We are pleased to announce the 2025 Blossomland Amateur Radio Association and Midwest Classic Radio Net KI8BQ Memorial Trunk Swap is a go!

ARRL News

21 December 2025

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

• The ARRL Solar Update

  Solar activity has been at low levels with only a few C1 flares from
  Region 4307. Slight growth and consolidation were observed in that
  region as it neared the southwestern limb. Slight decay and
  separation were observed in Region 4311. The rest of the spotted
  regions were either stable or in decay. CME analysis will be
  conducted as imagery becomes available. Solar activity is expected
  to be low with...

• Up to $25,000 at Stake in New ARRL Student Coding Competition

  Pre-registration is now open for a Student Coding Competition, a new national challenge sponsored by ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®. The project is designed to engage young radio amateurs in shaping the future of amateur radio through software development. Open to ARRL-member amateur radio operators aged 21 and younger, the competition will invite students to design a mobile a...

• Obsolete Part 97 Rules to be Deleted February 10, 2026

  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in October 2025 adopted a Report and Order to delete almost 400 obsolete rules pertaining to its wireless services. As previously reported by ARRL, among the deletions were four in Part 97 that govern the Amateur Radio Service.

  ARRL reports that the notice of the Report and Order has now been published in the Federal Register. Unless an objection is ra...

• The ARRL Solar Update

  Solar activity reached high levels this past week when Region 4299
  produced an M1.1 (R1/Minor) flare on December 6. Shortly after, the
  region produced an M8.1/2b (R3/Strong) flare, also on December 6.
  Associated with the M8.1 flare was a 1,100 SFU Tenflare, a 1,143
  km/s Type II sweep and a Type IV sweep. (A "sweep" is a solar radio
  burst that sweeps through the RF spectrum as the energy moves
  outward...

• Help Someone Get Their FIRST Ham Radio License by the End of 2025
• FCC Allocates 60-Meter World-Wide Amateur Band Approved at WRC-15; Continues Amateur Use of Four Additional 60-Meter Channels, and Updates 420 MHz Coordination Information

  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on December 9, 2025, released a long-awaited Report and Order adopting a new amateur radio spectrum allocation in the 60-meter band that was approved for world-wide use on a secondary basis in the WRC-15 (World Radiocommunication Conference 2015) Final Acts. The Commission also agreed with a petition from ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radi...

• ARRL to Host 2026 HamSCI Workshop at Central Connecticut State University
• The ARRL Solar Update

  Solar activity was at low levels this past week with only C class
  flares. Region 4294 remains the largest region on the disk but is
  appearing to be simplifying magnetically. Region 4296, on the other
  hand, gained a delta region in its intermediary region, though with
  no corresponding increase in flare activity as of yet. New flux
  emerged along the eastern side of Region 4298, resulting in several
  C f...

• Operators/Monitors Wanted for Meteor Scatter QSO Party December 12-13
• “Space Sailors” Seeking Download Help from Ham Radio Operators

  Update 12/4/2025 (See original story, below.)
  
  ChipSat Signals Received; Listeners Still Needed

  Updating the story, ‘Space Sailors’ Seeking Download Help from Ham Radio Operators,” posted on December 2, 2025, Cornell University’s “ChipSat”-equipped light sail was successfully deployed on December 3 and several dozen telemetry signals from its ChipSat flight computers have been received and decoded...

• LIVE YouTube Telethon to Support ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology

  Don’t miss it! The annual YouTube telethon to raise money for the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology will be held on Saturday, November 29, 2025, beginning at 3 PM EST / 12 PM PST, on the Ham Radio Crash Course YouTube channel, hosted by Josh Nass, KI6NAZ.

  Join Nass and several other amateur radio contributors for a fun and entertaining livestream. They’ll cover a variety of amateur...

• 2025 ARRL Board of Directors Election Results

  ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® announces the results of the 2025 ARRL Division elections.

  In the ARRL Pacific Division, current Director John Litz, NZ6Q (1,270 votes), of Stockton, California, was declared the winner, defeating Bob Vallio, W6RGG (960 votes).

  In the Southeastern Division, current Director Mickey Baker, N4MB (1,596 votes), of West Palm Beach, Florida, was declared...

• The ARRL Solar Update

  Solar activity has remained low this past week. The largest flare
  was a C9.9 on November 19 from a region just beyond the NE limb near
  N17. Region 4284 grew slightly in the early part of the period but
  was in decay after November 19.
  
  New Region 4287 was numbered. A Type II radio sweep (estimated at
  695 km/s) was observed on November 19 at 2215 UTC, likely associated
  with a B9.0 flare from just beyond...

• SKYWARN Recognition Day 2025 Cancelled

  NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) has announced the cancellation of SKYWARN™ Recognition Day (SRD) 2025.

  The necessary time and resources required to plan a comprehensive national event for SKYWARN™ Recognition Day 2025 are not available this year. Thus, the difficult decision was made to cancel this year's event by the NWS. 

  The NWS will work with ARRL and SKYWARN™ spotters to brainstorm i...

• ARRL VEC Ready to File 2,500+ Ham Radio License Applications; FCC Extends Renewal Filing Deadline

  Updated 11/20/2025 (FCC System Issues Affecting Application Processing)

  
  Original story 11/18/2025

  ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® reports that the FCC has extended the filing deadline to March 5, 2026, for amateur radio licenses that otherwise were due to expire from October 1, 2025, to March 5, 2026. The announcement is included in an FCC Public Notice (DA-25-943) released on Mo...

Southgate Amateur Radio News

QRZ Amateur Radio News

BARA Ham of the Year Recipients