This week's BG radio news

There has been plenty to listen for, from Greenland and Antarctica to the islands of the Pacific. This week's news also brings field experiences, technical projects and contest updates, while the space-weather reports underline the importance of checking when a forecast applies.

DX from polar regions to tropical islands

Bo, OZ7AM, is again reported active as OX3LX from Greenland on HF and 6 metres, while Mehdi, FT4YM in Antarctica, is back on HF. Closer to home, upcoming activity by 5Q7DX and OV2T from Vendsyssel-Thy, IOTA EU-171, has been announced. The opportunities therefore range from distant continents to a Danish island reference that domestic IOTA chasers can also work.

IOTA is also central to 9M8T on Talang-Talang Besar, OC-165, and the planned NV1U/HR9 and HQ9X activity from Roatan, NA-057. Roatan operations will focus on FT8 and CW on HF. In Bermuda, N7NU/VP9 and VP9I are used for ordinary HF operation and contests respectively, so the callsign depends on the activity.

In the Pacific, Japanese operators are using T88FM, T88MK and T88XM from Palau on CW, SSB and digital modes. A35TV from Tonga is expected on CW, SSB and FT8, with V6XG from Chuuk adding another opportunity in the region. The Tonga report specifically notes the difficult propagation path from Europe: an active station does not necessarily mean an easy contact.

African news includes plans for 3X4U from Guinea on CW, SSB and FT8, alongside activity by 7Q5C in Malawi and 9J2NE in Zambia. There is also 8Q7JH from the Maldives. The reports for Malawi, Zambia and the Maldives point to DX clusters for current frequencies or modes.

Planning updates come from Rockall DX Group and Rebel DX Group, though the supplied material gives no specific destinations or schedules. RSGB's DX roundup and the DX-World bulletin bring together current and forthcoming activity. After the contacts come the cards: SSA's QSL report from SM0BYD covers incoming and outgoing DX cards.

Space weather needs a time reference

DARC has reported both quiet weekend conditions and low solar activity, with moderate conditions on the higher HF bands. A report on falling solar flux highlights weaker high-band propagation but stable overnight conditions on 40 and 80 metres. Another warns of strong geomagnetic storms, HF fadeouts and possible VHF auroral openings. These reports should not be treated as a single forecast.

ARRL's solar update of 18 September described solar wind near 530 km/s, with influences from a coronal hole and coronal mass ejections. NOAA's forecast included active conditions up to G1 storm levels, with effects waning on 18–19 September despite low flare activity. For ongoing monitoring, a review of Helioclock discusses a dedicated shack space-weather display and highlights its build quality.

Contests and welcoming new operators

SSA's guide to SAC awards gives 19–20 September for CW and 10–11 October for SSB. Special awards include young operators under 25, YL/XYL operators and the CW Low Power Single Wire category, sponsored by OZ1BIZ. SSA also encourages shared operation in MULTI-ONE, where only one transmitter may be on the air at a time.

For broader planning, RSGB's contest calendar provides an overview of HF and VHF competitions. Activity on the bands can also serve another purpose: introducing newcomers to the hobby. ARRL is encouraging operators to prepare for JOTA, which brings Scouts and radio amateurs together on the air.

QRP is also about experience and community

Thomas Witherspoon, K4SWL, describes four POTA outings that did not go to plan during his 2026 UK trip. Even a familiar callsign cannot guarantee the 10 contacts needed for POTA or four for SOTA when conditions or time work against an operator. His Umstead field report covers low battery voltage and one-watt CW in poor band conditions. These experiences naturally complement his RSGB talk on building a QRP field kit.

The QRP community has also lost Doug Hendricks, KI6DS. First licensed in 1976, he co-founded the NorCal QRP Club in 1993, whose kit programmes produced more than 20,000 kits. Witherspoon particularly remembers his commitment to affordable, educational amateur radio and the welcome he gave newcomers.

Developments in software, SDR and antennas

M17's Codec2 changes separate the encoder and decoder to save memory and remove unnecessary double-precision calculations. Initialisation was 7.6 times faster on an STM32F411 running at 100 MHz. Audio measurements showed an average ViSQOL difference of just +0.005; the developer considers the changes theoretically inaudible, with practical listening tests to follow.

On the receiving side, LakeShark combines a LilyGO ESP32-P4 display with an RTL-SDR for reception including FM, ADS-B and POCSAG. Frugal Radio's six-SDR system uses KrakenSDR and SDRplay for simultaneous decoding, while Bluewatch logs nearby Bluetooth devices using a Raspberry Pi. These projects offer different approaches to observing radio activity, from portable reception to handling several signal types at once.

A more measurement-focused project is RF mapping with PlutoSDR and LiDAR, which uses a Raspberry Pi 5 to produce indoor signal maps. The InjectEave research demonstration, meanwhile, shows how RF injection into headphone cables can produce return emissions that allow audio to be intercepted. The fundamental role of antennas is also being recognised as Contest University marks 100 years of the Yagi-Uda antenna with a free webinar.

Satellites and what comes next

AMSAT ANS-263 covers subjects including AO-7, the Binar-567 trio being prepared for launch and satellite tracking through LEO.space. Those are topics for satellite enthusiasts, whereas the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope belongs to astronomy: NASA is preparing an observatory with a field of view a hundred times Hubble's to study dark energy and exoplanets. The two stories therefore concern different uses of space.

Looking ahead, the SSB leg of SAC on 10–11 October is a firm diary date. JOTA preparations and the announced DX activities also remain on the horizon. On the technical side, M17's practical audio tests will be worth following.