Here’s a quick roundup of ham radio news from the past week (early April 2026):

Space & Satellite Highlights

• ARISS (Amateur Radio on the ISS) opened a new proposal window for U.S. schools and educational groups to host crew contacts with the International Space Station. Submissions are due by May 22, 2026, with an informational webinar scheduled for April 30. Several successful student contacts happened this week too.
• Amateur radio operators are involved in upcoming Artemis 2 moon mission coverage, with mentions of hams supporting the program.

Regulatory & Enforcement

• FCC charged an amateur with interfering with emergency communications and issued warnings about out-of-band transmissions in recent enforcement actions.

Equipment & Tech

• Elecraft donated a new high-performance station setup to ARRL’s W1AW (the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station) at headquarters in Connecticut.
• Linux ham radio enthusiasts are working on modernizing the KISS serial driver this year.
• Teasers from Tokyo Ham Fair (earlier coverage) mentioned upcoming 2026 upgrades like a potential IC-7300 Mark II and other new Icom/Kenwood gear.

Other Notes

• Solar activity remains low (mostly C-class flares), which has kept HF conditions modest lately. ARRL’s weekly solar update is out.
• World Amateur Radio Day is coming up fast on April 18, 2026 — clubs are encouraged to host “Ham Radio Open House” events throughout April.
• The April 2026 issue of QST is out, featuring articles like the Tulsa ARES Winlink Net, a remote transceiver antenna switch, and Straight Key Night results.
• Plenty of local club meetings, POTA/SOTA activations, and satellite passes reported on the air this week.

April Fools’ jokes (like the mythical “Antenna Encabulator”) made the rounds as usual, but real news has been fairly quiet otherwise — typical for early spring.

If you want deeper details on any of these (like ARISS proposal links, the Elecraft donation, or solar conditions), or if you’re looking for something specific (contests, new products, local events, etc.), just say the word! 73.