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2025 HamSCI Workshop is March 14 – 15 at NJIT |
| Registration is open for HamSCI’s eighth annual workshop March 14 – 15, 2025, at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, New Jersey. Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) serves as a means for fostering collaboration between professional researchers and amateur radio operators.
The theme of the two-day workshop, “HamSCI’s Big Year,” celebrates the community’s achievements, including the Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science during the 2023 annular and 2024 total solar eclipses. Attendees will have an opportunity to review findings from these and other projects, including the HamSCI Personal Weather Station, radio wave propagation modeling, data management and visualization techniques, the applicability of HamSCI’s research to amateur radio operations, and the continuing relationship between professional and citizen science.
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| ARRL Director of Marketing and Innovation Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, is the keynote speaker for the 2025 HamSCI Workshop which will be held March 14 – 15 at NJIT. [Pete Harris, KE6ZIW, photo] |
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The keynote speaker is Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, the Director of Marketing and Innovation for ARRL. Inderbitzen will share his vision for a more active and engaged amateur radio service, exploring how the ham radio community can inspire others to develop a deeper understanding for wireless communications. He’ll also illustrate how amateur radio serves as a “sandbox” for introducing the public to the world of radio, while nurturing the next generation of innovators in radio science and technology.
The workshop features nearly 50 poster and oral presentations. Additional speakers include Dr. Lynn Harvey, Research Scientist from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics; Dr. Lou Lanzerotti, author and Distinguished Research Professor from the New Jersey Institute of Technology; Steve Cerwin, WA5FRF, author and retired Institute Scientist at Southwest Research Institute, and Dr. Derek Kozel, contributor to GNU Radio.
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| The full program and agenda can be found on the HamSCI website. Registration in advance is required, and the deadline is Monday, March 10 at 12 PM ET (there will not be any on-site registration). For those unable to attend in person, a Zoom link will be provided. Full details on conference registration can be found at hamsci.org/hamsci2025.
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Clubs are Gearing Up for ARRL Ham Radio Open House — Yours Can, Too! |
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Momentum is building for ARRL’s Ham Radio Open House — an amateur radio event for clubs to put their most technological foot forward and show the public the true modern state of amateur radio. The events are to be held in April across the United States, on or close to World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) on April 18. This year’s WARD commemorates 100 years of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).
The goal for participation is 50 clubs in 50 states – but the more the merrier. ARRL is working with Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI and SciStarter to promote the event as part of April being Citizen Science Month.
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| “We’ve had a lot of clubs express interest and commitment to be a part of Ham Radio Open House,” said ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX. “Thanks to some great volunteer outreach efforts, clubs are seeing the value of showing off the true current state of amateur radio,” she said.
Many other clubs in overlapping hobbies are being engaged. Several astronomy clubs have agreed to partner with local ham clubs to co-host the event.
A public information training workshop will be held for ARRL Public Information Coordinators, Public Information Officers, Section Managers, club leaders, and others with an interest in hosting and promoting an ARRL Ham Radio Open House. The live, interactive, webinar is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at 8:30 PM Eastern / 5:30 PM Pacific. Look for a registration link next week.
Plan your Ham Radio Open House in April using the resources and tips at www.arrl.org/world-amateur-radio-day.
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Hurricane Watch Net Founder Gerald Murphy, K8YUW, a Silent Key |
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| Gerald E. “Gerry” Murphy, K8YUW, SK | 1936 – 2025 [Photo courtesy of the Hurricane Watch Net] |
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Gerald E. “Gerry” Murphy, K8YUW, passed away on February 25, 2025. He was 88 years old, and the founder of the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN).
According to a statement released by current HWN manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, Murphy, then 28 years old, was stationed at the U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Center in Davisville, Rhode Island, in 1965. During his time off, he handled countless phone patches and messages to and from military-deployed personnel as a member of the Intercontinental Amateur Radio Net (IARN) on 14.320 MHz.
On Labor Day Weekend that year, Hurricane Betsy was moving through the Bahamas, and many people were asking about this storm. Back then, hurricane forecasting was still in its infancy and the public didn’t have access to 24-hour news and weather. “There was so much interest in what the storm was doing that it created a major disruption in IARN activities,” said Graves. “Murphy suggested to the Net Manager to move those interested in the storm up 5 kHz to get them off the net, and the Net Manager agreed. Marcy Rice, KZ5MM, located in the Canal Zone (Panama), followed Murphy, and together they established the first Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 MHz.”
Graves issued a personal message on Murphy’s passing: “Gerry, thank you for creating this great organization. Your vision, care, and compassion, without a doubt, have helped many before, during, and after these dangerous tropical cyclone events. I am thrilled your legacy of the HWN lives on! Rest in peace, my friend.”
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| ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Scott Yonally, N8SY, has known Murphy for decades.
“Murphy was a long-time resident of Lakewood, Ohio, and I’ve known him for almost as long as I’ve been a ham. He was always a talented guy with a strong military background that made you feel just like you had enlisted into the Marines,” said Yonally. “But, in most cases he was just looking out for you and amateur radio. The Northeast Ohio SKYWARN® program was born directly to the work that he did, and as a testament to the devotion that he gave to it, still shows strongly in that the Northeastern Ohio SKYWARN program is still going on today.”
Murphy managed the Hurricane Watch Net until February 1988, and continued to serve as Assistant Net Manager until he retired in March 1991. You can read his full obituary at www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/37994045/gerald-e.-“gerry”-murphy.
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Amateur Radio in the News |
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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 On the Air podcast to talk about what a Ham Radio Open House might include, and how your club or group can start organizing one.
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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
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ARRL Honorary Vice President Frank Butler, W4RH, celebrates his 100th birthday on March 6, 2025. Butler has been a member of ARRL for at least 78 years. He served 29 years as the ARRL Southeastern Division Director until his retirement from 50 years of volunteer service as an elected official of ARRL in 2007. He began his elected service as the Western Florida Section Communications Manager in 1957. At the Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors in July 2007, Butler was recognized for his generous donation to the newly dedicated Diamond Terrace at ARRL Headquarters. The Diamond Terrace includes inscribed bricks as memorials and honors, donated by hundreds of radio amateurs and clubs. Butler’s donation honors his family and mentors. Butler lives in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He is a member of the ARRL Maxim Society at the Benefactor Class, and a Life Member. Happy Birthday, Frank!
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| International Women’s Day will be celebrated March 8, 2025, with a Young Lady (YL) Parks on the Air (POTA) Party. The event, to highlight achievements of women in ham radio, is open to all female amateur radio operators and enthusiasts, regardless of POTA experience and will be active from 0000Z-2359Z. YL participants may activate any POTA park during the 24-hour event window using any amateur radio frequency within their license class. QSOs can be submitted to #YL_POTA_Party to share POTA activations and experiences with other participants. For more information, visit International Women’s Day YL POTA PARTY, March 8, 2025 – ARRL New England Division.
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| Registration is open for the next interactive session of ARRL’s “On the Air Live,” which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at 8 PM Eastern / 5 PM Pacific in the ARRL Learning Center. It will focus on advanced functions of handheld radios, including getting them on digital modes. “On the Air Live” is accessed through the ARRL Learning Center at learn.arrl.org. It is a benefit of ARRL membership, and members must be logged into the website to access it for live or archived sessions.
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| ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, reports that activity was high for the ARRL International DX Phone Contest that was held March 1—2. Go to contests.arrl.org and select Log Submission to submit your log by the deadline: Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 23:59 UTC.
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| This image was taken on March 6, 2025. [Photo courtesy of NASA SDO/HMI] |
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ARRL Solar Report for March 6, 2025
As Spaceweather.com predicted on March 1, a magnetic filament on the sun erupted and hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. NOAA forecasters predicted it would graze Earth on March 4 or 5, potentially sparking a G1-class geomagnetic storm. The CME did come, but did not deliver a direct hit. Instead, ripples of solar wind are washing over our planet like waves from a moving boat. This could be enough to cause a minor storm. High latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras as the CME passes by.
Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels, with a chance for periodic high levels throughout the period as returning magnetically complex regions transit then depart the solar disk on March 29.
Predicted 10.7-centimeter flux for March 6 – 9 is 150 for all four days. Radio blackouts reaching the R1 levels were observed over the past 24 hours. The largest was on March 05 at 1150 UTC. Solar wind parameters were expected to remain enhanced through March 5 until CME influences wane and should trend back toward nominal levels on March 6 – 7.
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.
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.
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- March 8 – 16 — Novice Rig Roundup (CW)
- March 8 – 9 — SARL VHF/UHF FM Contest (phone)
- March 8 – 9 — SARL Field Day Contest (CW, phone, digital)
- March 8 – 9 — RSGB Commonwealth (BERU) Contest (CW)
- March 8 – 9 — EA PSK63 Contest (digital)
- March 8 – 9 — South America 10m Contest (CW, phone)
- March 8 – 9 — DIG QSO Party, SSB (phone)
- March 8 — AGCW QRP Contest (CW)
- March 8 – 9 — Stew Perry Topband Challenge (CW)
- March 8 – 9 — Oklahoma QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
- March 8 – 9 — Tesla Memorial HF CW Contest (CW)
- March 8 – 9 — Idaho QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
- March 9 — North American Sprint, RTTY (digital)
- March 9 — UBA Spring Contest, 2m (CW, phone)
- March 9 — FIRAC HF Contest (CW)
- March 9 — YOTA Contest (CW, phone)
- March 9 – 10 — Wisconsin QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
- March 10 — 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint (CW, phone)
- March 12 — RSGB 80m Club Championship (CW)
- March 13 — BCC QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
Remember to visit the ARRL Contest Calendar for more events and information.
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Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions |
- March 7 – 8 | Greater Houston HamFest, hosting the ARRL Texas State Convention, Rosenberg, Texas
- March 15 | 69th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Hamfest, hosting the ARRL West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas
- March 29 | Central Dakota Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, hosting the ARRL North Dakota State Convention, Bismarck, North Dakota
- April 5 | RARSfest, hosting the ARRL North Carolina State Convention, Raleigh, North Carolina
- April 11 – 12 | Green Country Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Oklahoma State Convention, Claremore, Oklahoma
- April 25 – 27 | Big Bear HamEscape, hosting the ARRL Orange Section Convention, Big Bear Lake, California
- April 26 | Delmarva Amateur Radio and Electronics Expo, hosting the ARRL Delaware State Convention, Georgetown, Delaware
- April 26 | Spokane Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Washington State Convention, Spokane Valley, Washington
- May 4 | Warminster Amateur Radio Club – Annual Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Bristol, Pennsylvania
- May 10 | Lincoln Amateur Radio Club, hosting the ARRL Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska
Remember to search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database to find events in your area.
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