Welcome to Ria’s Ham Shack News!
Hello everyone! I’m starting this out as an experiment to report on the news in the ham radio and radio communications world. The inspiration for this substack came from two veteran journalists-- Steve Herman, W7VOA and Jamie Dupree NS3T. (Steve is my first subscriber!) The idea is to also use the substack to organize news for the YouTube channel and radio show but also to make news available to you.
I want to do this weekly, time permitting.
You can check out the YouTube channel Here.
The radio show is “Ria’s Ham shack” and airs Fridays 6PM ET (2200 or 2100 UTC) on WRMI 5050kHz (and also 5950 kHz) as part of the WRMI Legends programming block and also streaming on wrmilegends.com. You can also find replays wherever you get podcasts or here.
Send your news tips to ria@n2rj.com and I’ll be sure to give you credit! Also if you’d like to be a regular correspondent, let me know. I am open to ideas.
And now, let’s dive in!
FCC proposes changes to the 60 meter band
The FCC has proposed to make changes to the 60 meter amateur allocation in the US. In an NPRM, the FCC has proposed to allocate the 5351.5-5366.5 kHz band to the amateur service on a secondary basis. ITU has recommended a maximum power of 15 watts EIRP which is approximately 9.15W ERP, and the FCC is seeking comments as to whether to apply that power limit or another limit. Currently, US radio amateurs have access to five channels of 2.8kHz each with 100W ERP.
The FCC also seeks comment on whether the existing channels can be kept, and whether power or emission bandwidth limits on those channels can be retained or changed.
NTIA, the US Federal agency which regulates spectrum for Federal Government users, recommends that the existing channels be deleted and instead replaced with the new continuous allocation at the lower power limit.
In a previous petition, ARRL has proposed keeping the existing channels and adding on the continuous allocation and keeping the 100 watt power level.
Several other commenters have commented on various emission types and modes including automatic store and forward email systems, and whether these would be appropriate for the new band.
Comments are due 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register and reply comments are due 90 days after date of publication in the Federal Register.
International DX Convention in Visalia in the books, changes coming?
The 2023 International DX Convention is now officially in the books. The gathering, held annually in Visalia, California, has been on hiatus for the past few years due to COVID-19 but returned as an in-person event this year. From initial reports, attendance was down for both attendees and exhibitors. It was also reported that the Southern California DX Club (SCDXC) will be pulling out of the event, which may not bode well for its future.
The convention has had many talks focused on DXing (contacting distant stations) and contesting (amateur radio competitions) and is a smaller, tight-knit gathering of enthusiasts in those two areas of amateur radio.
ARRL has also had a booth and forum at the event.
ARRL to seek comment on increasing dues
NOTE: the author is a past Director, life member and Diamond Club donor of ARRL.
The American Radio Relay League is soon to solicit comments on a potential increase in its membership dues. ARRL has sent out a notice to members notifying them of a survey that will be conducted in May, 2023.
The notice stated, in part:
On May 1, we will launch an online survey, inviting all ARRL members to participate. The survey will include some short questions about raising dues and modifying the way some membership benefits are bundled. The survey will also include an opportunity to share your feedback. The participation of every member is important.
The League last raised its dues in 2016, from $39 to its current level of $49. Reasons cited included increasing costs of printing and mailing printed magazines, including QST and additional benefits as well as general cost increases due to inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic.
ARRL’s CEO, David Minster, NA2AA has outlined some ideas in his “Second Century” column in QST. It is expected that the discussion around a dues increase this time will include unbundling certain benefits including printed QST. Additional discussions around life membership and donor programs such as Maxim Society have also been proposed.
Any dues increase must be approved by the ARRL’s Board of Directors.
NAB show amateur radio gathering a success but missing the ARRL booth?
The National Association of Broadcasters held its 100th annual conference and trade show (NAB Show) at the Las Vegas Convention Center from April 15 to 19th, 2023. The NAB show featured a slew of exhibits related to media, broadcast, content creation and related fields.
For many radio amateurs, NAB show has also been an unofficial ham radio gathering including a booth run by the ARRL Nevada section. This year that booth was notably absent. Nevada Section Manager John Bigley, N7UR had confirmed that there was no ARRL booth this year, but the reasons remained unclear.
Nonetheless, the after hours ham radio reception still went on, with food, drink and prizes including ARRL publications and merchandise and various bits of amateur radio gear being won by attendees.
FT8WW wins DXCellence award by NCDXF
Congratulations to Thierry Mazel, F6CUK, the winner of the DXCellence award. Thierry is recognized for his DXpedition to Crozet Island, FT8WW.
The following press release is from NCDXF:
In April 2021, NCDXF announced the creation of an award – “The DXcellence Award”– to be awarded to the outstanding DXpedition of the last 12 months, which received funding from NCDXF. The award is intended to recognize excellence in a DXpedition, exemplified by practices, ethics, management, transparency, impact upon the DXing community, and lastly exhibited FUN!
The winner of the award is determined by the NCDXF Board of Directors. The Board considers several factors, including performance, complexity of the DXpedition, and impact on Club Log’s most wanted ranking. Especially important are activities associated with humanitarian efforts and education.
On celebration of our 50th year of operation, NCDXF is proud to award its 2023 DXcellence Award to Thierry Mazel, F6CUK. Thierry is recognized for the outstanding performance of a well-organized DXpedition to Crozet, FT8WW, that had a significant impact on Club Log users’ totals from the #3 Most Wanted entity.
The NCDXF looks forward to other DXpeditions this year that will qualify for the next award in 2024. We are hopeful that many DXpeditions will be funded by NCDXF and qualify for this award. Congratulations to FT8WW on the second annual award!
The mission of NCDXF is to provide necessary financial support for well-organized DXpeditions to desirable DXCC entities and to support advances in DXpeditioning skills, technology, and infrastructure. Those funds come from the contributions of our supporters in the DX community. Your contribution will help make DX happen.
Visit our website: www.ncdxf.org.
Craig Thompson, K9CT
NCDXF Vice President
ARDC is hiring - UI/UX developer and Communications Manager
Note: The author is a Director of ARDC.
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is looking to fill two positions.
The first one is a UI/UX developer on a contract basis (worldwide), and the second is a full-time Communications Manager (US based).
More details on the job postings are here:https://www.ardc.net/news-and-updates/
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a California-based private foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. Their mission is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote Amateur Radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology. They do this through grantmaking and administering a block of IP address space that is freely available to the amateur radio community.
M1.7 Solar flare and Geomagnetic Storm
(Source: NOAA)
Starting at 1:37 PM EDT on Sunday, April 23, 2023, Earth was impacted by a Severe Geomagnetic Storm (a level 4 of 5 on NOAA’s space weather G- scale). The most likely areas of impact extend across the northern tier of the United States (north of 45 degrees latitude) and into Canada. These impacts generally include widespread, yet manageable, irregularities to the power grid, spacecraft, global positioning systems, and radio communications. Additionally, if this storm persists into the evening, the Aurora Borealis may be seen as far south as Alabama and northern California. Currently, the Severe Geomagnetic Storm is expected to persist until 2:00 AM EDT on April 24, 2023.
On the afternoon of April 23, 2023, at 2:12 PM EDT, a Moderate Solar Flare (M1.7) erupted from the sun expelling a billion tons of superheated magnetized gas from the sun known as plasma. This ejection, known as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), traveled at nearly two million miles per hour and reached Earth in two days. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center had issued a Minor Geomagnetic Storm (G1) watch for April 23, 2023, and a Moderate Geomagnetic Storm (G2) watch for April 24, 2023, with only a 5% and 30% chance of the storm reaching strong-extreme conditions on the two days. A Strong-Extreme Geomagnetic Storm Warning was issued by SWPC at 3:26 PM EDT on April 23, 2023. The Geomagnetic Storm arrived earlier and was stronger than expected.
Time to tie the ribbons on it
What do you think? Send your news tips and feedback to ria@n2rj.com, and be sure to listen to the show on WRMI shortwave radio, 5050kHz and 5950kHz every Friday at 6PM Eastern (2100 UTC) and also on wrmilegends.com
Glad to see you on Substack. Fingers and toes crossed that you'll find this effort to be rewarding! (Hat tip to Steve Stroh for letting me know you were posting here.)
Welcome to Substack Ria! Nice newsletter!