From Newsgroup: rec.radio.amateur.misc

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2537 for Friday, June 12th, 2026 Amateur
Radio Newsline Report Number 2537 with a release date of Friday, June
12th, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Mirage and Ameritron get a new owner. A suspect
is arrested after copper theft at a US radio station -- and hams stick
their necks out to help giraffes. All this and more as Amateur Radio
Newsline Report Number 2537 comes your way right now.

**
BILLBOARD CART

**
AMERITRON, MIRAGE BRANDS SOLD TO ITU CORP.

PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week is the sale of Mirage and
Ameritron to the Indiana company that acquired the Cushcraft and Hygain
brands from MFJ Enterprises earlier this year. Mirage and Ameritron,
who are known for their amplifiers, are to join the amateur radio
portfolio of ITU Corporation. ITU's president, Dave Carpenter, posted
both brands' logos on his profile page on the LinkedIn business
platform, referring to their recent acquisition.

As Newsline went to production, the official statement was covered on
Linton News, a local online Newspaper where ITU Corporation is located.


This past April, ITU announced it will return Hygain and Cushcraft
brands to the marketplace by manufacturing them at a 15-acre property
that is the former home of a National Guard Armory in Linton, Indiana.
In a joint announcement that month, Dave and Kambi Carpenter, who own
the electronics supply business TekShack, announced the deal with
Martin Jue, K5FLU, who closed the business he founded in Starkville, Mississippi.

(LINTON NEWS)

**
ARREST IN COPPER THEFT AT US RADIO STATION

PAUL/ANCHOR: As copper thefts continue to climb around the US, police
have announced the arrest of a suspect in an incident that left a radio
station off the air in Kentucky. Jack Parker W8ISH brings us up todate.

JACK: Copper communication cables were stolen in late May from the
tower site of radio station WDGG, 93.7 FM, launching an investigation
by local authorities. A transmission line was also cut, throwing the
station temporarily off the air. The 100,000-watt station, which is
owned by Kindred Communications, has since returned to broadcasting but
at a much lower power, less than 10 watts.

Within days, police announced the arrest of a 63-year-old Kentucky
man, Paul Crisp, after they said he was seen fleeing the same site
during what police say was a second attempted copper theft. According
to a report on the Inside Radio website, authorities used a search
warrant to enter his home and found several pieces of communication
cable and tools that they believe were involved in the incident.

The last few years have seen a dramatic rise in copper wire thefts in
the US, according to a recent report on National Public Radio. With
growing demand for use of copper, especially in AI data centers, the
value of the metal has doubled. Todd Swenson of AT&T's construction and engineering division, told National Public Radio that it is also being increasingly stripped out of phone lines throughout the communications
system as thieves try to capitalize on what are now a record-high
prices.

This is Jack Parker W8ISH.

(INSIDE RADIO, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO)

**
HAM'S EXPERIMENT WOULD ADAPT TELETEXT FOR AMATEUR RADIO

PAUL/ANCHOR: Everything old is new again - or at least that's true for
some things, such as the old Teletext system, the focus of one ham here
in the US. Daniel Garcia W2DIY has that story.

DANIEL: In Europe for over 40 years, TV sets have been capable of
receiving a broadcast information service known as Teletext. Now the broadcasting protocol is being harnessed for a modern digital radio
mode using AX.25 packet radio data links on both HF and VHF bands.

This is an experiment by Stephen Cass. KB1WNR, who reported on his work
in the IEEE [Eye Triple E] Spectrum, where he is an editor. Stephen
writes that he was inspired by BBC's service known as Ceefax, which
even in the days of analogue TVs, enabled viewers to select what they
wanted to read on screen by entering different numeric codes into their
TV remotes.

This experiment works on adapting Teletext for ham radio.

Stephen wrote: [quote] "I thought it would make a great radio protocol.
In fact, I thought it could be a digital counterpart of slow-scan
television." [endquote] SSTV transmissions are analogue and somewhat
slow and are often transmitted a few times to ensure the entire message
- images plus text - can be received.

Stephen asks that hams wishing to help him to experiment contact him
via the IEEE Spectrum online magazine at spectrum dot i e e e dot
org (spectrum.ieee.org)

This is Daniel Garcia W2DIY

(IEEE SPECTRUM, ONE NEWS PAGE.COM)

**
SILENT KEY: PROMINENT QATARI HAM ABDULLAH BIN HAMAD AL ATTIYAH, A71AU

PAUL/ANCHOR: A prominent figure in the government of Qatar - and in
amateur radio there - has become a Silent Key. We hear about him from
Graham Kemp VK4BB.

GRAHAM: Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, A71AU, was an influential
presence in the leadership of Qatar and in amateur radio there. In
public life, he was a former deputy prime minister and minister of
energy and industry in Qatar. More recently he served as chairman of
the Qatar Amateur Radio Society and was a major proponent for the
development of the QO-100 satellite. Launched in 2018, the satellite,
also known as Es'hail-2, carried the world's first geostationary
amateur radio transponder as its payload. The project was a cooperative
effort by the Qatar Amateur Radio Society, the Qatar Satellite Company
and AMSAT-DL.

Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah became a Silent Key on the 27th of May.
He was 73.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(AMSAT-DL, 425 DX BULLETIN, )

**
IRTS SEEKS OPERATORS FOR TEAM IN IARU HF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

PAUL/ANCHOR: Hams in Ireland have the opportunity to be part of the
IRTS headquarters team in the IARU HF World Championship. Jeremy Boot
G4NJH tells us how.

JEREMY: As the date for the IARU HF World Championship approaches, the
Irish Radio Transmitters Society is still in search of hams who can
represent Ireland by calling CQ with the callsign EI0HQ. There are 12
operating slots that remain to be filled for the event, which runs for
24 hours from the 11th to the 12th of July on all the HF bands,
excluding the WARC bands. If you are interested in being part of
Ireland's headquarters station team contact Mark EI6JK, the contest
manager, by emailing him at contestmanager at irts dot ie (contestmanager@irts.ie).

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(IRTS)

**
NASA ANNOUNCES ASTRONAUTS FOR ARTEMIS III MISSION

PAUL/ANCHOR: NASA has announced the names of the four astronauts for
next year's Artemis III mission, and Travis Lisk N3ILS tells us who
they are.

TRAVIS: The Artemis 3 mission is designed to be the last NASA mission
leading up to a planned 2028 moon landing - and the four astronauts
chosen for it will be responsible for tests on two commercially built
lunar landers. The Orion spacecraft's pilot will be Luca Parmitano,
KF5KDP, an Italian astronaut from the European Space Agency. He is the
only member of the Artemis 3 team with an amateur radio callsign.

The team includes test pilot and flight veteran Randy Bresnik,
first-timer Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, who holds the United States
record for the single longest spaceflight - a total of 371 days. The
lunar landers are being build by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(NBC NEWS, CNN)

**
AMSAT EXPLORES CUBESAT PAYLOAD ON ARTEMIS MISSION

PAUL/ANCHOR: Artemis is also on the mind of AMSAT, which is looking to
launch one of its CubeSats on board one of NASA's next missions in that program, as we hear from Sel Embee KB3TZD.

SEL: AMSAT hopes to develop a CubeSat that will become a secondary
payload on board one of NASA's next Artemis missions. In a letter of
intent submitted recently to the space agency, AMSAT said that the
high-Earth deployment offered by the missions would align well with
AMSAT's own goals to bring ham radio satellites into increasingly
higher orbits.

The proposed CubeSat payload would be a 6U-class spacecraft, weighing
less than 14 kilograms, or 30 pounds. It sould have deployable solar
arrays and an amateur radio communications system developed by AMSAT to
support VHF uplinks and UHF downlinks. The CubeSat would also have a 5
GHz uplink and a 10 GHz downlink. Hams around the world would be asked
to provide telemetry reception using AMSAT's analysis tools.

AMSAT responded to a NASA request for interested parties for its
Artemis 3, 4 and 5 missions, which can accommodate 6U and 12U size
CubeSats.

This is Sel Embee KB3TZD.

(AMSAT)

**
TIME TO SWITCH HAMCLOCK BACKEND SERVER

PAUL/ANCHOR: This is a reminder that the original backend server for
the popular HamClock shack accessory is set to stop working this month.
If you wish to continue using HamClock and all its features and to
receive its updates, you will need to switch your backend server as
soon as possible.

OpenHamClock Backend is an open-source server run by a development team
that is also providing updates to the HamClock client. The client
version is now at V4.26

For details, visit the link in the text version of this week's newscast
at arnewsline.org

[DO NOT READ: https://ohb.works ]

(OPEN HAMCLOCK BACKEND)

**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the W8VPV repeater of the Cuyahoga Falls Amateur Radio Club in Cuyahoga
Falls, Ohio at 8 p.m. on Mondays.

**
EVACUATED ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO ISS AFTER LEAK

PAUL/ANCHOR: An air leak on the ISS temporarily forced NASA astronauts
to shelter in their spacecraft, as we hear from Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

KEVIN: Five space station astronauts, including the four-member team of Crew-12, returned to the space station on June 5th after taking shelter
in their Crew Dragon spacecraft where they were sent under evacuation
orders from NASA. The space agency reversed its earlier evacuation
order that had been prompted by an air leak discovered in the Russian
service module. Cosmonauts were working to repair the recurring leak
which Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said did not pose any
immediate danger to the crew or the spacecraft itself. NASA and
Roscosmos have been working together to determine their cause.

This is Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

(REUTERS, MSN)

**
FOLDABLE ANTENNA BOOSTS DATA RATES FOR CUBESATS

PAUL/ANCHOR: An antenna design known as the Origami Antenna is showing
promise for data transmission from tiny CubeSats, as we hear from John
Williams VK4JJW.

JOHN: Using a folded antenna design, researchers have succeeded in
helping CubeSats overcome their typically limited data transmission
rates. The design, known as the Origami Antenna, increases to 25 times
of its stored size on board the tiny satellite. When stored, the
64-gram antenna is 10x10x6 centimetres. Its deployed size creates a
surface that is 50x50 centimetres.

Researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo have found that the
antenna not only supports transmissions at higher rates but strengthens
signals by focusing the transmissions into a narrow beam. The antenna
transmits at a frequency of 5.8 GHz and has a gain of 18 dBi.

The antenna was deployed on the 23rd of May on Science Tokyo's
OrigamiSat-2 CubeSat, which was launched in late April.

The researchers' next task challenge will be a larger foldable antenna
to be installed on larger satellites conducting observations of Earth.

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(IEEE SPECTRUM)

**
ARDC LAUNCHES DISCORD DISCUSSION THREAD

PAUL/ANCHOR: Amateur Radio Digital Communications has just opened up a
new channel of communication for those interested in what they have to
offer, as we hear from Stephen Kinford N8WB.

STEPHEN: If you want to engage in a more direct dialogue with the staff
at Amateur Radio Digital Communications, you can now join their new
thread in the Discord app. ARDC invites discussions about project
updates, 44Net, grants and other topics relevant to the kind of work
that ARDC does. Anyone involved in amateur radio or digital
communications is welcome. Bring your thoughts, ideas and questions.

The California-based foundation provides support to projects involved
in scientific research, amateur radio, experimentation, digital
communication and communication technology.

You'll find a link to the server in the text version of this week's
newscast at arnewsline.org

This is Stephen Kinford N8WB.

[DO NOT READ: https://discord.ardc.net ]

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, the Caen Radio Club is on the air as TM6DDAY
through to the 20th of June, using CW, SSB and the digital modes.
Listen for them on 80 through 6 metres. They will be operating from the Merville Gun Battery site on the eastern flank of the landing area
code-named Sword.

Manu, CE3YMR, is using the callsign 3G0YM from Easter Island, IOTA
Number SA-001, from the 20th through to the 27th of June. He will be
using SSB and FT8 primarily on 40, 30 and 6 metres. If local conditions
permit, find him as well on 60, 20 and 10 metres.

Listen for Olafur, TF1OL using the callsign D4OL from Boa Vista, IOTA
Number AF-086, Cape Verde, from the 12th through to the 22nd of June.
He will be using FT8 and FT4 on 80-6 metres.

In Tanzania, Chas, NK8O is on the air as 5H3DX until the 2nd of July,
using CW, FT8 and FT4. Listen for him on 40-6 metres.

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

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
YOUTH ON THE AIR SUMMER CAMP ACTIVATES W4Y

PAUL/ANCHOR: It's the season for Youth on the Air Americas Camp in
Huntsville, Alabama for young amateur radio operators in North,
Central, and South America. Be listening for special event call W4Y
while camp is in session from June 14th through to the 19th. When the youngsters aren't on the air, they'll be engaging in a number of
space-themed activities and will livestream their contact with ISS
astronaut Chris Williams, KJ5GEW.

(YOTA AMERICAS CAMP)

**

KICKER: HAMS LAUNCHING A TALL CONSERVATION ENDEAVOR

PAUL/ANCHOR: In this week's final item, we learn about a special event celebrating "Tatu" and "Joshua." They and about 140,000 others like
them are about to enter the spotlight thanks to a group of hams from
the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. Newsline's Mark Abramowicz
(Abram-oh-vich) NT3V has the story...

MARK: If I asked you what the date June 21st means to you, you'd
probably say that sounds like the first official day of summer in the
United States. It marks the longest period of daylight for a day
thisyear.

Coincidentally, this date for the summer solstice this year also marks
the celebration of Father's Day in America..

So, what do "Tatu" and "Joshua" have to do with all of this?

Both of these named creatures - whose origins can be traced to the
continent of Africa - are mammals and the tallest animals on the
planet.

Come on, Sherlock Holmes - it's elementary!

They are giraffes!

They're going to be honored with a special event station to be set up
on Sunday, June 21st to observe World Giraffe Day from the Lehigh
Valley Zoo outside of Allentown where they both now live.

Walt Skavinsky KB3SBC is coordinating the W3G operation on behalf of
the Education Alliance for Amateur Radio.

Skavinsky tells Newsline the W3G special event creates a rare
intersection of wildlife conservation and communications technology.

He says [quote] "It will give zoo visitors and the public an
opportunity to see real-world radio operations in action while
celebrating giraffes and supporting awareness of conservation issues
for them." [endquote.]

Skavinsky says giraffes in the wild face significant threats including
habitat loss and poaching. He says world conservation groups use World
Giraffe Day to focus on the silent extinction the gentle creatures are
facing.

More details at QRZ-dot-com, search W3G in the call sign window in the
upper left box.

By the way, Skavinsky observes [quote] "This may be the only special
event station where the antenna is not the tallest thing around."
[endquote]

I'm Mark Abramowicz NT3V

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, AMSAT News; AMSAT-DL; ARRL Letter;
CNN; David Behar, K7DB; DX World; 425DX News; HamSCI; HamClock BackEnd;
IEEE Spectrum; InsideRadio; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; LinkedIn;
Linton News; MSN.com; National Public Radio; NBCNews; OneNewsPage.com;
QRZ.com; Reuters; RSGB; shortwaveradio.de; Wireless Institute of
Australia; YOTA Americas Camp; 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
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visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you
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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 Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso Indiana
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
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