Current ARRLWeb headlines

By Sterling Coffey, N0SCC
ARRL Youth Editor

I would like to thank all the readers for the fantastic comments and e-mails that you have sent in reply to the first few articles I have written. I would particularly like to thank the younger folks who have given me the topics of this article, and the very kind individuals that saw the article and donated equipment to the Missouri S&T Amateur Radio Cl...

Three radio amateurs have been selected to be on the Advisory Council for the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championships (WRTC): Tim Duffy, K3LR, of Edmond, Oklahoma, Craig Thompson, K9CT, of Trivoli, Illinois, and George DeMontrond III, NR5M, of Houston Texas. The WRTC Advisory Council consists of individuals who have not only have experience in the execution of major events, but can provide sig...

Now that you’ve thumbed through and read the June 2011 issue of QST cover-to-cover, we’re sure that an article sticks in your mind. So go ahead and cast your vote for your favorite article in the issue. The article with the most votes will receive the QST Cover Plaque Award.

• A One Person, Safe, Portable and Easy to Erect Antenna Mast by Bob Dixon, W8ERDA
• Is There an Optimum Height for an HF Ante...

Beginning Friday, May 20, check the ARRL website for daily summaries of Dayton Hamvention activity, complete with news and photos from the show. Videos may also appear on the ARRL HQ YouTube channel.

If you are a member of Facebook, you can also follow the action on the ARRL Facebook page. Watch for photos and comments in the 2011 Dayton Hamvention Facebook album.

The FCC announced that on May 16, it issued a Forfeiture Order of $4000 to Jose Torres, N3TX, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, “for willfully and repeatedly operating his amateur station on an unauthorized frequency at his residence, in violation of Section 1.903(a) of the Commission’s Rules.” This action follows a 2009 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) against Torres.

In 2009, the...

As reported in The ARRL Letter on Wednesday, six sunspot groups were visible, but that number shrunk to two on Thursday. Daily sunspot numbers declined from 84 to 29 over those two days as well, but the average sunspot number for the reporting week (Thursday, May 5 through Wednesday, May 11) grew by nearly 7 points from last week, to 74.6. Sunspot numbers for May 5-11 were 95, 71, 38, 61, 93, 8...

By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor

This week, Surfin’ gets more ready for the Dayton Hamvention®.

Last week, I wrote about going to the Dayton Hamvention and if you are unable to go, attending virtually via the Internet.

In response, an acquaintance asked, “What's the big deal? Why should I go to Dayton?”

For one thing, Hamvention is a big deal because it is big. It certainly is the bigges...

On Thursday, May 12, FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker announced she would be leaving her post on June 3 -- just 27 days before her term expires -- creating a Republican vacancy on the Commission. Chairman Julius Genachowski, along with Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn are Democrats, while Commissioner Robert McDowell is a Republican. Only three sitting Commissioners may be ...

The Rochester Institute of Technology Amateur Radio Club, K2GXT, had a successful launch of RITCHIE-1 -- a custom high altitude balloon designed by members of K2GXT -- at the Imagine RIT Festival on May 7. According to RITARC Vice President Bryce Salmi, KB1LQC, the goal of the launch was not to reach high altitudes to take images, but to engineer a reliable, modular and reusable payload with go...

1961. It was the middle of the Cold War. John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States. The Bay of Pigs invasion fails in Cuba. The Beatles perform for the first time at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for “disturbing the peace” after disembarking from their bus. Construction of the Berlin Wall begins. Roger Maris of ...

Miguel Enriquez, KD7RPP, is an Instructor with the ARRL’s Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology (TI), as well as a math and electronics teacher at Pueblo High School in Tucson, Arizona. One of his responsibilities at Pueblo is advising the school’s Amateur Radio club.

“Our radio club has discovered how much fun ham radio can be as a way to improve the math, science, technology and communicat...

Even though the storms that raged through the Southeast have long gone, the damage and heartache they left in their wake are still present. In Alabama, the state that felt the biggest brunt of the storms, hams made their way to fire stations, emergency operations centers and shelters -- anywhere they were told that they were needed.

The ARRL -- through its Ham Aid program -- shipped five cases f...

Four new poll questions have just been published on the QuickStats page on the ARRL website. Let your voice be heard!

Questions in this month’s QuickStats poll:

• Do you plan to participate in the IARU HF World Championships contest July 9-10?
• How many different microphones do you own (including headsets)?
• How often do you check into an on-the-air net?
• Do you have a dedicated UTC clock in your home...

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual Military/Amateur Radio Crossband Communications Test in celebration of the 61st anniversary of Armed Forces Day (AFD). Although the actual Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May -- May 21 in 2011 -- the AFD Military/Amateur Crossband Communications Test will be conducted on May 14 to preven...

ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, reports that plans for a plethora of DX activities at the ARRL EXPO -- part of the 2011 Dayton Hamvention® -- are wrapping up. “We are excited about the activities that will be taking place,” he said. “Visitors to the EXPO will see a lot of activities relating to DX, including DXCC card checking, a chance to drop off QSL cards fo...

Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 30th Annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC), to be held September 16-18 in Baltimore, Maryland. Papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings. Authors do not need to attend the conference to have their papers included in the Proceedings. The submission deadline is July 31, 2011.

The ARRL/TAPR Digital Communica...

Stand by pileup, Europe, Japan, USA, South Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. You want to know why I am coming in so strong. You want to know why I call this a paradise location with a paradise station. Well, for starters, I was using an Alpha 87a 1500 W amplifier. Most hams dream of an amplifier sitting next to the transceiver. Double this and you have a dream station that most hams would en...

In a joint resolution released on April 14, the Maine House and Senate recognized the nearly 5000 licensed ham radio operators in Maine and their service to the state. The resolution proclaimed April 18 Amateur Radio Day in the state. April 18 was also World Amateur Radio Day, marking the 86th anniversary of the founding of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).

 “At times of emergency or nat...

Ben Stevenson, W2BXA, of Colonia, New Jersey, passed away on May 5, 2011. He was 97. An ARRL member since 1934, Stevenson was also a charter member of the North Jersey DX Association (NJDXA) since 1957, serving as its first president. Stevenson held Satellite DXCC #1, Mixed DXCC #6 (390 countries confirmed) and Phone DXCC #6 (388 countries confirmed).

Only missing two deleted entities -- French ...

Currently, there are seven sunspot groups that are visible. But even so, the average daily sunspot number is down more than 7 points over the past reporting week (April 28-May 4), when compared to the previous seven days. The average daily solar flux was off nearly 5 points, compared to the earlier period. Sunspot numbers for April 28-May 4 were 71, 70, 76, 57, 51, 77, and 72 with a mean of 67....