ROUTE 66 TAKES A DETOUR ONTO THE HF HIGHWAY

It's all about connections. Ham radio has always had the power to make that person-to-person connection and in the US, the legendary east-west highway known as Route 66, has been connecting motorists along the open road with small towns, friends and adventure for 100 years. Twenty-four special event stations are marking this centennial year for Route 66 starting on Saturday, the 12th of September through to Sunday the 20th.

Route 66 on the Air's sponsoring organization, the Citrus Belt Amateur Radio Club in San Bernardino, California, will be calling QRZ using the callsign W6C; other stations will join them, using the same W6 prefix and the remaining letters of the alphabet, from W6A through to W6Z.

With participants such as the Barstow Amateur Radio Club in California, the Albuquerque DX Association in New Mexico, the Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club and others, expect a lot of traffic on this busy main road and plenty of stops along the journey.

DXPEDITION GETS HELP FROM CHILEAN ISLAND'S FISHING COMMUNITY

DXpeditioners Felipe XQ7IR and Moises, CE3VTZ, have something in common with the seasonal residents of the remote and rugged Chilean island where they have planned a DXpedition in early October.

While they fish across the ionosphere for as many DX contacts as they can reel in, they will be helped by the small population of temporary residents of this South Pacific island who have come to fish too for yellowtail kingfish and other species.

Alexander Selkirk Island, IOTA Number SA-101, has rough terrain, posing numerous challenges for this team of two as they activate with the callsign XRØZ. The biggest challenge, however, will not be managing the pileups.

Felipe writes: [quote] "Moving all of our equipment to Selkirk will be one of the major logistical challenges of this expedition, given the island's remote location and difficult terrain." [endquote] The fishermen have agreed to help carry fuel, water, sleeping bags, radios, generators and personal belongings to the men's shelter on the summit of the mountain where they will call CQ for 10 days, 3,468 feet - or 1,057 meters - above sea level. It is a four-hour trek from the fishermen's village, covering more than 7 kilometres.

Goodwill and teamwork go a long way. The pair will be installing a VHF communication system upon their arrival and plan to donate it afterward to the fishing community for improved communication between the fishing boats and the island base. Felipe said it will be a token of gratitude for their support.

TWO CHANCES TO GET ANTARCTICA IN THE LOG

Do you want a chance to work Antarctica? How about two? A pair of hams from Australia are getting on the air separately from two different research stations on the frozen continent. David Scott VK2JDS is operating as VKØDS at Davis Station, the Australian Antarctic programme's most southern station. David will remain at the Davis Station through until the end of October.

Tom Blunt VK2TBC is on the air as VKØTBC from Casey Station until the end of the year. The Casey station is closest to Australia and is not far from the Windmill Islands.

Both are on the air as often as their work responsibilities, and weather conditions permit.

Although you can listen for them primarily on HF, be aware that David's previous stays in Antarctica have found him experimenting with some 2-metre EME

NASA ADDS NEW DEEP SPACE NETWORK DISH IN CALIFORNIA

Increasing demands on NASA's Deep Space Network are expected to be met more easily now that NASA has added an antenna. NASA says the dish, measuring 114 feet or 34 meters, is critical to boosting the capacity of its already hard-working deep-space communication system, particularly after the good work done during the Artemis 1 and Artemis 2 lunar missions.

Shortly after the antenna was put into service at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex on the 3rd of August it began tracking NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. It is the fifth antenna being installed under the network's Aperture Enhancement Project, which will add one more in 2029.

The Deep Space Network serves robotic as well as crewed missions in deep space and was first famous for carrying communications with Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969 as he walked on the surface of the moon.

SWIFT OBSERVATORY RESCUE MISSION ABANDONED

A private satellite's planned rescue mission of the Swift Observatory has been abandoned. The small spacecraft that was supposed to help save Swift could only get close enough to take photographs. The observatory, launched in 2004 by NASA to study such cosmic events as gamma-ray bursts, is experiencing decay of its low-earth orbit as a result of solar storms and is expected to re-enter the earth's atmosphere as early as October.

Last September, NASA awarded a $30 million contract to a company known as Katalyst Space Technologies to deploy a three-armed robotic servicing spacecraft known as Link to save Swift's mission and boost its orbit.

From a distance of 9 miles, or 15 kilometres, Link instead could only collect data and take photographs because the spacecraft itself had been having its own issues - first, with stability and later, with insufficient fuel.

“Unfortunately, it wasn't the outcome that we were expecting,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

HAZEL EVERETTS, N8PTL, CHOSEN AS HAMVENTION 2027 GENERAL CHAIR

Hazel Everetts, N8PTL, was selected as general chair for next year's Dayton Hamvention, with Steve Keller AE8AT, serving as assistant general chair. Both Ohio amateurs are stepping forward from many years of behind-the-scenes work at Hamvention in time for it to mark three quarters of a century as an epicenter for ham radio activities and education.

Hazel's Hamvention involvement dates back to her first year as a licensed amateur in 1989. Through the years she has assisted with the coordination of hundreds of volunteers. She was the event's assistant general chair for the past two years. Her leadership roles have extended to DARA itself, which she has served as vice president.

Steve is a longtime Hamvention volunteer and is a senior trustee on the DARA board. His most recent role has been coordinating parking for the massive Greene County Fairgrounds event. Since obtaining his license in 2018, he has become an avid HF contester.

Michael Kalter, W8CI, announced their selection on behalf of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association's board. Hamvention will take place on Friday the 21st of May through to Sunday the 23rd.

FINDING POWER IN BROADCAST PARTNERSHIP WITH AMATEURS

Radio Asheville, WPVM, at 103.7 FM, was one of the few voices that was not silenced by the rage of Hurricane Helene in 2024, which threw the power grid, the internet and cell towers throughout the region into the dark. The station has since launched an emergency alert network that includes the cooperation of amateur radio -- and is a system that is designed to be resilient.

According to an article on the Mountain Xpress website, households throughout the region are now being encouraged to connect to this new system by signing up at RadioAsheville.org/alerts (Radio Asheville dot org stroke alerts).

The partnership with hams reflects the ability during the storm for amateurs to relay information in real time, such as wellness checks, road conditions and water-distribution points. The partnership, along with agreements with emergency-radio networks, makes use of Winlink peer-to-peer radio messaging, all done wirelessly.

The website quoted the radio station's general manager, Davyne [Davv-Vine] Dial, who said: [quote] "We wanted to build something that keeps working when everything else stops — solar power when the grid fails, ham radio when the internet fails, and a text or satellite message when even your phone can’t get a signal." [endquote]

AM RADIO LEGISLATION MOVES TOWARD FULL VOTE IN US CONGRESS

The previous session of Congress adjourned in late 2025 before the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act could be put on the calendar. Now it is there and the date is coming up fast.

The measure, which has the support of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, calls for all new passenger vehicles made or sold in the United States to have fully functioning AM broadcast radios as standard equipment, at no additional cost to buyers.

Its cosponsors are Florida Republican Gus Bilirakis and New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone in the House of Representatives and Texas Republican Ted Cruz and Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey in the Senate. There are 61 cosponsors in the Senate and 317 cosponsors in the House. The auto industry has spoken against continuing to provide AM radio and says it is particularly troublesome in electric vehicles, which interfere with the signals.

NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said in a statement that he was hopeful, adding [quote] "AM radio is an indispensable lifeline during emergencies, a trusted source of news and information, and a vital connection for communities nationwide. Now is the time to finish the job." [endquote] The measure would still require the signature of the president, who has previously expressed his support.

HAMS HIT THE ROAD FOR 200 MILES OF SAFE CYCLING

The numbers are daunting: an estimated 1,700 cyclists; a distance of more than 200 miles; three mountain passes along a course that, at some points, approach 9,800 feet.

None of this can be done on the 12th of September without the more than 100 amateur radio operators who have helped to support this event since 1991. The race is known as the LoToJa.Classic, a shorthand for Logan, Utah to Jackson, Wyoming, which is the beginning and endpoint of a course with limited cellular coverage and plenty of risks along the way.

The ham radio safety net is being coordinated by the Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club. One of the organizers, Kevin Reeve, N7RXE, said in a press release that hams are deployed in various ways throughout the course to keep the support continuous. That requires 35 radio-equipped vehicles along the course, some of them roving while others follow the packs of cyclists. They often spend as many as 14 hours on the road.

The course itself is covered by 10 ham repeaters in addition to two portable mountaintop repeaters and one portable canyon repeater. Whether there is a mechanical breakdown, a medical incident or a lost rider, the goal is to keep track of - and assist - everyone as necessary.

According to the race director, Brent Chambers, the ham volunteers are essential to the event because their communication goes on, uninterrupted. They are perhaps just as important as the bicycles and the road beneath their wheels.

FOR 11-YEAR-OLD CW OP, A MILESTONE MEMBERSHIP NUMBER

Congratulations to Maggie Flowers, KE2AIZ, who has been declared member number 10,000 in the Long Island CW Club. The 11-year-old New York amateur, who is a fifth generation ham, received her license at age 7 and quickly developed a fascination for CW, which she pursued. She has since become an avid CW contester and a mentor to other youngsters. She says on her page on QRZ.com: "CW is my first language."

Her recognition, published in the LICW Club's most recent newsletter, comes after the club decided that conferring this milestone member number should represent the future. The newsletter announcement states: [quote] Member number 10,000 represents not only Maggie and what she has already accomplished, but also the future of Morse code and the importance of passing this wonderful tradition from one generation to the next." [endquote]

COUNTY TO DONATE SURPLUS TOWER TO ALABAMA HAM CLUB

The Jackson County Amateur Radio Club in Alabama will soon have a new tower to help it continue to fulfill its mission of public service. County commissioners have approved a proposal by county emergency management agency director Joshua Whitcomb to donate the surplus tower to the ham club. He told the commission that it wasn't worthwhile for the county to take on $30,000 worth of repairs that the tower needs. The tower has already been taken down and the club would need to transport it to their headquarters.

The tower is being viewed as a useful addition to the club's network to support the county's emergency backup communications. County attorney John Porter told the commission that he approved the donation because the tower would be used for emergency notification and public safety..

The club's website notes that a big part of the mission of Jackson County ARES is to coordinate during disasters with the emergency management agency and other public service agencies.

TOKELAU ZK3ZL DXPEDITION POSTPONED UNTIL 2027

Only weeks after announcing that they were bringing a team of operators to Tokelau for a DXpedition in November, organizers have announced the trip to the New Zealand island territory has been postponed for a year.

The ZK3ZL DXpedition would have been the first to Tokelau since the ZK3A activation in 2019. Organizers said that the cancelled plans were the result of "an administrative error" that caused the operators to lose their bookings for the return trip by ferry. The team issued a statement saying: [quote] "With no other reasonably priced transportation alternative, the project must be rescheduled." [endquote]

The Perseverance DX Group and the Western Washington DX Club will coordinate their new plans with the administration on the island. Donors can request refunds of their contributions or they will be held in escrow.

WILDFIRE DAMAGES CRITICAL REPEATER IN NEVADA

Amateur radio repeater KA7ZAU became a victim of a raging wildfire that consumed much of the region near Reno, Nevada last month. The 2-metre repeater provides important connections for hams checking into the weekly Weather Net for SKYWARN and it is a link between amateur radio and the Red Cross.

Hams were still evaluating the repeater recently when they updated Newsline through email. Greg Krantz, NT7Q, a director of the Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society, said that the building itself suffered no damage but it appeared that the radiant heat burned the feedline leading to the antennas. The hams were still needing to inspect the equipment to see if anything there was damaged.

He told Newsline that the plan was to make repairs and get the site back on the air by Labor Day weekend if the local utility, Nevada Energy, restores power to the building.

The repeater's owner, Arlan Duwayne Robinson KA7ZAU, said that the Hawk Fire had knocked a number of repeaters off the air when the blaze began, affecting both amateur and commercial communications across the region for VHF and UHF analog, P25 digital, the Fusion system and 900 MHz systems. He said that the 2-metre and 220-MHz repeater that serves Reno, Sparks and the surrounding area have been on the air for 16 years and operate to support ARES, SKYWARN and numerous events. Arlan is also the Washoe County emergency coordinator for ARES.

He said: [quote] "It will take time to replace damaged equipment and install new feedlines. The work will help restore coverage, improve reliability, and return systems to full operational status as quickly as possible." [endquote]

SILENT KEY: DXPEDITIONER, CONTESTER DIEGO THOBIE, F4HAU

Diego Thobie, F4HAU, loved to operate portable from the islands and added to the team spirit of many of those DXpeditions over the years.

Diego, a member of the Radio Club de Provins F6KOP, was killed in a motorcycle accident on the 23rd of August. According to a social media post from his friend Patrick F2DX, he was killed in a head-on collision with a truck on a small rural road and died on the scene. His 13-year-old son is reported to have survived but was taken for hospital treatment..

In social media posts, Diego's friends and fellow amateurs recalled him as an adventurer and a proud member of many DXpedition teams, including last year's FP5KE trip to St. Pierre & Miquelon.

A licensed amateur since 2012, he had also been part of the teams in such major DXpeditions as 9L5A to Sierra Leone in 2024, XW4DX to Laos in 2023, 3B7A to St. Brandon in 2018 and FT4JA to Juan de Nova in 2016.

Diego was 48.

SUCCESS IN EARTH-MOON COMMUNICATION BY LASER

Chinese researchers have announced the successful completion of two-way communications between the moon and the Earth using laser.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences believes this could signal the beginning of a so-called "information highway" for high-speed data transmission that can eventually serve missions to the moon.

The distance covered was 400,000 km or more than 248,000 miles. The move from near-Earth orbit testing to deep space was a milestone for researchers in the academy's Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization. The scientists had previously used only in-orbit tests.

The greater bandwidth, faster speed and increased security offered by laser communication have all been viewed as great benefits but they were offset by such obstacles as the need for precise beam alignment, weakness of the signal and speed of transmission.

To get improved results researchers developed high-speed superconducting single-photon detection technology to assist with copying the signals; they also made use of high-bandwidth signal processing technology, reporting transmission rates of 1.25 Mbps uplink and 100 Mbps downlink.

CAVE RESCUE SUCCEEDS USING RADIO THAT PENETRATES ROCK

Low-frequency radio waves with the ability to penetrate rock are being credited in the dramatic rescue of an explorer who was trapped for nine hours in a cave in Alberta, Canada in August.

The solution uses QDX-M radios from QRP Labs.

Volunteers with the Alberta/British Columbia Cave Rescue, part of Search and Rescue Alberta, have been working with these digital radios for their light weight since 2003.

According to a press release from the rescue group, the volunteers who built the kit radios are caving enthusiasts with electrical engineering and amateur radio backgrounds. The release said that the radio waves are capable of carrying messages through more than 500 meters of solid rock.

Christian Stenner, Alberta coordinator for the rescue team, said the radio system works underground and does not need line-of-sight to the sky as cell phones and GPS do. The system was deployed in the August 15th rescue for the first time, enabling team members who entered the cave on Grotto Mountain to communicate via text messages to their colleagues. They gave progress reports and made requests for any supplies they needed.

The trapped person, who was not identified in any media reports, had become stuck in a tight point inside what is known as the Rat's Nest Cave. That section of the limestone cave is vertical and pitches downward.

It was midnight when the man was freed. Paramedics in the cave aided him through his exhaustion, risk of hypothermia and the compression of the body during the rescue process.

The rescue agency issued a statement afterward, praising the technology and the team.

JUDGES OVERTURN WRTC-UK SCORES, CITING FRAUDULENT SCHEMES

Acting on what it called "extraordinary information" from members of the public after the awards ceremony for WRTC 2026 in July, organizers have thrown out some of the competition's scores which they believe were achieved as the result of an elaborate fraudulent strategy. The strategy made use of bogus multiplier stations and introduced frequency hand-offs and release of team identity - all prohibited practices.

Most prominent were the declared victories of the top team MB2M, and team MB2A, which the committee said were achieved in violation of competition rules. The organizers said that the scheme included the use of pirate stations posing as multiplier-producing stations which favored contact with those two stations. Other teams were disqualified after the probe also unearthed the frequency hand-offs and release of team identity.

Organizers said they were making the announcement on September 1st "with sadness and disappointment." They added that [quote]: "WRTC has strived to be a competition where the outcome is based on the competitors’ performance, and is not a function of offsite helpers assisting their competitor friends." [endquote]

Furthermore, reviewing logs for the WRTC-2023 held in Italy, the WRTC organizers detected the same fraud scheme and raised the possibility that the Bologna event would be rescored too.

Releasing the organizers' announcement, Mark Haynes, MØDXR, the chairman of WRTC-UK, said "the integrity of WRTC is of prime priority and in order to path its future in a positive light, it is our conclusion that these steps are absolutely necessary." [endquote]

MEET CARSTEN GLASBRENER, KQ4SJM, NEWSLINE'S YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR

DON: The third weekend in August is the culminaton of a lot of what Amateur Radio Newsline does besides produce a weekly newscast. It's the Huntsville Hamfest and our Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year award presentation. Bill was a huge believer in promoting youth in amateur radio and created the award back in 1986, 40 years ago now, to promote and celebrate the amazing things youth are doing in and with the hobby. Our 2026 recipient, Carsten Glasbrener KQ4SJM is a perfect reflection of that. Licensed at age 11, now 14 and a General, Carsten has over 100 satellite contacts and is an AMSAT ambassador, thanks in large part to his father, Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA, AMSAT-NA president.

Here are Carsten's remarks:

"Thank you. Ever since a young age I've always been around radios with my dad, couldn't have done it without him. I also want to thank Mark Hammond N8MH for nominating me for the award. Really grateful for everything."

Next up is John Kruk N9UPC of Yaesu USA:

"When I started with Yaesu back in 2017 Dennis Motschenbacher K7BV, who is now a Silent Key, said one of the most important things about the Huntsville Hamfest was ham radio youth on there, and each year we did this award and Yaesu USA is always proud to be part of it. This year and each year we do we try to find out what would be a good donation to, or a prize I should say for the winner of it and by default, your dad helped us pick this one out. We are more than happy to give him an FTM-510D mobile radio, which has the ability to work satellites. We thought how fitting to do that. On behalf of Yaesu USA, congratulations and here's your gift."

In addition to the radio, Heil Ham Radio presented Carsten a BM-17 dual sided headset, the proper Yaesu adapter for the headset and a foot switch. We could not do this without our friends at Yaesu USA and Heil Ham Radio.

Now we rest until March 2027 when the nominating period opens for next year. Until then, congratulations to Carsten, you're now part of the Newsline family, and we could not be more proud.

I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW.

RSGB'S "CODING WEEK" BLENDS RADIO WITH PROGRAMMING SKILLS

The days between the 14th and 20th of September are being set aside as National Coding Week. The Outreach Team of the Radio Society of Great Britain is devoting the week to providing hams with activities that will sharpen their digital skills and familiarise them with the kind of programming needed in amateur radio. The emphasis is on problem-solving - something basic to amateur radio. Worksheets are available on the RSGB website that can help hams get started. There are two challenges involving micro:bits, including one that can be used to send CW wirelessly or via a telegraph wire. Another small project makes use of the language of the Arduino with the Raspberry Pi Pico.

Follow the link that appears in the text version of this week's newscast for more details.

MARYLAND HAMS SUPPORT 6th ANNUAL HACKATHON FOR TEENS

The sixth annual Hackathon for teenagers, hosted by the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade in Maryland, will focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics - with amateur radio in the mix. The event at the Odenton Regional Library on the 29th of September is a project of the civilians and soldiers at Fort Meade, who will showcase Python programming challenges, cybersecurity issues, reverse engineering and logic games.

Members of the Maryland Mobileers Amateur Radio Club will be joining the event to demonstrate different methods of wireless communication to the teens. The ham club's commitment to nurturing youthful interest in ham radio is evident on its website, which explains how the Maryland Mobileers Youth Amateur Radio Club shares the radio experience with children and teens, including through Parks on the Air activations.