Welcome to Radio Waves Weekly — Issue #012! This week the JIDX CW contest is running right now — one of the best chances all year to fill your log with Japanese prefectures. Sporadic E season is knocking at the door, the 10-metre band is wide open, and MeshCore is quietly becoming the off-grid mesh network that actually works at scale. Two events on the April calendar deserve your attention before you blink, and there is a quiet community rescue story involving every HamClock on the planet. Let us get into it.
1. JIDX CW Contest — Japan on Every Band, Running Right Now
30-hour sprint ending 1300 UTC Sunday. Multipliers are Japanese prefectures — same prefix on different bands counts separately. With Cycle 25 conditions still strong, 10m and 15m to JA are productive in the morning window. Logs due within one month.
Rules and log upload → https://jidx.org/
2. POTA Spring Weekend — April 18–19, Get Out and Activate
Parks on the Air runs its Spring Support Your Parks Weekend next weekend. Hunter and activator activity spikes globally — easiest entry point of the year for a first activation. Plan your park visit now.
Event details and how to participate → https://docs.pota.app/docs/events.html
3. Hamvention 2026 — Radio Adventure, May 15–17, Xenia Ohio
The world’s largest amateur radio gathering returns for its 75th year. Flea market, indoor exhibits, major product debuts, and the ARRL Youth Rally on Saturday May 16. Pre-register — walk-in queues grow fast.
Official site and tickets → https://hamvention.org/
4. ZK3 Tokelau — PDXG Confirms November 2026 DXpedition
Perseverance DX Group has locked in a two-week activation of Tokelau (OC-048) in late November — ClubLog #42 Most Wanted, unactivated for seven years. Government permission is in hand. Watch tok-dx.com for band plans.
Announcement and donation details → https://www.dx-world.net/zk3-tokelau-dxpedition/
5. QMX+ — Eleven Bands, Five Watts, Full Digital Modes
QRP Labs’ 160–6m all-mode kit covers CW, SSB, FT8, WSPR and JS8Call with an embedded SDR receiver, TCXO, battery-backed RTC, and optional internal GPS. Assembly manual updated March 2026. Order now if you want it before summer portable season.
Full spec, manual and ordering → https://qrp-labs.com/qmxp.html
6. MeshCore — Off-Grid LoRa Mesh That Actually Delivers Messages
Unlike Meshtastic’s flood routing, MeshCore assigns fixed roles so only repeaters relay packets — reliable delivery, 64-hop range, AES-256 encrypted. VK7HH’s fresh guide covers hardware selection and solar repeater deployment for under $150.
Hardware guide and build walkthrough → https://hamradiodx.net/the-best-meshcore-gear-2026-build-a-reliable-off-grid-repeater-that-actually-works/
7. T2LT Flowerpot 10m Vertical — Build One This Weekend
Two coax lengths, a choke balun, one short wire element — no radials, no tuner, no ground plane. VK7HH’s write-up includes SWR sweep and live on-air results. With 10m wide open, the antenna is the only bottleneck.
Build guide with SWR data → https://hamradiodx.net/easy-to-build-10-meter-28-mhz-vertical-antenna-for-dx/
8. Sporadic E Season — The 6m Magic Band Is About to Wake Up
First stray Es openings on 50 MHz often appear in late April. Single-hop distances of 600–2,000 km are possible. PC9N’s primer covers the mechanism, how to spot an opening, and how to exploit it before it collapses — sometimes within 30 minutes.
Sporadic E guide for 6m operators → https://pc9n.nl/2025/08/17/sporadic-e-the-magic-of-unexpected-propagation/
9. Build a Multiband G5RV Antenna — From vu3dxr.in
Classic centre-fed design covering 80–10m with a ladder-line matching section. Full construction guide with dimensions, common feedline mistakes, and band-by-band performance notes. Total material cost under ₹800 for a basic build.
Full build guide → https://vu3dxr.in/build-your-own-multiband-g5rv-antenna-a-classic-ham-radio-project/
10. HamClock Community Backend — Act Before June 2026
HamClock’s original backend shuts down in June after creator WB0OEW became a silent key. The community has built a free replacement serving 2,700+ clocks. Two minutes to redirect using the -b flag in firmware 4.22 — do it now.
Free backend and setup guide → https://www.hamclock.com/
Want to contribute? Found an interesting circuit, a new SDR project, a helpful radio blog, or breaking ham radio news? Email me or leave a comment below. Your link might be featured in next week’s digest!
