All amateur radio operators are invited to participate in the annual DOD
MARS – Armed Forces Day cross band radio communications event on May 9,
2026.

The Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD)
Crossband Test, scheduled for May 9, 2026. This annual event is open to
all licensed amateur radio operators and will not impact any public or
private communications. For more than 50 years, military and amateur
stations have taken part in this event, which is an interoperability
exercise between hobbyist and government radio stations.

The AFD Crossband Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way
communication between military communicators and radio stations in the
Amateur Radio Service (ARS), as authorized in 47 CFR 97.111. These tests
provide opportunities and challenges for radio operators to demonstrate
individual technical skills in a tightly controlled exercise scenario
that does not impact any public or private communications.

Military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and
will announce the specific ARS frequencies monitored. All times are ZULU
(Z), and all frequencies are Upper Side Band (USB) unless otherwise
noted. The frequencies used for the test will not impact any public or
private communications and will not stray outside the confines of the
exercise.

Information can be found at the following link:

https://www.dodmars.org/mars-comex-information-website/armed-forces-day

April 26, 2026 will be the last net for the season. The net will start backup in the Fall. Everyone have a great summer and will be looking forward to hearing you all throughout the summer and remember to check back from time to time for all of the latest news and updates.

The reservation for the annual picnic site has been sent in for August 1st 2026. More information will be coming soon keep checking back here!

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has responded to a complaint involving a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, amateur for operating outside the privileges of his Technician Class license and causing interference to local emergency service communications by transmitting on a public service frequency, 470.4375 MHz.

According to a letter released by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, agents investigating an interference complaint from Allegheny County Emergency Services determined that the interfering signal originated from the residence of David Knudtson, KD3ASC, who also holds a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) license, WSDQ885. The letter states that Knudtson gave the agents a BTech UV-Pro handheld which had been programmed to monitor the county emergency services frequency. Agents determined that its “Audio Relay” feature had been activated, turning the HT “into a simplex repeater that was retransmitting the Allegheny County channel.”

The letter continues that Knudtson, who is a relatively new amateur licensee, surrendered the radio to the agents, who then “verified that the interference to the Allegheny County system had ceased.” The letter also notes that Knudtson’s BTech radio was certified as a Part 90 (private land mobile radio) device and that he was not licensed to transmit on the emergency services frequency.

Knudtson was warned that unauthorized operation and its associated harmful interference must not resume. He was given 10 days from the date of the March 25 letter to respond with a description of the steps he is taking to avoid a repeat violation.

Amateurs are reminded to exercise care when programming non-amateur frequencies into their VHF/UHF radios, and to ensure that transmitting on those frequencies is disabled.