ARRL

The “Just Ahead in Radiosport” contest calendar for early October that appears in the e-mail edition of The ARRL Letter for October 1, 2020, is incorrect. The list has been updated in the edition of The ARRL Letter that appears on the ARRL website, or visit the Contest Calendar for October.

We apologize for the error.

The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Republican FCC member Michael O’Rielly for a second term on the Commission. President Donald Trump had nominated O’Rielly for another 5-year term on the Commission last March. No reason was given for withdrawing the O’Rielly nomination, who was initially appointed to the FCC in 2013 by President Barack Obama. The White House has nominated a senior...

Stuart Wolfe, KF5NIX, has been appointed ARRL South Texas Section Manager. He succeeds Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW, of Cedar Park, who has stepped down as Section Manager to become ARRL Director of Emergency Management.

Wolfe, of Rockdale, Texas, will complete the remainder of Gilbert’s term. Wolfe’s appointment as Section Manager begins on October 1 and extends until September 30, 2021. ARRL Radiosport...

The 2019 ARRL Annual Report is now available in print and online. The publication’s release was delayed as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. Print copies for members who are interested will be available soon. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, called 2019 “an exciting year for ARRL,” with several new initiatives moving through planning and development for rollout in 2020.

“Two of them ...

Beginning October 1, ARRL will offer a 10% discount on all applications for 5Band Worked All States (5B WAS) wall plaques and Triple Play (TPA) wall plaques. The discount will be deducted from the total charge (i.e., application fee, plaque fee, and shipping).

This special is good for first-time applicants, as well as for those who have been awarded TPA or 5B WAS and want to display their achie...

Applications for the 2021 ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program will be accepted between October 1 and December 31, 2020. All applicants must be FCC-licensed radio amateurs, and many scholarships have other specific requirements, such as intended area of study, residence within a particular ARRL Division, Section, or state, and license class.

Applicants should review the scholarship descriptions a...

Two well-known ham radio authors and speakers will share their expertise with members in October during ARRL Learning Network webinars.

• ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, will present “Grounding & Bonding for Home HF Stations” on Tuesday, October 6, at 10 AM PDT/1 PM EDT/0500 UTC.
• Popular ARRL author Glen Popiel, KW5GP, will present “Welcome to the World of Arduino” on Thursday, October...

A Moscow Aviation Institute MAI-75 slow-scan television (SSTV) experiment event is planned for Wednesday, September 30, from 1305 UTC to 1845 UTC, and Thursday, October 1, from 1230 UTC to 1745 UTC. SSTV signals will be transmitted on 145.800 MHz, ± Doppler shift. The expected mode will be PD 120, and the call sign will be RS0ISS. Received images of reasonable quality may be posted on the ARISS...

Sterling Mann, N0SSC, has been named as the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 Liaison for Youth, the IARU Region 2 Executive Committee (EC) has announced. With the support of IARU Region 2, the Liaison for Youth will reach out to young hams throughout the Americas and their member-societies to develop and promote interest in amateur radio on the part of young hams through self-s...

CAMSAT says the CAS-7A launch has been postponed until next May, and CAS-5A until next June.

“Because of COVID-19, many things have been delayed,” CAMSAT’s Alan Kung, BA1DU, told ARRL. He said an announcement would be made closer to the announced launches.

CAMSAT said last spring that CAS-7A would launch in mid-September; the launch has been postponed multiple times since first announced. CAS-5...

The latest beta release of the WSJT-X digital software suite includes digital protocols particularly designed for communication on LF and MF bands, such as 2200 meters and 630 meters, and its developers say that during its first few months of testing, contacts have spanned intercontinental paths “many times” on those bands. New protocols FST4 and FST4W are included in WSJT-X version 2.3.0-rc1 (...

IEEE Region 1 has selected Ulrich Rohde, N1UL, as the recipient of the 2020 IEEE Region 1 Technological Innovation (Industry or Government) Award. The selection was made by the Region 1 Awards and Recognition Committee and approved by the Region 1 Board of Governors. The award recognizes “pioneering research and leadership in signal processing.”

The Technological Innovation (Industry or Governme...

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Up until September 23, we saw 32 consecutive days with no sunspots. Then new sunspot group AR2773 appeared, which has a magnetic signature indicating it’s part of new Solar Cycle 25. Spaceweather.com noted it was a weak one, and may not persist for long. The daily sunspot number for September 23 was 13, indicating three sunspots visible in that group, but the s...

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, has appointed Phil Temples, K9HI, of Watertown, Massachusetts, as New England Division Vice Director. He succeeds Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, who was elected earlier this year as ARRL First Vice President. President Roderick made the appointment after consulting with New England Director Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, and the region’s Section Managers.

“I want to thank al...