Amateur Radio News and Notes Podcast

Ed N2EC
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News and notes for Amateur Radio Operators and members of the Mount Vernon Amateur Radio Club compiled by Ed N2EC. mvarc.substack.com

  1. 4d ago

    Amateur Radio News and Notes 9/11/2026

    In the log this week * Special Event Spotlight: Route 66 On The Air * Contest Spotlight: Worked All Europe (WAE) SSB * MVARC Nets on the Air * What’s happening with DX? * Solar Activity Update * Upcoming Contests * Interesting Online Radio Content As always, links to all referenced content can be found in the show notes, or at our Substack at mvarc.substack.com. Thanks for reading Amateur Radio News and Notes. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Special Event Spotlight: Route 66 On The Air 2026 marks 100 years since US Highway 66, frequently called the “Mother Road”, was established. The historic road connected Chicago, Illinois and Santa Monica, California traveling through the states of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona along the way. To commemorate the history of Route 66, the Citrus Belt Amateur Radio Club will be coordinating Route 66 On The Air for the 27th year. There will be 22 club stations each with a 1x1 call sign on the air from September 12, 2026 until September 20, 2026. If you’re able to work at least one of the special event stations you can request a certificate or decal on their web site. Additionally, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Route 66, they will be offering a special challenge coin this year only. Applications can be found on their site and fees apply. You do not have to submit logs. More information can be found at https://w6jbt.org/. This is always a fun event to see how many of the stations you can get in the log. So get your kicks on Route 66! Good luck. Contest Spotlight: Worked All Europe (WAE) SSB Image Courtesy DARC This weekend brings the Worked All Europe (WAE) DX Contest on SSB. Only intercontinental DX counts, so the European DX will be eagerly answering your calls. The fun starts at 0000 UTC on Saturday, September 12th (so 8 PM ET Friday night) until 2359 UTC on September 13th (7:59 PM ET Sunday) on SSB on the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands. Operating classes include Single Op who are limited to 36 hours of total operation and Multi-Ops who can work all 48 hours. The exchange is Signal Report + Serial Number and stations can be worked once per band. This can be a great way to get DX from Europe in the log. There is an interesting twist in this contest you should know about: QTC Traffic. QTCs are a way to get additional points by sending additional information back to a European station. The QTC must include a time, call sign, and a serial number of the reported QSO. In the rules they give an example QTC as “1307 DA1AA 431” which would mean that DA1AA was worked at 1307 UTC and sent serial number 431. Each QSO can only be recorded once (and not back to the original station) and when correctly transferred gives one point to the sender and one point to the receiver. Up to 10 QTCs can be sent between two stations and it can be done via several contacts. They can be sent via a series so if you were going to send 5 and were on your 3rd one, you would send “3/5” for the QTC. This is somewhat unique in contests, and if someone asks you to send a QTC and you don’t want to, you can just say no, but it is a challenging way to get some extra points in the mix. Multipliers in the contest are the number of countries defined in the WAE Country List (see the rules for that) worked per band. For European stations every non-European DXCC entity is a multiplier with some exceptions laid out in the rules. There is also a multiplier bonus for a “band weighting”: 80 meter countries get multiplied by 4, 40 meter countries get multiplied by 3, and 20/15/and 10 meter bands get multiplied by 2. Final scoring is the total number of QSOs plus QTCs on all bands multiplied by the sum of all multipliers weighted by the band factor. There is a lot going on in this contest, so definitely peruse the DARC site for rules and additional details https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/conteste/wae-dx-contest/en/. Have fun and good luck! MVARC Nets on the Air * 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ] * 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM] * MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW] * MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB] What’s Happening with DX There will be a lot of DX on the air this week. Stations on the air include Franz Josef Land (RI1FJZ), Namibia (V51WH), Iceland (TF/DA6IC/P), Madeira (CT9/DK8MM. CR3W), Grenada (J38LD, J38DX), Cape Verde Island (D44TWO), Nepal (9N/OM0GA), Guyana (8R1TM), Kosovo (Z68PX), Vietnam (3W9C), Turks and Caicos (VP5/K5UR), Saint Kitts and Nevis (V47YA, V47RCX), Mariana Islands (KH0N), American Samoa (KH8WW), Seychelles (S79/DL2SBY), and Cyprus (P3CR). A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at NG3K’s Announced DX Operations List at https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html. Solar Activity Update As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 115 and the estimated sunspot number was 107 with 7 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has increased. Solar activity has been at low levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet to unsettled levels in the last 24 hours and the Kp index reached 3 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 470 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at low levels with a slight chance of M-class flares today and very low with a slight chance for M-class flares on Saturday and Sunday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at quiet to unsettled levels through Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 1% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are possible with a predicted probability of 10% today through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 1% chance predicted today through Sunday. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world. Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/. Upcoming Contests This weekend brings the WAE DX Contest on SSB we spotlighted earlier, also the SKCC Weekend Sprintathon, the Colorado QSO Party, the New Jersey QSO Party, Ohio State Parks on the Air, the Africa FT4 DX Contest, the ARRL September VHF Contest, the North American Sprint on CW, the IRTS 70 cm Counties Contest, the IRTS 2 m Counties Contest, and the 4 States QRP Second Sunday Sprint. As always the K1USN SSTs, the MSTs, and the CWTs will also be on the air. The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php. Interesting Online Radio Content Paul K3XEC builds his own OFDM system called Pigeon from scratch and shows us how he did it - https://k3xec.com/pigeon/ Josh KI6NAZ takes a look at the only production M17 radios currently available - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH69ip7vpSQ Mike K8MRD explores a new park and activates POTA - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atEitEQA8-E IMSAI Guy takes a look at the soon to be released Dr. PD USB-C Protocol Analyzer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqSRi0lMTk8 Charlie N0CVL compares vertical and dipole antennas for noise and sensitivity - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aDpN7SF80M Walt K4OGO builds an OCF dipole using whips - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfGRbBL0UOo Jim WT1W looks at the CQV SWR120 HF Power and SWR meter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arB6aihwG80 Kevin W1DED talks to Bill the organizer of the Ham Widows Ball for WRTC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N062pygpyns Dr. Tamitha Skov WX6SWW talks about a series of storms that hit us earlier this week - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQgzXKOV2ow Linas LY2H shows us his custom amateur radio van - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m0d5FNZ6Zg Ciprian YO6DXE continues his experiments with his BBB-4 VLF Receiver - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN4nDxmBdtI Doug N4HNH explains the differences between the split modes on FT8 and how they impact performance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpdocYbTDls Tim K5OHY makes a DIY V-Dipole and puts it through its paces - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ4i3W5rRGI Lewis M3HHY takes a look at an all-band radio with RDS and a directory of stations - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG7WxFayEPc Bob WV7W explains why a NanoVNA is more than an antenna analyzer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY3zNlK8I0k Josh KI6NAZ shows the gear he takes on trips with radios - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSscqEjBDM8 Walt K4OGO tests out the MA-06 Antenna with 2 dipoles and one feedpoint - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWrl2aksZK4 TJ K9KJ shows how he sets up CW keying for N1MM on Icom radios - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZWBIijG7HE George VK2AOE shows the design process for his new CW key build - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMvxW8vzjM4 Craig KM6LYW uses his DigiPi 2.2 to build a data transceiver for $60 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPDgt279CTQ Josh KI6NAZ builds a CFT1 CW Transceiver - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AahIhFka5c Michal KB9VBR talks about NVIS antenna deployment for regional communication - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihTNyAre7Xc Mike K8MRD reviews a 30 Ah battery box kit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKSm8X96SCQ Walt K4OGO tries out a cobweb antenna - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylx2WA6BlJw That’s it for this week. Best 73, Ed N2EC This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mvarc.substack.com

  2. Sep 4

    Amateur Radio News and Notes 9/4/2026

    In the log this week * World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) Rescored After Investigation * Icom Announces the IC-7110 HF/VHF/UHF Mobile Radio * DXpedition Update: RI1FJL Franz Josef Land * Parks on the Air (POTA) Releases Beta Version of Spotting Site * MVARC Nets on the Air * What’s happening with DX? * Solar Activity Update * Upcoming Contests * Interesting Online Radio Content Thanks for reading Amateur Radio News and Notes. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) Rescored After Investigation Image Courtesy https://www.wrtc2026.org/ On Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 the World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) announced the results of their investigation into impropriety in the 2026 event. As a result of the investigation the results of the competition have been revised and four teams have been disqualified. The new standings have the MB5O team consisting of DJ5MW and DM5EE now holding first place with 7,310,308 points, followed by the MB4G team consisting of N6MJ and KL9A at 6,955,083 points in second place, with third place being held by the MB1T team of K5ZD and W2SC at 6,836,430 points. The results of the investigation were published on the WRTC 2026 web site with extensive details of what happened. There was evidence of external stations coordinating with disqualified teams to hold a frequency for them to hand over at the start of the contest. Additionally, pirate stations using calls from rare multipliers made contact with many of the WRTC stations, but made significantly more contacts with the disqualified stations. When those calls were removed from the logs the previous winner was no longer in the top 3 of the standings. There were also claimed multipliers in one of the logs that did not appear in the audio recordings, which caused that team to be disqualified as well. The WRTC report is well worth the read and goes into detail as to what happened and how the WRTC Committee came to their conclusions. The report can be found at https://www.wrtc2026.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/RescoringSep1A-with-Scoreboard.pdf and on Q5 Amateur Radio’s Substack at where further coverage is forthcoming. An extensive discussion with Q5’s Kevin W1DED and WRTC participants Randy K5ZD, Chris KL9A, Dan N6MJ, and Bill W9KKN (who assisted in the investigation) can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKD_mBFTbVw. Icom Announces the IC-7110 HF/VHF/UHF Mobile Radio Image Courtesy Icom America Icom announced the highly anticipated IC-7110 HF/VHF/UHF transceiver at Tokyo Ham Fair last weekend. Previously teased as the “X-026” radio at Dayton Hamvention, it is the successor to the popular Icom IC-7100. The radio covers HF, 50 MHz, 70 MHz (in the EU Version), 144 MHz, and 430/440 MHz and has a waterfall display and spectrum scope, CW decoder, D-STAR capability, a 4.3 inch color touchscreen, Dual Watch for HF/VHF and HF/UHF, “simple configuration” for FT8, and WiFi and Bluetooth Connectivity. As we go to press there is not an announced price for the rig, but the large Icom retailers are accepting pre-orders. No release date has yet been announced. For more information on the IC-7110 visit https://www.icomamerica.com/media_and_promotions/news/4717/. DXpedition Update: RI1FJL Franz Josef Land Image Courtesy https://www.rudxt.org/ri1fjl The RI1FJL DXpedition to Franz Josef Land has been quite active over the last several days at the Northernmost DXCC entity on Earth. As we go to press the team had reported 146,894 QSOs in the log over 12 days with 164 DXCC entities. Of those QSOs 45,141 were on CW, 80,614 were on FT8, 18,787 were on SSB, and 2,352 were on FT4. Full statistics for the DXpedition and log checking can be found at https://clublog.org/charts/?c=RI1FJL. The team has been updating the public on DX-World and indicated yesterday that they will be QRV at full station count until today (September 4) with 2-3 stations running until September 5. If you haven’t gotten them in the log yet, now is the time. Your author was able to work them on 30, 20, and 17 meter CW with strong signals into the Mid-Atlantic. News updates from the team can be found at https://www.dx-world.net/ri1fjl-franz-josef-land/. Good Luck. Parks on the Air (POTA) Releases Beta Version of Spotting Site Image Courtesy POTA Parks on the Air (POTA) has released a new beta version of their spotting site at https://next.pota.app/ with some new functionality and enhancements. In addition to the regular filtering available on the main site, it will show you when an All Time New One (ATNO) is on the air and when parks you have never hunted are on the air as well. Also if an activator makes a note at the start of their activation it will remain on the spot as well, which is great for multi-park or multi-operator activations. The site is available alongside the main https://pota.app/ site and the POTA team would like your feedback, which can be given by the orange chat icon on the top right of the beta site. Thanks to all the volunteers at POTA for their hard work to keep improving the site. MVARC Nets on the Air * 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ] * 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM] * MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW] * MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB] What’s Happening with DX There will be a lot of DX on the air this week. Stations on the air include Franz Josef Land (R1FJL, RI1FJZ), Namibia (V51WH), Papua New Guinea (P29YY), Iceland (TF/DA6IC/P), Madeira (CT9/LX1MDA), Grenada (J38LD, J38DX), Cape Verde Island (D44TWO), Nepal (9N/OM0GA), Panama (HP/WE9G), Guyana (8R1TM), San Andres Island (HK0/PY8WW), Palau (T88PB), Kosovo (Z68PX), and Vietnam (3W9C). A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at NG3K’s Announced DX Operations List at https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html. Solar Activity Update As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 108 and the estimated sunspot number was 73 with 5 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has decreased. Solar activity has been at moderate levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet levels in the last 24 hours and the Kp index reached 2 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 395 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at low levels with a chance of M-class flares through Saturday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at quiet levels through Saturday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 5% today through Saturday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are possible with a predicted probability of 15% today through Saturday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 1% chance predicted today through Saturday. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world. Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/. Upcoming Contests This weekend brings the ARRL EME Contest, the All Asian DX Contest on SSB, the CW Ops CW Open, the Wake-Up! QRP Sprint, the SARL VHF/UHF FM Contest, the SARL Field Day Contest, the Russian RTTY WW Contest, the IARU Region 1 Field Day on SSB, the RSGB SSB Field Day, the AGCW Straight Key Party, the IARU Region 1 145 MHz Contest, the PODXS 070 Club Jay Hudak Memorial 80 meter Sprint, the WAB 144 MHz Phone Contest, and the Tennessee QSO Party. As always the K1USN SSTs, the MSTs, and the CWTs will also be on the air. The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php. Interesting Online Radio Content Kevin W1DED talks to the Contest Crew about the WRTC Rescoring - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKD_mBFTbVw Gabe KL1FI talks about how to get started with Satellites, Radios, and SDRs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLpP5KEsHbc Mike K8MRD shows the new POTA33B mast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKzM5fhqkYU Electronics for the Inquisitive Experimenter shows a handy coax prep tool - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvobK3JjIYQ Lewis M3HHY puts a Retevis MA1 to the test with pileups on top of a hill - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGdcOfQnYUg Walt K4OGO plays with a loaded End Fed Half Wave - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqlxhHYbm_I Josh KI6NAZ takes a look at a programmable USB PD power supply - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3nM9UazAXY George VK2AOE makes antenna repairs after birds inflict damage on his setup - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzQYynMzCPE Ciprian YO6DXE makes a BBB-4 VLF Receiver - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnmiF54VCwk Mike K8MRD shows his off grid camping setup for his trip to Huntsville Hamfest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew0_pfRPdzI Jim WT1W tests out a cordless soldering iron - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmYrkqqfYCY Kevin W1DED talks to Thom W8TAM about the new POTA Spotting Site in Beta - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiqfooJUVXU Ramon EA5IW takes us along for mountain top QRP CW operations - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w1JolfNnxk Josh KI6NAZ looks live at the release of the Icom IC-7110 in Tokyo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-V0BtmEcQg Michael KB9VBR and Christine KC9BME show their Huntsville Hamfest acquisitions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yge7nJiM2Cw Jason KM4ACK takes a look at Helioclock - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-YdPKqTQ64 The HRO team takes a look at the Kenwood TM-D750A - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRnhHd6AG2U That’s it for this week. Best 73, Ed N2EC This is a pub

  3. Aug 28

    Amateur Radio News and Notes 8/28/2026

    In the log this week * The Long Island CW Club Welcomes Its 10,000th Member * The ARRL Announces a $1,000,000 Donation * Tokyo Ham Fair is Happening This Weekend (8/29/2026-8/30/2026) * Pre-Order Pricing Announced for Icom and Kenwood VHF/UHF Mobile Radios * MVARC Nets on the Air * What’s happening with DX? * Solar Activity Update * Upcoming Contests * Interesting Online Radio Content As always, links to all referenced content can be found in the show notes, or at our Substack at mvarc.substack.com. Thanks for reading Amateur Radio News and Notes. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The Long Island CW Club Welcomes Its 10,000th Member Image Courtesy Long Island CW Club The Long Island CW Club announced that it welcomed its 10,000th member this week. The Long Island CW Club began in 2017 with the goal of growing the ranks of CW operators for Field Day. Since then it has grown considerably. It has 182 classes a week held via Zoom that teach Morse code at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels to members in 74 countries and all 50 United States. It also has a kids program that teaches kids the code in their own dedicated classes. Additionally, the club has several weekly forums and online communities of interest to the radio amateur. I have been a instructor with LICW for many years now. LICW decided to award member number 10,000 to one of its kids class members, Maggie KE2AIZ. Maggie is a remarkable young amateur who got her license at the age of 7 years old. She then went on to get her Amateur Extra license just a few months later. She participated in the LICW Kids Classes, where I had the pleasure of meeting her as an instructor. Her skills as a CW operator grew at an impressive rate. Maggie, now 11 years of age is an active CW contester and a 2025 recipient of the Young Achiever’s Award from the Radio Club of America. Congratulations to the Long Island CW Club on reaching this impressive milestone and to Maggie KE2AIZ for being recognized as member number 10,000. For more information about the club visit https://longislandcwclub.org/. The ARRL Announces a $1,000,000 Donation Image Courtesy ARRL The American Radio Relay League announced on August 21, 2026 that it has received a $1,000,000 gift from Dr. James Galm, W8WTS. The gift seeks to “invest in the next generation of problem solvers” by supporting league programs and activities including STEM education initiatives and spectrum access. Dr. Galm is a co-founder of a power management equipment company that was sold in 2025. For more information about the donation visit https://www.arrl.org/news/entrepreneur-and-amateur-radio-operator-invests-in-the-next-generation-of-problem-solvers. Tokyo Ham Fair is Happening This Weekend (8/29/2026-8/30/2026) Image Courtesy JARL This weekend brings the 2026 edition of the Tokyo Ham Fair August 29-30, 2026 at Ariake GYM-EX. Tokyo Ham Fair is one of the biggest hamfests in the world, and is often where many of the big amateur radio manufacturers announce or release new products. This year the Ham Fair will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Japan Amateur Radio League. Amateur Radio News and Notes will be watching for any any new developments at this year’s show. For more information about this year’s Tokyo Ham Fair visit https://hamfair.jp/. Pre-Order Pricing Announced for Icom and Kenwood VHF/UHF Mobile Radios Ahead of this weekend’s Tokyo Ham Fair, the highly anticipated new mobile VHF/UHF rigs from Kenwood and Icom have shown up for pre-order from multiple vendors of amateur radio gear. The Icom ID-5200A is a 2 meter and 70 centimeter radio that supports D-STAR, APRS (via an update), and WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity for $999.95 with delivery expected in September 2026. The Kenwood TM-D750A is a tri-band rig with 2 meters, 1.25 meters, and 70 centimeters with D-STAR, APRS, KISS TNC, and Bluetooth connectivity for $1,199.95 with delivery expected in the third quarter of 2026. These are some of the most full featured and expensive mobile FM rigs to be released. MVARC Nets on the Air * 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ] * 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM] * MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW] * MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB] What’s Happening with DX There will be a lot of DX on the air this week. Stations on the air include Franz Josef Land (R1FJL), Canary Islands (EA8/IZ1GDB), Mauritius (3B8/SQ9UM), Lesotho (7P8FR), Saint Kitts and Nevis (V47JA), Reunion (FR/ZS6AJG), Namibia (V51WH), Liechtenstein (HB040A), Madeira (CT9/LX1MDA), Grenada (J38LD, J38DX), and San Andres Island (HK0/PY8WW). A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at NG3K’s Announced DX Operations List at https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html. Solar Activity Update As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 122 and the estimated sunspot number was 76 with 5 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has stayed about the same. Solar activity has been at low levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet levels in the last 24 hours and the Kp index reached 1 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 274 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at low levels with a chance of M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares today through Sunday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at quiet to major storm levels today and Saturday, and at quiet to active levels on Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 10% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are possible with a predicted probability of 45% today through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are possible with a 10% chance predicted today through Sunday. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world. Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/. Upcoming Contests This weekend brings the SCRY/RTTYOps WW DX RTTY Contest, the Feld Hell Sprint, the ALARA Contest, the U.S. Islands QSO Party, the World Wide Digi DX Contest, and the Kansas QSO Party. As always the K1USN SSTs, the MSTs, and the CWTs will also be on the air. The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php. Interesting Online Radio Content Tom Scott looks into how the secrets of Bletchley Park were kept - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDLbO9KeddY Dr. Tamitha Skov WX6SWW talks about solar storms on their way to Earth - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQVo6r7Nwjc Mark KD7DTS and Ara N6ARA are joined by Thomas K4SWL in an epic 3 hour episode of Sofas on the Air that is well worth the time - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgQxrH01Q3Y Michael KB9VBR builds a vertical L-dipole antenna - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSgDg4Rn3wA Walt K4OGO builds a multi-band dipole antenna - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVsuVQumTyM Veritasium goes to Spain to watch the solar eclipse and record it from a NASA weather balloon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1WoNuemKOg Steve KM9G uses AI to help him design a go-box 3D printed insert - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEOcCumdCFI Farpoint Farms takes a look at the new Choyong LC100 AM/FM/LW/SW/Internet radio - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IufDXzpBK3g Josh KI6NAZ takes a new ham along to an activation and explains what he's doing along the way - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVVzJ9QfihE Hayden VK7HH talks about why FT8 is popular - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fImtCz8fnfU Ciprian YO6DXE modifies his Sferics VLF receiver to improve its performance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbdDnEYxSyQ Linas LY2H plays with a compact antenna and acts as a human counterpoise - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dG8_Ud5o1I Scott W3GTR goes cabin camping at Gambrill State Park in MD and activates POTA - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0mtrNx2iy8 George VK2AOE gets his homebrew rig on the air with a surprise QSO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XqYwIgnGuM Craig KM6LYW uses Manuel DL2MAN's new web based Winlink client - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIeIdt6rs6E Callum M0MCX of DX Commander has DXFest at his offices - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3KLmv8Oi5s Michael KB9VBR talks about dealing with difficult people during a POTA activation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FGFXotVuKM Mike K8MRD uses a 2 meter flower pot antenna - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y_O3QXhfew That’s it for this week. Best 73, Ed N2EC This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mvarc.substack.com

  4. Aug 21

    Amateur Radio News and Notes 8/21/2026

    In the log this week * DXpedition Spotlight: RI1FJL Franz Josef Land * Huntsville Hamfest and ARRL National Convention This Weekend * MVARC Nets on the Air * What’s happening with DX? * Solar Activity Update * Upcoming Contests * Interesting Online Radio Content As always, links to all referenced content can be found in the show notes, or at our Substack at mvarc.substack.com. Thanks for reading Amateur Radio News and Notes. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. DXpedition Spotlight: RI1FJL Franz Josef Land Image Courtesy https://www.rudxt.org/ri1fjl The Russian DXpedition Team (RUDXT) has been en route to the Northernmost DXCC Entity in the world, Franz Josef Land. The team reported at 0740 UTC that they were within 30 miles of the island in foggy conditions traveling at 5 knots. Franz Josef Land is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Circle that is only inhabited by military personnel and has no permanent population. At the time of publication it was listed as the 44th most wanted DXCC entity on ClubLog. The team consists of 6 operators who plan to operate at least 5 high-power stations 24 hours a day for 15 days. They say they want to work as many locations as possible and are focusing on “little pistols”. While on their journey they have also been operating maritime mobile. The team has been posting updates to https://www.dx-world.net/ri1fjl-franz-josef-land/ and their website can be found at https://www.rudxt.org/ri1fjl. This will be a good opportunity to get a rare one in the log. Good luck. Huntsville Hamfest and ARRL National Convention This Weekend Image Courtesy https://hamfest.org/ The Huntsville Hamfest will be happening this weekend on August 22nd-23rd at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In addition to the hamfest, they will be hosting this year’s ARRL National Convention. The hamfest is one of the most popular hamfests in the United States and features several tracks of forums and presentations in addition to hosting a flea market and vendors. The ARRL National Convention is offering three training tracks this year: Mini Contest University, Emergency Communications Academy, and Salty Walt’s Portable Antenna Workshop. Information about the Huntsville Hamfest can be found at https://hamfest.org/ and for the ARRL National Convention at https://www.arrl.org/arrl-expo. MVARC Nets on the Air * 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ] * 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM] * MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW] * MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB] What’s Happening with DX There will be a lot of DX on the air this week. Stations on the air include Saint Lucia (J68TT), Market Reef (OJ0JR, OJ0YL), Frans Josef Land (R1FJL), Rodrigues Island (3B9/SQ9UM), Canary Islands (EA8/IZ1GDB), Iceland (TF5SS), Mauritius (3B8/SQ9UM), Lesotho (7P8FR), Saint Kitts and Nevis (V47JA), Reunion (FR/ZS6AJG), and Namibia (V51WH) A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at NG3K’s Announced DX Operations List at https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html. Solar Activity Update As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 125 and the estimated sunspot number was 72 with 4 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has increased. Solar activity has been at high levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet to unsettled levels in the last 24 hours and the Kp index reached 3 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 598 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at low levels with a chance of M-class flares and a slight chance for X-class flares today through Sunday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at quiet to active levels today and Saturday, and at quiet to unsettled levels on Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 5% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are possible with a predicted probability of 40% today through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are possible with a 10% chance predicted today through Sunday. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world. Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/. Upcoming Contests This weekend brings the Turkiye HF Contest, the YO DX HF Contest, the ARSI VU DX Contest, the Hawaii QSO Party, the Ohio QSO Party, the CVA DX Contest on SSB, and the SARL HF CW Contest. As always the K1USN SSTs, the MSTs, and the CWTs will also be on the air. The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php. Interesting Online Radio Content Josh KI6NAZ looks into FCC Action Taken On Illegally Linked GMRS Repeaters - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4NisyY8OTE Walt K4OGO works Australian DX with a cheap vertical on the beach - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ-m2FlZLnc Manuel DL2MAN shows the process for flashing the nG (Next Generation) firmware for the (tr)uSDX rigs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSQwu7FSHqE Kevin KB9RLW shows how to modify a chromebook as a cheap linux box for amateur radio - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-MQKCfDlPI Mike K8MRD shows his loadout for the Huntsville Hamfest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXNP74FMYjk Dr. Tamitha Skov WX6SWW talks about recent solar storms - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7od5srHvDsw Thomas K4SWL gives his guide to getting started with the Elecraft KX2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl_5glJujcs That’s it for this week. Best 73, Ed N2EC This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mvarc.substack.com

  5. Aug 14

    Amateur Radio News and Notes 8/14/2026

    In the log this week * Contest Spotlight: North American QSO Party (SSB) * IARU Requests Clear Frequencies for Colombian Earthquake Emergency Traffic * RSGB Modifies Contest Rules To Allow International Entries * ARRL Opens Orders for America250 WAS Certificates * MVARC Nets on the Air * What’s happening with DX? * Solar Activity Update * Upcoming Contests * Interesting Online Radio Content As always, links to all referenced content can be found in the show notes, or at our Substack at mvarc.substack.com. Thanks for reading Amateur Radio News and Notes. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Contest Spotlight: North American QSO Party (SSB) This weekend brings the latest edition of the North American QSO Party to the air, this time on SSB. The goal of this contest is to work as many North American stations as possible during the contest. It runs from 1800 UTC on Saturday, August 15th (2 PM ET Saturday) until 0559 UTC on Sunday, August 16th (1:59 AM ET on Sunday). For the purposes of the contest North American stations are defined by the ARRL DXCC list, plus Hawaii. The exchange is a simple one: operator name and location (state, province, or country). So for me in Virginia, my exchange would be “Ed VA”. For non-North American stations the exchange is just their name. Operating categories include Single Operator (no spotting assistance permitted), Single Operator Assisted (spotting assistance permitted), and Multioperator Two Transmitter. Power is limited to 100 Watts for the Low Power category and 5 Watts and under for QRP. Allowed bands include 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. Multipliers are all 50 US states and DC the 13 Canadian provinces and territories, and other North American DXCC Entities. Non-North American entities don’t count as a multiplier, but do count for QSO credit. The score is the number of valid QSOs multiplied by the sum of multipliers worked on each band. There is also a team competition that allows you to have your score added to a cumulative team score. Logs are due no later than 7 days after the end of the contest and electronic submission via Cabrillo format is preferred. For more information check out the contest rules at https://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf. Good luck. IARU Requests Clear Frequencies for Colombian Earthquake Emergency Traffic Image Courtesy IARU The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has asked that the following frequencies be kept clear for emergency communications related to the earthquakes that occurred in Colombia on Monday, August 10, 2026. On 80 meters 3985 kHz, on 40 meters: 7060, 7240, and 7275 kHz, on 20 meters: 14300 kHz, on 17 meters: 18160 kHz, on 15 meters: 21360 kHz, and on 2 m: 146.520 MHz (simplex). The ARRL received an update from Carlos Alberto Santamaría González, CO2JC, Emergency Communications Coordinator with the International Amateur Radio Union, Region 2 saying that amateur radio stations had been deployed and had been assisting first responders with communications and backup power. For the full statement and updates visit https://www.arrl.org/news/colombian-emergency-network-activated-following-earthquake. RSGB Modifies Contest Rules To Allow International Entries Image Courtesy RSGB The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) announced on August 7th that they will be updating their contest policies to allow all licensed radio amateurs around the globe to participate in their contests starting January 1, 2027. They go on to say that “This approach reflects the long-established principles of amateur radio, including friendship, cooperation and goodwill between individual operators across national boundaries. It is also consistent with the principles promoted by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), encouraging international understanding and cooperation through amateur radio”. For the full statement from the RSGB Board visit https://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/rsgb-notices/2026/08/07/rsgb-board-announces-updated-contest-entry-policy/ ARRL Opens Orders for America250 WAS Certificates Image Courtesy https://america250.arrl.org/ The American Radio Relay League announced on August 10, 2026 that they had opened up the site to allow for those chasing the America250 Worked All States Award (WAS) to apply for their certificates if they have the required confirmed contacts via Logbook of The World (LoTW). The site can be found at https://america250.arrl.org/. In addition to the base WAS award there are endorsements available for WAS via the W1AW/portable stations, the WAS via ARRL Affiliated Clubs, and the WAS Triple Play for getting WAS during the period on CW, phone, and digital. The certificates are $30 for ARRL members and $35 for non-members and endorsement stickers are $5 each, plus shipping and handling. The site also allows you to track your progress toward these awards. The announcement from the ARRL is at https://www.arrl.org/news/order-your-arrl-america250-worked-all-states-award-certificate and the site itself is at https://america250.arrl.org/. Good luck. MVARC Nets on the Air * 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ] * 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM] * MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW] * MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB] What’s Happening with DX There will be a lot of DX on the air this week. Stations on the air include South Cook Island (E51KEE), El Salvador (YS/WE9G), Mauritius (3B8/SQ9UM), Namibia (V55LH), Saint Lucia (J68TT), Market Reef (OJ0JR, OJ0YL), Frans Josef Land (R1FJL), Rodrigues Island (3B9/SQ9UM), Canary Islands (EA8/IZ1GDB), and Iceland (TF5SS). A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at NG3K’s Announced DX Operations List at https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html. Solar Activity Update As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 108 and the estimated sunspot number was 101 with 7 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has increased. Solar activity has been at very low levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet levels in the last 24 hours and the Kp index reached 3 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 412 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at low levels with a slight chance of M-class flares today through Sunday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at unsettled to active levels today, quiet to active levels on Saturday, and at quiet to unsettled levels on Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 1% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are unlikely with a predicted probability of 10% today through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 1% chance predicted today through Sunday. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world. Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/. Upcoming Contests This weekend brings the North American QSO Party on SSB we we spotlighted earlier. Also on the air this weekend will be the SARTG WW RTTY Contest, the Russian District Award Contest, the ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest, the Keyman’s Club of Japan Contest, the SARL Youth QSO Party, the Feld Hell Sprint, the CVA DX Contest on CW, the YB Bekasi Merdeka Contest, the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, the ARRL Rookie Roundup on RTTY, and the Run for the Bacon QRP Contest. As always the K1USN SSTs, the MSTs, and the CWTs will also be on the air. The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php. Interesting Online Radio Content DX Legend Bob W9KNI gives a second installment from his "Tales from a Serial Sniper" series working rare Antarctic DX - https://www.onallbands.com/legendary-dxer-bob-locher-w9kni-presents-tales-from-a-serial-sniper-part-2-looking-south/ Kevin W1DED talks to NAQP SSB Contest Manager Dan N6MJ about strategy and what to expect in the contest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhUhQnqzU1A Aaron W4ARB shows his CSP-1 Cootie Style Single Paddle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNifD6SWwLU Steve KM9G shares some updates on the forthcoming Xiegu G7250 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A4QhyDxGVI Ben VE6SFX talks about potential tariffs starting soon which could impact radio gear from Canada - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc4hKXpjHdw Walt K4OGO experiments with a variant on a T2LT antenna using a whip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNX-tSzcq_M Dr. Tamitha Skov WX6SWW talks about solar storms and the eclipse - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BKXXR7m5No Mike K8MRD installs a LiFePO4 battery charger in his car to power his mobile radios - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKZESOmZex8 Walt K4OGO goes big with a 46 foot collapsible mast for his antennas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eITHB_Ins7I Craig KM6LYW takes a look at Open Source OFDM communication with Mercury HF - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDeZhU51sz4 George VK6AOE puts his receive loop on the internet for you to hear - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQX1S1-5Eb0 Michael KB9VBR takes a look at a display that allows you to control a Yaesu FT-891 and view its meters - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcbmXHI4tIE Mike K8MRD has success reducing RFI with a new inverter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw_cZw0Vz00 Vince VE6LK operates in the Alberta Badlands - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK8RVH5CYGE That’s it for this week. Best 73, Ed N2EC This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other

  6. Jul 31

    Amateur Radio News and Notes 7/31/2026

    In the log this week * Contest Spotlight: North American QSO Party (CW) * Investigation Underway Regarding Alleged WRTC Pirate DX Stations * Study Suggests Future Solar Cycle Activity May Be Forecast From Previous Cycle Data * Amateur Radio News and Notes on Summer Break Next Week * MVARC Nets on the Air * What’s happening with DX? * Solar Activity Update * Upcoming Contests * Interesting Online Radio Content As always, links to all referenced content can be found in the show notes, or at our Substack at mvarc.substack.com. Thanks for reading Amateur Radio News and Notes. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Contest Spotlight: North American QSO Party (CW) This weekend brings the latest edition of the North American QSO Party to the air, this time on CW. The goal of this contest is to work as many North American stations as possible during the contest. It runs from 1800 UTC on Saturday, August 1st (2 PM ET Saturday) until 0559 UTC on Sunday, August 2nd (1:59 AM ET on Sunday). For the purposes of the contest North American stations are defined by the ARRL DXCC list, plus Hawaii. The exchange is a simple one: operator name and location (state, province, or country). So for me in Virginia, my exchange would be “Ed VA”. For non-North American stations the exchange is just their name. Operating categories include Single Operator (no spotting assistance permitted), Single Operator Assisted (spotting assistance permitted), and Multioperator Two Transmitter. Power is limited to 100 Watts for the Low Power category and 5 Watts and under for QRP. Allowed bands include 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. Multipliers are all 50 US states and DC the 13 Canadian provinces and territories, and other North American DXCC Entities. Non-North American entities don’t count as a multiplier, but do count for QSO credit. The score is the number of valid QSOs multiplied by the sum of multipliers worked on each band. There is also a team competition that allows you to have your score added to a cumulative team score. Logs are due no later than 7 days after the end of the contest and electronic submission via Cabrillo format is preferred. For more information check out the contest rules at https://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf. Good luck. Investigation Underway Regarding Alleged WRTC Pirate DX Stations Image Courtesy https://www.wrtc2026.org/ The World Radiosport Team Championships took place on July 11th and 12th this year to much fanfare. The competition seeks to create a fair and balanced contest between its participants. However, there have been some allegations that pirate call signs were on the air during the event providing rare multipliers to certain teams in a way that may have impacted the outcome of the competition. Since the logs of WRTC are public, individuals did independent analysis of the contacts and found potential cause for concern. Alex LZ4AX highlighted 10 call signs that came from DX stations who did not submit logs to the contest and only worked a subset of the WRTC teams. Then Tim N3QE did his own analysis which seemed to show that those call signs were working sequentially in a way that a single person could be behind these rare multipliers, instead of being legitimate. Kevin W1DED has an in-depth article that goes into the analysis and the underlying data at that is definitely worth the read. Shortly after his publication the WRTC 2026 Organizing Committee released a statement that an emergency meeting had been called and that further analysis would undertaken. To be clear, the current data does not appear to indicate any wrongdoing by the contestants, but rather that there may have been a pirate external to the competition falsely using DX call signs to the benefit of a subset of participants. The Organizing Committee has said “once [they] have a final outcome, it will be passed to the Sanctioning Committee for endorsement prior to public announcement”. The full statement and official results can be found at https://www.wrtc2026.org/. Study Suggests Future Solar Cycle Activity May Be Forecast From Previous Cycle Data A study presented to the Royal Astronomical Society by researchers from the University of Warwick seems to have identified a new forecast technique to provide insight into the strength of the next solar cycle many years before it begins. The solar cycle lasts for 11 years and goes from a minimum of sunspots to a maximum and then back down to a minimum again. In the study, they reference a moment in the cycle when extreme solar activity “suddenly disappears” that they call a “switch-off” point. Taking an inventory of sunspots at that point appears to be correlated with the maximum number of sunspots in the next cycle. If the conclusions of the study hold true, it could provide better forecasts of future cycles well ahead of previous methods. A link to the full story can be found at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/scientists-found-a-hidden-signal-in-the-sun-that-could-predict-future-space-weather/ar-AA28jahc. Amateur Radio News and Notes on Summer Break Next Week Amateur Radio News and Notes will be on a Summer break next week, so there will not be an episode of the podcast or edition of the newsletter. We’ll be back tanned, rested, and ready in 2 weeks. In the meantime we’ll give you a double helping of the DX and Contest news in this edition to keep you up-to-date while we’re away. MVARC Nets on the Air * 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ] * 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM] * MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW] * MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB] What’s Happening with DX There will be a lot of DX on the air in the next 2 weeks. Stations on the air include Benin (TY5FR), South Cook Island (E51KEE, E51CZZ), Azerbaijan (4K/DL4XT), Trinidad & Tobago (9Y4/8P6PE), Easter Island (CE0/F5AOL), Bahamas (C6AYM), Aland Island (OH0ERF), Aruba (P40AA), El Salvador (YS/WE9G), and Tajikistan (EY35S). A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at NG3K’s Announced DX Operations List at https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html. Solar Activity Update As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 152 and the estimated sunspot number was 130 with 9 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has increased. Solar activity has been at low levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet to unsettled levels in the last 24 hours and the Kp index reached 2 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 401 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at low levels with a slight chance of M-class flares today through Sunday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at quiet to active levels today through Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 1% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are possible with a predicted probability of 25% today through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 1% chance predicted today through Sunday. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world. Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/. Upcoming Contests This weekend brings the North American QSO Party on CW we we spotlighted earlier. Also on the air this weekend will be the 10-10 International Summer Contest on SSB, the European HF Championship, the ARRL 222 MHz and Up Distance Contest, and the SARL HF Phone Contest. Next weekend brings the WAE DX Contest on CW, the ARRL EME Contest, the SKCC Weekend Sprintathon, the YB Bekasi Merdeka Contest, the Maryland-DC QSO Party, Kentucky State Parks on the Air, the SARL HF Digital Contest, and the 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint. As always the K1USN SSTs, the MSTs, and the CWTs will also be on the air. The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php. Interesting Online Radio Content A study shows a link between solar weather and terrestrial weather in Colorado - https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/solar-storms-cut-rain-in-the-rockies-noaa-confirms-a-g1-storm-is-active-today/ar-AA28tOgJ The Everyday Ham Podcast talks to Sebastian KI2D about what's coming soon to Ham2K Portable Logger - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JivWdc2BbIs George VK2AOE fixes some blown FETs and has some fun with his homebrew amplifier - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEYgWYYlEt0 Walt K4OGO revisits the V-dipole and sings its praises - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9QMJDRLD2I Michael KB9VBR takes a look at the newly improved Heil BM-17 headset - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D9LLgaXNK0 Charlie N0CVL uses a 40M V Dipole in his HOA to get reduced noise and increased performance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AJrc0AEaCI Pia DL7PIA does POTA and WWFF on the Baltic Sea - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cGthJ8eLP0 Mike K8MRD takes a look at a 3D printed trailer hitch mount for portable masts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77nTJZiNZ1c Chris N8PEM builds his own Morse Key base for a Bunnell Double Speed Key - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgdeKFM3tIE Walt K4OGO looks at a prototype "everything" transformer with 49:1, 9:1, 4:1, and 1:1 matching networks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWo8dcZg-Co Josh KI6NAZ tests out the N6ARA TinyFilter for 2m - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0VIAauUG24 Mike K8MRD takes a look at the TinyFilter from N6ARA - https://www.you

  7. Jul 24

    Amateur Radio News and Notes 7/24/2026

    In the log this week * Contest Spotlight: RSGB IOTA Contest * Xiegu Teases the New G7250 100 Watt HF Radio * 2026 CQ World Wide WPX SSB Contest Results Released * MVARC Nets on the Air * What’s happening with DX? * Solar Activity Update * Upcoming Contests * Interesting Online Radio Content As always, links to all referenced content can be found in the show notes, or at our Substack at mvarc.substack.com. Thanks for reading Amateur Radio News and Notes. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Contest Spotlight: RSGB IOTA Contest This weekend brings the 2026 edition of the Radio Society of Great Britain’s Islands on the Air Contest. The stated objective of the RSGB IOTA contest is “To promote contacts between stations in IOTA island groups and the rest of the world, and to encourage expeditions to IOTA islands”. The contest starts on Saturday, July 25, 2026 at 1200 UTC (8 AM Eastern Time) and ends on Sunday, July 26, 2026 at 1200 UTC (8 AM Eastern Time). Bands of operation include the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands on CW and/or SSB. The contest is open to all stations world wide, those operating from qualifying islands are “Island Stations” and all others are “World Stations”. Operation must be from a single location where all equipment is within a 500 meter circle. Remote receivers are not permitted. World stations may be remote if the operator is within 100 km or less from the transmitting location within the same DXCC entity. Remote operation of Island Stations requires the same restrictions, plus the operator must be on the same island or IOTA group. Assisted entries are allowed to self spot no more frequently than every 10 minutes. Categories of operation include Single Operator Unassisted and Assisted with the Newcomer overlay being for those licensed in the last 3 years, Island Multi-1, and Island Multi-2. There are no World Multi-op stations permitted. Multi-operator stations must be 24 hours operating category, while others may also enter 12 hours category provided off times are at least 60 minutes at a time. Power levels are High Power (1500 Watts or less), Low Power (100 Watts or less), and QRP (5 Watts or less). The exchange is RS(T) and a serial number for World Stations, so for my 42nd contact on CW it would be “599 42”. For Island Stations the exchange is RS(T) and serial number plus IOTA reference. So for an Isle of Man station on SSB on their 321st contact the exchange would be “59 321 EU-116”. Stations can be worked on both modes on each band and Island Stations should announce their references when calling CQ. Points for Island Stations are 5 points for contacting World Stations, 5 points for Island Stations of the same reference, and 15 points for other Island Stations at another reference. For World stations contacting World Stations they get 2 points, and contacting island stations gets 15 points. Multipliers are the total number of different IOTA references contacted on each band on CW plus those contacted on each band on SSB. Total score is QSO points on all bands added together multiplied by the sum of multipliers on all bands added together. Logs must be submitted online within 5 days of the contest in Cabrillo format. For full rules and information visit https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2026/riota.shtml. Good luck. Xiegu Teases the New G7250 100 Watt HF Radio Image Courtesy Radioddity This week Radioddity, distributor of Xiegu products in the United States, announced a new 100 Watt Radio, the Xiegu G7250. A price and full details have yet to be released, however, they did give us some information about what to expect. The radio has 100 Watts of output on HF (160-10 meters) and 90 Watts of output on VHF (6 meters), a split design with a base radio connected to a remote head via ethernet, a software defined radio (SDR) architecture, a 7 inch touch display, network baseband streaming, a 3:1 internal automatic antenna tuner, and a voice recorder with CW messaging. The design is reminiscent of Flex Radios with their Maestro front ends. The site also claims that the unit will be controllable via SDR software over a network using software like HDSDR, but does not go into any further detail. Since this is what Radioddity is terming a “sneak peek”, the features and specifications are subject to change. As you can imagine the internet has been abuzz with speculation about what the price will be and what to expect. We’ll keep you posted when more information is released. Radioddity’s sneak peek page can be found at https://www.radioddity.com/products/xiegu-g7250. 2026 CQ World Wide WPX SSB Contest Results Released Image Courtesy https://cqwpx.com/ The results are in for the 2026 CW WPX SSB Contest held March 28-29 this year and CQ WPX Director Bud AA3B published a thorough analysis of this year’s contest. It was the 70th CQ WPX SSB and there were 8,344 logs from 10,082 participants this year which was close to last year’s record participation. The only continent with lower participation was North America. QSOs on the bands below 10 meters were up from last year while total QSOs were slightly down reflecting the decline of Cycle 25. All told, 2,581,807 contacts were logged with an average of 309 QSOs per log and 256 QSOs per operator. The winner for Single Operator High Power this year was CQ9A (operated by EW6W) with a total score of 24,457,715. For Multi-Single it was IO6T with a score of 20,535,650. For Multi-Two it was CR3A at 64,239,956 points. For Multi-Multi it was CN3A with 101,523,396 points. For Multi-Distributed it was PT1M with 29,333,865 points. The winning Youth entry was NT6Q (operated by K6JO) with 9,661,475 points. The full 38 page write up with analysis, photos, and scores can be found at https://cqwpx.com/results/results_2026_wpx_ssb_article.pdf. Congratulations to all the participants. MVARC Nets on the Air * 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ] * 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM] * MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW] * MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB] What’s Happening with DX There will be a lot of DX on the air this week. Stations on the air include Crete (SV9/S50B), Benin (TY5FR), Rodrigues Island (3B9HR), South Cook Island (E51KEE, E51CZZ), Azerbaijan (4K/DL4XT), Sint Maarten (PJ7/LA5IIA), Trinidad & Tobago (9Y4/8P6PE), and Tuvalu (T2JK). A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at NG3K’s Announced DX Operations List at https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html. Solar Activity Update As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 150 and the estimated sunspot number was 63 with 5 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has increased. Solar activity has been at low levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at low levels in the last 24 hours and the Kp index reached 5 yesterday. The solar wind averaged 749 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at moderate levels with a slight chanced of X-class flares today and at low levels with a chance of M-class flares Saturday and Sunday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at quiet to minor storm levels today, quiet to unsettled levels Saturday, and at quiet levels Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 5% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are likely with a predicted probability of 55% today and 45% on Saturday and Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 10% chance predicted today and a 5% chance predicted Saturday and Sunday. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world. Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/. Upcoming Contests This weekend brings the RSGB Islands on the Air Contest we we spotlighted earlier. Also on the air this weekend will be the Alabama QSO Party and the ARS Flight of the Bumblebees. As always the K1USN SSTs, the MSTs, and the CWTs will also be on the air. The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php. Interesting Online Radio Content ESA-Spaceweather has an article on how to read solar data to predict HF radio propagation - https://www.esa-spaceweather.net/how-to-read-solar-data-to-predict-hf-radio-propagation/ DXRadar discusses their picks for best shortwave radio propagation forecast tools - https://dxradar.com/blog/best-propagation-apps-2026 Walt K4OGO does some DXploring on the Outer Banks of North Carolina - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUajagL9ip0 IMSAI Guy takes a look at a curious 6 resistor tetrahedral power splitter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSqtcuAoFuo Josh KI6NAZ speculates on the Xiegu G7250 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy5XcLu_Occ Mike K8MRD builds the KM4CFT Mini Mic Kit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGjDE7S1lpQ Hayden VK7HH goes over what he learned in his first 75 hours of 3D Printing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0HsIHmYbWM Mike K8MRD tests an inverter for RF noise with disappointing results - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqRhoEiMIhI Manuel WP4TZ takes us along for SOTA by bicycle in Puerto Rico - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwGhBOdtVYU Michael KB9VBR tests out the Spooltenna Ultra - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AyMLkW1Yh8 George VK2AOE finishes his series on his homebrew active loop antenna - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3NumUEmm7o Jason KM4ACK shows his amateur radio RV setup

  8. Jul 17

    Amateur Radio News and Notes 7/17/2026

    In the log this week * Contest Spotlight: North American QSO Party (RTTY) * ARRL Announces Student Coding Competition Winner * Contest Spotlight: CQ World Wide VHF (Digital) * World Radiosport Team Championship 2026 Results * MVARC Nets on the Air * What’s happening with DX? * Solar Activity Update * Upcoming Contests * Interesting Online Radio Content As always, links to all referenced content can be found in the show notes, or at our Substack at mvarc.substack.com. Thanks for reading Amateur Radio News and Notes. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Contest Spotlight: North American QSO Party (RTTY) This weekend brings the Summer 2026 edition of the North American QSO Party on RTTY. The NAQP starts Saturday, July 18 at 1800 UTC (2 PM Eastern Time) and ends on Sunday, July 19 at 0559 UTC (1:59 AM Eastern Time). The stated objective of the NAQP is to work as many North American stations as possible during the contest period. North American stations are defined by the ARRL DXCC List with the addition of Hawaii. The entry classifications are Single Operator (SO) with no spotting assistance permitted and 10 of the 12 hours able to be operated, Single Operator Assisted (SOA) where spotting networks and skimmers may be used with 10 of 12 hours able to be operated, and Multioperator Two-Transmitter (M2) where spotting assistance is permitted and the entire 12 hours may be worked. A maximum of 100 Watts of output power is permitted with Low Power (100 Watts or less) and QRP (5 Watts or less) being permitted. If power in excess of 100 Watts is used, any submissions will be used as a check log. The exchange is operator name and State/Province/Country. So for me in Virginia it would be “Ed VA”. DX stations just send their name. Multipliers are all 50 US States and the District of Columbia, the 12 Canadian provinces and territories, and other North American entities as defined by the ARRL DXCC list. Contacts may be worked once per band and contacts with an incorrect exchange are removed without penalty. Call sign errors (busted QSOs) and other log NIL (Not In Log) are removed and are penalized by 1 QSO point deduction. Total score is the number of valid contacts multiplied by the number of multipliers worked for each band. Full rules and details can be found at https://ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf. So get on RTTY this weekend and make some QSOs. Good luck. ARRL Announces Student Coding Competition Winner Image Courtesy ARRL The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) announced that 16 year old amateur radio operator Ben KC3ZPQ of Ellicott City, Maryland, has been named the winner of its 2026 Student Coding Competition. As a result of his win, he will receive a $5,000 prize and was awarded a new MacBook Neo to assist his future coding endeavours. He designed a mobile application to assist individuals in their preparation for amateur radio license examinations. In addition to his win, ARRL offered him a consulting project over the Summer to continue his work and he will be eligible for a $5,000 scholarship when he enrolls in college after high school. Congratulations to Ben. For more information visit https://www.arrl.org/news/16-year-old-arrl-member-wins-2026-student-coding-competition. Contest Spotlight: CQ World Wide VHF (Digital) This weekend brings the digital edition of the 2026 CQ World Wide VHF Contest. The contest starts at 1400 UTC Saturday, July 18 (10 AM Eastern Time) and ends at 1400 UTC on Sunday (10 AM Eastern Time). The stated objective of CW WW VHF is to have “amateurs around the world to contact as many amateurs as possible in the contest period, to promote VHF, to allow VHF operators the opportunity to experience the enhanced propagation available at this time of year, and for interested amateurs to collect VHF Maidenhead grid locators for award credits”. Bands of operation include the 6 meter and 2 meter bands and stations may be worked once per band. For the digital edition of the contest, only digital modes (e.g. FT8, FT4, MSK144, Q65, etc.) may be used. The exchange is call sign and Maidenhead grid locator. So for me, in Northern Virginia, my exchange would be “N2EC FM18”. Signal reports are not required and should not be included in submitted logs. Multipliers are the number of different grid locators worked per band. Rovers may count the same grid locator more than once per band as long as they are in a different location for the subsequent contact. QSO points are 1 point on 50 MHz and 2 points on 144 MHz for each contact. Total score is the QSO points multiplied by the number of grid locators worked. Entry categories include Single operator at High (up to 1500 Watts), Low (up to 100 Watts), and QRP (up to 5 Watts) power levels, Hilltopper which is a single op category for up 6 hours of continuous operation up to 100 Watts, Rover which allows up to 2 operators that travel to more than one grid location and signs with “Rover” or “/R”, and Multi-Op with 2 or more operators with only one signal per band. Repeater and satellite contacts are not permitted. Spotting assistance is allowed so long as it is not used to confirm a QSO or convey information in the exchange. Self spotting by APRS by rovers is also permitted. Logs must be submitted by July 24, 2026 to be eligible for awards. For rules and full information visit https://cqww-vhf.com/. Good luck. World Radiosport Team Championship 2026 Results Image Courtesy https://www.wrtc2026.org/ Last weekend brought the 2026 World Radiosport Team Championship and the competition was heated. The winners this year were the WRTC 2022 Champions team consisting of VE3DZ and UW7LL with a total score of 7,460,840 points. In a close second place was the EU team of DJ5MW and DM5EE with 7,369,782 points. In third place was the EU team of E77DX and DJ4MX with 7,346,885 points. WRTC is a quadrennial contest that many consider to the the “Olympics” of amateur radio contesting. The competition is a 24 hour trial that runs concurrently with the IARU HF World Championship and attempts to provide as level of a playing field as is practicable. Each station used the same antennas and power equipment and was limited to 100 Watts of forward power. The close scores highlight how much skill and strategy were involved in this year’s contest. Congratulations to all the participants. MVARC Nets on the Air * 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ] * 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM] * MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW] * MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB] What’s Happening with DX There will be a lot of DX on the air this week. Stations on the air include French Polynesia (FO/F6CBW), Ogasawara (JK1HFB/JD1), Greenland (OX/DL8JJ), Luxembourg (LX/PA1SND), Crete (SV9/HB9EMP, SV9/S50B), Benin (TY5FR), Sardinia (IS0/IZ3KVD), Cyprus SBA (ZC4RH), St Martin (FS/LA5IIA), Ivory Coast (TU5MM), Liechtenstein (HB040A), Jersey (MJ/DG3FEH), Panama (HP1/LA5IIA), Rodrigues Island (3B9HR), South Cook Island (E51KEE), and Azerbaijan (4K/DL4XT). A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at NG3K’s Announced DX Operations List at https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html. Solar Activity Update As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 101 and the estimated sunspot number was 25 with 4 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has decreased. Solar activity has been at very low levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet to unsettled levels in the last 24 hours and the Kp index reached 3 yesterday. The solar wind averaged 400 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at low levels with a chance of M-class flares today through Sunday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at quiet levels today and Sunday, and at quiet to unsettled levels on Saturday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 1% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are possible with a predicted probability of 25% today through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 1% chance predicted today through Sunday. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world. Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/. Upcoming Contests This weekend brings the North American QSO Party on RTTY and the CQ World Wide VHF Digital Contest we spotlighted earlier. Also on the air this weekend will be the LABRE DX Contest, the Russian Radio Team Championship, the Trans-Tasman Low-Bands Challenge, the Feld Hell Sprint, the IARU Region 1 70 MHz Contest, the RSGB International Low Power Contest, the YOTA Contest, and the Run for the Bacon QRP Contest. As always the K1USN SSTs, the MSTs, and the CWTs will also be on the air. The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php. Interesting Online Radio Content Bob W9KNI tells a tale of hunting rare DX in ZD9 Gough Island - https://www.onallbands.com/tales-from-a-serial-sniper-zd9-gough-island/ Callum M0MCX builds a 3 element direct feed Yagi for 15 meters - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixWhmnCNfDU Walt K4OGO makes a vertical dipole for 20 meters - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiGSj8woyBE Josh KI6NAZ does a QRP SSB activation for POTA - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwix7eSNhE4 Jason KM4ACK builds a digipeater using Greywolf - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPqLa87JtG8 Gabe KL1FI build

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News and notes for Amateur Radio Operators and members of the Mount Vernon Amateur Radio Club compiled by Ed N2EC. mvarc.substack.com

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