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“Space Sailors” Seeking Download Help |
| A group of students at Cornell University is asking hams equipped with satellite stations for help in listening for signals from a retroreflective laser sail that was deployed yesterday, December 3, 2025. The sail was unfurled from a 1U CubeSat that was launched December 2 from the International Space Station. It is equipped with four tiny “ChipSat” flight computers that are transmitting telemetry data back to Earth with only 100 milliwatts of power. Several dozen telemetry packets have already been received and decoded by stations in Europe and Asia. Additional “ears” are sought because drag created by the sail in low Earth orbit will limit its functional time to no more than 48 hours.
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| The Cornell students working on the light sail project. [Photo courtesy of Cornell University.] |
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This is the first flight of these ChipSats, and it is this data that the students seek help detecting, according to Ph.D. candidate Joshua Umansky-Castro, KD2WTQ. The light sail’s ChipSats are transmitting using the LoRa® digital protocol on 437.400 MHz.
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| Close-up photos of the ChipSat transceiver attached to the light sail. The ChipSats are solar-powered and transmit telemetry data using LoRa® at 100 milliwatts on 437.400 MHz. [Photo courtesy of Cornell University.] |
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Data is being collected on the TinyGS project webpage, which is also posting updates on progress. Additional information, including LoRa parameters and links to a list of compatible receivers and the decoder file, may be found at alphacubesat.cornell.edu in the ChipSat Ground Station Guide (.docx).
It is hoped that the ChipSat and light sail will become the trailblazer for future missions around the solar system, and one day to our closest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri.
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The 2024 ARRL Annual Report: Promote, Protect, Inspire, Educate |
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The recently released ARRL 2024 Annual Report outlines new and strategic paths aimed at inspiring youth while building on ARRL’s five pillars that continue to support members and amateur radio worldwide…Public Service, Advocacy, Education, Technology, and Membership.
“With membership totaling over 137,000 at the end of 2024, ARRL stands as the world’s largest organization of radio amateurs,” states the first page of the report, which also notes that the membership retention rate increased to 79.9%, up from 77.8% the previous year.
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| A message from ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, is among the highlights of the 2024 ARRL Annual Report. |
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ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, in his message in the report, shares how a visit to an amateur radio club changed his life forever, providing a foundation on which to build his years of involvement and enjoyment of ham radio.
“In 2024, the Board of Directors decided to prioritize reaching out to the next generation to inspire them about their future in STEM…science, technology, engineering, and math…and how ham radio can be part of their educational journey,” said Roderick. “This new ‘third advocacy,’ which was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors at the July 2024 meeting, is critical to the future not only of ham radio, but also to this country’s budding STEM professionals.”
Among the initiatives highlighted in the report are the free ARRL Student Membership program, launched in May 2024 (www.arrl.org/student), and significant growth for the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology, which hosted a total of 85 teachers visiting from 31 states.
The report also recognizes that ARRL donors contributed more than $2.1 million in 2024, fueling innovation, education, and investing in the future of amateur radio. The ARRL Diamond Club program set a record raising over $1 million for the first time in the history of the program, which provides critical unrestricted revenue for ARRL programs above what membership dues alone can cover.
The annual report contains much more detailed information, personal stories, and insight into ARRL’s increased investment and prioritization to develop the next generation of radio amateurs. Take some time to read the 2024 ARRL Annual Report.
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Orlando HamCation Award Winners Announced |
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| Tony Milluzzi, KD8RTT, of Lenexa, Kansas, named the Gordon West Ambassador of the Year [Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, photo.] |
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An international slate of hams has been recognized by the Orlando HamCation with its 2026 awards. Tony Milluzzi, KD8RTT, of Lenexa, Kansas, has been named the Gordon West Ambassador of the Year. An aviation systems engineer and former YouTube host, Milluzzi was recognized for what the awards committee termed “his focused long-term support and promotion of the Collegiate Amateur Radio Program (CARP),” an ARRL-sponsored program established to support and promote amateur radio among students and ham radio clubs at colleges and universities. Milluzzi is one of two co-advisors to the program, along with his brother, Andy, KK4LWR, who is also ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director.
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| Dr. Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, winner of HamCation’s 2026 Carole Perry Educator of the Year award. [Photo courtesy of Orlando HamCation] |
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The 2026 Carole Perry Educator of the Year award goes to Dr. Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, of Spring Brook, Pennsylvania. Frissell, an associate professor of physics and electrical engineering at the University of Scranton, is the founder and lead organizer of HamSCI, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation project. HamSCI brings together professional scientists and radio amateurs to advance scientific research and understanding through amateur radio activities, encourage the development of new technologies to support this research, and provide educational opportunities for the amateur community and the general public.
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| HamCation’s 2026 Amateur Radio Hero, Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA. [QRZ.com photo] |
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HamCation’s Amateur Radio Hero award for 2026 goes to Indian amateur Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, Custodian of the West Bengal Radio Club. He is being honored for “his outstanding support of local and national emergency operations and law enforcement during life-threatening events where lives were saved by his actions.”
According to the awards committee, “each of these nominees has demonstrated outstanding dedication to promoting amateur radio by using radio to share knowledge, educate and provide vital communications. The HamCation team congratulates each of them for their award and the contribution they have personally made to amateur radio.”
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| ARRL Senior Director of Marketing and Innovation Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R [Photo by Pete Harris, KE6ZIW] |
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The awards will be presented at the 2026 HamCation awards banquet on Saturday, February 14, whose keynote speaker will be ARRL Senior Director of Marketing and Innovation Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. Bob will speak on “Discovering Radio Communications,” sharing his vision for a more active and engaged Amateur Radio Service and how the ham radio community can inspire others to develop a deeper understanding of wireless communications. Purchase banquet tickets at https://www.hamcation.com/banquet.
HamCation 2026 will be held from February 13 – 15 at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park in Orlando. It is sponsored by the Orlando Amateur Radio Club, an ARRL Affiliated Club.
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Teachers Institute Telethon Raises Over $23,000 |
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| Screen grab of the ARRL Teachers Institute telethon held on November 29, 2025 on the Ham Radio Crash Course YouTube channel. |
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The third annual YouTube telethon for the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology (TI) was another great success, with more than $23,000 raised to help cover the costs of ARRL’s professional development program designed to help classroom teachers elevate their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs through the use of wireless technology. The program is entirely donor-funded. The telethon ran for more than 13 hours on the Saturday after Thanksgiving on the Ham Radio Crash Course YouTube channel, led by program host Josh Nass, KI6NAZ. YouTube viewers donated $18,081, plus $570 in direct donations to ARRL and a $5,000 matching grant, for a total raised of $23,651. The entire telethon may be viewed online. It is in two parts: Part 1 / Part 2.
ARRL Director of Education and Learning Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, said the telethon “has proven to be a great collaboration between ARRL and the YouTube community … to help ARRL meet funding goals to facilitate the continued growth of TI.” He added that “The energy of the community to hold what has grown to be an annual marathon to raise money is amazing.” Goodgame said one of the highlights of the telethon was when Nass noted that the gifted program in the school his own children attends is in need of hands-on activities for their students, and that amateur radio is a perfect fit for learning by doing.
“We are thankful for our hosts like Josh, KI6NAZ, and all the donors who helped to make this event a success,” said ARRL Director of Development Kevin Beal, K8EAL. “The many donors who gave online for the telethon via YouTube/Google received an email with their tax receipt from ‘Network for Good,’ which will then transfer all proceeds to ARRL. Donors can get lifetime giving credit from ARRL by forwarding that receipt to development@arrl.org.”
In 2025, nearly 200 teachers attended 13 TI sessions, said Goodgame, noting that the teachers “took knowledge and equipment back to their classrooms to elevate their STEM programs.” This year, for the first time, some TI sessions were “on the road” in Louisiana, Texas, New York and Maryland (in partnership with Johns Hopkins University).
Twenty-one TI sessions are planned for 2026, including specialized ones on balloons and amateur radio, space communications and radio astronomy, and remote sensing and data gathering. While most of the 4-day sessions will be held at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, the program will return to 2025’s remote locations, as well as adding new sessions in South Carolina and the Washington, DC, area. In addition, Goodgame says, ARRL is in the process of building a partnership with the SETI Institute and hopes to hold a session at its facility in California.
The ARRL Teachers Institute is a major part of ARRL’s third advocacy of “inspiring youth,” along with its advocacies of promoting and protecting amateur radio.
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ARRL and Radio Relay International (RRI) are encouraging radio amateurs to originate a holiday radiogram to friends and family members this year. “The tradition of sending a Christmas radiogram should have a nostalgic feel that fits the holiday season well,” wrote RRI Chairman James Wades, WB8SIW, in the December edition of The NTS Letter, a monthly newsletter of ARRL’s National Traffic System (NTS). “Furthermore,” added Wades, “the delivery of a radiogram serves as a great public relations opportunity.” RRI works closely with NTS.
“If one hasn’t originated a radiogram before,” Wades continued, “there are some convenient tools, one of which is available from RRI (pdf) and the other of which is an online radiogram portal developed by K1RFD for the ARRL NTS2 Committee. Both methods allow people who have never sent a radiogram in their lives to originate a message to family or friends.”
Wades encourages message originators to “please make sure you have the correct, up-to-date address information for the recipient including both a phone number and email address,” and to limit message texts to 25 words or less. You may also use ARRL Numbered Radiogram Texts “ARL Sixty One” (“Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”) or “ARL Sixty Two” (“Greetings and best wishes to you for a pleasant ______ holiday season”).
A couple of related notes for traffic handlers: ARRL and RRI have developed a Christmas season radiogram form for delivery of messages. In addition, the December NTS Letter reports on updates to “HX” handling instructions, including two new instructions and changes to others. See the issue for details.
The NTS Letter is a monthly online newsletter for participants in ARRL’s National Traffic System, a network of message-handling nets that date to the League’s earliest days. It is available free to all ARRL members.
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Amateur Radio in the News |
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ARRL Live Events and Podcasts |
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On the Air LIVE
ARRL Education Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, will lead another session in this recent series introducing various methods and modes for emergency communications. During this session, he’ll discuss the digital mode JS8 and how it can be used to send messages to family and friends — even to those who are not hams — outside of a disaster area. The session will be held on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, at 8 PM Eastern. Registration is required via the ARRL Learning Center at learn.arrl.org.
Up Next: JS8 for Emergencies
📅 Date: December 23, 2025
🕗 Time: 8 PM Eastern / 5 PM Pacific
👉 Register Now | ⏪ Previously Recorded Sessions
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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. More info | Listen on Blubrry | Also available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts. |
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On the Air
Sponsored by Icom
Preparedness Takes Practice
Jessica Crotty, CEO of C. Crane, a northern California company known for designing and supporting quality radios and communication products, visits the podcast in support of her November/December 2025 On the Air article “Confidence in Preparedness Starts with Knowing Your Equipment.” The conversation centers on the importance of not only having a license and a radio, but also knowing the ins and outs of using that radio, long before the day you need it. Listen Now
More info | Listen on Blubrry | Also available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
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| The Radio Amateur Society of Norfolk, Virginia (RASON), has been awarded a $12,000 Mobile Communications America Day grant to advance education in radio frequency spectrum technologies. The grant positions RASON among twelve organizations nationally recognized for their commitment to innovation and community service in communications technology. “I am extremely proud of the progress and willingness of our volunteer radio operators to help each other serve our community,” said RASON President Rich Davis, W4NMH. RASON collaborates with key partners including the SKYWARN Amateur Radio Network supporting the National Weather Service (NWS), the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®), and ARRL Field Services programs, to ensure reliable emergency communications.
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In case you missed Pacificon 2025 in mid-October, an online photo album is now available. There were around 1,500 attendees at the three-day event, held annually in San Ramon, California, and which hosted the ARRL Pacific Division Convention. There were forums, seminars, vendors, exhibits, license testing, and more. The convention photographers were Pete Harris, KE6ZIW, and Barry Isseks, K6ZA, who have just released an album with 260 pictures: www.flickr.com/photos/11636522@N06/albums/72177720330064359. Next year’s Pacificon is October 16 – 18, 2026. Visit www.pacificon.org for details.
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| Breakfast with ARRL National Instructor Gordon West, WB6NOA, at Pacificon 2025. [Photo courtesy of Pete Harris, KE6ZIW, and Barry Isseks, K6ZA.] |
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| Legendary rock guitarist Joe Walsh, WB6ACU, of the Eagles during a visit to ARRL Headquarters in 2018 |
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Joe Walsh, WB6ACU, legendary guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is getting ready for a very personal auction! The “Life’s Been Good | Joe Walsh auction” will take place December 16 – 17, 2025, at the Troubadour Club in West Hollywood, a location that helped launch some of contemporary music’s most talented performers. The auction, a portion of the proceeds which will support veterans, will include an exclusive exhibition of nearly two dozen guitars, iconic wardrobe, and rare ham radios, including a Hammarlund HQ-145C shortwave radio receiver. According to Joe, it was the first radio he bought after he acquired his radio license. More information about the auction can be found at: Life’s Been Good | Joe Walsh.
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The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) is seeking operators and monitors to participate in a series of upcoming meteor scatter (MS) experiments. Operations will take place on December 12 – 13, 2025, over a 48-hour period — during the Geminids meteor shower. This is a combination ‘special event’ and a contest to generate contact data during meteor scatter events using 10 meters (28.145 MHz) and 6 meters (50.260 MHz). Suggested operating procedures can be found at www.hamsci.org/msqp. No special station equipment is required but the experiment uses the MSK144 operating mode as part of the WSJTX suite. The functionality is much like using FT8 and is easy to use. For more information on the operating guidelines for the activity, visit www.hamsci.org/msqp-rules.
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| Open Positions at ARRL
Come join the headquarters staff of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®! We are currently seeking qualified applicants for the following positions:
Membership Manager
Senior RFI Lab Engineer
Public Relations and Outreach Manager
Full details may be found on the ARRL HR web page at www.arrl.org/careers.
ARRL is an equal opportunity employer.
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| Solar Image from the Learmonth Solar Observatory via Australian Spaceweather.com, December 4, 2025. |
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ARRL Solar Report December 4, 2025
Solar activity was at low levels this past week with only C-class flares. Region 4294 remains the largest region on the disk but is appearing to be simplifying magnetically. Region 4296, on the other hand, gained a delta region in its intermediary region, though with no corresponding increase in flare activity as of yet. New flux emerged along the eastern side of Region 4298, resulting in several C-flares throughout the reporting period. Region 4299 also developed a delta region in its primary spot but no appreciable shear was observed. Region 4301 developed, was numbered, but was otherwise unremarkable. No Earth-directed CMEs were observed in available coronagraph imagery.
Isolated-to-occasional M-class flares are expected (75%) through December 6, with a chance for X-class flares (30%), given past flare history, and the potential of current active regions on the disk.
The solar wind environment is anticipated to remain more turbulent into the early hours of December 4, due to the continued passage of an entangled CME. The environment will likely remain enhanced due to fast solar wind conditions through December 6.
The 10.7 -centimeter flux: December 4 -9, 190; December 10, 195; December 11, 180.
Predicted sunspot numbers: December 4, 119; December 5, 115; December 6, 126, December 7, 111; December 8, 131; December 9, 108; December 10, 136.
For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service, read A Quick Guide to HF Propagation Using Solar Indices, and check out the Propagation Page of Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA.
For customizable propagation charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio website.
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| • December 5 — NCCC FT4 Sprint (digital)
• December 5 — Weekly RTTY Test (digital)
• December 5 – 7 — ARRL 160-Meter Contest (CW)
• December 5 — NCCC Sprint (CW)
• December 6 – 7 — Kalbar Contest (phone)
• December 6 — Wake-Up! QRP Sprint (CW)
• December 6 – 7 — PRO CW Contest (CW)
• December 6 – 7 — INORC Contest (CW)
• December 6 – 7 — FT Challenge (digital)
• December 9 — DARC CW-Training Contest (CW)
• December 10 — NAQCC CW Sprint (CW)
• December 12 — NCCC FT4 Sprint (digital)
• December 12 — Weekly RTTY Test (digital)
• December 12 — NCCC Sprint (CW)
• December 13 – 14 — ARRL 10-Meter Contest (CW, phone)
• December 13 – 15 — PODXS 070 Club Triple Play Low Band Sprint (digital)
• December 13 – 14 — TRC Digi Contest (digital)
• December 13 – 14 — SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
• December 13 – 14 — ARI 40/80 Contest (CW, phone, digital)
• December 13 — International Naval Contest (CW, phone) |
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Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions |
- December 12 – 13 | The Tampa Bay Hamfest, hosting the ARRL West Central Florida Section Convention, Plant City, Florida
- January 10 | Ham Radio University, ARRL New York City-Long Island Section Convention, Brookville, New York
- January 16 – 17 | Southwest Florida Regional Hamfest, ARRL Southern Florida Section Convention, Fort Myers, Florida
- January 30 – 31 | Jackson MS Capital City Hamfest, ARRL Mississippi State Convention, Jackson, Mississippi
- February 7 | Hendricks County Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Indiana Section Convention, Danville, Indiana
- February 13 – 15 | Orlando HamCation, hosting the ARRL Southeastern Division Convention, Orlando, Florida
Remember to search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database to find events in your area.
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ARRL — Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information
Join ARRL or renew today! No other organization works harder to promote and protect amateur radio. Membership supports benefits, services, programs, and advocacy to help you get (and stay) active and on the air. Membership includes access to digital editions of all four ARRL magazines: QST, On the Air, QEX, and NCJ.
Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday.
The ARRL Letter is available in an accessible format, posted weekly to the Blind-hams Groups.io email group. The group is dedicated to discussions about amateur radio as it concerns blind hams, plus related topics including ham radio use of adaptive technology.
NCJ — National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprints, and QSO parties.
QEX — A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bimonthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns, and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.
Free of charge to ARRL members…
Subscribe to the ARES Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), the ARRL Contest Update (biweekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts, and much more!
Find ARRL on Facebook! Follow us on Threads, X, and Instagram. |
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The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 51 times each year. ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their profile at www.arrl.org/opt-in-out.
Copyright © 2025 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.
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