ARRL News

4/27/2022

On Wednesday, April 27, in a notice to all VECs, the FCC again asked them to refrain from submitting any amateur radio exam session or license application files while the Commission works to resolve an issue with the Universal Licensing System (ULS) application filing system.

The ULS application filing system was not functioning properly last week and then the FCC indicated the problem ...

Sunspot activity rose this reporting week, September 22-28, with
average daily sunspot numbers increasing from 68 to 105.1. But solar
flux? Not so much. Average daily solar flux rose from 134.3 to
138.4.

So, the sunspot average rose 55% and solar flux only 3%. I usually
expect the numbers to track more closely.

New sunspots appeared on September 22 and 23, and one more on
September 27. On Thursday nig...

In the next couple of days, ARRL members in the Southeastern Division will receive an email message indicating that the online voting site for the 2022 ARRL Southeastern Division Election is now open. The message will include instructions to access candidate statements, the ballot, and to vote.

A third party was selected by the ARRL Ethics and Elections Committee to conduct the election: Electio...

As Hurricane Ian, now a tropical storm, makes its way across Florida, amateur radio operators continue to provide communications support for weather updates and requests for assistance.

The hurricane made landfall at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, just south of Tampa, Florida, as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 miles per hour. Millions of residents are without po...

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) has been in operation since the morning of September 27, 2022, as Hurricane Ian swept across Cuba and headed toward Florida’s Gulf Coast. The HWN continues to operate on both 14.325 and 7.268 MHz as propagation permits. The 20-meter net resumed at 8:00 AM Eastern Time on Thursday, September 29, and will continue until further discussion and conditions warrant closi...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted an ARRL emergency request for a 60-day temporary waiver intended to facilitate amateur radio emergency communications for hurricane relief. The waiver was adopted on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, and immediately permitted amateur radio operators supporting amateur data transmission for Hurricane Ian traffic to employ a higher symbol rate fo...

ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) groups and volunteers have ramped up preparations as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Hurricane Ian continues to quickly intensify. As of 11:00 AM Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 27, Ian is a Category 3 hurricane located 305 miles south-southwest of Sarasota, Florida with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and moving toward the n...

Geomagnetic disturbances were down this week, but so were sunspot
numbers and solar flux.

Average daily sunspot numbers declined from 92.7 to 68, and average
daily solar flux from 141.3 to 134.3.

On September 22 the sunspot number was 99, well above (by 31 points)
the average for the previous seven days, a promising indication. We
hope it may signal a trend.

But Solar Cycle 25 progresses, a bit better...

The National Hurricane Center (NHC), the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN), the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Hurricane Net, and the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) all have been engaged in tracking Hurricane Fiona.

 

Amateur radio operators have been reporting weather conditions since Monday, September 19, 2022, and have received positive feedback on their assistance. The VoIP...

Solar activity bounced back this reporting week, September 8-14, when average daily sunspot numbers jumped from 68 to 92.7, and average solar flux from 125.8 to 141.3.

Fewer CMEs and flares were evident, with average planetary A index declining from 24.6 to 10.7, and middle latitude numbers from 17.4 to 10.6.

New sunspot groups appeared, one on September 8, three on September 10, and one more on ...

On September 7, 2022, Jeanne (Jan) Socrates, VE0JS/MM / KC2IOV, and her sailboat, the SV Nereida, set sail from Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost point of the contiguous US. She was on her way to visit friends in San Francisco, California, but 2 days of 35 knot winds and storms left her sailboat disabled and her onboard radio equipment marginally operational. Amateur operators in New Mexico, ...

by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R

The Big E, “New England’s Great State Fair,” kicks off on Friday, September 16, 2022, and includes Project Big E, a 17-day amateur radio exhibit that runs through October 2, 2022. The fair, held in West Springfield, Massachusetts, is the largest agricultural event on the eastern seaboard and the sixth-largest fair in the nation.

Planning for Project Big E began in 2021 by...

ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® will close early on Friday, September 16, 2022, at 12 PM Eastern time (1600 UTC), for a staff event.

The ARRL Headquarters lobby & store, and W1AW will be open to visitors from 8 AM to 12 PM EDT on Friday.

There will be no interruption to W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions. W1AW will follow its regular transmitting schedule on Friday.

Th...

 This week (September 1 to 7) two new sunspot groups emerged on September 1, two more on September 2, one more on September 5, another on September 6 another on September 7 and one more on September 8 when the sunspot number rose to 75, 7 points above the average for the previous seven days.

But average daily sunspot numbers declined from 74.9 to 68, while average daily solar flux rose just two ...

The 5th QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo is September 17 - 18, 2022. The fully-interactive and full-featured virtual ham radio convention will provide great interactive presentations, new content, and excellent networking opportunities including 50+ amateur radio presentations on a wide variety of subjects.

Check out the full list of Presentations and get the downloadable schedule.

For the first time...

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE SA) Awards and Recognition Committee has selected ARRL member Richard A. (Ric) Tell, K5UJU, as the recipient of the IEEE SA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tell has more than 50 years of outstanding contributions to the science and technology of non-ionizing radiation safety, and has developed standards for measurement...

The following two rescue stories are great examples of why amateur radio is important. The first story occurred in Wisconsin and is told by ARRL member Scott Strecker, KG9IV. In his own words, Strecker shares how he was able to help a ham in distress. Thanks to the Chippewa Valley Amateur Radio Club in Wisconsin, an ARRL Affiliated Club, for this information.

"It was Friday, September 2, 2022, w...

The past week saw many interesting events. The DRAO observatory at Penticton, British Columbia (the source of 10.7 cm solar flux measurements) was overwhelmed by solar flares, and at 2000 UTC on August 28 reported a solar flux value of 251.9, and the next day at 1700 UTC, a value of 357.1.

The 2000 UTC local noon numbers are the official solar flux number for each day, so for the August 28 value...