Icom Releases Firmware Update 1.03 for the IC-7300MK2

A quick one for anyone running the newer IC-7300MK2 — Icom has just pushed out a fresh firmware update worth grabbing.

Icom has released Version 1.03 firmware for the IC-7300MK2 HF/50/70MHz transceiver, bringing a set of operational improvements to the radio.

The update is available now from the Icom Global website - https://www.icomjapan.com/support/firmware_driver/4742/

As always with firmware updates, take the time to read through the installation instructions carefully before applying it to your radio — a rushed update is the easiest way to turn a routine improvement into an afternoon of troubleshooting.

If you're running an IC-7300MK2, this is one worth adding to the to-do list.

100 Years of the Yagi: Contest University Marks a Milestone Antenna Design

Some pieces of amateur radio kit never really go out of fashion, and the Yagi-Uda beam antenna is Exhibit A. This year marks its 100th anniversary, having first been invented back in 1926, and Contest University (CTU) chose to celebrate the milestone with a dedicated live webinar.

The free session, titled "The Yagi Turns 100," ran as a live Zoom webinar on Saturday 19th September 2026 at 1600 UTC (noon Eastern). There was no pre-registration required — viewers simply clicked the link at w3lif.org/yagi ahead of the start time to join. Questions posted in the chat during the presentation were collected and relayed to the presenter once the talk wrapped up.

If you missed it live, there's still good news: the session was recorded, and CTU plan to post the recording link on the Contest University website in the coming week — well worth a watch for anyone with even a passing interest in the antenna design that's quietly underpinned a century of DX chasing and contesting.

A century on, and the Yagi's still the reference point most of us end up pointing at the sky.

Amateur Radio technologies help in Canadian Cave Rescue.

5-watt QDX-M Transceivers from QRP-Labs, set up (we believe) for 2200m were used to communicate through 100 metres of solid rock at Rats Nest Cave using JS8-CALL ham radio conversational digital data software (a derivative of FT8), allowing text messages to be communicated from the rescuers with the trapped man and the control centre on the surface.

A few readers may be interested to know that this same 2200m band setup was recently tested to see if it could support 2-way chat using JS8CALL, in a surface-to-cave context. Results were very successful, with SNR’s as high as +09 dB being recorded through more than 100m of solid rock. FB, Ian!

Cave radios have existed for decades and have penetrated much deeper than this initial test, but the small size, light weight and low cost of the QDX-M makes it a potential breakthrough in utility for cave exploration and cave rescue. More tests to follow.

This was not a SOTA accomplishment per se, although there has been the occasional thread on this reflector suggesting there may be room for a Caves On The Air program :grin:… Interesting possibility: the test cave (called Rat’s Nest) is located in Grotto Mountain, which happens to be SOTA summit VE6/HC-015. In theory it might be possible to have a 2200m band QSO between the summit of HC-015 and the lowest point in the cave, which is about 165m below the entrance. Pretty stiff trip in both directions, though, for a 6 - point activation and chase …