John Travolta’s Old Boeing 707 Could Fly Again

After nearly a decade of anticipation, John Travolta’s former Boeing 707 is on the move to its final destination—a public display at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Aviation Museum at Australia’s Shellharbour Airport (YSHL).

The actor, pilot, and Living Legends of Aviation inductee—also a former ambassador for Qantas Airways and Bombardier’s Learjet, Challenger, and Global business aircraft—is not flying the luxury jet, which was the original plan when he donated it to HARS in 2017. Instead, a crew of three aircraft restoration specialists disassembled the aircraft at Brunswick Golden Isles Airport (KBQK) in Georgia and loaded it on a ship this week.

The plane is scheduled to arrive in Australia, where it will be reassembled for display, by early May, HARS said Monday. Some components, such as the engines and tail fin, have already been shipped.

Though the aircraft is not in flying shape, Travolta said in an earlier statement that he flew a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation that HARS “restored to flying condition from almost nothing.”

Nicknamed “Connie,” it is the last remaining flying example of that model.

“The aircraft currently requires a lot of work to be restored to a safe flying state and having seen first hand the dedication and passion of people at HARS, I have no doubt this beautiful and historical aircraft will be flying again,” Travolta said.

Travolta and Aviation

Increasing Levels of Boeing 787 Radio Interference Land U.S. Airlines With $8 Million Bill

Increasing levels of radio interference have resulted in U.S. airlines being landed with an $8 million bill to fix faulty equipment on Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplanes after it was discovered that simple radio signals can knock out a faulty transponder on the popular widebody plane used by American, United, and Alaska Airlines.

The issue came to light after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported “multiple instances of loss of transponder for airplanes entering airspace in the presence of CW interference.”

CW interference refers to continuous-wave radio signals like Morse code and military transmitters, which could interfere with the transponder on some Boeing 787s

When Dreamliners fitted with this faulty transponder fly through areas where continuous-wave radio signals are present, there is a risk that the Mode S transponder function doesn’t ‘reply’ to radar interrogations.

Without this electronic ‘reply,’ air traffic controllers might not be able to see where the aircraft is, and the emergency Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), often described by aviation safety experts as the ”last defense against mid-air collisions,” might not generate life-saving alerts properly.

In a worst case scenario, the FAA warned that a mid-air collision could occur.

When the FAA tested the faulty transponder in areas of CW interference, they discovered it didn’t send a reply to at least 90% of ‘interrogations,’ so the agency went about ordering a fix.

To do so, the FAA was required to issue an Airworthiness Directive, although this first required the agency to request feedback from stakeholders and other interested parties.

Boeing had no objection to the draft airworthiness directive, while the Air Line Pilots Association also supported the FAA’s intervention.

Several airlines did, however, raise some concerns. Kenya Airways, for example, asked whether the suggested fix could be delayed until the root cause of the problem could be identified.

Meanwhile, United Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines raised concerns about the availability of spare parts from the transponder’s manufacturer, Collins Aerospace.

One commentator also suggested that the suggested compliance time to fix the transponder should be shortened over fears that it could be connected to 5G cell phone signals. The FAA rejected that request, explaining that the issue was not connected to 5G signals.

Although the fix applies to any Boeing 787 anywhere in the world that is fitted with the faulty transponder, the FAA only works out the cost that the airworthiness directive might have on U.S.-based carriers.

The total cost estimated by the FAA came to $7.95 million.

Airlines have up to four years to ensure that all of their Boeing 787s are fixed.

Finding Your Voice in the Clouds

You would think that any long time hams who are also pilots but who haven't been flying in a long time would still  be free of radio anxiety.  I can assure you that's not the case!

How to Soothe IFR Anxiety

For many instrument-rated pilots, especially those still early in their IFR journey, radio communication can feel like the hardest part of flying. It’s not that you don’t know what to say—it’s that when things go sideways, your brain often doesn’t deliver the words fast enough.

The cadence of air traffic control (ATC) feels relentless. The phraseology can get complex. And there’s always that voice in the back of your head whispering: Don’t mess this up.

Unlike VFR flying—where most communications are limited to basic position reports, traffic calls, and pattern entries—IFR communication introduces a steady stream of high-speed, high-consequence exchanges. Clearances, reroutes, vectors, altitude changes, approach instructions, holds, and more. They stack up quickly. Add in low visibility, unfamiliar fixes, and real-world distractions in the cockpit, and even an experienced pilot can start to feel overwhelmed if not properly prepared and organized.

The good news is that IFR radio anxiety is completely normal—and more importantly, it’s entirely fixable.

The Keys to Defeating Mic Fright

Sun ’n Fun NOTAM - Essential Pilot Info

If any are planning to fly in to Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo at Lakeland Linder International Airport (KLAL) in April, it’s time to start studying the NOTAM. Sun ’n Fun (SNF), also known as “spring break for pilots,” is scheduled for April 13-19 in Lakeland, Florida.  I've attended many times, and it's a blast.  Study, plan and follow the rules and you'll be fine.

The 28-page NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) contains instructions for traffic flow, arrival procedures, holding, parking procedures, airport operations, departures, and frequencies. Thousands of pilots in all kinds of aircraft are expected to fly in from all over the country for the annual event.

For safe and efficient operation, it’s imperative that pilots be familiar with the procedures and have a copy of it at their fingertips when they approach.

The NOTAM contains annotated photographs of landmarks used for the VFR arrivals, as well as information as to which types of aircraft can use the approach along with details on altitudes and airspeeds.

The NOTAM also provides details on how to activate IFR flight plans or pick up VFR flight following. Pilots are encouraged to file IFR, if able, especially if the weather is marginal VFR. 

Pilots should file IFR from their departure airport and receive IFR clearance and departure release on the ground. Traffic volume always increased during the show, and noting this it’s likely that Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville Approaches may be unable to issue IFR pickup clearances due to traffic volume and complexity.

The NOTAM warns that when traffic volume is low, air traffic control (ATC) frequencies and positions may be combined. Do rock your wings for airborne acknowledgments.

Pilots are reminded not to make unnecessary radio transmissions when procedures state, “Monitor the frequency only.”

Is the CIA Using Radio to Instruct Its Agents in Iran?

Additional background on the March 11 "7910 kHz Numbers Station" post: An amateur sleuth thinks ghostly broadcasts are a revival of Cold War ‘numbers stations’

Rushing back from work to his home in Milan on Tuesday, Roberto turned on his shortwave radio set, tuned it to 7910 kHz and heard a ghostly voice reciting a stream of numbers in Farsi.

“A fellow shortwave enthusiast had told me about the signal, which started the same day the US attacked Iran,” Roberto, who posts news of his radio scanning under the name “Shortwave Observer”, said. “It did not exist before and it looked to me like someone, possibly the CIA, was transmitting coded messages to agents inside Iran.”

Roberto, who declined to give his surname, is one of thousands of amateur radio operators searching for so-called numbers stations used by state spy agencies to send sequences to agents, ready with code books to jot down instructions.

In an era of high-tech, cyberespionage and burner phones, coded radio signals may seem a relic of the Cold War but they still have one outstanding advantage — while computers and phones leave traces, code books can be burnt. “There is no way of tracing the recipient of a signal, they could be anyone with a radio, anywhere in the world,” Roberto, 47, said.

While the content of the messages may be top secret, that does not stop thousands listening in. “We know the Farsi transmission comes from the Middle East and has been broadcasting daily at 6pm and 2am London time, with messages lasting from a few minutes up to an hour,” he said. “There has been a lively debate about whether it is being sent into Iran to agents whose phones may be intercepted, or even being broadcast by Iran to its own agents around the world.”

Pioneered in the First World War, numbers stations hit their stride during the Cold War when intelligence agencies would introduce number sequences with phrases like “Ready? Ready?”, electronic noises, or music. The “Lincolnshire Poacher” station, thought to be run by British intelligence, played the first bars of the folk song The Lincolnshire Poacher before numbers were read out. It broadcast until 2008, two years after a jamming by the North Korean foreign language service Voice of Korea.

Since the end of the Cold War, the US has alleged that Cuban spies it has caught relied on numbers stations broadcast from Havana.

Learn the Smith Chart!

The Smith Chart remains one of the most valuable tools in RF engineering, even in 2026 with powerful simulation software everywhere.

I have a love / hate relationship with the Smith Chart mainly because I've used it so rarely. However, I've long been aware of how helpful the damn thing is and that "it ain't hard" once you make an modest attempt to learn it. Now that I'm in my twilight years, I'm determined to do just that.

So why learn it in the first place? The Smith Chart provides intuitive visual insight (the #1 reason). Complex impedance (R + jX) and reflection coefficient (Γ) behavior become immediately understandable when plotted on the chart.

You can see at a glance how impedance changes along a transmission line rotating around the center) and where you are relative to perfect match (center = 50 Ω normalized). This geometric visualization is far more revealing than staring at numbers in a spreadsheet or simulator output. Many engineers say "the Smith Chart helps you understand what's happening, while software just gives you the answer." Impedance Matching Becomes Fast and Creative. It's still heavily used in the real world. Almost every vector network analyzer (VNA) displays measurements as Smith Chart plots (Keysight, Rohde & Schwarz, Anritsu, Copper Mountain, NanoVNA software, etc.) Even my trusty old RigExpert AA-55 Zoom does this!

It helps you reason and understand what's happening in your rf circuit without a computer. (Modern software actually reinforces rather than replaces it.

In short: software gives answers; the Smith Chart gives understanding and design intuition.

One highly recommended online tutorial for learning the Smith Chart is the excellent YouTube video series and standalone explanations from W2AEW (Alan Wolke), a well-regarded RF engineer and ham radio operator whose content is clear, practical, and beginner-to-intermediate friendly.

A standout starting point is Alan's video:

Harmonic Radar Finds Hidden Electronics

For as long as small, hidden radio transmitters have existed, people have wanted a technology to detect them. One of the more effective ways to find hidden electronics is the nonlinear junction detector, which illuminates the area under investigation with high-frequency radio waves. Any P-N semiconductor junctions in the area will emit radio waves at harmonic frequencies of the original wave, due to their non-linear electronic response. If, however, you suspect that the electronics might be connected to a dangerous device, you’ll want a way to detect them from a distance. One solution is harmonic radar (also known as nonlinear radar), such as this phased-array system, which detects and localizes the harmonic response to a radio wave.

One basic problem is that semiconductor devices are very rarely connected to antennas optimized for the transmission of whatever harmonic you’re looking for, so the amount of electromagnetic radiation they emit is extremely low. To generate a detectable signal, a high-power transmitter and a very high-gain receiver are necessary. Since semiconductor junctions emit stronger lower harmonics, this system transmits in the 3-3.2 GHz range and only receives the 6-6.4 GHz second harmonic; to avoid false positives, the transmitter provides 28.8 decibels of self-generated harmonic suppression. To localize a stronger illumination signal to a particular point, both the transmit and receive channels use beam-steering antenna arrays.

In testing, the system was able to easily detect several cameras, an infrared sensor, a drone, a walkie-talkie, and a touch sensor, all while they were completely unpowered, at a range up to about ten meters. Concealing the devices in a desk drawer increased the ranging error, but only by about ten percent. Even in the worst-case scenario, when the system was detecting multiple devices in the same scene, the ranging error never got worse than about 0.7 meters, and the angular error was never worse than about one degree.

For a refresher on the principles of this technology, check out  nonlinear junction detectors. While the complexity of this system seems to put it beyond the reach of amateurs, some equally impressive homemade radar systems have been produced before.

FCC Recruiting 7 Field Agents – Electronics Engineers

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is looking for qualified applicants for Field Agents in seven Enforcement Bureau (EB) offices across the United States: Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY, and Portland, OR. Incumbents will resolve Radio Frequency (RF) interference, educate users, and enforce regulations. The GS levels for this position have been expanded to GS 7, opening the opportunity for new college graduates. One year of work experience is not required for this position. Closing date is March 2, 2026.

From the FCC posting:

Performs and directs fieldwork in matters of importance to communications involving safety of life and property. Serves as a point of contact for FCC licensees including the US Government in matters of fixed and mobile radio direction-finding and interference resolution. Participates in unique enforcement and engineering projects that have regional or national applications.

Operates and understands all technical equipment typically used in the Field including RF spectrum analyzers, field strength meters, RF Field survey meters, and radio receivers. Maintains contacts with and assists other Federal agencies, foreign counterparts, and local law enforcement organizations concerning interaction and utilization of the radio spectrum for both authorized and unauthorized activities.

Initiates Official Notices of Violation, Warnings, Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, and other orders to radio operators and licensees, to bring unsatisfactory or violative conditions to their attention as a result of monitoring, investigations and inspections. Independently initiates correspondence or other communications with complainants and radio users concerning the enforcement functions of the office and region.

Participates in regional emergency planning meetings, serves as the local expert in emergency communications restoration, participates in FEMA conducted training exercises and is able to serve on ESF-2 task force and deployments as necessary. Participates and assists in planning of Bureau enforcement and compliance workshops for persons associated with the various industries and radio services the Commission regulates. 

The Salary is $57,736 to $158,322 per year per year depending on qualifications and experience.

See the official, complete announcement for GS-855-7/9/11/12/13 Electronics Engineer (Field Agent) on USAjobs.gov at www.usajobs.gov/job/857694500.

New Farsi Numbers Station Reported on 7910 kHz

A new shortwave numbers station is believed to be broadcasting in Farsi. 

Numbers stations–mysterious broadcasts that read sequences of numbers–have long been associated with intelligence agencies communicating with field operatives using unbreakable one-time pad encryption.

According to the report, this new signal first appeared around the time of the recent military strikes involving Iran and has been heard on 7910 kHz. One listener reported having heard it around 0215 UTC recently.

A new version of the popular VOACAP HF propagation forecasting tool has been released, featuring significant changes to the interface. In addition, there have been some stability and performance upgrades.   (This is the application on which HamClock's VOACAP routine is based.)

VOACAP Online for SWL is a free shortwave propagation prediction service designed specifically for shortwave listeners. Hams and short wave listeners have professional-grade tools previously reserved for broadcasters and engineers. Whether you’re planning your listening schedule or exploring propagation science, VOACAP Online for SWL delivers clarity, precision, and flexibility.

The video below highlights eleven changes that you need to know about. You can find the VOACAP web app at:

https://www.voacap.com/swl/

You can access the latest version of the help manual at:

https://www.voacap.com/2023/documents/VOACAP_Manual.pdf

And if you're a non-ham (or new ham for that matter) wondering what this radio "propagation thing" is all about, check out the following:

Rydberg Atoms Detect Clear Signals From a Handheld Radio

For the first time, a team of US researchers has used sensors containing highly excited Rydberg atoms to detect signals from an ordinary handheld radio. Through a careful approach to demodulating the incoming signals, Noah Schlossberger and colleagues at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were able to recover audio encoded in multiple public radio channels, with promising implications for everyday uses in consumer electronics. The research has been published in Physical Review Applied.

In a Rydberg atom, a single electron is excited to an extremely high energy level, pushing it far from its host atom's nucleus. From a distance, these atoms resemble a single electron orbiting a positively charged ion.

When any atom is exposed to an external electric field, the positions of its electrons' energy levels shift through a process called the Stark effect. Yet in a Rydberg atom, the shift becomes far more pronounced, causing particularly striking changes in the spectral patterns produced when the atom is probed by a laser.

Untapped potential

This effect ultimately means that Rydberg atoms are ideally suited as electric-field sensors: a possibility the Rydberg Sensor project's group leader, Christopher Holloway, began to explore in 2009. After embarking on the project, Holloway's team soon realized that the possibilities were far more wide-ranging than they first anticipated.

"One of the more intriguing applications is atom-based receivers, where these Rydberg-atom sensors act like an antenna to detect the signal, and perform the demodulation and down conversion automatically," Holloway describes.

"In principle, these Rydberg receivers could eliminate a lot of the front-end devices and electronics when compared to conventional receivers."

So far, however, the possibilities of these atomic sensors have largely been explored within the confines of the lab—leaving the full scope of their potential real-world applications largely unexplored.

 

Five Two Simplex Challenge!

 

The Holy Cluster: Next-Gen Ham Radio DX Spotting Tool

The Holy Cluster is a modern web-based DX cluster for amateur radio operators. It plots live worldwide spots on an interactive map, making DX (long-distance contact) hunting more intuitive than traditional text-based clusters.

I've been using The Holy Cluster for a little while now in conjunction with a VSPE comm port splitter which enables me to have two programs (The Holy Cluster and my N3FJP Log share the same virtual comm port so that they can both independently read and write to  my radio (frequency and mode).  The result?  Fantastic!

Developed by a team of Israeli hams and supported by the Israeli Association of Radio Communication (IARC), additionally it shows active stations as map pins that include callsign, frequency, mode and other details in real time.

Key Features:

Interactive Global Map: A live world map shows incoming DX spots as pins. Each pin reveals the station’s callsign, frequency, mode (SSB, CW, FT8, etc.), timestamp and notes, giving a visual “snapshot” of current activity.

Color-Coded Band Overview: Bands are color-coded on the map and band bar, so you instantly see which HF bands are open and where stations are active. This makes it easy to spot DXpeditions or contest activity at a glance.

Advanced Spot Filtering: Robust filters let you narrow spots by band, mode, continent/country, or even callsign prefix/suffix. You can isolate rare regions or modes, hide self-spots (portable stations), and toggle filters on/off without reconfiguring.

Custom Alerts: Set up alerts for specific DXCC entities or callsigns so you never miss a rare station. The Holy Cluster can notify you when a target appears, ensuring you catch fleeting openings.

Intuitive UI: The site uses a clean, responsive design that works on desktop and mobile. It offers features like dark mode and a “band bar” frequency display for each band. Auto-zoom keeps all spots in view as they appear, and you can sort the spot table by any column for easier reading.

Live Logging/CAT Support: Integration with a lightweight “CAT Server” means you can click a spot to tune your radio (via compatible software). This bridges The Holy Cluster with your transceiver, streamlining your workflow.

Open Source & Community-Driven: The Holy Cluster is fully open-source and free. Its code is on GitHub and developers actively incorporate user feedback into updates. Because it’s maintained by radio amateurs for radio amateurs, new features roll out quickly to meet hams’ needs.

Benefits for Operators:

DXLook.com Launches New Composite Views to Compare Real-World Contacts with Propagation Predictions

DXLook.com has released two new composite map views designed to help amateur radio operators compare actual on-air results with propagation expectations in one place. The update adds Reports + MUF and Reports + VOACAP, allowing operators to see where signals are being reported versus where models suggest they should propagate.

Reports + MUF: This view overlays real contact reports (solid arcs) on top of MUF (Maximum Usable Frequency) zones. The colored zones represent the highest usable band by direction, helping operators quickly confirm whether contacts align with expected openings and identify unusual paths such as grey-line effects, sporadic-E, or long-path propagation.

Reports + VOACAP: This view overlays real contact reports (solid lines) with VOACAP theoretical predictions (dashed, semi-transparent arcs). It provides a direct side-by-side visual comparison between model-based expectations and real-world activity, making it easier to spot agreement, gaps, and surprises.

How to Access: At DXLook.com, operators can try the new views by visiting dxlook.com, selecting Reports + MUF or Reports + VOACAP from the View dropdown, then entering a callsign or grid square and clicking Go.

The MUF/VOACAP prediction backdrop refreshes every 5 minutes independently

Reports refresh based on the selected time window (1 minute to 24 hours)

Existing Reports features remain available, including filters for band/mode/direction, marker options, and the spot table

DXLook.com is free to use, requires no login, and aggregates data from PSK Reporter, Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), WSPRnet, and DX Cluster, supporting bands from 160m through 2m.

About DXLook.com

DXLook.com is a web-based platform that combines reception reports and propagation-focused views to help amateur radio operators monitor activity, understand band conditions, and explore propagation patterns in real time.

70th Anniversary of the 1956 Ground Level Event

It doesn't have a catchy name, and most people have never heard of it. Yet space scientist Clive Dyer of the Surrey Space Centre can't stop worrying about 'GLE05'--a major solar radiation storm in 1956. 

The 70th anniversary of this cosmic event was marked three days ago.  "February 23 is the 70th anniversary of that extreme space weather event," says Dyer. "If it happened again today, it would have a significant impact on air travel and modern technology." 

Above: A drawing of the giant sunspot that caused the Feb. 23, 1956, GLE.

On Feb. 23, 1956, radiation sensors around the world suddenly went haywire as radiation levels spiked to values as much as 50 times normal. No one had ever seen anything like it. "The increase was so dramatic that some observers switched-off their monitors believing them to be malfunctioning," says Dyer. 

The radiation came from "McMath Region 3400"--an enormous sunspot spanning 60° in solar longitude, which flared shortly before the particles arrived. Normally, our atmosphere would harmlessly absorb the radiation, but not this time. Solar particles penetrated all the way to the ground. 

"We call this a Ground Level Enhancement (GLE)," explains Dyer, "This was the biggest of the modern era, and even today nothing has come close to matching it." (A widely publicized GLE last November only amounted to 2% of the 1956 event.)

According to Dyer's calculations, GLE05 would have delivered as much as 10 millisieverts of radiation to passengers on a high-altitude transatlantic flights--comparable to multiple chest CT scans in a few hours. The effect on satellites might have been significant except for one thing: There were no satellites. Sputnik wouldn't be launched until the next year.

How times have changed. in 2026, Earth is surrounded by a swarm of more than 10,000 active satellites with electronics so sensitive that even a single  particle of "hard radiation" can reboot onboard computers or or burn out memory locations.

"Such energetic particle events are nearly impossible to shield," says Dyer. "We need to be prepared--not if but when this happens again."

Interestingly, the last few days have marked a period of zero sunspots on the side of the sun facing Earth, something that hasn't happened for the last several years.