|
|
Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act Re-Introduced |
| Legislation Will Increase Communication Options During Natural Disasters
|
|
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn., and Representatives August Pfluger, R-Tex., and Joe Courtney, D-Conn. announced their joint re-introduction of legislation in the Senate and House to restore the right to Amateur Radio operators to install the antennas necessary to serve their communities.
Homeowner association rules often prevent Amateur Radio operators from installing antennas at their homes even though Amateur Radio has proven to be essential in emergencies and natural disasters such as hurricanes when other means of communication fail. CONTINUED ON ARRL NEWS
|
|
Amateur Radio Emergency Service Renews Relationship with Red Cross in Puerto Rico |
| Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) in the ARRL Puerto Rico Section has signed a renewal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the American Red Cross Puerto Rico Region. The agreement establishes a framework of cooperation and a close working relationship with ARRL ARES volunteers.
Both ARES and the Red Cross agree that, with the resources of both organizations, the public will be best served during disasters, emergencies, and other public service related situations.
|
 |
|
| On hand for the signing of the new MOU (left to right): Emmanuel J. Cruz, NP4D, Secretary, ARRL Puerto Rico Section; Nory Bonilla, Logistic Specialist, American Red Cross of Puerto Rico; Carmen N. Greene, KP4QVQ, ARRL Puerto Section Manager; Joesph Guzman, Regional Disaster Officer, American Red Cross of Puerto Rico [Photo courtesy of ARRL Puerto Rico Section] |
|
|
|
|
ARRL Puerto Rico Section Manager Carmen N. Greene, KP4QVQ, believes the new MOU benefits everyone. “The renewal of the existing MOU with the American Red Cross of Puerto Rico is a testament to the relationship and commitment we have at the local section level with the legendary organization,” she said. “We feel that our communities will greatly benefit from the joint efforts to train and practice the ability to pass messages when the normal infrastructure is not available.”
She added that as a new Section Manager, it feels great to have this experience with an important organization, as well as having great contact with all the hams around the island.
You can read the entire MOU here.
|
|
RigExpert’s Administrative Office Destroyed in Russian Missile Attack — Production Remains Intact |
| On February 12, 2025, RigExpert’s administrative office, in Kyiv, Ukraine, was destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile. All employees are reported to be safe.
|
 |
|
| [Photo from RigExpert.com website] |
|
|
|
| RigExpert is a leading manufacturer of antenna and cable analyzers and officials said they are committed to restoring operations as soon as possible.
“Our top priority is the safety of our team and the continuity of our operations,” said Ashot Andeev, Chief Executive Officer. “While our administrative office is in ruins, our production facilities survived, allowing us to continue serving our customers and partners.”
The company is working to minimize delays and fulfill its commitments while maintaining customer support operations.
|
|
This Weekend: ARRL International DX Contest – CW |
|
The ARRL International DX Contest – CW is this weekend, starting at 0000 UTC on Saturday, February 15, and concluding at 2359 UTC on Sunday, February 16. This contest is a great opportunity for US and Canadian amateurs to make DX contacts and boost their DXCC totals.
2024 saw a record 5,552 entries and Solar Cycle 25 has continued to peak since. Don’t miss it!
For complete rules and more information, visit www.arrl.org/arrl-dx.
|
|
Robert “Bob” Naumann, W5OV, Silent Key |
 |
|
| Robert “Bob” Naumann, W5OV, SK | 1958 – 2025 |
|
|
|
Bob Naumann, W5OV, passed away at his home in Texas on February 10, 2025. Naumann was a mentor to many in the Amateur Radio Service, and well known in the ham radio contesting and DX community. He served on the headquarters staff of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio as Director of Operations from 2021 to 2024. He was an ARRL Life Member and a member of the ARRL Diamond Club.
ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Minster, NA2AA, has known Naumann for decades. “Bob was a very passionate supporter of amateur radio, and especially ARRL. He said on many occasions that working at HQ was a dream come true,” wrote Minster in a message to ARRL staff.
|
| Naumann had many friends around the world through amateur radio. He achieved ARRL DXCC Honor Roll, and was a long-serving member of the CQ World Wide DX Contest Committee. Naumann enjoyed trips to the HAM RADIO exposition in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
|
 |
|
| Bob Naumann, W5OV, SK, checking cards at the International Amateur Radio Exhibition in Germany. |
|
|
|
|
Read ARRL’s full remembrance, including information about services for Naumann here.
|
|
Grant will Help Young Amateur Radio Operators Become Contesters |
| A $10,000 grant to the University of Scranton, from the Frankford Radio Club (FRC) in Pennsylvania, will support the development of a contest dashboard that will leverage the popularity of amateur radio operator contests to benefit science, technology, students and Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) community members.
|
 |
|
| University of Scranton students and faculty member at last week’s DXing contest: Left-to-right: Rebecca Potter, KE3EBI; Dr. Christine Zakzewski, KE2FDW; Nina Tormann; Gerard Piccini KD2ZHK, Owen Ruzanski, KD3ALD, and Matthew Eble, KB3VAV. [Photo courtesy of Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D, W2NAF] |
|
|
|
|
Through the grant, a team of university students, faculty, and FRC members, along HamSCI community members, will collaborate to develop a real-time Contesting/DXing Dashboard for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS). The PSWS is a modular, ground-based system that measures space weather impacts on the Earth’s ionosphere.
The grant will fund Scranton University student researcher, Owen Ruzanski, KD3ALD, a first-year computer engineering major, for the summer and fall 2025 semesters to help develop the contest dashboard and is expected to conclude in the spring semester of 2026.
University of Scranton physics professor Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D, W2NAF, said through the project, he hopes the university’s W3USR Amateur Radio Club members, present and future, will become active radio contesters.
“We are already of ahead of schedule for this project,” said Dr. Frissell. “This past weekend we hosted students from W3USR and the Frankford Radio Club to take part in a little contesting. We made over 400 QSOs worth over 250,000 contest points.”
Ray Sokola, K9RS, past president the Frankford Radio Club, said that amateur radio contesters are one of the most enthusiastic subset of ham radio operators, and participants span a range of ages from teenagers to over 90.
|
 |
|
|
Amateur Radio in the News |
 |
|
|
On the Air
Sponsored by Icom
Have a Ham Radio Open House in April
World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) is April 18 every year, and in 2025, WARD is extra special. ARRL invites radio clubs and schools to organize a Ham Radio Open House in April, to highlight the Amateur Radio Service for its development and practice of the latest radio communications and technology, and as a hands-on pathway into STEM fields for the next generation. ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX, and Associate Professor of Physics and Engineering at the University of Scranton, Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, join the podcast to talk about what a Ham Radio Open House might include, and how your club or group can start organizing one.
|
|
ARRL Audio News
Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday. ARRL Audio News is a summary of the week’s top news stories in the world of amateur radio and ARRL, along with interviews and other features.
The On the Air podcast and ARRL Audio News are available on blubrry, iTunes, and Apple Podcasts.
On the Air | ARRL Audio News
|
| On January 21, 2025, dozens of stations across northeast Illinois gathered for a 70-centimeter simplex research event. The goal was to encourage simplex use, to expand operator skills, and to allow operators to better understand their station’s capabilities and limitations. The operation involved two rounds of transmissions, and collectively logged over 400 signal reports, received by email and aggregated by Net Control. Operators freed themselves from repeaters and access tones, and learned to relay, record RST (readability-signal strength-tone) signal reports, and pay attention to their noise floor and antenna configuration. One relay through four stations spanned nearly 60 miles, allowing net control — K9MSG in Glen Ellyn, Illinois — to receive a message from KE9BPO in Sandwich, Illinois, operating on a handheld at 5 watts. After the event, all logs were collected and aggregated, and each station received a report that included details of all signal reports given for their station by all other operators. The report also included maps, statistics, and examples of how to leverage the data to better understand station configuration. This included a subsequent discussion on how to create radio path studies leveraging free online resources. This was the 2nd of two such events. The first was a 2-meter simplex activity in the same area the prior month with 35 stations across 7 counties. Data from both of these nets is now being aggregated to identify quantitative and qualitative differences between 2 meters and 70 centimeters as experienced by those operators. All of this will lead to a discussion of the propagation challenges and advantages that each band offers and more opportunities for learning!
|
| ARRL Headquarters will be closed on Monday, February 17, 2025, in observance of President’s Day. There won’t be any W1AW bulletin or code practice that day. ARRL HQ will reopen on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 8 AM EST.
|
 |
|
| This image was taken on February 13, 2025. [Photo courtesy of NASA SDO/HMI] |
|
|
|
ARRL Solar Report February 13, 2025
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an X1.1-class solar flare in multiple wavelengths causing a strong shortwave radio blackout over South America, according to Spaceweather.com. No radio blackouts have been observed over the past 24 hours.
Another solar wind stream is heading for Earth. It is flowing from a canyon-like hole in the sun’s atmosphere. First contact with the stream will be on February 14 and could cause a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm with Arctic auroras for Valentine’s Day.
The 10.7-centimeter flux for February 13 is 180, remains at 180 for February 14, then increases to 185 for February 15 – 17.
Solar Cycle 25 is intensifying, and this is reflected in the number of cosmic rays entering Earth’s atmosphere. Neutron counts from the University of Oulu’s Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory in Finland show that cosmic rays reaching Earth are slowly declining — a result of the yin-yang relationship between the solar cycle and cosmic rays.
Solar activity has been at low levels for the past 24 hours and is expected to be low with a chance for M-class flares on February 13 -15. The geomagnetic field has been at unsettled to active levels for the past 24 hours.
For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service, read “What the Numbers Mean…,” and check out the Propagation Page of Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA.
A propagation bulletin archive is available. For customizable propagation charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio website.
|
- February 14 — PODXS 070 Club Valentine Sprint (digital)
- February 15 – 16 — ARRL International DX Contest (CW)
- February 15 – 16 — YLRL YL-OM Contest (CW, phone, digital)
- February 15 – 16 — Russian PSK WW Contest (digital)
- February 15 — Feld Hell Sprint (digital)
- February 16 – 17 — Run for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)
- February 19 — AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening (CW)
Visit the ARRL Contest Calendar for more events and information
|
|
Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions |
- February 14 -15 | Yuma Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, Yuma, Arizona
- February 22 | HAM-CON, hosting the ARRL Vermont State Convention, Colchester, Vermont
- February 28 – March 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
