Ukraine: DARC provides an update
Germany’s DARC reports in Romania radio amateurs have been contacted by the government to offer their expertise should the situation deteriorate. DARC also provides guidance for German amateurs

March GEO Newsletter available for free download
The March PDF of the GEO Newsletter weather satellite publication produced by the Group for Earth Observation is now available for free download

Sunday Social Session
National Radio Society of Ireland (NRSI) has posted a video onto youtube of its latest ‘Sunday Social Session’ with special guest Sangita VU3ZIH

Ofcom: Enabling spectrum sharing in the upper 6 GHz band
Ofcom has published a consultation proposing to add the upper 6 GHz band (6425-7070 MHz) to our shared access licence framework for low-power, indoor use

Tonga volcanic eruption touched the mesosphere
A new movie just released by NASA shows an undersea volcano near Tonga punching a hole through the atmosphere all the way to the mesosphere. This confirms that the Jan. 15th eruption was the tallest of the Space Age by a wide margin

ARRL seeks exemption from proposed US Forest Service communication facility fees
ARRL has filed comments with the US Forest Service (USFS) seeking an exemption for amateur radio facilities to a proposed new 1400 dollar annual administrative fee

Ham radio renaissance
Most of us had to get creative when it came to staying connected during the pandemic. For some, they turned old school, bringing about a renaissance of technology. Watch this video

Ukraine: IARU-R1 statement
IARU Region 1 has released the following statement regarding any radio transmissions you may hear from radio amateurs in Ukraine

Ukrainian, Russian radio enthusiasts battle over alleged Russian military frequency
The Kyiv Independent reports that the frequency of a suspected Russian military shortwave radio broadcast, known as the ‘buzzer’ for its recognizable repeating channel marker, has become the battleground for rival Russian and Ukrainian radio enthusiasts, who have been attempting to hijack the frequency to play memes and propaganda

Elon Musk’s Starlink system is now providing satellite internet services in Ukraine
The Creek City Times reports that Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are now active over Ukraine after a request from the embattled country’s leadership to replace internet services destroyed by the Russian attack

POTA – Ham Hill Country Park Somerset
Parks on the Air (POTA) is becoming increasing popular in the UK, Tim M7TLT made a video of his first POTA activation

ICQPodcast episode 371 – Improving your SSB contact ratio
In this episode, Martin Butler (M1MRB) is joined by Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in the episode’s feature Improving your SSB contact ratio

Retro and new tech combine in this hybrid ham transmitter
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the best part about holding an amateur radio license is that it lets you build and use your own transmitting equipment. Hams have been doing this for more than a century — indeed, it was once the only way to get on the air – using whatever technology was available. But the mix of technologies in this low-power transmitter for the 80-meter band is something you don’t see every day

DXCC Country/Entity Report
According to the Amateur Radio Cluster Network for the week of Sunday, 20th February, through Sunday, 27th February there were 216 countries active

Belize
Bob, W0BNC, will be active as V31BN from Haulover Bridge, Belize, between March 5-10th

Netherlands special event
The JOTA station of the ‘Scouting Campsite De Rendierhoeve‘ (PC6RH) will be activating the special callsign PC70RH to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the campsite which is situated in the near the Pijnendijk in Moergeste

IOTA News from OPDX
Weekly IOTA News – compiled by Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW