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ARRL News
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[l] at 10/9/26 7:00am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® will close our headquarters at 12 PM Eastern time on Friday, October 9, 2026, for a staff event.The ARRL Headquarters lobby and store, as well as W1AW, will be open to visitors from 8 AM to 12 PM EDT. Members are reminded that many transactions may be completed on our website at www.arrl.org. There won’t be any interruptions to the W1AW bulletin ...
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[l] at 10/7/26 1:55pm
Updated Friday, October 9, 2026 @ 10 AM EDTUpdate - Oct. 9, 1330 UTC The Hurricane Watch Net is up and running on both 14.325 and 7.268 MHz due to propagation conditions. Hurricane Isaias has increased in strength to Category 3 with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour, making it a major hurricane as it continues to head toward the Florida panhandle and Alabama coast. Landfall is expec...
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[l] at 10/7/26 1:55pm
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued public advisories for Tropical Storm Isaias, which is forecast to pass north of the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, October 8, 2026, and approach the U.S. northern Gulf Coast on Friday. Landfall is anticipated late Friday night into Saturday morning. ARRL North Florida Section Emergency Coordinator Arc Thames, W4CPD, who also serves as the Amateur R...
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[l] at 10/6/26 10:52am
The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) is closely monitoring Invest 92L, which is expected to become Tropical Storm Isaias in the next 24 hours. According to HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, the potential area of concern for this storm is a wide swath of the Gulf coast, extending from Louisiana to Florida. Graves says there is no HWN activation at this time, but the net will go into operation if offici...
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[l] at 10/2/26 11:18am
Get ready to contact college and university radio clubs during this weekend’s Collegiate QSO Party, 0000 UTC October 3 through 2359 UTC ImageOctober 4 (Friday evening through Sunday in the US). Students, faculty, staff, and alumni will be on the air using the call sign of a college, university, or other post-secondary academic institution. Look for stations on CW, phone, and digital modes on an...
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[l] at 9/27/26 9:00am
We are saddened to report this week on the passing of four well-known amateurs, including two members of the extended “ARRL family.”  Longtime ARRL Rhode Island Section Manager Robert George “Bob” Beaudet, W1YRC, became a Silent Key on September 10, 2026, at age 88. An ARRL Life Member, Gold-Level Diamond Club member, and Maxim Society member in the President Class, Beaudet served as Rhode Isla...
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[l] at 9/26/26 9:00am
ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, was a guest on episode 103 of The DX Mentor, which aired September 19, 2026. Hosted by Bill Salyers, AJ8B, with Joe Pater, W8GEX, the discussion covered highlights from the ARRL Board of Directors’ annual Second Meeting, held July 17; the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU); the August ARRL National Convention hosted by the Huntsville Hamfest, and recent supp...
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[l] at 9/25/26 9:24am
It’s been a half century since single sideband (SSB) supplanted amplitude modulation (AM) as the most popular voice mode on HF, due largely to its spectrum efficiency, occupying roughly half the bandwidth of an AM signal. Now, there’s a new digital voice mode from FreeDV called Radio Autoencoder, or RADE, that occupies half the bandwidth of an SSB signal and reportedly provides more natural-sou...
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[l] at 9/25/26 8:50am
ARRL with ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® is following two new federal proceedings concerning radio frequency (RF) exposure. On September 17, 2026, the FCC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiated parallel comment periods on RF safety issues. Neither inquiry changes the current FCC RF exposure rules that apply to all radio amateurs but could lead to ...
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[l] at 9/25/26 8:15am
Solar activity is likely to continue at low levels with isolated tooccasional C-class flare activity, along with a slight chance forR1-R2 (Minor-Moderate) M-class flare events, through September 25,according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. The SWPC reportsthat nine sunspot regions are on the visible disk, including a newRegion 4541. There were three solar flares observed in the past ...
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[l] at 9/18/26 7:23am
Solar flare activity is expected to remain at very low levels, with achance for isolated C-class flares through September 19, according toNOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). Solar wind speed wassteady near 530 km/s, and negative polarity CH HSS (coronal holehigh-speed stream) effects are anticipated to persist through September18, with additional enhancements likely today due to flan...
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[l] at 9/17/26 12:56pm
No more information available.
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[l] at 9/16/26 10:29am
The Yagi-Uda beam antenna was invented 100 years ago, in 1926, and Contest University (CTU) is celebrating its centennial with a live Zoom webinar this Saturday, September 19, 2026, at 1600 UTC (noon Eastern). The free webinar, titled “The Yagi Turns 100,” will be available online at https://w3lif.org/yagi. There is no pre-registration. Click on the link before 1600 Zulu on Saturday to watch. Q...
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[l] at 9/14/26 8:09am
Solar flare activity was at low levels in the past week withisolated C-class flare activity, according to NOAA’s Space WeatherPrediction Center. The largest flare of the period was a C3.4 onSeptember 8 from otherwise stable Region 4528. Region 4530 developedasymmetric penumbra on both its leading and trailing poles whileundergoing consolidation in its intermediate area. New fluxemergence in the...
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[l] at 9/11/26 2:40pm
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks will be making a special transmission on 9.11 MHz at 0030-0035 UTC on September 12, 2026 (8:30-8:35 PM eastern time Friday evening). The transmission will consist of a Morse code QST, followed by a slow-scan ...
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[l] at 9/11/26 12:27pm
Educator Everton Henriques, KD2ZZT, shared his experience using amateur radio to inspire students and bring engineering and technology to life in the classroom during his keynote at the 2026 ARRL New England Division Convention, hosted by Northeast HamXposition in Massachusetts on August 15. A video recording is available on ARRL’s YouTube channel.Everton is an Engineering and Technology Teache...
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[l] at 9/11/26 6:50am
Ed. Note: Details in this article were culled from the November 2001 QST article, “9/11/01: ‘This is Not a Test’ ” by Rick Lindquist, N1RL, and Diane Ortiz, K2DO. The original article is available here (PDF).Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, the United States came under attack from al-Qaeda terrorists who hijacked passenger planes and flew them into buildings in New York City and Wa...
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[l] at 9/2/26 2:45pm
Former ARRL Chief Operating Officer (COO) Harold Robert Kramer, WJ1B, of Cheshire, Connecticut, passed away on Monday, August 31, 2026, at age 78. Kramer served as COO and QST Publisher from 2005 to 2016, following a career in broadcasting. He was an ARRL Life Member and donor, supporting the Diamond Club, the Second Century Campaign, and the ARRL Lab.Former ARRL CEO Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, recalled...
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[l] at 8/31/26 1:20pm
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® has announced that the candidates for the 2026 ARRL Division elections are now official. ARRL members will choose between two candidates for Director in the Delta, Great Lakes, and Midwest Divisions, and two candidates for Vice Director in the Midwest Division. The Director positions in the Atlantic and Dakota Divisions are unopposed, as are the ...
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[l] at 8/28/26 12:22pm
Solar activity reached moderate levels this week. Region 4513 was responsible for an M2.2/1B flare that reached its peak on August 26. This event was accompanied by a 10.7-centimeter radio burst that reached 140 solar flux units (SFU) and a type II radio sweep with an estimated shock speed of 930 km/s despite its relatively impulsive nature. No resulting coronal mass ejection (CME) has been obs...
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[l] at 8/28/26 11:45am
No more information available.
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[l] at 8/28/26 10:41am
No more information available.
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[l] at 8/21/26 4:19am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® announced today a historic and transformational $1 million gift from Dr. James M. Galm, W8WTS. An entrepreneur and amateur radio operator who spent his career solving complex energy and engineering challenges, Galm is now investing in the next generation of problem solvers through his support of ARRL.The gift will directly support ARRL programs a...
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[l] at 8/18/26 9:01am
Amateur radio operators in western New York and other northeastern states have an opportunity to help track an educational balloon. Drew Deskur, KA1M, Director of the Kopernik Observatory, a public observatory and informal STEM education center in Vestal, New York, said the balloon was expected to be launched August 19 at 10 AM Eastern (1400 UTC) with Automatic Packet Reporting System (ARPS) an...
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[l] at 8/17/26 12:10pm
Weekly Highlights and Forecast, August 17, 2026, by NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center:Solar activity ranged from very low to low levels throughout theperiod. No R1 (Minor) or greater events were observed. The largestflare was a C8.2/Sn at 16/1928 UTC from Region 4506. An associated CME was observed in LASCO C2 imagery following the C8.2 flare, but analysis is ongoing in order to determine an...
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[l] at 8/14/26 12:15pm
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® reports that amateur radio operators in Colombia are providing significant communications support following the major earthquake and aftershocks that struck the country on August 10, 2026. The death toll has reportedly exceeded 200 people, with many more still missing, and major damage is reported to buildings and infrastructure. International Am...
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[l] at 8/14/26 12:07pm
No more information available.
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[l] at 8/14/26 11:52am
ARISS, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, has been honored with the prestigious Challenger-7 Recognition, a national honor celebrating organizations whose work reflects the spirit, vision, and values of the seven crew members of the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-51-L.“This recognition is a tribute, not a competition,” says the Challenger Center. “It honors those who embody...
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[l] at 8/14/26 11:13am
A brand-new young ham in Arizona got more than he was expecting after passing his amateur radio Technician class license exam earlier this month. Along with getting his call sign, KM7HFU, from the FCC, 10-year-old Reynaldo Mangual was presented by the Maricopa Amateur Radio Association (MARA) with an almost-new Yaesu FT-857D HF/VHF/UHF multimode transceiver, an LDG YT-100 automatic antenna tune...
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[l] at 8/11/26 3:32pm
ARRL received the following report from Carlos Alberto Santamaría González, CO2JC, Emergency Communications Coordinator, International Amateur Radio Union, Region 2 (IARU R2).Monday, August 10, 2026This morning, several regions of Colombia were shaken by an earthquake. According to data from the Colombian Geological Service, the quake occurred at 07:34 local time, with its epicenter located in ...
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[l] at 8/10/26 9:04am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® has published its 2025 Annual Report, which includes a summary of the year’s program activities, along with the 2025 and 2024 financial statements and an independent auditor’s report.The report shares accomplishments across education, advocacy, emergency communications, publications, technology, and member services, while recognizing members, vol...
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[l] at 8/10/26 8:52am
On July 27, July 30, and August 1, 2026, members of the Green Bay Mike and Key Club, who are also members of the Brown-Kewaunee County Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®), deployed to Winnebago County, Wisconsin, following a tornado that struck on July 27. The tornado hit Appleton and caused severe damage in Menasha, Fox Crossing, and nearby communities, with peak winds estimated at 140 mp...
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[l] at 8/10/26 8:37am
The FCC Enforcement Bureau has issued a Notice of Violation to Gary M. Beckstedt, Sr., of Newnan, Georgia, for operating a network of nearly two dozen linked General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) repeaters in violation of FCC rules for the service. Beckstedt is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of North Georgia GMRS, Inc., and licensee of GMRS station WQYU407. He also holds amateur radio lic...
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[l] at 8/10/26 7:52am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® introduced the ARRL America250 Worked All States (WAS) operating event this year. If you've already confirmed contacts with all 50 states, you can now order your commemorative award certificate. The attractive, frame-worthy certificate celebrates your participation in this once-in-a-lifetime event honoring America's 250th anniversary.     ARRL ...
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[l] at 8/10/26 7:50am
Cory Golob, KU1U, of Sabattus, Maine, has been appointed as the ARRL Maine Section Manager as of August 3, 2026. Golob succeeds Philip Duggan, N1EP, who concluded his term as Section Manager on June 30 after serving since December 2021. “I want to do the very best for amateur radio in the ARRL Maine Section and build on what our previous Section Manager, Phil Duggan has accomplished,” said Golo...
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[l] at 8/10/26 7:48am
In an effort to maintain updated ARRL Affiliated Club records, ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® is urging radio clubs to complete the required annual Affiliated Club review now. The annual review requires nothing more than reviewing club information such as the club email addresses and contact information. Clubs should also test their listed email to ensure it is accurate and wo...
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[l] at 8/7/26 10:36am
Solar activity has been at low levels, with occasional B-class flaring and isolated low-level C-class flares observed. The largest event of the period was a C1.6/Sf flare on August 5 from Region 4502.  The six numbered sunspot regions on the visible disk are mostly stable or in varying stages of decay. Region 4498 showed a slight decrease in penumbral extent. Region 4499 declined in length and ...
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[l] at 8/1/26 10:44am
Solar activity has remained at low levels. Region 4494 exhibited decay in its trailing spots as its flare activity subsided. Region 4498 rotated into better viewing positioning, revealing mixed polarity just behind its large leading spot, and was responsible for a handful of low-level C-class flares.Region 4499 underwent evolution, gaining additional spots and producing a low-level C-class flar...
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[l] at 7/24/26 1:34pm
Solar activity continued at moderate levels as Region 4493 produced an M3.6 flare on July 22, which was the largest event of the period and was associated with a 10.7-centimeter radio burst of 200 solar flux units (sfu). Additionally, 4493 produced a C3.4 flare on July 22, which was associated with another 10.7-cm radio burst of 150 sfu.  Region 4493 continued to undergo consolidation in its le...
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[l] at 7/23/26 7:39am
Kiyoshi “Kan” Mizoguchi, JA1BK, a well-known DXer, DXpeditioner, CQ DX Hall of Fame member, and former Director of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 3 passed away in May 2026 at the age of 93. He was a member of the ARRL Maxim Society at the Fellow Class.First licensed in 1952, Mizoguchi became involved in the creation of IARU Region 3, which covers most of Asia and the Pacific, a...
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[l] at 7/20/26 8:33am
Solar activity has remained at low levels, with an occasionallow-level C-class flaring observed, including a C3.3/Sf flare on July15 from Region 4489. The largest event of the period, a long-durationC8.9 flare that peaked on July 15, originated from a returning regionon the eastern limb. This region is not yet numbered and will beassessed once it has become visible from Earth’s perspective, but...
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[l] at 7/16/26 10:33am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® announced the appointment of Tony Dowler, K6BV, of Pacifica, California, as the ARRL Santa Clara Valley (SCV) Section Manager as of July 1, 2026. Dowler succeeds James Armstrong, NV6W, of San Jose, who concluded his third term as Section Manager on June 30 after serving since 2020. Dowler has been the SCV Affiliated Club Coordinator. He has been ...
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[l] at 7/10/26 3:51pm
Solar activity reached moderate levels with an M1.5/1N flare on July 8 from Region 4482.There are currently five numbered regions on the visible disk. Region 4482 demonstrated continued growth and developed a delta spot within its trailing spot group. Region 4485 displayed new flux emergence. Regions 4486 and 4487 were newly numbered during the period. Region 4481 was stable and remained an unr...
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[l] at 7/10/26 9:40am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® is pleased to announce that member Ben Leovy, KC3ZPQ, of Ellicott City, Maryland, has been named the winner of the 2026 ARRL Student Coding Competition. Leovy, 16, recently completed his sophomore year at Howard High School. He designed a mobile application to help users prepare for their amateur radio license examinations.Leovy will receive a $5...
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[l] at 7/6/26 1:05pm
No more information available.
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[l] at 7/6/26 11:05am
Fred Johnson, K6FRD, is an amateur radio operator in Riverside, California. Like many hams, he lives in an HOA-controlled neighborhood. For Johnson, finding practical, low-visibility, antenna solutions has become part of the fun over the years.“For years I struggled to enjoy HF because, like many amateurs in an HOA, towers and conventional outdoor antennas simply aren't an option,” said Johnson...
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[l] at 7/6/26 6:38am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® has announced the appointment of Ray Sokola, K9RS, of Wilmington, Delaware, as Vice Director for the ARRL Atlantic Division. The appointment, made by ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, fills the vacancy created in January when former Vice Director Marty Newingham, AG3I, assumed the office of Atlantic Division Director. Sokola will serve the rema...
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[l] at 7/1/26 8:43am
Attention: Full ARRL members in the ATLANTIC, DAKOTA, DELTA, GREAT LAKES, and MIDWEST Divisions. You have the opportunity to choose a Director and Vice Director to represent you for 3-year terms beginning January 1, 2027.ARRL is governed by its Board of Directors. A voting Director is chosen by ballot by the full (licensed) ARRL members in each of its 15 divisions. Vice Directors who serve in t...
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[l] at 6/28/26 6:30am
No more information available.
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[l] at 6/27/26 12:55am
No more information available.
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[l] at 6/26/26 3:15pm
Solar activity has remained at low levels, with frequent C-level activity in the SE quadrant of the solar disk. The largest flare of the period was a C3.8 on June 24 from Region 4478, which is the large sunspot that Solar Orbiter had been tracking across the Sun’s far side. While the majority of the flaring activity this period came from 4478, Region 4475 also produced several small C-flares as...
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[l] at 6/22/26 11:45am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® has reported that the nomination period for the 2026 summer season election cycle concluded on Friday, June 5.There will be one balloted election this summer in Southern Florida. ARRL members in the Southern Florida Section will receive ballots and candidate information via postal mail in July. Daniel Fisher, AI4GK, and incumbent Barry Porter, KB...
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[l] at 6/22/26 11:43am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® has announced the appointment of Robert Ronk, W9AP, of Winneconne, Wisconsin, as Vice Director for the ARRL Central Division. The appointment, made by ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, fills the vacancy created in April when former Vice Director Joshua Long, W9HT, assumed the office of Central Division Director. Ronk will complete a term that e...
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[l] at 6/22/26 11:23am
While many teenagers spend their evenings playing video games or scrolling social media, 14-year-old amateur radio (also known as “ham radio”) operator Micah Sandoval, KB4MPS, was busy this past week making radio contacts across the US. Sandoval participated as part of a special event station supporting the ARRL America250 Worked All States (WAS) Award program, a year-long operating event celeb...
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[l] at 6/22/26 11:05am
On July 1, 2026, a new Element 2 Technician class question pool will take effect for license examinations. VECs and VEs must have new test designs available for use at exam sessions effective that date. The newly revised pool, released in December 2025 (updated and re-released on February 19, 2026) by the Question Pool Committee (QPC) of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinator...
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[l] at 6/19/26 1:49pm
Solar activity has been low with only C-class solar flare activity.Region 4465 underwent some decay and only produced a low-levelC-class flare. Region 4469 decayed further and was inactive. Region4470 underwent some growth, but did not increase in magneticcomplexity and was primarily inactive. The largest solar flare of theperiod, a C2.5 on June 17, came from just beyond the west limb withthe l...
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[l] at 6/12/26 11:08am
Solar activity has been at low levels this past week with most of the C-level activity originating from Region 4465, including the largest flare of the week, a C2.6 observed on June 10. There are currently 7 numbered sunspot regions on the disk with Region 4467 decaying to plage.  There was a Type-II radio sweep detected by the Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN) on June 10. That radio emissio...
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[l] at 6/5/26 12:15pm
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson has issued a video message recognizing the important role Amateur Radio Operators play in supporting communities across the state and encouraging public awareness of Amateur Radio as ARRL Field Day approaches later this month. In the video, Governor Ferguson highlights the critical service radio amateurs provide with communications support during emergencies and...
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[l] at 6/5/26 10:17am
 Solar activity went from low to high this week. Activity wasdominated by Region 4455, which produced frequent C-class flaresalongside three significant flare events: an M9.3/Sf on June 1; aswell as an M7.7/1b and an X1.0/1n on June 3.  There are eight numbered regions on the visible disk. Region 4455remains complex, maintaining its anti-Hale configuration anddisplaying a newly developed delta ...
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[l] at 6/5/26 9:32am
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® is pleased to introduce a new member benefit: the QST Product Review Comparison Database. This online tool makes it easier to compare amateur radio transceivers, receivers, amplifiers, and transmitters by allowing users to sort and filter equipment based on their own selection criteria.“This tool, introduced by the ARRL Lab, offers a familiar exp...
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[l] at 5/29/26 12:57pm
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® and the Huntsville Hamfest will host the 2026 ARRL National Convention and Huntsville Hamfest, August 21 - 23, in Huntsville, Alabama.The convention will kick off on Friday, August 21, with a series of day-long ARRL Training Tracks and a National Convention Luncheon at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Huntsville. Then join ARRL on Friday night for a ...

As of 10/13/26 4:33am. Last new 10/9/26 9:12am.

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