Issue 404 January 17, 2026

Top links

New 60-Meter frequencies available as of February 13
It’s a bit confusing, as different rules apply to different segments of the band.
ARRL

Using VOCAP to predict HF propagation
This post goes deep into the technical choices we made to bring VOACAP — a serious propagation prediction system — to a simple web interface.
DXLook

Airplanes 'lost' during a geomagnetic storm
Disturbances in Earth’s ionosphere disrupted GPS tracking systems for airplanes flying over Europe.
Spaceweather.com

How the field radio landscape has changed
There’s never been a better time to jump in.
QRPer

Plans for solar farm leave Radio Ham facing detrimental loss of life’s work
"Last August I was the international winner of a meteor reflection contest organised by the Italian Radio Society."
The Northern Times

Introducing FreeDV Reporter+
A real-time graph that separates Transmit (TX) and Receive (RX) events.
M0SPN

Hotel antenna for 2 Meter and 70 Centimeter Amateur bands
The Hotel Antenna is a clever space-saving vertical antenna design popular among VHF and UHF amateur radio operators.
DXR Electronics Bits

This Week in POTA
Another week, another flurry of radios in the cold, boots on the trail, batteries pushed to their limits, and logs filled with stories worth telling.
POTA News & Reviews

2015 Throwback: The science behind Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album cover
The album cover shows a series of radio frequency periods from the first pulsar discovered.
Scientific American

Upcoming Events

Space-π to transmit SSTV images via UMKA-1 (RS40S) CubeSat
December 28, 2025

APRS Day Out at HamCation
February 13, 2026

YL POTA Party
March 7, 2026

Video

RADE and FreeDV presentation
Open Source digital voice mode over HF using machine learning.
RATPAC

Intercept is a new application for RF signal intelligence
Decode pagers, 433MHz sensors, ACARS, aircraft tracking, and more.
Tech Minds