In England, it's all over but the celebrating now that the World Radiosport Team Championship has wrapped up. Yuri VE3DZ and teammate Yarik UW7LL savoured victory again as Gold Medalists, as they did at WRTC 2022, held in 2023. Silver went to Manfred DJ5MW and Uli DM5EE, with the Bronz going to Emir E77DX and Sven DJ4MX. Congratulations to the organizers for a successful event and, of course, to the top three teams who, no doubt, are feeling like Olympians at the moment.
OPS NEEDED FOR PETER THE FIRST ISLAND DXPEDITION
With the Bouvet Island 3YØK Dxpedition behind them, organisers are looking for activators to join the trip next year to Peter the First Island, the seventh-most wanted DX entity. The callsign, 3YØL, will be used for the activation from the remote, glacier-covered Norwegian dependency in the Bellinghausen Sea off the coast of Antarctica.
The team writes on the DX-World.net webpage that the team is most interested in hearing from hams who work well as part of multi-operator teams, have experience in cold climates and are able to contribute toward the venture.
Although February 2027 seems a long way off, organisers are conducting their search diligently now so that planning and preparation can be thorough and complete. The shipping container has already been sent out with supplies for the DXpedition.
Interested hams should contact the team at the email address: admin at Three Why Zero El dot com (admin@3y0l.com)
ARCTIC'S LEGENDS RADIO TEAM TACKLES RARE IOTA GROUPS
The Russian radio team known as Arctic's Legends is well under way in its 31-day voyage. Their yacht, Apostol Andrey, is making its way through the challenging Arctic region so the team can fulfill its goal of completing activations from five IOTA groups in different locations. They are using what are considered rare callsigns, including RIØBU after the 18th of July; and RIØBI from IOTA Number AS-050 after the 23rd of July.
They expect to travel more than 3,500 nautical miles, covering four rare locations.
Because the operating schedule is so dependent on the weather and the sea-ice forecast, chasers are advised to follow the group's channel on Telegram and to visit their ClubLog livestream. There is a live map of their journey available by following the link that appears in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
BUNKERFEST EVENT BRINGS HISTORY TO HAM RADIO
Organisers are calling the event three days of history over ham radio. It's the annual Bunkers on the Air Bunkerfest, bringing hams and shortwave listeners closer to the national defence heritage of 23 nations around the world. Hams will be activating bunkers from 0000 UTC on the 24th of July through to 2359 on the 26th of July in the hopes of calling attention to fortifications and bunkers that have been used in more troubled times throughout various nations' history. Much of the operation will be done QRP. To encourage growth of the activity in new countries, radio operators will be encouraged to call CQ from bunker sites in countries that may not have joined the WWBOTA programme yet. WorldWide BOTA's continued growth enabled it to add the United States among its participating countries earlier this year.
Bunkerfest is also an educational opportunity for everyone. As noted on the event website [quote] "Every activation is an act of historical engagement. We invite you to join us — and to know a little about the bunker you visit, not just its reference number." [endquote]
There are awards and other certificates of recognition but this is not a contest.
As always, the programme urges caution. Some bunker sites may still be deemed sensitive areas, so activators are encouraged to visit the BOTA website in each of their participating countries to determine the size of the activation zone in which permitted activations can occur without having to infringe on the bunker itself.
For more details about Bunkerfest, or to register and see the rules, visit the two websites listed in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
AMSAT SOUTH AFRICA FOCUSES ON FUTURE SATELLITE TECH
Emerging technology's impact on the next generation of amateur radio satellites will be among the subjects explored at the AMSAT South Africa Space Symposium. Attendees will learn the outcome of proposals that were made for new geostationary amateur satellites and will hear about ground-based systems linking low-earth orbit and geostationary satellites.
Technology is driving this symposium in yet another way: the four-hour event, which is set for Saturday the 1st of August, will take place online, enabling more people to attend without incurring costly travel fees. Guests who belong to IARU member societies are admitted free; there is a small fee for nonmembers.. The symposium theme is "The new Amateur Radio World in Space."
For details visit or to register, see the link the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
SILENT KEY: ATLANTA RADIO CLUB'S JOHN TALIPSKI, N3ACK
Fellow hams were to host a Last Call ceremony on the air for John Talipski, N3ACK, vice president of the Atlanta Radio Club and one of 16 host-city coordinators for the massive Football on the Air special event.
Already an established leader in his local club, where he assisted with Field Day, hamfests and other activities, John stepped up to coordinate operators who were part of the W4C station in support of the World Cup Soccer tournament in North America this summer. John became a Silent Key unexpectedly on the 21st of June while he and other hams were in a local park operating for the event.
First licensed in 1981, John took special pride in having the vanity callsign, N3ACK, which was originally held by his grandfather, William B. Talipsky, who lived just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Last Call ceremony for John was scheduled for July 19th on 20 metres, on the final day of the tournament - and special event.
John was 57.
GMRS REPEATER PROVIDES SAFETY NET IN UTAH
Remembering images from a documentary he had seen about California's devastating Camp Fire in 2018, Dayne [pronounced "DANE"] Raff KM7EKQ was certain that his own home region in Summit County, Utah, needed something more robust than spotty cell service to ensure its well-being during fire season.
Working with volunteers, he relocated and repurposed an old, unused TV tower in the back yard of one of his neighbors and set about establishing a General Mobile Radio Service repeater where anyone properly licensed can check in routinely and, more importantly, in emergencies. Unlike amateur radio licenses, GMRS licenses do not require an exam and cover an entire household for $35.
It took two months to get the repeater up and running. Roll call is held on the first Tuesday of every month on 462.650 MHz.
The tower's previous owner, Alicia O’Meara, told KPCW TV news that she believed the tower was a gift with an important purpose. [quote] She said: “I can't think of a better reason to donate, and have [communications] access for all the community here.” [endquote]
FCC OKS LAUNCH OF "MIRROR" SATELLITE TO REFLECT SUN
The FCC has approved the right of startup company, Reflect Orbital, to use radio frequencies in the S-, X- and UHF bands, to launch and communicate with its low-earth orbit satellite, the Eärendil-1 (uh-RAN-dill One), which it has scheduled for launch later this year.
The satellite's mission is to capture and reflect sunlight into darker regions of the Earth via a giant 60-foot reflector from its orbit 600 to 650 kilometres above the planet. The company intends for this test satellite to be the first of up to 50,000 such orbiting mirrors. Reflect Orbital believes the satellite's beam, which would be 5-kilometres, or 3-miles wide on the ground, could be harnessed to power solar farms or illuminate disaster areas where rescue workers toil late into the night.
Agency approval was granted on the 9th of July despite vocal objections about light pollution from opponents such as the American Astronomical Society. A number of environmental groups have observed how nocturnal species' lives can be disrupted and perhaps imperiled by artificial light during the night. According to various media reports, opposition had been overwhelming among the more than 1,800 public comments the FCC received.
According to the company's account on LinkedIn, Reflect Orbital received a $1.2 million Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Department of Defense, through the Air Force, which sees promise in having additional sunlight transform military operations.
ANTENNAS INTERFERE WITH THEIR LOVE
The couple who climbed New York City's Empire State Building on July 2nd weren't just about to engage in a publicity stunt - they were also about to get engaged while they were up there, 1,454 feet, or 443 metres, above Manhattan.
This path of true love, however, had its obstacles. A number of media accounts were quick to note that the climbers were not authorized to go past the 102nd floor, the building's highest public-access spot. They managed, however, to get beyond there and into the restricted area which involved passing a number of antennas. There was the master antenna used by 15 New York FM stations as well as a separate, smaller antenna used by three other NY FM radio stations. Wearing no harnesses or parachutes, they also had to pass a number of antennas used by TV stations in New York City.
You don't need an RF calculator to know there was a lot of energy up there that day - not just nervous energy but RF energy. The broadcasters quickly shifted to backup antennas.
The couple, known for their daredevil stunts and profiled in the Netflix documentary, "Skywalkers: A Love Story," said in court after their arrest that they made their climb because they believed in power - in this case, the power of love. No doubt it was radiating from the both of them as the stunt turned into a successful marriage proposal,
Before they can say "I do," however, there's the question of saying "we did." The two face felony charges that include reckless endangerment and burglary.
FCC PREPARES FOR SPECTRUM AUCTION ON UPPER-C BAND
The FCC will meet on the 22nd of July to vote on its plans to auction 160 MHz in the Upper-C band. The auction would be held next for frequencies between 3.98 and 4.2 GHz.
The range does not include any frequencies used by amateur radio. The FCC is mandated under the Working Families Tax Cut Act of 2025 to sell off at least 100 MHz of C-band spectrum by July of 2027. The agency aims to create a single band for wireless operations on the C-band through the use of the range between 3.70 and 4.14 GHz.
The FCC recently completed a $3.5 billion spectrum auction - its first in four years. Competition bidding ended on the 23rd of June for frequencies that belong to the Advanced Wireless Services, or AWS-3, bands used by major mobile carriers.
SILENT KEY: BYLARA'S CAROL ANN HODGES 2E1RBH
When the International YL Convention came to Milton Keynes in the UK in 2016 in connection with the RSGB Convention, Carol Ann Hodges, 2E1RBH, was at the helm of the British YL Amateur Radio Association. As YLs in the UK prepared for the first time to host this major event, it was a key time for the organisation, as delegates arrived from around the world. Carol and her husband Rob GØRYL, helped pull the event together.
On her page on QRZ.com, Carol had referred to the convention as being "seven days of international friendship" among YLs.
Carol became a Silent Key on the 10th of May. She was 76.
INDIAN HAMS' NETWORK HELPS HEARING- AND SPEECH-IMPAIRED TEEN
The wide-reaching amateur radio connections of one radio club in West Bengal has helped a speech- and hearing-impaired teenager find his way back to his family in Bihar, more than 500 km, or 310 miles away.
An attorney who spotted him in distress on the street had stopped to help, according to the Times of India. The attorney told the Times that the teen had difficulty hearing and speaking, prompting him to alert local authorities on his behalf. He urged police to attempt to identify him and find his family -- but attempts yielded only dead ends. Police referred the teen to a voluntary organisation that could provide safe shelter. Meanwhile, the lawyer contacted the West Bengal Radio Club, which is well-known for using its ham radio network to help track down families of persons who have gone missing.
As always, the hams soon had results after conducting its customary outreach, which included distribution of a photograph. Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, the club's secretary, told the newspaper that with the help of other hams, the 18-year-old and his family were soon identified as residents of Bihar. The hams learned from his father and older brother that he had gone missing 14 months ago. The details of his disappearance were not clear.
As of July 4th, arrangements were being made to return him to Bihar, where he is enrolled in the local public school.
TRIO RECOGNIZED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CW
Three advocates for the practice of CW have been honoured by CWOps for their contributions.
They are Mark Bosma, VK2KI, who created the weekly CW QRS Net more than five years ago. The net is an informal gathering of operators for a six-hour period with an emphasis on courtesy and established procedures. Mark also publishes and emails the weekly CQ QRS RagChew newsletter.
Fabian Kurz, DJ5CW, is being recognised for a number of projects that assist operators with CW, including Learn CW Online, CW Club RBN Spotter and the CWOps Awards Tool, which helps operators track the status of their awards. He is also the creator of EBOOKS2CW which converts e-books to CW audio files.
CWOps is also recognising Martin Kratoska, OK1RR, widely considered a pioneer in Morse Code teaching and founder of a website that covers a vast number of subjects on CW. The website was created in Czech only. A link can be found in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org.
Past winners of the CWOps award have included the K1USN Radio Club, creator of the weekly Slow Speed Test that allows newer operators to improve their skills in a friendly environment; Stephen C. Phillips, author of the free online Morse code trainer used by thousands of CW students and teachers and the Essex CW Club in the UK for its intensive teaching and CW bootcamps.
MARITIME CW EVENT REMEMBERS STATION'S 1ST WOMAN TELEGRAPHER
For just a day, Morse Code enthusiasts can forget that the last maritime radio station in the US has gone silent. Every July 12th, on the anniversary of the day that the California station signed off, the Maritime Radio Historical Society, K6KPH, returns the Morse Code tradition to air as KPH/KFS springs back to life.
This year the historical society is keeping that tradition while grieving a Silent Key. Denice "DA" Stoops, KI6BBR, had been a vital part of the station's commercial operations and later, was a big supporter of the historical society's effort behind Night of Nights, as the July 12th commemoration is known. In 1979, Denice became the first woman to be hired as a CW operator at KPH.
According to the historical society and several social media posts, Denice died within the last few months.
The Night of Nights tradition continues. For times, frequencies and QSL information about the event, visit the Maritime Radio Historical Society website at radiomarine.org.
UK WELCOMES WORLD RADIOSPORT TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
There has already been plenty of mainstream media coverage for the World Radiosport Team Championship which begins at noon UTC on Saturday the 11th of July and continues until noon UTC on Sunday the 12th of July. BBC Radio Shropshire is covering it with plenty of interviews that give this high-profile event good exposure in the non-amateur radio world.
Competitors' special callsigns, revealed towards the end of the opening ceremony on Thursday, 9th July, are being published on the event home page at www dot wrtc2026 dot org (www.wrtc2026.org). Hams worldwide are being encouraged to work the stations in support of the event.
There is also daily coverage on YouTube TV, a separate contest livestream and an online scoreboard.
See the link in the text version of this newscast for more details about viewing the action.
CAMPAIGN HEATS UP FOR MANDATORY AM RADIO IN VEHICLES
A deadline looms for a long-simmering campaign in Washington, D.C., as lawmakers push to make AM radios a mandatory feature in all new cars in the US.
The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act has been around in one form or another for a few years and has support of both parties in Congress. This year it faces being wrapped into a larger package of transportation-related bills called the Build America 250 Act, which lawmakers are targeting for passage by the 30th of September.
The debate centers on AM radio's traditional role as the medium of choice to carry emergency broadcasts in the case of natural disasters or severe weather. Auto manufacturers, who oppose the measure, say that the advent of electric vehicles has created interference with the AM signal and that makes listening all but futile. They also cite the added cost of continuing to use AM in vehicles.
IN THE UK, BBC LONGWAVE WAVES FAREWELL
After more than 90 years, BBC Radio 4 went silent on its longwave frequency of 198 kHz on the 27th of June. Although listeners in the UK and parts of Europe are surely missing such broadcasts as the test match specials and the shipping forecasts, amateur radio operators' fondness goes deeper than that, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH, in this week's final story.
JEREMY: You can still hear BBC Radio 4 programs on FM radio, DAB digital platforms, where the sounds are clearer and do not suffer from any of longwave's notorious noise. To amateur radio operators, however, the scratchy sound emanating around the Droitwich transmitting station's signal was part of the long wave station's charm.
Preparing for the loss, hams at the Radio Society of Great Britain and the BBC Amateur Radio Group activated special event stations during the week leading up to the final shutdown.
Appearing on BBC One's morning TV show, BBC Breakfast, the RSGB's Nick Totterdell, G4FAL, told the programme hosts that it was the older technology's ability to function reliably that appealed to so many radio amateurs. Nick said that many hams would, for example, use the longwave transmissions' precise frequency as a frequency reference when they were building test equipment.
To hams, BBC Radio 4 was less about progress in the modern world than endurance through the decades. The only thing that endures - for now - on 198 kHz is silence.
MAUI'S FIELD DAY COMBINES RADIO WITH RECRUITMENT
ARRL Field Day wasn't the only thing in the air on the weekend of June 27th and 28th in the Pacific region. Hurricane season was also on its way. So the customary demonstrations of ham radio operations that licensed operators provide to the public during the annual ARRL Field Day took on a new purpose - recruitment - as the Maui hams worked hard to build a more robust emergency communications network to serve the region in the months ahead.
While amateurs made an extra effort to connect with other hams so they could fill their logs and have a respectable score at the end of the 24-hour event, hams like Bill Heyde, KH6UU, coordinator of Maui County Amateur Radio Emergency Services, were also busy making contacts with visitors who were not yet hams - but showed an interest in getting a license. Bill told the Hawaii News that he's been licensed since 1982 and so when hurricane Iwa [PRON: EE-VAH] struck later that year, he understood well the value of emergency communications.
That's a lesson he hopes will have been passed on by Field Day 2026 on Maui.
The US National Weather Service expects the central Pacific basin to experience an above-normal hurricane season, which runs through the 30th of November.
NETS OF NOTE: THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REPEATER GROUP
A growing group of radio operators in South Australia has been finding its voice on the Adelaide Linked Repeater Network. The South Australian Repeater Group launched its weekly net on the 17th of June and is hoping to attract increasing numbers of hams to the Wednesday net as the group itself continues to grow beyond its current membership of 50. Check-ins begin at 20:00 hours local time -- that's 10:30 hours UTC
The repeater group has also established a webpage at SARG.AU where it hopes to provide information about group activities to members and prospective members.
One of its related projects is the update of its Meshcore Repeaters throughout the Adelaide Plains and the Fleurieu Peninsula. According to the website, this repeater network will provide even more backup if disaster strikes and compromises the communications infrastructure.
For more details about the net or the repeater group's plans, visit sarg.au and click on the link at the top of the page that says "CONTACT US."
FCC'S $3.5 BILLION SPECTRUM AUCTION IS 1ST IN FOUR YEARS
With an estimated 800 MHz of spectrum earmarked for auction by 2034 by the Federal Communications Commission, the agency recently completed its first auction in four years. According to news reports, the total value of the bids exceeded $3.5 billion.
The offering was for four licenses in three major US cities - two in Chicago and one each in Boston and New York. The competitive bidding that concluded on the 23rd of June was designed to ensure commercial use for these parts of the spectrum. The frequencies are part of the Advanced Wireless Services, or AWS-3, bands used by the major mobile carriers.
The agency is now preparing to accept bids next year for at least 100 MHz in the Upper C-Band, from 3.98 GHz to 4.2 GHz.
