Author: Michael | OE8YML
PMR vs. Meshtastic vs. CB Radio: Three Licence-Free Radio Systems Compared
3 January 2026, Berlin-Lichterfelde: an arson attack on the power grid knocked out 45,000 households – for days. Mobile phone towers went down, landlines dead, internet gone. Thousands of people were left with no way to…
Icom X-026: New Concept Radio to Be Unveiled at Hamvention 2026
On 20 April 2026, Icom announced a new project via its official channels: the X-026. A concept mock-up set to be shown as a world premiere at the Dayton Hamvention from 15 to 17 May 2026.…
The Best Portable Antenna for SOTA and POTA
When you pack your rucksack to activate a SOTA summit or visit a POTA park, one question matters above all others: which antenna are you bringing? The requirements are clear — lightweight, compact, quick to set…
ITU-R M.1042-4: What the New Emergency Communications Recommendation Means for Amateur Radio
On 19 February 2026, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) adopted Recommendation ITU-R M.1042-4 — Disaster communications in the amateur and amateur-satellite services . It is the first revision since 2007. Nineteen years of silence, then an…
Youth and Amateur Radio: Why the Hobby Is Exciting for Young People
Update 24 May 2026 – Corrections based on reader feedback and article ratings: Based on your ratings and feedback, we have clarified the following points: afukurs.oevsv.at is not an online learning platform for self-study, but a…
World Amateur Radio Day 2026: Hand the Microphone to the Kids!
On 18 April 2026 , the world celebrates World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) . On this day in 1925, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was founded in Paris — this year marks the 101st anniversary.…
Solar Cycle 25: The Best Bands for DX in 2026
We are living in a special time for amateur radio. Solar Cycle 25 has exceeded all predictions and is delivering propagation conditions that many radio amateurs have not experienced in decades. If you are not active…
TOTA Spotting – How to Get Visible as an OE Activator
Towers On The Air (TOTA) is growing in Austria. But how do you spot yourself properly at a lookout tower? Here is the compact guide – including PoLo, WhatsApp and cross-spotting on SOTA/POTA.
Winlink: Email via Radio — Emergency Communication Without Internet
Imagine the internet goes down — no Wi-Fi, no mobile data, no fibre. For most people, that would be a disaster. For radio amateurs with Winlink, it is not. Winlink is a worldwide email system that…
QO-100: Getting Started with the Geostationary Amateur Radio Satellite
Imagine this: you press the PTT button, your signal races 36,000 kilometres into space, is picked up by a satellite and beamed back to Earth — from Brazil to India, from Scandinavia to South Africa. And…
APRS in Austria: Position Reports, Weather Data and More
APRS — the Automatic Packet Reporting System — is one of the most versatile digital systems in amateur radio. It combines position reports, short messages, weather data and telemetry on a single frequency. In Austria there…
NanoVNA: The Pocket-Sized Antenna Analyser
Just ten years ago, a usable vector network analyser cost several thousand euros. Today there is the NanoVNA — a device the size of a credit card that delivers astonishingly accurate measurements for under 50 euros.…
