| | Amateur Radio Serves as Hurricane Debby Dumps Rain on East Coast |
Hurricane Debby continues to drench the East Coast. The storm originally made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend coastal area just after 11:00 PM on Sunday, August 4, as a Category 1, near Steinhatchee, Florida, just 9 miles southeast of where Category 3 Idalia made landfall on August 30, 2023. The hurricane was downgraded the following day to a tropical storm and National Hurricane Center forecasters reported that sustained winds were 74 miles per hour (MPH), and the storm was moving north and east at 10 MPH. |
The amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC, the Hurricane Watch Net, and the VoIP Hurricane Net were activated as Debby slowly traversed the Southeast US and dumped potentially catastrophic rainfall over widespread parts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. On Monday morning, August 5, nearly 248,000 homes and business customers were without electricity. Scott Roberts, KK4ECR, ARRL Northern Florida Section Manager, reported that Clay County Emergency Services (ARES®) was also active. Arc J. Thames, W4CPD, Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator, reported that Alachua County and Franklin County ARES were also activated. |
Thames reported an amateur radio operator was stranded due to high water in Suwannee County. He used the statewide repeater network, SARNET, to relay the information and a monitoring operator in Jacksonville was able to coordinate with an urban search-and-rescue (USAR) team with an embedded ham radio operator and was able to facilitate the rescue of a family. Rick Palm, K1CE, editor of the ARRL ARES Letter, was at his home in Fort White, Florida, when the storm hit. “It was another wild ride, with huge trees down and river levels rising fast,” Palm reported. “For two days, lots of heavy machinery rolled into our neighborhood to saw up downed trees and restore power.” Palm also reported to the town shelter and worked with Darren DeMarino, KO4DLN, and had contact with Brad Swartz, N5CBP, who is the Emergency Coordinator stationed at the EOC radio room. He managed to send a “Field Situation Report” via Winlink to the EOC in Lake City. Palm said he was a little rusty but got the form to go through. The Five Flags Amateur Radio Association, W4UC, located in Pensacola, Florida, was asked by state officials to serve as HF backup for the SARNET system even though they were outside the warned area. Tropical Storm Debby, now off the Atlantic coast, will move through the Carolinas, and then northeast from the mid-Atlantic into New England. |
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| New York High School Helps License Young Hams |
On August 1, 2024, Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, ARRL Education and Learning Manager, took a train trip to New York City to visit the Staten Island Technical High School. He was there to help administer amateur radio exams to 49 students and all passed their exams. Several upgraded their licenses from General to Extra class and two students went from unlicensed to Extra class in one sitting. Their teacher, Everton Henriques, KD2ZZT, attended ARRL’s Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology TI - 1 last year and TI - 2 this year. Since then, Everton has helped over 100 kids successfully test for their amateur radio licenses. He has built a program incorporating HF, local repeater use, foxhunting, and space communications and has plans to incorporate mesh networking with his students this coming school year. |
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On August 6, 2024, Henriques was helping his students build antennas to help make contact with the International Space Station. They made a 5-element VHF “bad boy” antenna with a mounting mechanism to rotate and pitch the heading using 3D-printed materials, PVC, and aluminum rods. They tried using an IC-2730a VHF/UHF radio on medium power. While that didn’t go as well as planned, they were able to hear a lot of activity on 70 centimeters. Staten Island Technical High School began as a New York City public high school in 1988. Its student body is comprised of lifelong learners, innovation facilitators, contributors to the betterment of society and intellectually inquisitive young men and women. In September of 2005, the school was granted the status as New York City’s 7th Specialized High School by the New York City Department of Education. New York City’s Specialized High Schools are comprised of the most academically gifted and talented students. |
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| Andy Milluzzi, KK4LWR, Appointed Vice Director of ARRL Southeastern Division |
 | | Andy Milluzzi, KK4LWR, has been named Vice Director of the ARRL Southeastern Division |
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Andrew “Andy” Milluzzi, Ph.D., KK4LWR, has been appointed Vice Director of the ARRL Southeastern Division. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, appointed Milluzzi to the remainder of the term ending in December 2025 following the recent death of former Vice Director Jeff Beals, WA4AW (SK). Milluzzi works for Walt Disney Imagineering as a Senior Ride Control Systems Engineer. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Florida in electrical and computer engineering, focusing on high-performance computing. Milluzzi has been active in amateur radio since 2012. He remains active in his collegiate club as a board member for the Alumni and Friends of Gator Amateur Radio. Milluzzi volunteers with Youth on The Air (YOTA) and is a co-advisor for the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Program, along with his brother Tony Milluzzi, KD8RTT. They have supported the program since 2017, extensively networking college amateur radio clubs and students. Milluzzi has served on the ARRL Public Relations Committee since 2018. He is an ARRL Life Member. The ARRL Southeastern Division includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. |
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| Amateur Radio in the News |
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On the Air Sponsored by Icom The podcast takes a field trip to W1AW, ARRL’s Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, to hear from W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, about all the ways to “Practice Code with W1AW,” from daily code practice sessions at a speed that suits you, to Qualifying Runs where you can earn certificates for submitting accurate copy. |
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 Does Your Repeater Air ARRL Audio News? ARRL is seeking well-documented technical summaries from individuals or groups that air ARRL Audio News on their local repeaters. Send along your story or article, and any photos, to audionews@arrl.org. Your story may help another repeater join our large Audio News network. You’ll find a list and schedule for the ARRL Audio News Network at www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news. ARRL Audio News is published every Friday and includes a spoken summary of the week’s top news stories as reported by ARRL News Editor John Ross, KD8IDJ. It is available as a podcast hosted by Blubrry.com, and is also posted each week to the ARRL website as a downloadable audio file in the MP3 format. |
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The 27th Annual International Lighthouse / Lightship Weekend (ILLW) is August 17 – 18, 2024. The event began in 1998 as the Scottish Northern Lights Award run by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group. The ILLW attracts over 500 lighthouse entries located in over 40 countries. It is a popular international amateur radio event, not a contest, and there are very few rules. It is also free and there are no prizes for contacting large numbers of other stations. There are currently 312 lighthouses and their callsigns registered. The complete list can be found on the ILLW homepage and includes stations throughout the United States. Amateur radio operators may use any authorized frequency or mode as defined by their individual licenses. Digital modes such as FT8 may be used, but because FT8 is a keyboard-to-keyboard mode of communication, the visiting public may not fully understand what amateur radio is all about. ILLW guidelines suggest an HF transceiver and a wire type antenna is a better way to demonstrate amateur radio. The event runs from 0001 UTC August 17 to 2400 UTC August 18 (48 hours). For questions about the event or how to enter, contact event organizer and webmaster Kevin Mulcahy, VK2CE, using this link. |
Carter Craigie, N3AO, passed away on August 1, 2024, at age 86. Licensed since 1981, he was an ARRL Life Member and Maxim Society Member. He was married to past ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, for 49 years. During Kay’s tenure as ARRL President, Carter traveled with her to conventions and conferences in the US and other countries. Someone who never knew a stranger, he made many friends on those travels with whom he stayed in touch on the air and through social media. His many amateur radio accomplishments, and further words of remembrance from Kay are on ARRL News. |
Navajo Code Talkers Day is August 14, 2024, and recognizes the contributions of Navajo Marines during World War II. These “code talkers” encoded and transmitted messages using a complex Navajo language-based code. Secret communication was essential to the war and the code was never broken by Japanese forces in the Pacific. Special event station N7C will be in operation August 14 - 18, 0000Z - 0000Z, from Window Rock, Arizona, on 14.265, 7.265, and 18.133 MHz. A certificate & QSL card are available for $5.00 USD from Herbert Goodluck, N7HG, PO Box 06, Chinle, AZ 86503. |
W1AW to change frequencies on 17-meters. Beginning on Friday, September 6, 2024, Maxim Memorial Station W1AW will begin using a new 17-meter frequency for its scheduled CW transmissions due to increased activity near the current bulletin frequency. In order to reduce the possibility of interference, W1AW will move to 18077.5 kHz. |
 | | This image was taken on August 8, 2024. [Photo courtesy of NASA SDO/HMI] |
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For this Friday’s ARRL Propagation Bulletin, ARLP032: Average daily sunspot numbers in July were the highest since 2001. From the Athens Space Weather Forecasting Center (ASWFC): A Geomagnetic Disturbance Warning issued 2337 UTC/07 August 2024 by the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre. Recent coronal mass ejection (CME) activity is expected to increase geomagnetic activity from mid - 09 August and on 10 August. Increased geomagnetic activity expected due to coronal mass ejection (CME) from 09 -10 August 2024. Geomagnetic activity forecast 09 August: G0, chance G1 half of UT day; 10 August: G1-G2. Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre Bureau of Meteorology: Solar activity jumped quite a bit over the past reporting week, August 1 – 7, with average daily sunspot numbers rising from 208.9 to 222.3 and solar flux from 207.3 to 255.3. Spaceweather.com reported that sunspot numbers have reached a 23-year high. Geomagnetic numbers were fundamentally unchanged, with average daily planetary A index shifting from 14 to 15.7 and middle latitude index from 13.1 to 13.4. Seven new sunspot groups emerged: one on August 1, two on August 2, three on August 4 and one August 7. Predicted solar flux shows 270 and 280 on August 8 - 9; 275 on August 10 - 11; 285 on August 12 - 13; 260 on August 14; 205 on August 15 - 16; then 200 and 185 on August 17 - 18; 180 on August 19 - 22; 200 and 210 on August 23 - 24; 220 on August 25 - 26; 235 on August 27 - 28; 245 on August 29 - 30, and 240 on August 31 through September 7. Predicted planetary A index is 6, 32, 40 and 15 on August 8 - 11, 5 on August 12 - 21, then 10 and 8 on August 22 - 23, and 5 on August 24 to September 6. Predicting solar max from the Deccan Hearld: https://bit.ly/3AafcFu From News 9: “CME from X-Cass Solar Flare to strike glancing blow to Earth between August 8 - 9” https://bit.ly/4dDAPg1 From AXIOS Seattle: https://bit.ly/3WWq3f2 From Science Daily: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240730134746.htm Sunspot numbers hit 23-year high: https://bit.ly/3LURJej; https://bit.ly/46AGnFL ASB Zeitung: https://aussiedlerbote.de/en/active-sun-many-sunspots-are-visible From Devdiscourse: https://bit.ly/3AdejvP Sunspot numbers for August 1 through 7, 2024 were 260, 232, 217, 194, 189, 222, and 242, with a mean of 222.3. The 10.7 -centimeter flux was 234.4, 247.1, 244.6, 240.8, 247.3, 270, and 303.2, with a mean of 255.3. Estimated planetary A indices were 22, 9, 10, 46, 10, 6, and 7, with a mean of 15.7. Middle latitude A Index was 22, 9, 9, 28, 10, 8, and 8, with a mean of 13.4. 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. |
- August 10 -- FISTS Saturday Sprint (CW)
- August 10 - 11 -- WAE DX Contest (CW)
- August 10 -- SARL Youth QSO Party (phone)
- August 10 -- Kentucky State Parks on the Air (CW, phone, digital)
- August 10 - 11 -- Maryland-DC
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