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.

The 47 repeater group is looking for good used gear that you are willing to donate to the group. These items are being sold at the table at this function to help maintain the repeater throughout the year. So please look around your shack to see what items you are will to donate to this worthy cause. If you have something get in touch with Don KD7AVI or anyone of the board members to arrange pickup. Thank you in advance!

44^th ANNUAL ELECTRONICS
SHOW & SWAP MEET

— Saturday, March 7, 2026 —
— Ticket Sales open at 8:00 AM; Doors open at 9:00 AM —
— Dealers Close by 3:00 PM —

— See Flyer for Advance ticket sales and 2026 seller tables —

The two upcoming events for the repeater group are 1. The Annual Meeting is scheduled for February 28th 2026. 2. The Mike & Key Swap meet is scheduled for March 7th 2026. Keep these dates in mind and keep looking for the updates as they happen by checking the web site from time to time.

ARRL News reported that the FCC has extended the filing deadline to March 5, 2026, for amateur radio licenses that otherwise were due to expire from October 1, 2025, to March 5, 2026. The announcement is included in an FCC Public Notice (DA-25-943) released on Monday, November 17, 2025.

The news follows the recent reopening of the federal government on November 13, following a 43-day shutdown. Since reopening, many federal agencies, including the FCC, have resumed activities, though reducing backlogs and rebounding to full operations may take some time.

This includes continued delays in filing amateur radio license applications.

ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, explained that the announcement means that amateurs whose license expired, or will expire, between October 1, 2025, and March 5, 2026, may continue to operate upon completing a license renewal filing by March 5, 2026.

Somma added the FCC ULS systems are intermittently available again, which include the license manger system, FCC license search, and application search databases, as well as the CORES system. However, FCC system issues are affecting application processing.

The FCC had also briefly resumed accepting application filings via its Electronic Batch Filing (EBF) system on late Wednesday afternoon, November 19. “The EBF system is used by ARRL VEC and all VEC organizations to file exam sessions, new and upgraded licenses, as well as individual and club license filings, none of which are not being processed at this time,” said Somma.

During the shutdown, the ARRL VEC urged its Volunteer Examiners to continue giving ham radio exam sessions. “We have over 2,500 license applications ready to file as soon as the EBF system becomes available and fully operational,” said Somma. “ARRL VEC is prepared to submit the backlog of sessions and applications to FCC for issuing licenses.”

ARRL VEC has published important information For ARRL VEC exam candidates who were unable to get an FCC Registration Number (FRN) while the FCC CORES system was unavailable.

To read this complete story and the latest updates, and for instructions For ARRL VEC exam candidates, visit https://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-vec-ready-to-file-2-500-ham-radio-license-applications-fcc-extends-renewal-filing-deadline (ARRL News 11/18/2025).

Follow this link to see what is being proposed within the WWARA and will happen in the future:

https://www.wwara.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/WWARATransitioning2Narrowband2025-20250111.pdf

Will start again on Sunday November 2nd, 2025. Tune in at 8:00 PM and hear what has been happening on the peak and any future upcoming plans for the Repeater group.