Hurricane Watch Net May Activate for Hurricane Matthew on October 1

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) has announced ?tentative plans? to activate for Hurricane Matthew on Saturday, October 1, 2016, at 2100 UTC on its primary frequency of 14.325 MHz. Once it activates, the net will remain in continuous operation until further notice.

?We plan to operate 14.325 MHz by day and 7.268 MHz by night,? HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said. ?If propagation dictates, we wil...

The K7RA Solar Update

Australia?s Space Weather Services issued a geomagnetic warning at 0022 UTC on September 29.

?The geomagnetic conditions are expected to vary between active levels to major storms for the next three days. This is because the solar winds are expected to be in excess of 600 km/s associated with a very large positive polarity coronal hole. The storm intensities are expected to be slightly stronger ...

Hurricane Watch Net Keeping an Eye on Hurricane Matthew?s Progress

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) is currently monitoring the progress of Hurricane Matthew. On the current forecast track, Matthew will make landfall near Guantanamo, Cuba sometime on the evening of October 3.

?Should the track move to the west, the storm will make landfall on the island of Jamaica with a second landfall on Cuba,? said HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV. ?Any shift to the east and la...

LoTW Password Checking Change Causes Problems for Some Users

An upgrade to the password-checking mechanism that authenticates Logbook of The World (LoTW) users has caused log-in problems for some clients. Under the system in place prior to approximately 2300 UTC on September 19, the LoTW log-in system ignored the case of any characters in a password when checking for a match, storing them all as lower-case. The new system is case sensitive, however. Whil...

Northern New Jersey Club to Celebrate 60th Anniversary with Special…

The Fair Lawn (New Jersey) Amateur Radio Club (FLARC) will couple a community open house with an on-air special event, to celebrate its 60th anniversary, October 1-2 noon until 4 PM ET, at the club?s station in the Fair Lawn Recreation Center.

FLARC members will demonstrate the club?s five operating stations and discuss its history.

The W2NPT special event will be on the air 1600-2300 UTC on Octo...

ARRL Foundation Invites Scholarship Applications for 2017-18 Academ…

The ARRL Foundation will begin accepting scholarship applications on October 1 from eligible radio amateurs planning to pursue post-secondary education in the 2017-2018 academic year. Completed applications must be received by January 31, 2017. Individuals and clubs support many of the more than 80 scholarships, ranging from $500 to $5,000, that are awarded annually. Applicants for all scholars...

More than 200 US Stations Signed Up for Scouting?s Jamboree on the Air

So far, 219 US stations have registered to take part in Scouting?s 2016 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA), which will take place October 14-16. Registration remains open for the 59th annual event. Last year, 400 US stations registered. JOTA officials are asking JOTA 2016 participants not only to register for this year?s event, but to follow up with a post-JOTA report.

?We expect to have several thousan...

?Cows Over the World? DXpedition May Be at an End

Bouvet Island DXpedition Team Secures Landing Permit

The Bouvet Island DXpedition team has announced that its permit to land on Bouvet Island for a DXpedition has been updated, revised, and approved by the Norsk Polar Institute. The 3Y0Z call sign will hit the airwaves in early 2018. Bouvet is the second most-wanted DXCC entity. 

An international team of pilots has been selected to serve as an interface between the DXpedition team and the worldwid...

Rules Released for New ARRL 222 MHz and Up Distance Contest

The official rules for the new ARRL 222 MHz and Up Contest have been released. The contest will debut in August 2017. Participants will attempt to work as many stations as possible on the 222 MHz through 241 GHz bands, ?using any allowable mode.? Competing stations will exchange six-character grid locators (?sub-grid?). Rovers report their grid locator at the time of each contact.

Contact point ...