16 May 2021

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.

• Radio Frequency Interference Seminar Set for May 19 via Zoom

  ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, hold a Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) seminar via Zoom on Wednesday, May 19, at 2000 UTC. His 30-minute slide presentation offers an overview of politics, personalities, and technical issues involved in electromagnetic interference (EMI) control as well as causes and cures. A question-and-answer session will follow the slide presentation. The IEEE EMC...

• Wooden Satellite to Launch by Year’s End

  The WISA Woodsat project, being sponsored by plywood supplier WISA in an unconventional PR initiative, is poised to place a wooden satellite into orbit by the end of the year. The idea is to test the suitability of treated wood as a low-cost and widely available material for space applications. The IARU posting for Woodsat indicates that several amateur radio experiments will be on board as wel...

• The K7RA Solar Update

  Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Sunspot activity returned last Friday, May 7, and has held steady since. Average daily sunspot numbers rose from 11.9 to 21.1, and average daily solar flux was up 2.1 points to 74.3 for the reporting week ending May 12.

  Geomagnetic activity was quiet until Wednesday, May 12, when the planetary A index went to 41 as the result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) tha...

• April 2021 Volunteer Monitor Program Report Released

  The Volunteer Monitor (VM) Program is a joint initiative between ARRL and FCC to enhance compliance in the Amateur Radio Service.

  A General class renewal applicant withdrew his application after FCC notice that the renewal application would be held up pending review of Volunteer Monitor complaints. As a consequence, the Quakertown, Pennsylvania, applicant has no operating privileges.

   Twenty-one...

• “Geomagnetic Storm Season” is Over

  June and July bring frequent 6-meter DX openings via long-distance sporadic-E propagation and persistent quiet geomagnetic conditions. These 2 months are well known to North American 6-meter DXers as the most productive time of year for DX up to 8,700 miles.

  “The quiet geomagnetic season during June and July typically has only about half as many geomagnetic storms compared to March and April,” s...

• The VP2VB Danny Weil Memorial DXpedition is JIDXM 2020 DXpedition of the Year

  The Japan International DX Meeting (JIDXM) has designated the 2020 VP2VB Danny Weil Memorial DXpedition as the recipient of the 2020 DXpedition of the Year Award. The DXpedition was organized to bring story of amateur radio DXpedition pioneer Danny Weil, VP2VB, to today’s amateur radio community.

  The VP2VB Yasme Memorial Expedition Team consisted of Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA; Martti Laine, OH2BH;...

• Bigfoot Radio Net Spring Expedition 2021 Underway
• 60 Meters Again Available to New Zealand Radio Amateurs
• SEDCO W4DXCC Co-Founder, Noted DXer Lynn Lamb, W4NL, SK

  ARRL Life Member Lynn Lamb, W4NL, of Maryville, Tennessee, died on May 10 following a lengthy illness. He was 83. Lamb co-founded SEDCO W4DXCC DX and Contest Convention in 2005.

  Licensed in 1954, Lamb retired from a career with the US Department of Defense (US Navy and Air Force). He was a founding member of the National Capitol DX Association (NCDXA) and belonged to Potomac Valley Radio Club, t...

• Tuesday, May 11, is Puerto Rico Amateur Radio Operator Day

  Tuesday, May 11, is Puerto Rico Amateur Radio Operator Day, which falls within National Radio Month on the island. The operator of Puerto Rico’s first radio broadcasting station in 1922, WKAQ, was Joaquín Agusty, who held the ham radio call sign 4JE. A proclamation signed by Governor Pedro Pierluisi highlights the value of amateur radio in times of emergency and gives special mention to ARRL. T...

• Workshop for Attorneys Under Consideration for 2022 ARRL National Convention in Orlando

  The Amateur Radio Legal Defense and Assistance Committee (ARLDAC) is considering hosting a half-day workshop for attorneys at the ARRL 2022 National Convention in Orlando. This would be for attorneys only, and attendees would be eligible to earn continuing legal education (CLE) credit in their respective states. It would be held on the afternoon of February 10, as part of the Thursday training...

• The K7RA Solar Update

  Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Our sun seems to have fallen back into a very quiet phase, far different from the way it looked in November 2020. That was 6 months ago, and we assumed that since we were emerging from a solar minimum, by now we would be seeing much more solar activity. It hasn’t happened. More recently, sunspots disappeared after May 1, and solar flux naturally declined as wel...

• IEEE Committee Webinar “RF Exposure in the Time of Conspiracies” Set for May 12

  The IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation (COMAR) has issued an invitation to its webinar, “RF Exposure in the Time of Conspiracies.” The 1-hour event is set to get under way at 1800 UTC on Wednesday, May 12. COMAR is a group of experts on health and safety issues related to electromagnetic fields, from power line through microwave frequency ranges. Its primary focus is on biological effects of n...

• First-Time Exam Applicants Must Obtain FCC Registration Number before Taking Exam

  Beginning May 20, 2021, all amateur examination applicants will be required to provide an FCC Registration Number (FRN) to the Volunteer Examiners (VEs) before taking an amateur exam. This is necessary due to changes the FCC has made to its licensing system.

  Amateur candidates who already have an FCC license, whether for amateur radio or in another service, already have an FRN and can use the sa...

• Spring Radio Club of America QSO Party is Saturday, May 8

  The semiannual Radio Club of America (RCA) QSO Party takes place on May 8. “Band conditions are still not their best but we still expect plenty of QSOs,” RCA Executive Vice President Chip Cohen, W1YW, said. “Come join the fun and contact other club hams and the club’s station, W2RCA. All are welcome.” The QSO party is open to RCA members and non-members and is SSB only. Activity begins at 1800...

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16 May 2021

Latest Amateur Radio News from around the world

• IARUMS April newsletter now available
  The IARU Region 1 Monitoring System newsletter reports the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) has been causing interference to radio amateurs
• The great geomagnetic storm of May 1921
  100 years ago today, the biggest solar storm of the 20th century struck Earth
• Amateur radio on BBC Essex Breakfast Show
  Dorothy M0LMR got some publicity for Amateur Radio on BBC Essex by phoning in to the Breakfast Show and talking about customised car registration numbers for ham radio
• SARL response to Draft Equipment Authorisation Regulations
  On Friday afternoon 14 May, the SARL submitted its response to the Draft Equipment Authorisation Regulations as published by ICASA on 30 March 2021
• CANWARN Online Training 2021
  Radio Amateurs of Canada is pleased to announce that we have now partnered with the Ontario Storm Prediction Centre Team to provide CANWARN Training this spring
• ZS3 Sprint this afternoon
  The ZS3 Sprint is on the air this afternoon from 14:00 to 15:00 UTC (16:00 to 17:00 CAT) with CW and phone activity on 40 metres
• Propagation Report from Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP
  Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to be at low levels

16 May 2021

Newsworthy articles about Amateur Radio.

• What Is A Shortwave Radiogram?
• How to Choose Your Summits on the Air Day Pack
• QCX-Mini - How I'm winding those toroids
• NewsWest for Sunday 16th May 2021 - Amateur Radio History Edition
• The ARRL Letter, May 13, 2021
• Ham Talk Live! Episode 259 - New FCC RF Exposure Policy
• Solar Storm Forecast May 10, 2021
• Amateur Radio Newsline headlines for Ham Nation. May 12, 2021.
• Episode 350 - Larry Tyree N6TR
• What Should be your FIRST Ham Radio?
• Free and open source remote operation of many Icom radios with wfview
• Does Ham Radio Need to Rebrand?
• Two Stories - 100 Watts and a Wire
• NASA Wallops May 8 Rocket Launch Visible in Eastern United States
• The Demolition of Hara Arena finished. ~ video shorts ~