ARRL

Geomagnetic field activity is likely to reach G1 (Minor) geomagneticstorm levels on January 13 and 14, and then from January 17 to 20.Unsettled levels are likely on January 12, and then from January 21and 22.  All enhancements in geomagnetic activity are due to theanticipated influence of multiple, recurrent, coronal holes. Theremainder of the outlook period is expected to be mostly quiet.A tra...

by Mark Derks, KC1RVQ, ARRL Headquarters StaffRichard Dean Straw (“Dean”), N6BV, died on July 9, 2025. Amateur radio was one of his passions.Dean retired from the staff of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® in 2008 following 15 years of service as the Senior Assistant Technical Editor.***In 2006, the World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) was held in Florianópolis, Brazil, a co...

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® has awarded a $5,000 Colvin Award grant to the Delta-Xray Group, organizers of the upcoming 3YØK DXpedition to Bouvet Island, scheduled for February and March, 2026. Bouvet is a remote island in the Southern Ocean, populated only by seals and penguins, and known for treacherous weather and surf conditions. It is a territory of Norway and nearly a...

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® annouces four new Section Managers taking on the top volunteer leadership role in the ARRL Field Organization on January 1, 2026. Bret Stemen, KD8SCL, has been appointed as the Ohio Section Manager to finish the term that will end September 30, 2026. Stemen, of Pataskala, has recently served as the Section Emergency Coordinator. He is taking the ...

The January 2, 2026, report from Spaceweather.com has updateddetails about the Coronal Mass Ejections predicted to hit the Earthon January 3 and 4.Solar wind parameters are expected to be disturbed through January4, 2026, due to a combination of Coronal Hole High Speed Stream andCoronal Mass Ejection activity. There is the potential for glancinginfluences late into January 3 from CMEs that left...

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® will close our headquarters early at 12 PM Eastern Standard Time (1700 UTC) on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, and will be closed all day on Thursday and Friday, December 25 - 26 for the Christmas holiday. ARRL will also be closed on Thursday, January 1, 2026, for New Year's Day.There will be no W1AW transmissions during the holiday closures. The A...

Solar activity has been at low levels with only a few C1 flares fromRegion 4307. Slight growth and consolidation were observed in thatregion as it neared the southwestern limb. Slight decay andseparation were observed in Region 4311. The rest of the spottedregions were either stable or in decay. CME analysis will beconducted as imagery becomes available. Solar activity is expectedto be low with...

Pre-registration is now open for a Student Coding Competition, a new national challenge sponsored by ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®. The project is designed to engage young radio amateurs in shaping the future of amateur radio through software development. Open to ARRL-member amateur radio operators aged 21 and younger, the competition will invite students to design a mobile a...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in October 2025 adopted a Report and Order to delete almost 400 obsolete rules pertaining to its wireless services. As previously reported by ARRL, among the deletions were four in Part 97 that govern the Amateur Radio Service.ARRL reports that the notice of the Report and Order has now been published in the Federal Register. Unless an objection is ra...

Solar activity reached high levels this past week when Region 4299produced an M1.1 (R1/Minor) flare on December 6. Shortly after, theregion produced an M8.1/2b (R3/Strong) flare, also on December 6.Associated with the M8.1 flare was a 1,100 SFU Tenflare, a 1,143km/s Type II sweep and a Type IV sweep. (A "sweep" is a solar radioburst that sweeps through the RF spectrum as the energy movesoutward...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on December 9, 2025, released a long-awaited Report and Order adopting a new amateur radio spectrum allocation in the 60-meter band that was approved for world-wide use on a secondary basis in the WRC-15 (World Radiocommunication Conference 2015) Final Acts. The Commission also agreed with a petition from ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radi...

Solar activity was at low levels this past week with only C classflares. Region 4294 remains the largest region on the disk but isappearing to be simplifying magnetically. Region 4296, on the otherhand, gained a delta region in its intermediary region, though withno corresponding increase in flare activity as of yet. New fluxemerged along the eastern side of Region 4298, resulting in severalC f...