Frank Donovan, W3LPL, says the long-anticipated significant increase in Solar Cycle 25 activity may have begun on April 19.

“As a result, 30- and 20-meter nighttime propagation and 17- and 15-meter daytime propagation is likely to be enhanced through at least April 26. The solar flux index (SFI) is likely to remain at 85 or higher through at least April 26 due to two active regions on the sun’s...

The 72nd meeting of the International DX Convention, aka “Visalia,” is now open for registration. The virtual 2-day meeting, sponsored by the Northern California DX Club (NCDXC) will be held on Saturday, May 15, and Sunday, May 16, via Zoom webinars. In addition to a safe, front-row seat without having to leave home, participants will be able to attend eight DX-related webinars on Saturday, eig...

On April 20, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued a new Enforcement Advisory, repeating the admonishments contained in a January Advisory that no licensee or user of the Amateur or Personal Radio Services may use any radio equipment in connection with unlawful activities of any nature.

The Commission specifically cautioned that individuals found to have used radios in connection with any illegal ...

The Caribbean Emergency and Weather Net (CEWN) has been providing round-the-clock coverage during the La Soufriere volcanic eruption on the island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Several neighboring islands are also being affected by the disaster. When responding to disasters and emergencies such as this, the CEWN utilizes 3.815 MHz LSB and 7.188 MHz LSB. CEWN is requesting that radio amat...

The keen and practiced eye of ARRL member Ben Kuo, AI6YR, helped to guide rescuers to a hiker stranded on a mountainside on April 12. Hiker Rene Compean, 45, had spent the night in a remote region of the Angeles National Forest after getting in a tough spot. After a concerned friend reported Compean missing on Monday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department dispatched search-and-rescue (SAR...

The 2021 Contest University (CTU), held in conjunction with the Dayton Hamvention® starting at 1300 UTC on May 20, has announced its roster of speakers. The live Zoom webinar event is free. Registration opens on April 21. Talks will run for 45 minutes followed by a question-and-answer session. More information is on the CTU website. The 2021 virtual Contest University will be recorded and avail...

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: On April 12, new sunspot group AR2814 appeared following 5 days of no sunspots. Daily sunspot numbers on the next 4 days were 16, 16, 17, and 22, taking the average daily sunspot number for the April 8-14 reporting week from 6.4 last week to 7. The April 15 sunspot number of 22 was not included in this average. So far in 2021, 39% of the days had no sunspots.

Ge...

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, has acquired an archive of papers and correspondence to, from, and about wireless pioneer and Nobel laureate Guglielmo Marconi. Among the more than 200 pages of correspondence are 31 letters from Marconi to his chief engineer, Richard Vyvyan, written between 1902 and 1909, regarding the construction and success...

A 5-year, $9.3 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant will allow the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Geophysical Institute to establish a new research observatory at the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP). A former military facility, HAARP is now operated by UAF and is home to HAARP Amateur Radio Club’s KL7ERP. The new Subauroral Geophysical Observatory for Spa...

Researcher and innovator Ulrich Rohde, N1UL, has been awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He was nominated by Markus Söder, president of the German state of Bavaria and member of the Bavarian Parliament.

Söder said that Rohde’s work as a scientist, university lecturer, developer and entrepreneur in the fields of radio frequency and microwave technology “has made a sign...

Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) has announced the “Get on the Air on World Amateur Radio Day” operating event. World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) is observed each year on April 18, to celebrate the formation of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) on April 18, 1925.

The object of the event is to contact as many RAC-suffix stations as possible. RAC official stations will operate across Canada...

Donald de Riggs, J88CD, on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, says that on April 13, the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 eruption of the La Soufriere volcano, island residents were awakened to another column of volcanic ash creating a thick blanket, obscuring part of the eastern sky as the volcano continues to erupt violently.

“Almost all residents in the Red Zone have been evacuated, save for a ...

The Intrepid-DX Group has teamed with DXpeditioner Ken Opskar, LA7GIA, in its quest to activate Bouvet Island, the second most-wanted DXCC entity according to Club Log. The 3Y0J DXpedition is planned for January through February 2023. A dependency of Norway, Bouvet is a sub-Antarctic island in the South Atlantic. The last Bouvet activation was 3Y0E, during a scientific expedition over the winte...

The FCC has announced that rule changes detailed in a lengthy 2019 Report and Order governing RF exposure standards go into effect on May 3, 2021. The new rules do not change existing RF exposure (RFE) limits but do require that stations in all services, including amateur radio, be evaluated against existing limits, unless they are exempted. For stations already in place, that evaluation must b...

The Volunteer Monitor (VM) Program is a joint initiative between ARRL and the FCC to enhance compliance in the Amateur Radio Service. This is the March 2021 Volunteer Monitor Program Report

The FCC delayed action on the renewal application of a General Class licensee in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, in order to review allegations of repeated transmission of obscenities and failure to properly identi...

ARISS-USA, a Maryland nonprofit corporation, has earned recognition from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable, scientific, and educational organization. ARISS-USA is the US segment of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) international working group. With this IRS determination, donations to ARISS-USA become tax-deductible in the US, ret...