Week 34, 2026: the week in amateur radio
17 Aug – 23 Aug · 18 stories · Mon · Tue · Wed · Thu · Fri · Sat · Sun
Manufacturers & gear
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VHF/UHF dual band digital mobile transceiver. The ID-5200A features a touch operation color display and supports D-STAR.
Icom lists the ID-5200A, a dual-band VHF/UHF digital mobile transceiver with a touch-operated color display and D-STAR support.
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Icom ID-5200E D-STAR Mobile: Package Details & Product Update
Ahead of its UK launch, Icom UK outlines what comes in the box with the ID-5200E dual-band D-STAR mobile, plus optional mounting accessories and planned feature updates.
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FT8 and IOTA - Read Our Latest Knowledge Base Radio Articles
Icom UK adds three articles to its knowledge base. One looks at how FT8 changed HF amateur radio, covering its adoption, technical features, community debate and integration into radios.
Societies & IARU
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23-Aug-2026 IRTS Appoints HAREC licence exam coordinator and Chief Morse Tester — South Dublin Radio Club at Dublin Maker Festival and Upcoming Remote Station Talk — Shannon…
The Irish Radio Transmitters Society weekly update reports appointments of a HAREC licence exam coordinator and a Chief Morse Tester, plus South Dublin Radio Club at Dublin Maker and an upcoming remote station talk.
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Provisional Results 70 MHz CW/SSB Contest
Provisional results for the IARU Region 1 70 MHz CW/SSB Contest are posted on the VHF+ Contest Robot. Organizers evaluated 48 logs from 14 countries, and HA8MV leads the single-operator category.
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Provisional Results 50 MHz CW/SSB Contest
Provisional results for the IARU Region 1 50 MHz CW/SSB Contest are posted on the VHF+ Contest Robot. Organizers evaluated 525 logs from 38 countries, and ED5R leads the single-operator category.
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Programma 58e Duits-Nederlands Amateur Treffen (DNAT)
Program of the 58th German-Dutch Amateur Meeting (DNAT)
The VRZA points to the program of the 58th German-Dutch Amateur Meeting at Bad Bentheim, Germany, in late August. Saturday 29 August features a radio market alongside a general flea market.
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Neues AMRS Diplom
New AMRS Award
The Austrian Military Radio Society, part of ÖVSV, has issued a new edition of its AMRS award. Amateurs and SWLs worldwide can work toward it, with rules and application details on the society's website.
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Grosse Ehre der USKA durch die ETH Zürich
Great Honour for USKA from ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich has added the USKA magazine HBradio to its E-Periodica library. Issues from 2008 to early 2026 are free to download; the newest issue stays members-only for a month.
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Colombian Amateur Radio League frees up emergency frequencies
After 124 hours of continuous operation by the Colombian league's national emergency network following the earthquake, the emergency frequencies used by Colombian amateurs are being released for general use again.
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Dortmunder Amateurfunktreffen naar nieuwe locatie
Dortmund Amateur Radio Meeting moves to new location
The Dortmund Amateur Radio Meeting, a large flea market popular with Dutch amateurs, cannot use its usual Westfalenhallen venue this year. It moves to a hall in Kamen.
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🇱🇻 Īpašais izsaukuma signāls YL35ZS – Zemessardzei 35 🇱🇻
Special callsign YL35ZS for the Latvian National Guard's 35th anniversary
Special callsign YL35ZS marks the 35th anniversary of the Latvian National Guard and is active 17 to 23 August 2026 on HF in SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL cards go out via the bureau.
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Tellime T-särke ja ERAÜ embleeme
Ordering ERAÜ T-shirts and emblems
The Estonian society asks those who ordered club T-shirts and logo patches to pay now. Shirts cost 15 EUR and patches 5 EUR, with hand delivery expected around October.
Space & satellites
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ANS-235 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
The weekly AMSAT bulletin covers a spacewalk to remove a failed station antenna, a launch of student-built satellites, IARU frequency coordination, a Bangladesh transponder petition, and radio support after earthquakes.
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Petition for Amateur Transponder on Bangladesh Satellite-2
The Amateur Radio Society of Bangladesh is seeking support for a request to put a dedicated amateur transponder on the Bangladesh Satellite-2 spacecraft. A petition collects signatures of support from the community.
Community & news
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555 Makes a Useful Beat Frequency Oscillator
A build uses a 555 timer chip to make a tunable 455 kHz beat frequency oscillator. Injected into a receiver's IF stage, it lets inexpensive sets demodulate CW and SSB signals.
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2547 for Friday, August 21st, 2026
This Newsline edition lists items on French POTA designation reviews, Rhode Island activation plans, a Cambodia 2027 DXpedition preview, a grant for a Christmas Island youth DXpedition, a space station antenna swap, and a disaster drill in India.
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Making hams of hackers
KB6NU describes teaching one-day Technician license classes at hacker conferences, funded by an ARDC grant. At DEFCON in Las Vegas, 66 people fit into this year's class, run with Ham Radio Village.