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PY2BIL > ARNR 27.02.26 16:07z 420 Lines 18384 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2522 for Friday, February 27th
Path: HB9ON<DK0WUE<PI8ZTM<CX2SA<N3HYM<PY2BIL<PY2BIL
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From: PY2BIL@PY2BIL.SP.BRA.SOAM
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2522 for Friday, February 27th, 2026
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2522 with a release date of Friday,
February 27th, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Repairs delay the Artemis 2 launch. HamClock gets a
back-end server and a future - and are you ready for the Bouvet Island 3YØK
DXpedition? All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2522
comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
GET READY FOR THE BOUVET ISLAND 3YØK DXPEDITION
NEIL/ANCHOR: As Newsline went to production, the 3YØK DXpedition was
approaching Bouvet Island and keeping an eye on the weather. If you're hoping
to get in the log, familiarize yourself with the team's operating procedures
which appear on their website 3YØK.com - some of them depart from customary
procedures so as to avoid interference from DQRM.
Keep up to date by following the link that appears in the text version of
this newscast at arnewsline.org
[DO NOT READ: https://3y0k.com/#news ]
And good luck!
**
REPAIRS DELAY ARTEMIS 2 LAUNCH FOR AT LEAST A MONTH
NEIL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, if you were looking forward to the launch of NASA's
Artemis 2 moon rocket in March, you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
Kent Peterson KCØDGY brings us an update.
KENT: The Artemis 2 moon rocket is leaving the launch pad at Florida's
Kennedy Space Center, but not for its trip in the direction of the moon -- at
least not yet. As was expected, the rocket is headed toward the Vehicle
Assembly Building on site where NASA can address a helium blockage affecting
the rocket's upper stage.
The space agency, which had announced an original launch window beginning
March 6 for the test flight's liftoff, has said the repair could delay things
for a month or more. This is to be the first crewed moon mission in more than
50 years. Four amateur radio operators are among the 34 volunteer observers
around the world chosen recently to passively track radio waves transmitted
during the mission.
This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
(SPACE.COM, NASA)
**
HAMCLOCK USERS GET FREE BACKEND SERVER
NEIL/ANCHOR: Good news for HamClock users and fans: A free community backend
server has become available. The website, hamclock.com, make HamClock's
continued functions available for free following a successful reconfiguration
of the clock to the new server. The functions include, among other things,
weather pressure maps, aurora map generation, ham news headlines, realtime
PSK Reporter spot data, VOACAP propagation reports and Kp index from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The functions are made possible through the work of Bruce Edrich, W4BAE, who
built the project upon the open-hamclock-back-end. Updating can be done via
two simple text changes -- either to the hosts file or to the command that
starts HamClock. The project is independent of the feeds from the original
site, clearskyinstitute.com.
It is one of several developments as forks of the open HamClock back-end
created by Brian Wilkins KO4AQF and Austin Parsons KN4LNB. Brian told
Newsline that installation instructions and other information can be found on
GitHub. The link is in the text version of this week's newscast at
arnewsline.org.
[DO NOT READ: https://github.com/BrianWilkinsFL/open-hamclock-backend ]
The popular shack accessory was left in limbo after the recent death of its
creator, Elwood Downey, WBØOEW. Without a new backend service, its varied
functions were scheduled to stop working in June.
(AMATEUR NEWS DAILY, HAMCLOCK.COM)
**
JOINT BALLOON LAUNCH FOR FLORIDA HAMS, STUDENTS
NEIL/ANCHOR: A solar-powered high-altitude balloon was launched recently by
middle schoolers in Florida -- and though it weighed only 15 grams, it
carried an ambitious agenda for science - and the students. Jack Parker W8ISH
tells us more.
JACK: Accompanied by their parents and some school staffers, 63 students at
the Sky Academy in Englewood, Florida watched on the 18th of February as
their little Sky Tracker pico balloon soared away from the earth with the
help of hams from the Englewood Amateur Radio Society. Equipped to
communicate via APRS, the balloon transmits such data as time, date,
altitude, ascent, humidity, grid square - and of course its callsign, N4EAR-
1.
The launch was a first for the students, who are in the school's STEM program
- and it was the first partnership of its kind for the amateur radio society,
said its president, Bill Reed, K7WWR. The students have been able to track
its international journey on their smart phones and on a big screen in their
classroom.
Bill told Newsline that the students aren't the only ones who have been
immersed in this project. He said [quote]: "Our club members are very
excitedly tracking the balloon. It has generated much excitement as we are
wondering how our baby is doing. We are hoping for at least one
circumnavigation of the globe." [endquote] At the time that Bill spoke to
Newsline, the balloon was nearly over Africa and well on its way. That's a
particular point of pride for the club's officers who supported this first-
time collaboration with the school. It opens up the world, even as the little
balloon soars high above it.
This is Jack Parker W8ISH.
(BILL REED, K7WWR; MYSUNCOAST.COM)
NEIL/ANCHOR; If you want to track the balloon, visit aprs.fi and enter the
callsign N4EAR-1.
**
SILENT KEY: RSGB'S COLIN THOMAS G3PSM, SPECTRUM ADVOCATE
NEIL/ANCHOR: A dedicated defender of the amateur radio spectrum in the IARU's
Region 1 has become a Silent Key. We hear more about him from Jeremy Boot
G4NJH.
JEREMY: Colin Thomas G3PSM, who served as president of the Radio Society of
Great Britain from 2008 to 2009, was known throughout Region 1 of the IARU as
an active advocate for the well-being of the amateur radio spectrum.
According to his obituary on the RSGB website, Colin's greatest efforts
within the region included the defence of existing allocations and the
acquisition of 136kHz and 472 kHz for amateur use. He also pushed for
allocations at 5 MHz and for expansion of 7 MHz.
Colin died on Tuesday, 17 February following a short illness.
His involvement with IARU Region 1 included serving as its HF manager from
2005 through to 2008. In 2017, IARU Region 1 presented Colin with the Roy
Stevens G2BVN Memorial Award for his service and dedication to international
amateur radio.
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(IARU REGION 1, RADIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN)
**
ZERO RETRIES DIGITAL CONFERENCE PICKS SITE
NEIL/ANCHOR: San Ramon, California will be hosting a busy weekend this coming
October so plan ahead. George Zafiropoulos KJ6VU has the details.
GEORGE: Hams and other tech enthusiasts who are coming to San Ramon,
California for Pacificon 2026, the ARRL Pacific Division Convention, can look
forward to a separate event on their calendar taking place just down the
street: The Zero Retries Digital Conference is back for its second year.
Organizers have announced that the Roundhouse Conference Center will be
hosting the conference on the 15th of October. Attendees who arrive early
will also have the opportunity to visit the Computer History Museum in
Mountain View, California.
Registration has not yet opened and planning is still a work-in-progress for
the Zero Retries event. Organizers stress that if you have plans to attend
both events, Pacificon is a separate activity taking place on October 16th,
17th and 18th, and you'll need to register for that at pacificon.org
The Zero Retries Newsletter's inaugural conference was held in September 2025
in Washington State.
This is George Zafiropoulos, KJ6VU
(ZERO RETRIES, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)
**
NEW MEXICO CLUB GAINS FULLTIME USE OF MOBILE TRAILER
NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams in one New Mexico club were pleased to discover that the
mobile trailer they've been borrowing from the county is now theirs to use
fulltime. Ralph Squillace KK6ITB gives us those details.
RALPH: An amateur radio club in New Mexico has become the beneficiary of a
statewide transition by first responders to a new digital microwave
communications system on 700 MHz.
In Socorro County. officials have transferred the use of their older mobile
VHF communications trailer to the Socorro Amateur Radio Association. The
association had been borrowing the trailer for quite some time for members'
use during Field Day at the San Antonio Fire Station as well as for the
group's emergency operations. One of the members, Alfred Braun AC5BX, told
Newsline in a phone call that the county's action now means that the hams
will have fulltime access to the trailer and will be able to use and maintain
everything in good working condition for the next four or five years.
Meanwhile, New Mexico's Department of Information Technology continues
reducing its reliance on analogue VHF, bringing first responders throughout
the state onto what they consider to be a more secure digital trunking
network.
This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.
(ALFRED BRAUN, AC5BX, EL DEFENSOR CHIEFTAIN)
**
HUSBAND-WIFE TEAM GET TOP HONORS IN CANADA
NEIL/ANCHOR: Congratulations to Fred Archibald, VE1FA, and Helen Archibald,
VA1YL, who were recently recognized by Radio Amateurs of Canada for their
years of amateur radio commitment. The husband-and-wife team has been chosen
to receive the RAC's Amateur of the Year Award for 2025. Married for more
than 50 years, they have been almost equally married to their amateur radio
involvement, which has included teaching, mentoring, net control, club
leadership and equipment restoration. Read more about them on the RAC website
at rac.ca
(AMATEUR NEWS DAILY, RADIO AMATEURS OF CANADA)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the VE2REH
repeater in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on Fridays at 7:20 p.m. local time.
**
YLS PREPARE FOR WORLD WIDE AWARD ACTIVITY
NEIL/ANCHOR: The World Wide Award, a massive 31-day ham radio event
celebrating global communication across as many countries as possible, has
inspired a similar event, coming in March. This one is just for YLs. We have
details from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: Taking their cue from the successful World Wide Award of the past few
years, organisers are launching the YL-WWA. YLs from far and wide will be
calling CQ for hunters anywhere in the world. A shorter version of the month-
long event, this activity will be happening only from the 9th to the 16th of
March, with YLs using their own callsigns and their preferred modes.
Veronika, DL4VER, the international liaison for the event, told Newsline that
the idea had been born at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen last year in a discussion
between Max, IW1FRU and Heike, DL3HD, representing the German YLs. Veronika
said it is the first international radio project designed to bring together
the largest number of YLs globally in a single event. Logging will be done
live by the activators without the need for hunters to submit logs. She added
[quote] "Hunters just need to go on the bands and enjoy the radio."
[endquote]
Details about the event, including rules and awards, are available on the
website. You'll find a link in the text version of this week's newscast at
arnewsline.org You will also be able to see which YL activators have already
signed up.
[DO NOT READ: https://hamaward.cloud/wwayl ]
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(VERONIKA DL4VER)
**
AMSAT YOUTH PROGRAM HAS NEW COURSE, KIDS' COLORING BOOK
NEIL/ANCHOR: AMSAT's Youth Initiative has been busy on a number of fronts
with projects to encourage youngsters to learn more about satellites and
their impact on our lives. With this report, we welcome the newest member of
the Newsline team, Daniel Garcia, W2DIY.
DANIEL: In its continued effort to connect the next generation with satellite
initiatives, AMSAT's Youth Initiative has produced a new installment in its
online satellite course and, in a separate effort, has introduced a free
downloadable coloring book for younger students.
The coloring book, called "Satellites in Space Help Us Live a Better Life on
Earth," focuses on ways that satellites have an impact on almost everyone's
daily activities. Produced with a grant from Amateur Radio Digital
Communications, it contains illustrations on 12 two-page spreads and is
available in English and Spanish with accompanying discussion guides. Details
and downloadable copies are available at the website buzzsat dot com
(buzzsat.com).
Meanwhile, the third installment of AMSAT's free online satellite course is
being prepared for release. It was produced by Eric Sonnenwald, N2XSE, a
retired science teacher, and examines the ways satellites assist with the
control of pollution on earth. It will be available with the two other
courses released earlier in the program: "Introduction to Satellite
Meteorology" and "Satellites and Climate Change."
AMSAT rolled out its community-based Youth Initiative Program in 2022 to
provide age-appropriate lessons for students living in the satellite age.
This is Daniel Garcia W2DIY.
(AMSAT NEWS SERVICE)
**
AMSAT 'STUDENTS ON THE AIR DAY' ENCOURAGES SATELLITE QSOS
NEIL/ANCHOR: In addition, if you're a student who's also a licensed ham, you
now have a good excuse for looking out the window or staring up at the sky:
AMSAT has declared the first and third Tuesday of each month to be STOTA DAY
- that's Students on the Air Day. Starting in March, students everywhere in
the US will be encouraged to get out there and make as many QSOs by satellite
as they can - and work as many satellites as they can. Have fun - just don't
do this in the middle of class... unless your teacher approves, of course.
(AMSAT NEWS SERVICE)
**
WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, hams throughout Denmark will be activating the callsign
OZ1ØØOZ from the 1st through to the 8th of March to mark the centenary of
amateur radio as a licensed activity in that country. It was in March of 1926
that the Danish Ministry of Public Works legalised ham radio which, by the
end of its first year, had issued 40 licenses to operators.
Arno, DL1CW, is operating as 9G5ZZ from Ghana until the 3rd of March. He is
using mainly CW with some RTTY. Listen for him on 80-6 metres.
The radio club of the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia, XU7AMO,
will have a number of operators, including the school's students, calling QRZ
via the QO-100 satellite from the 27th of February through to the 2nd of
March. The activity will take place during a satellite communication training
session by the Telecom Department of the Electronics Faculty in Phnom Penh.
They will also be making use of three low-earth orbit satellites: RS-44, SO-
50 and FO-29.
Suvarna VU3OPT will continue his operation on Mauritius as 3B8G through to
the end of March. Listen for him on 20, 15 and 10 metres, where he will be
using CW.
For all these stations, please see QRZ.com for QSL information and other
details.
(DX-WORLD.NET, 425 DX BULLETIN)
**
KICKER: YHOTY 2026 NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN
NEIL/ANCHOR: Finally this week, we here at Amateur Radio Newsline are asking
for your help in identifying a very special young person whose ham radio
adventures have risen to Olympic heights worthy of special recognition.
Newsline’s Mark Abramowicz (Abram-oh-vich) NT3V is here with that story..
MARK: Some of you will know of a young ham who has done extraordinary things
in just a few short years of activity in this hobby.
Maybe he or she is now a teenager, someone for whom you have served as a role
model – or as we “oldtimersö call it - an Elmer.
Perhaps that person has been involved in spearheading special activities at
your radio club, or even started a radio club in their school and recruited
classmates.
This could be a young person who – thanks to your support and those in your
community – has promoted amateur radio through Field Day, weekly nets, got
invited to appear and speak at a forum at Hamvention or earned a coveted
invitation to work with other like-minded teenage hams at the Youth on the
Air camp.
If you know someone like that, we need you to shine the spotlight on that
person.
We’re now opening nominations for the Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Young
Ham of the Year award for 2026. We need you to step up and bring your special
ham to the attention of our team of judges.
Candidates must be licensed amateur radio operators - 18 years of age or
younger - and residents of the continental United States.
Go right now to our website – arnewsline-dot-org and find the nomination form
under the awards tab. Start assembling the documentation on your nominee and
make sure you turn it in by our May 31 deadline.
This award is only possible with your nominations and your support.
I’m Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, chairman of the Young Ham of the Year Award
program.
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alfred Braun, AC5BX; Amateur Radio Daily, AMSAT News Service;
David Behar, K7DB; DX-World.net; El Defensor Chieftan; 425DX Bulletin; IARU
Region 1; NASA.gov; QRZ.com Forums; Radio Society of Great Britain;
shortwaveradio.de; Space.com; Veronika DL4VER; Wireless Institute of
Australia; Zero Retries; 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.
For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and our
news team worldwide, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Union Kentucky saying 73. As
always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright
2026. Amateur Radio Newsline retains ownership of its material even when
retransmitted elsewhere. All rights are reserved.
73 de Bill, PY2BIL
PY2BIL@PY2BIL.SP.BRA.SOAM
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BBS: PY2BIL - Timed 27-Feb-2026 12:52 E. South America Standard Time
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