IRAN RECEIVES BBC SHORTWAVE RADIO PROGRAMMING

The turmoil in Iran that led to an information blackout in that nation has prompted the BBC to launch a temporary shortwave radio service for listeners there. Medium and shortwave frequencies have been carrying programmes each day starting at 1630 UTC. The content includes news and analysis relevant to Iran and provides a global perspective. In announcing the service, the BBC said this was part of its tradition of providing crisis broadcasting, adding that the broadcasts will remain on the air until the end of March.

Half-hour programming is broadcast starting at 16:30 UTC on both 702 kHz and 9465 kHz and repeated starting at 1800 UTC on both 702 kHz and 5935 kHz.

KENYA JOINS ARISS AS ITS SOLE AFRICAN NATION

The Kenya Space Agency has announced that students, professionals and others will have an opportunity to communicate live over amateur radio with astronauts aboard the ISS. Kenya has become the only African nation chosen to participate in the program. Astronaut contacts are expected to take place between July and December.

The country's selection comes as it deepens its commitment to providing greater STEM education. The nation has been encouraging space science studies and innovation through efforts such as the Kenya National Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Learning Ecosystem. This national emphasis is a major part of Vision 2030, a development initiative to industrialize and raise the quality of life in Kenya.

In preparation for ARISS participation, Kenya's space agency and the Pan-African Citizen Science e-Laboratory will collaborate on public outreach technical coordination and of course, the selection of schools and other educational institutions.

A STATION WELL-GROUNDED BY A GROUNDHOG

A shadow was cast over the scene on February 2nd as Punxsutawney Phil, newly emerged from his burrow, looked down with sleepy eyes and saw the dark outline of his likeness. By tradition, that signals six more weeks of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Punxsutawney Area Amateur Radio Club, K3HWJ, who get on the air each year for a special event to mark this winter ritual, did what Phil could not: they were able to stay warm and comfy in their burrows. Judy Smith, KC3JAS, who operated from home on Monday - Groundhog Day - told Newsline that her husband reported temperatures, including wind chill, of minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit - that's minus 23 Centigrade - on the final day of the three-day activation. He told the seasoned POTA operator that she needed to stay indoors. She told Newsline [quote] "I was disappointed, to say the least." [endquote]

Phil's wintry prediction also disappointed many observers, including hams who were either snowbound or tired of the freezing cold, Phil was not winning a popularity contest anywhere.

The event itself did not disappoint anyone, however. Judy said that she and the other three operators, Bill Latta, KA3MKY, Dale Wood, KC3NFD and Mike Brennan KC2EGI, found the bands "amazing" for some of the time. The club logged a total of 556 contacts, most of them on SSB.

For the groundhog, this was nothing to lose sleep over: With the event over, Phil reportedly went right back into hibernation.

YLRL MAKES HIGHER-ED SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

For the next two months, the Young Ladies Radio League will be reviewing scholarship applications from qualified YLs who are pursuing advanced degrees, preferably in subjects relevant to communication or radio. The application period opened on the 1st of February and closes on the 1st of April. YLs holding valid amateur radio licenses anywhere in the world are eligible for any of three scholarships. Preference is being given to YLs who are members of the YLRL.

The Ethel Smith, K4LMB, Memorial Scholarship and the Mary Lou Brown, NM7N Memorial Scholarship both provide $2,500 each toward a student’s full-time pursuit of a bachelor’s or graduate degree at any accredited university.

Students who are enrolled in part-time studies can apply for the Martha Wessel, KØEPE, Memorial Scholarship. Those students must be involved in full-time work or have roles as family caregivers or stay-at-home parents.

For details or an application form, visit the YLRL website at ylrl.net and search for “scholarships.”

YLS MARK INT'L WOMEN'S DAY WITH POTA PARTY

It’s a YL POTA Party - and this one on Saturday, March 7th isn’t just for licensed amateurs but those who are interested in experiencing the beauty of Pineway Ponds Park in Spencerport, New York. The site along the Erie Canal is designated US-6532 within the POTA system. YLs will be spending the day at the cabin known as Owens Lodge within the park.

The organizers, Angela N3ARB and Matt K2EAG, have invited YLs of all ages to participate and either bring their own radios or share others’ rigs. The starting time is 9 a.m. and everyone will be permitted to stay until the park’s 9 p.m. closing time. This is an independent event and is not sponsored by the Parks on the Air organization. International Women’s Day is observed this year on Sunday, March 8th.

The YL POTA Party is timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, which provides an opportunity for YLs to celebrate women in amateur radio.

If you are interested, send an email to Angela N3ARB and Matt K2EAG at Brown at brownbuffalo dot com. (brown@brownbuffalo.com)

REGISTRATION OPENS FOR HAMSCI'S MARCH WORKSHOP

Registration has opened for the annual HamSCI workshop which this year will be held in Connecticut and hosted by the ARRL on the campus of Central Connecticut State University. The dates are March 14th and 15th.

The workshop theme is "Discovering Science through Ham Radio," and will showcase how HamSCI's cooperative relationships between researchers, ham radio operators, citizen scientists and students have brought about notable advances in weather studies, propagation sensing and ionospheric research.

Visitors will have an opportunity to visit the Newington, Connecticut headquarters of the ARRL , where licensed hams will be able to get on the air from the Hiram P. Maxim Memorial Station, W1AW

Although the two-day event is designed for in-person attendance at the New Britain, Connecticut university campus, plans are in the works to provide opportunities for virtual attendance. Details will be announced close to the date of the workshop. Find registration information at the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

** WINTER FIELD DAY: FROM SIMULATION TO ACTIVATION

Eddie Misiewicz, KB3YRU, was with a group of fellow hams for Winter Field Day on Sunday, January 25th, when he was notified by the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the Pittsburgh Weather Forecast Office to activate SKYWARN for Winter Storm reports.

Eddie, who is a SKYWARN coordinator and volunteer, told Newsline that stations from 35 counties across the region got on the air, averaging 150 snowfall and condition reports from each of the counties. Amateur participation came from Central Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, as well as the Northern and Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Of course, this is why drills like Winter Field Day exist. The activation went QRT on Monday evening, January 26th, after 15 continuous hours of being on the air.

TROPHY EVENT CELEBRATES HISTORIC SATELLITE QSO

There was not yet a global satellite community when Hans Rudolf Lauber, HB9RG, and Alfons Haring, DL6EZA, made their pioneering satellite QSO in 1965. That moment gave rise to a new era for ham radio and in the years that followed, as more satellites populated the skies, the international community developed a zest for working "the birds."

AMSAT-HB's trophy, which bears Hans Rudolf Lauber's callsign, is an honour conferred for achieving DX via ham radio satellite between the 2nd and the 15th of March. The competition is timed to coincide with the original two-day contact made on March 10th, 1965. Only QSOs via

low- medium- and highly elliptical earth orbit satellites will be permitted. On the final day, hams will be permitted to use a geostationary satellite for a single contact with HB9RG, the bonus station.

For details and rules, follow the link in the text version of this week's Newsline script at arnewsline.org.

BRAZIL'S HAMS MARK ANNIVERSARY WITH SSTV, SPECIAL EVENT STATION

When the Liga de Amadores Brasileiros de Rádio Emissão, or LABRE, the league of Brazilian Amateur Radio Transmitters, was created in 1934 to represent its national radio amateurs, it would be almost three decades before anyone would have the use of amateur radio satellites. Now, however, hams in Brazil have a choice of many such satellites - and to celebrate the 92nd anniversary of the league's founding, they have chosen the Russian CubeSat UmKA-1, or RS40S, to transmit SSTV imagery between the 6th and 9th of February.

The transmissions are on 437.625 MHz and the SSTV mode is Robot36 sent every three minutes. Any operator who receives the imagery will be eligible for a special certificate.

Hams with a more terrestrial interest are being invited to chase 28 special anniversary callsigns that are on the air from the 1st of February through to the 1st of March. The callsigns represent each region of Brazil and, according to a Facebook post, present [quote] " a unique opportunity for fellowship, cultural and technical exchange, and friendship—values that have always been at the heart of LABRE." [endquote]

AN OPEN-SOURCE EFFORT TO SALVAGE HAMCLOCK

With last month's tragic death of HamClock developer, Elwood Downey, WBØOEW, the clock is ticking - quite literally - on a way to salvage this popular shack accessory so it remains useful beyond its scheduled sunset in June.

Brian Wilkins, KO4AQF, the developer of an open-source alternative, has posted his work-in-progress on the GitHub website in the hopes of providing realtime HamClock data feeds from publicly available locations, such as PSK reporter, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The final iteration of HamClock is version 4.22. With no further maintenance possible on its Internet backend, news, propagation updates, DX and other data will no longer be delivered to the device after it sunsets.

Brian was not involved in the creation of the original HamClock but said that this replacement project, a free, open-source, Linux-based system, is an outgrowth of [quote] "my own motivation and passion." [endquote]

He told Newsline in an email that [quote] "the goal is preservation, not reinvention - keeping HamClock working exactly as intended for years to come." [endquote]

To see the work that is under way, follow the link in the text version of this week's Newsline script at arnewsline.org

4 HAMS AMONG THOSE CHOSEN TO TRACK ARTEMIS 2 FLIGHT

Thirty-four volunteers from around the world have been chosen by the US Space Agency to track the Orion spacecraft and its crew of four astronauts during the scheduled Artemis 2 test flight. NASA has said that this mission, which includes a trip around the moon, plays a vital role in setting the stage for a return to exploration of the lunar surface. The mission is also viewed as paving the way for the first crewed Mars mission.

Four amateur radio operators are among the 34 observers chosen by NASA in a group that also includes universities, government agencies and private companies. The Canadian Space Agency and the German Aerospace Center are among those chosen. Von Storch Engineering in the Netherlands and Intuitive Machines in Houston, Texas are among the commercial entities selected. Academic institutions include the University of Zurich's Physics Department in Switzerland and the University of New Brunswick in Canada.

The four hams are Chris Swier [pron: SWEER], K1FSD of South Dakota; Dan Slater, AG6HF, and Loretta Smalls, AJ6HO, both of California; and Scott Tilley, VE7TIL of British Columbia, Canada. The hams will be using their radio equipment to track transmissions from the Orion over the course of its 10 days in space.

DELAY FOR BOUVET ISLAND 3YØK DXPEDITION

If you’re keeping your ears tuned for the start of the 3YØK DXpedition to Bouvet Island, the thing you’re going to need more than good propagation, sufficient power, a good antenna and, of course, good timing is…patience. The team’s plans have been delayed by about two weeks, according to their website. Their sailing vessel is undergoing additional maintenance to secure it for the journey to the remote island. The team writes: [quote] “While this delay is disappointing, the safety of our team remains our highest priority.” [Endquote]

According to the team, nothing else about the team’s game plan has changed and after three years of planning, they are looking forward to being QRV before too long.

A FAMILY OF MOUNTAIN GOATS GROWS THE HERD

In early January, 14-year-old Niels Henderson became the youngest Mountain Goat in the US in the Summits on the Air awards scheme, He did it barely one month after his 16-year-old brother, Soren, KK7UKE, set the same record on a snowy summit this past Christmas Day. Their mother, Corrinne, KK7ULL, was the first in the family to ascend to Mountain Goat heights. She achieved that status this past October after 13 months of steady SOTA activations.

With 1,000 points needed to classify a SOTA activator as a Mountain Goat, that means a total of 3,000 points between proud mom and her two sons. Corrinne told Newsline that the family decided in 2024 that amateur radio would be great to have along on their adventures as avid hikers - and so they went for it, joining her husband Jason, KC7EPG, who has been licensed since his teens. Jason had convinced them that amateur radio would add another measure of security when they were hiking in areas with poor cell service. Then, members of their ham radio club suggested that the family start activating summits, She and Jason were hooked.

Corrinne said that work commitments recently slowed Jason's climb to join his Goat family at the top but he's getting there. With Jason needing only 80 more points, she said that before too long, [quote] "We'll be our own little SOTA Mountain Goat herd." [endquote] No doubt the Hendersons will be one herd who's definitely being heard.

ARTEMIS 2 LAUNCHPAD IMAGE CAPTURED BY ASTRONAUT

From his front-row seat aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Chris Williams, KJ5GEW, got the best view of all of the Artemis 2 as it awaits its crew of four. Chris was able to capture the image on camera. He posted it on the social media site, X, on Monday the 19th of January.

Alongside the image he wrote: [quote] "If you zoom in on the rightmost launch pad, you can see a shadow just to the left of the center of the pad. That shadow is from the rocket and launch tower that will soon take four of my friends on a trip around the moon." [endquote]

They're not just his friends and fellow astronauts - just like Chris, three of them have their ham radio licenses: Commander Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT, pilot Victor Glover, KI5BKC and mission specialist, Jeremy Hansen, KF5LKU. The fourth crew member is mission specialist Christina Koch. The crew's launch toward the moon could come as early as February.

Though Chris is scheduled to stay aboard the ISS for a few more months, once Artemis is launched, the crew won't coming by for their closeup. The journey is expected to last 10 days before it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean.

ARDC GRANT FULFILLS SATELLITE, SPACE GOALS FOR N.C. CLUB

An important terrestrial contact made recently by the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society has brought the promise of so many more contacts that can now happen in space. For this club and the youngsters at the Conn Magnet Elementary School, Friday the 30th of January will be remembered as a big day for their scheduled QSO with the International Space Station - a direct contact made via amateur radio.

The North Carolina hams have a long history of answering school and youth-group requests to assist with ham radio satellite contacts and even ISS communications. But, as club member Carl Davis, W8WZ, told Newsline, it was always challenging to assemble the necessary equipment because to answer each request, members had to dismantle and transport the appropriate radio gear from individual members’ own homes.

The club reached out successfully to Amateur Radio Digital Communications which gave them a $14,000 grant and the means to buy portable equipment dedicated for amateur satellite and ARISS contacts, such as the late-January QSO under the direction of John Brier K4EB.

Carl said that while the new equipment will help inspire the next generation to explore the power of amateur radio, it will also enable more club members to train to assist with the ARISS contacts. Within the club itself, more members will also learn to become skilled satellite operators.

SILENT KEY: NOTED DXPEDITIONER DAVID ASSAF III, W5XU

David Assaf III, W5XU, had a long amateur radio life which began when he was still in high school. It gathered momentum - and more of a spirit of adventure -,over time. The DXpeditioner was 71 years old when in 2016 he activated South Sandwich Island with the Intrepid-DX group as VP8SGI and Thule Island as VP8STI, in a place uninhabitable except by penguins.

He became a Silent Key on January 18th, according to his online obituary.

David, who discovered ham radio as a high school electronics enthusiast, would go on to a lifetime of other discoveries and many DXpeditions, including Russell Reef, as 9MØW, and Melish Reef, 9M6MA.

An active member of the Baton Rouge Amateur Radio Club, his commitment to helping his Louisiana community spurred him into service by assisting emergency communications during Hurricane Betsy in 1965 - an action for which the city of New Orleans honored him.

David was 80.

STATEWIDE POTA ACTIVATORS' CLUB DEBUTS CALLSIGN

If you happened to work WB1CT on the first morning of the new year, you are part of the inaugural POTA log of the Connecticut Parks On The Air activators group. The club has been around - and growing - since its first informal activities in early 2021. Until recently, most of their hunters are more familiar with their previous callsign, K2D, the special event one-by-one callsign it shared with the Connecticut operators in the 13 Colonies Event each July. Group director Conrad Trautmann, N2YCH, told Newsline that as the group grew larger and added even more activities, it made sense to become an official nonprofit club, which is did in late 2025. The FCC granted the club callsign shortly afterward.

With a special park-to-park net that helps activators get more Connecticut parks in their logs, the club continues to evolve, both in activities and membership. The group has more than 100 POTA activators throughout the state. When they're not on the air, they keep in touch regularly via a groups.io list.

Be listening for WB1CT calling "CQ POTA" or, if you happen to live in Connecticut, join the action. You can find details on the club's page on QRZ.com

ANNUAL "AM RALLY" TURNS BACK THE CALENDAR

Long before there was Single Sideband there was AM, or Amplitude Modulation, the only HF voice mode available to previous generations of amateur radio operators.

AM operators are still on the air - holding nets and having QSOs - although AM's rich, warm tones are heard less often on the bands these days. That's about to change. From 0000 UTC on Saturday February 7th through to 0700 UTC on Monday, February 9th, everyone gets a chance to be part of this annual operating event. Any type of radio equipment will get you in the game as long as it is capable of full carrier amplitude modulation.

The action will take place on the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 , and 6 metre amateur radio bands.

For details about the different power categories, rig categories or operating procedure, visit the website amrally.com If you are a newcomer to operating on AM, there's plenty of information there to help you get started.

HAMVENTION CELEBRATES THE ADVENTURE OF RADIO

For ham radio operators, adventure comes in all forms - whether it means landing on a remote island for a two-week DXpedition or hiking to activate a summit in a national park. Others simply see adventure in the annual challenge to make that trip to Xenia, Ohio to attend Hamvention. Whatever your personal challenge is, it's in the spotlight this year as Hamvention organizers have just announced that "Radio Adventure!" is the theme for the three days from May 15th through to May 17th at the Greene County fairgrounds.

Even if your biggest adventure ends up being your decision on what new rig to take home with you this year, expect the gates to be open, as usual, for a reunion among friends and your ham radio family.

HAMS MARK 96TH ANNIVERSARY OF PLUTO'S DISCOVERY

Amateur radio operators will be on the air as W7P from February 14th through the 22nd to celebrate the 96th anniversary of the discovery of Pluto and to continue the countdown to the 100th anniversary in 2030.

This year the event sponsors are hoping to have a number of visiting operators join the fun! Bob Wertz, NF7E, told AR Newsline <quote> “The Northern Arizona DX Association invites out-of-state ham radio clubs and operators to join us as guest operators for the W7P Pluto Discovery Anniversary Special Event — operating from the very place where Pluto was discovered in 1930, the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.”

Visiting hams will need to contact Bob ahead of time to be placed on the schedule.

In addition to operations at the observatory, Doug Tombaugh, N3PDT, nephew of astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930, will lead a team of operators at W7P/Ø. Doug said that he especially enjoys making contact with other amateurs who knew his uncle or were involved in other activities related to Pluto.