The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Administrative Council has recognized Hans Zimmermann, HB9AQS/F5VKP, for his success over many years in raising the visibility at international forums for Amateur Radio’s role in providing disaster-relief communication. A presentation took place on February 20 in Geneva.

While at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, ...

The historic NN3SI call sign is being reactivated under the aegis of the Smithsonian Institution Amateur Radio Group. “We do not have a physical station location, and we are not open for guest operation as in the past, but this this is the start to Amateur Radio slowly coming back at the Smithsonian,” the group’s president, John Weise, N4NPG, told ARRL. “We expect to begin operating holiday sty...

Radio amateurs attending the 20th Young Researchers Congress in Münster, Germany, plan to launch an APRS-carrying weather balloon on March 21. The payload will transmit on 433.000 MHz with the call sign DL9II-11. The weather balloon carries a probe with two cameras, meteorological probes, and a Geiger counter. Two University of Heidelberg students will handle the launch under the supervision of...

Due to an inadvertent mix-up, a recent ARRL solicitation letter to benefit the W1AW Endowment Fund included a return envelope designating the Spectrum Defense Fund.

“We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused for those who donated or were considering making a donation,” ARRL Development Manager Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD, said. “At ARRL, we always strive to present ourselves...

The FCC has invited public comments on ARRL’s 2018 Petition for Rule Making, now designated as RM-11828, which asks the FCC to expand HF privileges for Technician licensees to include limited phone privileges on 75, 40, and 15 meters, plus RTTY and digital mode privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters. Interested parties have 30 days to comment. The Technician enhancement proposals stemmed from ...

ARRL Radiosport and Field Services Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, has announced that through the yeoman efforts of Charlie Carroll, K1XX; Kelly Taylor, VE4XT, and Ward Silver, N0AX, preliminary results of the 2019 ARRL International DX CW now are available.

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, has announced his choice of past South Texas Section Manager Lee Cooper, W5LHC, of Leander, Texas, to be the new Vice Director for the West Gulf Division.

“I’ve known Lee for a number of years and really look forward to having him on the Board team,” Roderick said.

Cooper’s appointment fills a vacancy created when former West Gulf Division Vice Director John Ro...

A luminary in the moonbounce and VHF-UHF DX arena, David Anderson, GM4JJJ, of Dunfermline, Scotland, died on March 15. Anderson was the developer of MoonSked software for EME.

“He had been fighting spinal cancer through many years of remission and relapse, which often made it difficult to come on the radio,” his friend Ian White, GM3SEK, explained. “David did everything he could to remain active...

Listen to the new episode of ARRL Audio News on your iOS or Android podcast app, or online at http://www.blubrry.com/arrlaudionews/. Audio News is also retransmitted on a number of FM repeaters. Click here and then scroll down to see the list.

Sunspots reemerged for 8 days on March 5-12. Average daily sunspot numbers rose from 4.4 in last week’s bulletin to 9.9 this week (March 7-13). Average daily solar flux barely changed, from 70.6 to 70.9. Average planetary A index declined from 12.6 to 5.1, and average middle latitude A index from 9.7 to 3.9.

The vernal equinox will occur next Wednesday, March 20 when the southern and northern he...

Those interested posting brief comments on Petitions for Rulemaking (PRMs) to the FCC, such as the ARRL Technician Enhancement proposal (RM-11828) using the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) should access FCC Electronic Comment Filing System Express.

In the “Proceeding(s)” field, enter the number of the PRM, e.g. RM-11828 (using this format), complete all required fields, and enter brief ...

The FCC has opened a brief window for public comment on recommendations approved by the World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee (WAC). Comments are due March 18 on International Bureau Docket 16-185. The FCC said the short comment period was necessary to allow time to finalize the US position for submission to the upcoming meeting of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commissio...

The same day that the FCC put ARRL’s Technician Enhancement petition on public notice, it also invited comments on another proposal, designated RM-11829, asking the FCC to create a “Tyro” license class that would require a minimal online examination as well as mentoring by an Amateur Radio licensee of Technician class or higher. A “tyro” is a novice or a beginner. The petition was filed in Augu...