A team of 135 radio amateurs from four states supported medical teams volunteering for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 10. The Chicago Marathon is the third largest marathon in the world. This marked the 13th year that amateur radio volunteers have partnered with the marathon medical team to help coordinate responses, arrange for deployment of medical supplies, and provide situa...

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Solar activity declined last week, and on Sunday, October 17, there were no sunspots at all. Most days had the minimum non-zero sunspot number, which is 11, indicating a single sunspot group containing a single sunspot.

Average daily sunspot number declined from 23.7 to 11.3, and average daily solar flux dropped 7 points from 85.6 to 78.6.

Geomagnetic indicators ...

Two recent Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) grants will benefit the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC), K6TZ, and Oregon HamWAN.

A $35,550 grant will enable SBARC to construct an amateur radio station at the new Chrisman California Islands Center (CCIC) in downtown Carpinteria, California, at the invitation of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation (SCIF). According to Levi Maaia, K6L...

The November issue of QST includes the article, “The Beverage Antenna, 100 Years Later,” by Ward Silver, N0AX, and Frank Donovan, W3LPL. The famous receiving antenna, designed and patented in 1921 by Harold Beverage, 2BML, remains popular for the low bands as increasing sunspot activity in Solar Cycle 25 leads to weaker signals on 160 and 80 meters. The article explains the Beverage antenna’s n...

The Yasme Foundation Board of Directors has announced that it will be giving a grant to the Seychelles Amateur Radio Association (SARA) to establish a facility for its recently formed (2018) amateur radio club.

The Yasme Foundation also announced that Steve Babcock, VE6WZ, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is the latest recipient of its Excellence Award. This honor is presented to individuals and gro...

ARRL’s YouTube channel, ARRLHQ, has launched a series of amateur radio Technician-class license courses. This series of videos features Dave Casler, KE0OG, QST’s “Ask Dave” columnist, who leads viewers through The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual. These videos supplement the manual and provide an overview of the sections you’ll be studying, along with a few videos on how things work. Share this ex...

The HamSCI Antarctic Eclipse Festival in December is seeking amateur radio participation. As the shadow of the moon passes across Antarctica on December 4, it will generate traveling ionospheric disturbances that will, in turn, affect radio propagation. The unusual geometry of this year’s eclipses will give researchers an opportunity to investigate complicated ionospheric dynamics over the pole...

On United Nations Day, Sunday, October 24, the vintage and historical Alexanderson alternator in Grimeton, Sweden, with call sign SAQ, is scheduled to send out a message to the world on 17.2 kHz CW. The events of the day will be livestreamed on YouTube starting at 14:25 UTC. Transmitter startup and tuning will begin at 1430 UTC, with the message transmission to follow at 1500 UTC.

This year’s me...

The Volunteer Monitor (VM) Program is a joint initiative between the ARRL and FCC to enhance compliance in the Amateur Radio Service. This is the VM Program report for September 2021.

Technician operators in Mansfield, Ohio; Avon Park, Florida, and Pulaski, Tennessee, received Advisory Notices after making numerous FT8 contacts on 20 meters. Technician licensees do not have operating privileges ...

Students at the Mary Hare School for deaf children in the UK took part in what appears to have been a world-first event for Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). Facilitating the late-morning direct contact with astronaut Mark Vande Hei, KG5GNP, at NA1SS were ARISS-UK and members of the Newbury and District Amateur Radio Society (NADARS). The ground station used the call sig...