Hams Help Sonoma Springs Residents with GMRS

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In one California county, radios are becoming more and more of a safety net.

In Sonoma County, California, floods, wildfires and earthquakes are among the best reasons for becoming a radio operator. With that in mind, the county's Department of Emergency Management has entered the second year of a three-year program that includes helping more Sonoma Springs area residents to get licensed and get on the air. The initiative has been funded through a $70,000 federal grant.

Emergency management officials are now preparing for training sessions in October that will prepare area residents for an exam leading toward a license to use handheld radios, especially at times when cellular telephone networks fail. The radios are part of General Mobile Radio Services, or GMRS, a licensed service operating between 462 MHz and 467 MHz. The county is coordinating with amateur radio operators in the North Bay Communications Cooperative and its Auxiliary Communications System. The goal is to coordinate frequencies so that the GMRS users can work seamlessly within the broader emergency communications system.

“No matter what happens, you have something that will work.”
— Nancy Brown, Emergency management specialist

The focus is on residents in the community of Sonoma Springs, which is classified as an evacuation zone when there are wildfires, but participants who live outside the area are also welcome to enrol.

The county's program can supply as many as 175 of the radios to participants who successfully complete the program.

NASA Seeks Volunteers to Track Orion Spacecraft in 2026

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NASA Seeks Volunteers to Track Orion Spacecraft in 2026

A good way for space enthusiasts to get involved: NASA is looking for volunteers to track next year's Artemis II Orion spacecraft during the crewed mission's round-trip journey between the Earth and the Moon. Volunteers have until October 27th to contact NASA about their desire to participate.

The US space agency is asking for those with the necessary capabilities to observe the Doppler shift on the Orion's S-band return link carrier signal. The monitoring is designed to achieve and keep a carrier lock solely for purposes of tracking the spacecraft. Volunteers will not be transmitting or uplinking signals. Orion's S-band range is between 2200 and 2290 MHz.

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Hans Summers, G0UPL Confirmed as the RSGB Convention After-Dinner Speaker

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Hans Summers, G0UPL from QRP Labs has been confirmed by the RSGB as the after-dinner speaker at its Convention in October. Following the gala dinner, Hans will be sharing the emotions he experienced during the nine months he spent adding SSB to the QMX transceiver.

Tickets for the gala dinner, along with those for the full Convention programme and the three exciting workshops, can be purchased via rsgb.org/convention  This year’s RSGB Convention takes place at Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes between Friday the 10th and Sunday the 12th October 2025. Book now and join like-minded radio amateurs for an action-packed programme.