| Amateur Radio Serving During Hurricane Beryl |
Hurricane Beryl, now a Category 4 storm, continues its track across the central Caribbean Sea, moving at 20 mph with sustained winds of 145 mph. |
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As of Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported Beryl would bring hurricane conditions to Jamacia by midday with life-threatening winds and storm surge and is expected to approach the Cayman Islands by Wednesday evening into Thursday. Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) Manager, reports the HWN is active as of Wednesday, July 3rd, at 7:00 AM EDT (1100 UTC) on 14.325.00 MHz, and at 8:30 AM EDT (1230 UTC), or just as soon as the Waterway Net has completed, on 7.268.00 MHz. “Any additional change to the forecast track could bring hurricane conditions, perhaps, even landfall, on Thursday across the Cayman Islands. We will watch the track closely,” said Graves. “The Hurricane Watch Net is also preparing for a Friday activation for when Hurricane Beryl is expected to make landfall in the Yucatan of Mexico,” added Graves. “As always, we greatly appreciate the daily users and various nets who use 14.325.00 MHz and 7.268.00 MHz for allowing us a clear frequency. It certainly makes our job easier, and I know those in the affected area appreciate it as well. Our prayers go out to those who could be affected by Hurricane Beryl. HWN is prepared, ready to serve, and do what we can to help save lives.” On Tuesday, Zian Julio Aguirre Taboada, XE1ATZ, Director of the National Emergency Network of the Mexican Federation of Radio Experimenters, asked for the protection of 7.128 MHz that will be used during the activation of their network due to the threat of Hurricane Beryl. Amateur radio operators have been preparing for activation since Sunday evening, June 30. The Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Hurricane Net was activated Monday morning July 1, and was secured at 500 PM EDT Monday. Beryl intensified into an intense Category 4 hurricane as it swept through the Grenadines, Grenada, and Petit Martinique, with impacts also into St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados. Some of the net reports were utilized in the 11 AM Monday 7/1/24 NHC Advisory. They included structural damage reports to buildings with roofs blown off, trees/wires/poles down, storm surge and heavy rainfall related flooding. "We appreciate any and all support from amateur operators in the affected area," said Rob Macedo, KD1CY, director of operations for the VoIP Net. ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, reminded amateurs it’s important to be ready to help. “Now is the time to make sure you are prepared individually and as a group. Touch base with your partner agencies. As NOAA has predicted the potential for a busier hurricane year, know your plan. We all will be watching and staying connected with officials in the coastal regions of the country. Amateur radio still has a very important role during times of crisis and as we have seen in the past, hurricanes can test a community’s preparedness better than most other disasters.” Live updates about amateur radio’s involvement with Hurricane Beryl are available on ARRL News. |
In Photos: HAM RADIO 2024 International Amateur Radio Exhibition |
Europe’s largest amateur radio event took place this June 28 – 30 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. HAM RADIO 2024 was an exciting gathering of hams along the shores of Lake Constance. ARRL had a delegation on hand to meet and greet visitors. ARRL Director of Marketing and Innovation Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, shared these photos and more to the ARRL Facebook page. “We enjoyed meeting with so many ARRL members, national society representatives, and friends from across the world,” he said. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, and ARRL Radiosport and Regulatory Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, were also in attendance. |
See more photos from the event on ARRL’s Facebook page. |
YOTA Camp Ham Shack Renamed for Bob Heil, K9EID, (SK) |
The Youth on the Air (YOTA) Camp “ham shack” has been renamed the Bob Heil, K9EID, Memorial YOTA Camp Amateur Radio Shack. Heil, 83, passed away on February 28, 2024. He was considered the man who defined the sound of live rock ‘n roll music and brought audio engineering principles into mainstream amateur radio use. He founded Heil Sound in 1966, through which he created the template for modern concert sound systems for musicians like the Grateful Dead, The Who, Joe Walsh, and Peter Frampton. Heil was also known as a mentor and generous donor to amateur radio organizations who enjoyed helping others find success in ham radio and supported Youth on the Air from the very beginning. |
 | | Bob Heil, K9EID, SK. [Photo courtesy Heil Ham Radio] |
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Camp Director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, said that when the camp first started, he asked Heil for some equipment. “Bob sent us the radios we needed right away,” said Rapp. “And when I asked for some additional radios with noise cancelling capability Heil responded ‘...have I ever told you no before?’ and sent six more noise cancelling radios.” Rapp said he got the idea to rename the shack at the Dayon Hamvention® but left the final decision up to the YOTA kids. “It didn’t take long, and there was never any question, that it was the right thing to do, “Rapp added. The 2024 Youth on the Air summer camp in the Americas will be held July 7 – 12 at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The first activation of the VE1YOTA callsign from the camp will begin the evening of Sunday, July 7 and concludes on Friday, July 12. Campers will operate the Heil memorial station as they finish projects, between sessions, and during free time. In addition, campers will have the opportunity to operate the following dedicated times: Sunday, July 7 0000Z to 0200Z and from 2100Z to 0200Z on Monday, July 8; Wednesday, July 10 and Thursday, July 11. The 2024 YOTA Americas Camp is hosted by Radio Amateurs of/du Canada. Special QSL cards will be available for contacts made with YOTA camp from the Bob Heil, K9EID Memorial YOTA Camp Amateur Radio Shack. |
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Call for Nominations for ARRL Director and Vice Director |
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Attention: Full ARRL members in the Central, Hudson, New England, Northwestern, and Roanoke Divisions. You have the opportunity to choose a Director and Vice Director to represent you for a 3-year term beginning January 1, 2025. ARRL is governed by its Board of Directors. A voting Director is chosen by ballot by the full (licensed) ARRL members in each of its 15 Divisions. Vice Directors who serve in the absence of the Director at a Board meeting and succeed to the position of Director should a vacancy occur are chosen at the same time. Elections are held in five Divisions per year. It takes only 10 full members in a Division to nominate a candidate for either office. Qualifications The eligibility of nominees for the positions of ARRL Director and Vice Director will be reviewed by the Ethics & Elections Committee, composed of three Directors not subject to election this year: Mickey Baker, N4MB; Jeff Ryan, KØRM, and Scott Yonally, N8SY. A nominee must be at least 21 years old and must have been licensed and a full member of ARRL for a continuous term of at least 4 years immediately preceding nomination. Each nominee must provide information concerning their employment, ownership, investment interests, and other financial arrangements to ensure compliance with the Conflict of Interest Policy (see Article 12 of the ARRL Articles of Association and Bylaws 18 – 24), available at www.arrl.org/general-information. The qualifications for Director and Vice Director are identical. All the powers of the Director are transferred to the Vice Director in the event of the Director’s resignation, recall, removal outside the Division, inability to serve, or death. Nomination Procedure Step 1: Obtain official nominating petition forms. Starting July 1, any full member residing in a Division where there is an election may request an official nominating petition package in writing, either by letter or via email, to execadmin@arrl.org. The request must reach the ARRL Secretary no later than noon EDT on Friday, August 9, 2024. If you are seriously considering running or nominating someone to run, please don’t wait until the last minute to request the forms; the deadline for submitting a completed petition form is just 1 week later. Step 2: Complete the questionnaire and obtain signatures. Only the official form may be used. The candidate must complete page one, providing the information required to determine eligibility, certifying its accuracy, and agreeing to assume the office if elected. To be valid, a nominating petition must name the candidate and must bear the signatures of 10 full members of the Division. Step 3: Submit the petition form. The completed form must reach the Secretary no later than noon EDT on Friday, August 16, 2024. The submission may be made by electronic transmission of images (i.e., a PDF or JPEG attachment to an email) or facsimile provided that upon request, the original documents are received by the Secretary within 7 days of the request. A person who is nominated for both Director and Vice Director may choose to decline the nomination for Director; otherwise, the nomination for Director will stand and that for Vice Director will be void. On Monday, August 19, 2024, the Secretary will notify each candidate of the name and call sign of each other candidate for the same office. Candidates will then have until Friday, August 30, 2024, to submit a 300-word statement and a photograph if they desire those to be made available to voters in accordance with instructions that will be supplied. Balloting If there is only one eligible candidate for an office, he or she will be declared elected by the Ethics & Elections Committee. If there is more than one eligible candidate for an office, the full members in that Division who are in good standing as of September 10, 2024, will have the opportunity to cast ballots. Official voting documents will be mailed to members who are eligible to vote no later than October 1, 2024. Votes must be electronically cast, or completed paper ballots must be received at the designated PO Box in the envelope provided, by noon Eastern Time on Friday, November 15, 2024. The candidate receiving the most votes will be declared the winner that day. Absentee Ballots A full member who is residing temporarily outside his or her home Division, including overseas, may arrange to vote in the home Division by notifying the Secretary before September 6, 2024, giving their current mailing address as reflected in the ARRL membership records (i.e., QST mailing address) and the reason that another Division is considered home. Members with overseas military addresses should take special note of this provision; in the absence of information received to the contrary, ballots will be sent to them based on their postal addresses. The Incumbents The incumbent Directors and Vice Directors, respectively, in the five Divisions in which elections will be held this year are: Central: Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, Director, and Brent Walls, N9BA, Vice Director Hudson: Nomar Vizcarrondo, NP4H, Director, and Ed Wilson, N2XDD, Vice Director New England: Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, Director, and Phil Temples, K9HI, Vice Director Northwestern: Mark J. Tharp, KB7HDX, Director, and Michael Sterba, KG7HQ, Vice Director Roanoke: Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, Director, and Bill Morine, N2COP, Vice Director For the Board of Directors: David A. Minster, NA2AA, Secretary / Chief Executive Officer. |
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New ARRL Section Managers |
Nominations for 2024 ARRL Section Managers have been made. All nominees listed ran unopposed and returned their nomination forms by the June 7, 2024, deadline. They have been notified by mail and elected for new terms beginning October 1, 2024. Connecticut: Douglas Sharafanowich, WA1SFH (new) Idaho: Dan Marler, K7REX Minnesota: Bill Mitchell, AEØEE North Dakota: Ralph Fettig, NØRDF Ohio: Thomas Sly, WB8LCD Oklahoma: Mark Kleine, N5HZR Puerto Rico: Carmen N. Greene Rodriguez, KP4QVQ (new) Southern Florida: Barry Porter, KB1PA Virgin Islands: Fred Kleber, K9VV Western New York: Scott J. Bauer, W2LC (new) In South Carolina, Matthew Crook, W1MRC is the new Section Manager as of July 1, 2024. Current Section Manger John Gendron, NJ4Z, is moving out of the section. There are now two new Section Managers in both the San Joaquin Valley & San Diego Sections. In the San Joaquin Valley Section, Steven Hendricks, KK6JTB, is the new Section Manager as of April 24 ,2024, replacing outgoing Section Manager John Litz, NZ6Q. In the San Diego section, Bruce Kripton, AG6X, was appointed Section Manager on June 7, 2024, replacing Dave Kaltenborn, N8KBC, who became a Silent Key in late May. |
Amateur Radio in the News |
“Ham radio operators showcase emergency readiness” / The Lufkin Daily News (Texas) June 30, 2024 -- Nacogdoches Amateur Radio Club and the Deep East Texas Amateur Radio Club. |
On the Air Sponsored by Icom ARRL Radiosport and Regulatory Information Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, and ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, joined the June episode of the podcast to spread the excitement about ARRL Field Day, which was held 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 International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) HF World Championship occurs next weekend, beginning at 1200 UTC on Saturday, July 13 and concluding at 1159 UTC on Sunday, July 14. ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, reminds participants they can enter in CW, SSB, or mixed mode categories. The exchange is a signal report and your ITU zone. ITU zones for stations in the Lower 48 are 6, 7, or 8. ITU zones for Canadian stations are 2, 3, 4, or 9. US and Canadian participants should visit the rules page (see link below) for more information on how to determine their ITU zone. In addition, stations operated by members of the IARU Administrative Council; the three IARU Regional Executive committees, and IARU member-society HQ stations from around the globe will be on the air. HQ stations will send their member-society abbreviations. See www.iaru.org/reference/member-societies for a list of IARU member-societies. ARRL HQ station W1AW/4 will be on the air from Tennessee, operated by members of the Tennessee Contest Group, and IARU HQ station NU1AW will be on the air from Missouri. Participants are reminded that self-spotting is strictly prohibited in all categories. For full rules and more information, visit www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-world-championship. Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) returned to service effective July 1, 2024. It had been offline as part of a systems service disruption. ARRL is taking steps to help manage what will likely be a huge influx of logs. We are requesting that if you have large uploads, perhaps from contests or from a DXpedition, please wait a week or two before uploading to give LoTW® a chance to catch up. A process was implemented to reject logs with excessive duplicates. Please do not upload your entire log to “ensure” your contacts are in LoTW® as they will be rejected. Despite this request, we have seen several recent DXpeditions upload large log files and many amateurs have uploaded logs with excessive duplicates. This negatively impacts the backlog time. Lastly, please do not call ARRL Headquarters to report issues you are having with LoTW®. You can contact support at LoTW-help@arrl.org. For more information click here to read our ARRL Member Bulletin about LoTW. |
The New Amateur Extra Class Question Pool has been released and is effective as of July 1, 2024. The new question pool is in effect through June 30, 2028. The 2024 - 2028 pool is available as a Microsoft Word® document and as a PDF. The 10 graphics required for the new Extra-class question pool are available within the documents or separately in PDF and JPG file formats. “The new pool incorporates significant changes compared to the 2020 - 2024 version,” said ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, and member of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (NCVEC) Question Pool Committee (QPC). “We carefully went over the pool for technical accuracy, relevance to today’s amateur radio practices, syntax, grammar, style, format, and clarity and redundancy within and between the pools. With these goals in mind, 82 new questions were created, and 101 questions were eliminated, resulting in a reduction of the total number of questions from 622 to 603. Over 350 questions were modified. We considered a question modified when the knowledge being tested was not changed but wording was improved, or answers or distractors were replaced.” Somma advised that the newly revised pool must be used for Extra-class license exams starting July 1, 2024. Exam designs based on the previous pool are no longer valid. Outdated versions of the Extra exams should be destroyed or thrown away to avoid a mix-up at the testing session. ARRL VEC had planned to supply its officially appointed, field-stocked VE team leaders with the new Extra-class exam booklet designs around mid-June. But due to ARRL’s recent system disruption, that date is now to be determined. Supplies will be sent as soon as possible. in the interim, VE teams may contact the ARRL VEC to receive instructions on how to print new Extra exams. A comprehensive update on the status of ARRL VEC services is available here. ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, will be closed on Thursday, July 4, for the Independence Day holiday. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions. ARRL Headquarters will reopen on Friday, July 5, at 8 a.m. EDT. |
 | | This image was taken on July 3, 2024. [Photo courtesy of NASA SDO/HMI] |
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For this Friday’s ARRL Propagation Bulletin, ARLP027: Because of the Independence Day holiday, this is coming out a day early, before the end of the reporting week. The complete data will be in Friday’s bulletin. Solar activity increased, and the average daily sunspot number reported in Friday’s bulletin will be higher than last week’s number. On Friday, June 28, a coronal mass ejection (CME) caused a severe G4 class geomagnetic storm. Middle latitude A index was 32 and planetary A index was 59, much higher than Alaska’s college A index of 36. Spaceweather.com reports that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says G1 geomagnetic storms are possible on July 3 because of another CME. Predicted solar flux is 165 on July 3, 160 on July 4 - 5, 155 on July 6 - 9, 180 on July 10, 170 on July 11 - 13, 180 on July 14, 175 on July 15 - 17, and 180 on July 18 - 21. Predicted planetary A index is 18 on July 3, 12 on July 4, 5 on July 5 - 7, 12 on July 8 - 9, 5 on July 10 - 13, then 10, 10, and 8 on July 14 - 16, 5 on July 17 - 19, then 10 and 8 on July 20 - 21. India Today Science Desk: Radio blackouts in several parts of the world as auroras take a back seat |
- July 4 - 5 -- Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)
- July 4 -- NRAU 10m Activity Contest (CW, phone, digital)
- July 4 -- SKCC Sprint Europe (CW)
- July 5 -- Weekly RTTY Test (digital)
- July 6 -- Venezuelan Independence Day Contest (CW, phone, digital)
- July 6 - 7 -- NZART Memorial Contest (CW, phone)
- July 7 -- TA VHF/UHF Contest (CW, phone)
- July 6 - 7 -- Marconi Memorial HF Contest (CW)
- July 6 - 7 -- Original QRP Contest (CW, phone)
- July 6 - 7 -- PODXS 070 Club 40m Firecracker Sprint (digital)
- July 9 -- Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest (phone)
- July 9 -- DARC RTTY Sprint (digital)
- July 10 -- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest (FT8)
- July 10 -- 5 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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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 Sprint, 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 © 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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