NEVADA TO GET 'WORLD'S MOST SENSITIVE' RADIO TELESCOPE

Construction is about to begin for a radio telescope known as the Deep Synoptic Array considered the most sensitive of its kind to date. The project is being led by Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, and is planned for the Nevada desert. According to the Caltech website, the telescope recently passed its final design review, allowing building to begin on what will ultimately be a collection of 1,650 radio dishes covering an area of 12 by 10 miles, or 20 by 16 kilometres.

Scientists expect the Deep Synoptic Array to have the ability to collect and identify more radio sources in any given day than any radio telescopes currently in operation. The researchers said they expect its initial survey to note nearly 1 billion objects emitting radio waves. Its special functions will include the study of pulsars, black holes and fast radio bursts and it raises hopes that it will detect other transient events that have gone undetected until now.

HAMSCI NEEDS OPERATORS FOR METEOR SCATTER QSO PARTIES

HamSCI is looking for radio operators to be calling CQ on 10 and 6 metres using the digital mode MSK144 or simply to serve as passive monitors during two upcoming meteor showers. The first are the Southern Delta Aquairiids between the 29th and 31st of July, followed by the Perseids between the 12th and the 14th August. HamSCI is hoping to receive data collected on 28.145 MHz and 50.260 MHz, especially any .WAV files of de-codes and operator contact logs from WSJT-X.

These are not the last of this year's parties, however. The final meteor scatter QSO party will be during the Geminids between the 13th and the 15th of December.

For operating hours and other details about how to help generate propagation data during these events - which are also friendly competitions - visit the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

SILENT KEY: JERRY LEBOW, K2SMC, BROADCAST OWNER, EMERGENCY-ALERT ADVOCATE

Jerry LeBow, K2SMC, had a firm foothold in radio on both the commercial and amateur side. Licensed as a ham since 1955, he made his living in the broadcast world. He was a cofounder of the Sage Broadcast Group of stations, which had properties in the northeastern and Midwestern US. He was also a longtime member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.

Through his company, Sage Alerting Systems, he manufactured equipment that became widely used to transmit emergency warnings for governments and for the petrochemical industry. In 1994, he became involved in the FCC's efforts to make the transition from its older Emergency Broadcast System to the newer Emergency Alert System.

Jerry was 81.

'BROADCAST DATACASTING' EYED FOR DELIVERY OF US WEATHER ALERTS

It's known as broadcast datacasting - the distribution of data using digital television - and it's showing promise for the National Weather Service as an alternative means of getting the word out.

According to a report on the tvtechnology.com website, the NWS is working with the broadcast datacasting specialist Spectra Rep, to evaluate how the technology can provide a redundant pathway for delivering NOAA weather audio and other data during emergencies.

The transmitted data would be undetected by viewers, according to the SpectraRep website.

Broadcast datacasting has been around for quite some time and originated with closed captioning that appears on many TV screens. Broadcast datacasting is also in some European countries although European TV employs different systems than those used in the US, such as Digital Video Broadcasting and Digital Audio Broadcasting.

NOAA said that the research will help strengthen Weather Radio and broaden access to its information across the country.

YOUNG OPERATORS TO LEAD 'MILESTONE' DXPEDITION TO CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Young radio operators will be planning, leading and operating the VK9XY DXpedition in November and December of this year through a partnership between the Pacific Islands DXpedition Group and Youth on the Air. Although young operators have been part of previous activations, including 3D2Y remote from Rotuma and PJ6Y on the island of Saba, the Pacific Islands group is calling this next operation "a milestone."

The lead operator will be Max Freedman, N4ML. Max and his team will have veteran DXpeditioners Gregg Marco, W6IZT and Glenn Johnson, WØGJ, as on-island advisors. Making the announcement on July 20th, the team said the young operators will include Connor Black, W4IPC; Tyler Schroder, NT1S; Lukas Bartkus, LY7J; and Urgent Jere, 7Q6UJ -- and that many of them were part of the two previous DXpeditions.

They will be on the air for about 18 days, starting around the 16th of November.

WHEN AN ANTENNA CAN OUTFOX CRIMINALS

The late Swiss radio amateur, Rudolf Baumgartner HB9CV, might never have been able to predict, more than 70 years ago, the popularity that his simple, portable antenna would gain among enthusiasts of amateur radio direction-finding.

Known widely as the HB9CV antenna, his design has offered fox-hunters the ease of grab-and-go usage, making it a go-to antenna for low-power VHF signal-hunting in the field.

Rudi would be pleased to see it being used by hams who want to out-fox the fox, but imagine his reaction upon learning that the simple two-element antenna has also been used to outfox criminals.

A recent episode of the UK-based TV programme, "Trace, Track, Get My Car Back," aired on BBC-One, showcased recently how versatile this popular transmitter hunter can be when vehicles, including rental cars and even building-site machines, go missing -- that is to say, when they are stolen. While typically, many companies outfit their vehicles with GPS for tracking, when that is shielded, the system defaults to an RF-based backup for the last mile. That's when car-recovery experts - in this case, from Global Telemetrics - are deployed with Rudolf's reliable creation.

Like eager hams on a fox hunt, they begin their careful search. Unlike eager hams, there are no trophies or certificates but it's something of a prize anyway if they locate the vehicle before it can be shipped out of the country.

WRTC 2026 CHAMPS REPEAT THEIR 2022 VICTORY

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.