Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2517 for Friday, January 23rd, 2026
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2517 with a release date of
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. A severe solar radiation storm disrupts HF communication. US lawmakers propose restoring funds to Voice of America
-- and in New Zealand, Q-codes are on the move! All this and more as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2517 comes your way right now.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**
LEVEL S4 SOLAR RADIATION STORM DISRUPTS HF COMMUNICATION

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our top story this week is the most severe solar
radiation storm in more than 20 years. It began on Monday, January 19th
and lasted through much of the week. The National Weather Service
declared the storm to be at an S4 level - a degree of severity not seen
since October of 2023. S4 is the second highest level of this type of
storm.

The storm's severity, which exceeded that of the one in October of
2023, disrupted the HF bands, challenging ham radio operators, while
creating spectacular auroral displays.

(SPACE.COM, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, LIVE SCIENCE)

**
US LAWMAKERS AGREE TO RESTORE VOA FUNDING

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A bipartisan agreement among US lawmakers could restore
the government's financial support of Voice of America, Radio Free
Europe and other federally funded news services. Kent Peterson KC0DGY
has that story.

KENT: US lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have reached a deal that would
fund the Voice of America, giving its parent organization, the US
Agency for Global Media, an estimated $653 million. That figure is
considerably lower than the annual $860 million provided previously to
the agency.

As described on the Radio World website, the funds would also pay for restoration of operations for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio
Free Asia. A minimum of $30 million is earmarked for medium- and
shortwave programming by the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.

The deal is part of a larger spending bill, the National Security
Department of State and Related Programs Appropriations Act. It has the
support of both parties in Congress and its funding plan goes against
the White House's executive order from last year which shut the
international news services. Even if the measure receives
approval from the House and Senate, it will still require the
president's signature.

This is Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(RADIO WORLD)

**
ARTEMIS 2 ROCKET ROLLS OUT ONTO LAUNCH PAD

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: NASA's Artemis 2 mission began its long-awaited journey
to the moon and back on Saturday, the 17th of January, with the
rocket's rollout onto the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida. Three of the four astronauts who will be aboard have their
amateur radio licenses. Travis Lisk, N3ILS, tells us what's next.

TRAVIS: If all goes well, astronauts Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT; Victor
Glover, KI5BKC, Jeremy Hansen, KF5LKU, and Christina Koch, could be
poised for liftoff as soon as early February on the Artemis 2 test
flight. Though the crew won't be touching down on the moon's surface,
the test flight's 10-day journey will establish a path for an eventual
longer human presence on the moon. In fact, it will be a springboard,
in a manner of speaking, to send the first NASA astronauts to Mars. By
the time the quartet splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, their journey
will have taken them the farthest from Earth that any crewed mission
has ventured.

This will be the first human spaceflight to the moon in more than 50
years.

Last year, the US space agency asked hams with the necessary
capabilities to observe the Doppler shift on the spacecraft's S-band
return link carrier signal. The spacecraft's S-band range is between
2200 and 2290 MHz. Volunteers will not be transmitting or uplinking
signals.

This is Travis Lisk NILS.

(NASA, SPACE.COM, ARS TECHNICA)

**
CABLE DAMAGE SPURS MORE TAIWANESE TO BECOME HAMS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Determined to preserve Taiwan's citizens' ability to communicate despite ongoing damage to underwater Internet cables, many Taiwanese are pursuing the wireless option of amateur radio. John
Williams VK4JJW brings us the details.

JOHN: Last summer, a court in Taiwan gave a three-year prison sentence
to the Chinese captain of a ship registered in Togo after he was
convicted of deliberately damaging Taiwan's underwater cables.

Though that high-profile case in the justice system appeared to settle
one incident, Taiwan remains challenged by such ongoing damage, which
cuts the island off from the rest of the world. Taiwan is also
embroiled in ongoing tensions with Beijing, which claims the self-ruled territory as its own.

Recent media reports say that amateur radio is being seen as Taiwan's
wireless workaround to maintaining connectivity. A civil defence group
there has been providing ham radio instruction to prepare candidates
for their operating licences. Although there is already an amateur
radio presence in Taiwan, represented by the Chinese Taipei Amateur
Radio League, these newest candidates are pursuing licensed status
especially because of the damage being done to the cables. Their hope
is to be able to step in and maintain communications if Taiwan is cut
off from the Internet. More than 90 percent of Taiwan's Internet
traffic is carried by 15 international and 10 domestic communication
cables.

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(KB6NU BLOG, DW.COM, WIA)

**
SILENT KEY'S RIG DONATED TO ASSIST AMERICAN RED CROSS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The American Red Cross has many powerful tools in its repertoire to assist communities in distress - and now, in Flagstaff,
Arizona, it is about to add amateur radio. Ralph Squillace KK6ITB tells
us about it.

RALPH: The legacy of Silent Key Jack Lunsford, NT7MM, is going to help
save lives. Jack, who had been a member of the Northern Arizona DX
Association, became a Silent Key at the age of 94 in December of 2024.
His daughter presented his beloved Kenwood radio to the DX Association,
hoping it would continue its mission of communication and good will.

Bob Wertz, NF7E, the association president, has ensured that this will
happen: He has donated the radio to the American Red Cross office in
Flagstaff for use by licensed amateurs among the staff and volunteers.

Denny Preisser, KC3DTB, a Red Cross recruitment specialist for the
region, acknowledged the gift, saying in a press release: [quote]
"Ham radio provides emergency broadcasts when everything is down.
They are more powerful than portable radios and can be used to
communicate around the globe. Lately, there has been a resurgence of
ham radios with wildfires and other disasters." [endquote]

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(AMERICAN RED CROSS)

**
NOMINATION WINDOW CLOSES SOON FOR HAMVENTION AWARDS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A short window of time remains to nominate candidates
for this year's awards to be presented at Hamvention. The categories
are Amateur Radio Club of the Year, Amateur Radio Operator of the Year, Technical Achievement and Special Achievement.

The Club of the Year award honors organizations that demonstrate
commitment to their community and society. The Operator of the Year acknowledges active amateurs who are also active contributors to the
amateur community-at-large and its future. The Technical Achievement
award recognizes hams whose inventions, experiments or other related accomplishments have improved ham radio. The Special Achievement Award
honors an individual who has shown, over the years, a commitment to professionalism, service and advancement of ham radio in general.

Nomination forms can be found on the Hamvention website at
hamvention.org. You will also find details about supporting
documentation that is required.

The nomination period closes on the 10th of February.

(JAMES GIFFORD, N8KET; HAMVENTION)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the W9MID repeater of the Mid-State Amateur Radio Club in Greenwood,
Indiana at 7 p.m. local time.

**
INDIAN HAMS PROVIDE SAFETY NET AT HINDU PILGRIMAGE

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Through the years, amateur radio operators have become
as much a fixture at one of India's major religious gatherings as the
thousands of pilgrims themselves - and for a very good, lifesaving
reason. Jason Daniels VK2LAW explains.

JASON: The Gangasagar Mela, the week-long Hindu pilgrimage that takes
place each January where the Bay of Bengal meets the Ganges River, is a
sacred time for millions throughout India. The crowd size makes it a
perilous time as well: A man suffered a stroke, a toddler became
separated in the crowd from her mother and the father of a teenager
nearly drowned, according to news reports.

Members of the West Bengal Radio Club, who have been a steady presence
at the Mela for many years, are deployed with their radios into the
crowd, connecting with a central hub. To successfully find the
toddler's mother, a trio of radio operators shared a photo of the
3-year-old with others and reached out to an amateur radio operator in
the family's hometown in Bangladesh for additional information.

In another instance, a teenage girl said her father had not returned
from his visit to the shore of the island, prompting the hams to
conduct a search. They got in touch with the on-site health centre and
learned that he had been transported there after nearly drowning
earlier in the day in the shallow waters surrounding the island.

The hams were also able to reassure the family of a 64-year-old stroke
patient. They contacted his family to let him know he required medical assistance and had been airlifted to Kolkata for treatment.

This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(THE STATESMAN, TIMES OF INDIA)

**
ORGANIZERS SCOUTING FOR SITE FOR 2030 WRTC

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Competitors and volunteers are getting ready for the
2026 World Radiosport Team Championship in July, but organizers are
also looking a bit farther down the road - to 2030. Graham Kemp VK4BB
has those details.

GRAHAM: A competition of sorts is taking place among would-be hosts for
the 2030 World Radiosport Team Championship -- and the organisation's Sanctioning Committee has set a deadline of the 15th of February to
receive letters of intent. The letters should include the proposed time
frame and location, the estimated budget with fund-raising plan, and
identify the officers and organising committee.

Letters of intent - or questions about the host-selection process -
should be sent to DougK1DG at gmail dot com. (dougk1dg@gmail.com)

The committee would like to announce the next host during the closing
ceremony of WRTC2026 in July in the UK.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(WRTC)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, listen for the special event callsign HI60UD [H
EYE SIX ZERO YOU DEE] which is on the air to mark the 60th anniversary
of the second oldest amateur radio club in the Dominican Republic, the
Union Dominicana de Radioaficionados. Operators are on the HF bands
using SSB and the digital modes through to the 31st of January.
Preferred QSL is via LoTW but direct and eQSL will be accepted

Chas, NK8O, is on the air as 5H3DX from Tanzania [PRON: TAN ZAN EAR]
until the 9th of February, operating CW and using the digital modes on
20 through 10 metres. If conditions permit, he will also be on 6
metres.

Alex, IW5ELA is active holiday style as 8Q7EL from the Maldives, IOTA
Number AS-013, until the 27th of January, using mainly CW on various HF
bands.

Listen for Aldir, PY1SAD, on the air through to the 23rd of February as
8R1TM from Guyana. He is using CW, SSB and digital modes on 160-6
metres. He is also operating via satellite during the week from 23.00
to 03.00 UTC and more frequently during the weekends.

See the QRZ.om pages for these three stations for QSL and additional information.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: MOTORISTS QUEUE UP FOR "Q" CODES

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Finally, here's our last story for this week. This one,
which originates in New Zealand, has been patiently waiting in queue.
Or is that "waiting in Q," as in the letter Q? Actually, both are
correct - because this story is about Q-signals - but it's also about
cars, and Jim Meachen Zed L 2 BHF is here to give us a cue - or is that
a clue?

JIM: No doubt you've been on the air and heard QSL, QSO and QRZ. If you
check into any nets, you have also likely met up with QNC, QNI and QNF
-- but have you ever encountered any of these while driving? Here in
New Zealand, our cars don't just have turn signals - they have
Q-signals. David, ZL2WT, recently reported to Neil ZL1NZ, the NZ-Net
News net manager, that he's been seeing more and more vehicles with
plates that are sporting all kinds of Q-signals. That's because New
Zealand, which issues three letters and three numerals to each of its
newly registered vehicles, does so in alphabetical order. Not quite two
years ago, the system began issuing plates with the letter "Q."

A busy radio operator, David is always on the alert for a QRZ -- but
when recently spotted one while he was taking a walk, he wasn't
operating pedestrian mobile. It was on the plate of a car at a nearby
QTH. Sadly, he didn't find a QTH -- at least not one that was on a car.
He was ready to locate a QRV, however -- and he did -- parked not far
from his own QTH.

David told Newsline that the worst Q code any car can receive is "QSD."
An enthusiastic CW operator, he knows that it means: "your keying is defective." He told Newsline: "I would not own a vehicle with that
number plate."

Now....I'm not driving but it's time for me to put the brakes on
anyway. Time to go QRT.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(NEIL, ZL1NZ; DAVID, ZL2WT; NZ NET NEWS)

**
Are you ready to write a ham radio haiku? It's easy - even if you've
never written a single line of poetry in your life. Visit our website
at arnewsline.org and as you compose your ode to your favorite
on-the-air activity, we will help you use the correct number of
syllables to make an authentic haiku. Submit your work and then sit
back and wait to hear whether your inspired haiku will be highlighted
on our website, where everyone can read it.


NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to American Red Cross; Ars Technica; David, ZL2WT; David
Behar, K7DB; DW.com; DX News; 425DX Bulletin; Hamvention; James
Gifford, N8KET; KB6NU Blog; LiveScience; NASA; National Weather
Service; Neil, ZL1NZ; NZ Net News; QRZ.com Forums; RadioWorld; shortwaveradio.de; Space.com; The Statesman; Times of India; Wireless
Institute of Australia; WRTC; 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. We wish all our
listeners the very best for the year ahead in 2026. 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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