Today on the Bands — Friday, July 17, 2026
Friday brings a tidy mix of housekeeping and adventure: Ofcom's five-year revalidation reminder rubs shoulders with a rove through the Appalachians and a fresh Section Manager taking the reins. Add contest antennas, shortwave nostalgia, and a satellite designed to bounce sunlight, and there's plenty to chew on before the weekend rally.
- 01 Also in GB2RS this week…
A timely nudge that UK licences need revalidating every five years, though Ofcom would rather you tidy up your database details annually.
Read at source ↗ - 02 Rallies and Events News – 19 July 2026
Lincoln Short Wave Club's Summer Radio Rally lands this Sunday at Market Rasen, with doors at 10am, £3 admission, and free parking to sweeten the deal.
Read at source ↗ - 03 Contesting 101: Basic Antennas for Contesting
K4RO kicks off a contesting series with the fundamentals of antennas, a welcome primer for anyone eyeing their first serious effort in the log.
Read at source ↗ - 04 W2TEF: A POTAcycle Rove Through the Appalachians
Todd (W2TEF) blends motorcycling and activations on a Blue Ridge Parkway rove, proving a POTAcycle trip is as much about the journey as the parks.
Read at source ↗ - 05 Shortwave Memories — Who’s Out There?
Karl Forth's reflection on wondering who else was tuned to Radio Portugal captures that universal shortwave feeling of solitary listening across a shared band.
Read at source ↗ - 06 Sharp SG-220 all-in-one stereo system
As Brazil migrates AM stations to FM, the freed-up medium-wave spectrum is becoming friendlier ground for DXers hunting distant signals.
Read at source ↗ - 07 Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2542 for Friday, July 17th, 2026
- FCC OKS LAUNCH OF "MIRROR" SATELLITE TO REFLECT SUN - GMRS REPEATER PROVIDES SAFETY NET IN UTAH - SILENT KEY: ATLANTA RADIO CLUB'S JOHN TALIPSKI, N3ACK - AMSAT SOUTH AFRICA FOCUSES ON FUTURE SATELLITE TECH…
Read at source ↗ - 08 New ARRL Santa Clara Valley Section Manager
Tony Dowler, K6BV, steps up as the new Santa Clara Valley Section Manager, a leadership handover worth noting for California hams.
Read at source ↗
The HamDaily digest — five minutes, the whole band.