Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2541 for Friday, July 10th, 2026 Amateur
Radio Newsline Report Number 2541 with a release date of Friday, July
10th, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Countdown for a law requiring AM radio in all
vehicles sold in the US. Three hams receive top honors for their
contributions to CW -- and there are no obstacles to true love, not
even antennas. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report
Number 2541 comes your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
CAMPAIGN HEATS UP FOR MANDATORY AM RADIO IN VEHICLES

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to Washington, D.C., where a
proposed federal mandate is moving forward to require AM radio in all
new vehicles in the US. Kent Peterson KC0DGY brings us up to date.

KENT: A deadline looms for a long-simmering campaign in Washington,
D.C., as lawmakers push to make AM radios a mandatory feature in all
new cars in the US.

The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act has been around in one form or
another for a few years and has support of both parties in Congress.
This year it faces being wrapped into a larger package of transportation-related bills called the Build America 250 Act, which
lawmakers are targeting for passage by the 30th of September.

The debate centers on AM radio's traditional role as the medium of
choice to carry emergency broadcasts in the case of natural disasters
or severe weather. Auto manufacturers, who oppose the measure, say that
the advent of electric vehicles has created interference with the AM
signal and that makes listening all but futile. They also cite the
added cost of continuing to use AM in vehicles.

This is Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(THE DRIVE, RADIO WORLD)

**

UK WELCOMES WORLD RADIOSPORT TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: At long last, the World Radiosport Team Championship
weekend - July 11th and 12th - has arrived in England. Jeremy Boot
G4NJH gives us some final updates.

JEREMY: There has already been plenty of mainstream media coverage for
the World Radiosport Team Championship which begins at noon UTC on
Saturday the 11th of July and continues until noon UTC on Sunday the
12th of July. BBC Radio Shropshire is covering it with plenty of
interviews that give this high-profile event good exposure in the
non-amateur radio world.

Competitors' special callsigns, revealed towards the end of the opening ceremony on Thursday, 9th July, are being published on the event home
page at www dot wrtc2026 dot org (www.wrtc2026.org). Hams worldwide
are being encouraged to work the stations in support of the event.

There is also daily coverage on YouTube TV, a separate contest
livestream and an online scoreboard.

See the link in the text version of this newscast for more details
about viewing the action.

[DO NOT READ: https://www.youtube.com/@WRTC2026/streams ]

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(WRTC)

**
MARITIME CW EVENT REMEMBERS STATION'S 1ST WOMAN TELEGRAPHER

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In California, "Night of Nights" is an annual Morse
Code tradition that remembers a special maritime radio station that is
off the air. This year, the event also remembers one of the station's
top operators, as we hear from Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

RALPH: For just a day, Morse Code enthusiasts can forget that the last
maritime radio station in the US has gone silent. Every July 12th, on
the anniversary of the day that the California station signed off, the
Maritime Radio Historical Society, K6KPH, returns the Morse Code
tradition to air as KPH/KFS springs back to life.

This year the historical society is keeping that tradition while
grieving a Silent Key. Denice "DA" Stoops, KI6BBR, had been a vital
part of the station's commercial operations and later, was a big
supporter of the historical society's effort behind Night of Nights, as
the July 12th commemoration is known. In 1979, Denice became the first
woman to be hired as a CW operator at KPH.

According to the historical society and several social media posts,
Denice died within the last few months.

The Night of Nights tradition continues. For times, frequencies and QSL information about the event, visit the Maritime Radio Historical
Society website at radiomarine.org.

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(MARITIME RADIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY)

**

TRIO RECOGNIZED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CW

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Three devoted CW operators and educators are being
recognized for the impact of their work, as we learn from Dave
LeeM9TLB.

DAVE: Three advocates for the practice of CW have been honoured by
CWOps for their contributions.

They are Mark Bosma, VK2KI, who created the weekly CW QRS Net more than
five years ago. The net is an informal gathering of operators for a
six-hour period with an emphasis on courtesy and established
procedures. Mark also publishes and emails the weekly CQ QRS RagChew newsletter.

Fabian Kurz, DJ5CW, is being recognised for a number of projects that
assist operators with CW, including Learn CW Online, CW Club RBN
Spotter and the CWOps Awards Tool, which helps operators track the
status of their awards. He is also the creator of EBOOKS2CW which
converts e-books to CW audio files.

CWOps is also recognising Martin Kratoska, OK1RR, widely considered a
pioneer in Morse Code teaching and founder of a website that covers a
vast number of subjects on CW. The website was created in Czech only. A
link can be found in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org.

[DO NOT READ: https://telegrafie.cz ]

Past winners of the CWOps award have included the K1USN Radio Club,
creator of the weekly Slow Speed Test that allows newer operators to
improve their skills in a friendly environment; Stephen C. Phillips,
author of the free online Morse code trainer used by thousands of CW
students and teachers and the Essex CW Club in the UK for its intensive teaching and CW bootcamps.

This is Dave Lee M9TLB.. (NZ NET NEWS, CW OPS)

**
INDIAN HAMS' NETWORK HELPS HEARING- AND SPEECH-IMPAIRED TEEN

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A network of hams in India has helped a hearing- and speech-impaired teenager find his way back to his family. Jim Meachen
ZL2BHF tells us how it happened.

JIM: The wide-reaching amateur radio connections of one radio club in
West Bengal has helped a speech- and hearing-impaired teenager find his
way back to his family in Bihar, more than 500 km, or 310 miles away.

An attorney who spotted him in distress on the street had stopped to
help, according to the Times of India. The attorney told the Times that
the teen had difficulty hearing and speaking, prompting him to alert
local authorities on his behalf. He urged police to attempt to identify
him and find his family -- but attempts yielded only dead ends. Police
referred the teen to a voluntary organisation that could provide safe
shelter. Meanwhile, the lawyer contacted the West Bengal Radio Club,
which is well-known for using its ham radio network to help track down
families of persons who have gone missing.

As always, the hams soon had results after conducting its customary
outreach, which included distribution of a photograph. Ambarish Nag
Biswas, VU2JFA, the club's secretary, told the newspaper that with the
help of other hams, the 18-year-old and his family were soon identified
as residents of Bihar. The hams learned from his father and older
brother that he had gone missing 14 months ago. The details of his disappearance were not clear.

As of July 4th, arrangements were being made to return him to Bihar,
where he is enrolled in the local public school.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(TIMES OF INDIA)

**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the W8WKY repeater in Doylestown, Ohio on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. local
time, right before the weekly SARA net at 8 p.m.

**
SILENT KEY: BYLARA'S CAROL ANN HODGES 2E1RBH

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A prominent radio amateur and former chair of the
British YL Amateur Radio Association has become a Silent Key. We hear
more about her from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: When the International YL Convention came to Milton Keynes in
the UK in 2016 in connection with the RSGB Convention, Carol Ann
Hodges, 2E1RBH, was at the helm of the British YL Amateur Radio
Association. As YLs in the UK prepared for the first time to host this
major event, it was a key time for the organisation, as delegates
arrived from around the world. Carol and her husband Rob G0RYL, helped
pull the event together.

On her page on QRZ.com, Carol had referred to the convention as being
"seven days of international friendship" among YLs.

Carol became a Silent Key on the 10th of May. She was 76.

(YL BEAM)

**

FCC PREPARES FOR SPECTRUM AUCTION ON UPPER-C BAND

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The US Federal Communications Commission has set its
sights on yet another spectrum auction. Daniel Garcia W2DIY has those
details.

DANIEL: The FCC will meet on the 22nd of July to vote on its plans to
auction 160 MHz in the Upper-C band. The auction would be held next for frequencies between 3.98 and 4.2 GHz.

The range does not include any frequencies used by amateur radio. The
FCC is mandated under the Working Families Tax Cut Act of 2025 to sell
off at least 100 MHz of C-band spectrum by July of 2027. The agency
aims to create a single band for wireless operations on the C-band
through the use of the range between 3.70 and 4.14 GHz.

The FCC recently completed a $3.5 billion spectrum auction - its first
in four years. Competition bidding ended on the 23rd of June for
frequencies that belong to the Advanced Wireless Services, or AWS-3,
bands used by major mobile carriers.

This is Daniel Garcia W2DIY.

(FCC.GOV)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Holger, DG3FEH will be on the air with the callsign MJ/DG3FEH from Jersey, IOTA Number EU-013, from the 18th through to
the 23rd of July. He will be using SSB on 40, 20 and 15 metres and
will be calling QRZ via the QO-100 satellite.

Giorgio, IZ3KVD, will be operating holiday style as IS0/IZ3KVD from
Budoni, Sardinia Island, IOTA Number EU-024 from the 8th through to the
17th of July.

Listen for Nobby, G0VJG, using the callsign VP5G from North Caicos,
IOTA Number NA-002 from the 17th through to the 28th of July. Nobby
will be operating SSB, CW, and FT8/FT4 on various bands, including 6
metres. Listen for him as well during the RSGB IOTA Contest on the 25th
and 26th of July.

Takashi JR6HYO will be using the callsign JR6HYO/JD1 from the Ogasawara Islands, IOTA Number AS-031 on the 9th through the 11th of July. He
will be using CW and SSB on 40, 20, 15, 10 and 6 metres.

For QSL information and other operating details, see each station's
page on QRZ.com.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: ANTENNAS INTERFERE WITH THEIR LOVE

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We end this week's report with a reminder that if you
want to transmit your message well, it's all about the antenna. In the
case of one couple with a message in New York City, it was
-unfortunately - all about several antennas. Jim Davis W2JKD tells us
their story.

JIM: The couple who climbed New York City's Empire State Building on
July 2nd weren't just about to engage in a publicity stunt - they were
also about to get engaged while they were up there, 1,454 feet, or 443
metres, above Manhattan.

This path of true love, however, had its obstacles. A number of media
accounts were quick to note that the climbers were not authorized to go
past the 102nd floor, the building's highest public-access spot. They
managed, however, to get beyond there and into the restricted area
which involved passing a number of antennas. There was the master
antenna used by 15 New York FM stations as well as a separate, smaller
antenna used by three other NY FM radio stations. Wearing no harnesses
or parachutes, they also had to pass a number of antennas used by TV
stations in New York City.

You don't need an RF calculator to know there was a lot of energy up
there that day - not just nervous energy but RF energy. The
broadcasters quickly shifted to backup antennas.

The couple, known for their daredevil stunts and profiled in the
Netflix documentary, "Skywalkers: A Love Story," said in court after
their arrest that they made their climb because they believed in power
- in this case, the power of love. No doubt it was radiating from the
both of them as the stunt turned into a successful marriage proposal,

Before they can say "I do," however, there's the question of saying "we
did." The two face felony charges that include reckless endangerment
and burglary.

This is Jim Davis W2JKD.

(RADIO WORLD; WNBC CHANNEL 4)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, CW Ops' David Behar, K7DB; The
Drive; FCC.gov; 425DX News; Maritime Radio Historical Society; NZ Net
News; QRZ.com; Radio World; shortwaveradio.de; Times of India; Wireless Institute of Australia; WNBC Channel 4; World Radiosport Team
Championship; YLBeam; 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 Stephen Kinford N8WB in Wadsworth Ohio
saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio
Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2026. Amateur Radio Newsline retains
ownership of its material even when retransmitted elsewhere. All rights
are reserved.


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