Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2533 for Friday, May 15th, 2026
 
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2533 with a release date of Friday, May 15th, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Unlocking the mysteries of Sporadic E-Skip. An amateur radio tribute saying goodbye to three BBC long-wave transmitters -- and in New Zealand, a recruitment drive begins in the aftermath of a cyclone.  All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2533 comes your way right now.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**
PROJECT PURSUES MYSTERIES OF SPORADIC E-SKIP

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We begin this week with a new project by a ham radio operator who is trying to unlock the mysteries of sporadic E-skip. Andy Morrison K9AWM tells us what the project is looking at - and how you can look at it too.

ANDY: Loyd Van Horn, W4LVH, is a fan of mysteries and there are perhaps few ham radio mysteries greater than that of Sporadic E-skip which makes its appearance on VHF in the Northern Hemisphere every year at about this time.

Loyd is the force behind DX Central, a resource for DXers that does, among many things, data analysis. This month he unveiled SEDAP, an acronym for his Sporadic Es Data Analysis Project. It can be found at fmdxdata.com and is free to use by hams, educators and anyone with a hobbyist's interest in this special season that turns propagation magical in the eyes of many.

He writes on the website SWLing Post that he compiled more than 95,000 FM broadcast logs from North America to get the data relevant for the project, which goes beyond simple spreadsheets by adding interactive visualizations.

He writes: [quote] "SEDAP allows us to physically watch ionospheric clouds spawn, compress and track across the continent in real-time. We can finally see what a typical season looks like on a macroscopic level." [endquote]

He told the Radio World website that he also plans to include amateur radio data from 6 metres. He said that will permit analysis of days that had no propagation alongside days with active openings - days on which the maximum usable frequency did not reach the FM broadcast band.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(SWLING POST, RADIO WORLD)

**
UK HAMS PLAN TRIBUTE TO BBC TRANSMITTERS MARKED FOR SHUTDOWN

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: There's always been a strong affinity between amateur radio and our colleagues in broadcasting. So whenever there's a change, or an end to things, hams take notice - as they will be doing in the UK this year where the BBC is shutting down its long-wave radio service on June 27th. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us what's next.

JEREMY: Commissioned in 1934, the BBC's Droitwich long-wave transmitter went on the air delivering programming at what was to become a major facility. It played an important role in occupied Europe during wartime. Over the decades that followed, its broadcast programmes became the background to so many lives throughout the UK. 

Responding to the BBC's announcement of this year's shutdown of the Droitwich Transmitter, as well as Long Wave transmitters at Burghead and Westerglen in Scotland, amateur radio operators have plans to mark the end of the era. The BBC Amateur Radio Group and the Radio Society of Great Britain are planning an on-air event and are looking for hams around the UK to participate.

Meanwhile, hams are being asked to let organizers know they are interested by emailing contestclub at rsgb dot org (ContestClub@rsgbcc.org)

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH. 

(SCOTLAND ON AIR, RSGB, BBC, KEEPLONGWAVE.CO.UK)

**
AUSTRALIAN RADIOCOMMUNICATION LICENSES GET NEW WEBSITE

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In Australia, the nation's regulator has introduced a new website for radiocommunication licenses, as we hear from John Williams VK4JJW.

JOHN: A new website for broadcast and other radiocommunication licences has gone live in Australia, with changes designed to simplify searches by offering a variety of filters along with customisable options for the export of data.

This replaces the older website, which the Australian Communications and Media Authority will keep online until the 10th of June during the transition period. The new site does not contain data about any class licences, which include citizens band and amateur radio. Australia introduced the amateur class licence in February of 2024 in a sweeping change that replaced individual amateur radio licences.

The ACMA has also designed the new site a resource for broadcast licence applicants, who may see what frequencies are available and other relevant information.

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(ACMA)

**
NEW ZEALAND CYCLONE REVS UP RECRUITMENT DRIVE

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A recent cyclone that hit New Zealand has left its mark - not just on the country's East Coast but among emergency communicators there, who are stepping up their recruitment efforts as a result. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF has those details.

JIM: Volunteers from Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Tauranga answered the call in April when the severe storm known as Cyclone Vaianu approached the coast. Tairāwhiti Emergency Management in Gisborne was asking that the hams keep communication lines open throughout that tense weekend. AREC members were able to staff the emergency centre radios which are connected to remote community civil defence teams.

The volunteers were reminded that this is the very purpose for which AREC was established in 1932 and the reason it has since evolved into something that Civil Defence, Search and Rescue and police can rely on. Last month, three of the Tauranga volunteers went to Gisborne and worked in shifts around the clock to ensure welfare checks were made and community contact was maintained, especially in the most remote areas. One community ended up having a power failure - and their backup power did not function either - and so the AREC volunteers got that addressed.

AREC also created a nationwide safety net on the HF bands.

The team is now hoping to grow even stronger by adding trained volunteers and put out a call through local media to ask that interested people contact them.

Group leader Joanne Watson ZL1JDR told the SunLive website: [quote] "You never know when your skills might be the link that keeps someone connected." [endquote]

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(NZNET, SUNLIVE)

**
SILENT KEY: ROSS MERLIN, WA2WDT. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONAL

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: An important and influential figure in disaster communications in the United Stated has become a Silent Key. We learn about his contributions from Travis Lisk N3ILS.

TRAVIS: If you are involved in emergency communications or security, it is likely you're familiar with the name of Ross Merlin, WA2WDT.

Ross became a Silent Key on the 3rd of May.

A former radio communications professional with National Disaster Medical Services, he had a long government career that also included serving as manager of the National Emergency Radio System of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He had also been a board member of the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation, which funds and operates Winlink. Ross is credited with being one of the creators of a Winlink network on a number of government radio channels.

Ross wrote the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide published by the US Department of Homeland Security and later served as program manager of the department's Shared Resources HF Radio Program.

Licensed in 1974, he enjoyed DXing, contesting, automatic link establishment and the digital modes. He had also held a General Radiotelephone Operator License.

He was 67.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(ARRL LETTER, QRZ.COM, HAMVENTION 2019) 

**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world -- and this week only, you will hear selected stories featured on the Hamvention Information Station WPVW-207 on 1620 AM in and around Xenia, Ohio. If you're in Xenia, you can find the station itself in Booth #1002 in Building #1.

**
TIME TO NOMINATE THE NEXT YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We're into the second half of May. If you haven't yet nominated a candidate for the Amateur Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Young Ham of the Year award, you're running out of time. You only have until the 31st of May -- and it is coming up fast! Nominees must be licensed hams who are 18 years of age or younger and they must reside in the continental United States.

Visit our website – arnewsline-dot-org and find the nomination form under the awards tab. Submit the documentation that tells us how your nominee has played an important role, not just in the community of fellow amateurs but in the community at large. 

**

OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE MODEM CALLED A VARA REPLACEMENT

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A US-based company has developed an open-source software modem for HF Digital and other uses, as we hear from Paul Braun WD9GCO.

PAUL: Developers have announced the release of Mercury, an open-source software modem that they are calling a replacement for Vara. Mercury is a digital radio OFDM protocol, which can be used for HF broadcast and peer-to-peer ARQ connections with compatible TCP interfaces.

According to Peter Bloom, general coordinator of the developer Rhizomatica, Mercury is compatible with Windows, Linux and a number of non-Intel architectures. 

Peter told Newsline that Mercury, the newest element of Rhizomatica's HERMES software suite, it is built for reliable store-and-forward email and file transfer over HF radio links. He said it is compatible with most HF transceivers and it complies with ham radio use. The project coordinator is  Rafael Diniz, PU2UIT. 

He said that Mercury has a number of advantages over Vara, including improved performance over high-SNR links.

There is no license fee. Find additional details at the website that appears in the text version of this week's report at arnewsline.org

This is Paul Braun WD9GCO.

[DO NOT READ: https://www.rhizomatica.org ] 

**
WIA ASKS FOR CHANGES IN SUB-ANTARCTIC CALL PREFIXES

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The Australian regulator is being asked to change some callsign prefixes in the sub-Antarctic, as we hear from Graham Kemp VK4BB.

GRAHAM: The Wireless Institute of Australia has responded to the regulator's request for input on its Five-Year Spectrum Outlook, spanning 2026 through to 2031, and its Work Program, spanning 2026-2027. It is asking that the Australian Communications and Media Authority improve spectrum access to support experimentation and emerging technologies; modernise regulation of repeaters and beacons; and develop a staged EME competence framework that will give amateurs greater access to operating at increased power safely. The WIA has been actively seeking greater power for hams since 2013. It told the ACMA that increased power for the class licence should be backed up by training, certification and communications industry best practices.

The WIA has also asked that the callsign prefixes be changed in the sub-Antarctic, restoring VKØ for operations on Heard Island and Macquarie Island, which are now assigned the VK9 prefix of Australian external territories. The WIA is also proposing that the VK9 prefix be restored for Lord Howe Island, which is presently assigned VK2.  

The response to the consultation highlights ham radio's key role in STEM, innovation and emergency communications, noting that a number of the issues it has raised address barriers to ham radio's growth and operators' participation and efficiency.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(WIA)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Nobu JAØJHQ will be on the air from Palau as T88PB from the 27th through to the 31st of May and again from the 20th through to the 22nd of June. Nobu will participate in the CQ WPX CW contest and the All Asian DX CW contest.

Dave. G4WXJ, will be using the callsign ZC4RH from UK Sovereign Base Areas from May 23 through to the 30th. He will operate CW, SSB, FT4 and FT8. 

Pete, M1PTR, and Kieron, M5KJM / EI6KP, will be on the air from Aranmore Island, IOTA Number EU‑121, from the 21st through to the 23rd of May, using the callsign EJ6KP. Listen on 15, 20 and 40 metres where they will be using SSB.

The Radio Amateur Association of Western Greece, SZ1A, is using special callsign SZ40A until the 31st of May to mark its 40 years serving the amateur radio community.  Operators will be on the HF bands using several modes.

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

(RSGB, DX WORLD)

**
KICKER: A-ROVING THEY WILL GO

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We end this week with the thought that, if one park is fun to activate, two parks are twice as much fun Operators in Ireland are trying for five times as much fun by doing their first Parks on the Air rove - as a group activity. Dave Lee M7TLB takes us along for the ride.

DAVE: Members of the TOG Hackerspace and South Dublin Radio Club are no strangers to experimentation. Tinkerers, amateurs, makers and experimenters all find a welcome home in Dublin where the ham radio club station, EIØTOG, has its headquarters.

The radio operators are now working on yet another experiment - their first POTA Rover Day - in the hope of activating five POTA designated parks in a single UTC day, qualifying them for the POTA Rover Warthog Award.

Their shared daylong adventure is planned for Sunday the 31st of May. While they're not looking to bag an actual warthog - the tusks and tempers of these sub-Saharan mammals can be quite intimidating - they are going for five successful activations and as many QSOs as possible. As club members note on the TOG Hackerspace website: [quote] "This could be a great idea, or it could totally fall apart, but that is all part of the fun. Amateur radio has always had that experimental side to it, and a day like this has a real sense of adventure." [endquote] One ham plans to take the spirit of adventure to the extreme. He hopes to make the trip on his bicycle.

Be listening for EIØTOG and help them catch that warthog. This would not only be the first such award for the club, it would be the first warthog - wild or figurative - to actually find a habitat in the Republic of Ireland.

This is Dave Lee M7TLB.

(TOG HACKERSPACE, SOUTH DUBLIN RADIO CLUB, IRTS)

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to the ACMA; Amateur Radio Daily, AMSAT News; the ARRL Letter, David Behar, K7DB; DX World; FCC; 425DX News; Hamvention 2019; the IRTS; NZNet; QRZ.com; Radio World; Radio Society of Great Britain; Rhizomatica; ScotlandOnAir; shortwaveradio.de; South Dublin Radio Club; SunLive; SWLing Post; TOG Hackerspace; 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 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.