If you buy or sell radio gear on eBay, there's a policy change worth understanding clearly, because the headline could easily be misread as bad news for the amateur radio community. It isn't.

eBay has introduced new restrictions on US listings of radio transmitting equipment, in response to new FCC rules that took effect this week. However, after a direct enquiry from ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio®, eBay confirmed that its new policy will not apply to equipment that operates exclusively on amateur radio frequencies.

A veteran helicopter pilot died after his helicopter struck a 150-foot tower standing behind a ham radio operator's home in Myakka City, Florida. The 63-year-old pilot was the only person aboard, and had just finished a mosquito-control spraying run when the accident occurred shortly before 9 p.m. on 15th October, in Manatee County.

A spokesperson for the county sheriff's office told local media that firefighters pulled the pilot from the wreckage as it burned. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The guyed tower — the tallest of three standing on the property — collapsed in the crash.

If you've tried to renew your FCC amateur radio license lately and hit a wall paying the fee, you're far from alone — and one ham has put actual numbers behind just how common that problem is.

Rob Rosenberger, K4HST, has a name for the issue: the "payment labyrinth." He believes it's responsible for roughly 1 in 18 hams failing to complete payment of the $35 license-renewal fee. Rosenberger, a retired systems analyst, reached his conclusions by analysing the FCC's downloadable, publicly accessible two-year archive dating back to 2024.