Archive › October 2026 › Week 42
Friday, 16 October 2026
32 stories published this day (UTC).
Societies & IARU 23
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eBay Restricts Listings of Radio Equipment, but Exempts Ham-Band-Only Gear
eBay is limiting listings of radio transmitting equipment following new FCC equipment authorization rules. The company told ARRL that gear operating only on amateur radio frequencies falls outside the new policy.
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Florida Hams Provide Communications Support During Hurricane Isaias
Amateur radio operators in several Florida counties, including Santa Rosa, Nassau, Lake, Pinellas and Leon, supported emergency communications during and after Hurricane Isaias. In Santa Rosa County, volunteers staffed the Emergency Operations Center.
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Leap Second to Be Abolished
Schaltsekunde wird abgeschafft
The international metrology conference has decided that UTC will run without leap seconds from 20 May 2027. The DARC item notes that FT8, WSJT-X and similar modes need only roughly tenth-of-a-second timing, which PTB or NTP servers easily meet.
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KH8A: American Samoa
KH8A : American Samoa
A group of German operators plans to activate American Samoa (IOTA OC-045) as KH8A from 30 October to 12 November 2026. Operation covers 160 to 6 metres on CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL goes via DL4SVA.
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ADRASEC 02 – Resilience Day (13.10.26)
ADRASEC 02 – Journée de la résilience (13.10.26)
ADRASEC volunteers joined the army, gendarmerie, firefighters and medical services at a public safety fair in Aisne, held for France's national resilience day. Each organisation presented its role and equipment at stands.
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Invitation to the Worked All Germany (WAG) Contest
Einladung zum Worked All Germany (WAG) Contest
DARC invites operators to the Worked All Germany Contest, running from 17 October 15:00 UTC to 18 October 14:59 UTC. Stations outside Germany work only German stations. Logs are due 25 October 2026.
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JOTA-JOTI 2026 Banyumas On the Air: Scouting Worldwide, ORARI Prepares a Capable Generation
JOTA-JOTI 2026 Banyumas Mengudara! Pramuka Mendunia, ORARI Siapkan Generasi Unggul
Scouts in Banyumas, Indonesia, run Jamboree on the Air and Jamboree on the Internet from 16 to 18 October 2026 with ORARI's local chapter. Three special station permits with callsigns YH2ACJA, YH2ACJB and YH2ACJC support the activity.
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GB2RS News Script for 18 October 2026
RSGB publishes the GB2RS news script for the week of 18 October 2026 as a downloadable Word document.
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When Rain Radar Detects Moths: The Great Bogong Migration and the Mystery of Radar Echoes
The Wireless Institute of Australia looks at how weather radar picks up echoes from Bogong moths during their mass seasonal migration, and why such non-weather returns puzzle observers.
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Rallies and Events News – 18 October 2026
The RSGB lists upcoming UK rallies, including a Galashiels rally and open day on 25 October with a bring-and-buy sale, traders and refreshments. Entry costs £3, and doors open at 11.15am.
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Special Events News – 18 October 2026
Special event stations include GB80CV, run by Cray Valley Radio Society for its 80th anniversary until 28 October, with an award and LoTW QSLs. The Araucaria DX Group is using ZW50B through October.
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DX News – 18 October 2026
Current DX activity includes AE5X as ZA/AE5X from Albania on CW until 30 October, and a C5R team in The Gambia until 4 November, including the CQ WW DX SSB Contest. H44MS is also active from the Solomon Islands.
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Contest News – 18 October 2026
Upcoming contests include the RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest on 20 October and the IRTS 80m Evening Counties Contest on 21 October, with times and exchanges listed.
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What were your RSGB 2026 Convention highlights?
The RSGB thanks the attendees who joined its 2026 Convention in person and the many more who watched the livestream. It is collecting feedback and highlights from participants.
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New RSGB Youth newsletter launched
The RSGB Youth Committee starts a newsletter for members aged 25 and under. It covers school and university club news, young operators' achievements, and what a licence makes possible.
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JOTA stations on the RSGB website
Jamboree on the Air takes place this weekend, linking Scouts worldwide by amateur radio. The RSGB Youth Champion for Scouts has put together a list of participating Scout groups and published it on the society's website.
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3D print models for amateur radio at 3DSearch
Druckmodelle für Amateurfunk bei 3DSearch
The 3D-printing search engine 3DSearch.net now has a dedicated amateur radio section covering items such as Morse keys, antenna parts and callsign signs. Users can also share collections, including one for DARC.
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JOTA-JOTI 2026 – Peace and Inclusivity
JOTA-JOTI 2026 – Pace e inclusività
Jamboree on the Air and Jamboree on the Internet bring together over a million Scouts and Guides worldwide for radio and online contact. The 2026 theme is peace and inclusivity.
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Finnish Amateur Radio League office bulletin 40/2026, 17 October 2026
Suomen Radioamatööriliiton toimiston tiedote 40/2026, 17.10.2026
The Finnish amateur radio society's bulletin covers its autumn meeting in Tampere on 21 November, board election nominations, continued exam sessions, JOTA-JOTI weekend, and contest and DX news.
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Amateur radio taster day at BG/BRG Wieselburg
Amateurfunk-Schnuppertag am BG/BRG Wieselburg
Members of the Austrian society ÖVSV ran a radio taster day at the BG/BRG Wieselburg school on 16 October 2026. Students tried CW, SSB, 2m FM and QO-100, and the organisers report that coordinating with physics teachers mattered most.
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S9R: Sao Tome & Principe
S9R : Sao Tome & Principe
A team of operators plans to be active from São Tomé and Príncipe (IOTA AF-023) as S9R between 17 and 31 October 2026. They will work 160 to 6 m on CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8, plus QO-100, with direct, bureau and LoTW QSLs.
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FunkWX – partly good DX conditions
FunkWX - teils gute DX-Bedingungen
The solar wind is easing but still slightly elevated, and geomagnetic conditions should mostly stay quiet with occasional unsettled spells. Three active regions face Earth, and flare risk remains low.
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AMSAT Space Symposium 2026 in Jacksonville (USA)
AMSAT Space Symposium 2026 in Jacksonville (VS)
The 44th AMSAT Space Symposium and annual members' meeting took place in Jacksonville, Florida, on 8 to 11 October 2026. Amateur satellite operators and builders met to discuss satellite communications and space technology.
DX & contests 5
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V26JJ – Antigua
A group of five Japanese operators plans an HF DXpedition from Antigua under the callsign V26JJ, running from October 30 to November 6, 2026. Logs will be handled through Club Log's OQRS system.
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FK/KD6XU – New Caledonia
Barry KD6XU, fresh from Vanuatu, is now in New Caledonia until mid-November. He was on 20m CW as FK/KD6XU from POTA site NC-0042 and may activate more parks.
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T88CZ, T88DK, T88ED & T88MB – Palau
Four Japanese operators plan to operate from the VIP Guest Hotel in Koror, Palau, between 21 and 29 October as T88CZ, T88DK, T88ED and T88MB. The stay overlaps with the CQWW SSB contest weekend.
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9N7XT – Nepal
Jan DL4XT reports that the licence for the planned Nepal DXpedition has been confirmed, a key step for the project. He credits Nabin 9N2NK for helping secure it.
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JD1BQP – Ogasawara
Koutarou, JP1IHD returns to Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands as JD1BQP from 17 October to 2 November 2026. He will operate 160 to 6 m, with QSL requests going direct.
Community & news 4
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Keysight White Papers: Make better DMM measurements, choosing a benchtop power supply
The blog points to Keysight white papers on test and measurement. Topics include avoiding digital multimeter errors in DC measurements, interpreting AC RMS readings, and choosing a benchtop power supply.
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A Quick-Deploy Guying System for My Hustler 4BTV
An operator describes a guying setup for a Hustler 4BTV vertical that can be put up quickly. It aims at keeping the antenna standing when high winds or freezing rain are forecast.
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The Remote Ham Radio Youth Program—Operating a Station Over the Internet at No Cost
Remote Ham Radio offers licensed operators under 21 free access to its network of remote HF stations. The program aims to lower the cost barrier that keeps many young hams on VHF/UHF handhelds.
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2555 for Friday, October 16th, 2026
The weekly Newsline bulletin covers new FCC rules for online electronics sales, the return of Crew-12 from the space station and a new four-year NASA–ARISS agreement. It also reports on West Bengal disaster-training cooperation, QCWA scholarships and DX news.