Today on the Bands — Sunday, August 16, 2026
Mesh is having a moment: two of today's stories dig into off-grid 900 MHz nodes and solar-powered networking, proving hams are still happiest when they're building infrastructure nobody asked for. We've also got fresh news from orbit, a well-earned honor for ARISS, and a ten-year-old in Arizona who just joined our ranks in style.
- 01 Building an Off-Grid Meshcore Network, One Node at a Time
N2YCH shows how sub-watt QRP on the 33-centimeter band can knit together a resilient off-grid mesh, node by patient node.
Read at source ↗ - 02 ANS-228 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
This week's AMSAT bulletin opens the call for the 44th Space Symposium and spotlights the CubeSatSim in QST, plus contests and Norwegian experiments.
Read at source ↗ - 03 AmateurLogic 220: It’s Going To Get Meshy
AmateurLogic goes all-in on mesh networking, from Tommy's solar-powered node to the fast-growing Gulf Coast Mesh Network.
Read at source ↗ - 04 ARISS Receives Challenger-7 Recognition
ARISS earns the national Challenger-7 Recognition, a fitting nod to the program that keeps students talking to astronauts overhead.
Read at source ↗ - 05 10-Year-Old Receives Ham License and More
A newly minted Technician in Arizona, KM7HFU, got a welcome surprise alongside his call sign at the ripe old age of ten.
Read at source ↗
The HamDaily digest — five minutes, the whole band.