Weather-Watching Satellites Entering End-of-Life Stage

In a little more than a month, the US will stop supporting three satellites in its important group of weather observers. 

Three US government weather-watching satellites have been scheduled to formally enter the end-of-life stage on 16th June 2025 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA has announced that the satellites - 15, 18 and 19 - which are part of the Polar Operational Environmental Satellites, or POES system, will no longer be updated or repaired.

As quoted in the blog USradioguy.com, NOAA said that this means signals will continue to be transmitted but should not be used by anyone for purposes involving safety or other critical matters. Hobbyists will still be able to download weather satellite imagery either via Automatic Picture Transmission on 137 MHz with a V-dipole antenna or via High Resolution Picture Transmission on 1.7 GHz with a tracking dish antenna.

Like the other POES satellites, this trio had provided data that was used in monitoring the environment, forest fires, volcanic eruptions and global vegetation.

University Station Activates to Welcome New Pope

Two days after the conclave of cardinals had elected Pope Leo XIV, amateur radio station HV5PUL - the Pontifical Lateran University - was on the air in the Vatican City State in the heart of Rome, celebrating. The station's administrator, Luca Della Giovampaola, IWØDJB, reported that traffic was lively on 20 metres SSB and 17 metres FT8. He said that the simple 100-watt station logged an estimated 400 contacts in four hours. Propagation was challenging and so, with the exception of one Japanese station, all the contacts were within Europe.

It's not often a new pope is chosen, nor that HV5PUL is put on the air. Luca said the callsign is active mainly on Saturdays in connection with special occasions, such as the opening day of the university's academic year -- and of course, the election of a new pope.

New Grant Boosts Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications

Thanks to an infusion of money from Amateur Radio Digital Communications, the massive collection at the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications can keep growing - and growing. 

The collection of digitized newsletters, magazines and online media at the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications keeps on growing — and now the library has something else to add to its hefty collection: a second grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications, the group that provided the original grant that first helped bring this library of amateur radio's international history to life.

“Excuse the mess, there’s still confetti all over the floor of DLARC World Headquarters.”

— Kay Savetz, K6KJN

Kay Savetz, K6KJN, the library's curator, said in the Zero Retries newsletter that the funding will permit the free library's continued operation for another two years. He said phase two of the library's operation will include acquiring and digitising material from the California Historical Radio Society and the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention. The library's most recent acquisitions include the Wireless Institute of Australia's Amateur Radio Magazine from 1933 through 2012 and dozens of new issues of the DX Bulletin.