is based upon Rule 12, Operations Ethics, and Rule 13. The disqualification means that Stepanenko is not eligible to participate in the DXCC program in any manner. This includes, as provided for under Rule 12, paragraph (b) disallowance of contacts made with any station or DXpedition operated by him from the time of this action. |
| Deutsch | UB5JRR The ARRL excluded Romeo (better
known as 3W3RR) from the DXCC program. Reason for that were his very disputed
activities especially XY, P5 and 5A. QSLs and QSO credits of his other
DXpeditions like 1S0RR, YA0RR, XY0RR and 9D0RR are still valid for DXCC. (DX
Newsletter 974, 01.01.1996) There was a license from XY0RR. It was, as we found later, a forgery. I knew that this was likely, however I was not here at the time. although the XY0RR documents were forged. Due to the transition from paper records to computer records, it was not possible to find all XY0RR contacts, so we were forced by our own technology to allow that operation to stand. However, all operations since can be identified, and are removed if necessary. DXCC NEWS RELEASE. A release by Bill Kennamer, K5FUV, titled "XY0RR Status Update", in short states that the DXCC Desk's accreditation of the XY0RR operation "was based on evidence that the operators had made legal entry into the country, and possessed operating permission from the government of Myanmar." But, "recently obtained information has called this evidence into question." "If the accreditation decision regarding XY0RR were to be made today, the operation would not be accredited based on presently available information. However, technical difficulties prevent removal of DXCC credits for this operation. DXCC participants whose credit for Myanmar is based on a contact with XY0RR are encouraged to make a replacement contact for their own personal satisfaction." (Dec 1996) Now the rest of the story: Romeo 3W3RR/AH0M, (no ten ten) who lives in Moscow, Russia, is rumored to be a salesman (arms dealer) and has contacts in many Asian countries. Romeo has been making a name for himself in the DX community as he has operated from several rare countries where his Russian position helped get his radio license. Romeo and others faked the P5RS7 North Korea operation and were caught cheating, like submitting pictures from the P5RS7 operation and now these pictures have been identified as locations not in North Korea. A source in the S.Pacific told me two years ago, that Romeo operated from Vladivostok, Russia just over the border of N. Korea and this location was verified by Japanese stations using directional equipment. (Ten X DX News, March 1996) |
Das Spiel ist aus / The game is over
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| Romeo Stepanenko alias Roman Vega wurde im März 2004 verhaftet und aus Zypern in die USA überstellt. Er wurde beschuldigt, in 40 Fällen betrügerische Transaktionen mit gestohlenen Kreditkartennummern vorgenommen zu haben. Dies sei angeblich online in chatrooms geschehen. Der von ihm verursachte Schaden beträgt angeblich über 3 Millionen Dollar. Romeo hat sich in allen Fällen für unschuldig erklärt. Er wurde wegen Fluchtgefahr im Norden Kaliforniens in Gewahrsam gehalten. | Roman Vega, aka Romeo Stepanenko, was arrested and extradited from Cyprus to the United States in March of 2004, and has been charged with 40 counts of wire fraud and trafficking in stolen credit card numbers. He is alleged to have done this in online chat rooms. He allegedly bilked over $3 million out of this scheme. Romeo has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has been held in northern California, as he is considered a flight risk. |
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| Der Beginn von Romeos
Gerichtsverhandlung in San Francisco ist für Montag, dem 28. November 2005
angesetzt. (Wird fortgesetzt) |
Romeo's trial is scheduled to begin in
San Francisco on Monday, November 28, 2005. (To be continued) |
|
US Department of Justice press release | |
| Indictment as filed in Federal Court | ||
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