ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director Jeff Beals, WA4AW, SK

The Vice Director of the ARRL Southeastern Division, Jeffrey J. ?Jeff? Beals, WA4AW, has become a Silent Key. He died on July 20, 2024. Beals, who was born in 1951, devoted a lifetime of service to amateur radio, having served in many local clubs, the ARRL Field Organization, and on the ARRL Board of Directors. He was also elected Vice President of the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA...

Amateur Radio Participates in World?s Largest Naval Exercise

HamCon:Zion 2024

HamCon: Zion 2024, hosting the ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention, the Young Ladies Radio League 85th Convention, and the RV Radio Network?s 2024 Western Rally, was a success. The inaugural event, held in St. George, Utah, was well attended and many reported the facility and events were first rate. 

ARRL National Instructor Gordon West, WB6NOA, was in the ARRL booth greeting visitors and ga...

The K7RA Solar Update

Big increase in solar activity this week, with average daily sunspot number rising from 129 to 215.9, and solar flux from 176.6 to 226.5.

Fourteen new sunspot groups emerged. Two were on July 11, one on July 12, three on July 13, one on July 14, two more on July 15, three more on July 16 and two more on July 17.

On Thursday (after the reporting week) the daily sunspot number was 276, the highes...

Get On the Air During VHF Contest Season

VHF contesting season is in full swing! Summer weather brings with it enhanced propagation. With good conditions, stations hundreds of miles away can be worked via tropospheric ducting, E-skip, and perhaps even meteor scatter. If you have an HF rig that includes 6 meters or VHF/UHF capability, you?ve got just the tools you need to take advantage of these enhancements! US amateurs of all license...

ARRL VEC Services Update During Systems Disruption

ARRL previously reported that we are responding to a serious incident involving access to our network and headquarters-based systems. Several services have been affected, including those administered by the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC).

Exam Registrations and Materials. ARRL Volunteer Examiners (VEs) should continue to submit exam registrations and material requests. While we a...

Voices from the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology

The ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology continues to bring educators from around the country to ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, to learn how to engage students with amateur radio and radio technology. The program helps tie wireless technology into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

In their own words:

This week, TI1, or the initial course o...

Randall Carlson, WB0JJX, Former Delaware Section Manager, Silent Key

Randall Carlson, WB0JJX, has become a Silent Key. He passed away June 7, 2024. Carlson was the Section Manager of the ARRL Delaware Section from December 1992 until 2005. He was originally licensed in the 1970s, according to his obituary. Carlson was 66 years old.

ARRL Announces Leadership Changes in the Hudson Division

ARRL Director Nomar Vizcarrondo, NP4H, who has represented the Hudson Division since March 2023, has stepped down, effective July 12, 2024, at 5 PM Eastern.

Vice Director Ed Wilson, N2XDD, accedes to the Director?s chair to complete the remainder of a 3-year term ending December 31, 2024. Wilson has served as Vice Director since June 2023. He has held ARRL Field Organization appointments as an E...

The K7RA Solar Update

New sunspot groups, nine in all, emerged on every day of this reporting week, July 4 to 10. One on July 4, another on July 5, two more on July 6, another each on July 7 and July 8, two more on July 9 and another on July 10.

On July 11, two more sunspot groups emerged, and the total sunspot area expanded by 13 per cent.

Despite the appearance of so many new sunspots, average daily sunspot number...