From Newsgroup: rec.radio.amateur.misc

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2520 for Friday, February 13th, 2026
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2520 with a release date of
Friday, February 13th, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Kenya becomes the only African nation hosting astronaut ham radio contacts. Shortwave service delivers news to Iran
-- and transmitter-wearing birds in Australia give lessons in survival.
All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2520 comes
your way right now.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**
KENYA JOINS ARISS AS ITS SOLE AFRICAN NATION

JIM/ANCHOR: In this week's top story, the African nation of Kenya takes
a big leap forward, as amateur radio and space converge formally in the
months ahead: Kenya has become part of ARISS, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF brings us the details.

JIM: The Kenya Space Agency has announced that students, professionals
and others will have an opportunity to communicate live over amateur
radio with astronauts aboard the ISS. Kenya has become the only African
nation chosen to participate in the program. Astronaut contacts are
expected to take place between July and December.

The country's selection comes as it deepens its commitment to providing
greater STEM education. The nation has been encouraging space science
studies and innovation through efforts such as the Kenya National
Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Learning Ecosystem. This national emphasis is a major part of Vision 2030, a development
initiative to industrialize and raise the quality of life in Kenya.

In preparation for ARISS participation, Kenya's space agency and the Pan-African Citizen Science e-Laboratory will collaborate on public
outreach technical coordination and of course, the selection of schools
and other educational institutions.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(KENYA SPACE AGENCY, AMSAT NEWS SERVICE)

**
IRAN RECEIVES BBC SHORTWAVE RADIO PROGRAMMING

JIM/ANCHOR: Shortwave radio, so valued as a carrier of critical
information at various times in the world's history, has been
declining. The BBC, however, has brought back an emergency shortwave
radio service to deliver programming to Iran. Graham Kemp VK4BB has the details.

GRAHAM: The turmoil in Iran that led to an information blackout in that
nation has prompted the BBC to launch a temporary shortwave radio
service for listeners there. Medium and shortwave frequencies have been carrying programmes each day starting at 1630 UTC. The content includes
news and analysis relevant to Iran and provides a global perspective.
In announcing the service, the BBC said this was part of its tradition
of providing crisis broadcasting, adding that the broadcasts will
remain on the air until the end of March.

Half-hour programming is broadcast starting at 16:30 UTC on both 702
kHz and 9465 kHz and repeated starting at 1800 UTC on both 702 kHz and
5935 kHz.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(BBC, RADIOTODAY)

**
VICTORY IN SCOTLAND FOR AMATEUR'S TOWER INSTALLATION

JIM/ANCHOR: Victory was never sweeter for a ham in Scotland who has successfully appealed the local planners' rejection of his tower plans.
We learn more from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: The foundations dug and the concrete base with anchor bolts
installed, the greatest obstacle facing John Grieve, GM3RTI's tower
project, has been the Scottish winter weather, so John needs to proceed
slowly with pulleys, wire ropes and other work; but it was only a few
months ago that he could not proceed at all.

Despite supporting statements from neighbours and the Radio Society of
Great Britain, the local Perth and Kinross Council rejected John's
planning application for the tilt-over, telescoping structure in the
garden behind his home in the village of Inchture. It was to have had
an operating height of 15 metres, or 50 feet. John told Newsline that
he'd had little opportunity to communicate directly with the Council beforehand. The rejection stated that the project would [quote] "have
a detrimental impact on the character and environmental quality of the application property and the surrounding area."

John, who is also an RSGB Region 2 representative, contacted the RSGB
Planning Advisory Committee for an appeal in October. In mid-December
2025, he received a 10-year approval. John also gained enthusiastic
support on social media: an update on the RSGB's Facebook page
reached more than 35,000 supporters in just a few days, according to
society spokeswoman Heather Parsons M7OWS.

Now if only John could similarly appeal against the Scottish winter weather......

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RSGB, JOHN GRIEVE, GM3RTI)

**
NEW HAMPSHIRE POISED TO OK HAM RADIO LICENSE PLATES

JIM/ANCHOR: In the US, the state of New Hampshire is poised to approve
amateur radio license plates for vehicles registered to hams. Sel Embee
KB3TZD has that story.

SEL: Amateur radio operators in New Hampshire are eagerly awaiting the
passage of a measure by their state lawmakers to create a new vanity
license plate type for motor vehicles that "clearly identifies the
owner of the vehicle to be an amateur radio operator."

A public hearing was held last month on the House Bill which would
"authorize the creation of vanity license plates and decals that
identify amateur radio operators by their Federal Communications
Commission call sign. If the owner chooses not to display their call
sign they may use a standard issue plate featuring a lightning bolt
symbol to indicate their status as a licensed amateur radio
operator."

If lawmakers approve the bill, it would still need the signature of
Gov. Kelly Ayotte (AY-ott) before becoming law. Gov. Ayotte (AY-ott)
has shown support of ham radio, proclaiming June of last year "Amateur
Radio Month" in recognition of radio operators' important roles in
public service and emergency communications.

This is Sel Embee, K-B-3-T-Zed-D.

(QRZ.COM, STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE)

**
GPS INTERFERENCE WARNING IN CENTRAL TEXAS

JIM/ANCHOR: People in or near central Texas who rely on GPS received a
warning from the US military base at Fort Hood that wide-ranging GPS
tests there might cause interference with their own personal devices.
Kevin Trotman N5PRE picks up the story from here.

KEVIN: Farmers, pilots and smartphone-users and anyone else who relies
on GPS to get from here to there have been paying close attention to an
alert from the US military base at Fort Hood in Texas. The announcement
said that throughout February, the region that includes Dallas,
Houston, San Antonio and even Oklahoma City could experience
interference and disruptions. The final rounds of testing are to be
held on February 13th and 14th from 3 to 5 a.m. local time and resuming
nightly from February 15th through to the 22nd. The final testing
period is February 23rd through to the 27th.

This is Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

(FAA, KXXV-TV)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the W3FDK repeater in Frederick, Maryland and the Echolink node N3RO-L
on Thursdays at 7 pm local time, followed by the weekly Weather Net.

**
US ADVANCED CLASS OPERATORS HOST POPULAR NET

JIM/ANCHOR: Proud to have operating licenses as Advanced Class hams, a
friendly group meets a few times a week on 20 meters. Others are
welcome too, as we hear from Travis Lisk N3ILS.

TRAVIS: The A13 Advanced Class Preservation Society is more than a
gathering of friends - it is a circle of amateur radio operators who
celebrate their status as the last holders of a class of license the
Federal Communications Commission stopped granting nearly 26 years ago.
The holders of these licenses, which are still renewable indefinitely,
created the society in 2020 as a welcoming place. It became the home of
a ragchew net that operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on
14.213 MHz at 1700 UTC, with Scott Endsley, W5HVO, as primary net
control.

Although 445 hams hold numbered certificates of membership in this
group, they extend a welcome to any Advanced and Extra Class operators,
as well as DX hams who would like to check in.

The elimination of the Advanced Class license was undertaken as a
streamlining move - an action that created a three-license system that
also removed the entry-level Novice Class.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS. (QRZ.COM FORUMS, FCC)

**
CONSTRUCTION COMPETITION IN UK EYES MAKER COMMUNITY

JIM/ANCHOR: Some new elements have been introduced into the Radio
Society of Great Britain's annual Construction Competition. Jeremy
Boot G4NJH explains what's different.

JEREMY: As in previous years, the RSGB's Construction Competition has
six categories which emphasize the hands-on building and designing of
projects - activities that are rooted deeply in ham radio. Organisers
have introduced a new category this year - Reimagination - which still
draws its challenges from radio but produces projects with an appeal to non-amateurs, such as individuals in the Maker community. The society
hopes that these innovative entries will shine even more of a spotlight
on what ham radio is all about.

This is an international competition. Entries can be from anywhere in
the world but competitors must belong to the RSGB.

The deadline for entries is the 1st of March. For details on how to
enter and for a list of the other six categories, visit rsgb.org and
search for "construction competition."

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RSGB)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Hide, JO1CRA/JR6 will be on the air from the
Yaeyama Islands, IOTA Number AS-024, from the 17th through to the 21st
of February. He will be operating mainly CW and FT8 on 40, 30, 20, 17,
10 and 6 metres.

Listen for a team of operators with the callsign T45FM, on the air
using CW, SSB, FT8 and FT4 from the lighthouse at Punta Maya, Cuba,
IOTA Number NA-015. They will be active from the 20th to the 22nd of
February during the American Lighthouses Weekend.

Three special callsigns will be on the air for several weeks marking a half-century of German research in Antarctica. Listen for DA0ANT,
DM50ANT and DP50ANT from the 15th of February through to the 30th of
April.

Ulmar, DK1CE is calling QRZ as TZ1CE from Bamako, Mali until the 1st
of March. Listen for him operating mainly SSB and FT8. His main focus
will be FT8 on 160m, 80m and 6m.

See QRZ.com for QSL information and other operating details for these
stations.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: TINY BIRDS TRANSMIT THE SECRET OF THEIR SURVIVAL

JIM/ANCHOR: As anyone who has ever worked a satellite - or does so
regularly - working these birds, as they are known, has its rewards. A
group of researchers in Australia has also been working the birds, a
species known as a white-backed swallow, using temperature-sensing
radio transmitters. They've received some great results, as we hear
from John Williams VK4JJW.

JOHN: No matter which hemisphere you live in, no doubt this year has
already shaped up to be a time of weather extremes. Wherever you are,
you have a lot in common with the white-backed swallow, a prevalent
species here in Australia with the very uncommon ability to survive
despite freezing temperatures to blasting heat. We're talking about
as much as 50 degrees Celsius - that's 122 degrees Fahrenheit - and
we Australians especially can relate!

To learn how the birds survive, researchers in central Australia's
Sturt National Park outfitted some of them with tiny transmitters. This
was not an avian Parks on the Air; this was a research project to
monitor the birds' physiological responses through biologging - a way
to record and transmit their body temperatures' changes as the birds
slept in their burrows at night.

The result? A highly successful Worked All States of Bird Physiology.
The collected data confirmed the scientists' theory that a deep
torpor - an essential near-shutdown of metabolism, heart rate and
breathing - was essential for these birds, just as for some other bird
species, such as the tiny hummingbirds in some regions of the world.

The results were recently published in the journal Current Biology. The scientists called the transmitters key to their findings because data
could be gathered in the wild instead of an artificial setting, such as
a laboratory. Hams, of course, would not be surprised at radio's
reliability. After all, the researchers HAD created a Reverse Beak
Network.

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(THE CONVERSATION.COM)

**
Newsline wishes to thank all the listeners who did their creative best
to meet our haiku challenge each week. We are taking a break now and
hope you'll use the extra time to check your SWR, chase a DXpedition or
install new logging software. Thanks for making it fun - and don't
forget to visit our website at arnewsline.org to see some of the past
winners.

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, AMSAT News Service; The
Conversation.com; David Behar, K7DB; FAA; FCC; 425DX Bulletin; John
Grieve, GM3RTI; Kenya Space Agency; KXXV-TV; QRZ.com Forums; Radio
Society of Great Britain; shortwaveradio.de; Space.com; 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. We wish all
our listeners the very best for the year ahead in 2026. 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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