Week 39, 2026: the week in amateur radio

Календар основних змагань в жовтні 2026 року

Calendar of main contests in October 2026

UARL publishes its calendar of main October 2026 contests, with dates, links to rules, and notes on sanctions affecting Russian and Belarusian participants in some events. It excludes minor contests, sprints and VHF events.

Remembering Four Silent Keys

ARRL notes the deaths of four well-known amateurs, among them Rhode Island Section Manager Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, a Life Member who died on September 10, 2026, aged 88.

27-Sep-2026 Updates from the IRTS — HF Newsreaders Required — Tipperary Amateur Radio Group — DX Féile 2026 — Upcoming Talk at South Dublin Radio Club — Updates from the IARU…

The IRTS weekly update for 27 September 2026 covers HF newsreaders needed, the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group, DX Féile 2026, a talk at South Dublin Radio Club and IARU updates.

OPIÐ HÚS Í SKELJANESI 1. OKTÓBER.

Open house at Skeljanes on 1 October

The Icelandic society's Skeljanes clubhouse opens to members and guests on Thursday 1 October, 20:00 to 22:00. The QSL manager will have sorted incoming cards, and coffee is provided.

HELSTU ALÞJÓÐLEGAR KEPPNIR 3.-4. OKTÓBER.

Main international contests, 3–4 October

Three international contests run 3–4 October: the TRC DX Contest on CW and SSB, the Oceania DX Contest on SSB, and the Russian WW Digital Contest on BPSK63 and RTTY. Times, bands and exchanges are listed.

NZART Official Broadcast September 2026

The September NZART broadcast covers a presidential comment, a business manager's report, a history segment and branch news. It also promotes a Manawatu table sale and the 2027 conference in Nelson.

Generalkonferenz der IARU Region 1 beendet

IARU Region 1 General Conference concluded

Delegates from 38 countries met in Vienna from 19 to 23 September for the 27th IARU Region 1 General Conference, discussing frequency allocations and cross-border guidelines. A new executive committee under PB2T was seated, and USKA sent three delegates.

Propagatienieuws – week 40 2026

Propagation news – week 40 2026

The week 40 propagation outlook gives HF MUF from about 10 MHz at night to around 24 MHz by day, with rain scatter chances on microwave bands. Meteor scatter and aurora look quiet, and EME losses are decreasing.

Ausbreitungsvorhersage für 10/2026

Propagation forecast for October 2026

DARC's October forecast expects good HF conditions, with 10, 12 and 15 m often open and 20 and 40 m reliable for DX. It uses a smoothed sunspot number of 75; strong geomagnetic storms could degrade conditions.

Κυκλοφόρησε το SV NEA τεύχος 219

SV NEA issue 219 released

The Radio Amateur Association of Greece has published issue 219 of its SV NEA magazine, covering September and October 2026. It is available in the members' area.

Video/Podcast with ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA

ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, appears on episode 103 of The DX Mentor, aired September 19, 2026. Topics include the ARRL Board's July meeting, the IARU and the Huntsville Hamfest convention.

HF Update with ZS4BS

The HF update notes that Chris, ZS6RI, alternates between South Africa and northern Malawi. While in Malawi he operates mainly CW as 7Q5C, usually in early morning, late afternoon or evening.

Belgian DXPedition to Guinea

A ten-member Belgian team, with one Dutch operator, plans to operate as 3X4U from Lac de Koba, Guinea, from 11 to 23 November.

Veranstaltungstipp: «Matrix trifft Smith Chart»

Event tip: "Matrix meets Smith Chart"

USKA section HB9AG hosts a free talk on simulating and matching HF networks with Smith charts and software, including tuner placement and feedline losses. It takes place on 2 October 2026 in Lupfig, Switzerland.

WRTC debaklet fortsätter

WRTC debacle continues

The WRTC sanction committee analysed logs from the 2023 event in Italy and found the same cheating patterns as in this year's event. It disqualified the winning team I44W and the ninth-placed I43Z, making I43C the winner.

Will RADE Be the Next SSB?

FreeDV's new digital voice mode, RADE, is reported to use about half the bandwidth of an SSB signal. The piece asks whether it could play a role on HF comparable to SSB's replacement of AM.

FCC and HHS Initiate New Proceedings on RF Exposure

The FCC and the US Department of Health and Human Services opened separate comment periods on RF exposure on September 17, 2026. Current amateur rules stay unchanged, though the inquiries could eventually lead to revisions.

The ARRL Solar Update

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center expects low solar activity through September 25, with occasional C-class flares and a slight chance of M-class events. Nine sunspot regions are visible, including new Region 4541.

ORARI Banyumas Berduka, YC2MUI Berpulang di Hari Jumat Kliwon

ORARI Banyumas Mourns: YC2MUI Passes Away on Friday Kliwon

ORARI Banyumas reports the death of H. Dawud Buang, YC2MUI, on September 25, 2026, at a hospital in Purwokerto. He was also a long-serving school head at a local Islamic boarding school.

BAFARA – 80 jaar Belgische Luchtmacht

BAFARA – 80 years of the Belgian Air Force

BAFARA marks 80 years of the Belgian Air Force with special callsign OR80AF throughout October 2026, along with four club stations. A special diploma is available for contacts.

80° Anniversario ARI Treviso

80th Anniversary of ARI Treviso

ARI Treviso (IQ3TR) marks its 80th anniversary with a commemorative award on 12-18 October 2026. Hunters and SWLs earn 50 points by working IQ3TR across HF and VHF/UHF bands and modes, with daily eQSLs.

JTTY — schneller, empfindlicher Tastatur‑Digimode für Contest & Chat

JTTY — fast, sensitive keyboard digital mode for contests and chat

WSJT-X 3.2.0-rc1 introduces JTTY, a keyboard-to-keyboard digital mode for contest exchanges and chat. It uses 4-tone GFSK, about 127 Hz bandwidth, and offers better sensitivity than RTTY.

Suomen Radioamatööriliiton toimiston tiedote 37/2026, 26.9.2026

SRAL office bulletin 37/2026, 26 September 2026

The SRAL bulletin announces the autumn meeting on 21 November in Tampere and the 2027 summer camp in Siuntio on 15–18 July. It also covers a regulation consultation response and local events.

Interview unter dem Turm #95: Raphael Engel über sein „Jugend forscht“-Projekt

Interview under the Tower #95: Raphael Engel on his Jugend forscht project

DARC's video series features Raphael Engel, who built a programming language that handles physical units such as grams and meters. He is interviewed about his Jugend forscht project at HAM RADIO 2026.

Exploración espacial y radioafición

Space Exploration and Amateur Radio

URE publishes an item on space exploration and its connection to amateur radio.

Nuevo libro «Exploración espacial y radioafición», de Pablo Cruz Corona, EA8HZ

New book "Space Exploration and Amateur Radio" by Pablo Cruz Corona, EA8HZ

URE's shop now sells a book by Pablo Cruz Corona, EA8HZ, on space exploration and amateur radio, from Sputnik to interplanetary travel.

Deutschland-Rundspruch 38/2026, 39. KW

Germany news bulletin 38/2026, week 39

The DARC weekly news bulletin reports adoption of DARC's HF proposals at the IARU Region 1 plenary, renewed press attention for AMSAT OSCAR-7, a call for ARDC volunteers, a seminar, contests and propagation news.

27ma Conferenza Generale della IARU

27th IARU General Conference

The ARI delegation attended the 27th IARU General Conference in Vienna, where officers were elected for three years. Topics included preparation for WRC-27 in Shanghai, with delegations from 51 Region 1 countries.

Ciclo de charlas: Ionosondas. Qué son y para qué sirven.

Talk series: Ionosondes. What they are and what they are for.

URE streams a talk on ionosondas and their uses on YouTube on 30 September at 17:30 UTC. The speaker is David Altadill Felip of the Ebro Observatory.

27. IARU-R1-Generalkonferenz in Wien beendet

27th IARU Region 1 General Conference in Vienna concluded

The 27th IARU Region 1 General Conference in Vienna has ended, with over 120 delegates. A new Executive Committee was elected, with Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, as president.

IARU-R1 27th General Conference, Wien

The 27th IARU Region 1 General Conference has concluded in Vienna. It drew 38 member societies, Administrative Council members including Region 2 and 3 representatives, and more than 120 delegates.

2026 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING​

Radio Amateurs of Canada announces that its 2026 Annual General Meeting is scheduled, with the Board of Directors issuing the notice.

100 Jahre ÖVSV QSL Karte

100 Years of ÖVSV QSL Card

For its centenary, ÖVSV offers a free special QSL postcard in the standard 9x14 cm format. A commemorative Austrian stamp will be issued at the Volkstheater, and its value covers international postage.

QTC 10/2026.

SSA announces that issue 10/2026 of its member magazine QTC will soon arrive in members' mailboxes.

Tampereen Radioamatöörit ry:llä OH3NE avoimet ovet Tampere-päivässä 3.10.2026

Tampereen Radioamatöörit OH3NE open house on Tampere Day, 3 October 2026

Tampereen Radioamatöörit (OH3NE) holds an open house on Saturday 3 October from 10:00 to 15:00 at its new clubhouse at Federleynkatu 19 in Lielahti, Tampere.

IARU R1 new Vice President Dennis Green ZS4BS

The South African Radio League reports that Dennis Green, ZS4BS, is the new Vice President of IARU Region 1.

HRSVKS

The Croatian Amateur Radio Union has published a new schedule for 80 m sked sessions, available on its HRSVKS page.

SX2LGT – Marine Radio Beacon – Award

A group of Greek operators will be active as SX2LGT from the Thessaloniki marine radio beacon from 28 September to 6 October 2026, on 80–10 m and QO-100 in CW, SSB and digital modes. An award is offered.

IARU R1-Plenarsitzung: C4-Anträge des DARC angenommen

IARU R1 Plenary: DARC C4 Proposals Adopted

At the IARU Region 1 plenary in Vienna, both DARC proposals passed: widening 10 m FM channels in the band plan from 6 to 10 kHz, and encouraging work toward extending 40 m to 7300 kHz.

Stiftung ARDC sucht Freiwillige für das Jahr 2027

ARDC Foundation Seeks Volunteers for 2027

Amateur Radio Digital Communications is seeking volunteers for 2027, with applications open until 30 October. Five committees still have vacancies.

VIÐTÆKI Á SAUÐÁRKRÓKI ENDURNÝJAÐ.

Web Receiver at Sauðárkrókur Renewed

A WEB-888 SDR receiver now operates at Sauðárkrókur in Iceland, replacing an older KiwiSDR. It covers the HF amateur bands and supports up to 12 simultaneous listeners over the internet.

Vortrag: Anwendung der CAT-Schnittstelle mit Beispielen für Raspberry Pi und ESP32

Talk: Using the CAT Interface, with Examples for Raspberry Pi and ESP32

A talk on 24 September at 19:00 on Treff.DARC covers using the CAT interface with Raspberry Pi, PC and ESP32 in Python, with examples on the IC-705, Elecraft KXPA and Yaesu FT-710.

USKA an Generalkonferenz der IARU Region 1 in Wien

USKA at the IARU Region 1 General Conference in Vienna

Three USKA delegates represent Switzerland at the IARU Region 1 General Conference in Vienna, running until 23 September 2026, where frequency allocations, regulation and member society proposals are on the agenda.

Mintegy 400 látogató a II. Rádióamatőr Szakmai Napon

About 400 Visitors at the 2nd Radio Amateur Professional Day

The second Hungarian Radio Amateur Professional Day in Budapest drew about 400 visitors. It featured talks, a flea market, club displays, two new round-table discussions and a notable number of young attendees.

IARU Region 1 Conference 2026

UBA reports from the IARU Region 1 conference in Vienna, where committees and working groups are debating and voting on a range of proposals.

Wavelog für Clubstationen: Jetzt richtig einrichten

Wavelog for Club Stations: Set It Up Properly

DARC offers an online training on Treff.DARC on Tuesday 22 September 2026 at 20:00 about setting up Wavelog for club stations, including user roles and separate station logbooks.

3X4U : Guinea

3X4U: Guinea

Members of the Rockall DX Group plan to operate from Guinea as 3X4U from 11 to 23 November 2026, on 160–6 m in SSB, CW, FT8 and RTTY. QSL via M0URX.

ZS6TJ Flea Market 26 September 26

The South African Radio League lists a ZS6TJ flea market dated 26 September 2026.

Mitgliederversammlung im Distrikt W: Vorstand bestätigt

District W General Meeting: Board Confirmed

DARC District W re-elected its board at its 19 September 2026 meeting, led by DK1DSA, and presented awards including the district badge of honour to DL6MRA for long service as webmaster.

Aktuelle Conteste KW 39/2026

Current Contests, Week 39/2026

DARC's contest calendar for 21–27 September 2026 includes the CQ WW RTTY DX Contest, YU DX Contest, RSGB Autumn digital series, AGCW-DL VHF/UHF and several weekly activity events.