India?s VO-52 Satellite Goes Dark

Despite efforts to keep the flagging VUSat OSCAR-52 (VO-52) Amateur Radio satellite in operation for a while longer, ground controllers have yielded to the nearly decade-old spacecraft?s failing technology and have permanently taken it out of service. Launched into low Earth orbit in 2005, the VO-52 microsatellite carried two Amateur Radio transponders for SSB and CW. B.A. ?Mani? Subramani, VU2...

Centennial Convention Provides Springboard for ?Amateur Radio Parit…

FEMA and ARRL Sign Agreement; FEMA Administrator Calls Ham Radio ?R…

The ARRL and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have announced a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will enhance cooperation between the League and FEMA in the area of disaster communication. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, and ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, signed the agreement July 18 during the ARRL National Centennial Convention at the Connecticut Convention Center i...

The K7RA Solar Update

Solar activity is suddenly weakening, and yesterday, Thursday, July 17 the daily sunspot number was zero. We had no other zero sunspot days so far this year, none last year or in 2012, and only two in 2011, on January 27 and August 14.

We had 48 days with a sunspot number of zero in 2010 (although Spaceweather.com reports 51 days, and they may be correct), and 260 days with a daily sunspot numbe...

ARRL Dedicates Centennial Terrace to Honor Major Donors

Visitors to ARRL Headquarters will be greeted with something new in the area in front of the main entrance. Complementing the terrace of memorial bricks and benches on the left, a new Centennial Terrace on the right side of the main entrance was dedicated on July 17 at a ribbon-cutting and reception, held in conjunction with the ARRL National Centennial Convention now underway in Hartford, Conn...

ARRL President Issues Call to Action to Gain Support for HR.4969 Am…

In a video, ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, has issued an urgent call to all radio amateurs to get behind a grassroots campaign to promote co-sponsorship of HR.4969, ?The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014.? HR.4969 would require the FCC to extend PRB-1 coverage to restrictive covenants. It was introduced in the US House with bipartisan support on June 25 at the request of the ARRL, which worke...

ARRL Board of Directors to Meet July 21-22 in Hartford

The ARRL Board of Directors will meet Monday and Tuesday, July 21-22, in Hartford, Connecticut, The slightly altered scheduling of the July meeting takes advantage of the fact that most Board members will already be in town for the ARRL National Centennial Convention July 17-19.

International guests at the gathering will include IARU Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, and Radio Amateurs of Can...

Grassroots Campaign Underway to Promote Co-Sponsorship of ?Amateur…

A grassroots effort is underway to encourage radio amateurs to promote co-sponsorship of HR.4969, the Amateur Radio Parity Act. The measure, introduced in the US House with bipartisan support on June 25, would call on the FCC to apply the ?reasonable accommodation? three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to private land-use restrictions regarding antennas. The bill?s primary spo...

Centennial Convention Will Be an Event to Remember, ARRL President…

ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, is eagerly anticipating the ARRL National Centennial Convention this week with a sense of history, awe, and honor. The Convention gets underway Thursday, July 17, at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. Craigie said this week that to be President when the ARRL celebrates its centennial ?is an extraordinary good fortune that I am sincerely grateful for...

It?s Official: N6MJ and KL9A Take WRTC-2014 Gold, Slovak and German…

After considerable deliberation over which team placed third in the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC-2014), it?s now official. At the awards ceremony July 14 concluding the international Amateur Radio contesting competition, the US team of Dan Craig, N6MJ, and Chris Hurlbut, KL9A, operating as K1A, took home the gold for their winning team effort. They racked up 7,184,844 points. T...