Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2548 for Friday, August 28th, 2026
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2548 with a release date of
Friday, August 28th, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. A special event recalls the terror attacks of
9/11. Interference plagues some South African repeaters.-- and a
special request from amateurs in Bangladesh. All this and more as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2548 comes your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART
**
AMATEURS RECALL 9/11 TERROR ATTACKS ON 25th ANNIVERSARY

PAUL/ANCHOR: A quarter century has passed since the deadly terror
attacks from the sky that destroyed the Twin Towers in New York City,
damaged the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C., and led to a
disastrous plane crash in a rural Pennsylvania field. As the nation and
the world remember Sept. 11, 2001, so, too, do amateur radio operators
in a special event. Randy Sly W4XJ gives us the details.

RANDY: The heroes will be celebrated while the victims will be mourned
and remembered as members of the Alabama Contest Group return with
special event station K4A and the message, "9/11, We Do Remember."

The group has organized this year's event, as it has every year, since
those are memories meant to be shared as a community. From the 9th
through the 13th of September, volunteer operators will be calling CQ
and will be listening for stories and memories of that day, the heroism
and the heartbreak.

There will be a commemorative QSL card and a full-color certificate at
the end of the event. The Smoke Signals newsletter will also be
publishing many of the stories that operators hear during their
contacts as K4A operators.

Operators will be on all bands using SSB, CW, RTTY, and FT8.

If this date has a special meaning for you, consider joining the team
of activators. You can send an email to Bob WA1FCN at
wa1fcn@charter.net

For other details, visit the K4A page on QRZ.com

This is Randy Sly W4XJ.

(ALABAMA CONTEST GROUP)

**
AST SPACEMOBILE'S TESTS ON 800 MHz END ON SEPT. 12

PAUL/ANCHOR: An FCC-approved test of direct-to-device satellite cell
service is set to end in early September, as we hear from Kent Peterson
KC0DGY.

KENT: The Federal Communications Commission has given a Texas satellite communications company until the 12th of September to complete its
trial use of the 800 MHz spectrum for direct-to-device cellular
broadband service. AST SpaceMobile has been operating under a 30-day
permit for delivery to mobile phones in Lanham [LANNUM], Maryland and
near its own Midland, Texas headquarters. The direct-to-device trial is
being run with consumers' everyday phones.

The regulator granted the approval in April for AST to use frequencies
between 817MHz and 824MHz for uplink and between 862MHz and 869MHz for downlink. AST SpaceMobile has strategic partnerships with cellular
providers Verizon and AT&T.

The Texas startup company is a rival of SpaceX, which operates the
StarLink satellite constellation, which is also involved in
direct-to-device operations. AST SpaceMobile stirred controversy
earlier this year after the FCC granted it limited use of part of the
secondary amateur band between 430 and 440 MHz for emergency telemetry, tracking and control of its satellites. The FCC has said in the past
that interference with ham radio was "unlikely."

This is Kent Peterson KC0DGY.

(LIGHT READING, FCC)

**
GRANT WILL FUND PENNSYLVANIA STUDENT CLUB'S EXPANSION

PAUL/ANCHOR: The coming school year is going to be a lot more
interesting for students in the Advanced Technologies Group, a student
ham radio club at one high school in Pennsylvania. Travis Lisk, N3ILS,
tells us more.

TRAVIS: This school project isn't one for the books. It's one for the
radios! As students prepare for the start of the academic year, plans
are moving forward to expand the amateur radio program at Harbor Creek
High School near the city of Erie. The student ham radio club, KC3SGV,
has received a grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications to
outfit a new radio center that will be the gathering spot for the
after-school club. During the day, the center will serve as a
laboratory for wireless technology classes where students can
experiment with digital modes, test antennas and engage in ham radio
contests. The station is designed to operate on-site as well as
remotely.

This is only the latest project for this active ham radio group. In
December of 2023, the students had a direct QSO with astronaut Andreas
Mogensen KG5GCZ aboard the International Space Station using antennas
and radio systems that they developed, built, and installed themselves.

Club members and leaders are hoping to spread the excitement about the
radio lab by documenting everything they do, while establishing this
new resource so other schools in the area can see how to set up or
expand their own amateur radio programs.

This is Travis Lisk, N3ILS.

(ARDC)

**
SOUTH AFRICAN REGULATOR TRACKS REPEATER INTERFERENCE.

PAUL/ANCHOR: Authorities believe they have made progress in shutting
down interference plaguing a repeater network in South Africa, as we
hear from Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

JASON: An investigation by South Africa's communications regulator has identified a business that authorities believe disrupted a number of
amateur radio repeaters throughout the province of Gauteng. According
to media reports, the illegal interference on the band between 430 MHz
and 440 MHz was determined to have come from commercial radio
equipment.

The nation's regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of
South Africa, said it has traced the interference to a business in the
city of Germiston in the East Rand region of Gauteng.

News reports said that the regulator received help from volunteers of
the South African Radio League's HAMNET Gauteng division. According to
various reports, the HAMNET operators began tracking the transmissions
in response to reports from amateurs trying to use the repeaters in the
East Rand.

The regulator has not released the name of the company publicly due to
legal proceedings under way.

This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(WIA, CAXTON NETWORK NEWS)

**
COUNCIL DENIES SCOTTISH AMATEUR'S REQUEST FOR MAST

PAUL/ANCHOR: In a scene familiar to many hams in the US and elsewhere,
a local council in Scotland has rejected a homeowners application to
install a mast for his ham radio station, as we hear from Dave
LeeM9TLB.

DAVE: Calling it "unacceptable" and "overbearing," local councillors
have denied a Kirkcaldy homeowner's proposal for a ham radio mast
standing 11-meters, or 36 feet, tall.

Krzysztof Swierczynski MM0IMU had applied for authorisation several
months ago, telling the Council that he would only raise the mast to
its full height when he needed to use it. He said in a statement:
[quote] "Amateur radio is a nationally and internationally recognised
technical hobby which promotes engineering skills, experimentation and international communication, and can provide valuable emergency
communications when required." [endquote]

Councillors rejected the mast as unsuitable for a residential area,
saying its impact on neighbouring homes and rear gardens would be
"overbearing" and beyond the character of the area.

The ham defended his application, saying it supports lawful ham radio
activity. The website, Fife Today, quoted him as saying: [quote] "These
roles are acknowledged in the Scottish Government's national planning
guidance which supports reasonable development by licensed radio
amateurs." [endquote]

This is Dave Lee M9TLB.

(FIFE TODAY)

**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the ZS0MOT (Zed Ess Zero Em Oh Tee) repeater in Middelburg South Africa
on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. local time.

**
BANGLADESH RADIO SOCIETY ASKS HAMS TO SUPPORT TRANSPONDER REQUEST

PAUL/ANCHOR: As Bangladesh prepares for its second satellite, hams
there are hoping it will carry an amateur radio transponder. Graham
Kemp VK4BB tells how you can help.

GRAHAM: The Amateur Radio Society of Bangladesh hopes to add the voices
of satellite enthusiasts around the globe to their own call for an
amateur radio transponder aboard the nation's second satellite.

While the Bangladesh Satellite-2 is still in the planning stages, the
radio society has applied to the Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited
for the dedicated amateur radio payload. A petition is currently being circulated, asking for others to stress the importance of getting it
approved. The transponder could be used for ham radio communication,
emergency and disaster communication and technical education and experimentation.

The satellite is intended to be an Earth observation satellite and it
would be the nation's second satellite to be launched. The radio
society believes that a petition, adding the voices of the
international ham radio community, would underscore the need for the transponder.

To see the petition, visit the link in the text version of this week's
newscast at arnewsline.org

[DO NOT READ: https://s21arsb.com/international-petiton-support

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(AMSAT NEWS, AMSAT-UK)

**
REGISTRATION OPENS FOR ZERO RETRIES DIGITAL CONFERENCE

PAUL/ANCHOR: Registration has opened for the Zero Retries Digital
Conference in San Ramon, California, where technology enthusiasts, experimenters, engineers and ham radio operators will explore emerging technologies and digital communications. The conference will be held on
Friday the 16th of October at the Roundhouse Conference Center. This is
its second year.

For programming details or to register, visit the link in the text
version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

[DO NOT READ: https://www.zeroretries.org/p/conference ]

(ZERO RETRIES NEWSLETTER)

**
MARYLAND HAMS SUPPORT 6th ANNUAL HACKATHON FOR TEENS

PAUL/ANCHOR: Ham radio will have a strong presence at a Maryland
Hackathon for teenagers that is being hosted at a regional library. Sel
Embee KB3TZD has those details.

SEL: The sixth annual Hackathon for teenagers, hosted by the 780th
Military Intelligence Brigade in Maryland, will focus on science,
technology, engineering and mathematics - with amateur radio in the
mix. The event at the Odenton Regional Library on the 29th of September
is a project of the civilians and soldiers at Fort Meade, who will
showcase Python programming challenges, cybersecurity issues, reverse engineering and logic games.

Members of the Maryland Mobileers Amateur Radio Club will be joining
the event to demonstrate different methods of wireless communication to
the teens. The ham club's commitment to nurturing youthful interest in
ham radio is evident on its website, which explains how the Maryland
Mobileers Youth Amateur Radio Club shares the radio experience with
children and teens, including through Parks on the Air activations.

This is Sel Embee KB3TZD.

(MILITARY INTELLIGENCE BRIGADE, MARYLAND MOBILEERS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)

**

RSGB'S "CODING WEEK" BLENDS RADIO WITH PROGRAMMING SKILLS

PAUL/ANCHOR: Programming has become an increasingly important part of
amateur radio and the Radio Society of Great Britain is bringing back
an event known as National Coding Week. Its goal is to help hams gain
knowledge and confidence. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us what's involved.

JEREMY: The days between the 14th and 20th of September are being set
aside as National Coding Week. The Outreach Team of the Radio Society
of Great Britain is devoting the week to providing hams with activities
that will sharpen their digital skills and familiarise them with the
kind of programming needed in amateur radio. The emphasis is on
problem-solving - something basic to amateur radio. Worksheets are
available on the RSGB website that can help hams get started. There are
two challenges involving micro:bits, including one that can be used to
send CW wirelessly or via a telegraph wire. Another small project makes
use of the language of the Arduino with the Raspberry Pi Pico.

Follow the link that appears in the text version of this week's
newscast for more details.

[DO NOT READ: rsgb.org/main/coding-and-amateur-radio]

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RSGB)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, listen for Graham, MM8IJU and Eric, GM5RDX using
the callsign J38LD and J38DX, respectively, from Grenada, IOTA Number
NA-024, from the 1st through to the 12th of September. They will
be using SSB and FT8/FT4 on 80-6 metres.

Listen for the special callsign TF80IRA which is on the air through the
31st of December, marking the upcoming 80th anniversary since the
founding of Icelandic Radio Amateurs, the nation's IARU member society.
The actual date of the founding was the 14th of August 1947.

Another anniversary is being celebrated in Poland. A number of special
event callsigns will be used to call CQ to mark the 100th anniversary
of the Polish State Railways from the 1st through to the 30th of
September. The callsigns include 3Z100PKP, HF100PKP and several others
with different prefixes, all ending in 100PKP.

Hanspeter, HB9BFM, is using the callsign V5/HB9BFM from a number of
different locations in Namibia where he will be on the air until the
20th of September.

Miguel, LX1MDA, is operating holiday-style as CT9/LX1MDA from the
Madeira Islands, IOTA number AF-014, until the 6th of September. Listen
for him on 40-10 metres where he will be operating SSB and FT8.

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

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: MEET CARSTEN GLASBRENER, KQ4SJM, NEWSLINE'S YOUNG HAM OF
THEYEAR

PAUL/ANCHOR: Our final story celebrates Newsline's Young Ham of the
Year for 2026, and Don Wilbanks AE5DW was in Huntsville, Alabama to congratulate him. Don?

DON: The third weekend in August is the culminaton of a lot of what
Amateur Radio Newsline does besides produce a weekly newscast. It's the Huntsville Hamfest and our Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the
Year award presentation. Bill was a huge believer in promoting youth in
amateur radio and created the award back in 1986, 40 years ago now, to
promote and celebrate the amazing things youth are doing in and with
the hobby. Our 2026 recipient, Carsten Glasbrener KQ4SJM is a perfect reflection of that. Licensed at age 11, now 14 and a General, Carsten
has over 100 satellite contacts and is an AMSAT ambassador, thanks in
large part to his father, Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA, AMSAT-NA president.

Here are Carsten's remarks:

"Thank you. Ever since a young age I've always been around radios with
my dad, couldn't have done it without him. I also want to thank Mark
Hammond N8MH for nominating me for the award. Really grateful for
everything."

Next up is John Kruk N9UPC of Yaesu USA:

"When I started with Yaesu back in 2017 Dennis Motschenbacher K7BV, who
is now a Silent Key, said one of the most important things about the
Huntsville Hamfest was ham radio youth on there, and each year we did
this award and Yaesu USA is always proud to be part of it. This year
and each year we do we try to find out what would be a good donation
to, or a prize I should say for the winner of it and by default, your
dad helped us pick this one out. We are more than happy to give him an
FTM-510D mobile radio, which has the ability to work satellites. We
thought how fitting to do that. On behalf of Yaesu USA, congratulations
and here's your gift."

In addition to the radio, Heil Ham Radio presented Carsten a BM-17 dual
sided headset, the proper Yaesu adapter for the headset and a foot
switch. We could not do this without our friends at Yaesu USA and Heil
Ham Radio.

Now we rest until March 2027 when the nominating period opens for next
year. Until then, congratulations to Carsten, you're now part of the
Newsline family, and we could not be more proud.

I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW.

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to the Alabama Contest Group Amateur Radio Daily, Amateur
Radio Digital Communications; AMSAT News; AMSAT-UK; Caxton Network
News; David Behar, K7DB; 425 DX Bulletin; FCC; Fife Today;
LightReading.com; Maryland Mobileers Amateur Radio Club; Military
Intelligence Brigade; QRZ.com; Wireless Institute of Australia; Zero
Retries newsletter; 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 Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso Indiana
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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