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Illinois Teams with Amateur Radio Operators to Create RACES Program
(Feb 2, 2010)
-- A newly forged partnership between Amateur Radio operators throughout the state of Illinois and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) will provide an additional layer of emergency communications during disasters. The agreement creates the State Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) program. Under the agreement, IEMA Director Andrew Velasquez appointed ARRL Illinois Section Emergency Coordinator Brad Pioveson, W9FX, of Benton as the volunteer State RACES Officer. Pioveson will serve as the single point of contact between IEMA and the Illinois Amateur Radio community.Full Story |
Feature: ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?
(Feb 1, 2010)
-- 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.Full Story |
Phil Salas, AD5X, Wins January QST Cover Plaque Award
(Feb 1, 2010)
-- The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for January is Phil Salas, AD5X, for his article “160 and 80 Meter Matching Network for Your 43 Foot Vertical -- Part 2.” Congratulations, Phil! The winner of 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 by Sunday, February 28.Link to this item |
Feature: It Seems to Us: Where Are the Spots?
(Feb 1, 2010)
-- Sunspots, that is. Those of us who follow solar activity the way most people follow the weather had expected that by now our Sun would have developed a nice pox. Instead, we seem to be stuck in a trough of low solar activity.Full Story |
FCC Notes Amateur Radio Response to Haitian Earthquake
(Jan 29, 2010)
-- In a posting on January 28 to the FCC’s blog, Mindel DeLaTorre -- the Commission’s International Bureau Chief -- noted how Amateur Radio operators are assisting with communications support in earthquake ravaged Haiti. “The amateur radio community is also contributing to the relief efforts,” she wrote. “In the aftermath of the earthquake, the amateur radio community in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere has dedicated equipment and spectrum resources to the relief efforts.” DeLaTorre reiterated that those who want to assist in the relief effort must go through the proper channels: “For anyone wanting to help, to protect against harmful interference, it is important to go through the Haitian government before any radio equipment or spectrum resources are used in Haiti.”Link to this item |
Former ARRL President Named QCWA President Emeritus
(Jan 29, 2010)
-- Harry Dannals, W2HD -- who led the ARRL as President from 1972-1982 and was named ARRL President Emeritus in 1984 -- has been named President Emeritus of the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA). Dannals also served as President of QCWA from 1989-1994; he is the only person to ever serve as President to both organizations. In addition to his work with the QCWA and ARRL, Dannals is a Fellow in the Radio Club of America (RCA), a member of the Society of Wireless Pioneers (SOWP), the Old Old Timers Club (OOTC) and the Veteran Wireless Operators Association (VWOA). In 2002, he was inducted into the CQ Magazine Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. “I was pleased to learn that the QCWA’s leadership has conferred upon Harry Dannals this very well-deserved accolade,” said ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN. “As the only person to have served as President of the ARRL and the QCWA, he is unique among amateurs.”Link to this item |
The K7RA Solar Update
(Jan 29, 2010)
-- We've seen average daily sunspot numbers for this reporting week. Since last Thursday through Wednesday this week, the numbers rose more than 9 points to 28; the average solar flux slipped more than 2 points to 81.9. Geomagnetic indices were a tiny bit lower. Sunspot numbers for January 21-27 were 17, 30, 40, 32, 34, 28 and 15, with a mean of 28. The 10.7 cm flux was 82.6, 82.4, 84.6, 84.6, 81.2, 79.8 and 77.8, with a mean of 81.9. The estimated planetary A indices were 4, 2, 4, 4, 3, 3 and 2, with a mean of 3.1. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 2, 4, 2, 3, 1 and 0, with a mean of 2.3. The predicted solar flux for January 29-31 is 76, 80 on February 1-2, 82 on February 3-5 and 88-89 for the following five days. We don't see any geomagnetic upset predicted until February 16, with the planetary A index only rising to 10, which is hardly an upset.Full Story |
Feature: Surfin': Radio-Spotting Through the Windshield
(Jan 29, 2010)
-- On the road, Surfin' views the world of radio through the windshield.Full Story |
FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making to Revise and Clarify Vanity Call Sign Rules Open for Comments
(Jan 28, 2010)
-- Late last year, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) -- WT Docket 09-209 -- seeking to amend the Commission's Amateur Radio Service rules to clarify certain rules and codify existing procedures governing the vanity call sign system, as well as revise certain rules applicable to club stations. Interested parties may make comments on the NPRM in the following ways: via the Federal eRulemaking Portal or via the FCC’s Web site. Comments must be submitted by March 26, 2010; reply comments are due no later than April 12, 2010.Link to this item |
ARRL Audio News Temporarily Suspended
(Jan 28, 2010)
-- With the coming of the new ARRL Web site, we are looking at ways to better bring you Amateur Radio news. In order to do this properly, we will be temporarily suspending the ARRL Audio News while we look for solutions that will enable us to provide the technical quality and distribution channels that you expect from the ARRL. The last edition of the ARRL Audio News (for now) will be produced on Thursday, January 28.Link to this item |
Air Force MARS Operators Support Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts
(Jan 28, 2010)
-- Amateur Radio operators with the US Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) have been actively supporting the Air Force’s efforts to bring relief to the earthquake-stricken country of Haiti. Via the Air Force MARS Phone Patch network, USAF MARS members have been providing communications support to air crews flying equipment and supplies to the devastated nation. Numerous phone patches have been facilitated by USAF MARS members, connecting in-flight military aircraft en route to and from Haiti and elsewhere with stations on the ground back in the United States. In one instance, USAF MARS operators ran a phone patch for a transport aircraft returning from the Caribbean area with a group of foreign nationals on board. “The volunteer service our MARS operators provide is greatly appreciated by the air crews who rely on us to get the job done,” said Barry Priddy, a USAF MARS phone patch operator in Chesapeake, Virginia. “Sophisticated on-board communications equipment sometimes fails, but they know we are here 24/7 to help.” The USAF MARS Phone Patch net is available for worldwide official patches and has sponsored phone lines for morale patches. It is one of several MARS networks that use HF radio to relay communications worldwide, around the clock and in real time, With member stations coast-to-coast, reliable communications links can be established between military aircraft and ground stations anytime day or night. The use of multiple radio frequencies also facilitates point-to-point communications regardless of atmospheric propagation conditions. -- Thanks to David J. Trachtenberg, N4WLL, USAF MARS Public Information Officer for Region III and Northeast Area, for the informationLink to this item |
Feature: Amateur Radio Quiz: Blasts from the Past
(Jan 27, 2010)
-- With all of the old QST magazines online for ARRL members, why not take a tour through radio history and see if you can find the answers to these questions in the articles and advertising sections!Full Story |
Feature: Hamming on High
(Jan 26, 2010)
-- Two hams brave the Colorado peaks to operate above the tree line.Full Story |
New ARRL Web Site Coming Soon!
(Jan 25, 2010)
-- After more than two years of planning, designing and writing, the ARRL is anxiously awaiting the launch of the new ARRL Web site. We’ve been able to make the online experience easier for our members -- from the online store, to registering for a class, to finding a club -- plus we've created a new, enhanced member profile with many more options available. We’ve made improvements with you in mind, making sure that we’ve created the easiest, most enjoyable online experience possible. The new Web site will be available sometime in February.Link to this item |
Kent Olson, KA0LDG, Appointed Dakota Division Vice Director
(Jan 25, 2010)
-- In one of her first actions as ARRL President, Kay Craigie, N3KN, has appointed Dakota Division Assistant Director and former North Dakota Section Manager Kent Olson, KA0LDG, as the new Dakota Division Vice Director. The position became vacant when Dakota Division Director Jay Bellows, K0QB, was elected International Affairs Vice President at the 2010 ARRL Board of Directors Annual Meeting and Vice Director Greg Widin, K0GW, moved into the Director position.Full Story |
| The ARRL is a member-society and International Secretariat of the International Amateur Radio Union. |
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