ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reports that three current operations have been approved for DXCC credit: 5X8C in Uganda (commencing in 2012) and the T6TJ (commencing in 2012) and T6BP (commencing in 2011) operations in Afghanistan. “If you have had cards for these operations rejected in a recent application, please send an e-mail to the ARRL DXCC Desk and you will be placed on the list for...

At approximately 9:45 AM EST (1445 UTC) on Tuesday, February 19, the International Space Station (ISS) experienced a loss of communication with the ground. At that time, flight controllers in Houston were updating the software onboard the ISS’s flight computers when one of the ISS’s data relay systems malfunctioned. The primary computer that controls critical station functions defaulted to a ba...

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has proposed changes to spectrum usage in the 2300 to 2302 MHz band that will make it off limits to Australian amateurs. The ACMA wants to re-allocate the spectrum to LTE (Long-Term Evolution) wireless data systems, the kind popularly used for mobile broadband applications. The proposed change would give LTE services 100 MHz between 2300 ...

Solar activity continues at the low levels that we have seen in the past few weeks. The sunspot numbers have been remarkably consistent, with the average daily numbers for the weeks since January 17 at 56.4, 55.7, 50.7 and finally 51.3 for this past week. As you can see, the average daily sunspot number rose less than 1 point from the previous week to the past week, while the average daily sola...

The digital version of the March QST is now available to ARRL members. The digital version includes many features not available in the print version, such as:

• A video overview of the Tokyo Hy-Power HL-550FX linear amplifier.
• Video walkthroughs of the MFJ-976 and Palstar BT-1500A balanced antenna tuners.

Every issue of QST is filled with the news and features you need to keep active in Amateur Rad...

By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor

This week, Surfin’ hears weak ones, and then identifies them the old way and the new way.

I have been having a lot of fun this winter chasing DX on the AM broadcast band. I am always surprised when I am able to log a new one that is transmitting low power. For example, on Monday I logged two traffic advisory radio stations run by the Connecticut Departm...

New England

As a blizzard swept across New England February 9-10, SKYWARN was ready. The storm dumped heavy snowfall -- with some areas receiving upwards of 3 feet of snow -- as blizzard conditions brought hurricane force winds that created power outages and significant tree and power line damage over Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Emergency Coord...

The MicroHAMS Digital Conference will be held Saturday, March 23 at the Microsoft Studios West Campus in Redmond, Washington. The conference, which focuses on digital networking, will feature two local efforts that are leveraging off-the-shelf wireless networking technology for Amateur Radio: NW-MESH -- a spin-off of the ARRL HSMM program -- and the HamWAN project that is attempting to provide ...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), in partnership with the University of Oklahoma (OU), has launched a free app -- mPING (mobile Precipitation Identification Near the Ground) -- with which users can anonymously report precipitation from their Apple or Android mobile device. Simply select the type of precipitation that is fallin...

In an episode to air in mid-March, the hit ABC comedy Last Man Standing -- starring Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, KA0XTT -- will prominently feature scenes with cast members using Amateur Radio. This episode will be the first episode to feature Amateur Radio since the middle of the show’s first season.

According to Last Man Standing Producer John Amodeo, NN6JA, the episode called “The Fight” will fe...

Effective February 14, Harbach Electronics will discontinue producing and selling the Peter W. Dahl line of transformers. In 2007 after more than 40 years in business, Peter Dahl, K0BIT, retired and sold his company -- the Peter W. Dahl Company -- to Harbach Electronics. According to an announcement on the Harbach Electronics website, the company is in negotiations with other manufacturers to t...

ARRL Headquarters will be closed in observance of Presidents Day on Monday, February 18. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions that day. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Tuesday, February 19 at 8 AM Eastern Standard Time. We wish everyone a safe Presidents Day holiday.

In a Report & Order (R&O) -- FCC 13-15 -- released February 4, the FCC adopted numerous changes to its Experimental Radio Service (Part 5), revising and streamlining its rules. With the new rules, the FCC states that the Experimental Radio Service will have “a more flexible framework to keep pace with the speed of modern technological change, while continuing to provide an environment where cre...

Three new “how to” videos have been posted on the ARRL website’s Multimedia page at www.arrl.org/multimedia.

--How to attach a PL259 connector to coaxial cable

--How to use CTCSS in a typical FM transceiver

--How to enjoy split-frequency operating

All three videos are hosted by Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, the W1AW Station Manager. (There is a video tour of W1AW available on the same page.)

To view these video...

ARRL Headquarters is open today in the aftermath of the record-breaking blizzard. However, because of severe travel issues, we are operating at reduced staffing levels.

Due to the incoming storm, ARRL Headquarters will close at 12 PM (EST) on Friday, February 8. Headquarters will re-open at 8 AM (EST) on Monday, February 11.

The average daily sunspot numbers hardly changed from last week and the week prior, but the average daily solar flux bounced back to about the level it was from two weeks ago: The average daily sunspot numbers were down 5 points to 50.7, while the average daily solar flux was up 7.7 points to 106.4. Sunspot numbers for January 31-February 6 were 47, 65, 54, 79, 30, 41 and 39, with a mean of 50....

By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor

This week, Surfin’ repositions an airplane finder app to APRS-equipped vehicles.

I downloaded a free app for my iPhone: Plane Finder AR. You simply point the iPhone camera at an airborne airplane and the app displays the plane’s flight number, aircraft registration and distance from your location. A $2.99 version of the app displays more information inc...

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 conference will be held later this year in Mexico. The Region 2 conference -- held every three years -- is attended by delegations from the national Amateur Radio societies in the western hemisphere that are members of the IARU. The ARRL is the IARU Member Society for the US.

One of the topics on the conference agenda will be the Region 2 HF ...

Proposals are now being accepted from US schools, museums, science centers and community youth organizations to host an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact between November 1, 2013, and May 1, 2014. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, US ARISS program partners -- the ARRL, AMSAT and NASA -- are looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of par...