• Mobile App Available to Navigate 2022 Dayton Hamvention^®
• Amateur Radio Club Helps Teach Survival Skills
• Ham Families Continue to Grow
• ARRL RF Safety Committee members to be honored by the Radio Society of Great Britain
• ARRL Forum at Hamvention Will Include FCC Enforcement Bureau's Lark Hadley, KA4A
• Amateur Radio in the News
• Announcements
• In Brief...
• The K7RA Solar Update
• Just Ahead in Radiosport
• Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions

Dayton Hamvention^® is offering a free mobile app for smartphones and tablets to help attendees navigate the large-scale event, which runs May 20 - 22 at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. The app, which was introduced in 2019, is offered in a collaborative effort with ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio^®.

The ARRL Events app is now available and already includes Hamvention's full program, so attendees can browse and schedule forums, find affiliated events, and preview the extensive list of exhibitors. During the event, attendees can use other app features to follow the hourly prize drawings populated by the Dayton Hamvention Prize Committee, and browse building and site maps.

Use this QR code to get the ARRL Events app. You will be redirected to the appropriate app store, or redirected to the web browser version: www.tripbuildermedia.com/apps/arrl

The app is available for Apple and Android smart devices, or access the web browser version which is optimized for nearly any browser or other type of mobile device. Visit your app store to download the app (search "ARRL Events") or access the links available on the ARRL EXPO web page. If you're reading this article on a mobile device, click here to be redirected to the appropriate app store, or redirected to the web browser version.

Read the complete story.

Members of the All Things Amateur Radio Association (ATARA-W8ATR), a family-oriented radio club in the foothills of southern Ohio, were in Lancaster on Saturday, April 30, to help support the Afterschool Programs of Lancaster with their Family Survival Day at Alley Park.

Along with some radio related activities, ATARA provided instruction for the National Association for Search and

ATARA member shows to use a trash bag for weather protection. [Photo, Jim Breibach, KE8SWY]

Rescue's Hug-A-Tree program, explained what to do if you are lost in the woods, as well as taught families how a trash bag can keep you warm and dry. There were also primitive fire-starting demonstrations where families could learn how to use magnesium bars, char cloth, and jute.

The families visited a Parks on the Air® (POTA) station and listened as contacts were made across the country with stations in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Oscillating Keyers were also set up for the families to key their names in Morse code.

There were 80 participants and 30 volunteers. ATARA is an ARRL Affiliated Club.

Our news story, "One Family Celebrates Generations of Amateur Radio Operators," in the April 29 ARRL Letter has generated great interest among members of the ham community. This story includes four generations of Stewart family amateur radio operators, spanning nearly 60 years.

ARRL member Bob Weed, W7SCY, of Bend, Oregon, shared that his family also has four

Oscar Weed, WN7ZK/W7ZKJ, in his shack circa 1960. [Photo, Bob Weed, W7SCY]

generations of hams.

Weed was the first to be licensed in 1951, and 2 years later, his father Chet Weed, WN7TLQ/W7TLQ (SK), earned his license. In 1954, Grandfather Oscar Weed, WN7ZKJ/W7ZKJ (SK), also became a ham. Later, in 1965, Bob's younger brother Roger became licensed as KN7AEF/K7AEF, later as KL7HOT, and currently holds the call sign KV4I.

The Weed's ham roots continued to grow when his stepson Ron Bertram, KF7RB, earned his license. To complete the family tree, Bob's wife Nora is now licensed as NW7CQ, and his daughter-in-law Dawn Bertram is licensed as KJ7CHG.

ARRL RF Safety Committee members to be honored by the Radio Society of Great Britain

Chairman of the ARRL RF Safety Committee (RFSC) Gregory D. Lapin, N9GL, Ph.D, P.E., will receive an award at the 2022 Dayton Hamvention^® from the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB). He will receive the Founders' Trophy, recognizing his outstanding service to the society. He will also be accepting awards for committee members Kai Siwiak, KE4PT; Ric Tell, K5UJU, and Matt Butcher, KC3WD.

Along with members of the RSGB, the ARRL RFSC members formed an EMF Oversight Group, which has been meeting since August 2020 to help develop tools and procedures for complying with the new RF Exposure regulations for amateur radio operators in Great Britain. The new rules in the UK are similar to those already in effect in the United States. The new rules will be phased in over a 2-year period and are currently in effect for high band frequencies only.

RSGB members of the EMF Oversight Group are John Rogers, M0JAV (RSGB Director); Peter Zollman, G4DSE, and Ian White, GM3SEK, who received their awards at the society's annual general meeting on April 23, 2022, during an online ceremony.

To learn more about the Radio Society of Great Britain visit rsgb.org.

ARRL Forum at Hamvention Will Include FCC Enforcement Bureau's Lark Hadley, KA4A

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Enforcement Bureau Regional Director Lark Hadley, KA4A, will participate in an ARRL-sponsored forum at Dayton Hamvention® on Saturday, May 21, 2022. The forum, "Good Operators and the ARRL Volunteer Monitor (VM) Program" will be led by Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, who heads the VM Program - a joint initiative between ARRL and the FCC to enhance compliance on radio spectrum allocated to the Amateur Radio Service.

Hadley is responsible for the FCC Field Offices in Region Three, which responds to enforcement issues involving wireless and broadcast interference in the western states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific island territories.

Hollingsworth, who retired from FCC in 2008 as the Special Counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement Division, works with ARRL's core of volunteer VMs to recognize exemplary "good operator" behavior on the air, while also deterring poor operating practices. The VM Program will also refer well-documented instances of repeated violations to FCC, such as unlicensed use of amateur radio spectrum and deliberate interference, and follow-up on FCC requests to the program.

A complete list of ARRL-sponsored forums at Dayton Hamvention is published at www.arrl.org/expo.

ARRL Podcasts Schedule

The latest episode of the ARRL On the Air podcast (Episode 28) features a discussion of digital multimeters with practical usage examples and shopping tips.

The latest edition (Episode 59) of the ARRL Eclectic Tech podcast features a discussion with ARRL Radiosport Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, about the upcoming ARRL International Digital Contest.

The On the Air and Eclectic Tech podcasts are sponsored by Icom. Both podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android), as well as on Blubrry -- On the Air | Eclectic Tech.

ARRL Public Information Officers, Coordinators, and many other member-volunteers help keep amateur radio and ARRL in the news.

• "Amateur Radio Event at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve" / The Emporia Gazette (Kansas), May 4, 2022. Featuring Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club, an ARRL Affiliated Club.

• "Ham operators help rescue Bangla woman from traffickers" / The Times of India, May 4, 2022.

• "Ham radio operators salute wireless inventor Marconi" / Newsday (New York), April 23, 2022 (the article is available only to subscribers). Featuring Radio Central Amateur Radio Club and Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club, both ARRL Affiliated Clubs.

Share any amateur radio media hits you spot with us.

• The New Zealand Amateur Radio Transmitters Society (NZART) has announced that negotiations with Radio Spectrum Management (RSM) have been successful in obtaining a new 60 m (5 MHz) license with the same terms and conditions as the previous license which expired on May 4, 2022. With the license, New Zealand amateurs may operate on the band using the WRC-15 allocation. Maximum allowable power is 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP), and amateurs are secondary users in the band. Existing 60 m sub-license holders do not need to reapply. More information is available on the NZART website: www.nzart.org.nz/info/60m.

• A team of four SOTA activators completed a successful DXpedition to the Arctic Island of Svalbard (IOTA EU-026) in the first five days of May 2022. The activators were: Knut Lanidsa LA9DSA (operating as JW9DSA), Lauris Paukste LB1RH (operating as JW/LB1RH), Mikhail Khelik LB8CG (operating as JW/LB8CG), Manuel Kasper HB9DQM (operating as JW/HB9DQM). The team was QRV on CW and SSB from 15m through 30m. The summits activated were: Knapen JW/MS-095, 759m ASL, and Rejmyrefjellet JW/MS-140, 615m ASL. Congratulations to Mikhail LB8CG who achieved his SOTA Mountain Goat award with the activation of Knapen JW/MS-095. For more information about the SOTA - Summits on the Air awards program, please visit www.sota.org.uk.

• Online ticketing has opened for the Northeast HamXposition, which will be held August 26 - 28 in Marlborough, Massachusetts. The event is sanctioned as the combined ARRL New England and Hudson Division Convention. General admission tickets, flea market spaces, and Friday and Saturday banquet tickets can be purchased here online.
  

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports:

Spaceweather.com reported on May 4 an M5 solar flare from sunspot

Image from Spaceweather.com, May 5, 2022.

group AR3004, causing a brief shortwave radio blackout over the Middle East and Africa.

Solar activity was lower this week, even though sunspots were visible every day.

Average daily sunspot numbers dropped from 109.3 to 68.6, while average daily solar flux went from 156 to 120.

Average daily geomagnetic indices were only slightly higher, with average planetary A index changing from 9.1 to 10.7, and middle latitude A index from 8 to 9.3.

Predicted solar flux looks low for the next month, even dipping below 100 in early June.

Predicted values are 135 and 138 on May 5 - 6, 145 on May 7 - 9, then 140, 130, 120, 115 and 120 on May 10 - 14, 125 on May 15 - 18, 127 on May 19 - 20, then 130, 128, 125, and 122 on May 21 - 24, 118 on May 25 - 26, then 114 and 110 on May 27 - 28, 105 on May 29 -31, then 102 and 100 on June 1 - 2, 97 on June 3 -5, then 99, 102 and 108 on June 6 - 8.

Predicted planetary A index is 5 on May 5 - 12, then 8, 10 and 8 on May 13 - 15, 5 on May 16 - 19, then 12 and 8 on May 20 - 21, 5 on May 22 - 23, 18 on May 24, 15 on May 25 - 27, then 8, 15 and 8 on May 28 - 30, and 5 on May 31 through June 8.

These predictions are from forecasters Housseal and Dethlefsen of the USAF 557^th Weather Wing.

Sunspot numbers for April 28 through May 4, 2022, were 118, 90, 50, 36, 69, 53, and 64, with a mean of 68.6. 10.7 cm flux was 132.2, 123.5, 119.7, 109, 111.9, 113.8, and 130.1, with a mean of 120. Estimated planetary A indices were 14, 15, 18, 9, 6, 7, and 6, with a mean of 10.7. Middle latitude A index was 11, 10, 16, 9, 6, 7, and 6, with a mean of 9.3.

A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL website. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service, read "What the Numbers Mean...," and check out the Propagation Page of Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA.

A propagation bulletin archive is available. For customizable propagation charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio website.

Share your reports and observations.

A weekly, full report is posted on ARRL News.

• May 6 -- NCCC RTTY Sprint (Digital)

• May 6 -- NCCC Sprint (CW)

• May 6 -- K1USN Slow Speed Test (CW)

• May 7 -- 10-10 International Spring (CW)

• May 7 -- RCC Cup (CW, Phone)

• May 7 -- All above 902 Microwave Spring Sprint All 6-char grid square sites.

• May 7 -- ARI International DX Contest (Phone, CW, Digital)

• May 7 -- F9AA Cup, (Digital)

• May 7 -- Weekend Sprintathon (CW)

• May 7 -- Call Area QSO Party (CW, Phone, Digital)

• May 7 -- QSO Party (Phone, CW)

• May 7 -- Delaware QSO Party (CW, Phone, Digital)

• May 7 -- New England QSO Party (CW, Phone, Digital)

• May 8 -- WAB 7 MHz Phone (Phone)

• May 9 -- 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday (CW, Phone)

• May 9 -- RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship, SSB (Phone)

• May 11 -- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest FT8 4-char grid square

Visit the ARRL Contest Calendar for more events and information.

• May 7 -- ARRL Indiana State Convention (North Central Indiana Hamfest), Peru, Indiana

• May 14 -- ARRL Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska

• May 20 - 22 -- Dayton Hamvention^®, Xenia, Ohio, and featuring ARRL EXPO

• June 3 - 5 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention (SEA-PAC), Seaside, Oregon

• June 4 -- ARRL Georgia State Convention (Atlanta Hamfest), Marietta, Georgia

Search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database to find events in your area.

Submissions for the ARRL Letter and ARRL News can be sent to [email protected]. -- John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, ARRL News Editor

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