| | Voices from the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology |
 | | Jackie Blumer, KC9LEH, center, smiles during the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology. |
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The ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology continues to bring educators from around the country to ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, to learn how to engage students with amateur radio and radio technology. The program helps tie wireless technology into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. In their Own Words This week, TI1, or the initial course of three, is being held. We’re hearing from teachers in their own words about the experience. Jackie Blumer, KC9LEH, is the Earth/Space Science teacher at Greenville Jr. High in Illinois. She’s very active in aerospace and STEM teacher development. This is what she wrote about her experience. |
Here's what I'm up to... - Creating circuits with breadboards: Delving into the fundamentals of electronics by building circuits from scratch. This hands — on experience is perfect for understanding how different components interact and work together to create functioning devices.
- Becoming more proficient with soldering — Honing my soldering skills to ensure precise and reliable connections. Soldering is an essential technique for any budding engineer or electronics enthusiast, and I can't wait to master it!
- Working on getting my General license — Advancing my knowledge and capabilities in ham radio by aiming for my General license. This will not only enhance my personal expertise but also enable me to bring more advanced concepts to my students.
- I’m excited to bring this hands-on knowledge and experience back to my students. Integrating these skills into my curriculum will provide them with a deeper understanding of electronics and inspire them to pursue their own STEM passions.
Read more from the teachers in this album on the ARRL Facebook page. The Last Frontier: Alaska in the Log Hams know how hard it can be to get Alaska on certain bands. So, too, has it been challenging to get a teacher from Alaska to attend one of the Teachers Institute cohorts. It is a tradition for each educator to put a pin in the map for where they’re from, and this week – a pin went into Alaska for the first time. Dana Serfass teaches at Gruening Middle School in Eagle River, Alaska. |
 | | Dana Serfass pushes a pin in the map for Eagle River, Alaska. She’s the first educator from the state to attend a TI. |
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The ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology is funded entirely by donations to the ARRL Education Fund. Learn more at www.arrl.org/ti. |
| Get On the Air during VHF Contest Season |
VHF contesting season is in full swing! Summer weather brings with it enhanced propagation. With good conditions, stations hundreds of miles away can be worked via tropospheric ducting, E-skip, and perhaps even meteor scatter. If you have an HF rig that includes 6 meters or VHF/UHF capability, you’ve got just the tools you need to take advantage of these enhancements! US amateurs of all license classes may participate in these events, so they are a great way for Technician-class hams to compete in contests. There are several upcoming VHF+ contests coming up. The 2024 CQ World Wide VHF Contest is this weekend, beginning at 1800 UTC on Saturday, July 20 and concluding at 2100 UTC on Sunday, July 21. Participants can operate on the 6- and 2- meter bands. The first of the VHF Fall Sprints, the 6-meter Sprint, will be held from 1800 – 2200 UTC on Saturday, August 10. The sprints continue in September with single-band events on 144, 222, and 432 MHz. The final sprint, held on Saturday, October 5, includes all bands 902 MHz and above. For rules, see www.packratvhf.com/index.php/fall-sprints. Closing out the VHF contest season is the ARRL September VHF Contest, which will be held from 1800 UTC on Saturday, September 14 through 0259 UTC on Monday, September 16. All amateur frequencies above 50 MHz may be used. For activities on the higher VHF and UHF bands, there are two contest opportunities coming up. The ARRL 222 and Up Distance Contest begins at 1800 UTC on Saturday, August 3 and concludes at 1759 UTC on Sunday, August 4. Operation is allowed on all bands from 222 MHz through 241 GHz. The ARRL 10 GHz and up Contest will be held the weekends of August 17 - 19 and September 21 - 23, from 0900 UTC Saturday through 0759 UTC Monday. Any amateur band from 10 GHz through light may be used. |
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If you need an antenna for the VHF contest season, ARRL has a space- and budget-conscious solution, with two antennas in one. The ARRL Dual-band Momobeam 6/10 Antenna features a 10-meter Moxon (28 MHz) and 6-meter Yagi (50 MHz). The antenna is made of aluminum tubes, galvanized steel hardware, UV-resistant POM-C driver insulators, and polypropylene clamps. Assembly is easy, and all tubes are labeled. It comes with two sets of hardware — one for permanent install and the other for portable use. The antenna retails for $299.95 and is available in the ARRL Store. It is designed to get Techs active on 6 and 10 meters while Solar Cycle 25 is near its peak. |
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HamCon:Zion 2024, hosting the ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention, the Young Ladies Radio League 85th Convention, and the RV Radio Network’s 2024 Western Rally, was a success. The inaugural event, held in St. George, Utah, was well attended and many reported the facility and events were first-rate. ARRL National Educator Gordon West, WB6NOA, was in the ARRL booth greeting visitors and gave a presentation. ARRL Treasurer John Sager, WJ7S, hosted the ARRL forum at the event. “The vibe was definitely positive, and I think ARRL was very well represented. Gordo was a rockstar! He had a crowd around him everywhere he went,” said Sager. |
The HamCon:Zion Facebook page has several video updates from Ryan Seegmiller, W7RGS, shot during the event. A brief power outage affecting much of the area caused the gathering to wind down a few minutes prematurely. The event was organized by the Dixie Amateur Radio Club (DARC) in St. George, an ARRL Affiliated Club. It was the group’s first large convention, but plans are already in the works for the next one. |
| Amateur Radio Participates in World’s Largest Naval Exercise |
“Partners: Integrated and Prepared” is the theme for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024, the world’s largest international military maritime exercise, which began June 27, and will come to a close on August 1. Conducted from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Oahu, Hawaii, the exercise encompasses many islands in the Hawaiian chain. The event included 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, more than 150 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel, including amateur radio operators working with health care facilities. The amateur radio portion of the exercise has been completed. ARRL Assistant Section Manager and State Government Liaison Michael Miller, KH6ML, said 36 amateur radio operators from Hawaii volunteered to demonstrate the value of amateur radio in emergency preparedness and response. “It turned out very good,” said Miller. “Some of hospitals, staff and administrators involved had their first experience with amateur radio. The operators were able to blend their skills using public service radios, satellite phones, as well as amateur radio.” Miller pointed out that hospitals on the smaller islands don’t usually have a full-time communications officer, so working with amateur radio gives them experience for future emergencies. The amateurs worked with Health Comm Hawaii which provides amateur radio communications to health care associations in Hawaii during emergencies and disasters. “Health Comm Hawaii really needs 100 more operators for backup and to build skill sets through monthly exercises,” Miller added. Vice Adm. John Wade, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet and RIMPAC 2024 Combined Task Force (CTF) commander, said the Rim of the Pacific exercise has grown over the years to be the world’s largest and premier joint maritime training opportunity. “The exercise’s purpose is to build relationships, to enhance interoperability and proficiency, and, ultimately, contribute to the peace and stability in the vitally important Indo-Pacific region.” Many of the volunteers participating in RIMPAC 2024 are also members of other vital emergency communication groups, such as Amateur Radio Emergency Service®(ARES®), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). |
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| Amateur Radio in the News |
On the Air Sponsored by Icom New Emergency Communication Courses from ARRL ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, joins the podcast to share details about ARRL's updated Emergency Communication courses, which have been broken into three successive levels — Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. The courses are available free of charge at the ARRL Learning Center. |
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 |
Randall Carlson, WB0JJX, has become a Silent Key. He passed away June 7, 2024. Carlson was the Section Manager of the ARRL Delaware Section from December 1992 until 2005. He was originally licensed in the 1970s, according to his obituary. Carlson was 66 years old. Thirty-two amateur radio operators from clubs across Central New York turned out to help with communications for the Boilermaker Road Race in Utica, New York on Sunday July 14, 2024. The event is known for bringing some of the best runners in the world to upstate New York. A total of 14,000 participants competed in three different categories: 5K, 15K, and a 15K wheelchair event. Don Peterson, KD2ILO, president of the Fort Herkimer Amateur Radio Association, said his club brought its Disaster Action Response Trailer (DART) to help state, county, and local police agencies by being the extra eyes and ears that help keep the race running smoothly. The trailer also helped increase awareness of amateur radio and its importance to local events and emergency situations around the world. |
The Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure (YDXA) will participate in a special event as K3Y on Saturday, July 27, 2024. The K3LR Contest Group will serve as the host station for the event and YDXA amateur radio operators will participate in the Radio Society of Great Britian (RSGB) Islands on the Air (IOTA) contest as a team of youth operators. This is the second time a YDXA event is being hosted in the United States. K3LR, in western Pennsylvania, is one of the largest stations in the world, and this adventure has special meaning for the Dave Kalter kids and their parents. The youth team of Ian Alkema, KI8AN, and Lily Colon, W8LIL, will be joined by alumni/youth mentors Katie Campbell, KE8LQR, and Grace Papay, K8LG, as K3Y operators. The trip is sponsored by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA), K3LR Contest Superstation, and DX Engineering. More information will be available soon at youthdxa.org. The GQRP Club, a low-power amateur radio club in the United Kingdom, will celebrate its 50-year anniversary in September 2024. Founded in 1974 by the Rev. George Dobbs, G3RJV (SK), the all-volunteer, non-profit club has nearly 4,000 paid members and has produced 200 editions of its quarterly journal, Small Powered Radio Amateur Transmissions (SPRAT). Reverend Dobbs, who passed away in 2019, was the editor of SPRAT and author of QRP Basics. He was a frequent Hamvention® attendee, and in 2015, received the Hamvention Technical Excellence Award. The anniversary will be marked at the club’s annual convention, held in conjunction with the Telford Hamfest, the weekend of August 31 – September 1. For more information about the GQRP Club, visit their website, www.gqrp.com. |
 | | This image was taken on July 18, 2024. [Photo courtesy of NASA SDO/HMI] |
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For this Friday’s ARRL Propagation Bulletin, ARLP029: Big increase in solar activity this week, with average daily sunspot number rising from 129 to 215.9, and solar flux from 176.6 to 226.5. Fourteen new sunspot groups emerged. Two were on July 11, one on July 12, three on July 13, one on July 14, two more on July 15, three more on July 16, and two more on July 17. Average planetary A index was quiet at 6, and the middle latitude number was 8. Predicted solar flux is 225 on July 18 - 20; 220 on July 21; 215 on July 22 - 25; 180 on July 26 - 27; 175 on July 28; 170 on July 29 - 31; 165 on August 1 - 2; 170, 180, and 190 on August 3 - 5; 200 on August 6 - 11, and 230 on August 12 - 14. Predicted planetary A index is 10, 8, 16, 20, and 8 on July 18 - 22, and 5 on July 23 through the entire month of August. Recent video from Space Weather Woman Dr. Tamitha Skov: youtu.be/GLBIY3bbdQE From NDTV, India - Sun Unleashes Powerful Solar Flare: https://bit.ly/3Wp9wjA From Newsweek - Auroras Expected Over Mars This Weekend After Solar Explosion: https://bit.ly/4cJ2L21 From Daily Mail.Com - Earth poised for radio blackouts after sun releases powerful flares - as NOAA warns 65% chance of disruptions: https://bit.ly/468L89c Sunspot numbers for July 11 through 17, 2024, were 188, 162, 214, 217, 205, 250, and 275, with a mean of 215.9. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 205, 209.7, 238.3, 233.9, 233.2, 241.9, and 223.8, with a mean of 226.5. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 5, 4, 5, 7, 10, and 5, with a mean of 6. Middle latitude A Index was 7, 7, 6, 9, 8, 12, and 7, with a mean of 8. 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. |
- July 19 -- Weekly RTTY Test (digital)
- July 20 - 21 -- LABRE DX Contest (CW, phone)
- July 20 - 28 -- Maidenhead Mayhem Contest (CW, phone, digital)
- July 20 -- Russian Radio Team Championship (CW, phone)
- July 20 -- Trans-Tasman Low-Bands Challenge (CW, phone, digital)
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