The FMRE National Emergency Net has activated on 7.060 MHz following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in the central Mexico state of Puebla at 1814 UTC on Tuesday. The net also uses 3.690 MHz and 14.120 MHz as well as IRLP reflector 9200, channel 08.

The epicenter was some 75 miles southeast of Mexico City, which felt the temblor. Preliminary reports indicate a lot of collapsed buildings and missing p...

The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, W1AW, has suspended its regular bulletin transmissions beginning September 19, 2017 in order to help support its partners for both HF and long-haul communications response for Hurricane Maria. W1AW will be monitoring the Hurricane Watch, SATERN, and Caribbean Emergency Weather nets; checking Winlink2000 e-mail; checking into the VoIP Weather Net, and prov...

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program is seeking proposals from US schools, museums, science centers, and community youth organizations to host Amateur Radio contacts in 2018 with a crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The deadline to submit proposals is November 15. Contacts would be scheduled between July 1 and December 31, 2018.

Each year, A...

United Technologies has acquired avionics maker Rockwell Collins in a $30-billion deal. United Technologies said it wants to further enhance its role in aviation for both its military and commercial customers in the area of new aircraft connectivity systems.

Collins Radio and later Rockwell Collins for many years manufactured top-tier Amateur Radio equipment. Art Collins, W0CXX, founded Collins ...

The AMSAT 2017 Annual Meeting and Space Symposium has issued a second call for papers. The event takes place the weekend of October 27-29 in Reno, Nevada.

AMSAT invites proposals for papers, symposium presentations, and poster presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the Amateur Satellite community. Tentative presentation titles are requested as soon as possible, with final copy du...

As “potentially catastrophic Hurricane Maria” is headed for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Frans van Santbrink, J69DS, on St. Lucia checked into the VoIP Hurricane Net to relay damage reports he gathered via repeater conversations with hams on Dominica, which was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Maria.

He recounted a damage report from Kerry Fevrier, J69YH, in Roseau, Dominica. “Trees down, rive...

Jeff Austin, 9Y4J, Emergency Coordinator Advisory Group, IARU Region 2, Area E, reports that the Caribbean Emergency Weather Net (CEWN), activated at 1030 UTC on 3.815 MHz. The net will use 3.815 and/or 7.188 MHz as propagation dictates. The CEWN will provide 24-hour coverage during the passage of Hurricane Maria and in the storm’s immediate wake, in case there is a need to pass health-and-welf...

The Administrative Council (AC) of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) believes high-power wireless power transfer (WPT) for electric vehicles has significant potential for interference with radio communication. That assessment came as the AC met on September 15 and 16 in Landshut, Germany, immediately prior to the IARU Region 1 Conference, to review its priorities and positions with r...

Caribbean Island residents and the Amateur Radio community have hardly had a chance to catch a breath from Hurricane Irma as recovery operations continue, but now Hurricane Maria is knocking on the door. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) activated today on 14.325 MHz, with plans to maintain operations on that frequency during the day and on 7.268 MHz after dark.

“As propagation dictates, we may oper...

Amateur Radio volunteers from the St. Croix Amateur Radio Club are supporting the Hurricane Irma response at the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA), utilizing 60-meter band channel 2 (5.346.5 MHz USB) to coordinate emergency communications. The net is continuously monitored and has scheduled situation reports (SITREPS) at 1200 and 2200 UTC.

The club’s NP2VI is the ne...

The 4th running of the Enigma Reloaded operating event will get under way on September 22 and continue until September 30. Sponsored by the A.R.I. Fidenza Radio Club, the event celebrates the history of the Enigma cipher machine and its crucial role in World War II, as well as the individuals who developed the device and contributed to its success.

Enigma Event 2017 takes place in two stages: F...

At 0005 UTC on September 15 the Australian Space Weather Forecast Centre issued a Geomagnetic Disturbance Warning.

“The previous geomagnetic warning is extended for two more days. The high-speed streams associated with the coronal hole is expected to persist for a few days. If the Bz component of the IMF turned strongly southward for prolonged periods, earth could experience minor storm conditio...

A new 10-GHz Earth-Moon-Earth (EME or moon bounce) world record has been set. On September 9, Rex Moncur, VK7MO, and Jim Malone, WA3LBI, completed a 18,949.4-kilometer contact using QRA64D. This extends by approximately 600 kilometers the previous world record of 18,337 kilometers held by DL7FJ and ZL1GSG, who used CW.

The participants said the key was to find locations with nearly 0° take-off, ...

In view of the arrival of Hurricane Max on the coast of Guerrero, Mexico, the FMRE National Emergency Net has activated as of 1300 local time. The net requests support from stations with the ability to handle traffic requests and emergency warnings. The net is operating on 7.060 MHz and 14.120 MHz as well as via IRLP reflector 9200, channel 08.

The National Hurricane Center reported at 2100 UTC...

The monthly newsletter of the International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 Monitoring Service (IARUMS) typically makes for some interesting reading. While the reports that come from more than two dozen contributors in Europe and Africa can be a bit visually dense, the content conveys the impression that that there are myriad intruders on the Amateur Radio bands. However, not all of them are illeg...

As requests are received asking for Amateurs to travel to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma, ARRL officials are reminded that to be covered under the Volunteer Protection Act or the MoU between ARRL and the American Red Cross, requests for volunteers must be submitted through established ARRL/ARES channels.

Volunteers wishing to offer their services in disaster relief need to go through the ...