Many individuals and groups organizing events for Field Day 2020 have been contacting ARRL for guidance on how to adapt their planned activities in this unprecedented time of social distancing and uncertainty.

“Due to the unique situation presented this year, this can be an opportunity for you, your club, and/or group to try something new,” ARRL Contest Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, said. “Field...

Listen to the new episode of ARRL Audio News on your iOS or Android podcast app, or online at http://www.blubrry.com/arrlaudionews/. Audio News is also retransmitted on a number of FM repeaters. Click here and then scroll down to see the list.

We saw another week with no sunspots, which were last observed just briefly over two weeks ago on two days, March 8-9. Spaceweather.com reports that so far in 2020, the percentage of days that have no sunspots is the same as all of 2019, when it was 77%.

Last week we saw the spring equinox, always a good seasonal indicator for better HF propagation.

Last week’s bulletin ARLP012 reported the avera...

The annual Intrepid-DX Group Intrepid Spirit Award will go to the Perseverance DX Group’s VP8PJ South Orkney Island DXpedition team for its “superb activation” from Signy Island.

“This DXpedition was extremely well planned and executed from this very remote, cold, and harsh Island,” the Intrepid-DX Group said in announcing the award. “This award is to recognize the entire team’s collective effo...

The FCC will hold its March 31 open meeting by teleconference. “Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and related agency telework and headquarters access policies, this meeting will be in a wholly electronic format and will be open to the public on the internet via live feed from the FCC web page and on the FCC YouTube channel,” the Commission announced this week. Agenda items are expected to be...

ARRL wants to assure members that the COVID-19 shutdown of ARRL Headquarters will have little or no impact on publication schedules. The print edition of May QST is now off the presses and will enter the mail stream next week, and the US Postal Service anticipates no delivery disruptions.

Digital QST and the pending digital debuts of QEX and NCJ are expected to be posted on schedule. May QST wil...

Michael Wells, G7VJR, has announced that Club Log is contributing 120 CPU cores (most running at 3.4 GHz) to the Folding@Home Project that’s simulating the dynamics of COVID-19 proteins to hunt for new therapeutic opportunities. Wells said he’s assigned a higher priority to the Folding@Home work, so radio amateurs may experience slightly longer upload times.

“You can help, too, by contributing y...

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has reported on how it is addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, given the various restrictions in place to slow the spread of the virus. IARU said the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Headquarters in Geneva remains off limits to visitors until April 17 at the earliest. ITU has cancelled some meetings, postponed others, and converted others int...

AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, has announced the appointment of Sean Kutzko, KX9X, of Urbana, Illinois, as Volunteer Coordinator. Licensed since 1982, Kutzko served for 10 years on the ARRL Headquarters staff as Contest Branch Manager and as Media and Public Relations Manager.

“It’s an honor to be able to volunteer for AMSAT,” Kutzko said. “AMSAT is a great organization and helping find...

Amateur radio volunteers from around the world have volunteered to assist University of Florida Professor Sam Lampotang and his engineering team in their quest to rapidly develop an open-source, low-cost patient ventilator that can be built anywhere from such commonly available components as PVC pipe and lawn-sprinkler valves. The amateur radio volunteers are developing Arduino-based control so...

ARRL Headquarters will comply with an executive order from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont that all non-essential businesses and not-for-profit entities reduce in-person workforces by 100% no later than March 23, 2020, at 8 PM. ARRL will equip as many Headquarters staffers as possible to work remotely.

W1AW bulletin and code practice transmissions will continue. Customer service representatives ...

Interim ARRL Chief Executive Officer Barry Shelley, N1VXY, informed members on March 20 that ARRL will remain operational to meet their needs during the coronavirus pandemic. Shelley noted that ARRL is taking steps to help protect the health and safety of ARRL Headquarters employees, in line with the recommendations provided by US and Connecticut health officials and government leaders.

“We have...

President Donald Trump has nominated FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly for another 5-year term on the Commission. The nomination was sent to the US Senate on March 18. O’Rielly was initially appointed to the FCC in 2013 by President Barack Obama.

“During my tenure at the Commission, I have advocated for preserving and advancing American free market principles to develop common sense regulation a...

The Long Island CW Club in New York is offering free, online Morse code instruction for the “many youngsters at loose ends as a result of school closings due to COVID-19 concerns.” The club’s co-founder, Howard Bernstein, WB2UZE, pointed out that learning Morse code is “a fun and educational activity for children of all ages that can fill part of the gap left by the current unfortunate situatio...

Because of shelter-in-place orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the West Coast Qualifying Run scheduled for Saturday, March 21, at 2100 UTC (2 PM PDT) has been canceled. These transmissions normally take place from K6KPH at the Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS) museum at the Point Reyes National Seashore. The park has closed all visitor centers and suspended volunteer activit...

Listen to the new episode of ARRL Audio News on your iOS or Android podcast app, or online at http://www.blubrry.com/arrlaudionews/. Audio News is also retransmitted on a number of FM repeaters. Click here and then scroll down to see the list.