Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2523 for Friday, March 6th, 2026
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2523 with a release date of Friday, March 6th, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams in Cuba assist a critically ill child. Canada is silencing its national weather radio -- and students in Germany plan for a QSO with Antarctica. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2523 comes your way right now.
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BILLBOARD CART
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HAMS HELP SUMMON GIRL'S EMERGENCY CARE IN CUBAN BLACKOUT
SKEETER/ANCHOR: Quick-thinking by hams in the midst of a power outage in Cuba are being credited with connecting a critically ill child with urgent medical care. We have the details of that story from the newest member of the Newsline team, Dave Lee M7TLB.
DAVE: As an outage swept through several communities in the municipality of Rio Cauto in eastern Cuba, disabling electric power and the telephone service, a 6-year-old girl lay feverish and in pain - her 12th hour of suffering.
The doctor treating her at the family home in Granma Province suspected appendicitis requiring emergency transport. An outage resulting from a power-grid failure prevented him from directly contacting an ambulance. The physician turned to a father-son team of amateur radio operators, Jorge [HORE-HAY] Bonilla [BONE-EEE-YUH] Mainegra and his son, Edgar Bonilla Mainegra. The hams, however, found that their own radios were also without backup power because of the fuel shortage -- that is, until a neighbour let them make use of the battery from his motorcycle.
The general call was received by Santiago de Cuba by station CL8 YDY, who was able to connect with the emergency system. The station is listed on QRZ.com as being in Santiago de Cuba. The callsign holder is Yoendrys García Rodríguez.
According to various media reports, surgery was performed at the hospital and was a success.
This is Dave Lee M7TLB.
(CIBERCUBA, QRZ.COM)
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FCC REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON 6TH YEAR OF PIRATE ACT
SKEETER/ANCHOR: Wrapping up another year of action taken against unlicensed radio broadcasters, in the United States the FCC recently submitted a report to federal lawmakers summing up its enforcement activities in the fiscal year 2025. We have those details from Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
KENT: Since Congress enacted the PIRATE Act - an acronym for Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement - the Federal Communications Commission has been responsible for reporting its annual activities with the enhanced power it was given through the January 2020 legislation. Its most recent report covers the government's fiscal year for 2025, which ran from the 1st of October 2024 through to the 30th of September 2025.
According to the report, the FCC issued 28 notices to property owners or managers for permitting illegal broadcasts from their premises. Seventeen of those were directly related to one of the so-called "pirate sweeps" the FCC conducts concentrating on five markets found to have the most pirate stations.
In the same period, the FCC went directly after the radio operators themselves, issuing six forfeiture orders and 10 notices of apparent liability for forfeiture. Separately, it entered into three consent decree agreements with radio pirates. Each agreement contained a 20-year compliance plan.
It is not known what the total monetary penalties will ultimately be for any of the violations issued, even though the amounts specified in the original PIRATE Act have increased over the years. Adjusted for inflation, the penalties now carry a maximum of $122,661 in US dollars per day - and a US dollar maximum of $2,453,218.
Although the FCC is responsible for these enforcement actions, the agency does not collect the amounts. That task is given to the US Department of Justice.
This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
(FCC)
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STUDENT QSO WITH ANTARCTICA PART OF FAMILY SPACE DAY
SKEETER/ANCHOR: Is there anyone who would turn down a chance for a contact with Antarctica? A group of students will get their chance this month in Germany. With more of those details, here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: All eyes will be on the project known as futureGEO to be presented at Bochum Observatorys Bochum Space Day to be hosted by AMSAT-DL. The programme is taking place on 28th March in conjunction with Germany's Space Day and Day of Astronomy. Much anticipation surrounds the proposed geostationary amateur radio payload, which is to succeed the QO-100 satellite, providing access for Europe and parts of North America.
All ears, however, will be on the scheduled contact to be made between students and the Neumayer-III research station, DPØGVN, in Antarctica. The observatory's director, Thilo Elsner, DJ5YM, will lead that activity.
Youngsters and their families are also being invited to participate in a full day of activities organised by the European Space Education Resource Office of the European Space Agency. ESERO Germany was established at Bochum in 2018.
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(AMSAT-DL, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)
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HAMS IN THE SPOTLIGHT AT NATIONAL HURRICANE CONFERENCE
SKEETER/ANCHOR: The 2026 National Hurricane Conference, taking place in Orlando, Florida from March 29 to April 2 will again include amateur radio workshops. Randy Sly, W4XJ has the details
RANDY: Amateur radio workshops at the National Hurricane Conference will include presentations by such leaders from the ham community as Rob Macedo, KD1CY of the VoIP Hurricane Net, Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, ARRL Director of Emergency Management, Julio Ripoll, WD4R, Assistant Coordinator at WX4NHC, and Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, Net Manager of the Hurricane Watch Net.
Graves gave Newsline a preview of a new program he will be presenting, built around the theme Impact. While Category 5 hurricanes may get more attention from the media, some tropical storms may make a greater real-world impact than bigger weather events. For amateur radio operators, one report can make a difference can make an impact. As Graves said, Your reports matter.
With Julio Ripoll scheduled to step down this year, he may be introducing his successor at WX4NHC during the workshops as well.
If you cant attend in person, the forum will be live-streamed on the Hurricane Watch Net YouTube Channel.
This is Randy Sly, W4XJ
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CANADA ENDING NATIONWIDE WEATHERADIO SERVICE
SKEETER/ANCHOR: The United States isn't the only country enduring cuts to its weather-forecasting programs and services: This month marks the end of Weatheradio,. a service of the Canadian government's environment and climate agency. John Williams VK4JJW has those details.
JOHN: Canada's national weather centre is ending its Weatheradio service which has been available on VHF since 1976. In a decision driven by budget priorities and what the agency called declining usage, the forecasts are going silent on the 16th of March. Officials are instead encouraging the use of a free mobile app or an interactive weather map on their website.
Upgraded in 2004 to accommodate digitally encoded signals, the nationwide system has provided local and regional forecasts in English and French. The reports have been transmitted on the same frequencies used in the US by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Weather Radio, in the 162 MHz frequency range
Amateur radio operator Michael Iszak VE3HA, who is also a radiocommunications consultant. told the Toronto Sun that he was concerned about the weather service's demise. He told the newspaper: [quote] These stations are often used by people who travel to areas where there is no cell service, its invaluable for getting updated weather forecasts." [endquote]
This is John Williams VK4JJW.
(TORONTO SUN, CTV, SWLING POST)
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BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the AA9JR repeater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Fridays at 6 pm, Saturdays at 10 am and on Sundays at 8 a.m. via Allstar Link 47970 and Allstar Link 50508 and the W3QV repeater.
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ADJUSTMENTS TO AUSTRALIA BAND PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS
SKEETER/ANCHOR: The committee reviewing recommended changes to Australia's amateur band plan has released a set of new revisions, as we hear from Graham Kemp VK4BB.
GRAHAM: The Wireless Institute of Australia's Technical Advisory Committee has fine-tuned its recommendations for changes to the amateur radio band plan after reviewing more than three dozen submissions. It is now recommending that the emergency communications channel on 40m be aligned with IARU Region 3 on 7.110 MHz, that the SSB portion of the 6m band be widened and that 1.87 MHz and 3.686 MHz be chosen as the AM centres of activity for 160m and 80m.
The committee's full document, which reaffirms its other original proposals and clarifies use of the FM Analogue ATV band, has been published online. Visit the consultation webpage using the link provided in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
[DO NOT READ:
https://www.wia.org.au/members/tac/consultation/ ]
This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(WIA)
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DX INDIA FOUNDATION MAKES NEW TRY ON ARNALA ISLAND
SKEETER/ANCHOR: It's been 20 years since amateur radio had a presence on one small island in the Arabian Sea off western India's coast. The DX India Foundation is renewing the attempt it made last year to put the island back on the ham radio map. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us what to expect next.
JIM: Heavy rainstorms last year cancelled the plans of the DX India Foundation to activate Arnala Island. The island, one of India's most coveted sites in the IOTA programme, carries the designation of AS-169. Sarath, VU2RS, announced recently on the DX World website that he is hoping to bring a three-day activation there starting on the 1st of May. There has been no amateur radio activity on the island since 2006.
A successful activation would not only fulfill one of the relatively new foundation's objectives - to activate rare IOTAs - it would also put Arnala Island in the logs of eager chasers everywhere.
This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
(DX WORLD)
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WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, Claudio, HB9OAU, will be operating holiday style as D44OA from Boa Vista, IOTA Number AF-086, Cape Verde, from the 18th through to the 25th of March. He will be operating CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8 in fox-hound mode on 40-6 metres.
Tom, AA9A, is on the air as PJ7AA from Sint Maarten, IOTA Number NA-105, from the 8th of March through to the 4th of April. Listen for him on 40-6 metres where he will be using CW, FT8, FT4 and some SSB.
Listen for the callsign T31TTT. That's the Rebel DX Group on the air from Central Kiribati starting on the 25th of March. This activation could last as long as two weeks. Their main modes will be FT8/FT4, MSHV Super Fox and MSHV multi-stream. There will be several stations on the air and on various HF bands.
John, W5JON, will be on the air as V47JA from St. Kitts, IOTA Number NA-104, from the 10th through to the 18th of March, using SSB and FT8 on various bands.
For QSL information on each of these stations, visit their pages on QRZ.com
(425 DX BULLETIN)
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KICKER: A TOWERING RESCUE FROM HOT AIR BALLOON
SKEETER/ANCHOR: Ask anyone whose home station includes a tower and they'll probably tell you that sometimes being all the way "up there" in the clouds has its drawbacks. The owner of a mobile phone tower in Longview, Texas - and two passengers in a hot-air balloon - would no doubt agree. Kevin Trotman N5PRE has our final story for this week.
KEVIN: A hot-air balloon, with two passengers aboard, was blown into a cell phone tower standing 925 feet, or more than 280 meters, high in Longview, a city east of Dallas, Texas. The crash on February 28th left the two passengers dangling near the top of the tower as the balloon became entangled in its guying cables.
Emergency crews from police and fire departments responded. As rescuers climbed using several ropes, they battled the same strong winds that had led to the crash, working for more than an hour to free the passengers in what was deemed [quote] "a rare, high-risk operation." [endquote] They were brought down safely.
The scene in Texas was reminiscent of an incident in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2024 when a hot-air balloon crashed into the tower of radio station KKOB-AM. The three passengers on board that balloon were also rescued safely.
This is Kevin Trotman N5PRE.
(CBS NEWS, KSDK-TV. NBC NEWS, ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, AMSAT-DL; AMSAT News Service; Associated Press; CBS News; CiberCuba; CTV; David Behar, K7DB; DX-World.net; FCC; 425DX Bulletin; KSDK-TV; NBC News; QRZ.com Forums; Radio Society of Great Britain; shortwaveradio.de; SWLing Post; Toronto Sun; Wireless Institute of Australia; Zero Retries; 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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