Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2492 for Friday, August 1st, 2025
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2492 with a release date of Friday, August 1st, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. A worldwide response to broadband satellite's proposed use of the ham bands. New callsigns in Sweden and India -- and HamTV is back on the air! All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2492 comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
INT'L RESPONSE TO FCC FILING FOR HAM RADIO FREQUENCIES
JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to Washington, D.C., where the FCC has been receiving filings from individuals and groups speaking out in response to the proposed use of amateur frequencies by a broadband communications business. The response has gathered international momentum, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: Several International Amateur Radio Union societies and more than 2,000 individuals have filed their concerns with the US Federal Communications Commission over a request by a US broadband communications company' to use frequencies between 430 and 440 MHz for a planned constellation of 240 commercial satellites.
AST SpaceMobile was recently approved for the use of the amateur radio band on an experimental basis for a low-earth orbit satellite known as FM1, which is the prototype for the company's planned mobile phone connectivity from space. The FCC has assigned the callsign WP2XRX, which expires on 1st July, 2027.
The Texas-based company, a rival of SpaceX, is developing its network in association with AT&T and Verizon. SpaceX is partnering with T-Mobile.
The Radio Society of Great Britain, referring on its website to its own filing to the FCC, said that the company's proposal for its constellation has stirred [quote] "an unprecedented response from the amateur radio community." [endquote]
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(RSGB, FCC)
**
INDIA, SWEDEN INTRODUCE NEW CALLSIGN SUFFIXES, PREFIXES
JIM/ANCHOR: If you've been listening around on the bands during the past few months, you may have heard some new personal callsigns on the air that have very different prefixes or suffixes - with good reason. Jason Daniels VK2LAW explains what's going on.
JASON: Hams who'd made contact with radio operators in India or Sweden - or who have perhaps just heard them on the air - have been hearing these operators identify themselves with callsigns that, until this year, did not exist. In India, newly licensed amateur stations have been assigned new suffixes since the 25th of June. Although the existing, older callsign forms have not changed, new General Grade licenses, which are assigned a VU2 prefix, now get a combination of numbers and letters, creating callsigns such as VU22DX or VU29AR. Likewise, Restricted Grade licenses, which are assigned a VU3 prefix, are receiving suffixes of two numbers and three letters, creating callsigns such as VU33ABS.
Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, the assistant director of the National Institute of Amateur Radio, told Newsline that the changes are a direct result of ham radio's growth in India. He wrote, in an email: [quote] "These new prefixes are a practical measure to accommodate the increasing number of amateur radio enthusiasts in India by expanding the available callsign combinations while still adhering to the country's internationally allocated prefix block." [endquote]
Meanwhile, in Sweden, amateurs who have received the new entry level class certificate are identifying themselves with the country's new callsign prefix, "SH." These amateurs can be heard on 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 and 2 metres, where they are permitted to use a maximum of 25 watts of power.
This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
(DX INDIA, QRZ,COM FORUMS, SWEDISH SOCIETY OF RADIO AMATEURS)
**
BOUVET ISLAND TEAM PACKS FOR 2026 TRIP
JIM/ANCHOR: The Bouvet Island 3Y?K team begins packing for the long trip starting in August, hoping to complete this part of the preparation by the end of September. According to their July 27th press release, equipment is being shipped from Italy, Bulgaria and the US to Norway where the team plans to meet later in Oslo for two workshops.
Activators expect to be on the island for at least 21 days. Their scheduled departure date from Cape Town South Africa is the 1st of February, 2026. The team is still looking for additional operators. For details, send an email to admin dot 3 WHY ZERO DOT EN OH [
admin@3y0.no.]
(DX WORLD)
**
MEXICAN STATION HONORS HAM RADIO'S PATRON SAINT
JIM/ANCHOR: Hams embrace the story of one Catholic friar's ultimate sacrifice in a World War II concentration camp. This martyr, who became the patron saint of amateur radio, is being honored throughout August, as we hear from Jim Davis, W2JKD.
JIM: In 1938, a Franciscan friar named Maximillian Kolbe began shortwave radio broadcasts from his homebuilt station in a monastery to share his words of faith during a troubled time in the world Three years later, he was a prisoner of the Nazis in Auschwitz. On the 14th of August, 1941, he traded his own life to save that of a doomed Polish army sergeant. Maximilian Kolbe, SP3RN, was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 1982 - and is considered the patron saint of amateur radio.
The days surrounding August 14th have grown to be important ones for more than a decade at the San Max Church in Mexico where, with the help of a homebrew rotating dipole installed at the church, hams from around the country team up to call CQ using the special callsign 4A2MAX. The presence of the saint is prominent at the church in more than just its given name and callsign. Some relics that once belonged to him are housed in a small museum inside the church building. The museum also displays some of the awards the amateurs have won while operating in contests with this callsign as a way to pay tribute to St. Maximillian. The operators are on the air this month from the 1st through to the 31st using all modes on all HF bands through to the end of the month.
The station's operations manager, Chuy, XE2N/N5MEX, told Newsline [quote]: "We want to celebrate what we love on the radio." [endquote]
This is Jim Davis W2JKD.
(CHUY, XE2N; QRZ.COM)
**
HAMTV BACK ON THE AIR FROM THE ISS
JIM/ANCHOR: The most popular digital amateur TV show in space is back and better than ever. With its installation completed recently by ISS astronauts, HamTV resumed its transmissions on Tuesday, the 29th of July. In Salisbury, Southern England, Dave G8GKQ was among the happy radio operators to report to the British Amateur TV Club that he had good copy during the first pass of the ISS with HamTV turned on again. HamTV had been out of service since 2019, so its welcome-back from Dave and other fans was clearly a warm one.
To see a live stream of HamTV when it is near the receiver stations, follow the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
[DO NOT READ:
https://live.ariss.org/hamtv/ ]
(BRITISH AMATEUR TV CLUB, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)
**
FIELD DAY WAS 'MERIT BADGE DAY' FOR THEM
JIM/ANCHOR: Most of us remember the big weekend in June known as Field Day. For 14 Scouts who attended the activation with one ham club in Southern California, it will always be remembered as Merit Badge Day. Ralph Squillace KK6ITB explains.
RALPH: Operators with the San Fernando Valley Amateur Radio Club W6SD do a lot of planning each year for Field Day but this year their plans included something else for the first time - the inclusion of Scouts from Troop 415 who were there to observe, learn about amateur radio and perhaps qualify for scouting's Radio Merit Badge. Fourteen of them did just that - in a single day - as they learned about radio communication and watched the hams make QSOs at the activation site at the First Presbyterian Church of Granada Hills. Some of the Scouts even experienced the thrill of HF by getting on the GOTA station - the so-called "Get On The Air" station provided at many Field Day sites to allow them to have a QSO or two under supervision of a licensed ham.
The Scouts had other inspiration to draw on too. Club secretary Bernard KG6FBM told Newsline that one of the Scout's fathers, Eric Arevalo, KO6KFL, had just received his Tech license after taking a class with Roozy, W1EH.
Bernard said the club is very proud of the Scouts, whose ages range from 11 to 17. As to whether a merit badge eventually leads to a license, Bernard said: "Some scouts did show interest. Maybe someday they'll follow up."
(BERNARD FALKIN KG6FBM)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the W4HPL repeater in Cookeville, Tennessee on Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. local time.
**
PAKISTAN HIKES RADIO-RELATED FEES
JIM/ANCHOR: It's going to cost more for radio amateurs to get on the air in Pakistan. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF brings us up to date.
JIM: Calling its existing fee structure outdated, Pakistan's government has approved its first change to the fee structure for radio-based services in 25 years. More than 1,100 licence holders, including amateur radio operators and private radio networks, are being affected by a fee hike. According to media reports, fees remained unchanged until now despite Pakistan's inflation rising by more than 700 percent.
Pakistan's amateur licence is initially issued for a one-year period but can be renewed for a five-year period afterward. The fee is increasing from 450 rupees to 5,000 rupees - or, in US currency, from $1.60 to $18 for the term of the licence.
The change was approved in late July by the Economic Coordination Committee. The ECC acted after being told by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority that fees no longer cover the expenses for managing licenses and overseeing use of the spectrum.
This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
(DAWNTODAY.COM, PROFIT.PAKISTANTODAY.COM)
**
HAMS COACH INDIAN POLICE ON AMATEUR RADIO'S CRISIS ROLES
JIM/ANCHOR: Ham radio training for police officers? In India, it's considered an essential tool, as we hear from John Williams VK4JJW.'
JOHN: In India, law enforcement personnel from the remote region of Darjeeling and the coastal area of the Sunderbans joined with police in Kolkata for a one-day session on how amateur radio can assist them when conventional communications systems are compromised.
The regulations governing radio - and the technical side of operating - were covered in the one-day session held on Friday the 25th of July in Kolkata. The training was conducted by Jayanta Baidya VU2TFR, Arnab Roy Chowdhury VU2TFT and Ambarish Nag Biswas VU2JFA - all from the West Bengal Radio Club.
Remote regions of India can be particularly challenged when natural disasters strike but even in the heart of a city like Kolkata, law enforcement has concerns about how useful their radios are. The hams noted that high rise buildings, such as those under construction in Kolkata, can interfere with the wireless frequencies used by the police radios.
The seminar is the latest to be organised and hosted by the club, which often does such training for law-enforcement personnel.
This is John Williams VK4JJW.
(MILLENNIUM POST)
**
SOUTH AFRICAN AWARDS SCHEME FOCUSES ON HERITAGE, HISTORY
JIM/ANCHOR: Lightwaves and radio waves have much in common - perhaps most notably the fact that they share a home on different parts of the same spectrum. In South Africa, however, a popular operating awards scheme unites light and amateur radio in a very different way. Graham Kemp VK4BB explains now.
GRAHAM: HOTA - an awards programme that originated with the Bo-Karoo Amateur Radio Club in South Africa - has its origins as Heliographs on the Air. The original concept, credited to Jannie Smith, ZS3CM, was to encourage amateur radio operators to activate sites where members of the military once sent coded messages to the troops by reflecting sunlight off mirrors. Other club members soon expanded the programme?s scope to focus on a broader array of historical sites. What was renamed History on the Air soon morphed into Heritage on the Air, the programme as it is known today. Using a spreadsheet developed by Steve Brooks ZS3SB, activators and chasers alike keep track of their contacts and ultimately their cumulative score which they submit at the end of each year.
Organisers believe that the exercise offers a greater opportunity to learn about history, either by chasing, activating or proposing new sites for inclusion. Proposals are required to be well-researched applications that explain the historical significance of the location, which must be connected to war, telecommunications or general history. The sites must have a significance dating back at least 75 years.
As for modes, well, that?s a nod to history too: operators can use SSB, AM, FM CW and yes, even heliographs. Of course.
This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(SARL, HERITAGE ON THE AIR)
**
WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, the Radio Amateur Association of Western Greece, SZ1A, is on the air as special event station SX17ASTRO until the 8th of August for the 17th Panhellenic Expedition of Amateur Astronomers. Be listening on the HF bands. Certificates are available. See QRZ.com for QSL details.
Antonio, IK7WUL, will be on the air from different locations in Africa during a mission trip in his spare time. Mainly operating on 10 metres SSB as 9U?DX from Burundi until the 10th of August, Rwanda as 9X?DX through to the 18th and between the 18th of August and the 7th of September as TY2AA from Benin. See QRZ.com for QSL details.
Steve, ZL2KE is using the callsign E51KEE from Rarotonga, IOTA Number OC-013, in the South Cook Islands between the 3rd and 18th of August. He is using CW and some SSB on 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 metres. QSL direct to IK2DUW.
To highlight the plight of mistreated dogs and cats and the work of their rescuers a group of amateur radio special event stations will be on-air with an award scheme during August. For International Cat day on August 8th, DA0CAT, DL0CAT will be on-air during the whole month while GB4CAT, GB9CAT,YL1CAT and W1C will be on for shorter periods. See catdayradio.org and qrz.com for details. For International Dog day on August 26th, DA0DOG, DL0DOG will be on-air during the whole month while GB4DOG, YL1DOG and K2D will be on for shorter periods. See dogdayradio.org and qrz.com for details.
(425 DX BULLETIN, WIA)
**
We hope you've been enjoying the ham radio haikus that our listeners have sent in - have you written one yet? The Newsline haiku challenge is as easy as writing a QSL card. We can only accept the correct haiku format - that is, a three-line verse with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in the third. Submit your work on our website at arnewsline.org - each week's winner gets a shout-out on our website, where everyone can find the winning haiku.
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Amateur News Daily; ARRL; Bernard Falkin, KG6FBM; British Amateur TV Club; Chuy, XE2N; David Behar K7DB; DX India; DX World; 425DX Bulletin; FCC; Heritage on the Air; Millennium Post; ProfitPakistanToday.com; QRZ.com; Radio Society of Great Britain; Shortwaveradio.de; South African Radio League; Swedish Society of Radio Amateurs; Wireless Institute of Australia; 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 Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleston West Virginia saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2025. Amateur Radio Newsline retains ownership of its material even when retransmitted elsewhere. All rights are reserved.
** Audio in .mp3 format is available at bbs.catracing.org 6840
Rug Rat (Brent Hendricks)
Blog and Forums - www.catracing.org
IMAGE BBS! 3.0 - bbs.catracing.org 6400
C-Net Amiga BBS - bbs.catracing.org 6840
--- CNet/5
* Origin: The Rat's Den BBS (1:135/250)