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One Down, One to Go: The ARRL International DX Contest Gears Up for SSB

ARRL -

With the CW portion of the ARRL International DX Contest now a series of fading dits and dahs in the memories of participants, preparations for the SSB portion of the DX Contest -- the weekend of March 3-4 -- are already underway.

According to ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, for this contest, stations in the US and Canada work only DX stations, and DX stations only work the US and...

Section Managers Winter Election Results

ARRL -

Two ARRL Sections -- Eastern Pennsylvania and Louisiana -- will get new Section Managers, as of April 1, 2012. Two other Sections -- San Diego and Virginia -- will keep their incumbent Section Managers. Ballots for these races were counted Tuesday, February 21 at ARRL Headquarters.

Eastern Pennsylvania

After serving more than 11 years as Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager, Eric Olena, WB3FPL, o...

Republic of South Sudan Assigned Prefix

ARRL -

After a wait of more than seven months after being accepted as a member of the United Nations, the Republic of South Sudan received its prefix block from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU): Z8. On July 14, 2011 -- after South Sudan’s admittance to the UN -- the new country became a DXCC entity by way of Section II, 1(a) of the DXCC rules.  -- Thanks to The Daily DX for the information

March Qualifying Runs

ARRL -

The W1AW and West Coast Qualifying Runs were inadvertently left out of the March 2012 issue of QST. Here is the missing information:

W1AW Qualifying Runs are 10 PM EST Friday, March 9 (0300 UTC March 10) (10-40 WPM) and 7 PM EDT (2300 UTC) Tuesday, March 20. The West Coast Qualifying Run will be transmitted by station K6KPH on 3581.5, 7047.5, 14047.5, 18097.5 and 21067.5 kHz at 2 PM PDT (2200 UT...

Bill Simons, W9BB, Silent Key; Developed Shure Microphones

This Week in Amateur Radio -

William A. Simons, W9BB (ex-W9YXJ), passed away in Minnesota on January 2, 2012 at the age of 84. He earned his Class B ticket in 1941 at the age of 14 and converted a cathedral radio into his first transmitter. Later, Bill earned DXCC using homebrew gear of his own design. Eventually he earned a top spot on the ARRL DXCC Honor Roll.

WRC-12 Comes to a Close in Geneva

This Week in Amateur Radio -

The World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12) concluded its deliberations today with the signing of the Final Acts that revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits. More than 3000 representing 165 out of ITU’s 193 Member-States attended the four-week Conference, braving the extreme winter conditions prevailing in Geneva. More than 100 Observers from among the ITU’s 700 private sector members, along with international organizations also attended WRC-12. A number of WRC-12 delegates are radio amateurs.

WRC-12 Delegates Place Possible 5 MHz Allocation on Agenda for Next WRC

This Week in Amateur Radio -

One of the responsibilities of each WRC delegation is to set the agenda for the next WRC. WRC-12 delegates approved an Amateur Radio-related agenda item for the upcoming WRC-15: To consider the possibility of making an allocation of an appropriate amount of spectrum, not necessarily contiguous, to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis within the band 5250-5450 kHz (see below for the complete text of the resolution). This will be Agenda Item 1.4 at WRC-15.

CTCSS from A-Z

This Week in Amateur Radio -

Today's land-mobile-radio communications systems have more features and functionality than ever before. In conventional radio, one of the most used and sometimes misunderstood features is CTCSS, which stands for Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System.

New Ham Band Approved at WRC-12

This Week in Amateur Radio -

A New Band at 600 metres. 2012-02-14 At its Plenary meeting held 14 February 2012 in Geneva the World Radiocommunication Conference approved a new secondary frequency allocation to the Amateur Radio Service at 472 to 479 kHz. Having passed First and Second Readings it is normally a formality that this change be included in the WRC-12 Final Acts when the Conference concludes February 17th. The Table of Frequency Allocations would then be amended accordingly.

Broaden horizons with ham radio

This Week in Amateur Radio -

Cellphones keep us connected when systems are working well. But when a natural disaster wipes out power and cellular towers are destroyed or jammed with high call volume, emergency respondents rely on a much simpler technology to keep us together when the going gets tough. Amateur shortwave radio, or ham radio, while largely forgotten by the general public, can be an invaluable technology in emergencies and natural disasters.

Amateur radio operators prep in Jonesboro (Arkansas)

This Week in Amateur Radio -

St. Bernards Medical Center is training a new class of amateur radio operators this weekend. Hospital personnel and volunteers met Saturday in Stroud Hall at the St. Bernards Annex Building. They attended the first of two classes aimed at preparing operators for an FCC licensing exam.

Hamming it up (Massachusetts)

This Week in Amateur Radio -

Dear Problem Solver: I would like to express my gratitude to B.M., Stoughton, for her very generous response to my request. I will be forever grateful for the ham radio equipment she gave me that belonged to her late husband. Whenever I am operating my ham station, B.M. will be at my side guiding me.

Bill Simons, W9BB, Silent Key; Developed Shure Microphones

ARRL -

William A. Simons, W9BB (ex-W9YXJ), passed away in Minnesota on January 2, 2012 at the age of 84. He earned his Class B ticket in 1941 at the age of 14 and converted a cathedral radio into his first transmitter. Later, Bill earned DXCC using homebrew gear of his own design. Eventually he earned a top spot on the ARRL DXCC Honor Roll.

Bill’s professional career spanned 31 years with Shure Inc -- ...

Payroll Tax Bill Includes Provision for Amateur Radio Study

ARRL -

A bill that passed both the House and the Senate today includes a provision for a study of the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio Service communications in emergencies and disaster relief.

If passed into law, Section 6414 (see below for text) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 mandates the completion of the study, with a report of the findings to the House Committee ...

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