American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

Proposed Maritime Mobile Allocation Gets First Reading at WRC-12 Plenary Session

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:32:00 -0500

At the February 3 Plenary Session of the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12), delegates heard the first reading and approved a worldwide exclusive allocation to Maritime Mobile of 495-505 kHz. There will need to be a second reading to finalize the allocation. According to ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, discussion of this allocation to Maritime Mobile “has been in...

The K7RA Solar Update

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:21:00 -0500

Here are some yearly averages that we have neglected at the beginning of the year. These are the average daily sunspot numbers for whole calendar years, from 1994-2011: 48.1, 28.7, 13.2, 30.7, 88.7, 136.3, 173, 170.3, 176.7, 109.2, 68.6, 48.9, 26.1, 12.8, 4.7, 5.1, 25.5 and 29.9. You can see from these numbers that the minimum between Solar Cycles 22-23 -- centered around 1996 -- was over quic...

WRC Update: How Are Agenda Items Processed at a WRC?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:26:00 -0500

By Rod Stafford, W6ROD
IARU Secretary

The procedures used by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) before and during a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) seem complicated. They are somewhat complicated, but they are understandable with a bit of background.

Each Agenda Item that will be decided at a WRC has been studied for at least three or four years leading up to a WRC. ITU Work...

Amateur Allocation at 472 kHz Moves a Step Closer to Acceptance

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:23:00 -0500

While two hurdles still remain to be cleared, the effort to gain a new amateur medium frequency (MF) allocation reached a major milestone on Thursday, February 2 at the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, a Sub Working Group dealing with Agenda Item 1.23: “To consider an allocation of about 15 kHz...

New Rules for 5 MHz (60 Meters) To Go Into Effect March 5

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:04:00 -0500

On November 18, the FCC released a Report and Order (R&O), defining new rules for the 60 meter (5 MHz) band. These rules are in response to a Petition for Rulemaking (PRM) filed by the ARRL more than five years ago and a June 2010 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). In the February 3 edition of the Federal Register, the FCC announced that these new rules will go into effect on March 5, 2012. ...

Surfin’: Wikipedia vs CIA

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:01:00 -0500

By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor

This week, Surfin’ tries to determine the best place to just get the facts (Ma’am) about new countries.

Before Wikipedia, there was the Central Intelligence Agency. A decade ago, if I wanted to look up information about the new country I just worked on 10 meters, I would consult the online edition of the CIA’s The World Factbook. During the past 10 year...

WorldRadio Founder Armond Noble, N6WR (SK)

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:00 -0500

Armond Noble, N6WR -- the founder of WorldRadio magazine and its publisher for 37 years -- passed away February 1 in Sacramento, California after a short illness. He was 77. WorldRadio was published monthly from July 1971 until the end of 2008, when Noble sold the magazine to Hicksville, New York-based CQ Communications Inc. With its February 2009 edition, the publication was renamed WorldRadio...

2012 Field Day Packet Now Available

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:12:00 -0500

It’s that time of year again -- time to start gearing up for ARRL Field Day, June 23-24, 2012! ARRL’s flagship operating event -- always held the fourth full weekend in June -- brings together new and experienced hams for 24 hours of operating fun. Field Day packets are now available for download and include the complete rules, as well as other reference items such as forms, ARRL Section abbrev...

ARRL in Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:44:00 -0500

Compiled by S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL News Editor
k1sfa@arrl.org

This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment covers the month of January.

IBEC -- the last of the Access BPL providers using the Amateur Radio spectrum -- announced it was shutting down.

The 2012 Wo...

Ralph Taggart, WB8DQT, Wins January QST Cover Plaque Award

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:46:00 -0500

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for January is Ralph Taggart, WB8DQT, for his article “Vintage Low Power Radios.” Congratulations Ralph! The QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page. Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the February issue today.

Save the Date! Take a Virtual Tour of W1AW on February 12

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:10:00 -0500

Join W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, on a virtual tour of W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, the Amateur Radio station at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. Carcia will lead this tour via a live webcast on Sunday, February 12 at 5 PM EST (2200 UTC). Anyone with an Internet connection will be able to watch the tour here.

“We want viewers of this live Internet tour to f...

WRC-12: The First Week

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:25:00 -0500

By Rod Stafford, W6ROD
IARU Secretary

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) began January 23 in Geneva, Switzerland. This is the “big show” for spectrum allocation matters and a very important meeting if you are an Amateur Radio operator anywhere in the world. Every 4 or 5 years a WRC takes place. The last one was in 2007. Approximately ...

Agenda Item 1.23 Update

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:03:00 -0500

According to Colin Thomas G3PSM, CEPT Coordinator for Agenda Item 1.23, WRC-12 delegates are progressing with what he calls a “compromise proposal” for an MF secondary allocation to the Amateur Radio Service. Agenda Item 1.23 calls for WRC-12 delegations to consider an allocation of about 15 kHz in parts of the band 415-526.5 kHz to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis, taking into account ...

Youth@HamRadio.Fun: New Year, New Goals, More Calculus -- and More W0EEE

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:44:00 -0500

By Sterling Coffey, N0SSC
ARRL Youth Editor
n0scc@arrl.net

After celebrating the New Year and holiday festivities with some well-deserved rest -- and lots of time spent on the air -- I look back at the break, and like all of you in school, I always think it was too short. During my free time, I finished several projects and started new ones, only to have to put them to the side to focus on school ...

W1AW Gets New Antennas

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:59:00 -0500

The freak snow storm in late October wreaked havoc on the ARRL HQ antenna farm. According to W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, both of W1AW’s M-Squared 40 meter Yagis were severely damaged, as was the 80 meter cage antenna, and an element on the north tower’s 10 meter Yagi was twisted vertically. The antennas atop the ARRL Headquarters building for W1HQ, the station for the Laird Campbell ...