The first time that a group of radio amateurs got together to rag-chew about Hellschreibers was in 1977 in the Netherlands. This has turned into an annual event with regular attendance from Holland, Germany, France, Belgium, and Sweden. The Hell Meeting now takes place every year, sometime during September-November. It is a great way to get together in a social setting, with people who are owner/operator of Hellschreiber machines, are amateur radio operators (and SWL's) active in Feld-Hell mode, who foster radio history and in particular Hellschreiber history (and future)!
- [2023]
- [2020-2022]
- [2019]
- [2018]
- [2017]
- [2016]
- [2015]
- [2014]
- [2013]
- [2012]
- [2011]
- [2010]
- [2009]
- [2008]
- [2001]
- [1987]
- [1980]
- [Rudolf Hell 80th birthday]
©2004-2023 F. Dörenberg, unless stated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be used without permission from the author.
Latest page update: 23 May 2023 (added the report on this year's Meeting)
Previous updates: October 2022 (started section for the 2023 Hell Meeting); 18 October 2020 (added the 2020 section); 30 October 2019 (finalized the 2019 section).
2023 Hell Meeting.
After a three year hiatus, we
were
very pleased to resume our traditional Annual Meetings! The 43rd
"Reunion"
Meeting was held during the afternoon of Saturday 20 May 2023 at the
collection of the Foundation for German communication and related
technologies near Amsterdam. So, the Meeting was kindly hosted
by Arthur (PAØAOB) and XYL Karin. Detlev (DJ1LP) and Peter (PAØPZD)
were new participants. Both have also joined our
Weekly European Feld Hell Net on 80
mtrs a while ago. As always, plenty of exchanges, showing of - and looking
at - equipment items (brought along, or in the Collection), technical
discussions (Hellschreiber, amateur radio, crypto, life, ...), while also
enjoying coffee & tea with regional pastries, and appetizers. In the
presentation room, Karen revealed the chemical-physical structures of pigments
and the resulting properties such as color. We wrapped up the meeting part of our get-together, and had an
enjoyable dinner at a local Chinese restaurant, very generously offered by
Arthur, Marc, and Paul. We're looking forward to seeing each other again next
year - in Eindhoven, the venue of our 2015 Annual Meeting!
The 2023 attendees. Left-to-right (standing): Gerard (PA3BCB), Heinz (DC4GL), Arie (PE1AQB), Koos (PAØKDF), Peter (PAØPZD), Stella (XYL of Koos, PAØKDF), Marc (PE1RRT), Rommert (PE1DCF), Paul (PE1BXL), Detlev (DJ1LP), and our host Arthur (PAØAOB). Front (left-to-right): Margreet (XYL of Peter, PAØPZD) and Frank (N4SPP/F4WCN).
(click here to get full-size image)
Left photo: Peter (left) and Rommert in discussion, with Rommert holding a roll of Feld Hell tape with the print-out of our last week's Feld Hell Net on 80m. Center photo: keyboard from a Hell-80 machine - one of Arie's projects to use Hell-80 hardware to transmit Feld-Hell. Right photo (left to right): Marc, Arie, and Frank discussing an original commercial 4-wheel Enigma machine.
2020 - 2022 Hell Meetings. Due to the Corona/COVID-19 situation and unavailability of key participants, we had to cancel the Hell Meeting during three consecutive years...
2019 Hell Meeting.
The 42nd annual
Hell Meeting was held on Saturday 26 October 2019, once more at the
collection of the Foundation for German communication and related
technologies near Amsterdam. So, the Meeting was kindly hosted by
Arthur (PA0AOB) and XYL Karin. The display rooms were alread being set up
for the third installment of the special exhibit series "Secret
Communications" that will be held on
several weekends during the months
of November and December.
Regrettably, several of the regular
attendees (notably Dick (ON9BCD/PE1NRA), Bastiaan (PA3FFZ), and Koos
(PA0KDF)) were unable to attend this year, for health
reasons. Dick passed away shortly after the Hell Meeting...
Henk (PA3BQS) demonstrating an all new C# (C sharp) version of his WinHell freeware (left), and Rommert (PE1DCF) demonstrating a handy method for winding paper Hellschreiber (or other teleprinter) tape onto a core.
The 2019 attendees. Left-to-right: Frank (N4SPP/F4WCN), Gerard (PA3BCB), Amédée (XYL of Louis, F5LG), Rommert (PE1DCF), Louis (F5LG), Henk (PA3BQS) & XYL Ankie, Marc (PE1RRT), Paul (PE1BXL), and our host Arthur (PA0AOB). Anton (PA0AST) and Corné also attended, but are not in the photo.
(click here to get full-size image)
2018 Hell Meeting.
The 41st annual
Hell Meeting was held on Saturday 24 November 2018, once again at
the (since closed) Jan Corver Amateur Radio Museum in Budel (southeast of Eindhoven, The
Netherlands) - the same venue as the 2008, 2010, and 2016 Annual
Meetings. Cor (PA0VYL) and XYL Corry graciously agreed on very short
notice to host the event, so we did not have to skip this year - very much
appreciated! No special exhibit or theme this year, but all engaged in
lively discussions on various topics. Rommert (PE1DCF) had brought
rolls of tape, with QSOs of recent
Weekly European 80 m
Feld-Hell Nets, printed with
his home-built printer. Arie (PE1AQB) brought the keyboard of a
Hell-80 machine
that he is modifying to operate just like a Feld-Hell machine.
The 2018 attendees. Left-to-right, standing: Marc (PE1RRT), Paul (PE1BXL), Arthur (PA0AOB), Arie (PE1AQB), Klaas (PA0KLS), Meindert (PA3BVN), Rommert (PE1DCF), Dick (ON9BCD/PE1NRA), Henk (PA3BQS) & XYL Ankie, and Piet (PA0RSD). Left-to-right, seated: Henny (XYL of Klaas, PA0KLS), Corry (XYL of Cor, PA0VYL), Ankie (XYL of Henk, PA3QBS), Anton (PA0AST), Cor (PA0VYL), en Frank (N4SPP).
(click here to get full-size image)
2017 Hell Meeting.
The 40th annual Hell
Meeting was held on Saturday 28 October 2017,
again at the
collection of the Foundation for German communication and related technologies
near Amsterdam. So, the Meeting was hosted by Arthur (PA0AOB) and XYL
Karin. Arthur made a presentation on the
FuG136 "Nachtfee" system - a Luftwaffe nightfighter command
upload system. It was an add-on to the EGON transponder system. The
actual commands were cleverly transmitted as pulse sequences that were
piggybacked onto EGON transmissions to the airborne FuG25 IFF
transponder, extracted and shown as a blip-marker on the attached
command display unit. Rommert (PE1DCF) showed us his home-built
Feld-Hell printer with solid-state keyboard sender.
The 2017 attendees. Left-to-right: our host Arthur (PA0AOB), Koos (PA0KDF), Rommert (PE1DCF), Stella (XYL of Koos, PA0KDF), Klaas (PA0KLS), Dick (ON9BCD/PE1NRA), Bastiaan (PA3FFZ), Marc (PE1RRT), Frank (N4SPP, kneeling), Arie (PE1AQB), Henny (XYL of Klaas, PA0KLS), Meindert (PA3BVN), Amédée (XYL of Louis, F5LG), Paul (PE1BXL), Louis (F5LG), and Remco; Anton (PA0AST), was present but not in the photo.
(click here to get full-size image)
Arthur (PA0AOB) presenting the Luftwaffe "Nachtfee" system
(click here to get full-size image)
Feld-Hell printer recently built by Rommert (PE1DCF)
(more details on the "Home-built Hellschreibers" page)
Print-out made with Rommert's printer
(print out of a QSO during the weekly Sunday European Feld-Hell net on 80m, recorded on 22-Oct-2017)
Rommert's Feld-Hell keyboard sender with a diode-matrix memory for the 7x14 bitmap font
2016 Hell Meeting.
The 39th annual
Hell Meeting was held on Saturday 10 December 2016, at the (since closed) Jan Corver Amateur Radio Museum
in Budel (southeast of Eindhoven, The
Netherlands) - the same venue as the 2008 and 2010 Annual Meetings.
Throughout the afternoon, our hosts Cor (PA0VYL) and his XYL Corrie,
generously treated us to numerous drinks and food items, and in the
evening we enjoyed a nice dinner at a local Asian restaurant. As
shown in the photo below, a number of Hell items were on display. On the
table, in the foreground: three
interesting
homebuilt Hell-printers from the 1970s/80s. Behind them
(left to right): a 1943 US Army
BC-918-B Hell-scanner/printer, a
Siemens-Hell T.typ.39,
and a KF-108 Hell-fax.
The 2016 attendees. Left-to-right: Philippe (F2TV), Amédée (XYL of Louis, F5LG), Stella (XYL of Koos, PA0KDF), Klaas (PA0KLS) and XYL, Anton (PA0AST), Louis (F5LG), Arnold (PE1ARD), Paul (PE1BXL), our hosts Cor (PA0VYL) and XYL Corry, Henk (PA3BQS), Koos (PA0KDF), Marc (PE1RRT), Frank (N4SPP, kneeling), Arthur (PA0AOB), Arie (PE1AQB), and Dick (ON9BCB/PE1NRA). Meindert (PA3BVN) was present but not in the photo.
(click here to get full-size image)
2015 Hell Meeting.
The 38th annual Hell meeting was held on Saturday 31 October 2015 in the south of The Netherlands, organized by crypto-specialists Paul Reuvers (PE1BXL) and Marc Simons (PE1RRT) of
the Crypto Museum. Klaas (PA0KLS) did a brief demo of Narrow Band Television (NBTV), and Koos (PA0KDF) presented the results of extensive background-noise measurements that were done at a significant number of locations throughout The Netherlands over the last year or so (city/residential, business/industrial, rural, and quiet rural). In all, a very enjoyable day, perfectly catered by Frances. One of our regular participants, Remmelt-Jan (PA0RJW), recently passed away and was sadly missed.
The 2015 attendees. Left-to-right (back row): Arthur (PA0AOB), Henk (PA3BQS) & XYL Ankie, Meindert (PA3BVN), Cor (PA0VYL), Rommert (PE1DCF), Corrie (XYL of Cor, PA0VYL), Stella (XYL of Koos, PA0KDF), Mieke (XYL of Arie, PE1AQB), Heinz (DC4GL). Left-to-right (center row): Koos (PA0KDF), Dick (ON9BCB/PE1NRA), Klaas (PA0KLS), and Arie (PE1AQB). Left-to-right (front row): our hosts Marc (PE1RRT) and Paul (PE1BXL), Frank (N4SPP), and Bastiaan (PA3FFZ).
(click here to get full-size image)
Koos (PA0KDF) explaining the results of many months of background noise measurements throughout The Netherlands
(click here to get full-size image)
2014 Hell Meeting.
The 37th annual Hell meeting was held on Saturday 8 November 2014, once more at the
collection of the Foundation for German communication and related technologies near Amsterdam. A smaller group this year, due to illnesses, life-events, and other priorities. Nonetheless, we had a good time - as usual - and enjoyed various additions to Arthur's collection.
The 2014 attendees. Left-to-right (standing): Frank (N4SPP), Bastiaan (PA3FFZ), Gerard (PA3BCB), Arie (PE1AQB), Marc (PE1RRT), Koos (PA0KDF), Koos-2, Rommert (PE1DCF), and our host Arthur (PA0AOB). Left-to-right (front row): Paul (PE1BXL), Stella (XYL of Koos, PA0KDF).
(click here to get full-size image)
2013 Hell Meeting.
The 36th annual Hell meeting was held on Saturday 9 November 2013, at the
exhibit of the Foundation for German communication and related technologies near Amsterdam.
This time, there was a special exhibit "Secret Communications" with beautiful mechanical and electronic cypher machines from the 1920s onward, and a number of spy radio sets on top of that. It was organized by the Foundation and the Crypto Museum (crypto-specialists Paul Reuvers (PE1BXL) and Marc Simons (PE1RRT)). This same exhibit was open to the public on the following Saturdays of November 2013. Henk (PA3BQS) demonstrated a trial-version of his WinHell Hellschreiber software, with full Hell-80 functionality (start-stop and synchronous). To be released soon!
The 2013 attendees. Left-to-right: Meindert (PA3BVN), Arie (PE1AQB), Henk (PA3BQS) & XYL Ankie, Bastiaan (PA3FFZ), Rommert (PE1DCF), Gerard (PA3BCB), Arthur (PA0AOB), Stella (XYL of Koos, PA0KDF), Koos (PA0KDF), Paul (PE1BXL), Anton (PA0AST), Karin (XYL of Arthur, PA0AOB), Marc (PE1RRT), and Frank (N4SPP)
(click here to get full-size image)
2012 Hell Meeting.
The 35th annual
Hell meeting was held on Saturday 10 November 2012, at the
exhibit of the Foundation for German communication and related technologies near Amsterdam. Once more, made possible by our generous hosts, Arthur (PAØAOB) and XYL Karin. Arthur presented a working set-up of the
FuG136 "Nachtfee", a very ingenious and secure system for providing radar-based remote-control guidance of fighter airplanes. Arthur has painstakingly reconstructed and reverse-engineered this fascinating system.
The 2012 attendees. Right-to-left (back row): Arthur (PA0AOB), Henk (PA3BQS) & XYL Ankie, Meindert (PA3BVN), Cor (PA0VYL), Rommert (PE1DCF), Corrrie (XYL of Cor, PA0VYL), Stella (XYL of Koos, PA0KDF), Mieke (XYL of Arie, PE1AQB), Heinz (DC4GL). Left-to-right (center row): Koos (PA0KDF), Dick (ON9BCB/PE1NRA), Klaas (PA0KLS), and Arie (PE1AQB). Left-to-right (front row): our hosts Marc (PE1RRT) and Paul (PE1BXL), Frank (N4SPP), and Bastiaan (PA3FFZ).
(click here to get full-size image)
2011 Hell Meeting.
The 34th annual Hell meeting was held on Saturday October 29, at the 2009 venue: the
exhibit of the Foundation for German communication and related technologies near Amsterdam. Once again, kindly hosted by Arthur (PAØAOB) and XYL Karin. Arthur presented some new acquisitions of the exhibit, demonstrated the
FuSE62D "Würzburg" radar in operation and explained some of its intricacies, and, of course, fired up the impressive 1.2 kW Lorenz transmitter (my 3D photo of the "final" tubes is on
this page). As always, a very enjoyable afternoon, complemented with a nice group-dinner at the local Italian
restaurant.
The 2011 attendees, posing in front of the FuG202 "Lichtenstein" airborne radar. Left to right: Alie (PD2ALW), Cor (PA0VYL), Bastiaan (PA3FFZ), Winfried (ON7BW), our host Arthur (PA0AOB), Marc (PE1RRT), Tourin (XYL of Windfried), Stella & Koos (PA0KDF), Remmelt-Jan (PA0RJW, SK), Paul (PE1BXL), Meindert (PA3BVN), Arnold (PE1ARD), Karin (XYL of Arthur), Rommert (PE1DCF), Frank (N4SPP)
(click here to get full-size image)
2010 Hell Meeting.
The 33rd annual Hell meeting was held on Saturday October 9, at the
(since closed) Jan Corver Amateur Radio Museum in in Budel (near Eindhoven, The Netherlands). Nearly twenty attendees, from Holland, Belgium, and France enjoyed the hospitality of our hosts, Cor (PAØVYL) and XYL Corry. The museum had a brand new exhibit on sixty years of cartoons by Hans Evers (PA0CX). Hans' wonderfully amusing and insightful cartoons have adorned (and continue to adorn) the cover pages of well-known amateur radio magazines such as Ham Radio and Electron, and articles therein. Arie (PA1AQB) demonstrated his homebuilt multi-mode Hell printing system. It consists of a paper transport module, a printer module, a paper supply module, and a small circuit card rack for the control and interface electronics. He has a made a printer module for Feld-Hell that is based on a needle printer head with a ribbon cassette. He has now expanded this with a second printer module for start-stop Hell-80. Probably a "world's first"! It
is expected to be described in "Electron" of the VERON in due time; I have posted some photos on
my "Homebuilt Hell-printers" page.
Almost all of the 2010 attendees: (left to right) Arie (PE1AQB), Arnold (PE1ARD), Remmelt-Jan (PA0RJW, SK), Stella & Koos (PA0KDF), Marten (ON4MAR), Piet (PA0RSD), Jan (ON4FVQ; frmr. PA3FVQ), Hans (PA0CX), Cor (PA0VYL) & Corry, Ankie & Henk (PA3BQS). Front row (left to right): Frank (N4SPP), Gerard (PA3BCB), Marc (PE1RRT), Paul (PE1BXL). Two Feld–Hellschreiber machines in the foreground. Not shown: Klaas (PA0KLS).
(click here to get full-size image)
2009 Hell Meeting.
The 32nd annual Hell meeting took place on 14 November, at the wonderful
exhibit of the Foundation for German communication and related technologies near Amsterdam, kindly hosted by Arthur (PAØAOB) and XYL Karin. With just under 30 Hellers and XYLs from France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, this may have been the best-attended Hell Meeting ever!
The 2009 attendees (not all in the photo): Arthur (PA0AOB) & Karin (our hosts), Alie (PD2ALW), Arnold (PE1ARD), Arie (PE1AQB), Remmelt-Jan (PA0RJW, SK), Bastiaan (PA3FFZ) & Marijke, Louis (F5LG) & XYL, Frank (N4SPP), Henk (PA3BQS) & XYL, Cor (PA0VYL) & Corry, Marien (PA0MVW), Klaas (PA0KLS), Philippe (F2TV), Heinz (DC4GL), Marc (PE1RRT), Paul (PE1BXL), Gerard (PA3BCB), Koos (PA3FFZ) & Stella, Paul (PA0OCD), Winfried (ON7BW) & XYL, Don ? (PA?).
(click here to get full-size image)
2008 Hell Meeting.
I finally (!) decided to start attending these meetings and went to the 2008 Hell Meeting. It took place on 27 September at the
(since closed) Jan Corver Amateur Radio Museum in of Cor (PAØVYL) in Budel (near Eindhoven, The Netherlands). The museum had a special exhibit on "Secret messages", with spy radios and many crypto machines (including several original Enigma machines and a "Geheimschreiber"), and a WWII German jamming transmitter. The get-together was generously hosted by Cor and his XYL Corry, and it was really great to finally meet a large part of the hard-core of 30-35 years of world-wide amateur radio Hell activity. Arie, PE1AQB, presented his experimentations with start-stop Hell 80. Followed with a very pleasant group dinner at a local restaurant.
Sorry: I have no photo of the event...
2001 Hell Meeting.
The 24th annual
Hell meeting was held in November of 2001, at the (since closed) Jan Corver Amateur Radio Museum
inof Cor (PAØVYL) in Budel (near Eindhoven, The
Netherlands). The special theme of the meeting was the WW2 German "ENIGMA"
encryption system. Attendees included Dick (PA0SE, SK), Winfried
Besançon (ON7BW), Arthur (PA0AOB, with XYL Karin), and Helmut (DL1OY,
SK).
(source: "De 'Hell Meeting 2001' te Budel in Nederland / 'Hell Meeting 2001' à Budel en Hollande", Winfried Besançon (ON7BW), p. 27, 28 in "CQ-QSO" 12/2001 (Belgian Amateur Radio Union, UBA) [pdf] )
1987 Hell Meeting.
The 10th annual
Hell meeting was held in December of 1987, at the home of Wim, PE1FIB
(SK), in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
The "Hell Gang" - left-to-right (standing): Koos (PAØKDF), Jan (ON4ASZ), Dick (PAØSE, SK), Hans (PAØCX/DJØSA), Cas (PAØCSC, SK), Aard (PE1MBP, now PA3FNC) and Helmut (DL1OY, SK); Left-to-right (front row): Cor (PAØVYL), Klaas (PAØKLS), Wim (PE1FIB), Arthur (PAØAOB) and Gerard (PA3BCB). Frans (PA3CDN) took the photo. Louis (PA3DSA) also attended the Meeting.
(click here to get full-size image; photo courtesy Gerard (PA3BCB), also published in Electron, February 1988)
1980 Hell Meeting.
The 3rd annual Hell meeting took place at the home of Arthur, PAØAOB.
The "Hell Gang". From left to right: Helmut (DL1OY, SK 2009), Arthur (PAØAOB), Cas (PAØCSC, SK), Hans (PAØCX/DJØSA), Klaas (PAØKLS), Cor (PAØVYL), Dick (PAØSE, SK), Brian (F5VQ, now NI6Q), and Hans (DL1GP, Luftwaffe radio technician in WWII, SK 1998, credited with the 1st amateur Hell contact in 1958, with DM3KG)
(click here to get full-size image; photo courtesy Dick (PAØSE, SK), published in Electron, March 1981)
Best wishes to Dr. Hell for his 80th birthday (19 December 1981), from the international amateur radio Hell-gang. Most of the signatories are in the photo of the 1987 Hell Meeting.
(click here for full size image)
The "thank you" note from Dr. Hell. The handwritten part reads:
"Mehr als 50 Jahre alt ist der Hell-Schreiber, ich freue mich er lebt immer noch.
Grüsse an alle die "Hell" schreiben.
Rudolf Hell"
"The Hell-Schreiber is over 50 years old, it pleases me that it is still alive.
Greetings to all those who write "Hell".
Signed: Rudolf Hell"
External links on this page were last checked: October 2015
