|
|
Amateur Radio Serves During New England Tornadoes |
|
Amateur radio volunteers serving in the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) and the National Weather Service SKYWARN® program were active over the weekend.
They were serving their communities in New England as tornado-warned storms moved across New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Five EF1 tornadoes struck the central Massachusetts communities of Paxton, Holden, Berlin and Stow.
A squall line of severe thunderstorms that would eventually have embedded tornadoes in central Massachusetts swept across the region. SKYWARN nets activated on repeaters across the area. Reports came in rapidly of downed trees and wires, as well as hail up to ¾” in diameter in western Massachusetts, with radio amateurs sharing critical damage reports from this area. In addition, reports of damage were received in all of the tornado path areas in near real time and were shared with the National Weather Service, Boston / Norton Weather Forecast Office, WX1BOX, amateur radio team direct via repeaters, using various applications, email, social media that the amateur radio team utilizes.
“It had been a below normal 2025 severe weather season with only one large-scale severe weather event [in July] across Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts,” said Rob Macedo, KD1CY, ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Emergency Coordinator and SKYWARN Coordinator.
“That all changed on September 6th.”
Southern New England averages 2 tornadoes per year. The 6 states of New England average 8 tornadoes per year and there had been none in 2025 until Saturday, 9/6, when 2/3 of the average yearly total occurred.
This outbreak also put southern New England above average for tornadoes in the 2025 season.
All active SKYWARN nets were secured around 6:30 PM Saturday. Andrew Loconto, Lead Meteorologist NWS Norton MA, commented, “Thanks to the entire team for all the reports today!” A complete summary of the severe weather in southern New England can be seen on the WX1BOX web site.
|
|
|
|
National Preparedness Month – Ham Radio Supply List |
|
As the tornadoes that struck Massachusetts on September 6, 2025, demonstrate, you need to be ready for an emergency ahead of time. Radio amateurs were able to serve their communities and the National Weather Service because they were prepared.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released a list of supplies
[PDF] to keep in an emergency supply kit, which includes things like food, water, medications, a first aid kit, and other useful items – but hams may want to take it a step further.
|
.jpg?cb=857305)
|
|
|
ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, says hams should make sure their stations are resilient. “Have a battery backup, or alternate means of power. The grid may go down. Make sure all your antennas are functional and that you have backups in case they are damaged. It may be a good idea to keep a few baluns and some spools of wire to quickly erect wire antennas, if needed,” he said.
In addition to having these items, Johnston says to test and exercise the equipment throughout the year. “Consider getting your emergency gear out and doing a shakedown of it during a Parks on the Air operation – it puts your station to the test, gets you active on the air, and can be a fun activity done year-round.”
Find more information about resilience and preparedness through amateur radio at www.arrl.org/ares.
|
|
ARRL Section Manager Nomination Results |
|
Below are the results of our recent Section Manager nomination period for the term beginning January 1, 2026, and declared elected, with no opposition:
New Section Managers:
Michigan – Ralph Katz, AA8RK
Santa Barbara – Keith Elliott, W6KME
Continuing:
Alabama – Dennis Littleton, K4DL
Alaska – David Stevens, KL7EB
Delaware – Steven Keller, KC3DSO
East Bay – Mike Patterson, N6JGA
Kansas – Ron Cowan, KBØDTI
New Mexico – Bill Mader, K8TE
Tennessee – David Thomas, KM4NYI
Western Massachusetts – Ray LaJoie, AA1SE
The ARRL Field Organization
is the grassroots corps that makes up the 60,000 volunteers among ARRL membership. It is divided into 71 Sections, each of which is led by a volunteer Section Manager who is elected by the members of the Section. Section Managers serve two-year terms.
|
|
Arkansas Club Shares Ham Radio at Maker Faire |
|
The Bella Vista Radio Club (BVRC)
in northwest Arkansas, an ARRL Special Service Club, found a good outreach opportunity with the NWA Maker Faire, held Saturday, September 6, 2025. The event touts that it “brings together creators, innovators, and DIY enthusiasts to showcase their projects, share ideas, and show us all what the future can be.”
|
|
|
|
BVRC’s booth at the NWA Maker Faire reached over 100 people with information about how to get their amateur radio license. | | | |
|
BVRC is a large club and found a lot of interest quickly, said club member James Bennett, KA5DVS, who organized the radio presence at the event.
“I made announcements at the monthly BVRC meeting and several club members volunteered to help in planning, supplying equipment and other needs, as well as staffing the booth.
These included me, Tom Northfell, W5XNA; Ryan Biazo, K5HEX; John Robinson, W5HB; Jan Hagan, WB5JAN, and Kathy Long, who helped set up and staff the booth as well.
Other club members who assisted included Sharron Edmondson, KC5SKY, and Alex Smith, KI5EQK,” he said.
|
|
|
|
Maker Faires are a series of events produced by the publishers of Make: magazine. The first one was held in the San Fracisco Bay Area in 2006. | | | |
|
The club visited with over 100 people who stopped by their booth.
“Most were familiar or at the very least curious about ham radio,” noted Bennett. “However, we also heard a few comments such as: ‘Is anyone still doing ham radio?’ and ‘I thought this was only used by truckers years ago,’ so there is a bit of an information gap on ham radio within the maker community, and this is mirrored by the surprisingly low number of hams familiar with the maker movement.”
Radio clubs are vital to the growth of amateur radio.
ARRL has declared 2026 to be the Year of the Club, and radio clubs such as BVRC will be a central focus of support next year.
They are on the front lines of sharing amateur radio with their communities.
Bennett feels that last weekend’s booth was a good use of time to do so.
“Maker Faires are an outstanding venue for presenting ham radio and for ham clubs to engage with the maker community, one that is filled with technically-oriented folks who love tinkering, hacking and building.”
For more information on BVRC, visit bellavistaradioclub.org. To find a Maker Faire in your area, use the map tool located at makerfaire.com/globalmap.
|
|
|
|
Amateur Radio in the News |
|
ARRL Live Events and Podcasts |
|
On the Air LIVE
Join ARRL's Educaton Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, as he describes and demonstrates how APRS can be leveraged to keep in contact with family and loved ones who live outside of an area where all grid communications are damaged or destroyed due to a natural or man-made disaster.
Up Next:
📅 Date: September 23, 2025
🕗 Time: 8 PM Eastern / 5 PM Pacific
👉 Register Now
|
|
On the Air
Sponsored by Icom
Get Inspired for Contest Season
The podcast welcomes Violetta Latham, KN2P, a young contester who has had the opportunity to operate at some big, famous contest stations such as K3LR, PJ2T, and W3LPL. Violetta will talk about how she got started in contesting and how she got to where she is today. Listen Now
More info
| Listen on Blubrry
| Also available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
|
|
ARRL Audio News
Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday. ARRL Audio News is a summary of the week's top news stories in the world of amateur radio and ARRL, along with interviews and other features. The ARRL Audio News is now broadcast on FM low power radio stations KQRZ-LP 100.7 and 96.7 MHz FM in Spokane, Washington every Saturday and Sunday morning at 8:00 AM PDT. More info
| Listen on Blubrry
| Also available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
|
|
The Northern Panhandle Amateur Radio Club, Wheeling, West Virginia, will operate W8ZQ, POW/MIA awareness special event station, on September 20, 2025. Operation will begin at 1300 UTC in the General-class portions of the 20- and 40-meter bands. The event honors National POW/MIA Recognition Day, a time to remember prisoners of war (POW) and those who are missing in action (MIA), as well as their families.
In 1979, Congress passed a law authorizing the President to proclaim a national day of recognition.
President Jimmy Carter designated July 18, 1979, as the first National POW/MIA Recognition Day. In 1986, the event was formally assigned to be observed on the third Friday in September each year.
Today, that is the official time to honor the sacrifices made by POWs and MIAs.
|
|
The Alabama Contest Group
will operate special event station K4A to honor the victims of the 9-11 attacks in New York City, Shanksville Pennsylvania, and Washington , D. C. on September 11, 2001. This year’s theme is " 9-11 We Do Remember." Operations continue through Thursday, September 11, at 23:59 UTC. K4A will operate SSB, FT8, CW, and RTTY. There will QSOs on all bands from 160 through 10 meters. This year, a new special QSL and certificate with the " We Do Remember" theme will be available. To amateurs who contact K4A on 3 bands using any combination of bands/modes, there will be a full-color glossy certificate on heavy paper which will be mailed in a full-sized manila envelope, all postage paid by the Alabama Contest Group, even if you are DX. Contact www.alabamacontestgroup.org for more information.
|
|
|
|
The Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association’s (BIARA) NI6BB will celebrate the U.S. Navy’s 250th birthday with radio operations from October 4 - 19, 2025. Frequencies will be on or near those listed on the front page of BIARA.ORG | Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association. Modes will be at the discretion of the individual control operators manning NI6BB. Operating hours are expected to be between 1400 and 2400 UTC (0700 and 1700 local Pacific Time). QSLs will be available per the detailed instructions found on the website. For additional information, please contact w6hb@biara.org.
|
|
Open Positions at ARRL
Come join the headquarters staff of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®! We are currently seeking qualified applicants for the following positions:
Membership Manager
Membership Services Representative
Technical Editor
Assistant Editor
Full details may be found on the ARRL HR web page at www.arrl.org/careers.
ARRL is an equal opportunity employer.
|
|
|
|
|
This image was taken on September 11, 2025. [Photo courtesy of NASA SDO/HMI] | | |
ARRL Solar Report September 11, 2025
Solar activity has been at very low to low levels this past week.
Low level C-class flaring was observed from Regions 4210 and 4207. Slight growth was observed in Regions 4213 and 4214. The rest of the spotted regions were either stable or in decay.
Solar activity is expected remain at low levels, with a chance for isolated M-class flares (R1-R2/minor-moderate) through September 13.
A CME (coronal mass ejection) eruption was observed just beyond the W limb on September 9. No impacts are expected, and no Earth-directed CMEs were observed.
Solar wind parameters continued to be enhanced under positive polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS) influences. Solar wind speed increased from approximately 450 km/s to near 550 km/s. Elevated solar wind conditions are expected to continue through September 11 under positive polarity CH HSS influences with waning influences into September 12.
The 10.7-centimeter flux: September 12, 125; September 13, 120; September 14, 125; September 15, 130; September 16 - 17, 135; September 18, 140.
Predicted sunspot numbers: September 11, 138; September 12, 131; September 13, 143; September 14, 129; September 15, 150; September 16, 120; September 17, 155.
For more information concerning radio propagation, visit
the ARRL Technical Information Service, read A Quick Guide to HF Propagation Using Solar Indices, and check out
the Propagation Page of Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA.
For customizable propagation charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio website.
|
|
|
-
September 13 - 14 -- ARRL EME Contest (CW, phone, digital)
-
September 13 - 14 -- WAE DX Contest, SSB (phone)
-
September 13 -- Africa FT4 DX Contest (digital)
-
September 14 -- North American Sprint, (CW)
-
September 15 -- RSGB FT4 Contest (digital)
-
September 18 -- BCC QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
-
September 20 - 22 -- ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest (CW, phone, digital)
-
September 20 - 21 -- Scandinavian Activity Contest, CW (CW)
-
September 20 - 21 -- New Jersey QSO Party (CW, phone)
-
September 20 –21 -- Texas QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
-
September 20 - 21 -- Iowa QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
-
September 20 - 21 -- New Hampshire QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
-
September 20 - 21 -- Washington State Salmon Run (CW, phone)
-
September 21 -- North American Sprint, RTTY (digital)
-
September 22 -- 144 MHz Fall Sprint (CW, phone, digital)
-
September 24 -- UKEICC 80 Meter Contest (CW)
|
|
Remember to visit the ARRL Contest Calendar
for more events and information.
|
|
Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions |
-
September 12 - 13 | Slidell EOC Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Louisiana State Convention, Slidell, Louisiana
-
September 19 - 21 | Duke City Hamfest, hosting the ARRL New Mexico State Convention, Albuquerque, New Mexico
-
September 20-21 | Midwest Superfest, hosting the ARRL Central Division Convention, Chillicothe, Illinois
-
September 27 | ARRL Dakota Division Convention, Moorhead, Minnesota
-
October 4 | Rock Hill Hamfest, hosting the ARRL South Carolina Section Convention, Rock Hill, South Carolina
-
October 10 -12 | Pacificon, hosting the ARRL Pacific Division Convention, San Ramon, California
-
October 10 - 11 | Melbourne Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Florida State Convention, Melbourne, Florida
-
October 10 - 11 | SPARK-CON, hosting the ARRL Midwest Division Convention, Sedalia, Missouri
-
October 11 | North Star Radio Convention, hosting the ARRL Minnesota State Convention, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
-
October 12 | Nutmeg Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Connecticut State Convention, Meriden, Connecticut
-
October 23 - 26 | HamCon Colorado 2025, hosting the ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention, Grand Junction, Colorado
-
November 1 | Stone Mountain Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Georgia State Convention, Lawrenceville, Georgia
-
November 15 | Superstition ARC Superfest & Electronics Expo, hosting the ARRL Arizona State Convention, Mesa, Arizona
Remember to search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention
Database to find events in your area.
|
|
Have News for ARRL?
Submissions for The ARRL Letter and ARRL News can be sent to news@arrl.org. -- John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, ARRL News Editor
|
|
ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information
Join ARRL or renew today!
No other organization works harder to promote and protect amateur radio. Membership supports benefits, services, programs, and advocacy to help you get (and stay) active and on the air. Membership includes access to digital editions of all four ARRL magazines: QST, On the Air, QEX, and NCJ.
Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday.
The ARRL Letter is available in an accessible format, posted weekly to the Blind-hams Groups.io
email group. The group is dedicated to discussions about amateur radio as it concerns blind hams, plus related topics including ham radio use of adaptive technology.
NCJ -- National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprints, and QSO parties.
QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bimonthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns, and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.
Free of charge to ARRL members...
Subscribe
to the ARES Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), the ARRL Contest Update (biweekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts, and much more!
Find ARRL on Facebook! Follow us on Threads, X, and Instagram.
| |
|
The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 51 times each year. ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their profile at www.arrl.org/opt-in-out.
Copyright © 2025 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated.
Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution.
All other purposes require written permission.
|
|
| |
| | | |
