Welcome to Ham Radio's Daily Conservative  Newsletter `

EHAM      QTH     QRZ     ARRL      HRO      ICOM      KENWOOD    YAESU  ELBO ROOM  COMMENTS

MONDAY EDITION: I installed a new fan on an Alinco 330 power supply a few weeks ago and when I turned it on the fan did not come on, I was mystified and left it on the bench and had more pressing problems to deal with....like getting a tan....Then light dawned on Marblehead, I was thinking about the thermal sensor that went bad on the Henry repeater amplifier recently. The thermal sensor had given up the ghost. While waiting for a new sensor, I just wired the fans on so they ran all the time, all three of them. the specs were that the sensor turned on at 115 degrees which turned the fans on...............oops, no wonder the fan didn't go in the Alinco, it hadn't warmed up yet enough to turn the fan on. Now back to getting a tan while the sun is out, a rare phenomena around here.

Great Numbers Stacking Up for 2025 ARRL Field Day

The numbers for 2025 ARRL Field Day continue to grow. As of today, July 10, 3227 entries have been received and each day the list gets bigger, according to ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE. “Get those entries in!” he encouraged. The deadline is July 29. 

It was a big year for ARRL Field Day on social media. 260 public posts across several platforms used the hashtag #ARRLFD. That doesn’t even cover posts in groups or on private pages. The public posts alone reached 3.5 million viewers. 

There was also significant growth in news media coverage of 2025 ARRL Field Day. Using ARRL’s media monitoring suite, staff was able to track that amateur radio public information volunteers generated $37.5M in ad value equivalence (AVE) year-to-date around ARRL Field Day alone. That’s a metric that tracks the amount of money that would have to be spent to buy advertisements that get the same number of viewers that news stories or “earned media” did.

That's up from $18M in 2023 and $20M in 2024. There were 1,810 media mentions of ARRL Field Day year-to-date, a 70% increase from 2024.

“We’re hearing from clubs that were featured in coverage that people have been calling and wanting to get into amateur radio,” said ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX. “It shows that the outreach value of ARRL Field Day is significant.”

The ARRL Solar Report

Spaceweather.com reports solar activity was at low levels with only C-class flares observed.  The largest flare during the period was a C8.9 from an unnumbered region beyond the east limb at S13.  This region was also responsible for the majority of the remaining flares alongside Regions 4136 and 4137.

An approximate M2 was observed by Solar Orbiter at 10/1326 UTC just beyond the east limb, bri…

Read more

Special Call Signs for this year’s International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Contest

Amateur radio operators in Puerto Rico will represent the United States in a worldwide amateur radio contest during the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) HF World Championship on July 12 – 13, 2025. The operators will use the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Headquarters station call sign, W1AW/KP4. The identifier of /KP4 is added to indicate the signal is being transmitted from Puerto Rico.

“We are very happy and honored that ARRL has given us the opportunity to use its call sign for this important contest,” said Angel Santana, WP3GW, Public Information Coordinator for the ARRL Puerto Rico Section, and the amateur radio operator in charge of organizing the 2025 event in Puerto Rico.

“Although W1AW/KP4 has been used in recent years in special events, the particularity this year is that, in addition to representing the United States, it takes place in the context of the founding of the IARU 100 years ago, which makes it more attractive while we are on the air as W1AW/KP4,” Santana added.

 

WEEKEND EDITION: Foggy morning start, hopefully it will burn off....30 beaches shutdown in MA from high bacteria counts, even here in Rockport we have had issues....

Amateur Radio Newsline


POTA ACTIVATOR ELECTROCUTED IN NORTH CAROLINA

NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to the scene of a tragedy in North Carolina in which a well-known Parks on the Air activator died after being electrocuted. We have more details from Jim Davis, W2JKD.

JIM: Tripp Owens, N4NTO, a well-regarded POTA activator died on Friday, July 4th, when, according to investigators, his antenna mast made contact with an overhead power line at the Chicora Civil War Cemetery near the Averasboro [pron: aver-us-burro] Battlefield Historic Site, US-11375. According to several local news reports, emergency crews were called to the scene after Tripp was found unconscious in the parking lot. One news report said that fire crews found him with his foot touching the mast beneath the power lines. Power company crews turned off the power to give the responders access. Tripp was pronounced dead at the scene.

A report on the QRPer.com website relayed information from Dave W4JL, who said Tripp had been spotted on the Reverse Beacon Network between 12:02 and 12:13 UTC that morning but noted on the POTA spots page that he was going QRT. QRPer's Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL added: [quote] "This is heartbreaking news for those of us in the Parks on the Air and WWFF communities. Tripp was a well-known and well-loved North Carolina POTA operator—a dedicated hunter and activator whose callsign appears in my logs many times over the years." [endquote]

Tripp's death was ruled accidental. Within hours of the news, the ham radio community offered condolences to his family on social media and shared memories of a man who they praised for his spirit of mentorship and his gentle sense of humor. Mark Gibson, N4MQU, praised him for his achievements as a top CW operator and a devoted contester.

He had been a ham since 1985. "Ambrose 'Tripp' Owens the third was 57 years old.

This is Jim Davis, W2JKD.

(ABC-11, WRAL NEWS, QRZ.COM, QRPer.COM)



**
HAMSHACK HOTLINE TO BE DISCONTINUED

NEIL/ANCHOR: Say goodbye to Hamshack Hotline, the free VOIP telecomm service. The service announced it would be discontinued, effective the 29th of August. The project began in 2018 and grew to be a global communications network with a peak establishment of 7,000 interconnections across numerous servers. Hamshack Hotline's board of directors said it will donate whatever cash reserves it may have to a charity that supports military veterans.

(HAMSHACK HOTLINE)

**
FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT TO SPEAK AT DALLAS 'MOON DAY'

NEIL/ANCHOR: In Dallas, Texas, a former NASA astronaut will be the guest speaker at an educational event that marks the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and celebrates advances in space exploration. Sel Embee KB3TZD has that story.

SEL: Retired Colonel Carl Walz, formerly K-C-5-T-eye-E, will deliver the keynote address at the Dallas Frontiers of Flight Museum during Moon Day, which celebrates space exploration and encourages attendees to participate in activities involving Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Moon Day is taking place on the 19th of July, a date close to the July 24th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. The Ohio native, a former ISS astronaut, spent more than 18 hours conducting spacewalks to evaluate tools for the refurbishment of the Hubble Space Telescope.

AMSAT Ambassador Thomas Schuessler (Shoose-slur), N-5-H-Y-P, will join with satellite enthusiasts from North Texas to demonstrate CubeSats using models and a simulator, and talk about amateur radio in space. Members of the Dallas Amateur Radio Club will be on hand to also share amateur radio's role in supporting science education.

For details about attending - or if you live nearby and want to volunteer - email Tom at N5HYP-at-arrl-dot-net. (n5hyp@arrl.net)

This is Sel Embee, K-B-3-T-Zed-D.

(AMSAT NEWS)

**
YOTA AMERICAS CAMPERS LAUNCH FARTHEST BALLOON TRIP

NEIL/ANCHOR: Thirty two campers traveled from all over the world to Thornton, Colorado in June to attend the annual Americas wide camp for amateur radio operators aged 15 to 25 called Youth On The Air. Jack McElroy, KM4ZIA, has been the leader of the YOTA balloon launch team since he was 14 years old at the camp's first in person event in the Americas.

In 2022, Newsline shared Jack's story of one of his personal balloons becoming the closest any amateur radio balloon has been to the South Pole. At this year's YOTA camp, the youth team in cooperation with Edge of Space Sciences launched a high altitude balloon, tracked it by APRS, and brought back video from near space after reaching a height of 96,600 feet. But, thunderstorms prevented the launch of the two pico balloons scheduled for that afternoon.

Instead, the balloons were transported to NIST radio station WWV in Fort Collins the next day, where the campers were taking a tour of the facility and operated portable stations. The wide open spaces and clear sky at WWV proved to be a great launch site for these balloons as they started the longest journey of any YOTA Americas balloons yet. At the time of recording this edition of Newsline, one balloon is flying over Hawaii and is closing in on an entire orbit around the Earth, while the other balloon made it to western Iran before returning to the ground.

Jack told Newsline, "This all would not have been possible without the curiosity and efforts of the campers, for they were the ones assembling, balancing, and launching the balloons. I hope that through experiences like this, youth can be inspired to bring their amateur radio expertise into areas that they never thought possible, from research projects to future careers." The balloon launch was sponsored by the North Fulton Amateur Radio League. You can follow the trek of these balloons on WSPRNET.ORG under KM4ZIA and on APRS.FI under WØY-1 and WØY-11.

(YOUTH ON THE AIR)

**
SILENT KEY: AUSTRIAN MILITARY RADIO SOCIETY's MONIKA WLCEK, OE3YUP

NEIL/ANCHOR: An active and influential YL in Austria has become a Silent Key. We hear more about her from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: A near-fatal shooting in the head during an armed robbery in Vienna more than three decades ago nearly claimed the life of Monika Wlcek, OE3YUP. She ultimately emerged from a coma and recovered, though she was left partially paralyzed for the rest of her life. Her love of amateur radio, which she shared with her husband Helmut, OE3HCB, kept her in the forefront of the amateur radio community until she became a Silent Key on the 10th of June of this year. Her death was reported recently in the YL Beam newsletter.

Monika was an active member of the Forest District of the Austrian Military Radio Society and an active participant in YL activities each year at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen.

Monika was 79.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(YL BEAM)

**

NYC PROPERTY OWNER GETS "PIRATE" LETTER FROM FCC

NEIL/ANCHOR: In New York City, which the FCC considers one of the most active locations for unlicensed radio activity, another broadcaster has been charged with radio piracy. Kent Peterson KCØDGY has the details.

KENT: The Federal Communications Commission has sent a letter to a property owner in the New York borough of the Bronx, charging them with permitting unlicensed broadcasting from that location. The FCC cited complaints about a broadcast on 89.3 FM coming from an apartment above ground-floor retail establishments in June and November of 2024 and again this past January.

The letter was sent under the PIRATE Act of 2020, which strengthened the FCC's enforcement authority and raised possible penalties against pirate broadcasters. The property owners are required to respond to the agency within 10 days.

Under the PIRATE Act, the FCC can issue a maximum fine of $2.5 million if the broadcasts continue after the response period has passed.

The RadioWorld website, which carried the report, said one of its readers in New York City identified the broadcast as coming from an entity known as "Digital FM WDYM."

**
BRAZILIAN SPECIAL EVENT CELEBRATES 105-YEAR-OLD YL

NEIL/ANCHOR: At 105 years of age, the Brazilian radio operator known as "Grandma Alda" still keeps the word "young" in YL. Graham Kemp VK4BB tells us about the on-air celebration held for her.

GRAHAM: The special event callsign PP105ASN was on the air for 11 days in June - but the YL being honoured has been on the air for 49 years - and she has been on the planet for 105. Her name is Alda Schlemm Niemeyer, who is known widely as "Grandma Alda."

To mark her 105th birthday this past spring, her fellow members in the Blumenau Amateur Radio Club used SSB and FT8 on HF -- as well as 2m FM simplex. The club's president, Mauro Cerqueira Leite, PP5BSD, told Newsline there were a total of 1,200 QSOs and they were acknowledged via digital QSL,

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(YL BEAM, BLUMENAU AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)

**
'NIGHT OF NIGHTS' HONORS LONG-GONE MARITIME TRADITION

NEIL/ANCHOR: Every year, devoted volunteers return the tradition of maritime radio to the air in California. Ralph Squillace KK6ITB tells us how.

RALPH: The silencing of the last maritime radio station in the US in California in 1999 gave voice to an effort to create the Maritime Radio Historical Society, K6KPH, to preserve its treasured Morse Code tradition.

Every year, the event, "Night of Nights," celebrates this tradition on the anniversary of the day that the station signed off - ensuring that July 12th would not mark the station's final signoff, after all. Broadcast engineers, radio operators and history enthusiasts have seen to that. They volunteered to bring new life to the receive site at the Point Reyes National Seashore and to the Bolinas Radio transmitter site - returning Morse service to the station known as KPH/KFS.

This year's 26th edition of "Night of Nights" is a collaboration of modern skills and classic style equipment, including "Marconi T" type antennas at both the transmitter and receive sites. KPH and KFS will be operating on assigned commercial frequencies while K6KPH will be operating on several HF amateur radio bands. For times, frequencies and QSL information, please check the Maritime Radio Historical Society website at radiomarine.org.

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(MARITIME RADIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY; QRZ.COM)

**
DOUBLE CENTENARY FOR AMATEURS IN JAPAN

NEIL/ANCHOR: The practice of amateur radio in Japan is feeling its age - 100 years old next year - and hams there are ready to send a message that the best is yet to come. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us what's planned.

JIM: Japanese amateurs are marking a double anniversary - both spanning 100 years: They're celebrating the establishment of the Japan Amateur Radio League in June of 1926. The league was created to assist innovators and experimenters who were conducting their radio research without benefit of a licence. That changed in September of the following year, when the callsign JXAX was assigned by the government to the first of what would soon become a handful of radio telegraph and telephone stations. Ham radio kept growing so that just before the Second World War, the nation had 300 such stations.

Hams in Japan will be marking those two formative moments in history during a celebration designed to last 16 months -- the same time period between the events 100 years ago. Awards, ceremonies, special event stations, contests and an anniversary book are among the activities planned.

Clearly there's a lot to celebrate in that 100-year stretch which last year landed Japan in the Guinness Book of World Records for putting JS1YMG, the first amateur radio station, on the moon.

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(JAPAN AMATEUR RADIO LEAGUE, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)

**
GRANT WILL HELP WITH CLUBLOG OPERATIONS UPGRADE

NEIL/ANCHOR: Expect improved operations soon from ClubLog, thanks to some grant money to cover the costs. Here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH with the details.

JEREMY: ClubLog, a service that has become a mainstay for DXers worldwide, has received an $8,000 grant in US currency for a hardware upgrade to improve operations. The funding from the Northern California DX Foundation is being given to Michael, G7VJR, ClubLog's author. In a DX foundation press release, ClubLog reminded users that the expensive upgrade of its servers is necessary to support expanded activity. Michael said: [quote] "...once the new servers are deployed, Club Log will be using cutting edge servers which are faster, more energy efficient and ready for years of high-endurance 24/7 work. " [endquote]

According to a press release from the DX foundation, the free ClubLog statistics service supports an estimated 130,000 callsigns worldwide and stores records of 1.25 billion QSOs.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Nicolas, F5TGR will be on the air from Iceland as TF/F5TGR from July 26th through to August 9th on 40, 30, 20, 15, 12 and 10m. Nicolas will be using CW, SSB and FT8. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Andre, HB9HLM is on the air holiday style as CN2NE from Morocco from the 15th through to the 22nd of July. Listen for him on 40-6 metres from grid locator IM63. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Special callsign TM5VDL is on the air through to the 19th of July from Dunkirk. This activation is taking place during the second stage of the Tall Ships Races. QSL via F8KGS.

Take [TAH-KAY], JI3DST, is using the callsign JI3DST/1 from Shikine [SHUH KEE NAY] Island, IOTA number AS-008, on the 24th through to the 28th of July and will be in the IOTA Contest. See QRZ.com for details.

Listen for Vlad, OK2WX, using the callsign JWØV from Longyearbyen, IOTA number EU-026, Svalbard from the 14th through to the 23rd of July. Vlad will be using CW, SSB and FT8 on 80-10 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: HEADQUARTERS FIELD DAY FOR OUR 2022 YHOTY WINNER

NEIL/ANCHOR: On the amateur radio calendar, ARRL Field Day is one of the most anticipated days of the year. For one YL in particular - and for Amateur Radio Newsline, the late-June event was one for the logbooks. Our final story for this week is about her - as we hear from Don Wilbanks AE5DW.

DON: With 1,536 sites in ARRL's Field Day locator, one in particular stands out: Headquarters station W1AW in Newington, Connecticut. Operators at the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station were, of course, calling "CQ Field Day" but if you were lucky enough to log this 6F-class station on Saturday, June 28th there's a good chance you may have worked Audrey McElroy, KM4BUN. Audrey was the Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the year for 2022. The Georgia resident has been in Connecticut working on an internship in support of her electrical engineering studies at Georgia Tech. Audrey is, of course, a Field Day veteran and a former operator for the Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure to Curacao. Dayton Hamvention attendees may have also met her in Xenia, Ohio, as a presenter.

This year's Field Day at W1AW was a proud moment for us here at Newsline and we wish Audrey continued success and, of course, good DX.

FRIDAY EDITION: I listened in on 3928 and have not heard anyone as of late? Band conditions or what?....I never heard of Hamshack Hotline, article below

Hamshack Hotline Public Announcement – A Fond Farewell

To our valued Hamshack Hotline community,

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the sunset of the Hamshack Hotline project, effective August 29th, 2025.

What began in 2018 as a simple idea in the humble closet of K1WIZ quickly grew into something none of us could have imagined—an expansive, global communications network built by and for amateur radio operators. From those early beginnings, Hamshack Hotline evolved into a robust VoIP system supported by multiple servers around the world, with over 7,000 interconnections at its peak.

This incredible journey was made possible by the generosity of donors worldwide and the tireless commitment of the Hamshack Hotline Team, who volunteered their time and expertise to support and grow the network. Your trust and participation helped shape Hamshack Hotline into a valuable and widely respected resource for the ham radio community.

However, with success came scale—and with scale, came increasing demands. As the network grew, so did the workload on our small team. Balancing this effort with our responsibilities to family, careers, and life outside the shack has become increasingly challenging. We’ve always taken great pride in the reliability and service standards of Hamshack Hotline, and we recognize that we can no longer maintain those standards at the level our users deserve.

After much thoughtful discussion and reflection, the Board of Directors has unanimously voted to sunset the project, giving our community ample time to transition to other services by the end date.

This was not an easy decision. We know how much this network means to many of you—and it means just as much to us. Hamshack Hotline was built with love, run with dedication, and supported by an incredible community that made it all worthwhile.

In the spirit of giving back, the remaining cash reserves of Hamshack Hotline, after settling final operating expenses, will be donated to a charity that supports veterans. We’ll announce the recipient of this donation soon.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank each and every one of you for being a part of Hamshack Hotline. Whether you joined us on day one or just discovered the network, your involvement helped shape something truly special in the amateur radio world.

73,
The Hamshack Hotline Team
“Where Hams Connect” – 2018–2025

Amateur Radio Volunteers Serving During Texas Floods

Volunteer amateur radio operators serving in the ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® (ARRL®) Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) are embedded with local served agencies in the areas of central Texas affected by devastating floods.

The needs and assignments have been changing, but ARES volunteers are stepping up to the dynamic needs of their communities. “This is a very fluid situation. It changes by the hour,” said ARRL South Texas Section District 7 Emergency Coordinator Terry Jones, K5LGV.

The trained ham radio operators were activated starting on Friday, July 4, 2025. Radio amateurs are providing communications capabilities to agencies whose primary systems were damaged in the flooding event or where they suffer poor connectivity due to the terrain.

ARES members helped the American Red Cross with setup of a reunification shelter in response to the floods. Ten hams were assigned to search-and-rescue teams.

Dozens of health and welfare messages were passed by ham radio operators who provided a critical link when phone lines were overwhelmed. “A lot of this is tied to circuit overload preventing folks from making direct contact with family members in the area,” said Kevin McCoy, KF5FUZ

During the flooding event and subsequent search and recovery missions, ARES members have been deployed to serve many different counties, including hard-hit Kerr and Kendall Counties. Mutual aid has been offered between several surrounding ARRL sections.

THURSDAY EDITION: The key below caught my eye, looks interesting and uses less of a footprint on your desk.....



The Viz Full Size Vertical Paddle

Compact, rugged, reliable and nearly indestructible. This key is made from solid BRASS (5/16" thick and the base is 1/2" thick) and has silver contacts. It is about 3-1/2" wide x about 3-1/4" (front to back) including finger pieces. It is approximately 3-1/2" tall. Includes complete adjustment instructions.

The unit weighs a little over a pound and a half and has rubber feet to keep it in place during operation. The VIZ Vertical Paddle comes with 3 feet of 3-conductor shielded cable to minimize RF pickup and the usual keyer problems from RF interference and you get your choice of a 1/8" or 1/4" plug.

All operation points are fully adjustable. There are actually 6 points that can be adjusted or changed for personal preferences. Surface finish is wire brushed brass matte.

This unit can be fabricated as a left-handed unit with prior notice at no extra charge.

The VIZ Vertical Paddle sells for only $160.00 plus $10.00 (For USPS Priority shipping + tracking) to continental US addresses. (Inquire about International shipping costs and options.) E-mail sales@vizkey.com to place an order, or purchase online now.

VIZKEY.COM accepts all major credit cards via PayPal, bank check, Postal money order, or personal check. And if you'd like to speak to us personally about your order or order options, please call (734) 516-1811 .

DXLook HF Propagation Map

DXLook – Where Your Signal Is Heard

We’ve all been there.

You call CQ on 15 meters, the radio’s alive, conditions seem okay… but you’re not getting answers. So, you do what most of us do — check propagation. Maybe you fire up PSK Reporter, or flip to WSPRnet, or check the DX Cluster. But you end up hopping between tabs, trying to piece together the story of what’s actually going on out there.

That’s exactly what led me to build this tool.

At its core, DXLook is a real-time HF propagation map for amateur radio operators. But unlike other tools that show you where someone else’s signal was heard, DXLook helps you answer “Where is my signal being received right now?”

Reception-Focused, Not Just Propagation

Propagation maps are great — but most of them are based on predicted or averaged conditions. DXLook flips the perspective and focuses on actual reception data, in real time. It visualizes who’s hearing your signal, what band they heard it on, and how strong it was. Think of it as your personal propagation mirror.

So instead of asking “Is 20m open?” you can now ask “Who’s actually hearing me on 20m — right now?”

All the Data, One Map

This is where DXLook stands out.

Instead of depending on a single source like WSPRnet or PSK Reporter, it brings all the major reception sources together:

  • WSPRnet: beacon-level SNR across the globe
  • Reverse Beacon Network: CW/FT8 spots with detailed timing
  • PSK Reporter: digital mode activity
  • DX Clusters: voice spots and DX alerts
  • POTA: Parks on the Air activator activity
  • Plus solar data overlays: MUF, SFI, A/K index, and day/night terminator

You can filter by mode, band, view from your local Maidenhead grid to see what’s being heard in your region.

Who It’s For

Whether you’re a new Technician trying to understand how far your signal travels, or a seasoned DXer trying to squeeze the most out of the grey line, DXLook helps you see the invisible. It’s also pretty handy during contests, POTA activations, or just for those “Is anyone out there?” moments.

No Login. No Tracking. Just Radio.

DXLook runs in your browser, no sign-up needed, no nonsense. It’s open to everyone — just visit dxlook.com and you’re in. You’ll see an interactive map updating live as new reception reports come in.

It’s not meant to replace other tools, but to unify them — and give you a clearer picture of what’s happening on the bands, right now.

So next time you spin the dial and wonder if you’re being heard… fire up DXLook.

See you on the air.
73,
Rodrigo – AK6FP

 

WEDNESDAY EDITION: I sent my Yaesu FT7250 back for service, low output and ratty audio. I got it back in two weeks. They did not tell me what was wrong but charged .45 for a pot, $90 for labor, an $34 for postage..you got to be shitting me! I had another one new in the box I bought from a club member so now I have two. They are a rock solid radio, I have had  the repaired radio in the truck for 7-8 years and it has worked great. A 50 watt 2/440 FM/C4FM radio....

NEW YORK – Katie Campbell, KE8LQR, of Columbiana, Ohio, has been selected as the 2025 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year.

Katie, 17, is the daughter of Robert Campbell, KE8LYZ, and Colleen Campbell, KB8VAQ.

Katie was introduced to ham radio at the age of 10 when her school started an amateur radio and electronics club. She was a fifth-grade middle school student at the time and quickly became licensed, advancing her way to an Extra Class ticket by the age of 11.

An honor student heading into her senior year of high school, Katie is president of the Columbiana High School Amateur Radio Club (K8LPS).

She said she was introduced to Morse Code early on and it became her favorite operating mode. 

“I learned CW through the Long Island CW Club,” she explained. “I’m pretty sure I found out about that just through my mom being on Facebook and seeing a posting about it right when they started.”

Katie became an instructor for the group and still teaches classes on sending and receiving Morse Code over Zoom as well as to members of her school club.

Katie attended Youth on the Air camps in Cincinnati in 2022 and Ottawa in 2023. Since then, she has been part of the planning staff for subsequent YOTA camps, and serves as a mentor to campers and handles public relations and social media postings for YOTA.

She was part of the K3LR IOTA Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure in 2023 and returned in 2024 to the K3LR site to lead the CW operations.

Katie is very active on the HF bands and operates in the ARRL and CQ DX SSB and CW contests, ARRL Sweepstakes and CQ WPX, as well as Youth on the Air events.

Katie has made presentations on the role of youth in amateur radio and contesting at the Dayton Hamvention, Orlando Hamcation and SEAPAC.

Katie received the Radio Club of America’s Young Ham Lends a Hand Award and the Young Amateur Communications Ham Team Friendship Recognition Award.

She also was selected as the ARRL Great Lakes Division Young Ham of the Year and has been serving as the ARRL Assistant Youth Section Coordinator for Ohio.

Katie is the net control for the Ohio Section Youth Net, which she started four years ago.

She also has served as the Young Ladies Radio League youth chairwoman and is a regular contributor to DX Engineering’s “OnAllBands” blog.

In her Columbiana school life, Katie has served as class president, student council member, various honor societies and has participated in speech and debate, theater, academic competitions and the school band.

Katie is the recent recipient of the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship. She will spend her senior year of high school studying abroad in Germany.

The YHOTY award will be presented to Katie on the “Ham Nation” program on July 30, 2025 , by host Don Wilbanks, AE5DW.

Amateur Radio Newsline and Yaesu USA are primary sponsors of the award, along with Heil Sound, Ltd. and Radiowavz Antenna Company.

 The Young Ham of the Year Award was inaugurated by William Pasternak, WA6ITF, in 1986. Upon his passing in 2015, Bill’s name was added to the award as a memorial to his commitment to recognizing the accomplishments of young people to the Amateur Radio Service.

 

TUESDAY EDITION: A nice start to the day with sun and heat, a good day to go to the dump with the limb I took down the other day to clear the way and mount a new 2/440 Diamaond vertical antenna. I have room now to mount another wire antenna. I have a new Cobra Senior and also a new G5RV I have been meaning to put up and compare.

Ham Radio Publication Round-up

SWR
The Caribbean Amateur Radio Group has published their second issue of SWR which features DIY, Hamvention 2025, demystifying ALC, and ham radio ABCs. Viewers can sign-up for the free newsletter.

Amateur Television Journal
The July issue (PDF) features application notes, a call for submissions, Field Day ops, and new product announcements.

The Communicator
The July/August edition of The Communicator celebrates 50 years of the Surrey Amateur Radio Club. An astounding 130 pages of content includes calls for more data repeaters, a look inside rubber duck antennas, DLARC, 6 meter beacons, pico balloons, special events, and more.

The Logger's Bark
The July issue of The Logger's Bark (PDF) also weighs in at 130 pages including articles featuring the AB577 "Rocket Launcher" portable radio tower, Sea-Pac 2025 wrap-up, the open source TR1-EP DIY SDR, Putikeeg Model 20 Straight Key review, and more.

Zero Retries
Issue 0209 includes VARA FM - 12.5 kHz Bandwidth Versus 25 kHz Bandwidth, Jim Boddie NG2J - Silent Keyboard, ADRCS (IP400) Press Release, Radio Module 2 and DreamHAT+ - Unusual Radio Modules, HydraSDR RFOne.

The Random Wire
Issue 138 highlights Zero Retries Digital Conference registration, new Tecsun receiver, AllScan UCI90 interface, and trying the reRouter as an AllStar node.

ARDC
The May/June newsletter from ARDC features the 44Net Portal released as open source, grantee updates, and what ARDC has been up to.

The Canadian Amateur (Membership required)

QST (Membership required)
Topics include Second Century: IARU Restructuring (PDF). A free article, HamSCI: The Future of Ham Radio is Here, is available for download (PDF).

US Radio Orienteering Champs Crowned

The 24th USA Radio Orienteering Championships were held June 19 – 22, 2025. The event was hosted by the Backwoods Orienteering Klub (BOK) at Morrow Mountain State Park in Albemarle, North Carolina, and drew about 30 athletes from across the United States and Canada. Radio orienteering is also known as amateur radio direction-finding, or ARDF.

There were four World Championship-style races: Foxoring, Sprint, 2m Classic and 80m Classic. 

The Elite results:

  • Eduard Nasybulin (Massachusetts), unofficial overall crown, dominated the men’s field, winning Sprint, 2m and 80m Classics, and adding silver in Foxoring. 
  • Gheorghe Fala (North Carolina/BOK) seized Foxoring gold and finished second to Nasybulin in 2m and 80m Classics.
  • In W35 (women ages 35 and older), Lori Huberman (California Bay Area Orienteering Club) captured Foxoring and Sprint, while Erin Hammer (NC/BOK) sprinted to 2m and 80m Classics gold and added silver in the other formats.

Masters stand-outs:

  • Nadia Scharlau, KO4ADV (North Carolina/BOK), extended her W55 (women ages 55 and older) legacy with victories in both 2m and 80m Classics.
  • The M60 class (men ages 60 and older) became a two-way battle: Evgeny Danilov, KQ4QYZ, and Nicolai Mejevoi traded wins and podium spots across all four events, with Mejevoi topping the Sprint and 80m Classic races while Danilov took 2m Classic and Foxoring gold.

Senior competitors:

Every entrant in the M70 (men 70 and older) and W75 (women 75 and older) divisions completed at least three of the four demanding courses. Their steady performances — and obvious enjoyment — underscored the value of adding senior categories to future championships.

Youth sweep:

BOK junior Tiger Zhao claimed a perfect four-event sweep in M16 (men 16 and under) and teammates Anastasia Afonkin W16 (women 16 and under) and Adalia Schafrath-Craig W19 (women 19 and younger) also took golds — some with times that would have placed competitively in older divisions.

Team USA will go on to compete at the 2025 IARU World Championships, to be held in Lithuania in August. The complete results of these championships, available at the BOK website, will be used for selecting the US team. Learn more about amateur radio direction finding on the ARRL ARDF page. 

Square a Voltage

Your design task, should you decide to accept it: given an input voltage, square it. Ok, that’s too hard since squaring 8 volts would give you 64 volts, so let’s say the output should be 10% of the square, so 8 volts in would result in 6.4V. How do you do it? [Engineering Prof.] knows how and will show you what you can do in the video below.

The circuit uses two op amps and some transistors. However, the transistors are used in a way that depends on the temperature, so it is important to use a transistor array so they are matched and will all be at the same temperature.

The math depends on the fact that the transistor response has a natural log term in it, and the property that the sum of two logs is the same as the log of the product of the numbers.

Because of the matching transistors, many of the terms in the equation cancel out. Because the transistors are current devices, the transistor circuit’s output current is the input current squared divided by the output transistor’s collector current. Then it is just a matter of converting the voltage to a current and back again using the right scaling.

There’s more to it, of course, but that’s the gist of it. You can dig into the math by watching the video. If the KCL references are fuzzy for you, here’s a refresher. Squaring a voltage would be pretty important for an analog computer.

MONDAY EDITION: This weekend was picture perfect for all the 4th actvities, a great kickoff to a summer of fun here on the island.

Are Service Loops a Good Idea?

Well, here’s an interesting idea: the service loop. Ever heard of it? We haven’t!

In the video, the presenter explains the service loop serves two purposes: on the one hand it may provide strain relief, but chiefly these loops are installed so there will be extra available slack in the cable if you need to rewire it some day to change the configuration of your pinout.

One major problem with the service loop may be that the single turn is enough to create an inductor which will then induce noise and cross-talk all over the place. Our rule of thumb is always to completely unroll wires and cables before using them. Do you have a theory about the benefits or problems with service loops? If you do, we’d love to hear what you think in the comments!

If you’re interested in strain relief, we’ve covered that before, and you don’t need a service loop to do it! Check out Cheap Strain Relief By Casting Hot Glue In A 3D Print and Arduino Uno Strain Relief.

FCC NEWS regarding recent budget

 

JULY 4TH WEEKEND EDITION: Nice parade, great cookouts, and the bonfire from the boat....

Peninsula amateur radio clubs look to connect with a younger generation

Four clubs set up together in Hampton for 2025’s annual amateur radio field day.

Virginia: The airwaves were especially active over the weekend as amateur radio enthusiasts gathered across the U.S. and Canada to showcase the hobby and, for some, try to best thousands of competitors over 24 hours.

But while some clubs strived to rack up points for connecting with other operators around the continent, that wasn’t the focus for a quartet of Peninsula clubs that set up behind Northampton Christian Church in Hampton.

“We’re not about winning, we’re just having fun,” said Chris Hosman, president of the Hampton Public-Service Team.

The annual field day is considered amateur radio’s “open house” by ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio, which organizes the event on the fourth weekend of June.

Clubs set up transmitters and antennas in public places where licensed amateur radio operators, also called Hams, demonstrate the tech’s capabilities to the uninitiated. Some Hams will spend the day feverishly making as many contacts with other operators as possible.

The more contacts made, the more points a club earns. Contacts made on digital modes are worth more than voice contacts. Clubs can also secure points through youth participation, using solar power and getting visited by elected officials during field day. Final scores are released in a few months, ranking clubs by class as determined by the number of active transmitters and the type of set-up used.

Don Mertz, vice president of the Hampton Public-Service Team and Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Klub, said the competition used to be a bigger deal locally.

“It was pretty normal for us to get 1,000 contacts in 24 hours,” he said.

This year, he said, “we’ll end up with 200 or so.”

Emergency preparedness is more important now for the four local clubs, which were rounded out by the Newport News Amateur Communications Team and the Peninsula Amateur Radio Club. Mertz said that’s partly a result of the area’s geography and storm potential, but emergency communications is also a throughline in the amateur radio world.

It’s common for operators to support emergency management operations around the U.S., with Hams serving as a communications backup during hurricanes and severe weather events. Networks of licensed amateur radio operators were crucial for reporting damage, coordinating assistance and relaying messages when Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina in 2024.

“Amateur radio operators can put up in a field the ability to talk to people anywhere in the world if they want to” with their gear and a battery or power generator when the electricity goes out and other modes of communication have failed, Hosman said.

The Hampton Public-Service Team and Newport News Amateur Communications Team support the emergency management offices of their cities, and they share members with the two standard radio clubs on the Peninsula, several of whom are former military and first responders.

Hosman said getting that network well-acquainted with one another is a big part of field day.

“Rapport is built up in these kinds of events,” he said. “Somebody comes up on the radio and is reporting something ridiculous, if we don’t know that guy then we probably aren’t going to trust his report.”

Finding new recruits is crucial for maintaining those networks, and for keeping amateur radio alive. The number of licensed Hams in the U.S. has fallen fast during the past five years, totaling 743,005, according to ARRL. That’s down more than 35,000 from 2021, wiping out gains made since 2014. Virginia has lost more than 800 licensed Hams since 2021.

It’s why getting younger people exposed to the hobby and potentially into a club, is a focus. Mertz said getting younger newbies to step up as mentors for younger prospective Hams will help.

“So instead of the 15-year-old having to listen to the 75-year-old, he can listen to a 20-year-old”, he said.

Siblings Mary and James Wright were at field day, both licensed as of February. Fifteen-year-old Mary said the new youth movement by ARRL could pay off if done well. Her brother, 17-year-old James, who sped his way to the highest license offered to amateurs by April, agreed.

“The more people that get involved with Ham radio, the more it’ll get out there,” he said. “I’ve made contact with someone in China over Ham radio and I just thought that was so cool – because that was, like, a 7000-mile-away contact.”

We are launching the boat today, just in time for the bonfire on the beach tonight. You can anchor just  offshore and watch the bonfire, fireworks, and band play at the American Legion bandstand....what a country!

Voile des Légendes Dunkerque 2025 Special Event

The Radio Club de l’Agglomération Dunkerquoise – F8KGS – is proud to announce the activation of a special event amateur radio station: TM5VDL, on the occasion of the “Voile des Légendes Dunkerque 2025” maritime festival.

Held every few years in the historic port city of Dunkerque, northern France, Les Voiles de Légende is a celebrated gathering of classic and legendary sailing ships from across Europe. The city comes alive with nautical pride, music, maritime culture—and in 2025, with radio waves!

This special callsign TM5VDL will be active from July 5th to 19th, operated by members of F8KGS Radio Club. Operators will be mainly active on HF, sharing the spirit of this majestic event with amateurs worldwide.

A special QSL card will be sent via bureau.

Join us on the air and help us celebrate the union of maritime heritage and amateur radio!

Source: Radio Club de l’Agglomération Dunkerquoise

2025 ARRL Field Day a Success

Tens of thousands of hams are celebrating a successful 2025 ARRL Field Day! The largest annual amateur radio event is also one of the most beloved, as shown by countless social media posts. Activity was high, with 1536 sites in the ARRL Field Day Site Locator, and that doesn’t even count home stations, portable operations, or other participants.

“There’s a reason that hams look forward to ARRL Field Day,” said ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX. “It is easy to see how much fun people have during the event. Across the country, people come together in town squares, public parks, green spaces, and other locations – all to celebrate the joy of amateur radio and to share it with others,” she said.

PHOTOS: See 2025 ARRL Field Day from around social media

On the town green in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, between Springfield and Worcester, the Quaboag Valley Amateur Radio Club held its activation front and center in the postcard town. There was a steady line of onlookers visiting the setup that stretched out for several hundred yards. Many of them sat down to try their hand at the GOTA (Get On the Air) station. Nestled across from an antique church with a white steeple, and on green grass that surrounds a fountain, the hams brought a steady call of “CQ Field Day” to the quiet hamlet.

Aboard the International Space Station, Astronaut Jonny Kim, KJ5HKP, was active. Social media and YouTube show several clips of hams talking with Kim. James Walker, KC1UYZ, shared a video of his contact with Kim to Instagram and other platforms. “KC1UYZ, welcome to the International Space Station,” said Kim. A quick rest of the contact was followed by enthusiastic whoops from Walker, who was elated to have talked with an orbiting astronaut.

W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, was active for the event. The station’s three operating studios were configured as a 6F-class station. On Saturday afternoon, and well into the overnight, ARRL Education and Learning Support Specialist Max Freedman, N4ML, was operating alongside Audrey McElroy, KM4BUN. “It is always great to help people get W1AW in their logs,” he said. Freedman is an experienced contester, but this was his first operating event at the historic station. “It is such an honor to operate as W1AW,” he said.

McElroy was honored as the Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year in 2022. She’s in Connecticut for an internship in support of her electrical engineering degree – a career that her ham radio background has inspired.

ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, reports nearly 2500 entries have already been received via the online entry form at field-day.arrl.org/fdentry.php. “We are encouraged by the surge in early submissions, but there’s still time to get entries in,” he said. Bourque noted that Field Day participants should check that all the required supporting documentation related to their entries has been received by checking the Entries Received web page at field-day.arrl.org/fdentriesrcvd.php.

If the status of your entry is listed as Pending Documents, one or more of the required documents still needs to be submitted to complete your entry. Entrants may use the link provided in the confirmation email they received to add additional documents or to modify their entries. Field Day entries must be received by Tuesday, July 29, 2025.

Complete information about ARRL Field Day is available at www.arrl.org/FieldDay

Amateur Radio Newsline Report


NEW WORLD RECORD FOR CW CALLSIGN COPY

JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to Germany where Europe's biggest ham radio trade fair was also the scene of a record-breaking achievement worthy of the Guinness Book of World Records. Jeremy Boot G4NJH brings us up to date.

JEREMY: Ham Radio Friedrichshafen's theme this year centered around remote radio operations but strong attendance proved that hams still like to show up in person to greet one another. An estimated 11,600 guests from 52 countries made the annual trip to Germany.

Many of them were present as the ham radio fair celebrated a record-breaking moment. A 13-year-old radio amateur from Romania surpassed last year's achievement in high-speed telegraphy, As spectators watched, mostly in silence, Ianis Scutaru, YO8YNS, achieved a maximum speed of 1,160 characters per minute for callsign copy - for a total score of 395,191 - landing him in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause only after he had finished and the announcement was made. Ianis, the son of Lucian, YO8SLC, has been practicing Morse Code since the age of 8.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(LUCIAN, YO8SLC; HAM RADIO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN)

**
IN WEST VIRGINIA, A HIGH-FLYING FIELD DAY

JIM/ANCHOR: So how was YOUR Field Day? In West Virginia, it had one radio operator flying high, as we hear from Jen DeSalvo, W9TXJ.

JEN: The East River Amateur Radio Club in Bluefield, West Virginia, picked quite the location for this year's Field Day.

DAVE: We chose the local municipal airport, Mercer County Airport, to be our venue.

JEN: President Dave Lester, N8VFR, said it was in a nice area outside of the airfield where they set up pop-ups and GOTA. As the event was winding down Sunday, and Dave was starting to think about packing up, club member and pilot, Jay Belt, K8CTI…

DAVE ....looked at me and said “let's go get on HF, up in the air.” And of course, I'm not going to say no.

JEN: Jay had put together a station, an H-F rig…

DAVE … just 20 meters. It was a quarter wave end-fed, and he had that ran from wing to tail.

JEN: Being in the air, Dave was easily getting through pile-ups.

DAVE I noticed immediately that I didn't have to turn the VFO very much at all to hear stations. You know, I guess elevation. I was just hearing everything!

JEN: They used Jay’s callsign in the air. Toward the end of the flight, Dave found THE frequency…

DAVE: …and just started calling CQ.

SOUND CLIP: “CQ Field Day – Aeronautical Mobile Station Kilo Eight Charlie Tango India”

JEN: There were some challenges. The logistics of logging and…

DAVE: ...The radio and the tuner were were screwed to this board, and I was having to balance it between my knees because there's nowhere in the plane to mount the thing.

JEN: It was a total of 39 minutes from takeoff to landing. During that time, Dave snagged eleven contacts.
It wasn’t just the aircraft on the air which made the club’s Field Day successful.

DAVE: I was completely blown away and overwhelmed by the public reaction to our Field Day. They just came out of nowhere.

JEN: There were young adults in their twenties, an amateur extra who came to GOTA for his very first time, and several people sign up for the club’s exams.

DAVE: It was definitely a positive impact on the community. And, you know, the, I guess being at the airport was, was kind of a draw.

JEN: I’d say.

SOUND CLIP: "CQ Field Day Aeronautical Station Mobile!"

JEN: Jen DeSalvo W9TXJ

**
SILENT KEY: ROGER SMALLWOOD, N8EKG, R&L ELECTRONICS EXECUTIVE

JIM/ANCHOR: The ham radio community is grieving the loss of Roger Smallwood, N8EKG, president of operations at R&L Electronics in Ohio for more than 40 years. Roger, who had cancer, became a Silent Key on Saturday the 28th of June. In his online obituary, customers and longtime friends alike recalled his friendly, easygoing manner, his helpfulness and his much-anticipated appearances at Dayton Hamvention. Many recalled the family business that helped build, which earned the popular nickname, "The Candy Store" for its assortment of amateur radio equipment.

Roger was 55.

(BROWN-DAWSON-FLICK FUNERAL HOME)

**
RUSSIAN EME COMPETITORS PREP FOR SECOND ROUND

JIM/ANCHOR: For decades now, the race to the moon has always symbolized one of the biggest challenges in global space-based competitions. The Russian EME Contest doesn't use any spacecraft, however, just VHF radio communications - and it's a race to the moon that's stirred interest worldwide for years. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF explains.

JIM: Get ready for the second round of the Russian EME contest, hosted by the Union of Radio Amateurs of Russia. The sixth annual international competition kicked off with its first round on the last weekend in June. Now competitors are preparing for the final round on July 26th and 27th. While the first round was held on 144 MHz, 432 MHz, 5.6 GHz and 24 GHz, the second round will see amateurs trying for EME QSOs utilising 1296 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 10 GHz. Once again, hams will be making use of CW, SSB and the digital modes.


(UNION OF RADIO AMATEURS OF RUSSIA, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)

**
OHIO YL CHOSEN AS NEWSLINE'S YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR

JIM/ANCHOR: Our panel of judges has selected the 2025 Amateur Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award winner. Mark Abramowicz NT3V is chairman of the award committee and has the announcement..

MARK: She is 17 years old and from the small town of Columbiana in northeast Ohio. Meet Katie Campbell KE8LQR.

MARK w/KATIE: You are the 2025 Young Ham of the Year

KATIE: Thank you so much.

MARK: Are you surprised?

KATIE:: Uh, yeah, yeah.

MARK: Not expecting a call like this as the summer begins?

KATIE: No, I was not.

MARK:: Katie Campbell is a bright and talented advocate for youth in amateur radio whose interest in the hobby was sparked when she was 10.

KATIE: My school started an amateur radio and electronics club [in] my fifth-grade year open to just middle-schoolers that year. So, I joined and then pretty quickly made the connection that that’s’ like what my family had been sort of involved with. My grandpa had had his license since he was around 14. And, then my mom she’d also had her license since middle school.

MARK: Katie says she quickly got her ham ticket advancing all the way to Extra by the age of 11. She says she then discovered the music of Morse Code. She immersed herself in CW and contesting and rose to become president of K8LPS, the Columbiana School Radio Club located inside the science classroom of Katie’s mom, Colleen Campbell KB8VAQ.

Her dad is Robert Campbell KE8LYZ. Katie’s maternal grandfather is Thomas Frost N8GGK. It was her interest that got him radio active again.

Katie attended the Youth on the Air camp in 2022 in Cincinnati and has been a key staff member ever since, doing public relations and mentoring campers.

Katie has been a regular presenter at forums at the Dayton Hamvention, Hamcation and SEA-PAC.

Katie has another opportunity as she begins her senior year of high school: as an exchange student in Germany. She’s hoping to make amateur radio a part of her experience.

**
RUSSIA WORKS ON MODULES FOR SPACE STATION

JIM/ANCHOR: Russia's space-station partnership with the US will soon be replaced by its own orbital station as Roscosmos prepares its first modules. We hear more from Graham Kemp VK4BB.

GRAHAM: Just as the US prepares to take the International Space Station out of service in 2030, the space agency Roscosmos plans to launch the first modules for its Russian Orbital Station, the world's first drone platform space station employing robot maintenance. The move also marks the end of international collaboration in space between NASA and Roscosmos.

The Russian space agency is eyeing a 2027 launch for the first segment of its space station - the Scientific and Power Module, as the station enters a near-polar orbit. The full transition to the Russian Orbital Station is expected to be completed by 2030, just as the ISS awaits decommissioning. Other modules are also set for launch in 2030, including the gateway, the universal-node and base modules. Roscosmos expects the spacecraft to establish several stable communication channels by 2030, as the number of communication devices increases over the years. Roscosmos views the space station as a permanent fixture for Russia's space activities well outside of Earth's orbit.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA)

**

FCC ROUNDTABLE FOCUSES ON HURRICANE-RESPONSE COMMUNICATION

JIM/ANCHOR: If you are involved in hurricane-response here in the United States and are hearing this newscast before July 7th, a live-streamed roundtable, hosted by the Federal Communications Commission on that date may be of interest to you. Randy Sly W4XJ explains.

RANDY: The Federal Communications Commission has scheduled a live online roundtable that it hopes will help communicators, public safety workers and power companies improve collaboration during this hurricane season in the US. The Hurricane Season Resiliency Roundtable is taking place on Monday, the 7th of July, and will be conducted by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Advance registration is required.

The program, which can be attended in person or via a livestream, will take place in three panel sessions: “Challenges to Response and Recovery of Power and Communications Outages in the Aftermath of a Hurricane,”will be the first topic covered. Collaboration will be explored in the second session, “Current Government, Intra-Industry and Cross-Industry Partnerships.” The final session will look at planning ahead. It is called “The Advance Preparation Frameworks for Power and Communications.”

The roundtable begins at 9:30 a.m. at FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C.

To register, see the link in the text version of this week's newscast script at arnewsline.org

[DO NOT READ: https://www.fcc.gov/public-safety/event-registration ]


This is Randy Sly W4XJ.

(FCC, RADIO WORLD)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Aldir, PY1SAD is on the air as 8R1TM from Guyana until the 8th of July. He is using CW, SSB and the digital modes on 160-6 metres. He is also making contacts via satellite. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Peter LB2OB is operating holiday style from Jan Mayen, IOTA number EU-022 as JX/LB2OG for the next few weeks. He is operating primarily on 40 and 20 meters, using SSB and FT8. QSL via his home call.

Tim, NØUI is on the air as ZD7TIM from St. Helena, IOTA Number AF-022, through to the 13th of July.
Tim is using CW, SSB and maybe some RTTY on 40-10 metres. Be listening as well on 6 meters if conditions are favorable. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: TOILETS ON THE AIR? GO WITH THE FLOW

JIM/ANCHOR: Our final story isn't exactly a news leak but.....let's just say that we really can't hold it much longer. Neither can Neil Rapp WB9VPG.

NEIL: Are you sitting down? Well, it's time to lift the lid on the news: Toilets on the Air is coming in August. If you happen to be in the New York City area that month, well, you gotta go, you just gotta go! The amateur radio contest was begun by Georg DH5GH at the Chaos Communication Congress, a hacker conference in Germany. It is making its debut in the US at the HOPE 16 conference in New York City in August. Because HOPE is a hub for hackers and innovators, contest organizer Todd Mazierski KE2AEQ, thought this venue would be perfect to launch a creative challenge to licensed hams there. Activators select designated restrooms on the campus of St. John's University to make the most CW, voice and digital contacts with others on 2 meters and 70 cm.

Now let's be clear, activators are permitted to sit or stand while they are doing their business while holding their HTs -- but they must be outside the restroom doors -- and a few meters away. They can only go inside the bathroom to, uh, "go" inside the bathroom for the usual reason. Yes, you heard that right: bathroom breaks are OK. Now that's a relief!

Todd announced the contest on his blog. So did Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL. It's posted on his site, the appropriately named QRPer.com [QR-PEE-er dot com]

THURSDAY EDITION: My favorite holiday coming up along with Thanksgivng, God Bless America!

ARRL® Logbook of The World® Return to Service

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® will return Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) to service at 10:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.

We are happy to be bringing the upgraded LoTW servers online, as we know radio amateurs around the world rely on LoTW to receive QSLs and apply for awards. The improvements we made will make no change in the visual appearance of LoTW but will provide e…

Read more American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources – Read More

Voile des Légendes Dunkerque 2025 Special Event

The following is a message from the Radio Club de l’Agglomération Dunkerquoise:

The Radio Club de l’Agglomération Dunkerquoise - F8KGS - is proud to announce the activation of a special event amateur radio station: TM5VDL, on the occasion of the “Voile des Légendes Dunkerque 2025” maritime festival.

Held every few years in the historic port city of Dunkerque, northern France, Les Voiles de Légende is a celebrated gathering of classic and legendary sailing ships from across Europe. The city comes alive with nautical pride, music, maritime culture—and in 2025, with radio waves!

This special callsign TM5VDL will be active from July 5th to 19th, operated by members of F8KGS Radio Club. Operators will be mainly active on HF, sharing the spirit of this majestic event with amateurs worldwide.

A special QSL card will be sent via bureau.

Join us on the air and help us celebrate the union of maritime heritage and amateur radio!

Ham radio connects the world

Russell Sawyer is a retired doctor who travels the world several times a week. He’s down in his basement searching for other ham radio operators.

"Sometimes this is like fishing," he says. "You wait patiently for someone to talk to."

There are as many as 30,000 operators in Virginia, talking about the weather, the family, the gear they use to send greetings around the world.

To broadcast on frequencies reserved for amateur operators, he had to take a test and pay $15 to the FCC. He spent $400 on some used equipment, ran a hundred-foot antenna from one tree to another in his backyard, and he was in business. This weekend, he plans to join other hams at the Earlysville Fire Station for a 24-hour marathon – hoping to interest others in his hobby.

"We’ve got some young people involved with this -- they’re in high school and have a ham radio license. In fact, I think there’s one fellow in the club who will bring several of his students to the field day and is going to set up an educational activity and do some soldering and go on the air, and we’ve got some older people who are just interested in taking it up as a hobby – learning something new, a chance to learn a new language: Morse code."

It’s fun, he says, and should the grid go down in an emergency, amateur radio operators could provide essential communications with a battery. The Albemarle Amateur Radio Club will be on the air from 2 p.m. Saturday to 2 p.m. Sunday and will offer newcomers a chance to try their hand at ham radio.

 

HAMS YOU MIGHT KNOW- ALIVE AND SK

 K1TP- Jon....Editor of As The World Turns....
WB1ABC- Ari..Bought an amp and now we can here him on 75 meters, worships his wife, obsessed with Id'ing
N1BOW-Phil...Retired broadcast engineer, confused and gullible, cheap, only uses singl ply toilet paper
KB1OWO- Larry...Handsome Fellow ,only cuts lawn in August, plows snow the rest in Jackman, Maine
W1GEK- Big Mike....Nearfest Cook, big motor home, electronics software engineer ...
AA1SB- Neil...Living large traveling the country with his girlfriend...loves CW
N1YX- Igor....peddles quality Russian keys, software engineer
K1BGH...Art.....Restores cars and radio gear, nice fella...
N1XW.....Mike-easy going, Harley riding kind of guy!
K1JEK-Joe...Easy going, can be found at most ham flea market ...Cobra Antenna builder..
KA1GJU- Kriss- Tower climbing pilot who cooks on the side at Hosstrader's...
W1GWU-Bob....one of the Hosstrader's original organizers, 75 meter regular, Tech Wizard!!!
K1PV- Roger....75 meter regular, easy going guy...
W1XER...Scott....easy going guy, loves to split cordwood and hunt...
KB1VX- Barry- the picture says it all, he loves food!
KC1BBU- Bob....the Mud Duck from the Cape Cod Canal, making a lot of noise.
W1STS- Scott...philosopher, hat connoisseur,
KB1JXU- Matthew...75 meter regular...our token liberal Democrat out of Florida
K1PEK-Steve..Founder of Davis-RF....my best friend from high school 
K9AEN-John...Easy going ham found at all the ham fests
K1BQT.....Rick....very talented ham, loves his politics, has designed gear for MFJ...
W1KQ- Jim-  Retired Air Force Controller...told quite a few pilots where to go!
N1OOL-Jeff- The 3936 master plumber and ragchewer...
K1BRS-Bruce- Computer Tech of 3936...multi talented kidney stone passing ham...
K1BGH- Arthur, Cape Cod, construction company/ice cream shop, hard working man....
W1VAK- Ed, Cape Cod, lots of experience in all areas, once was a Jacques Cousteus body guard....
K1BNH- Bill- Used to work for a bottled gas company-we think he has been around nitrous oxide to long
W1HHO- Cal...3941 group
K1MPM- Pete...3941 group
WA1JFX- Russell...3941

SILENT KEYS

Silet Key KA1BXB-Don...Regular on 3900 mornings....just don't mention politics to him, please!
Silent Key N1IOM- 3910 colorful regular
Silent Key WS1D- Warren- "Windy" - Bullnet
Silent Key KMIG-Rick....75 Meter Regular....teaches the future of mankind, it's scary!
Silent Key Neil -K1YPM .....a true gentleman
Silent Key K1BXI- John.........Dr. Linux....fine amateur radio op ....wealth of experience...
Silent KeyVA2GJB- Graham...one of the good 14313 guys back in the day.
Silent Key K1BHV- David...PITA
Silent Key W1JSH- Mort...Air Force man
Silent Key K1MAN--Glen....PITA
Silent KeyKB1CJG-"Cobby"- Low key gent can be found on many of the 75 meter nets.........
Silent KeyWB1AAZ- Mike, Antrim, NH, auto parts truck driver-retired
Silent KeyWB1DVD- Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy going, computer parts selling, New England Ham..
Silent Key W1OKQ- Jack....3936 Wheeling and Dealing......keeping the boys on there toes....
Silent Key W1TCS- Terry....75 meter regular, wealth of electronic knowledge...
Silent Key WIPNR- Mack....DXCC Master, worked them all!.. 3864 regular for many years...
Silent Key WILIM- Hu....SK at 92... 3864 regular for many years...
Silent Key N1SIE- Dave....Loves to fly
Silent Key:N1WBD- Big Bob- Tallest ham, at 6'10", of the 3864 group
Silent Key: W1FSK-Steve....Navy Pilot, HRO Salesman, has owned every radio ever built!
Silent Key: W4NTI-Vietnam Dan....far from easy going cw and ssb op on 14275/313
Silent Key:K1FUB-Bill- Loved ham radio....