Bill McArthur KC5ACR at Dayton Hamvention®

I had previously reported that Bill McArthur KC5ACR was very active on 2M FM from the International Space Station (ISS) using the ISS callsign NA1SS. Bill took up the challenge of completing WAS and WAC (and accomplished it). The high point for me was working NA1SS on Dec 5, 2005. Bill was at the Dayton … Read more

Regulation by Bandwidth Goes Down in Flames

The ARRL has withdrawn the petition to the FCC which calls for “Regulation by Bandwidth” (RM-11306) in the Amateur Radio Service. NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 27, 2007 — The ARRL has announced it’s withdrawing its controversial November 2005 Petition for Rule Making (RM-11306) calling on the FCC to establish a regulatory regime to segment bands by … Read more

The Great Colorado Grid Run

The ARRL June VHF QSO Party (June 9-11) is a great opportunity to try out your gear for the VHF and higher bands. See the complete information on the contest here. Under the theory that activity breeds more activity on the VHF bands, I am proposing a coordinated effort to activate all Colorado grids during … Read more

QRP Power Levels Redefined

After decades of QRP power levels being defined by a simple “RF output” standard, the QRP Amateur Radio Club International adopted a new QRP power level standard. This new standard takes into account the total power consumed in the ham shack at the time of the QRP contact. This is thought to provide a “purer” … Read more

Announcing the 2010 (56th Annual) Poisson d’Avril Contest

56th Annual Poisson d’Avril Contest 0000 – 2359Z April 1, 2010 I. DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVE: Since K1DG has won this contest every year since its inception, and is expected to win for at least the next three years, we are announcing the 2010 rules in 2007 to give everyone a chance to install the necessary … Read more

Colorado QSO Party Announced

The Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association has announced the date and rules for the Colorado QSO Party. The contest runs from 1200 UTC 15 July, 2007 until 0400 UTC 16 July 2007. For Colorado, this is 6AM to 10PM MDT on Sunday July 15th. This should be a fun event on the ham bands from … Read more