NWS Baltimore/Washington has a Skywarn Basics class tentatively scheduled at the PG County EOC in Landover, MD on April 18, 6-8 pm.

This is a prerequisite for classes for winter weather, severe weather and tropical weather specific to Maryland, DC and portions of Virginia and West Virginia.

To register, go to https://www.weather.gov/lwx/skywarn

Twice a year, ARRL offers an event designed to promote Amateur Radio to our youth. Share the excitement with your kids or grandkids, a Scout troop, a church or the general public!

Kids Day is designed to give on-the-air experience to young people and hopefully foster interest in getting a license of their own. It is also intended to give older hams a chance to share their station and love for Amateur Radio with their children.

ARRL® has heard from many members concerned about their print subscriptions to CQ magazine. CQ magazine is not an ARRL publication, however ARRL members enjoy the ability to pursue earning the CQ Worked All Zones (WAZ) and Worked All Prefixes (WPX) awards through Logbook of The World (LoTW).

CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, acknowledged the delays in delivering CQ magazine. He indicated that the November and December issues are delayed but plans are to get them out to the readership as soon as circumstances permit.

The page for submitting Service Hours is temporarily offline. I am redoing it because it has become overly complex with 40 categories of entry, some only pertaining to a single person.

I'm also considering replacing it with a fillable PDF form.

Contrary to belief, the service hours are internal, as only organizations deemed a charity need to track this for their exempt tax filings.

Webmaster

Santa Net is back on 3.916 MHz for the 18th year! Starting Friday, November 24th, good girls and boys can talk to Santa Claus, via amateur radio, nightly starting at 7:05 PM (Central). The Santa Net will run every night through Christmas Eve, December 24, 2023.

Pete Thomson (KE5GGY), of The 3916 Nets, commented on The Santa Net. He said, "What started 18 years ago as a small gathering on Christmas eve has really grown over the years. This year we expect to connect around 1,000 kids with Santa.”

The 2023 SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) is December 2 from 0000z to 2400z.

The event honors all SKYWARN storm spotters and amateur radio operators for their contributions to the National Weather Service (NWS) during severe weather. Amateur radio operators also provide vital communication to the NWS and emergency management when normal communications fail.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website is now updated with the SKYWARN registration form, mapping form, and rules and information you'll need to check in for this year's event.

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® reports that earlier today, the FCC Commissioners unanimously voted to amend the Amateur Radio Service rules to replace the baud rate limit on the Amateur HF bands with a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limit to permit greater flexibility in data communications.

“The Federal Communications Commission today adopted new rules to incentivize innovation and experimentation in the amateur radio bands by removing outdated restrictions and providing licensees with the flexibility to use modern digital emissions,” announced FCC.

W1AW will be closed to visitors on Thursday, November 16 for building maintenance. The station's regular operating schedule, including code practice and bulletins, will not be affected. W1AW will reopen on Friday, November 17 at 8:00 am Eastern time.

Special event stations will offer many opportunities for amateur radio operators to honor Veterans and make contacts for Veterans Day.

The K1USN Radio Club will be on the air on Saturday, November 11, 2023, to show their appreciation for those who have served in the military. The club station is located at 85 Quincy Avenue in Braintree, Massachusetts. K1USN will be on the HF bands on SSB, CW, and FT8, and they will begin operating at 1300 UTC and run until 2100 UTC. K1USN QSL cards will be available for all who contact the station.

The following persons were elected for the 2024 board by acclamation on November 2:

President - Bill Ryan, N3RY
Vice President - Greg Witmyer, KC3SEG
Secretary - Dave Rawley, N3AT
Treasurer - Kevin McGee, KC3SGL
Director - Chris Hale, N3VBN
Director - Dave Ernest, W3RDE
Director - Will Muzlera-Mooney, KA3UQQ

Those of you who have heard me speak about the threats facing Amateur Radio know that my greatest concerns facing our League are loss of spectrum, loss of antenna rights, and ever increasing RFI. Of these, the most urgent is the threat to our current 60 meter privileges.

Why should you care? Whether or not you are active on 60 meters, the proposed 10 dB reduction in power from 100 watts to 9.5 watts is the most sweeping reduction of HF privileges in decades. This erosion of our rights is a slippery slope which will embolden the FCC to remove or modify more HF privileges.

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® has a new book to help radio amateurs enjoy one of the fastest growing communities within the hobby. Participants in Parks on the Air® (POTA) have built one of the most vibrant on-air communities in contemporary ham radio. Park hunters comb the airwaves for activators operating from the lawns of sprawling public mansions, stoops at urban historic sites, forest glades, rocky mountaintops, seaside beaches, and just about any state or federal park in the country — and many entities abroad.

The attached file was originally in the Ham Arundel News, June 2021. It originated as a presentation the author gave on Grant's Elmer Net, a regional weekly net Elmering both new and experienced hams. The author was net controller and Presenter at the time. He gave us permission to print his presentation.

For state QSO party enthusiasts, there are several opportunities to participate during the next couple of weekends.

ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® is asking that all radio amateurs urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to continue the existing use of the 60-meter band. A public comment period is open until October 30, 2023. ARRL encourages expressions of support to the FCC for the current 100 W ERP power limit (instead of reducing the power limit to 15 W EIRP) and continuing secondary access to the current channels. 

There's a new newsletter in the ARRL repertoire as of this week. The first issue of The NTS Letter was published on October 3, 2023. The NTS Letter is a monthly digest of all things related to the ARRL National Traffic System®.

Rol Anders is on the team that selects the questions for licensing tests:

The current people have been nominated for office beginning January 1, 2024:

President - Bill Ryan, N3RY
Vice President - Greg Witmyer, KC3SEG
Secretary (vacant)
Treasurer - Kevin McGee, KC3SGL
Director - Chris Hale, N3VBN
Director - Dave Ernest, W3RDE
Director - Will Muzlera-Mooney, KA3UQQ

Nominations will continue to be accepted through November 2.

The 2023 Amplitude Modulation International (AMI) Jamboree will be held over the Thanksgiving weekend, starting at dusk on November 24 and ending at dawn on November 27.