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April 21, 2026
Editor: Josh Johnston, KE5MHV
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QST's "Club Station" Column Submissions |
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Clubs are the backbone of the amateur radio community. Whether you’re part of a special or general interest club, its members are the community that you serve. In the same way that every ham is different, each club is also different — not every club will offer the same programs and projects to their member community.
QST’s “Club Station” is a space for clubs to share their practical ideas about what’s helped lead them to their success. If your club has developed a creative way to get around common challenges, we want to hear from you!
If you’re interested in writing for “Club Station,” please follow the author guidelines that are tailored to this column. Additionally, you’ll find a Club Profile Form at the end of the author guidelines, which must be filled out and included with your submission. If this form is missing, your submission will not be considered complete.
www.arrl.org/qst-club-station-guidelines-and-profile-form
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ARRL Affiliated Club Reminder |
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This is a quick reminder that every ARRL Affiliated Club should update their club information annually. These simple instructions will walk you through the process: www.arrl.org/files/file/Clubs/Club%20Update%20Online_20150806.pdf. This only takes a few minutes, and it keeps your club up to date and in active status.
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Submitting Info for this Newsletter |
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ARRL Club News is for radio clubs to show how they are working in the community and the hobby to advance amateur radio.
If your club completes a project, supports an event, does an EmComm activation, or activates a park, we want to hear about it.
You can submit your newsletter article to us at
clubs@arrl.org. We like to get them as text or Word files instead of PDFs.
If you have pictures, please submit them with caption information, as well as the name and call sign of the photographer.
We want to highlight the good work being done by the clubs and show others in the community.
Think of this as a chance to show off your club and your programs.
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When the South Jersey Radio Association (SJRA), K2AA, turned 100 years old in 2016, it created the club QSO party to celebrate.
All members of SJRA signed their call signs/100 for the entire year of 2016. During 2026, SJRA is celebrating 110 years.
SJRA members had so much fun with the Club QSO Party in 2016, that we’re inviting all clubs to celebrate this year.
We’ve created a special event station to coincide with ARRL’s Year of the Club initiative.
This provides an opportunity to share club information with other radio amateurs.
Members of other clubs sign their call sign/###, indicating the age of the club they’re affiliated with. We also encourage clubs to put their club stations on the air as well, making this a large-scale coordinated effort.
Please join us in celebrating your radio club’s age and history, as we celebrate our own.
The June 2026 Club QSO Party is co-sponsored by the Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club, South Jersey Radio Association, and Kent Amateur Radio Society.
When: June 20, 2026, 00:00 UTC to June 21, 2026, 23:59 UTC (48 hours) Objective: Contact as many amateur radio club members and listed amateur radio club stations as possible Bands: All amateur radio bands (except for 60, 30, 17, and 12 meters) and modes, including repeater, satellite, and EME contacts will be accepted.
For more information: www.clubqsoparty.org Questions: Email us at info@clubqsoparty.org
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Field Day 2026: Webinar Promoting ARRL Field Day | Thursday, Apr 23 |
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Attention Public Information Coordinators and Public Information Officers! The 2026 ARRL Field Day is June 27 – 28, and it's already time to begin planning to promote amateur radio's number one annual demonstration.
This year is special, because ARRL has partnered with America250, making this year’s Field Day theme, Amateur Radio: A National Resource.
Back by popular demand: Members of the ARRL Public Relations Committee have organized Zoom meetings to provide training, tips, and best practices to help you in your role to promote ARRL Field Day. These meetings are intended for ARRL Public Information Officers, Public Information Coordinators, and other ARRL Section volunteers. Before attending these meetings, please review the resources available at www.arrl.org/FieldDay, and prepare any questions you may have.
Register now! Use the following links to register for the session you want to attend.
After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Thursday, April 23, 2026 — Best Practices & Tips for Promoting Field Day (choose a time)
6:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/wXvAoz-AQJ2_SO3vRpZ21w
9:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/FIHWN5gdSQ2SgJTX9jGbqw
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On The Air Live Offers Learning Opportunities for ARRL Members |
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Join ARRL's Education Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, as he discusses and demonstrates how to use software-defined radios (SDRs). Whether you’re curious about using SDR to explore the RF spectrum or looking to integrate them into your home station, this session will break down the basics and show you how to get started. He will demonstrate how to monitor the amateur bands, air band, and other interesting things you can monitor on the HF bands. You can catch On the Air Live on the ARRL's Learning Center website, learn.arrl.org, on April 28, at 8:00 PM Eastern. Pre-registration is required and can be accomplished on the Learning Center website.
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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. More info
| Listen on Blubrry
| Also available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
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To ensure that all ARRL Affiliated Clubs are receiving information to support Year of the Club, ARRL Club News is now being sent to all club email addresses of record, club presidents, and club newsletter editors, as submitted in affiliated club listings.
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Get your club together like the Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society in Argyle, Texas, did, and take a photo to send to QST. Each 2026 issue of QST will include club group photos. Get all the details at www.arrl.org/year-of-the-club.
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On Friday, April 10, 2026, the Eastern Iowa DX Association (EIDXA), N0DX, celebrated 50 years of affiliation with ARRL.
The original date of affiliation was January 14, 1976. Iowa Section Manager Barry Buelow, W0IY, presented the plaque from the ARRL Board of Directors Midwest Division Director Art Zygielbaum, K0AIZ, and Midwest Division Vice Director Dave Propper, K2DP. Accepting on behalf of the EIDXA was President Todd LeMense, KK0DX, as well as original EIDXA members Gayle Lawson, K0FLY; Jim Spencer, W0SR; Mike Nowack, NA9Q, and Tom Lindgren, W0WP. Of the 14 original charter members, seven are now Silent Keys, and a moment of silence was observed after reading their names and call signs.
Each of the original members in attendance were able to speak on the beginnings of the club and their memories of the continued friendships over the past 50 years. Many memories were fondly recalled.
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ARRL would like to know how your club greets and deals with new members — especially those who are new hams. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey at Club Spotlight on New Members. Your answers may be featured in future publications.
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How to Plan and Apply for an ARRL Hamfest or Convention |
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If your amateur radio club is planning to host a convention, hamfest, tailgate, or swapfest, please consider applying for it to be an ARRL-sanctioned event. To learn what it means to be an ARRL-sanctioned event, and to get some ideas on how to prepare for and conduct a hamfest or convention, visit
www.arrl.org/arrl-sanctioned-events.
To have your event sanctioned, complete the online application at
www.arrl.org/hamfest-convention-application.
Please send a copy of the application that returns to you to Steve Ewald at sewald@arrl.org.
The ARRL Hamfests and Conventions Calendar can be found online at
www.arrl.org/hamfests. In addition, the Convention and Hamfest Calendar that runs in QST each month also presents information about upcoming events.
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ARRL Home: www.arrl.org
Find an ARRL Affiliated Club: www.arrl.org/clubs
Find your ARRL Section: www.arrl.org/sections
Find a license class in your area: www.arrl.org/class
Find a license exam in your area: www.arrl.org/exam
Find a hamfest or convention: www.arrl.org/hamfests
Email ARRL Clubs: clubs@arrl.org
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ARRL Club News is published every month (12 times each year). ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page at
www.arrl.org/opt-in-out.
Copyright © 2026 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.
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