ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, has appointed Ed Hudgens, WB4RHQ, of Nashville, Tennessee, as Delta Division Vice Director. Hudgens will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Glen Clayton, W4BDB, who stepped down August 1 for health reasons. Hudgens, who recently retired after a career in electrical engineering, will serve the remainder of the term that expires January 1, 2015. The D…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Balloting will take place this fall to pick a Director and Vice Director in the ARRL Southeastern Division, the only division where incumbents are being challenged for re-election. Incumbent directors and vice directors in the other four other divisions in the current election cycle were unopposed have been declared re-elected for new terms.
Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, is…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
DXer and ARRL Life Member James D. Kulp, K3SW (ex-K3AWZ, V26SW), of Middletown, Virginia, died August 5. He was 70. Kulp was licensed in 1957 and became K3SW 20 years later. He was a life member of AMSAT and also belonged to the Frankford Radio Club, Potomac Valley Radio Club, the National Capitol DX Association and other organizations. He was a retired juvenile probation counselor. K3SW had 33…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
In “Product Review” in the September issue of QST we reviewed Funkamateur’s FiFi software-defined receiver. On page 52, we direct members to order from the Funkamateur online-shop website. Unfortunately the ordering function at that site has gone offline, due to a problem with AT&T (nothing happens when you click ADD to CART). Funkamateur advises that the problem may not be resolved until early…
Again this week, solar activity was unchanged, with average daily sunspot numbers slipping from 85.4 to 85, and average daily solar flux increasing 4.4 points to 111.7. Geomagnetic conditions were stable.
The latest solar flux prediction from USAF/NOAA has flux values of 125 on August 16, 130 on August 17-18, 120 on August 19-20, 110 on August 21-23, 105 on August 24, 110 on August 25-26, 115 on…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Pikes Peak Amateur Radio Emergency Service (PPARES) volunteers on August 9 provided communication support to several organizations during the Waldo Canyon flood in Manitou Springs, Colorado. PPARES members assisted the El Paso County Emergency Operations Center, the Colorado Springs EOC, the National Weather Service-Pueblo/SKYWARN, the Pikes Peak Chapter of the American Red Cross and one Red Cr…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
ARRL digital publishing partner, Nxtbook Media, is in contact with Adobe to regain access to downloaded issues of digital QST using the latest Adobe® AIR™ version 3.8 on Windows operating systems.
Instructions to uninstall Adobe® AIR™ 3.8 and re-install version 3.7 can be found on the “Save to Desktop” page through digital QST:
If you are prompted to upgrade Adobe® AIR™ to Version 3.8, refuse t…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The FCC has issued a Citation and Order to DNJ Radio of Fremont, California, for violating its rules by marketing non-certified amplifiers and kits via its Internet website. The FCC’s San Francisco office investigated complaints and “confirmed that DNJ Radio was offering for sale non-certified RM Italy linear amplifiers and amplifier kits capable of operation with both CB 11 meter transceivers …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The bug that was causing the digital QST iOS app to crash has been resolved by our digital publishing partner, Nxtbook Media. To resume a download that may have been stuck, double tap on your device’s HOME button to leave the app, then reopen the app, tap “About” to clear the cache and download the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience.
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
With the release of the September digital QST, an identified bug is causing the digital QST iOS app to crash. ARRL digital publishing partner, Nxtbook Media, is aware of the problem and working diligently to have it resolved.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
NASA astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC, who was active on ham radio from both the Russian Mir space station and the International Space Station, is departing NASA after a 26-year career, the space agency has announced. In 1997 he spent 145 days aboard Mir, making numerous ham radio contacts with earthbound hams. In 2003-2004 he was the Expedition 8 crew commander aboard the ISS for 194 days.
During …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Plans by one Canadian and two Americans to mount the CYØP DXpedition to Sable Island October 1 to October 11 are well underway. The CYØP team includes VE1RGB, AI5P and WA4DAN, who coordinated two previous CYØ DXpeditions, including one in October 2012 cut short by Hurricane Sandy. The trio plans to operate CW, SSB and RTTY on 160 through 10 meters. Where possible, resources retained from previo…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
A new FCC’s regulatory fee of $ 16.10 to apply for an Amateur Radio vanity call sign will become effective sometime in mid-September, when the new fee schedule appears in the Federal Register. (ARRL will report the exact date as soon as it becomes available.) The FCC earlier this year had proposed upping the vanity call sign fee from its current $ 15 to $ 15.20. In a Report and Order in MD Docket …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Solar indicators barely moved this week, with average daily sunspot numbers up 5.8 points to 85.4, and average daily solar flux down 2.4 points to 107.3.
Predicted solar flux for the next week is low, with the predicted average for Thursday August 8 through Wednesday August 14 at 104.9, a little lower than the 107.3 average for this past week.
Solar flux is predicted at 105 on August 9-16, 110 on…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The Perseid meteor shower, the best annual shower for Amateur Radio meteor-scatter work, peaks overnight August 12. Unfortunately for viewing purposes, peak activity will happen during daylight hours across North America. Space.com advises stargazers with clear skies to seek out the meteor display during the pre-dawn hours of August 12 and 13, when the absence of bright moonlight will boost yo…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
After vandals toppled the tower supporting the Mount Diablo Amateur Radio Club’s APRS digipeater, the club decided to move its gear from Rocky Ridge, in the hills above Danville and San Ramon, California, to the North Peak of Mount Diablo. After recovering the digipeater hardware from Rocky Ridge on August 2, a team of five members of the MDARC Tech Committee the next day climbed the North Peak…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014) is accepting applications from individuals who would like to participate in WRTC-2014 as team leaders. Prospective team leaders must use the application form on the WRTC-2014 website, and applications are due by September 13, 2013.
WRTC-2014 is a competition among two-operator teams, and 54 team leaders will be selected from the top qualifiers …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Army MARS, with support from Air Force MARS members, underwent a high-pressure test of nationwide messaging capacity August 3-4, under the watchful eye of the Army’s chief of network communications. Major General Alan Lynn, commander of the Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM), personally launched the six hour drill, which measured performance of the volunteer radio operators under he…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Two CubeSats, carrying SSB/CW and FM voice transponders are scheduled to be launched into a 600 km orbit during the first half of 2014. That news came during the QB50 Project presentation at the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium earlier this summer.
The QB50 project team has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-Francophone and AMSAT-NL to enable two Amateur Radio payl…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
A record number of participating Amateur Radio stations are expected for the International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend (ILLW) August 17-18, sponsored by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group in Scotland. The annual event, now in its 16th year, aims to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and the need for their preservation and restoration, as well as to promote Amateur Radio and foster…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The Rookie Roundup returns to RTTY Sunday, August 18, 1800 UTC through 2359 UTC. Here’s the perfect chance for new operators (licensed 3 years or fewer) to learn the skills of RTTY contesting. Rookie Roundup events take place three times a year: SSB in April, RTTY in August and CW in December. The Contest Branch reminds participants that there is a multioperator category, so several rookies can…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
It’s been 50 years this month since now-veteran QSL manager Joe Arcure, W3HNK, began serving as a QSL manager for DX stations, starting with ZE4JS (Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe). Since then he has handled QSLing chores for more than 400 DX stations, and anyone with DX QSL cards likely has one in the collection that W3HNK handled. Licensed in 1956, W3HNK was bitten by the DX bug the following…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved the 2013 operation of T5TC, Somalia, for DXCC credit. If your request for DXCC credit for this operation was rejected in a prior application, contact ARRL Awards Branch Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, to be placed on the list for an update to your record. Note the submission date and/or reference number of your application in order to expedite the search for any reject…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
ARRL membership certificates commemorating the League’s 100th anniversary in 2014 now are available. Members logged onto the League’s website can generate their own certificates or cards online for printing. “We want each ARRL member to know that he or she is a part of next year’s big ARRL Centennial,” says Membership Manager Diane Petrilli, KB1RNF. The certificate maker also produces a replace…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
It’s baaaaack! Launched November 15, 1974 as the second AMSAT Phase 2 ham satellite, AO-7 may be the zombie of the Amateur Radio satellite world, having returned from the dead more than a decade ago, then periodically re-emerging. Next year, it will be 40 years old, ancient in satellite years. After its batteries succumbed to old age, AO-7 went silent in 1981, only to spring back to life in 200…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The Daily DX reports that Eugeny, RI1FJ, will depart Franz Josef Land in the Russian Arctic in mid-August and is “99.9 percent sure” that no one will replace him on the ham bands for the 2013-2014 season. Eugeny said he has not been very active recently because conditions have been poor. Eugeny’s last three trips to FJL have been as R1FJT (2006-2008) and as RI1FJ (2010-2011 and 2012-2013). He h…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Don’t be put off by the nonstandard Amateur Radio call sign. ATBSG13 will be the special event call sign for the ninth Asia-Pacific Regional/Internet Jamboree 2013, August 3 and 4. VU2RBI, VU2TCU, VU3KRT and VU3OWL will be operating this station from the Bharat Scouts and Guides Headquarters in New Delhi. The Air-Internet Jamboree is a regional event established in 2004 in which Scouts and Guid…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
An unidentified ham in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, avoided serious injury or worse after falling July 16 from a ham radio tower he was disassembling. The man, whom media reports called “a certified tower expert” fell backward from the tower and became trapped about 35 feet in the air. The Edmonton Journal quoted District Fire Chief Lorne Corbett: “He had on the proper harness, that’s what saved …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Amateur Radio operators kept National Weather Service meteorologists and state and local emergency operations centers up to date on changing conditions as Tropical Storm Flossie passed over the Island State July 29-30. The NWS had earlier notified residents to prepare for heavy rains, high winds and flooding. Clem Jung, KH7HO, opened a SKYWARN net from the NWS Honolulu office ham station the ev…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
President Barack Obama has nominated Republican Mike O’Rielly to fill a vacant seat on the Federal Communications Commission. Telecommunications industry insider and Democrat Tom Wheeler, the White House nominee to succeed Julius Genachowski as the Commission’s chairman, this week received the approval of the Senate Commerce Committee. Senate Republicans would prefer pairing Wheeler’s and O’Rie…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
After a 10 year hiatus, the Dayton RTTY Contesting Dinner will be back next year. Fred Dennin, WW4LL, reports that the dinner will be held Thursday evening, May 15, 2014, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Dayton. Dennin will host the dinner, and he is working now to pin down a guest speaker and door prize sponsors. (Sponsors already committed include the ARRL, Array Solutions and the Louisi…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Here’s your chance to join a DXpedition! The 3DAØET DXpedition to Swaziland is expected to take place November 18-27 and will include the CQ World Wide DX CW. The team includes members from the 2012 7P8D DXpedition to Lesotho and is looking for additional operators, especially for RTTY. Plans call for the team to meet in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 15, and then drive to Piggs Peak, Swa…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The ARRL Contest Branch has posted a list of all logs received from participants in the 2013 ARRL Field Day. This list include logs sent via the web applet, e-mail and hard copy summaries. Logs designated “Checklog” are listed as such because the entry did not include the required summary sheet or was missing information necessary to include it as a regular entry. If your entry is shown as a ch…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Noted DXer Gordon Leland, KU4EC, died unexpectedly July 25. He was 70. First licensed in 1959 as KN1QCQ while living in Seal Harbor, Maine, he upgraded to General to become K1QCQ, but later let his license lapse. In 1997 he got back into ham radio and became KU4EC. A retired US Navy senior chief radioman, Leland was known for his sea stories. An ARRL member, he was active in the Virginia DX Cen…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Former ARRL Nevada Section Manager and Emergency Coordinator Janet Welsh, NK7N, died July 22 in Dallas, Texas. She was 77. Janet and her late husband Lee, KI7EY, lived for some time in Henderson, Nevada, and were involved in virtually every aspect of Amateur Radio in Southern Nevada. At a time when female operators were scarce, Janet Welsh studied on her own and became one of only three women i…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
What started out in 2000 as “The Big Project,” an initiative of past ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, continues to grow today as the ARRL Education & Technology Program (ETP). The program aims to boost “wireless technology literacy” among US students and educators by providing cost-free instructional resources, Teachers Institutes on Wireless Technology and grants for school Amateur Radio stat…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The Daily DX reports that Bjørn, OZ5BD, and Mia, OZ5MD, have moved from Denmark to Greenland for at least 2 years and plan to be active on as many bands as possible starting sometime in mid-August. Bjørn is OX5M, while Mia is OX5T. They are setting up for operation on all bands 40 meters through 10 meters, SSB and CW. They also plan to operate on 6 meters, SSB, CW and JT65. QSL via OZØJ or LoTW…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The Amsterdam Island DXpedition team has made “significant progress” in the past couple of months in preparation for its January 2014 DXpedition, the team reported in a news release July 27. Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Amsterdam and St Paul Islands is the seventh most-wanted DXCC entity, according to Clublog. The news release says the team has begun receiving supplies and equipme…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The Board of Directors of The Yasme Foundation has announced that it has made a grant to support further development of ViewProp, a new utility for propagation visualization developed by Rick Kiessig, ZL2HAM. ViewProp integrates information from the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) and worldwide spotting networks with station location information from QRZ.com and mapping through DXAtlas. The result…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
According to news reports, hams in Hawaii and California played a role July 23 in efforts to rescue the two-person crew of a sailboat stranded on a reef more than 3500 miles away in Micronesia. The US Coast Guard continues to monitor the situation. The vessel C’est la Vie, a 53-foot sailboat reported running aground on a reef in western Chuuk Lagoon. When the situation developed, Big Island Ama…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
“It’s time for us to retire,” begins the announcement that Monitoring Times magazine will cease publication at year’s end after 33 years. “We will publish through the December 2013 issue,” publisher Bob Grove, W8JHD, told ARRL. “The decision wasn’t an easy one, but economics played a greater part than personal. Judy and I are in excellent health, but the gradual drift downward of subscribers an…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
At 2330 UTC on July 24, Australia’s IPS Radio and Space services issued a geomagnetic disturbance warning. Increased geomagnetic activity is expected due to a coronal mass ejection. They predict quiet to unsettled conditions on July 25, active to minor storm on July 26, and active conditions on July 27.
As this bulletin nears release early Friday morning, the planetary A index was 4 on four rece…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
European Space Agency Astronaut Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP, aboard the International Space Station spoke July 20 via ham radio with Scouts attending the 2013 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree, July 15-24, at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in Mount Hope, West Virginia. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged the 2 meter contact between the Scouts’ K2BSA and NA…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
At its second meeting of the year, July 19 and 20 in Windsor, Connecticut, the ARRL Board of Directors confronted a broad agenda that included the naming of ARRL award winners, the efforts of the Ad Hoc LoTW (Logbook of The World) and Symbol Rate Rule Modernization committees, creation of a new field appointment for youth, and the procedure for eventual ARRL CEO succession.
LoTW
ARRL Dakota Divi…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Planning was everything. Timing was especially crucial and arrival at the “jump off” point would have to be precise or there would be no one to guide our raiding party. Those selected for the mission would have to be in shape to withstand the rigors of the raid, which was to involve climbing countless ladders and stairs and walking seemingly endless miles while searching through dark compartmen…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014) organizers say the 2013 station test held during the IARU HF World Championship July 13-14 went very well. The 25-station trial run was the second such test in advance of next summer’s international competition in New England. The results of the unofficial competition are on the WRTC-2014 website.
“We accomplished our main objectives of exercis…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The Yasme Foundation has provided a grant that will permit three members of the Ethiopian Amateur Radio Society to become licensed and get on the air. When Ethiopia came back on the air in the spring of 2011 with the reopening of the EARS station ET3AA, the Yasme Foundation provided a grant to pay license examination fees for 25 club members. Many were successful, but Ethiopian radio regulation…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Unsettled geomagnetic conditions continued this week, punctuated by periods of relative quiet. The most active days were July 14-15. The planetary A index was 20 and 25, and the mid-latitude A index was 15 and 33 on those dates. Of course Alaska’s College A index was higher, at 58 and 34.
The A index is a daily value, and it is calculated from eight measurements per day (once every three hours) …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
According to NASA, International Space Station Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, of NASA and Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP, of the European Space Agency ended their July 16 spacewalk at 1329 GMT, just 1 hour, 32 minutes into a planned 6-1/2 hour venture outside the International Space Station. NASA Flight Director David Korth decided to terminate the spacewalk early after Parmitano…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Boy Scouts of America Troop 5’s club station KT5BSA in Pasadena, California, has become a member of the DX Century Club (DXCC), and the Scouts did it the hard way. To achieve their goal, troop members set up portable HF stations at various campouts and Scout events, and all 24 troop members contributed to working the 100 DXCC entities needed to qualify, ARRL Southwestern Division Vice Director …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The digital version of the August issue of QST is now available to ARRL members.
In this issue . . .
Enjoy Content You Won’t See in the Print Edition…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
In the aftermath of recent e-mail problems at ARRL Headquarters, the ARRL Contest Branch is asking participants of ARRL Field Day and the June VHF Contest to make sure their logs have been received by ARRL Headquarters. Visit the Logs Received page on the ARRL website, and if you do not see your call sign, please resubmit your Field Day information via the online entry form or resend your June …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) has named Monte Fronk, KCØWMC, of Isle, Minnesota, and Randolph Mantooth as co-winners of its 2013 IAEM-USA Public Awareness Award Certificate of Recognition. Fronk and Mantooth were recognized for developing and creating “Strength and Resiliency: Emergency Preparedness for Tribal Leaders,” a 30 minute training video designed to educate…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Average daily sunspot numbers over the past week rose over 23 points to 109.4, compared to the previous reporting week. Average daily solar flux was up nearly 21 points to 127.9. Two days, July 6 and July 10, had the most geomagnetic activity, with a planetary A index of 25 on July 10. Planetary A index of July 6 was 21.
The forecast issued on July 7 had a predicted solar flux of 145 on July 11-…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources