Radio Hackers Newsletter: A New Year, A New Look

2026 is already shaping up to be an exciting year for the publication.

2025 was a great year for the publication. Thanks to new feature writers, new affiliates and the support of Medium as the place to build and grow, we were able to take the publication in a whole new direction.


So, we’re happy to use the first quarterly newsletter of 2026 to pass on some publication updates, introduce some of our new writers and take a look at what’s been happening behind the scenes.

A Friend Of Medium

We started by supporting the “Friend of Medium” program. This initiative allows you to upgrade your membership, providing additional support to writers and, more importantly, gain perks.

The biggest perk is unlocking free article sharing via friend links. This means articles can be shared without the requirement for a reader membership, making learning resources easier to access.

Shared content drives all traffic back to Medium, making it a win-win for both readers and writers while being a great tool for publication editors.

Now, we can share work across all platforms while ensuring feature writers continue to monetise their work.

A big thank you to Medium for creating this very useful upgrade.

Find our new, dedicated Radio Hackers channel now on Instagram.

Publication Layout

Some time was spent on the publication layout in an attempt to make it more user-friendly and easier to navigate.

Now, we have sections for both new content and editors' picks. The archive has also been switched on, making it easier to search for older content.

Two new tabs on the top bar also make it easier than ever to build and acquire new hardware, thanks to our new publication partners.

We’re now also parked on a custom domain, using radiohackers.com as the main landing page for the publication.

If you like the new look, share it around a little. With more than 20 articles submitted in December, the depth of available learning content is steadily growing.

Build With PCBWay

We were excited to team up with PCBWay in 2025 to help bring the CubeSat Simulator to life for the publication and help highlight their quality design and manufacturing services.

A big thank you goes to the entire PCBWay team. Not only have they helped the publication tackle exciting new projects, but they’ve also extended design support to publication readers.

So, if you’re interested in building or prototyping a project of your own, reach out to Emily and the team for one-on-one support to guide you from start to finish.

You can also read about the full range of PCBway services in this feature article. Keep an eye out for some exciting new projects that are scheduled for development in 2026, thanks to their ongoing support.

Say Hello To

We’ve also been lucky enough to onboard a few new writers at the end of 2025.

MarceloSimonato focuses on Wi-Fi fundamentals and infrastructure.

Michael Preston writes about IOT and other topics.

hacker_might takes a look at SATCOM security.Give our new writers a follow and check out their work if you haven’t seen it already.

Hardware Reviews & Discounts

Thanks to our other new partner, Open Source SDRLab, we’re now able to get our hands on some new hardware to test, review and sometimes, give away.

We started this off by taking a look at their in-house version of the ESP-32 Marauder.
OSSDRLab have also generously extended an ongoing promotion to all readers. Get an additional 5% off the list price of new hardware when you spend $100 or more on hardware.

Simply apply the code “radiohackers” at checkout to collect your discount, no affiliate link needed.

Go Play With Python

Simon Quellen Field who produces the Python radio series, has started a new publication of his own to kick off 2026.

Known as Play With Python, it focuses on fun, beginner projects using Python that are delivered in a similar format to Python Radio.

It’s right here on Medium, so go take a look.

Article Flashback

We’ve spoken more than a few times about Kismet being a great tool for both beginners and pros.

With little more than a monitor mode wifi card and your onboard hardware, you can find plenty of interesting things in the air around you.

z3r0trust agreed and wrote a great article that broke it down even further in the latest article from the Hacking Tool Chronicles.

Boost Nomination

Radio Hackers is proud to continue supporting Medium’s Boost Nomination program for 2026.
This initiative aims to nurture and promote quality, experience-based writing by sending it straight to the cultivated feed.

So, we’re always looking for high-quality contributions that share relevant, topic-specific information.

Check out Medium’s Help Centre for the inside word on what a boost-worthy article might look like or contact the editor if you’d like some additional support.

Also, a quick reminder that AI-generated content is a violation of the Medium rules. We want to hear your story, in your words.

Where’s The Drones At?

Drones and the electromagnetic spectrum are in the spotlight, and the entire sector is going through a rapid evolution with fast iteration being the name of the game.

This focuses on drone detection and countermeasures, as well as an overall focus on drone platforms of all types as well.

We compiled this article on the Tiny Spectrum Analyser, and its use in Ukraine recently, and we’d like to extend the focus on these topics throughout 2026 to include more ethical, subject-relevant research.

So, if you’re a writer or have an interest in drones or electronic signals analysis, get in touch to share your work. We’d love to hear from you.

It’s A Wrap

That’s about all there is to cover for the start of the new year.

So let’s first close out the newsletter by throwing the spotlight on an interesting new tool.
Intercept allows you to aggregate data from RF sensors and then display them on a web interface.

Checkout the Intercept GitHub for more details.

And finally, a huge thank you to writers, readers and supporters of the publication through 2025.

See you next quarter!