New 60 Meter Frequencies Available to US Hams Today

February 13, 2026The FCC approved access to a new set of 60 meter frequencies to be more in line with the worldwide 60 meter amateur allocation made by the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2015. US General and Extra class holders may now operate on a secondary basis between 5351.5 and 5366.5 kHz.

The existing 60-meter channels centered on 5332, 5348, 5373, and 5405 kHz remain as secondary amateur allocations with maximum power of 100 watts ERP. However, the old channel at 5358.5 kHz is eliminated as it is now part of the new 5351.5-5366.5 kHz subband and subject to the lower power limit.

Additional rules including a maximum bandwidth of 2.8 kHz and maximum transmit power of 9.15 watts ERP apply.

Source: ARRL open_in_new ARRL FCC

ADRCS Collaborates with TARPN on IP400 Project

February 13, 2026The following is a press release from the Alberta Digital Radio Communications Society (ADRCS):

The Society is pleased to announce that it is collaborating with the Terrestrial Amateur Radio Packet Network group (TARPN) to implement an audio band version of its OFDM technology in their Terminal Node Controller (TNC). “Adding the TNC rounds out the vision of the supernode that we presented at the Zero Retries Digital Conference last September and extends the functionality of the IP400 network to conventional radios on the 2M, 220 and 450 MHz bands, without any modifications”, says Martin Alcock, VE6VH, founder of the IP400 project. “Adding OFDM to our TNC gives us a higher speed mode than previously implemented and practical experience with OFDM”, says Nino Carrillo, KK4HEJ, creator of the TNC. Martin goes on to say “in addition it will give us access to proven KISS mode technology that will greatly enhance the utility of our existing nodes in delivering higher data rates for conventional packet radio applications on existing terrestrial networks”.

Source: ADRCS open_in_new ADRCS IP400 TARPN