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UK scanner files tailored to your location and receiver, plus loading guides and free radio tools.

04/10/2026

Imagine a pupil asking a question in class—and an astronaut answering it from orbit.

With World Space Week starting today, here’s something worth passing on to a teacher or youth leader.

ARISS Europe is accepting applications from schools and youth organisations until 23 October 2026, for possible radio contacts with astronauts aboard the International Space Station between July and December 2027.

Applicants need an educational project, so it’s more than simply booking a conversation. A mentor guides the process and helps selected groups prepare.

Selection and the contact itself aren’t guaranteed, but it could be the centre of a memorable science project.

Search “ARISS Europe school contacts” for the official application information.

Has your school or radio club helped arrange an ISS contact? What do you remember most about it?

03/10/2026

Got the digital radio working, but still looking for a regular conversation to follow?

FreeSTAR’s published schedule lists TopTalk for the first Saturday of each month at 9.30pm UK time—that’s tonight.

It’s a discussion around an amateur-radio topic, with a host and contributors.

FreeSTAR connects several modes, including DMR, D-STAR and System Fusion. That means people using different radio systems can join the same network conversation.

If you’re planning to join, check the official FreeSTAR connection instructions for your setup first. A talkgroup number alone won’t get you there if you’re connected to the wrong network.

New to nets? Listening to how the host brings people into the conversation is a useful starting point.

Which regular nets have made you feel most welcome?

02/10/2026

If you use Pi-Star with your hotspot, Sunday’s Welsh Radio Rally has a talk worth knowing about.

Andy Taylor, MW0MWZ, will be discussing Pi-Clock, Pi-Star Legacy and Pi-Star Next Generation.

Steve Hartley, G0FUW, is also speaking on “QRP why and how?”, alongside the traders and bring-and-buy.

📅 Sunday 4 October
📍 Llanwern High School, Hartridge Farm Road, Newport, NP18 2YE
🕤 Public opening: 9.30am–1pm
🎟️ Admission: £3
🚗 Free parking

A chance to hear about the software as well as browse the equipment.

Which Pi-Star version are you currently running—and are you someone who updates regularly or leaves a working setup alone?

01/10/2026

Your next radio project could be a picture received directly from the International Space Station. 🛰️

ARISS has announced an SSTV event starting tomorrow, Friday 2 October, at 10am UK time. It is scheduled to continue until Tuesday 6 October, with the finishing time still to be confirmed.

The settings for THIS event are:

📻 Frequency: 437.550 MHz, allowing for Doppler shift
🖼️ Decoder mode: Robot 36

Don’t automatically reuse settings from an older ISS event.

You’ll need a suitable receiver or SDR, an aerial, SSTV decoding software and an ISS pass prediction for your location. The received audio carries the picture, which the software decodes.

Search “ARISS upcoming SSTV events” before your pass to check for any changes.

If you capture an image, share it below with the equipment you used. Partial pictures are welcome too!

30/09/2026

How did the BBC plan to keep broadcasting after a nuclear attack?

That’s the subject of research being exhibited by Iain Betson at the Broadcast Engineering Museum this Sunday, 4 October.

It includes the BBC’s secret “deferred facilities” and preparations to broadcast to the population after an attack.

For anyone interested in Cold War communications, this looks worth a visit.

📍 41 Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, DN21 5XS
🕚 Doors open at 11am
🎟️ Adult admission £8
🚗 Free parking

Did you work in broadcasting or communications during that period? We’d be interested to hear your memories.

29/09/2026

Could you hear Australia or New Zealand from your own aerial?

There’s a reason to give it a try this weekend.

The voice section of the Oceania DX Contest runs from 7am UK time on Saturday 3 October until 7am on Sunday 4 October, with amateur stations across Oceania taking part.

For listeners, you don’t need a contest entry or a huge logbook. An HF receiver capable of SSB, an aerial and some patience are enough to start looking for signals.

Reception will depend on your setup, the band and conditions. If one band seems quiet, don’t assume the whole event is.

Try keeping a small log of the callsigns and locations you identify.

What’s the furthest station you’ve heard on your own equipment—not through an online receiver?

28/09/2026

“I’ll get round to doing my Full licence eventually.”

If that sounds familiar, there’s a useful way to see how much you already know.

The RSGB has published its Full exam question bank. It works in a browser on a computer or phone, lets you practise individual syllabus sections and can generate mock examinations.

Try one section first. Make a note of the questions you struggle with, then revisit that subject before trying again.

That gives you something manageable to work on, rather than feeling you need to tackle the entire syllabus at once.

Search “RSGB Full exam question bank” to find the official resource.

If you’ve already passed, which subject took the longest to click—and what helped you understand it?

27/09/2026

Ever tune past those warbling signals on HF and wonder what they’re saying?

This weekend is a good opportunity to find out. The CQ World Wide RTTY Contest is running throughout today.

RTTY—radio teletype—sends text rather than speech. With a suitable HF receiver or SDR and RTTY decoding software, the tones can become readable callsigns and contest exchanges.

The contest uses the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metre amateur bands. For anyone setting up a decoder, the contest mode is 45.45-baud RTTY with a 170 Hz shift.

This is one for HF equipment, rather than a basic VHF/UHF scanner.

You don’t have to transmit or enter the contest to enjoy decoding the activity.

Was RTTY your introduction to digital radio, or did you start with something else?

26/09/2026

This weekend, the station calling CQ could be sitting beside a steam railway. 🚂

Railways on the Air runs today and tomorrow, with amateur stations operating from railway locations around the country.

A few callsigns to listen for:

• GB1BBR — Bluebell Railway
• GB0AER — Audley End Enchanted Railway
• GB100BCR — Babbacombe Cliff Railway

These are amateur special-event stations, not the railways’ operational radio channels.

If you enjoy listening, try noting the callsign, time and band, then finding out which railway you’ve heard. It gives a bit of background to what might otherwise be just another callsign in the log.

Anyone combining a railway visit with some radio this weekend?

25/09/2026

Heading to National Hamfest today or tomorrow? Leave a little time for the soldering iron. 🔧

The RSGB Outreach team is running a buildathon at Newark Showground, with a Kanga Morse Tutor as this year’s project.

The activity is free and doesn’t need advance booking, although normal Hamfest admission still applies. There are also CW speed tests and 3D-printing demonstrations in the RSGB village.

If you’ve been meaning to try a small electronics project—or haven’t built anything for years—this could be a good opportunity to get started.

There’s something satisfying about switching on a piece of equipment you’ve put together yourself.

What was your first working radio project, and do you still have it?

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