| 2024 ARRL Field Day is Here! |
This weekend, June 22 – 23, is 2024 ARRL Field Day! The premier amateur radio event of the year is meant to be ham radio’s open house as well as a time for the amateur community to get together and practice operating under unusual conditions. ARRL wants this to be a memorable and safe year for your club. All the resources a club needs to have a successful operation are on www.arrl.org/field-day. |
Top Ten Things Your Club Should Do during ARRL Field Day 1. Have a GOTA station It stands for Get On The Air and that’s exactly what it’s meant for people to do. Visitors -- both licensed and prospective hams -- should be given the chance to have fun on the radio. 2. Have a designated greeter If you’ve done things right in the publicity area, you should have visitors (from local officials to people curious about radio) at your activation site. Make them feel welcome. “This is ham radio’s time to shine,” said ARRL Contest Program Branch Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE. “Make sure people feel welcome and know that their presence is appreciated.” 3. Have a sign-in sheet You’ve gotten them to show up – now find out who they are to follow up. Have your guests fill out a sign-in sheet to get their name and contact information. Follow up with these folks, and invite them to future club activities. 4. Ensure proper hydration! Much of the country is experiencing a heat wave this week. Make sure everyone at your location is drinking plenty of water. This can be a function of the Safety Officer in addition to their duties of making sure that trip, fall, and electrical hazards are well managed. 5. Make sure you’ve read the ARRL Field Day Rules Don’t miss out on opportunities for points. 6. Have a copy of the 2024 Field Day Guide from the June 2024 issue of QST This handy guide includes tips for making the event go well, as well as useful checklists you can follow. 7. Double-check your equipment before the event starts If it can go wrong, make sure it doesn’t. 8. Keep a good log While ARRL Field Day is not a contest, it is still a fun way to get a taste of radiosport. Keeping a solid contact log will ensure your club gets credit for each point it earns. 9. Take and share photos and videos This is a great opportunity to show your friends, family, and community what amateur radio is all about. Take photos and videos you can share on social media – both from the club’s accounts and your own. Show your followers what it’s like and where you’re set up. Invite them to come be a part of it. To be featured on the ARRL Facebook page, send a photo of you operating at your site to socialmedia@arrl.org 10. Remember to have fun! “If you’re not enjoying it, what is the point?,” retorted ARRL Field Services Manager Mike Walters, W8ZY. Field Day is the highlight of many amateurs’ operating year. Bring a fun, positive attitude to the event and it will become contagious. This is meant to be an enjoyable hobby. Keep that in perspective and enjoy it. |
ARRL Field Day Banner Giveaway Winners Two lucky hams have each won a 2024 ARRL Field Day banner in a giveaway. Erik Bauer, KD8EPR, of Georgetown, Ohio and Tracy Laudenslager, KO4RRT, of Ocala, Florida each have the banners to hang proudly at their activations this weekend. |
New Hampshire ARES Serves Mount Washington Road Race |
 | | William Guinther, KC1BMM, and Richard Sterry, KB1OCE, providing communications at the summit of Mount Washington. [Photo courtesy of Mount Washington Valley ARES] |
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On June 15, 2024, a dozen New Hampshire Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) operators from the Mount Washington Valley ARES group and the Central New Hampshire ARES group, as well as a number of out-of-state ARES volunteers, again provided emergency radio communications at the Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race. Fourteen hundred participants ran up the mountain into a region of infamous wind chill and low visibility. |
 | | Debra C. Camejo, W1DCC, a registered nurse, waiting for runners at the finish line. [Photo courtesy of Mount Washington Valley ARES] |
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“We were there to keep our eyes open for any runners having physical difficulties, medical issues,” said Skip Camejo, AC1LC, Public Information Coordinator for the ARRL New Hampshire Section and Public Information Officer for the New Hampshire ARES. “This could have been done with cell phones, of course, but you can’t count on having a good signal on Mount Washington. That’s why the radio operators will be back for the August bike race up the mountain,” added Camejo. The ARES help is also considered to be preparation for ARRL Field Day, June 22 – 23, when more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups, or simply friends to operate from remote public locations. |
Colorado Teacher and Ham Accepted to the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program |
 | | Dara Gardner, KFØNIX, introducing astronauts General (Ret.) Kevin Chilton and astronaut Lieutenant General (Ret.) Susan Helms at Harrison High School on January 29, 2024. [Photo courtesy of PPRAA] |
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Dara Gardner, KFØNIX, a member of the Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association (PPRAA), has been accepted to the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program. The AEF program provides a unique opportunity for accomplished K-12 educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to serve in the national education arena. “It's pretty exciting,” said Gardner. “I’m overwhelmed and honored. I’ve known about the Einstein program for a few years. The program invests a lot in the teachers, but the teachers get back tremendous amounts of professional development. It’s also exciting that a person like me can have their voice heard on Capitol Hill.” Gardner added that she is still learning how the whole process works but she wants parents have a choice about their childrens' education and to better prepare students for the workforce. As an AEF Fellow, Gardner will serve on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in Washington, DC. Her 11-month assignment will begin August 19 and run until July 2025. Gardner is a teacher at the Thrive Home School Academy and helped establish a special program with Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) which brought shuttle astronaut General (Ret.) Kevin Chilton and shuttle and ISS astronaut Lieutenant General (Ret.) Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, to Harrison High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The highlight of the program was an amateur radio contact with astronaut Jeanette Epps on April 22, 2024, as the ISS passed over Stratton Meadows Elementary School. John Bloodgood, KD0SFY¸ Public Information Coordinator of the ARRL Colorado Section and a member of PPRAA, said Gardner is highly motivated, and very energetic when it comes to working on STEM activities. “She’s a dedicated teacher and completed the ARRL Teacher’s Institute and brings a wealth of knowledge to the classroom,” he added. For more information on the Albert Einstein Fellow program visit: science.osti.gov/wdts/einstein |
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Gaming the Amateur Radio Digital Modes |
Ever played poker over FT8? YouTuber Steve McGrane, KM9G (@temporarilyoffline), and his friends at the YouTube channel Coffee and Ham Radios (@coffeeandhamradios) do. They even livestream it monthly on the channel Frequency Frenzy (@FreqFrenzy). They’ve devised a system of automatically assigning values to QSO data from amateur radio digital mode contacts that corresponds with playing cards. The www.frequencyfrenzy.live website uses the contest rules to display each participant’s poker hand. They run the events as sprint contests. Often, they are each in the same room together as they operate and “play” poker. “One of the things we had chosen FT8 for was we could have that camaraderie and bring us together as a group,” said McGrane. |
 | | A screenshot of “Gaming The Amateur Radio Digital Modes” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWF_zNrjDno) from YouTube. |
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The possibilities don’t end at poker. Since their contest rules just assign values from the QSOs, many games could be incorporated into the activity. Bingo is in development. It’s not just fun and games, it’s meant to engage people who otherwise may not be interested in amateur radio contesting by visualizing the real-time contest standings through the game. McGrane says recording the points data in real time is an important aspect of modern contesting. “I’ve done a state QSO party, and you don’t know what the results are, whether you won, whether you placed, where you placed, for sometimes a month.” With many digital natives accustomed to instant gratification, the gamification schemes make radio contesting appealing to a younger generation. McGrane presented his experiences in the forum Gaming The Amateur Radio Digital Modes at the 2024 ARRL National Convention, hosted by Dayton Hamvention®. A video of the presentation is available on the @ARRLHQ YouTube channel as part of the 2024 National Convention Playlist. |
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Amateur Radio in the News |
"Calhoun County ham radio club invites all to compete in annual amateur radio Field Day” / The Anniston Star (Alabama) June 13, 2024 -- The Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association. “Local amateur radio operators participating in ARRL Field Day events” / The Daily American (Pennsylvania) June 14, 2024 -- The Somerset County Amateur Radio Club is an ARRL Affiliated Club. “Ham Radio Operators On The Air For Nationwide Event June 22-23” / Chattanoogan.com (Tennessee) June 14, 2024 -- The TAG (Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia) Region amateur radio clubs: Chattanooga Amateur Radio Club (Tennessee), Tri-States Amateur Radio Club (Georgia), Dalton Amateur Radio Club (Georgia), Jackson County ARES/RACES (Alabama), and Dekalb ARC (Alabama). “Wood County Amateur Radio Club participates in annual field day” / BG Independent News (Ohio) June 15, 2024 -- The Wood County Amateur Radio Club is an ARRL Affiliated Club. “Amateur radio 'Field Day' next weekend” / The Times-Standard (California) June 16, 2024 -- The Humboldt Amateur Radio Club is an ARRL Affiliated Club. “Southern Tier ham radio enthusiasts will run 24 hours of continuous operation in Big Flats” / Star Gazette (New York) June 17, 2024 -- The Amateur Radio Association of the Southern Tier. “Amateur radio 'Field Day' June 22 and 23 at National Guard Center in Watertown” / The Watertown Public Opinion (South Dakota) June 17, 2024 -- The Lake Area Radio Klub is an ARRL Affiliated Club. |
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On the Air Sponsored by Icom ARRL Radiosport and Regulatory Information Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, and ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, join the June episode of the podcast to spread the excitement about ARRL Field Day, which is coming up on June 22 - 23. |
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 |
The third annual Meme Appreciation Month is being billed as “Not Your Average Special Event.” Ben Riehl, VA4BEN, a 17-year-old amateur radio operator who is graduating from high school this year, says the event was originally spurred out of an inside joke with a group of friends from both the Young Amateurs Radio Club (YARC) and the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) discord server. Riehl says he hopes this event has risen to the next level. “To us, this event is a way to express our group’s feelings that special event call signs don’t have to be so serious. We want to show the goofy side of the hobby, something that could click with youth to potentially bring them in [to] the hobby.” Activity began June 15 and will run through August 15. While many stations, particularly the American stations, will end operation June 30, there will be hams from 10 countries representing all three IARU regions participating with various special event call sign “expiry dates” and some American stations going on air later in the period. There will be DX and US participants workable throughout the next two months, with activity peaking during the first month. Most stations will be operating primarily FT8, while some will be operating SSB, CW, and SSTV on 20 meters. There is also the possibility of Hellschrieber activity, a facsimile-based teleprinter mode. Activity will be distributed across the bands. YARC club member Jacob Humble, AI5ZK, added, “It’s not every day that a bunch of youth from across the globe gets together to build a global fraternity and practice the radio art as a group to share what we love, and it’s not every day that you pull it off for a third year running. If you see us on air, show us some love and work us!” All of the information about Meme Appreciation Month -- including who (a listing of registered special event call signs), what, when, where, what mode and where to QSL -- is available at mememonth.ca. |
A unique special event, open to all amateur radio operators, will take place July 1 - November 30, 2024. Station OL80CARBON will be activated to commemorate the 80th anniversary of a secret World War II mission known as Operation Carbon. The mission, with paratroopers trained by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), dropped troops into occupied Czechoslovakia to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local resistance movements. OL80CARBON transmissions will be on most amateur bands and will be using any mode, but primarily CW. There also may be some SSB transmissions with DIGI on all HF bands, depending on propagation. A special paper QSL card will be available for every first QSO, regardless of band or mode. Any SWL reports via station OK2PXJ would be appreciated. For more information, visit OL80CARBON at QRZ.com. |
 | | This image was taken on June 20, 2024. [Photo courtesy of NASA SDO/HMI] |
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For Friday's ARLP025 bulletin: Sunspot numbers rose this week, with the average changing from 139.4 to 149.6, but average daily solar flux only shifted from 179.2 to 178. Only four sunspot groups emerged this week, one on June 15 and three on June 19. Average daily planetary A index changed from 11.6 to 10.3. Predicted solar flux is 195 on June 20 - 21; 200, 190, and 185 on June 22 - 24; 190 on June 25 - 26; 180, 190, 180, and 185 on June 27 - 30; 190, 195, 190, 185, and 190 on July 1 – 5; 180 on July 6 – 7; 165 on July 8 – 9; 180 on July 10, and 170 on July 11 - 13. Predicted planetary A index is 5, 10, 12, and 10 on June 20 – 23; 5 on June 24 – 29; 8 on June 30 to July 1, and 5 on July 2 - 14. From the European Space Agency: https://bit.ly/3VQt54j This weekend is ARRL Field Day, and the forecast looks good, with high solar flux at 200 and 190. Sunspot numbers for June 13 through 19, 2024, were 142, 117, 134, 152, 171, 150, and 181, with a mean of 149.6. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 170.1, 169, 170.7, 167.3, 179.9, 192.7, and 196, with a mean of 178. Estimated planetary A indices were 4, 6, 19, 13, 11, 10, and 9, with a mean of 10.3. Middle latitude A index was 5, 8, 18, 9, 11, 11, and 9, with a mean of 10.1. Send your tips, questions, or comments to k7ra@arrl.net. A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL website. 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. Share your reports and observations. A weekly, full report is posted on ARRL News. |
June 20 - 21 -- Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW) June 20 -- NTC QSO Party (CW) June 22 - 23 -- His Maj. King of Spain Contest SSB (phone) June 22 - 23 -- 2024 ARRL Field Day June 26 -- SKCC Sprint (CW) June 27 -- RSGB 80m Club Championship SSB (Phone) Visit the ARRL Contest Calendar for more events and information. |
Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions |
- July 12 -13 | HamCon: Zion, sponsoring the ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention, St. George, Utah
- July 13 | SVARC Summer Hamfest, sponsoring the ARRL North Dakota Section Convention, Minot, North Dakota
- July 20 | SEARC Tailgate Hamfest, sponsoring the ARRL South Dakota State Convention, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- August 3 | Kootenai Amateur Radio Society, sponsoring the ARRL Idaho State Convention, Post Falls, Idaho
- August 3 | Elkhart East Hamfest, sponsoring the ARRL Central Division Convention, Elkhart, Indiana
- August 4 | SVARC Berryville Hamfest, sponsoring the ARRL Virginia State Convention, Berryville, Virginia
- August 17 - 18 | Huntsville Hamfest, sponsoring the ARRL Southeastern Division Convention, Huntsville, Alabama
- August 22 - 25 | Northeast HamXposition, sponsoring the ARRL New England Division Convention, Marlborough, Massachusetts
- August 30 - September 1 | Shelby Hamfest, sponsoring the ARRL North Carolina State Convention, Shelby, North Carolina
- August 31 | Summer Symposium, sponsoring the ARRL Santa Barbara Section Convention, Camarillo, California
Search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database to find events in your area. |
Have News for ARRL? Submissions for the ARRL Letter and ARRL News can be sent to news@arrl.org. -- John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, ARRL News Editor |
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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 © 2024 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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