MSGID: 1:135/250@fidonet 688d5965   
   PID: C-NET AMIGA BBS 5.36b   
   Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2492 for Friday, August 1st, 2025   
        
   Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2492 with a release date of Friday,   
   August 1st, 2025 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. A worldwide response to broadband satellite's proposed   
   use of the ham bands. New callsigns in Sweden and India -- and HamTV is back   
   on the air! All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2492   
   comes your way right now.   
      
   **    
   BILLBOARD CART   
      
   **   
   INT'L RESPONSE TO FCC FILING FOR HAM RADIO FREQUENCIES   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to Washington, D.C., where the FCC has been   
   receiving filings from individuals and groups speaking out in response to the   
   proposed use of amateur frequencies by a broadband communications business.   
   The response has gathered international momentum, as we hear from Jeremy Boot   
   G4NJH.   
      
   JEREMY: Several International Amateur Radio Union societies and more than   
   2,000 individuals have filed their concerns with the US Federal Communications   
   Commission over a request by a US broadband communications company' to use   
   frequencies between 430 and 440 MHz for a planned constellation of 240   
   commercial satellites.   
      
   AST SpaceMobile was recently approved for the use of the amateur radio band on   
   an experimental basis for a low-earth orbit satellite known as FM1, which is   
   the prototype for the company's planned mobile phone connectivity from space.   
   The FCC has assigned the callsign WP2XRX, which expires on 1st July, 2027.   
      
   The Texas-based company, a rival of SpaceX, is developing its network in   
   association with AT&T and Verizon. SpaceX is partnering with T-Mobile.   
      
   The Radio Society of Great Britain, referring on its website to its own filing   
   to the FCC, said that the company's proposal for its constellation has stirred   
   [quote] "an unprecedented response from the amateur radio community."   
   [endquote]   
      
   This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.   
      
   (RSGB, FCC)    
      
   **   
   INDIA, SWEDEN INTRODUCE NEW CALLSIGN SUFFIXES, PREFIXES   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: If you've been listening around on the bands during the past few   
   months, you may have heard some new personal callsigns on the air that have   
   very different prefixes or suffixes - with good reason. Jason Daniels VK2LAW   
   explains what's going on.   
      
   JASON: Hams who'd made contact with radio operators in India or Sweden - or   
   who have perhaps just heard them on the air - have been hearing these   
   operators identify themselves with callsigns that, until this year, did not   
   exist. In India, newly licensed amateur stations have been assigned new   
   suffixes since the 25th of June. Although the existing, older callsign forms   
   have not changed, new General Grade licenses, which are assigned a VU2 prefix,   
   now get a combination of numbers and letters, creating callsigns such as   
   VU22DX or VU29AR. Likewise, Restricted Grade licenses, which are assigned a   
   VU3 prefix, are receiving suffixes of two numbers and three letters, creating   
   callsigns such as VU33ABS.   
      
   Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, the assistant director of the National Institute of   
   Amateur Radio, told Newsline that the changes are a direct result of ham   
   radio's growth in India. He wrote, in an email: [quote] "These new prefixes   
   are a practical measure to accommodate the increasing number of amateur radio   
   enthusiasts in India by expanding the available callsign combinations while   
   still adhering to the country's internationally allocated prefix block."   
   [endquote]   
      
   Meanwhile, in Sweden, amateurs who have received the new entry level class   
   certificate are identifying themselves with the country's new callsign prefix,   
   "SH." These amateurs can be heard on 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 and 2 metres, where   
   they are permitted to use a maximum of 25 watts of power.   
      
   This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.   
      
   (DX INDIA, QRZ,COM FORUMS, SWEDISH SOCIETY OF RADIO AMATEURS)   
      
   **   
   BOUVET ISLAND TEAM PACKS FOR 2026 TRIP   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: The Bouvet Island 3Y?K team begins packing for the long trip   
   starting in August, hoping to complete this part of the preparation by the end   
   of September. According to their July 27th press release, equipment is being   
   shipped from Italy, Bulgaria and the US to Norway where the team plans to meet   
   later in Oslo for two workshops.   
      
   Activators expect to be on the island for at least 21 days. Their scheduled   
   departure date from Cape Town South Africa is the 1st of February, 2026. The   
   team is still looking for additional operators. For details, send an email to   
   admin dot 3 WHY ZERO DOT EN OH [admin@3y0.no.]   
      
   (DX WORLD)   
      
   **   
   MEXICAN STATION HONORS HAM RADIO'S PATRON SAINT   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: Hams embrace the story of one Catholic friar's ultimate sacrifice   
   in a World War II concentration camp. This martyr, who became the patron saint   
   of amateur radio, is being honored throughout August, as we hear from Jim   
   Davis, W2JKD.   
      
   JIM: In 1938, a Franciscan friar named Maximillian Kolbe began shortwave radio   
   broadcasts from his homebuilt station in a monastery to share his words of   
   faith during a troubled time in the world  Three years later, he was a   
   prisoner of the Nazis in Auschwitz. On the 14th of August, 1941, he traded his   
   own life to save that of a doomed Polish army sergeant. Maximilian Kolbe,   
   SP3RN, was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 1982 - and is   
   considered the patron saint of amateur radio.   
      
   The days surrounding August 14th have grown to be important ones for more than   
   a decade at the San Max Church in Mexico where, with the help of a homebrew   
   rotating dipole installed at the church, hams from around the country team up   
   to call CQ using the special callsign 4A2MAX. The presence of the saint is   
   prominent at the church in more than just its given name and callsign. Some   
   relics that once belonged to him are housed in a small museum inside the   
   church building. The museum also displays some of the awards the amateurs have   
   won while operating in contests with this callsign as a way to pay tribute to   
   St. Maximillian. The operators are on the air this month from the 1st through   
   to the 31st using all modes on all HF bands through to the end of the month.   
      
   The station's operations manager, Chuy, XE2N/N5MEX, told Newsline [quote]: "We   
   want to celebrate what we love on the radio." [endquote]   
      
   This is Jim Davis W2JKD.   
      
   (CHUY, XE2N; QRZ.COM)   
      
   **   
   HAMTV BACK ON THE AIR FROM THE ISS   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: The most popular digital amateur TV show in space is back and   
   better than ever. With its installation completed recently by ISS astronauts,   
   HamTV resumed its transmissions on Tuesday, the 29th of July. In Salisbury,   
   Southern England, Dave G8GKQ was among the happy radio operators to report to   
   the British Amateur TV Club that he had good copy during the first pass of the   
   ISS with HamTV turned on again. HamTV had been out of service since 2019, so   
   its welcome-back from Dave and other fans was clearly a warm one.   
      
   To see a live stream of HamTV when it is near the receiver stations, follow   
   the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org   
      
   [DO NOT READ:   https://live.ariss.org/hamtv/ ]   
      
   (BRITISH AMATEUR TV CLUB, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)   
      
   **   
   FIELD DAY WAS 'MERIT BADGE DAY' FOR THEM   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: Most of us remember the big weekend in June known as Field Day.   
   For 14 Scouts who attended the activation with one ham club in Southern   
   California, it will always be remembered as Merit Badge Day. Ralph Squillace   
   KK6ITB explains.   
      
   RALPH: Operators with the San Fernando Valley Amateur Radio Club W6SD do a lot   
   of planning each year for Field Day but this year their plans included   
   something else for the first time - the inclusion of Scouts from Troop 415 who   
   were there to observe, learn about amateur radio and perhaps qualify for   
   scouting's Radio Merit Badge. Fourteen of them did just that - in a single day   
   - as they learned about radio communication and watched the hams make QSOs at   
   the activation site at the First Presbyterian Church of Granada Hills. Some of   
   the Scouts even experienced the thrill of HF by getting on the GOTA station -   
   the so-called "Get On The Air" station provided at many Field Day sites to   
   allow them to have a QSO or two under supervision of a licensed ham.   
      
   The Scouts had other inspiration to draw on too. Club secretary Bernard KG6FBM   
   told Newsline that one of the Scout's fathers, Eric Arevalo, KO6KFL, had just   
   received his Tech license after taking a class with Roozy, W1EH.   
      
   Bernard said the club is very proud of the Scouts, whose ages range from 11 to   
   17. As to whether a merit badge eventually leads to a license, Bernard said:   
   "Some scouts did show interest. Maybe someday they'll follow up."   
      
   (BERNARD FALKIN KG6FBM)   
      
   **   
   BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio   
   Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the W4HPL   
   repeater in Cookeville, Tennessee on Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. local time.   
      
   **   
   PAKISTAN HIKES RADIO-RELATED FEES   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR:  It's going to cost more for radio amateurs to get on the air in   
   Pakistan. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF brings us up to date.   
      
   JIM:  Calling its existing fee structure outdated, Pakistan's government has   
   approved its first change to the fee structure for radio-based services in 25   
   years. More than 1,100 licence holders, including amateur radio operators and   
   private radio networks, are being affected by a fee hike. According to media   
   reports, fees remained unchanged until now despite Pakistan's inflation rising   
   by more than 700 percent.   
      
   Pakistan's amateur licence is initially issued for a one-year period but can   
   be renewed for a five-year period afterward. The fee is increasing from 450   
   rupees to 5,000 rupees - or, in US currency, from $1.60 to $18 for the term of   
   the licence.   
      
   The change was approved in late July by the Economic Coordination Committee.   
   The ECC acted after being told by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority   
   that fees no longer cover the expenses for managing licenses and overseeing   
   use of the spectrum.   
      
   This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.   
      
   (DAWNTODAY.COM, PROFIT.PAKISTANTODAY.COM)   
      
   **   
   HAMS COACH INDIAN POLICE ON AMATEUR RADIO'S CRISIS ROLES   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: Ham radio training for police officers? In India, it's considered   
   an essential tool, as we hear from John Williams VK4JJW.'   
      
   JOHN: In India, law enforcement personnel from the remote region of Darjeeling   
   and the coastal area of the Sunderbans joined with police in Kolkata for a   
   one-day session on how amateur radio can assist them when conventional   
   communications systems are compromised.   
      
   The regulations governing radio - and the technical side of operating - were   
   covered in the one-day session held on Friday the 25th of July in Kolkata. The   
   training was conducted by Jayanta Baidya VU2TFR, Arnab Roy Chowdhury VU2TFT   
   and Ambarish Nag Biswas VU2JFA - all from the West Bengal Radio Club.   
      
   Remote regions of India can be particularly challenged when natural disasters   
   strike but even in the heart of a city like Kolkata, law enforcement has   
   concerns about how useful their radios are. The hams noted that high rise   
   buildings, such as those under construction in Kolkata, can interfere with the   
   wireless frequencies used by the police radios.   
      
   The seminar is the latest to be organised and hosted by the club, which often   
   does such training for law-enforcement personnel.   
      
   This is John Williams VK4JJW.   
      
   (MILLENNIUM POST)   
      
   **   
   SOUTH AFRICAN AWARDS SCHEME FOCUSES ON HERITAGE, HISTORY   
      
   JIM/ANCHOR: Lightwaves and radio waves have much in common - perhaps most   
   notably the fact that they share a home on different parts of the same   
   spectrum. In South Africa, however, a popular operating awards scheme unites   
   light and amateur radio in a very different way. Graham Kemp VK4BB explains   
   now.   
      
   GRAHAM: HOTA - an awards programme that originated with the Bo-Karoo Amateur   
   Radio Club in South Africa - has its origins as Heliographs on the Air. The   
   original concept, credited to Jannie Smith, ZS3CM, was to encourage amateur   
   radio operators to activate sites where members of the military once sent   
   coded messages to the troops by reflecting sunlight off mirrors. Other club   
   members soon expanded the programme?s scope to focus on a broader array of   
   historical sites. What was renamed History on the Air soon morphed into   
   Heritage on the Air, the programme as it is known today. Using a spreadsheet   
   developed by Steve Brooks ZS3SB, activators and chasers alike keep track of   
   their contacts and ultimately their cumulative score which they submit at the   
   end of each year.   
      
   Organisers believe that the exercise offers a greater opportunity to learn   
   about history, either by chasing, activating or proposing new sites for   
   inclusion. Proposals are required to be well-researched applications that   
   explain the historical significance of the location, which must be connected   
   to war, telecommunications or general history. The sites must have a   
   significance dating back at least 75 years.   
      
   As for modes, well, that?s a nod to history too: operators can use SSB, AM, FM   
   CW and yes, even heliographs. Of course.   
      
   This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.   
      
   (SARL, HERITAGE ON THE AIR)   
      
   **   
   WORLD OF DX   
      
   In the World of DX, the Radio Amateur Association of Western Greece, SZ1A, is   
   on the air as special event station SX17ASTRO until the 8th of August for the   
   17th Panhellenic Expedition of Amateur Astronomers. Be listening on the HF   
   bands. Certificates are available. See QRZ.com for QSL details.   
      
   Antonio, IK7WUL, will be on the air from different locations in Africa during   
   a mission trip in his spare time. Mainly operating on 10 metres SSB as 9U?DX   
   from Burundi until the 10th of August, Rwanda as 9X?DX through to the 18th and   
   between the 18th of August and the 7th of September as TY2AA from Benin. See   
   QRZ.com for QSL details.   
      
   Steve, ZL2KE is using the callsign E51KEE from Rarotonga, IOTA Number OC-013,   
   in the South Cook Islands between the 3rd and 18th of August. He is using CW   
   and some SSB on 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 metres. QSL direct to IK2DUW.   
      
   To highlight the plight of mistreated dogs and cats and the work of their   
   rescuers a group of amateur radio special event stations will be on-air with   
   an award scheme during August. For International Cat day on August 8th,   
   DA0CAT, DL0CAT will be on-air during the whole month while GB4CAT,   
   GB9CAT,YL1CAT and W1C will be on for shorter periods. See catdayradio.org and   
   qrz.com for details. For International Dog day on August 26th, DA0DOG, DL0DOG   
   will be on-air during the whole month while GB4DOG, YL1DOG and K2D will be on   
   for shorter periods. See dogdayradio.org and qrz.com for details.        
      
   (425 DX BULLETIN, WIA)   
      
   **   
   We hope you've been enjoying the ham radio haikus that our listeners have sent   
   in - have you written one yet? The Newsline haiku challenge is as easy as   
   writing a QSL card. We can only accept the correct haiku format - that is, a   
   three-line verse with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second   
   and five in the third. Submit your work on our website at arnewsline.org -   
   each week's winner gets a shout-out on our website, where everyone can find   
   the winning haiku.   
      
   NEWSCAST CLOSE   
      
   With thanks to Amateur News Daily; ARRL; Bernard Falkin, KG6FBM; British   
   Amateur TV Club; Chuy, XE2N; David Behar K7DB; DX India; DX World; 425DX   
   Bulletin; FCC; Heritage on the Air; Millennium Post; ProfitPakistanToday.com;   
   QRZ.com; Radio Society of Great Britain; Shortwaveradio.de; South African   
   Radio League; Swedish Society of Radio Amateurs; 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 Jim Damron N8TMW in Charleston West Virginia saying   
   73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is   
   Copyright 2025. Amateur Radio Newsline retains ownership of its material even   
   when retransmitted elsewhere. All rights are reserved.   
      
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