The US Senate confirmed Anna Gomez as the fifth commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission on September 7, 2023. Gomez thanked President Biden for the nomination and the Senate for her confirmation.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to serve," she said in a statement on her LinkedIn page.

Gomez is an attorney with decades of experience in domestic and international communications law ...

Thursday, September 21, 2023, marked 50 years since the ARRL Foundation was formed. As a partner with ARRL, the ARRL Foundation stewards philanthropic support for amateur radio through scholarships, club grants, and other programs to ensure a strong and vibrant future for the avocation.

The total assets of the nonprofit entity measured nearly $8M at its most recent annual audit, but it grew from...

ASWFC GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE WARNING ISSUED AT 0249UTC on 22 SEPTEMBER 2023 BY THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE WEATHER FORECASTING CENTRE:

"Solar wind streams from a pair of coronal holes are expected to
mildly increase geomagnetic activity at times during the interval
late 22-Sep to 24-Sep.

"INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY EXPECTED FROM 22-24 SEPTEMBER 2023."

Nine new sunspot groups appeared this week, but th...

 On September 9, 2023, the Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club (BARC) in northern Utah provided amateur radio communications support during LoToJa, the longest 1-day USA Cycling (USAC)-sanctioned bicycle race in America. The LoToJa course consists of 200 miles of rough, mountainous terrain. BARC was prepared for the challenge and had been training and working on their communications plans for more t...

 The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is scheduled for October 7 - 8, 2023.

The SET is ARRL's annual national emergency exercise designed to assess the skills and preparedness of Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) volunteers, as well as those affiliated with other organizations involved in emergency and disaster responses. The SET is open to all radio amateurs and partner organizations,...

Hurricane Lee is expected to impact portions of New England in the Northeastern United States and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada. The storm has had the full attention of forecasters and the volunteer organizations that coordinate Amateur Radio response to hurricanes. 

Amateur Radio Emergency Service®(ARES®) volunteer groups are in an elevated state of readiness and alert ahead of the st...

Like last week, eight new sunspot groups emerged this reporting
week, September 7-13.

One appeared on September 7, another September 9, four more on
September 10, another on September 11 and one more on September 12.

Solar activity made a nice comeback, with average daily sunspot
numbers rising from 95.4 to 138.1, and solar flux from 137.6 to
159.9.

The most active geomagnetic day was September 12, wh...

The 2023 Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) will take place on Sunday, October 29 in Washington, D.C., and Arlington County, Virginia at 7:55 AM EDT. The MCM Ham Volunteers team is looking for 150 amateur radio operators to support the event by providing racecourse situation reports. 

The Marine Corps Marathon, also known as the People's Marathon, expects to support more than 29,000 runners at this yea...

ARRL is sad to announce that John Core, KX7YT, Section Manager of the ARRL Oregon Section from 2016 - 2018, passed away suddenly on August 11, 2023. He was 80 years young.

John first earned his Novice-class license in 1970 with the call sign WN7PQL. He subsequently upgraded to his General-class license in 1971 with the call sign WA7PQL, his Advanced-class license in 1976, and finally, to his A...

On Friday, August 25, 2023, Section Manager of the ARRL Northern New Jersey Section Robert Buus, W2OD, and Section Manager of the ARRL Southern New Jersey Section Tom Preiser, N2XW, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with representatives from the American Red Cross (ARC) New Jersey Region. The MOU focuses on disaster planning and response for communities within New Jersey during and aft...

On August 28, 2023, students at Bowman Middle School in Bakersville, North Carolina, talked to NASA Astronaut Stephen Bowen, KI5BKB, who as on board the International Space Station (ISS).

For months, 22 students had been preparing for a 10-minute window to ask Bowen about his time and experiences on the ISS. They were able to ask 13 questions, like, "What is it like to be in space?" and, "Is the...

 At the 21st International Amateur Radio Union World Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) Championship in Liberec, Czech Republic, held August 27 through September 2, 2023, USA competitors won a silver medal for an individual competition, as well as two bronze team medals.

ARDF, also known as radio orienteering, is a multi-skill sport that involves running and navigation using only a map and c...

At 0046 UTC on September 8, the Australian Space Weather Forecasting
Centre issued this alert:

"A solar filament erupted from the north east quadrant of the Sun on
07-Sep. Event modeling shows an edge of the associated north east
directed CME may graze the Earth's magnetosphere on 10-Sep.
INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY EXPECTED DUE TO CORONAL MASS EJECTION FOR 10 SEPTEMBER 2023."

Eight new sunspot gr...

Section Manager of the ARRL Louisiana Section John Mark Robertson, K5JMR, has stepped down. He has held this role since April 1, 2018. Robertson has been very active in the Section and in Louisiana ARES. He held the Emergency Coordinator and both District and Section Emergency Coordinator positions before he assumed the role of Section Manager.

Matt Anderson, KD5KNZ, has been appointed to fill t...

David “Dave” Lee Coons, WT8W, former Director of the ARRL Great Lakes Division, passed away on September 2, 2023, at the age of 92. Coons joined ARRL in 1963 and was a member of the ARRL Diamond Club.

According to the obituary published in the Dayton Daily News, Coons was a disabled veteran of the United States Navy, having served during the Korean War. He retired from his role as postmaster of ...

First, this alert from Australia.

"ASWFC GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE WARNING ISSUED AT 0706UTC/31 AUGUST 2023 BY THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE WEATHER FORECASTING CENTRE.

A filament eruption and associated coronal mass ejection (CME) were observed on UT day 30-Aug. This CME is expected to impact Earth from 1800 UT +/- 12 hours on 02-Sep, with impacts possibly rolling into UT day 03-Sep. G1-G2 geomagnetic co...

Volunteers of ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® were using their Amateur Radio Service license privileges to serve communities affected by Hurricane Idalia. Idalia made landfall Wednesday, August 30 on Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm sustaining winds of 125 miles per hour. The storm tracked across Georgia and into South Carolina, and on Thursday morning it had mo...

Section Manager of the ARRL Oregon Section Jonathan Wanzer, KK6GXG, has decided to step down from the role citing personal reasons. Jonathan assumed the role on July 1, 2023, with the intent of serving for the remainder of the term. ARRL Field Services Manager Mike Walters, W8ZY, has appointed Scott Rosenfeld, N7JI, to complete the term.

Rosenfeld, from Eugene, Oregon, has served as a Volunteer...

ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® Headquarters will be closed on Monday, September 4, 2023, in observance of the Labor Day federal holiday. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions. ARRL Headquarters will reopen on Tuesday, September 5, at 8 AM EDT (1200 UTC).

Visit the ARRL Special Events Stations database to find on-the-air events and commemorations this we...

 ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® has received approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for an emergency waiver to facilitate amateur radio emergency communications for hurricane relief.

The request, filed by the ARRL Washington DC Counsel on August 29, 2023, seeks a waiver of HF symbol rate restrictions.

Trained radio amateurs involved with the Amateur Radio Eme...