Southgate Amateur Radio News
Amateur Radio Daily
04 March 2026
An aggregate of Ham Radio related news.-
Students on the Air Satellite Activity Day StOTA
AMSAT recently announced Students On The Air (StOTA) Days in which students are invited to get on the air and work satellites the first and third Tuesday of each month.
The activity was inspired by AMSAT President Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, and his son Carsten, KQ4SJM, and is designed to promote regular on-air activity among licensed student operators.
All operators are encouraged to participate. More information is available on the AMSAT Discord server.
Source: AMSAT UK
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Amateur Radio Newsletter Round-up for March 2026
The March issue of SWR Magazine:
- HamCation
- J-Pole for 6 and 10 meters
- Female Frequency
The SARC Communicator March-April 2026:
- Hidden features in the Icom IC-7300 transceiver
- Add Digital Television to Your ARES Tool Kit
- When an app outlives its creator
- Bluetooth hands free ops
- Reducing mains borne interference
- FreeDV
- Impressions of ARRL's New Digital Networking for Ham Radio Book
- New Amateur Radio Organization - Alliance Amateur Radio Society
- 2026 Hamcation AMSAT Forum | Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA President's Update
- Seasonal propagation and an online propagation chart that updates every 15 minutes
- An exciting new BTECH DA-7X2 DMR/Analog Dual-Receive HT with a secret
- Looking inside a SHARI Node
Source: Amateur Radio Daily
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Inovato, N0LSR Design Endorse Open HamClock Backend Public Server
Editor's Note: Amateur Radio Daily is a contributor to the Open HamClock Backend project and recommends their public server. Amateur Radio Daily headlines have appeared on HamClock since 2023.
Open HamClock Backend (OHB) is now providing a central server for any HamClock user to use with their existing HamClock application. With the original HamClock application scheduled to be sunset in June, the central server provided by OHB will extend the life of existing HamClock installations indefinitely. Previously, OHB users were required to host the server locally. This update allows any HamClock user to utilize OHB's central server through a small configuration change.
When the creator of HamClock became a silent key earlier this year, the HamClock project was expected to be sunset in June 2026. While the HamClock application is open source, the backend server that powers many HamClock features was closed. OHB provides a replacement for that backend service.
Open HamClock Backend (OHB) is a community project by a team of developers with Brian Wilkins (KO4AQF) as the main contributor. It is fully open source, and it runs on servers in a commercial data center. Another example of what the ham radio community is capable of. The hosting in the data center is donated. This provides very high availability with no costs for anyone.
With the stability of the OHB project making its way to a centralized public server, Inovato and N9LSR Design recently announced that they would endorse OHB for their HamClock appliances.
Source: N0LSR Design
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futureGEO Continues to be a Topic of Discussion
It's been several months since we've heard movement regarding the futureGEO project, but events scheduled in 2026 appear to be keeping the geostationary satellite project top of mind among the amateur radio community.
A presentation by AMSAT President Drew Glasbrenner (KO4MA) at HamCation 2026 spoke to the value a project like futureGEO could bring to the Americas along with his desire to see such a project succeed. Glasbrenner touched on the financial requirements of a GEO satellite project while at the same time recognized organizations such as ARDC that have publicly expressed a desire to help fund a GEO satellite project. The roughly 6 minute segment can be viewed on YouTube.
At AMSAT-DL's Bochum Space Day in March, Frank Zeppenfeldt (PD0AP) of the European Space Agency (ESA) is scheduled to give a presentation focused on futureGEO. Details are unknown, but it could mirror similar lectures given by Zeppenfeldt in the past.
The same AMSAT-DL post about Bochum Space Day happened to communicate a futureGEO community workshop to be scheduled as part of HAM RADIO 2026. This workshop will be tapping into GEO satellite QO-100 users to help provide direction for futureGEO.
A futureGEO community workshop will take place at HAM RADIO 2026 in Friedrichshafen, to which all QO-100 users are cordially invited. This event offers ideal preparation for the QO100 user meeting on the same evening. At the same time, we want to use the expertise of all participants to successfully further develop the futureGEO project on behalf of ESA.
Source: Amateur Radio Daily
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Bochum Space Day to Feature Live Contact with Antarctica
AMSAT-DL is hosting Bochum Space Day to coincide with Germany's Space Day and Day of Astronomy. The event will feature a series of events including lectures, futureGEO, and a live school contact with Neumayer Station III in Antarctica (DP0GVN).
At the same time, an ESERO family day will take place on this day from 11 am to 5 pm in and around the radome of Bochum Observatory under the motto “Adventure Space”: Fun & interesting facts for young and old await visitors; they can embark on a journey of discovery and immerse themselves in the world of astronomy and space travel.
Visit the AMSAT-DL website for a full schedule and overview.
Source: AMSAT-DL
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RAC Names Recipients of Amateur of the Year Award 2025
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) announced the recipients of the Amateur of the Year Award for 2025. This year's honorees, Fred (VE1FA) and Helen (VA1YL) Archibald, are recognized for their years of dedication to the amateur radio community.
Fred and Helen Archibald have been pillars of Amateur Radio in Canada for decades. While the award traditionally reflects contributions within a given year, their sustained excellence in 2025 – combined with a lifetime of service – made them compelling joint recipients.
In addition to being avid organizers of many DXpeditions, VE1FA is an instructor and technological innovator and VA1YL has served as President of the Canadian Ladies Amateur Radio Association. Learn more about Fred and Helen's contributions to ham radio on the RAC website.
Source: Radio Amateurs of Canada
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Community HamClock Backend Server Now Available
Editor's Note: Since the publication of this article, Amateur Radio Daily has become a contributor to the Open HamClock Backend project and recommends their public server. Amateur Radio Daily headlines have appeared on HamClock since 2023.
In addition, hamclock.com has established a trustee agreement with PSKReporter.info maintainer Philip Gladstone.
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.
Source: HamClock.com
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Southeastern VHF Society 2026 Conference Registration is Open
Registration is now open for the Southeastern VHF Society 2026 conference. The event will take place in Macon, Georgia, US April 17-19. The conference is focused on amateur radio operation on VHF frequencies and above.
The technical conference begins Friday morning and will include a Luncheon with a guest speaker and continue Technical Presentations in the afternoon, with dinner out on the town, and continue with an evening flea market and hospitality suite. Saturday morning the technical presentations continue and conclude early afternoon when the antenna range and Rover display opens.
Interested amateurs can register here.
Source: Southeastern VHF Society
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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.
Source: EG1912T
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DXLook.com Launches New Composite Views to Compare Real-World Contacts with Propagation Predictions
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.Source: DXLook
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Zero Retries Digital Conference 2026 Announced
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.
Source: Zero Retries Digital Conference
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Honolulu Department of Emergency Management is Recruiting: Volunteer Amateur Radio Operators
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/7pgrj5u5q833If 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 HonoluluAssistant Section Manager, Pacific Section
ARRL – The National Association for Amateur Radio® -
Amateur Radio Active at the Honolulu EOC During Severe Weather Activation
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 ProgramPrepared and Ready
Systems were tested, nets were active, and documentation was completed. The activation reinforced the value of having trained, infrastructure-independent amateur radio communicators embedded within emergency management operations.
Mahalo to all who staffed the EOC and supported from across the islands.
Prepared by:
Michael C. Miller, KH6ML
Deputy Coordinator
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES)
Department of Emergency Management – City and County of HonoluluAssistant Section Manager, Pacific Section
ARRL – The National Association for Amateur Radio® -
SpottedHam.com Adds DX Cluster Integration and Customizable Club Widgets
The following is a press release from SpottedHam.com:
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.
Source: SpottedHam.com
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New 60 Meter Frequencies Available to US Hams Today
The FCC approved access to a new set of 60 meter frequencies to be more in line with the worldwide 60 meter amateur allocation made by the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2015. US General and Extra class holders may now operate on a secondary basis between 5351.5 and 5366.5 kHz.
The existing 60-meter channels centered on 5332, 5348, 5373, and 5405 kHz remain as secondary amateur allocations with maximum power of 100 watts ERP. However, the old channel at 5358.5 kHz is eliminated as it is now part of the new 5351.5-5366.5 kHz subband and subject to the lower power limit.
Additional rules including a maximum bandwidth of 2.8 kHz and maximum transmit power of 9.15 watts ERP apply.
Source: ARRL
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ADRCS Collaborates with TARPN on IP400 Project
The following is a press release from the Alberta Digital Radio Communications Society (ADRCS):
The Society is pleased to announce that it is collaborating with the Terrestrial Amateur Radio Packet Network group (TARPN) to implement an audio band version of its OFDM technology in their Terminal Node Controller (TNC). “Adding the TNC rounds out the vision of the supernode that we presented at the Zero Retries Digital Conference last September and extends the functionality of the IP400 network to conventional radios on the 2M, 220 and 450 MHz bands, without any modifications”, says Martin Alcock, VE6VH, founder of the IP400 project. “Adding OFDM to our TNC gives us a higher speed mode than previously implemented and practical experience with OFDM”, says Nino Carrillo, KK4HEJ, creator of the TNC. Martin goes on to say “in addition it will give us access to proven KISS mode technology that will greatly enhance the utility of our existing nodes in delivering higher data rates for conventional packet radio applications on existing terrestrial networks”.
Source: ADRCS
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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.
Source: Amateur Radio Software Award
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HB9RG Trophy Celebrates First Amateur Radio Contact via Satellite
AMSAT Switzerland has announced a special event and contest that encourages hams to make extreme long-distance contacts via amateur satellite. The event recognizes Dr. Hans Rudolf Lauber (HB9RG) and his contribution to amateur radio. HB9RG and Alfons Häring (DL6EZA) conducted the first amateur radio contact via satellite on March 10th, 1965.
The event runs for 2 weeks, March 2-15. The 10 furthest contacts will be evaluated. The full set of rules is available here [PDF].
The #HB9RGTrophy hashtag will be active on social media to help track this event.
Source: AMSAT Switzerland
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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
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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.
Source: HamSCI