We’re seeing peak conditions from Solar Cycle 25 just in time for the ARRL International DX SSB Contest. It gets underway this weekend at 0000 UTC on Saturday, March 1, and concludes at 2359 UTC on Sunday, March 2. 

ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, is gearing up to operate as part of a multi-operator, single-transmitter station for the event. He is eager to get started. “This is...

A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) associated with a filament eruption
became visible on February 26 at 1448 UTC.  Model analysis
determined this CME to be a miss ahead of the Sun/Earth line.

Unsettled to active levels are likely on February 28 to March 1 as a
Coronal Hole influence continues, and a glancing blow is possible
from a Coronal Mass Ejection that occurred on February 25.

Solar activity is fore...

In late January 2025, 17 students and staff members from Las Animas High School (LAHS) in Colorado visited the Deep Space Exploration Society Radio Telescope (DSES) located at the Plishner Radio Astronomy and Space Sciences Center near Haswell, Colorado. They also got an introduction to amateur radio.

“This first field trip visit of high school students reflected the dreams of Michael Lowe, form...

ARRL is equipping the next generation of radio amateurs with the knowledge to get active on the air. “On the Air Live” is a monthly interactive webinar series that does deep-dives into topics aimed at the new and intermediate ham. It complements material found in On the Air magazine. February’s event had nearly 130 people in attendance. 

The events are hosted by ARRL Education Specialist Wayne G...

Solar activity is expected to range from low to moderate levels
through March 15.  There is a varying chance for R1 or R2 (Minor or
Moderate) events, and a slight chance for R3 or greater events.

Geomagnetic field activity is likely to reach G1 (Minor) levels on
February 28, March 9, and March 12 to 14.  Active levels are
predicted for March 1. Quiet, and quiet to unsettled conditions are
expected to...

Robert “Bob” Buus, W2OD, passed away on February 18, 2025. He has served as the ARRL Northern New Jersey Section Manager since 2020. Buus served as an Assistant Section Manager, Emergency Coordinator, and Net Manager prior to his appointment. 

Buus was born in Minnesota and was first licensed in 1950. He graduated from the University of North Dakota with a degree in electrical engineering. He wo...

Due to significant demand, ARRL has expanded the number of available spots for this month’s On the Air Live, an online training session linked to content in the current issue of On the Air magazine. The program quickly reached its original capacity. The live event will be hosted by ARRL Education Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF.

“It is a good problem to have,” said ARRL Education and Learning Ma...

Steve Schickel was a young high school student in the late ’80s and was introduced to amateur radio through his electronics classes. He also spent time working at a local RadioShack and watching science fiction movies at a nearby theater in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida.

Amateur radio’s next biggest influence on Steve came in 1997, on opening night of the movie “Contact,” about a scientist ...

Election results have been finalized in the ARRL Iowa Section. Barry Buelow, WØIY, received 283 votes, defeating incumbent Leilia Garner, WAØUIG, who received 146 votes.

Buelow, of Cedar Point, will assume Section Manager duties on April 1. Buelow is a veteran of the United States Air Force and has worked in aerospace engineering. He has served on the ARRL National Convention Committee and is a ...

With Solar Cycle 25 still at peak conditions, and several popular contests this time of year, there have been some interesting, if not totally rare, DX opportunities on the HF bands. Spots have been flying on DX club email reflectors this week. VK9XU on Christmas Island, V73WW on Marshall Island, 5N9DTG in Nigeria, KH7AL/KH9 on Wake Island, and 7Q2MM in Malawi have all been noted, among many ot...

ARRL Headquarters will be closed on Monday, February 17, 2025, in observance of President’s Day. There won't be any W1AW bulletins or code practice that day. ARRL HQ will reopen on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 8 AM EST.

NOAA reports a G1 (Minor) geomagnetic Storm Watch has been issued
for 14 Feb, 2025. A coronal hole high speed stream is expected to
move into a position favorable for enhanced interaction between the
high speed stream and Earth's magnetosphere. These enhancements are
likely to cause elevated geomagnetic responses, with G1 (Minor)
storm levels likely.

From Spaceweather.com: Another solar wind stream i...

On February 12, 2025, RigExpert’s administrative office, in Kyiv, Ukraine, was destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile. All employees are reported to be safe.

RigExpert is a leading manufacturer of antenna and cable analyzers and officials said they are committed to restoring operations as soon as possible.

“Our top priority is the safety of our team and the continuity of our operations,” said A...

A $10,000 grant to the University of Scranton, from the Frankford Radio Club (FRC)in Pennsylvania, will support the development of a contest dashboard that will leverage the popularity of amateur radio operator contests to benefit science, technology, students and Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) community members.

Through the grant, a team of university students, faculty, and FR...

• Radios: Icom IC-7610, Yaesu FT-1000MP Mark-V, Icom IC-9100, Icom 756 Pro III, Icom 706 MKIIG, Yaesu FT-891
• Amplifiers: Ameritron AL-1500, Ameritron AL-811H, Alpha 76A, Heathkit SB-200 Converted to 6-Meters
• Antennas: Force 12 XR-5; Tennadyne T8 ; Inverted-V's; Double-L; K4KIO Hexbeam
•                  Cushcraft R-6000 Vertical; ZEROFIVE 43 Foot Vertical; 160-6m Carolina Windom
• Rotator: Hy-Gain Tailtwister; Yaesu G-450A
• Tuners: Ameritron ATR-30, MFJ-998 IntelliTuner, MFJ-939Y Auto Tuner
• Remote Coax Switch: Ameritron RCS-10L
• Headset: Heil Pro-Set Plus!; Heil Pro 7 Boomset
• Microphone: Yaesu MD-200A8X, Heil PR-781G Microphone
• Computers: Dell XPS 8300 64-Bit i5-2320 processor 3.00 GHz, 8 GB Memory, 1 TB Disk; HP ProBook 4540s 64-Bit i5-3340M CPU @ 2.70GHz, 8 GB Memory, 1TB SSD; RCA Model W101SA29 Widows 10 Tablet, 64-Bit Atom x5-Z8350 CPU @ 1.44 GHz, 2 GB Memory, 300GB SSD; Apple iPad; Apple iPhone
• Weather Station Computers (2): ASUS EeeBox PC Model EB1007P, Atom CPU D425 @ 1.81 GHz, 2GB Memory; 256GB Disk
• Operating System: Windows 10 64-Bit Professional
• Logging Software: DX4WIN; N3FJP; HAMRS
• Contesting Software: Win-Test, WriteLog, N1MM
• Computer Interface: RigBlaster Pro; SignalLink USB; microHAM USB III
• CW Interface: K1EL WKUSB WinKeyer
• CW Paddles: Vibroplex Iambic Deluxe Key, Bencher BY-1 Iambic Key
• VHF Radios: Yaesu FT-625RD (6 Meters); Yaesu FT-1500M; Kenwood TM-G707; Yaesu FTM-400XDR; AnyTone D-878UV Plus; AnyTone D-878UV II Plus; Yaesu FT-70DR;
• Power Supply: Astron RS-35A