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Ärende: AR Newsline Report 2540 - 03 July 2026
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2540 for Friday, July 3rd, 2026
 
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2540 with a release date of Friday, July
3rd, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST.  Canada revisits its antenna and tower policies. Could
a "wall" of chemicals weaken solar storms in space? - and a global registry
begins verifying IDs for DMR. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline
Report Number 2540 comes your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
CANADA REVIEWING POLICY ON ANTENNAS, TOWERS

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to Canada where the federal
agency is proposing changes to antenna and tower regulations - changes that
hams support, as we hear from Travis Lisk N3ILS.

TRAVIS: Ham radio operators are among the interested parties weighing in with
Canada's radio regulations agency, which is seeking comment until the 16th of
July on proposed changes to policies covering antennas and towers. Radio
Amateurs of Canada and the Federation of Radio Amateur Clubs of Quebec have
responded in support of many of the changes and are pressing the agency known
as Innovation, Science and Development Canada to modify an existing rule
concerning maximum antenna and tower height. Current law requires consultation
with local authorities when antenna and tower heights are above 15-meters, or
roughly 48 feet. The two amateur radio groups have asked that the height
threshold be raised to 20 meters, or roughly 65 feet, to qualify for the
exemption from consultation.

The joint RAC/RAQI position of support on the changes was explained recently by
Dave Goodwin, VE3KG, the RAC's regulatory affairs officer, in a YouTube
interview with Stuart Crawford VE9CF. Dave told Stuart that the added height
would [quote] "give us that much more latitude" [endquote] in putting up
antenna structures. He said that a  new 20-meter threshold would cover almost
all amateurs.

In Canada, federal policy has final say on antennas, towers and related
structures but under current policy, local land-use authorities and neighbors
must still be informed. The amateur groups also asked for a decrease in the
size of the zone within which hams must respond to neighbors concerns.

Dave told Stuart that although ISED [Eye Said] is proposing these and many
procedural changes primarily to make things easier for commercial wireless
services, the regulations and any benefits would apply to radio amateurs as
well. The RAC has been encouraging amateurs in Canada to submit their feedback
to the agency.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(WIA; OUT AND ABOUT WITH VE9CF)

**
RESEARCHERS CREATE SPACE 'WALL' TO WEAKEN SOLAR STORMS

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Imagine, for a moment, if we could actually repel those severe
solar storms that knock out our ability to communicate? Researchers at Boston
University have already simulated that scenario - with success, as we hear from
Kent Peterson KCØDGY.

KENT: Researchers believe they have developed an effective line of defense
against geomagnetic storms that would protect radio communications, GPS
systems, electrical grids and satellites from disruption. It's not quite a
vaccination against storms, but it provides what the scientists are calling a
bold line of defense. The system, known as StormWall, has emerged from research
and computer simulations by a Boston University team led by associate
engineering professor Brian Walsh.

Using computer modeling, the researchers said they have found a way to fortify
earth's natural magnetic defenses against geomagnetic storms by deploying a
half-dozen spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. The six spacecraft would be used
to release sodium, calcium, lithium, barium and other materials into space for
ionization by the sun, creating an artificial cloud of electrically charged
plasma. Writing in the journal Space Weather, the team said that process would
slow the storm's rate of penetration into our planet's magnetic shield,
reducing its power by more than 50 percent.

StormWall, of course, resides only in theory at the moment but the researchers
believe it shows promise globally. They said the risk of contamination from the
released chemicals would be insignificant because solar wind would disperse the
material within several hours, preventing any entry into the Earth's
atmosphere.

This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.

(SPACE.COM, AMSAT NEWS)

**
HOMECOMING FOR COLLECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

SKEETER/ANCHOR: The Collective Communications Group, established four years ago
in Ireland, has just celebrated a homecoming that was years in the making. Dave
Lee M9TLB tells us about it.

DAVE: A radio shack overlooking Ballyscanlon Lake has been transformed into a
new home for the Collective Communications Group which has served as a radio
family for four years for hams, citizens band operators and PMR 446
enthusiasts.

Having a new address means it's going to be a busy season for the 73-member
group. Its radio room is set up near space used by the 35th Copper Coast Scout
Group. The scouts and the radio club have enjoyed an ongoing relationship since
their earliest Jamboree on the Air together -- and the scouts, who are learning
radio and basic electronics from their new neighbours, can expect to start
using the ham shack under supervision.

The club was organised by John Tubritt EI3HQB in 2022 in Kilmurrin Cove,
Waterford with the help of Wayne EI7HKB and shortwave listener Alex EI1895.
John told Newsline that they operated out of Wayne's van until they were able
to obtain and renovate a mobile shack complete with solar setup and full
kitchen.

Having a dedicated club house overlooking the lake is an important step
forward. John told Newsline [quote] "We have great plans for the future with
youth in our hobby." [endquote]

To join the opening-day party for the new clubhouse, visit the group's YouTube
channel, Collective Communications EI3CC.

This is Dave Lee M9TLB.

(STEVEN WRIGHT, EI5DD; JOHN TUBRITT, EI3HQB)

**
GLOBAL REGISTRY BEGINS VERIFICATION OF DMR IDS

SKEETER/ANCHOR: As DMR radio grows more popular each year, the registry in
charge of users' ID numbers has launched a verification process that it hopes
will ultimately avoid a shortage of available numbers. Jeremy Boot G4NJH
explains.  

JEREMY: Faced with managing a finite universe of digital radio ID numbers, the
global registry RadioID dot net (RadioID.net) has begun contacting users to
verify their assigned IDs. An announcement on the registry's website said that
the verification process, which began on the 1st of July, is expected to lead
to the deactivation of ID numbers for account holders who do not respond to
emails sent to them annually on the anniversary of an account's creation.

Ultimately, deactivated IDs will be marked for removal from the database and
will then become available for reassignment to new users.

For more details about the process, read the community notice posted at RadioID
dot net (RadioID.net)

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RADIOID.NET)

**
FCC'S $3.5 BILLION SPECTRUM AUCTION IS 1ST IN FOUR YEARS

SKEETER/ANCHOR: The FCC held its first spectrum auction in four years and Jack
Parker W8ISH is here to tell us about it.

JACK: With an estimated 800 MHz of spectrum earmarked for auction by 2034 by
the Federal Communications Commission, the agency recently completed its first
auction in four years. According to news reports, the total value of the bids
exceeded $3.5 billion.

The offering was for four licenses in three major US cities - two in Chicago
and one each in Boston and New York. The competitive bidding that concluded on
the 23rd of June was designed to ensure commercial use for these parts of the
spectrum. The frequencies are part of the Advanced Wireless Services, or AWS-3,
bands used by the major mobile carriers.

The agency is now preparing to accept bids next year for at least 100 MHz in
the Upper C-Band, from 3.98 GHz to 4.2 GHz.

This is Jack Parker W8ISH.

(BROADBAND BREAKFAST.COM)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the WDØHWT
repeater of the Metro Area Repeater Association in White Bear Lake, Minnesota,
on Sunday evenings at 7.

**
NETS OF NOTE: THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REPEATER GROUP

SKEETER/ANCHOR: As part of our occasional series, Nets of Note, Newsline looks
at nets in different parts of the world that are helping to unite the amateur
radio community. This week, Graham Kemp VK4BB gives us a look at a startup net
in South Australia.

GRAHAM: A growing group of radio operators in South Australia has been finding
its voice on the Adelaide Linked Repeater Network. The South Australian
Repeater Group launched its weekly net on the 17th of June and is hoping to
attract increasing numbers of hams to the Wednesday net as the group itself
continues to grow beyond its current membership of 50. Check-ins begin at 20:00
hours local time -- that's 10:30 hours UTC

The repeater group has also established  a webpage at SARG.AU where it hopes to
provide information about group activities to members and prospective members.

One of its related projects is the update of its Meshcore Repeaters throughout
the Adelaide Plains and the Fleurieu Peninsula. According to the website, this
repeater network will provide even more backup if disaster strikes and
compromises the communications infrastructure.

For more details about the net or the repeater group's plans, visit sarg.au and
click on the link at the top of the page that says "CONTACT US."

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(WIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA REPEATER GROUP)

**
MAUI'S FIELD DAY COMBINES RADIO WITH RECRUITMENT

SKEETER/ANCHOR: Like so many radio amateurs around the US and Canada, hams
taking part in ARRL Field Day at the University of Hawaii's Maui College were
demonstrating off-the-grid emergency preparedness and showing the public what
ham radio is all about. In Maui, however, the hams added something more to the
agenda for about eight hours on Saturday. John Williams VK4JJW explains.

JOHN: ARRL Field Day wasn't the only thing in the air on the weekend of June
27th and 28th in the Pacific region. Hurricane season was also on its way. So
the customary demonstrations of ham radio operations that licensed operators
provide to the public during the annual ARRL Field Day took on a new purpose -
recruitment - as the Maui hams worked hard to build a more robust emergency
communications network to serve the region in the months ahead.

While amateurs made an extra effort to connect with other hams so they could
fill their logs and have a respectable score at the end of the 24-hour event,
hams like Bill Heyde, KH6UU, coordinator of Maui County Amateur Radio Emergency
Services, were also busy making contacts with visitors who were not yet hams -
but showed an interest in getting a license. Bill told the Hawaii News that
he's been licensed since 1982 and so when hurricane Iwa [PRON: EE-VAH] struck
later that year, he understood well the value of emergency communications.

That's a lesson he hopes will have been passed on by Field Day 2026 on Maui.

The US National Weather Service expects the central Pacific basin to experience
an above-normal hurricane season, which runs through the 30th of November.

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(HAWAII NEWS NOW, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Aldir, PY1SAD is on the air as 8R1TM from Guyana until the
26th of July. He is using CW, SSB and the digital modes on 160-6 metres and
will also be operating via satellite from 23:00 to 03:00 UTC during the week,
and for longer periods during the weekends.

Listen for the special callsign DLØSOP until the 31st of July. Operators are
calling CW for the Sea of Peace Award made available by the DARC.

Kou, JP1IHD, will be on the air as JD1BQP from Chichijima [CHEE CHEE JEE MUH],
IOTA Number AS-031, until the 11th of July.

For operating and QSL details about any of these stations, see QRZ.com

Meanwhile, if you're planning to chase any of the stations competing in the
World Radiosport Team Championship you may qualify for one of the competition's
chaser awards. Awards will be given for contacts made between the 11th of July
at 1200 UTC and the 12th of July at 1159 UTC. Chasers may work each WRTC
station once per band and mode. For details see the link in the text version of
this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

[DO NOT READ:  https://www.wrtc2026.org/wrtc-2026-competition-awards/]

(425 DX BULLETIN, WRTC)

**
KICKER: IN THE UK, BBC LONGWAVE WAVES FAREWELL

SKEETER/ANCHOR: After more than 90 years, BBC Radio 4 went silent on its
longwave frequency of 198 kHz on the 27th of June. Although listeners in the UK
and parts of Europe are surely missing such broadcasts as the test match
specials and the shipping forecasts, amateur radio operators' fondness goes
deeper than that, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH, in this week's final
story. 

JEREMY: You can still hear BBC Radio 4 programs on FM radio, DAB digital
platforms, where the sounds are clearer and do not suffer from any of
longwave's notorious noise. To amateur radio operators, however, the scratchy
sound emanating around the Droitwich transmitting station's signal was part of
the long wave station's charm.
Preparing for the loss, hams at the Radio Society of Great Britain and the BBC
Amateur Radio Group activated special event stations during the week leading up
to the final shutdown.

Appearing on BBC One's morning TV show, BBC Breakfast, the RSGB's Nick
Totterdell, G4FAL, told the programme hosts that it was the older technology's
ability to function reliably that appealed to so many radio amateurs. Nick said
that many hams would, for example, use the longwave transmissions' precise
frequency as a frequency reference when they were building test equipment.

To hams, BBC Radio 4 was less about progress in the modern world than endurance
through the decades. The only thing that endures - for now - on 198 kHz is
silence.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(BBC BREAKFAST)

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, AMSAT News; ARRL; BBC Breakfast; Broadband
Breakfast; Collective Communications; David Behar, K7DB; 425DX News; Hawaii
News Now; John Tubritt EI3HQB; National Weather Service; Out and About with
VE9CF; QRZ.com; RadioID.net; shortwaveradio.de; South Australia Repeater Group.
Space.com; Steven Wright EI5DD; Wireless Institute of Australia; World
Radiosport Team Championship; 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 Skeeter Nash N5ASH in Jonesboro Arkansas 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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 Rug Rat (Brent Hendricks)
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