The Wireless Institute of Australia

19/ 08/ 2026 The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has highlighted a growing challenge for radio astronomy: the rapid expansion of large satellite constellations and the many different radio signals they can produce.
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SP3RN: The Patron Saint with an Amateur Radio Callsign

18/ 08/ 2026 Please note the WIA isn't advocating Catholicism, nor suggesting that amateur radio requires divine intervention, although anyone who has spent an evening calling an apparently deaf DX station might occasionally wonder. This is simply an interesting piece of amateur radio history connecting Saint Maximilian Kolbe, SP3RN, with our hobby.
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IARU Region 3 Advances Amateur Radio Interests on the Road to WRC-27

17/ 08/ 2026 The International Amateur Radio Union Region 3 (IARU R3) has continued its important work representing amateur and amateur-satellite interests in international spectrum discussions, participating in the third meeting of the APT Conference Preparatory Group for WRC-27 (APG27-3) in Sapporo, Japan.
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Another successful contact with the International Space Station!

16/ 08/ 2026 Students from the Australian Air League Adelaide, have successfully spoken live with NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, KJ5NIV, aboard the International Space Station during an ARISS school contact.
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IARU Region 3 Calls on Amateurs to Keep Emergency Frequencies Clear After Major Indonesian Earthquake

15/ 08/ 2026 The International Amateur Radio Union Region 3 (IARU R3) has issued an urgent request for radio amateurs across the region to keep two emergency frequencies clear following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara region on 15 August. Please keep 7.110MHz clear.
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Remembrance Day Contest: Remembering Those Who Never Returned

15/ 08/ 2026 The WIA Remembrance Day Contest is more than one of Australia's largest amateur radio competitions. At its heart is a memorial to Australian radio amateurs who lost their lives while serving during the Second World War. The contest is held on the weekend closest to 15 August, marking the end of hostilities in the South-West Pacific in 1945, and combines remembrance with friendly on-air competition between amateurs across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
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REMINDER - WIA Remembrance Day Contest 2026

14/ 08/ 2026 The WIA Remembrance Day Contest will be held over 15 and 16 August 2026, 2026. Whether you enjoy a busy national contest, phone, CW, RTTY or simply handing out a few contacts this event is for you.
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ISS Astronaut Jack Hathaway KJ5NIV to Talk with Australian Air League in Adelaide

14/ 08/ 2026 Today the 14th of August students from the Australian Air League, Adelaide, South Australia will talk live with Astronaut Jack Hathaway KJ5NIV onboard the International Space Station. Scheduled contact is for 10:56:13 UTC or 8:56:13 PM AEST.
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ACMA’s EME Checker Shows RF Exposure Measurement Is Being Taken Seriously

13/ 08/ 2026 The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) provides an online EME Checker that allows Australians to examine electromagnetic energy measurements taken around selected mobile phone base stations.
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Interference Hunting: Skills Every Radio Amateur Can Use

12/ 08/ 2026 Radio frequency interference is hardly a new problem for radio amateurs, but the rapidly growing number of electronic and wireless devices around us means finding unwanted signals is becoming an increasingly useful skill.
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS – COLOMBIA EARTHQUAKE

11/ 08/ 2026 Following the earthquake in Colombia, the Colombian Amateur Radio League (LCR) has activated its emergency communications network. Keep the following frequencies clear: 80 m: 3985 kHz 40 m: 7060, 7240, and 7275 kHz 20 m: 14300 kHz 17 m: 18160 kHz 15 m: 21360 kHz
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GridTracker: Putting Your Digital Contacts on the Map

11/ 08/ 2026 For radio amateurs using WSJT-X for FT8, FT4 and other weak-signal digital modes, GridTracker is one of those applications that can quickly become a permanent fixture on the shack computer.
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N1MM Logger+: Making WIA Contest Logging Easier

10/ 08/ 2026 For anyone getting involved in contesting, keeping an accurate log can be almost as important as making the contacts themselves. One of the most widely used solutions is N1MM Logger+, a free Windows-based contest logging program supporting CW, phone and digital modes and designed specifically around the fast-paced requirements of contest operation.
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Good Turnout and Good Conditions for the 2026 Trans-Tasman Low-Band Contest

09/ 08/ 2026 The results are in for the 2026 WIA Trans-Tasman Low-Band Contest, and this year’s event delivered good propagation, low noise and plenty of activity across the 160, 80 and 40 metre bands.
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Amateur Radio and Citizen Science: Helping Advance Science One Signal at a Time

08/ 08/ 2026 National Science Week begins next week, providing an ideal opportunity to recognise the significant contribution that Australian amateur radio operators make to science, engineering and technological innovation.
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Geneva Christian College Students Successfully Speak with Astronaut Aboard the International Space Station

07/ 08/ 2026 Students from Geneva Christian College in Latrobe, Tasmania, have successfully completed an inspiring ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) contact, speaking live with European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN, aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
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Tasmanian Club Showcased in ARRL QST for Leading Amateur Radio Community Engagement

06/ 08/ 2026 The Radio and Electronics Association of Southern Tasmania (REAST) has received international recognition, with its innovative approach to promoting amateur radio featured in the August 2026 edition of the ARRL's QST magazine, one of the world's most respected amateur radio publications.
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Where Australian Communications Changed Forever – The Alice Springs Telegraph Station

05/ 08/ 2026 Long before radio, satellites and the internet, there was Morse code and this is preserved in a great museum in Central Australia at Alice Springs.
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Australian Radio Amateurs Invited to Help Sound the Ionosphere During the 2028 Total Solar Eclipse

04/ 08/ 2026 The Wireless Institute of Australia has received an early approach from the international Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, better known as HamSCI, about developing a major amateur radio ionospheric research experiment during the 22 July 2028 total solar eclipse.
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Who Really Invented Radio? Find Out in the August RAOTC Bulletin

03/ 08/ 2026 The Radio Amateurs Old Timers Club of Australia (RAOTC) invites all radio amateurs and anyone with an interest in the history of wireless to tune in for its August monthly bulletin, which will be broadcast on the first Monday of the month across the Club's extensive network of HF and other transmission modes.
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Tasmanian Students Set for Second Chance to Speak with the International Space Station

02/ 08/ 2026 Students from Geneva Christian College at Latrobe, Tasmania, will have the opportunity to speak directly with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN aboard the International Space Station (ISS) when they participate in an ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) contact on Monday 3 August.
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August Brings Two Great Australian Amateur Radio Contests

01/ 08/ 2026 two very different opportunities to get on air, test their operating skills and contribute to the amateur radio community. The WIA Remembrance Day Contest will be held over 15 and 16 August 2026, followed by the 46th ALARA Contest on 29 and 30 August 2026.
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