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Ready for more snow here on the island...

THURSAY EDITION: Sunny day, it's about time....

What is a ‘SuperAger’? Wonder how mnay on 3928?

To be a “SuperAger,” a person must be older than 80 and undergo extensive cognitive testing that assesses the limits of their ability to recall information, Emily Rogalski, a professor of neurology at the University of Chicago, told CNN in an earlier interview. Rogalski, who was not an author on the study, helped develop the SuperAger program at Northwestern.

“SuperAgers are required to have outstanding episodic memory — the ability to recall everyday events and past personal experiences,” she said. “It’s important to point out when we compare the SuperAgers to the average agers, they have similar levels of IQ, so the differences we’re seeing are not just due to intelligence.”  ARTICLE

What is Pirate Radio? – A brief history of Pirate Radio

Pirate Radio doesn’t involve peg-legged swashbucklers attacking radio stations. Rather, it’s the illegal use of broadcast signals for personal purposes.

Has there ever been a time when, while listening to the radio, the station normally at a certain frequency wasn’t? Or perhaps there was a new station on a frequency that was totally unknown? If so, this may be an instance of what is known as Pirate Radio.

Though it may invoke images of wooden ships and buried treasure, Pirate Radio is simply an illegal or unregulated radio transmission. Normally, a radio pirate will occupy an empty frequency on the AM or FM dial to promote entertainment or opinions that wouldn’t normally be found on commercial stations. Sometimes, their signal ends up bleeding into a station with a licensed frequency, which upsets both listeners and licensed station  owners.

History of Pirate Radio

Pirate radio has been around since the early 1900s. Named pirate radio, or pirate broadcasting for the way frequency were hijacked by non-authorized users, it began on both British and US Naval ships as they already had reserved radiowave rights. It was those same naval personnel that began complaining when amateur signals interrupted their military communications.

As radio became more popular and commercial, rules and regulations were set up to stem the creation of these illegal stations. Yet, people were still successful at taking over frequencies and producing broadcasts that were both entertaining and popular.

Famous Radio Pirates

The most famous of these were the European pirates of the 1960s. The first was Radio Luxembourg, a commercial radio station based out of the duchy of Luxembourg that broadcast English-speaking programs into the United Kingdom.

Joining Radio Luxembourg in the mid 1960s were Radio Caroline, Radio Atlanta and Radio London — three stations that broadcast from vessels just outside British waters, Designed to circumvent BBC regulations on what music could be played, Caroline and its sisters broadcast all day to a British public dying for Top 40 music. These three stations were eventually joined by Swinging Radio England, another Top 40 commercial station, and sister Radio Britain, which played easy listening tunes.

Soon enough, due to the increasing popularity of Radio Caroline, the British government created the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act of 1967 to make it illegal to advertise or supply an offshore radio station. Once that happened, all but the original Radio Caroline (which moved to the Netherlands), went off the air. To replace the void, the BBC finally ventured into the popular music scene with Radio1.

In the U.S. the most famous example of a Pirate Radio station was Mexico’s XERF. Broadcasting at 250,000 watts, XERF was five times as powerful as the most high-powered Top 40 AM stations on the West Coast.

The result was a border-blaster that covered a wide geographical area. Because of its power it was able to give prominence to its talent, one of them being Wolfman Jack. As FM came into fashion in the late 60s, and as problems with the 250kw transmitter mounted, XERF switched to a 50,000 watt transmitter; thus ending its reign.

21st Century Pirate Radio

Today there are numerous Pirate Radio stations around the world. Pirate Stations have also infiltrated new media, such as the Internet. Instead of broadcasting in international waters, these on-line pirates break the law by playing music without paying copyright fees; similar to their AM and FM predecessors of the past and present.

 

.WEDNESDAY EDITION: It's snowing again....An Illegal Station Is Camped On Russia's Military Frquency!...

Where to see the total lunar eclipse in the early hours of March 3

The first lunar eclipse of 2026 will transform the moon into a coppery red "blood moon" in the early hours of March 3 for skywatchers in North America.

The long-lasting and impressive blood moon on March 3 will be visible to billions within the path of the eclipse, but exactly what you'll see depends on where you are watching it from.

3D-printed ‘ghost guns’ are not as untraceable as criminals think – new study

3D-printed guns are a growing threat to public safety. The blueprints used to make these firearms can be found online, making them easily accessible. With a relatively cheap 3D printer and a quick web search, anyone could print their own unlicensed gun.

These guns have been called “untraceable”. Research is now putting this claim to the test.

Our new study, published in the journal Forensic Chemistry, has found some filaments – the materials used in 3D printers – have distinct chemical profiles that could help link seized 3D-printed guns to their source.

The threat of ‘ghost guns’

Last October, an Australian Border Force operation uncovered 281 3D-printed firearms or components.

3D-printed components can be combined with common hardware store parts to create “hybrid” weapons, increasing their strength and durability. Both fully 3D-printed and hybrid 3D-printed guns can be just as lethal as factory-made firearms.

Recent events have led to calls for retailers to help stem the flow of 3D-printed guns. Suggestions have included placing blocking technology on 3D printers or flagging the purchase of items that could be used to make hybrid firearms.

But what can be done about the weapons already circulating in the community?

3D-printed guns have earned the nickname of “ghost guns”, as they are difficult to trace through standard firearms analysis. With law enforcement struggling to trace the source of seized ghost guns, it falls to researchers to find an alternative solution.

Chemical analysis of the filaments used to print these weapons may be the ticket to ending their “untraceable” reputation.

What are 3D-printing filaments?

3D-printing filaments are made up of various polymers, or plastics.  VIDEO

The main polymer used in at-home 3D printing is polylactic acid or PLA, a bioplastic used to make compostable waste bags. Other common filaments are those made from ABS – the main material used to make LEGO bricks due to its toughness – and PETG, a flexible polymer found in sports water bottles.

Some specialist filaments are made by combining different polymers. Many also have additives – extra ingredients to improve toughness, flexibility or appearance.

As 3D-printing filaments are usually patented to protect their individual formulations, additives and other minor ingredients are typically not listed on the product packaging. It is these ingredients that could hold the key to tracing ghost guns.

The mix of ingredients used in 3D-printing filaments gives each type of filament a particular chemical signature. We can identify these signatures using a method called infrared spectroscopy, which records how the filament absorbs infrared light. This pattern of absorbance – an infrared profile – changes based on what molecules are present in the filament.

What we found

In our research, conducted in collaboration with ChemCentre – a statutory forensic laboratory in Western Australia – we analysed more than 60 filaments sourced from the Australian retail market. We discovered that many of these filaments could be distinguished using their infrared profile, despite looking identical to the eye.

Filaments made of PLA, ABS and PETG can be easily set apart due to large differences in the chemical make-up of each polymer.

However, we were also able to separate some filaments made of the same polymer, due to minor additives creating differences in their infrared profile.

In one filament for example, we found signs of a compatibiliser – an additive that helps two polymers to mix together. This ingredient was not found in other filaments of the same base polymer, meaning it could be a distinct part of the brand’s formulation. It also suggests this filament contained two different polymers, despite only one being listed on the packaging.

These findings highlight why chemical analysis of filaments is useful, despite them being a widely available consumer product.

Tracing the seemingly untraceable

Being able to distinguish or identify different 3D-printing filaments could allow forensic investigators to create links between a seized gun and seized filament, or guns seized from different cases.

These links can help lead law enforcement to the suppliers of these guns, ultimately disrupting supply chains and future production.

While our research shows some 3D-printing filaments could be distinguished, this was not the case for all filaments. We are now conducting further research using more analytical techniques that will provide complementary information, such as the elements contained within the filaments.

Combining different techniques will allow us to complete a full chemical picture of each filament. We hope this information will help us to make links between a seized 3D-printed firearm, the filament it was printed from, and the 3D-printer used to print it.

By tracing the chemical fingerprint of 3D-printed guns, criminals can no longer feel safe under their “untraceable” veil.

TUESDAY EDITION: I have been procrastinating and its time to get my ass out of this chair and get outside and start the snow relocation plan. Plow first and then snowblow second....hand shovel is a last option for the  steps only...

Community HamClock Backend Server Now Available

The first known community backend server for HamClock is now available for all HamClock users. The project, hamclock.com, is free for anyone to use and will keep existing HamClock installs running indefinitely.

Major work beyond OHB includes: rewriting the VOACAP propagation engine with cubic interpolation, building weather pressure maps in both millibar and inHg units at five resolutions, adding aurora map generation, real-time PSK Reporter spot data, Kp index from NOAA SWPC, overhauling satellite TLE tracking, and hardening the entire server for production use serving 1,600+ HamClocks.

With the passing of HamClock creator Elwood Downey (WB0OEW), HamClock will stop working in June unless users point their installations to a new backend service. Updating existing HamClock installations is a simple task. Users have two options, updating their hosts file, or updating the command used to start HamClock. Both require only simple text changes.

Hamclock.com is run by Bruce Edrich (W4BAE) and is built upon open-hamclock-backend.

Headlines from Amateur Radio Daily are made available to HamClock via open-hamclock-backed.

Source: HamClock.com

Restoring the Soul of a 1940s Radio

Although we do often see projects that take antiques and replace some or all of their components with modern equipment, we can also sympathize with the view that (when possible and practical) certain antique electronics should be restored rather than gutted. [David] has this inclination for his 1948 GE radio, but there are a few issues with it that prevented a complete, period-correct restoration.

The main (pun intended) issue at the start of this project was safety. The original radio had a chassis that was just as likely as not to become energized, with the only protection being the plastic housing. [David] set up an isolation transformer with a modern polarized power cable to help solve this issue, and then got to work replacing ancient capacitors. With a few other minor issues squared away this is all it took to get the radio working to receive AM radio, and he also was able to make a small modification to allow the radio to accept audio via a 3.5mm jack as well.

However, [David] also has the view that a period-correct AM transmission should accompany this radio as well and set about with the second bit of this project. It’s an adaptation of a project called FieldStation42 originally meant to replicate the experience of cable TV, but [Shane], the project’s creator, helped [David] get it set up for audio as well. A notable feature of this system is that when the user tunes away from one station, it isn’t simply paused, but instead allowed to continue playing as if real time is passing in the simulated radio world.

Although there are a few modern conveniences here for safety and for period-correct immersion, we think this project really hits the nail on the head for preserving everything possible while not rolling the dice with 40s-era safety standards. There’s also a GitHub page with some more info that [David] hopes to add to in the near future. This restoration of a radio only one year newer has a similar feel, and there are also guides for a more broad category of radio restorations as well.

HamSCI 2026: Discovering Science Through Amateur Radio

Registration for HamSCI 2026 is now open. The 9th annual workshop will take place at Central Connecticut University March 14-15.

This year's theme, "Discovering Science Through Ham Radio", celebrates the community's achievements, including Personal Space Weather Station deployments, meteor scatter propagation studies and the promotion of WSPR as a propagation sensing tool. The workshop is expected to feature more than 50 poster and oral presentations, plus invited tutorials, and a banquet with a keynote address by a prominent member of the community.

Notable speakers and talks include:

• Dr. Rob Suggs NN4NT, "Meteor Scatter Tutorial"
• Dr. Kuldeep Pandey, "Solar Eclipse Through Ham Radio: What the Bands Revealed"
• Jonathan Rizzo (KC3EEY), "Remembering and Honoring Paul Nicholson G8LMD: Passionate VLF Enthusiast and Master"

Tours of ARRL and operation of W1AW will be available during the event. More information is available on the HamSCI website

MONDAY EDITION: 12:45PM- just plowed for the first time, looks to be about 12 inches but some drifting, 24 degrees, still blowing 50mph or so....1120AM- cannot see out of any window in the house, completely snowed in with 70mph winds blowing sideways into the house......8:20AM...3 inches of snow, 60 mph gusts, powers outages all around town........6AM, 1 inch of snow, 45 mph winds...still have power...the storm is just arriving here....

555-Based Square-Wave and Triangle-Wave Function Generator Build for Beginners

As beginner videos go this one is fairly comprehensive. [Andrew] shows us how to build a square-wave generator on a breadboard using a 555 timer, explaining how its internal flip-flop is controlled by added resistance and capacitance to become a relaxation oscillator. He shows how to couple a potentiometer to vary the frequency.

He then adds an integrator built from a TL082 dual op amp to convert the circuit to a triangle-wave generator, using its second op amp to build a binary inverter. He notes that a binary inverter is usually implemented with a comparator, but he uses the op amp because it was spare and could be put to good use. Again, potentiometers are added for frequency control, in this case a 1 MΩ pot for coarse control and a 10 kΩ pot for fine control. He ends with a challenge to the viewer: how can this circuit be modified to be a sine-wave generator? Sound off in the comments if you have some ideas!

If you’re interested to know more about function generators check out A Function Generator From The Past and Budget Brilliance: DHO800 Function Generator.

 

WEEKEND EDITION: Sunday, 32 degrees and winds up to 70mph predicted tonight in to tomorrow with up to 2 feet of snow here on the island...shit is all I have to say...

The ice runway at Alton Bay Seaplane Base (B18) on New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee has set a new seasonal landing record.

On Monday, 42 aircraft touched down on the frozen surface, bringing the season’s total to 774—surpassing the previous record of 764 set in 2025.

First established in the 1960s, the runway has long been a cherished—if sometimes unpredictable—winter tradition. Warm spells forced cancellations in 2023 and 2024.

I was sandbagging Saturday morning on 75 meters listening to Cal and the boys talking about curling and the stones they use. I learned more than I ever wanted to know plus they got into ball bearings, they never run out of topics! ....

Titanic Memorial Special Event Honors Telegraph Operators

The Titanic Memorial special event, EG1912T, takes place April 10th through April 15th honoring all on board the ship.

We particularly wish to honour those who participated in the rescue, especially the radio station managers and telegraph operators Jack Phillips, Harold Bride and Harold Cottam, who played a leading role in the telegraphic communications of the most shocking rescue in history: the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

The event will take place on all bands utilizing all modes with an emphasis on CW. QSL cards will be available via bureau. More information is available on the EG1912T QRZ page.

New Book Release: Digital Networking for Ham Radio

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®’s new book, Digital Networking for Ham Radio, a practical, hands-on guide to designing and implementing high-speed data networks for amateur radio stations, is now shipping.

Written by Glen Popiel, KW5GP, the book brings together in one comprehensive resource the knowledge needed to build, configure, and expand digital networks for ham radio. From TCP/IP fundamentals to deploying mesh technologies such as AREDN®, HamWAN, and Meshtastic®, readers will find clear explanations and step-by-step guidance.

“When I began experimenting with amateur radio data networking, I realized there wasn’t a single resource that clearly explained how it all works — especially TCP/IP in terms the average ham could relate to,” said Popiel. “That inspired me to create a practical guide to designing and implementing high-speed amateur radio networks. Since there’s no speed limit above 70 centimeters, operators can integrate webcams, IP phones, and other networked devices. I hope this book encourages hams to explore, experiment, and enjoy networking on the microwave bands.”

Digital Networking for Ham Radio covers selecting hardware, choosing network topologies, configuring systems, and staying compliant with FCC Part 97 rules. The book is designed for both newcomers and experienced operators who want to expand their stations with resilient, high-speed networking capabilities.

Digital Networking for Ham Radio is now shipping. Order from the ARRL online store or through an ARRL publication dealer. ARRL Item No. 2349, ISBN: 978-1-62595-234-9, $29.95 ARRL member price, $34.95 retail. 

Job Posting: FCC Recruiting 7 Field Agents – Electronics Engineers

Amateur Radio Newsline Report

CHILEAN HAMS RESPOND TO AN ANDES MOUNTAIN TRAGEDY

PAUL/ANCHOR: An annual occasion that celebrates strength, courage and pride in a free homeland ended in tragedy in the Andes Mountains even as amateur radio operators mobilized to help with their best efforts. Graham Kemp VK4BB brings us that story.

GRAHAM: Riding horseback across the mountains each year recalls a defining moment of independence for South American nations. This year's 209th anniversary ride of the Crossing of the Andes under Jose de San Martin and the Army of the Andes, led to an emergency evacuation of one rider in early February. As the mounted expedition began its return trip home through Chile in early evening, the woman suffered a serious fall from her horse.

Writing in the Forums section of QRZ.com, Carlos Almirón, LU7DSY, said that the San Felipe Provincial Radio Club, CE2REU, sent out a call for emergency assistance through the Chilean ham radio network. The Los Molinos Radio Club of Villa Alemana, CE2CQ, provided GPS coordinates for the mountains' La Vega section. As ground resources and a helicopter were dispatched, the Los Molinos hams continued their coordination with the expeditioners through a link with the San Felipe Provincial Radio Club. The rescue teams arrived, performed CPR followed by an evacuation. It was later reported that the rider had died from her injuries while being treated at the hospital.

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ROBUST TEAM OF RACES HAMS ACTIVATE IN HAWAII

PAUL/ANCHOR: In December of 2025, AR Newsline reported on the dismantling of the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services, or RACES, in Vermont in preference to a different operations model, a movement that has been taking place in other states as well. Hawaii, however, is going in a different direction. They are recruiting new members and, as we hear from Randy Sly W4XJ, recently responded well to sudden, severe weather.

RANDY: Hawaii's recent statewide call for hams to get more involved in RACES could not have been better timed:

RACES hams were activated on February 8th and 9th, as severe weather brought high winds, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, power outages, and hazardous surf conditions across Honolulu and the State of Hawaii. Both Governor Josh Green and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi issued emergency proclamations to mobilize resources and protect public safety.

According to Michael Miller, KH6ML, deputy director of RACES and Assistant Section Manager, Pacific Section for the ARRL, RACES amateur radio operators were activated inside the Emergency Operations Center in support of the Department of Emergency Management, City and County of Honolulu. Additional amateur radio activity also took place through ARES and CERT activations in the field.

As trained, licensed, amateur radio volunteers, RACES hams are involved in a government-activated amateur radio service used during official emergencies, operating under local, state, or federal emergency management authorities. In Hawaii, RACES operators are a part of the state’s Emergency Management Reserve Corps, helping to keep information moving between the Emergency Operations Center and field sites.

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CREW 12 ARRIVES AT SPACE STATION

PAUL/ANCHOR: Crew 12 has arrived aboard the International Space Station and amateur radio operators, as usual, are part of the group. Travis Lisk N3ILS brings us up to date.

TRAVIS: The ISS is back to its customary occupancy of seven people, following the arrival on Saturday, February 14th, of Crew 12. They are NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway, KJ5NIV and Jessica Meir, as well as European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot KJ5LTN, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

In addition to the expected schedule of ARISS contacts, Crew-12 will be kept busy with a variety of studies, including how physical characteristics have an impact on blood flow during spaceflight -- as well as a look at on-demand intravenous fluid generation for space missions to follow.

**
TECHCON 2026 HIGHLIGHTS NEXT-GEN DIGITAL NARROWBAND

PAUL/ANCHOR: Get ready to talk tech at Techcon 2026 in Florida. The focus, naturally, is innovation in amateur radio, as we hear from Jack Parker W8ISH.

JACK; Techcon 2026 is a one-day conference sponsored by the ARRL West Central Florida Section on February 28th. The forums will cover a variety of amateur radio technologies including NXDN, or next-generation digital narrowband. This is the newest digital mode for amateur radio and its use is gaining momentum within SKYWARN.

Paul Toth, NB9X, one of the keynote speakers, told Newsline that NXDN, created jointly by Icom and Kenwood, is used for short text, GPS and amateur digital communication.

PAUL TOTH: [sound clip]: Its primary purpose was to create a technology for ultra-narrow banding for Part 90, Land Mobile Radio.”

JACK: Toth says this use of bandwidth is a perfect fit for digital amateur radio technology, using 6.24K per channel, a 4800 baud data rate and FDMA modulation. He said it provides audio that is cleaner and more distortion free.

PAUL TOTH: [sound clip] "You don’t have any snap, crackle” because you're decoding zeroes and ones."

JACK: Most Florida West Coast counties are using NXDN for SKYWARN activities. They have a weekly net and SKYWARN reports go directly to the National Weather Service as needed during severe weather. Other areas developing NXDN are Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of Canada.

The conference is being held at the Hillsborough County Public Service Operations Center. For details, follow the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

DIRECT-TO-DEVICE SATELLITE SERVICE BEGINNING IN UK

PAUL/ANCHOR: The first satellite connectivity service goes into effect at the end of this month in the UK, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: Customers of Virgin Media's O2 mobile phone service are gaining access to direct-to-device satellite communication on the 25th of February. While some direct-to-device has already been approved in other countries, including the US, this is the first such licence variation approved by Ofcom for UK mobile customers. In hard-to-reach regions where there is no cellular service, direct-to-device will allow customers to stay connected via text, phone calls and internet with signals directly to and from smartphones. Virgin Media O2 is making use of Starlink satellites in low earth orbit.

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WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, hams in the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia, IOTA Number NA-108, are commemorating its 47th year of independence with special event callsigns that are in effect through to the 23rd of February. Listen for callsigns that begin with "J647" and the one- to three-letter suffix from each ham's personal callsign.

You can continue celebrating World Radio Day by contacting the special-event station 4UNR operated by the VIC Amateur Radio Contest DX Club at United Nations HQ in NY. The station is on the air through to the 28th of February, using CW, SSB and digital modes. Contacts count for Austria as DX and the Vienna International Centre for the CQ DX Marathon.

Mike, VE2XB, will be on the air holiday style as 8P9XB from Barbados, IOTA Number NA-021 from the 21st through to the 28th of February. Mike will be using CW and SSB on 80-10 metres.

Lubo, OM5ZW and Laco, OM4WM, will be in the Maldives, IOTA Number AS-013, operating as 8Q7ZW from the 28th of February to the 12th of March. Be listening on 160-10 metres where they will be using CW, SSB and FT8, with a focus on the low bands.

Chris, WA7RAR, will be operating with the callsign V4/WA7RAR from St. Kitts, IOTA Number NA-104, from the 21st of February to the 7th of March. Chris will be using CW and SSB on 20-10 metres. He will also be activating POTA from a number of sites.

**
KICKER: BUNKERS ON THE AIR PROGRAM EXPANDS TO THE US

PAUL/ANCHOR: The links between amateur radio and history grow stronger every day as hams have discovered from all our special event stations and awards schemes. In the UK, Bunkers on the Air began with Royal Observer Corps bunker sites in 2005 with radio and history education in mind - and now activators in the US are able to call CQ at local bunkers too, as we hear from Ralph Squillace KK6ITB, in this week's final story.

RALPH: The chase is on: US BOTA - that's Bunkers on the Air - is now a part of Worldwide BOTA. The popular awards scheme that began in the UK is now active in 23 countries. The US recently became one of those active nations. Rem O'Donnelley, K6BBQ, the US national coordinator, told Newsline that his POTA activations inspired him to establish a US presence on the BOTA map. He said that many bunkers are inside parks in his part of California -- so activating those bunkers seemed to be the next logical move.

Worldwide BOTA's Jason Dale, 2EØJIV, told Newsline that, as with other nations, US BOTA is closely modeled after the one in the UK. With some bunker sites still considered sensitive areas, BOTA established an activation zone giving plenty of room for permitted activations without having to infringe on the bunker itself. In the UK and the US and several other countries, that's 1,000 meters from the center of the bunker itself.

The worldwide platform hosts each country's available awards and bunker databases as well as lists of new countries - and newly added bunkers. Specific rules and local maps are available on each country's individual site. Best of all, said Jason, some portable loggers, such as Ham2K, have also gotten into the act and have already added BOTA into their software.

To visit both the new US BOTA website and the site for worldwide BOTA, see the links in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

FRIDAY EDITION: More snow tonight and Sunday night, what's new. It's a good thing Bob-K1LID bought a 3090 Troybuilt snow blower with heated grips and a headlight. Oops, it doesn't work...Would you take a ride on this bus?....Tesla unveils cheaper Cybertruck variant, cuts Cyberbeast price to drive demand

DXLook.com Launches New Composite Views to Compare Real-World Contacts with Propagation Predictions

February 20, 2026

February 20, 2026 — DXLook.com has released two new composite map views designed to help amateur radio operators compare actual on-air results with propagation expectations in one place. The update adds Reports + MUF and Reports + VOACAP, allowing operators to see where signals are being reported versus where models suggest they should propagate—without switching between separate tools or screens.

New Composite Views

Reports + MUF
This view overlays real contact reports (solid arcs) on top of MUF (Maximum Usable Frequency) zones. The colored zones represent the highest usable band by direction, helping operators quickly confirm whether contacts align with expected openings and identify unusual paths such as grey-line effects, sporadic-E, or long-path propagation.

Reports + VOACAP
This view overlays real contact reports (solid lines) with VOACAP theoretical predictions (dashed, semi-transparent arcs). It provides a direct side-by-side visual comparison between model-based expectations and real-world activity, making it easier to spot agreement, gaps, and surprises.

How to Access
Operators can try the new views by visiting dxlook.com, selecting Reports + MUF or Reports + VOACAP from the View dropdown, then entering a callsign or grid square and clicking Go.

Update Details

• The MUF/VOACAP prediction backdrop refreshes every 5 minutes independently
• Reports refresh based on the selected time window (1 minute to 24 hours)
• Existing Reports features remain available, including filters for band/mode/direction, marker options, and the spot table

DXLook.com is free to use, requires no login, and aggregates data from PSK Reporter, Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), WSPRnet, and DX Cluster, supporting bands from 160m through 2m.

About DXLook.com
DXLook.com is a web-based platform that combines reception reports and propagation-focused views to help amateur radio operators monitor activity, understand band conditions, and explore propagation patterns in real time.

 

THURSDAY EDITION: Picking up my tax returns this morning and going over to the club for a little testing of some donated gear. I sold the Kenwood TS520 in an hour on Craigslist for $100 yesterday. Someone still likes the old radios....Former NASA engineer warns about heat shield on Artemis II moon mission

Honolulu Department of Emergency Management is Recruiting: Volunteer Amateur Radio

The following is a message from Honolulu Department of Emergency Management:

When emergencies disrupt normal communications, RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services) provides trained, licensed ham radio volunteers to keep information moving between the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and field sites.

What you’ll do:

• Pass emergency traffic between the EOC and field sites (we will teach you Winlink and other modes).
• Share reports to support situational awareness.
• Train and participate in exercises to test backup communications.

Minimum qualifications:

• Amateur radio operator license (required).
• Permanent U.S. resident, 18+.
• Able to pass a federal fingerprint background check.

Apply here:
https://veoci.com/v/p/191705/workflow/7pgrj5u5q833

If you’re a licensed amateur radio operator on Oʻahu and want your skills to matter when it counts, this is a direct way to serve your community.

Please feel free to share with anyone who may be interested. I welcome any questions or feedback.

Michael C. Miller, KH6ML
Deputy Coordinator
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES)
Department of Emergency Management – City and County of Honolulu

Assistant Section Manager, Pacific Section
ARRL – The National Association for Amateur Radio®

Source: Honolulu Department of Emergency Management

NEW HAMPSHIRE POISED TO OK HAM RADIO LICENSE PLATES

JIM/ANCHOR: In the US, the state of New Hampshire is poised to approve amateur radio license plates for vehicles registered to hams. Sel Embee KB3TZD has that story.

SEL: Amateur radio operators in New Hampshire are eagerly awaiting the passage of a measure by their state lawmakers to create a new vanity license plate type for motor vehicles that “clearly identifies the owner of the vehicle to be an amateur radio operator.”

A public hearing was held last month on the House Bill which would “authorize the creation of vanity license plates and decals that identify amateur radio operators by their Federal Communications Commission call sign. If the owner chooses not to display their call sign they may use a standard issue plate featuring a lightning bolt symbol to indicate their status as a licensed amateur radio operator.”

If lawmakers approve the bill, it would still need the signature of Gov. Kelly Ayotte (AY-ott) before becoming law. Gov. Ayotte (AY-ott) has shown support of ham radio, proclaiming June of last year "Amateur Radio Month" in recognition of radio operators' important roles in public service and emergency communications.

This is Sel Embee, K-B-3-T-Zed-D.

(QRZ.COM, STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE)

GPS INTERFERENCE WARNING IN CENTRAL TEXAS

JIM/ANCHOR: People in or near central Texas who rely on GPS received a warning from the US military base at Fort Hood that wide-ranging GPS tests there might cause interference with their own personal devices. Kevin Trotman N5PRE picks up the story from here.

KEVIN: Farmers, pilots and smartphone-users and anyone else who relies on GPS to get from here to there have been paying close attention to an alert from the US military base at Fort Hood in Texas. The announcement said that throughout February, the region that includes Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and even Oklahoma City could experience interference and disruptions. The final rounds of testing are to be held on February 13th and 14th from 3 to 5 a.m. local time and resuming nightly from February 15th through to the 22nd. The final testing period is February 23rd through to the 27th.

WEDNESDAY EDITION: The Incredible Elephant Stables of Hampi

Zero Retries Digital Conference 2026 Announced

February 18, 2026

Zero Retries Digital Conference (ZRDC) will return for a second year on Friday, October 16, 2026. This year's conference will take place in Sam Ramon, California, USA at the Roundhouse Conference Center. Pacificon 2026 will take place the same weekend in the same city, just down the street from ZRDC.

An informal visit to the Computer History Museum will take place the Thursday before ZRDC 2026. (Editor's note: A visit to CHM is worth arriving early!)

Keep an eye on the ZRDC 2026 website for more details.

These Ultra-Cute, Handsfree Walkie-Talkies Are Built For Cycling

Walkie-talkies are great fun, and [RealCorebb]’s bbTalkie project takes the concept a step further by adding some extremely cool features to make a highly refined, self-contained ESP32-based communicator. bbTalkie completely does away with a push-to-talk button by implementing robust voice detection that works reliably even in noisy environments. It was all designed with cycling in mind, so hands-free operation that stands up to noise is a big plus.

The core of communication is done over ESP-NOW, which is Espressif’s own protocol for direct device-to-device broadcasting. This removes the need to involve any sort of external service like SIM cards or internet access to transmit voice. Performance is best with an external antenna, naturally, but ESP-NOW doesn’t actually require anything other than the existing on-board hardware.

We’ve seen ESP-NOW used to make digital walkie-talkies before, but bbTalkie is a really evolved take on the concept, not least of which due to its hands-free operation.

Because volume-based automatic triggers are highly susceptible to noise, voice detection is done with the help of VADNet, a neural network-based model implemented locally on the device. This system can reliably detect human speech, even in noisy environments. This lets bbTalkie switch between transmit and listen modes automatically and hands-free, without false triggers.

Even when doing all that, there’s still spare capability to play with. Further to the goal of making bbTalkie useful for cyclists in a group, [RealCorebb] added a system that can recognize specific voice commands (like “turn left” for example, or “wait for me!”) which trigger synchronized animations to play on the displays of all connected units. There’s even some experimental support for controlling a camera over Bluetooth, though currently it only supports hardware from Sony.

Watch a tour of it in the video below (Chinese language, English captions available). The OLED screens and animations are adorable, and are great visual feedback of what the unit is doing at any given moment.

 

TUESDAY EDITION: Well this a big oops....

Buildling A Light That Reacts To Radio Waves

When it comes to electromagnetic waves, humans can really only directly perceive a very small part of the overall spectrum, which we call “visible light.” [rootkid] recently built an art piece that has perception far outside this range, turning invisible waves into a visible light sculpture.

The core of the device is the HackRF One. It’s a software defined radio (SDR) which can tune signals over a wide range, from 10 MHz all the way up to 6 GHz. [rootkid] decided to use the HackRF to listen in on transmissions on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. This frequency range was chosen as this is where a lot of devices in the home tend to communicate—whether over WiFi, Bluetooth, or various other short-range radio standards.

The SDR is hooked up to a Raspberry Pi Zero, which is responsible for parsing the radio data and using it to drive the light show. As for the lights themselves, they consist of 64 filament LEDs bent into U-shapes over a custom machined metal backing plate. They’re controlled over I2C with custom driver PCBs designed by [rootkid]. The result is something that looks like a prop from some high-budget Hollywood sci-fi. It looks even better when the radio waves are popping and the lights are in action.

It’s easy to forget about the rich soup of radio waves that we swim through every day.

 

MONDAY EDITION: Ray- NR1R sent me this a few weeks ago to evaluate and my first test was at my qth. I wasn't sure how it would work as I have no noise here. As I suspected, after connecting it in line, no difference was noticed at my qth. The filter is inserted right after the transceiver and not at the end of the chain if you have a amplifier in line. No insertion loss as far as power out was observed.

Ray - NR1R sent me this noise filter to evaluate....

So what next? I took the filter over to the CAARA radio club where we are knee deep in noise and gave it a whirl. I was using the Icom 7300 fed into to our new 3 element beam and recorded an S8 noise level on 20 meters at noon time. I inserted the NR1R filter inline and the noise dipped to S4....wow! I did the same for 10,15, and 18 and had similar results...it worked for us reducing noise and I am leaving it inline at the club.

So if you have any interest, I would email Ray directly at dxhogg@aol.com and inquire with questions and info on ordering. Ray has 50 orders so far at $75.00 shipped from his qth in Reading, MA

Lumafield Peers into the 18650 Battery

[Alex Hao] and [Andreas Bastian] of Lumafield recently visited with [Adam Savage] to share their battery quality report, which documents their findings after performing X-ray computed tomography scans on over 1,000 18650 lithium-ion batteries.

The short version — don’t buy cheap cells! The cheaper brands were found to have higher levels of manufacturing defects which can lead them to being unsafe. All the nitty-gritty details are available in the report, which can be downloaded for free from Lumafield, as well as the Tested video they did with [Adam] below.

Actually we’ve been talking here at Hackaday over at our virtual water-cooler (okay, okay, our Discord server) about how to store lithium-ion batteries and we learned about this cool bit of kit: the BAT-SAFE. Maybe check that out if you’re stickler for safety like us! (Thanks Maya Posch!)

We have of course heard from [Adam Savage] before, check out [Adam Savage] Giving A Speech About The Maker Movement and [Adam Savage]’s First Order Of Retrievability Tool Boxes.

Amateur Radio Active at the Honolulu EOC During Severe Weather Activation

February 16, 2026

The following is a message from the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management:

February 8–9, 2026 | Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

On February 8–9, 2026, severe weather brought high winds, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, power outages, and hazardous surf conditions across Honolulu and the State of Hawaiʻi. Both Governor Josh Green and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi issued emergency proclamations to mobilize resources and protect public safety.

Amateur radio operators were activated inside the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in support of the Department of Emergency Management (DEM), City and County of Honolulu. Volunteer communicators reported in and stood ready to provide backup communications should cellular or internet systems fail.

During the activation, we:

• Participated in county and statewide briefings with Governor Josh Green and Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan and Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) leadership.
• Joined statewide HF nets at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. on 7.090 MHz (LSB).
• Updated and posted the ICS-205 Communications Plan on HawaiiARES.net for download and offline reference.
• Logged activity in the ICS-214 Unit Log.
• Operated at KH6OCD on HF and VHF/UHF voice, monitored repeaters, and utilized Winlink radio email on HF and VHF FM.

Radio traffic remained light as outages were quickly addressed through coordinated efforts between city and state agencies and utility partners. Shelters and volunteers remained ready in case conditions worsened.

Personnel Participation

At the EOC: AH6WN, KH6LT, KH6ML, KH7HO, WH6HCV, WH6HEZ, WH7Y.
Field and statewide support: AH6CP, KH6C, KH6LY, KH7FV, KH7O, WH7GG, WH7PD, Kaneohe CERT, Kailua CERT, and ARES members statewide.

Emergency Management Reserve Corps (EMRC)

The Emergency Management Reserve Corps (EMRC) supports the community through trained volunteers who serve either in field operations across Oʻahu or as amateur radio communicators under RACES. Most RACES members are also active in ARES, strengthening coordination between county and statewide response efforts. Interested operators on Oʻahu can apply here: https://veoci.com/v/p/191705/workflow/7pgrj5u5q833

“It was encouraging to work alongside such engaged and supportive leadership from the Department. Dr. Randal Collins, Director, and Jennifer Walter, Deputy Director, along with Douglas Tom and Jeff Spencer, clearly understand how amateur radio strengthens resiliency and provides independent communications capability. Their awareness of our role in a larger grey or black sky event ensures RACES remains fully integrated into emergency operations.”

— Michael Miller, KH6ML Deputy Coordinator, RACES Program

Operations and Coordination

Mark Kaku, KH6LT, coordinated amateur radio operations inside the EOC, ensuring continuous coverage throughout the activation.

“Our goal is simple—be ready before we’re needed. We focus on coverage, documentation, and coordination so that if primary systems fail, we can immediately step in.”
— Mark Kaku, KH6LT Coordinator, RACES Program

 

VALENTINE'S DAY  EDITION: Our monthly radio club meeting is today complete with catered lunch. Meeting topic is secret radio communication by retired Air Force member, should be  good talk....

Hidden talents: One thing you did not know about Cal- W1HHO, in his younger days he was quite the skilled curling player and obviously a trend setting dresser on the lakes of Maine.

Hi Jon. Lance here...KK4DX from Northfield, CT.

I like your website [thank you!] and was looking at the WRD piece, specifically on the 'inventor' of radio.

I am passing something on to you that I read recently - from a bio on Nikola Tesla. It turns out that Tesla had documented the idea of wireless transmission and reception and apparently is credited with the invention of radio around 1893 (although Marconi filed a patent in 1897).

I include the references and you can be the judge. I am not a lawyer - a retired electrical engineer in fact - I mean, who else has time to read a bio on Tesla except maybe a retiree? I wasn't necessarily a Tesla fan either....just interested.

So, there was a patent infringement case filed by Marconi that went to the Supreme Court of the US and they issued a judgment in 1943. (link:https://www.loc.gov/item/usrep320001/)

If you don't trust the above link (I usually don't), the reference is: Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. v. U.S., 320 U.S. 1 (1943)

On page 13 of the document, it has the date when Tesla briefed the design/technology.

SpottedHam.com Adds DX Cluster Integration and Customizable Club Widgets

Following its successful launch earlier this month, the spotting and alert platform SpottedHam.com has released a major feature update driven by community feedback.

In addition to its signature POTA and SOTA real-time email alerts, the platform now integrates a global DX Cluster feed. This allows operators to filter for rare DX alongside portable activations, all within the same lightweight, mobile-first interface. Users can still set custom watchlists for specific callsigns, ensuring they never miss a “need” on the bands.

Perhaps the most significant addition is the new SpottedHam Club Widget. Radio clubs can now generate a custom HTML snippet to embed a live member activity table on their own club websites. This feature aims to help local clubs stay connected by showing at-a-glance what club members are currently on the air.

Developed by Robert Campbell (KM6HBH), SpottedHam continues to focus on a “low-bandwidth, high-speed” philosophy, making it ideal for field use or slow shack connections. The service is free to use and is already running some DX clubs pages.

Operators can explore the new DX filters, set up their first email alert, or generate a widget for their club at: https://www.spottedham.com.

FRIDAY EDITION: A ham from Greece was on the UFB Wires-X network this morning giving out 59 signal reports...makes you wonder....

British shower heaters operate at near 100% efficiency since the 240 volt elements are directly exposed to water, and somehow these things don't electrocute thousands of people per year. How is that? Big Clive reveals the not-so-shocking truth

Importance of World Radio Day (WRD)

Proclaimed in 2011 by UNESCO Member States and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012, World Radio Day (WRD) is celebrated every February 13. It is a Day to thank broadcasters for the news they deliver, the voices they amplify and the stories they share.

Radio is considered one of the powerful mediums that helps humanity to celebrate diversity and it offers an ideal platform for democratic discourse. It is still the most widely consumed medium globally as the UNESCO website reveals on the Statistics on Radio reveals that radio counts for 86% of the total time adults aged 25-54 spend listening to three main audio platforms. Adults are more prone to listen to AM/FM according to the website. The United Nations website insists that radio stations should serve diverse communities and they should offer a wide variety of programs, viewpoints and content reflecting the diversity of audiences in their organizations. As we know that radio targets not only people living in metropolitan areas but also in remote areas so they should offer a kind of content that gives representation to those isolated communities as well. World Radio Day appreciates radio’s services to a variety of communities and representing them in its programs.

Background

According to the UN resolution# UNESCO 36 C/Resolution 63; A/RES/67/124 which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 14 February 2014 during its 67th Session, 13 February will be celebrated as World Radio Day (WRD) every year. The tradition of celebrating this day is still in effect and the world community observes this day including the world leaders. Interestingly, the United Nations Radio was established on 13 February 1946, and the same date was designated by the international organization to observe this day.

History of  World Radio Day

Radio is an electronic machine that was invented by Guglielmo Marconi during the 1890s to offer audio news and music to audiences prior to the invention of television. It was the age of newspapers when people were accustomed to get news from unattractive newspapers. Radio appeared as an attractive invention because one or two persons were able to spread their voice to a wide range of audiences. Later on, TV was invented by a 21 years old American boy Philo Taylor Farnsworth in 1927 and it was assumed that radio would lose a large segment of its audiences because most people would prefer visuals over auditory talks and music. On contrary, the official website of UNESCO reveals that around 44000 radio stations are active throughout the world and around 70% of the world population is using radio whereas only around 28,000 TV channels are active globally even after a century of competition between these two modes of information and entertainment. Radio appears in vehicles, households, cell phones, and on work-places. Moreover, it is comparatively a cheaper mode of information and easily accessible so a large number of poor people also have this cheaper luxury in their life. People enjoy getting news updates, weather updates, route updates for everyday traveling, informative programs, and entertainment programs while working in their daily routine. Most consumers of the contemporary world are short of time, therefore, they cannot offer their full time and attention to the entertainment devices and they expect from such devices to offer their services to people while they are busy in their daily routine. Radio is an ideal option for such a kind of consumer.
For the described importance of radio, The Spanish Academy of Radio Arts and Sciences (Academia Española de la Radio) which was established to promote radio in Spain successfully promoted the establishment of World Radio Day (WRD) by UNESCO. This institution under the chairmanship of Jorge Álvarez approached UNESCO in 2008 to convince them to observe a day in the recognition of the services of radio in spreading peace, entertainment, and information throughout the world. The 36th Conference General of UNESCO has the credit to unanimously approving the Spanish proposal of designating a day in the recognition of radio services on November 3, 2011. 13 February was observed as World Radio Day (WRD) until 2014 when the UN formally endorsed this day.

World Radio Day Purpose

The purpose of this day is to acknowledge the services of radio and to spread awareness about the importance of radio offering people services regarding entertainment, news updates, and information. This day also insists the world leaders to support this medium to spread awareness and the values of democracy throughout the world.

World Radio Day Quotes

“When radio keeps silent, our ears shall never hear the real details!” — (Ernest Agyemang Yeboah)

Airman sets 17 Guinness World Records

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  

Whirling flames as fast as possible inches from your face, while balancing on a moving board, may seem like a dubious past time, but for one Airman, it was just one achievement in a series of quirky broken world records.

Maj. Jonathan Buckingham has set 17 Guinness World Records and leads a nonprofit organization, “World Record Breakers Club,” whose members have collectively broken 27 records. Moreover, the Airman has three more records pending and continues to seek opportunities to break more.

Buckingham’s current records include:

• Fastest time to travel to all seven continents.
• Fastest circumnavigation by scheduled flights, visiting six continents.
• Fastest towed asphalt skiing.
• Most fire knife spins on a balance board in one minute.
• Fastest time to travel to all New York City ferry stations.
• Most catches of a medicine ball wearing boxing gloves in one minute.
• Most balloons burst with boxing gloves in one minute.
• Most balloons burst with feet in one minute.
• Fastest time to burst 200 balloons with a nail.
• Most alternating tennis ball catches in the plank position in one minute.
• Fastest time to put on 10 socks.
• Fastest time to set up and topple 10 books.
• Fastest time to set up and topple Guinness World Record books.
• Fastest time to break open five pinatas.
• Most museums visited in 24 hours.
• Most basketball bounces on a balance board in one minute
• Most basketball bounces on a balance board in one minute with two balls

THURSDAY EDITION: Finally made it to the hospital to have the blood work done for my physical, ...

Radio Daily: Obsolete Part 97 Rules Deleted Today

Four rules that affect amateur radio operators under Part 97 have been marked for deletion by the FCC, effective today. The following four rules include:

• § 97.27 This provision is duplicative of a statutory provision related to the FCC’s right to modify station licenses.
• § 97.29 This provision specified an obsolete procedure to replace paper licenses.
• § 97.315 (b)(2) This obsolete provision grandfathered HF amplifiers purchased before April 28, 1978 by an amateur radio operator for use at that operator’s station, and grandfathered those manufactured before April 28, 1978, for which a marketing waiver was issued.
• § 97.521(b) and Appendix 2 This rule and appendix relate to obsolete VEC regions.

Source: ARRL

Amateur Radio Software Award Nominations Open

The Amateur Radio Software Award is seeking nominations for outstanding software developed for ham radio. Nominations should promote innovative, free, and open source projects. Submissions are being accepted until February 28th.

The Amateur Radio Software Award is an annual international award for the recognition of software projects that enhance amateur radio. The award aims to promote amateur radio software development which adhere to the same spirit as amateur radio itself: innovative, free and open.

See previous award recipients, read the rules, and check out the FAQ.

WEDNESDAY EDITION: Another 4 inches of snow, I think the snow belt moved from NH to Cape Ann!. I now have over 3 feet of accumulated snow in the yard....

Hi Jon,

I just watched the battery video on your site. Here's a 12V build, this should keep the POTA guys running for a few days.

73

Bart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8bdp_boQt8

Skimming Satellites: On the Edge of the Atmosphere

There’s little about building spacecraft that anyone would call simple. But there’s at least one element of designing a vehicle that will operate outside the Earth’s atmosphere that’s fairly easier to handle: aerodynamics. That’s because, at the altitude that most satellites operate at, drag can essentially be ignored. Which is why most satellites look like refrigerators with solar panels and high-gain antennas attached jutting out at odd angles.

But for all the advantages that the lack of meaningful drag on a vehicle has, there’s at least one big potential downside. If a spacecraft is orbiting high enough over the Earth that the impact of atmospheric drag is negligible, then the only way that vehicle is coming back down in a reasonable amount of time is if it has the means to reduce its own velocity. Otherwise, it could be stuck in orbit for decades. At a high enough orbit, it could essentially stay up forever.

There was a time when that kind of thing wasn’t a problem. It was just enough to get into space in the first place, and little thought was given to what was going to happen in five or ten years down the road. But today, low Earth orbit is getting crowded. As the cost of launching something into space continues to drop, multiple companies are either planning or actively building their own satellite constellations comprised of thousands of individual spacecraft.

Fortunately, there may be a simple solution to this problem. By putting a satellite into what’s known as a very low Earth orbit (VLEO), a spacecraft will experience enough drag that maintaining its velocity requires constantly firing its thrusters.  Naturally this presents its own technical challenges, but the upside is that such an orbit is essentially self-cleaning — should the craft’s propulsion fail, it would fall out of orbit and burn up in months or even weeks. As an added bonus, operating at a lower altitude has other practical advantages, such as allowing for lower latency communication.

VLEO satellites hold considerable promise, but successfully operating in this unique environment requires certain design considerations. The result are vehicles that look less like the flying refrigerators we’re used to, with a hybrid design that features the sort of aerodynamic considerations more commonly found on aircraft.

ESA’s Pioneering Work

This might sound like science fiction, but such craft have already been developed and successfully operated in VLEO. The best example so far is the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE), launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) back in 2009.

To make its observations, GOCE operated at an altitude of 255 kilometers (158 miles), and dropped as low as just 229 km (142 mi) in the final phases of the mission. For reference the International Space Station flies at around 400 km (250 mi), and the innermost “shell” of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are currently being moved to 480 km (298 mi).

Given the considerable drag experienced by GOCE at these altitudes, the spacecraft bore little resemblance to a traditional satellite. Rather than putting the solar panels on outstretched “wings”, they were mounted to the surface of the dart-like vehicle. To keep its orientation relative to the Earth’s surface stable, the craft featured stubby tail fins that made it look like a futuristic torpedo.

Even with its streamlined design, maintaining such a low orbit required GOCE to continually fire its high-efficiency ion engine for the duration of its mission, which ended up being four and a half years.

In the case of GOCE, the end of the mission was dictated by how much propellant it carried. Once it had burned through the 40 kg (88 lb) of xenon onboard, the vehicle would begin to rapidly decelerate, and ground controllers estimated it would re-enter the atmosphere in a matter of weeks. Ultimately the engine officially shutdown on October 21st, and by November 9th, it’s orbit had already decayed to 155 km (96 mi). Two days later, the craft burned up in the atmosphere.

JAXA Lowers the Bar

While GOCE may be the most significant VLEO mission so far from a scientific and engineering standpoint, the current record for the spacecraft with the lowest operational orbit is actually held by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

In December 2017 JAXA launched the Super Low Altitude Test Satellite (SLATS) into an initial orbit of 630 km (390 mi), which was steadily lowered in phases over the next several weeks until it reached 167.4 km (104 mi). Like GOCE, SLATS used a continuously operating ion engine to maintain velocity, although at the lowest altitudes, it also used chemical reaction control system (RCS) thrusters to counteract the higher drag.

SLATS was a much smaller vehicle than GOCE, coming in at roughly half the mass. It also carried just 12 kg (26 lb) of xenon propellant, which limited its operational life. It also utilized a far more conventional design than GOCE, although its rectangular shape was somewhat streamlined when compared to a traditional satellite. Its solar arrays were also mounted in parallel to the main body of the craft, giving it an airplane-like appearance.

The combination of lower altitude and higher frontal drag meant that SLATS had an even harder time maintaining velocity than GOCE. Once its propulsion system was finally switched off in October 2019, the craft re-entered the atmosphere and burned up within 24 hours. The mission has since been recognized by Guinness World Records for the lowest altitude maintained by an Earth observation satellite.

A New Breed of Satellite

As impressive as GOCE and SLATS were, their success was based more on careful planning than any particular technological breakthrough. After all, ion propulsion for satellites is not new, nor is the field of aerodynamics. The concepts were simply applied in a novel way.

But there exists the potential for a totally new type of vehicle that operates exclusively in VLEO. Such a craft would be a true hybrid, in the sense that its primarily a spacecraft, but uses an air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) system akin to an aircraft’s jet engine. Such a vehicle could, at least in theory, maintain an altitude as low as 90 km (56 mi) indefinitely — so long as its solar panels can produce enough power.

Both the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the United States and the ESA are currently funding several studies of ABEP vehicles, such as Redwire’s SabreSat, which have numerous military and civilian applications. Test flights are still years away, but should VLEO satellites powered by ABEP become common platforms for constellation applications, they may help alleviate orbital congestion before it becomes a serious enough problem to impact our utilization of space.

Retrotechtacular: RCA Loses Fight to IBM

If you follow electronics history, few names were as ubiquitous as RCA, the Radio Corporation of America. Yet in modern times, the company is virtually forgotten for making large computers. [Computer History Archive Project] has a rare film from the 1970s (embedded below) explaining how RCA planned to become the number two supplier of business computers, presumably behind behemoth IBM. They had produced other large computers in the 1950s and 1960s, like the BIZMAC, the RCA 510, and the Spectra. But these new machines were their bid to eat away at IBM’s dominance in the field.

RCA had innovative ideas and arguably one of the first demand paging, virtual memory operating systems for mainframes. You can hope they were better at designing computers than they were at making commercials.

In 1964, [David Sarnoff] famously said: “The computer will become the hub of a vast network of remote data stations and information banks feeding into the machine at a transmission rate of a billion or more bits of information a second … Eventually, a global communications network handling voice, data and facsimile will instantly link man to machine — or machine to machine — by land, air, underwater, and space circuits. [The computer] will affect man’s ways of thinking, his means of education, his relationship to his physical and social environment, and it will alter his ways of living. … [Before the end of this century, these forces] will coalesce into what unquestionably will become the greatest adventure of the human mind.”

He was, of course, right. Just a little early.

The machines were somewhat compatible with IBM computers, touted virtual memory, and had flexible options, including a lease that let you own your hardware in six years. They mention, by the way, IBM customers who were paying up to $60,000 / month to IBM. They mentioned that an IBM 360/30 with 65K was about $13,200 / month. You could upgrade with a 360/30 for an extra $3,000 / month, which would double your memory but not double your computing power. (If you watch around the 18-minute mark, you’ll find the computing power was extremely slow by today’s standards.)

RCA, of course, had a better deal. The RCA 2 had double the memory and reportedly triple the performance for only $2,000 extra per month. We don’t know what the basis for that performance number was. For $3,500 a month extra, you could have an RCA 3 with the miracle of virtual memory, providing an apparent 2 megabytes per running job.

There are more comparisons, and keep in mind, these are 1970 dollars. In 1970, a computer programmer probably made $10,000 to $20,000 a year while working on a computer that cost $158,000 in lease payments (not to count electricity and consumables). How much cloud computing could you buy in a year for $158,000 today? Want to buy one? They started at $700,000 up to over $1.6 million.

By their release, the systems were named after their Spectra 70 cousins. So, officially, they were Spectra 70/2, 70/3, 70/5, and 70/6.

Despite all the forward-looking statements, RCA had less than 10% market share and faced increasing costs to stay competitive. They decided to sell the computer business to Sperry. Sperry rebranded several RCA computers and continued to sell and support them, at least for a while.

Now, RCA is a barely remembered blip on the computer landscape. You are more likely to find someone who remembers the RCA 1800 family of CPUs than an actual RCA mainframe. Maybe they should have throw in the cat with the deal.

Want to see the IBM machines these competed with? Here you go. We doubt there were any RCA computers in this data center, but they’d have been right at home.

 

TUESDAY EDITION: A quick haircut and a spin over to the accountant to give him my tax documents...AWT receives about 11,000 hit per week, just for general knowledge out there in radio world...

Lead Acid Battery Upgraded to Lithium Iron Phosphate

Lithium batteries have taken over as the primary battery chemistry from applications ranging from consumer electronics to electric vehicles and all kinds of other things in between. But the standard lithium ion battery has a few downsides, namely issues operating at temperature extremes. Lead acid solves some of these problems but has much lower energy density, and if you want to split the difference with your own battery you’ll need to build your own lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) pack.

[Well Done Tips] is building this specific type of battery because the lead acid battery in his electric ATV is on the decline. He’s using cylindrical cells that resemble an 18650 battery but are much larger. Beyond the size, though, many of the design principles from building 18650 battery packs are similar, with the exception that these have screw terminals so that bus bars can be easily attached and don’t require spot welding.

With the pack assembled using 3D printed parts, a battery management system is installed with the balance wires cleverly routed through the prints and attached to the bus bars. The only problem [Well Done Tips] had was not realizing that LiFePO4 batteries’ voltages settle a bit after being fully charged, which meant that he didn’t properly calculate the final voltage of his pack and had to add a cell, bringing his original 15S1P battery up to 16S1P and the correct 54V at full charge.

LiFePO4 has a few other upsides compared to lithium ion as well, including that it delivers almost full power until it’s at about 20% charge. It’s not quite as energy dense but compared to the lead-acid battery he was using is a huge improvement, and is one of the reasons we’ve seen them taking over various other EV conversions as well.

A Beacon On a Budget

Hello and Welcome. This page contains the information for the KD4MZM beacon. Here at the shack I run a 10-meter radio beacon. The beacon is a homebrew design. Most of the system is a converted CB Radio system. The radio is a Cobra 148 GTL 40 channel AM/SSB unit. The radio has been modified to the 10-meter band. This is a real easy task with this unit. A quick retune of the output and the VCO and it will perform well.

After moving it up in frequency, I reduced the power output on SSB to about 1.5 watts total output. This is done so as the radio can transmit 24/7 without a problem. To confirm that this radio could and would perform 24/7, I placed a jumper on it so as to make it transmit 24/7 on AM into a dummy load for thirty (30) days solid. After this simple test, I then placed a 1000hz tone into the mic circuit and ran the test again for thirty days. I did this so that if I decide to relocate the beacon to a remote site I wouldn't have to worry about it quitting. To help maintain a cooler heatsink and radio I removed the 4" speaker and installed a 4" muffen fan. I then removed the front meter movement. This allowed a forced air type cooling system. I can say that the radio doesn't even get warm to the touch doing this.

The next part was the CW ID'er. This was pretty much an easy task. With all the new digital voice holding projects out there a simple run to Radio Shack and that was done. I came about this system while looking around the local R/S store. The project comes with all the parts and paperwork to get it running. Now as hams we just have to make it work for our needs. The voice circuit is R/S part 276-1326, and sell for about $20.00 bucks. Now unless you want to run it on batteries, and I didn't, a simple 7805 voltage regulator will fix that.

The next thing to do was to program the ID string into it. With only 20 seconds of record time I had to come up with a beacon string. I worked on a few and finally came up with the current one I use now. It takes 15 seconds to send at 20 WPM. The project device has 2 push button switches on it to make it work. After recording the ID, you only need to push one to start the program string. I was able to use a shareware CW program from the computer to make the ID string with. After doing this I then took the output from the sound card and feed it into the voice project bypassing the project mic. I had to use a dropping resistor so as not to over drive the unit. You may have to try this many times before getting the right tone, loudness etc. I know I did. After you feel you have that done you can then move on to the next step.

So far everything going together as planned... hihi

The next thing I needed was a simple timer to set the beacon cycle with. I was going to use a 555 timer, but again Radio Shack pulls thru on this one. While reading the catalog making a parts list, I found that they sell a 555 timer circuit with relay, board and all the parts, plus it has adjustments for the timing. After comparing a parts list to that, the kit was the way to go. It is R/S part #RSU 12127114 and sell for $9.99. The timer runs on 12 volts DC. This is just right as now the radio, ID'er all run on 12 volts too. The next thing to do was to hook the radio to the timer circuit and test the keying cycle. This takes a few tries before you get it going. I needed at least 15 seconds of key time so that the ID'er beacon could send its message. After getting that, I then set the unkey time. Once that is done you are then ready to hookup the ID'er.

Using the same relay contacts for the keying of the radio you hookup the ID'er. Now what happens is that when the timer cycle starts it will key the radio and start the ID'er sending it's message. If everything is right you are good to go on the air with it. But we all know that don't always happen. Back to reprogramming the ID'er, what was happening was the ID'er was wanting to start as soon as the 555 timer said start. Well the radio was just a touch behind. So I reprogrammed the voice project starting with about 1/2 second blank spot. Now when the 555 timer starts it gives the relay and radio about a 1/2 second to balance out before it starts sending.

Now to get the CW to go out on the air I feed the audio from the digital voice board into the mic jack as normal. Then by putting the radio into USB mode it sends it as modulated CW. The real freq is moved up by zero-beating effect. As for my 10-meter beacon, the radio transmits on 28.275, but zero-beats at 28.277.

This whole setup was then placed into a controlled on-the-air cycle. I ran a working beacon for another 30 days into the dummy load again. Along the way I would check power output, heat build up, and the frequency output. After the 30 days passed I felt the beacon was ready for the airwaves. The beacon went live on April 1st., 2000. It has now been over 1 full year and I've had a zero down time with it. The system is still producing the 1.5 watts it started with and stays rock solid. I have gotten reports via QSL cards, emails, and voice QSO's about it. The beacon has been heard in all parts of the USA and world. This just shows that if the band is open a QRP station can work the world.

This beacon project was a result of a close friend having the Cobra 148 GTL radio that went bad. The radio's receive was out and damaged further than what he wanted to invest to repair it. After seeing and hearing about the freebanders using this same type of radio to invade 10 meters with I got the idea to use it for something good, as the transmitter still worked fine. The moving of the frequency output can be found almost any where on the Internet. I then got a 3-amp power supply to run the radio, timer and digital voice project with. I was then given an Antron A-99 antenna. I then had about 75 feet of RG-8x coax that I used to feed the antenna with. The antenna is up about 15 feet to the base.

If you would like to have your own 10 meter beacon and need more information feel free to email me at kd4mzm@arrl.net I'd be glad to help or provide more information from what I learned making mine. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of this project as of yet. I'm planning on taking a few and loading them.

73 de Eric, KD4MZM

MONDAY EDITION: The best team won and the Patriots are still winners with the season they had. We have lots of good things going to happen in the future with this team.....

HamSCI 2026: Discovering Science Through Amateur Radio

Registration for HamSCI 2026 is now open. The 9th annual workshop will take place at Central Connecticut University March 14-15.

This year's theme, "Discovering Science Through Ham Radio", celebrates the community's achievements, including Personal Space Weather Station deployments, meteor scatter propagation studies and the promotion of WSPR as a propagation sensing tool. The workshop is expected to feature more than 50 poster and oral presentations, plus invited tutorials, and a banquet with a keynote address by a prominent member of the community.

Notable speakers and talks include:

• Dr. Rob Suggs NN4NT, "Meteor Scatter Tutorial"
• Dr. Kuldeep Pandey, "Solar Eclipse Through Ham Radio: What the Bands Revealed"
• Jonathan Rizzo (KC3EEY), "Remembering and Honoring Paul Nicholson G8LMD: Passionate VLF Enthusiast and Master"

Tours of ARRL and operation of W1AW will be available during the event. More information is available on the HamSCI website.

Polish Amateur Radio Union Celebrates Gdynia 100th Anniversary

The Polish Amateur Radio Union (PZK) is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the city of Gdynia in Poland. Between February 7th and 22nd, six unique call signs will be on the air:

• SP100G
• SQ100D
• SO100Y
• SN100N
• HF100I
• 3Z100A

eAwards are available in PDF format as well as a limited number of printed QSL cards.

Source: Polish Amateur Radio Union

 

SUPERBOWL WEEKEND: 0 degrees out with a wind chill factor -15 degrees....We are testing at the club this morning, I wonder if the three that signed up will show up....Cal tells us on 3928 that there is a curling arena up his way- who would guess it is such a popular sport? Oh yes! There are over 25,000 people who curl in the US. In Maine, there are several curling clubs that invite folks from all skill levels to come together and enjoy this fun winter sport.

The main station at N1XW is clean and compact. Notice the mint Kenwood TS-520 and the vintage Yaesu Amplifier....

ARRL Joins America250 as a Supporting Partner for the Nation’s 250th Anniversary

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® announced today that it is a Supporting Partner of America250, joining the nationwide celebration of the 250th anniversary of our country in 2026.

America250 is the national, nonpartisan organization charged by Congress to lead the commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a milestone that marks America’s Semiquincentennial. Through education, engagement, and service, America250 seeks to bring Americans together to reflect on the nation’s history and renew commitment to the ideals that unite us.

As a Supporting Partner, ARRL will contribute to America250’s mission by highlighting the historic and ongoing role of amateur radio in connecting people, supporting public service, and strengthening civic engagement across the United States. Since its founding in 1914, ARRL and its members have played a vital role in technical innovation, emergency communications, and volunteer service in communities.

“Amateur radio has been part of the American story since the earliest days of wireless communication,” said ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR. “For more than a century, the Amateur Radio Service has advanced the nation’s communications capabilities by fostering technical innovation, developing a pool of trained and skilled operators, strengthening emergency and public service communications, and promoting international goodwill. These enduring contributions reflect why amateur radio continues to serve the public interest as a uniquely resilient and volunteer-driven national resource.”

Read more atAmerican Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources – Read More

The Windows Interface You Didn’t Like, For Linux

If you were asked to pick the most annoying of the various Microsoft Windows interfaces that have appeared over the years, there’s a reasonable chance that Windows 8’s Metro start screen and interface design language would make it your choice. In 2012 the software company abandoned their tried-and-tested desktop whose roots extended back to Windows 95 in favor of the colorful blocks it had created for its line of music players and mobile phones.

Consumers weren’t impressed and it was quickly shelved in subsequent versions, but should you wish to revisit Metro you can now get the experience on Linux. [er-bharat] has created Win8DE, a shell for Wayland window managers that brings the Metro interface — or something very like it — to the open source operating system.

We have to admire his chutzpah in bringing the most Microsoft of things to Linux, and for doing so with such a universally despised interface. But once the jibes about Windows 8 have stopped, we can oddly see a point here. The trouble with Metro was that it wasn’t a bad interface for a computer at all, in fact it was a truly great one. Unfortunately the computers it was and is great for are handheld and touchscreen devices where its large and easy to click blocks are an asset. Microsoft’s mistake was to assume that also made it great for a desktop machine, where it was anything but.

We can see that this desktop environment for Linux could really come into its own where the original did, such as for tablets or other touch interfaces. Sadly we expect the Windows 8 connection to kill it before it has a chance to catch on. Perhaps someone will install it on a machine with the Linux version of .net installed, and make a better Windows 8 than Windows 8 itself.

Blog – Hackaday Read More

Amateur Radio Newsline Report

DELAY FOR BOUVET ISLAND 3YØK DXPEDITION

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Our top story is the Bouvet Island. The DXpedition to the most remote uninhabited island on our planet is facing a delay. Graham Kemp VK4BB picks up the story from here.

GRAHAM: 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.

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4 HAMS AMONG THOSE CHOSEN TO TRACK ARTEMIS 2 FLIGHT

SKEETER/ANCHOR: The Artemis 2 crewed test flight, which was to have lifted off sometime early this month, has been delayed by NASA after the discovery of several issues, including hydrogen leaks in the space-launch system tanks. Meanwhile, as the agency conducts a review and reschedules a launch for March, the space agency has announced that its newly chosen group of volunteers to track the Artemis 2 includes four amateur radio operators. Don Wilbanks AE5DW tells us who they are.

DON: 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.

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AN OPEN-SOURCE EFFORT TO SALVAGE HAMCLOCK

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Fans of the HamClock shack accessory are still shaken by the death of its developer - and now they are working hard to preserve his legacy, as we hear from Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

KEVIN: 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]

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

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Hams in Brazil are marking the anniversary of the national organization that represents them with a slow-scan TV event and a separate monthlong activation of special anniversary callsigns. We have those details from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: 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]

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TROPHY EVENT CELEBRATES HISTORIC SATELLITE QSO

SKEETER/ANCHOR: With the QSO they made via the OSCAR III satellite in March of 1965, a ham in Switzerland and a ham in Germany changed the shape of satellite QSOs to come: It was a first for amateur radio - and one that AMSAT-HB in Switzerland is again honoring with the HB9RG Trophy. John Williams VK4BB has those details.

JOHN: 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.

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WINTER FIELD DAY: FROM SIMULATION TO ACTIVATION

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Like the ARRL's annual Field Day, Winter Field Day provides an opportunity for portable operation only in winter environments during the last weekend of January. For Amateur Radio operators in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, however, simulation changed to activation while participating in this year’s event. Randy Sly W4XJ tells us more.

RANDY: 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.

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YLRL MAKES HIGHER-ED SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

SKEETER/ANCHOR: The Young Ladies' Radio League is looking to award scholarships to promising YLs who want to advance their education. Jack Parker W8ISH has the details.

JACK: 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.”

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WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Heli, DDØVR is on the air as D4VR from Cape Verde throughout February. He will operate QRP with "high efficient antennas" from Boa Vista, IOTA Number AF-086, on the 6th through to the 11th of February and again on the 19th through to the 21st. Listen for him operating from Sao Tiago, IOTA Number AF-005, on the 11th through to the 18th of February.

Michael, OE6MBG, is using the callsign 3B8/OE6MBG from Mauritius, IOTA Number AF-049, until the 23rd of February. Listen for him on 80 and 40 metres, where is he using CW, SSB and some FT8/FT4.

A team of operators using the callsign 8R1WA will be active from Guyana from the 19th through to the 27th of February. The team includes Alex IZØEGA, Paolo IZØEVI, Diego IZØEWJ and Luca IZ6DSQ. They will operate SSB and FT8 on 160-6 metres.

Phill, FK1TS is on the air as C21TS from Nauru, IOTA Number OC-031, until sometime in July. He is operating mainly FT8 but may try some SSB.

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KICKER: A STATION WELL-GROUNDED BY A GROUNDHOG

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Just like amateur radio operators, Punxsutawney Phil, the famous American weather-predicting groundhog, needs the sun's cooperation to do his job every February. This year, as every year since the 1960s, hams in Pennsylvania were with him every step of the way. Jim Davis, W2JKD, ends our newscast with with this tribute to the weathercasting rodent.

JIM: 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. and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a 5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us.