An article describing how radio amateurs can help fill the information “donut hole” by providing post-earthquake “did you feel it” (DYFI) reports via Winlink HF radio email appeared on February 22 in the American Geophysical Union (AGU) magazine Eos. As the article points out, “Ham radio networks gear up to provide real-time, on-the-ground information about […]
News
ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, to Keynote QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo
ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, will keynote the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo March 13 – 14 weekend. Minster’s talk — part of an 80+ speaker lineup — will begin at 2000 UTC (3 PM EST) on March 13. His appearance will highlight ARRL’s featured role at the Expo, which also will include “Ask The […]
ARRL Board Considers Plan to Cover New $35 FCC Fee for Some Young Applicants
At its Annual Meeting in January, the ARRL Board of Directors considered a motion to offer a new service that would pay the new but not-yet implemented $35 FCC application fee for a limited number of new radio amateurs younger than age 18 who, at the time of testing, belonged to an ARRL Affiliated 501(c)(3) […]
ARES Volunteers Reported Responding to Severe Weather
Weather gone wild might be an apt description of the conditions in many parts of the US, with sub-freezing temperatures in areas not prepared for that sort of thing. Aberrant weather seems to be happening across many US regions. Snow has fallen in Texas and Oklahoma, accompanied by record-setting temperature readings. The severe weather has […]
ARRL to Extend Field Day Rule Waivers from 2020, Add Class D and E Power Limit
The COVID-19 pandemic-modified ARRL Field Day rules from 2020 will continue this June with the addition of a power limit imposed on Class D (Home Stations) and Class E (Home Stations-Emergency Power) participants. The news from the ARRL Board’s Programs and Services Committee comes as many clubs and groups are starting preparations for Field Day […]
Summits on the Air (SOTA)
Peter / WB6POT and Rick / W5RJD were at Montevina Ridge above Los Gatos on February 13, successfully working QRP CW to Japan with an Elecraft KX2 and wire antenna. An impressive operation; elevation really makes a difference ! Images are posted to our section page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/arrlscv. The following references are courtesy W5RJD […]
ARRL to FCC: Additional Volunteer Examiner Coordinators Not Needed
ARRL has told the FCC that no additional Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VEC) are needed to oversee the administration of amateur radio exams by Volunteer Examiners (VEs). Examination opportunities have continued to be widely available throughout the US — except for a couple of months during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — and adding VECs […]
A “Perfect Coronal Mass Ejection” Could Be a Nightmare
A new study in the research journal Space Weather considers what might happen if a worst-case coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth — a “perfect solar storm,” if you will. In 2014, Bruce Tsurutani of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Gurbax Lakhina of the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism introduced the “perfect CME.” It could create […]
References from ARRL Headquarters follow
ARISS is Seeking Hosts for Ham Radio Contacts with the Space Station02/03/2021 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is seeking formal and informal educational institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host amateur radio contacts with an International Space Station (ISS) crew member. Contacts would likely be scheduled between January 1 and […]
ARES / RACES Team Activation
On February 3, 2021, DEC Tim Howard / KE6TIM advised that Emergency Operations Centers in Santa Clara County were activated to provide communications support in Morgan Hill, following an accidental fiber cable cut that disrupted telephone and internet service in that city. Approximately 2,350 residents were temporarily without service. Fortunately, public safety communications systems were […]