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ARRL Letter Issue
96
The ARRL Letter for November 5, 2026
Richard Moseson, W2VU, Editor | November 5, 2026
ARRL Homepage
ARRL Homepage
In this Issue:
Radio Science in the Air - Part 1
Radio Science in the Air - Part 2
A.I. in the Ham Shack
Hams Help Promote Rural Repopulation in Spain
ARRL New England Division Leadership Change
Amateur Radio in the News
ARRL Live Events and Podcasts
Announcements
In Brief...
The ARRL Solar Report
Just Ahead in Radiosport
Upcoming ARRL Conventions and Major Events
Save the Date
CQ SS CQ SS. Its Sweepstakes Time!
Talk with your hands this weekend! Its the CW portion of the 2026 ARRL
November Sweepstakes. From 2100 UTC Saturday, November 7, through 0259
UTC Monday, November 9, stations across the United States and Canada
will be competing to make contacts with as many other US and Canadian
stations as possible on the 160-, 80-, 40-, 20-, 15-, and 10-meter
bands.
Find the complete rules at contests.arrl.org/ContestRules/SS-Rules.pdf
(PDF).
BONUS: After submitting your contest log, don't forget to upload your
QSOs to Logbook of The World (LoTW). These contacts may help stations
pursuing the ARRL America250 Worked All States Award. Contacts with ARRL
Affiliated Clubs may also count toward the award's Affiliated Club
endorsement.
Radio Science in the Air - Part 1
Experiments designed to study the effects of extreme cold and high
altitudes on various materials and objects were the primary payload of
an amateur radio high-altitude balloon launched October 10 from the 2026
ARRL Midwest Division Convention, hosted at the SPARK-CON hamfest by
Missouris Sedalia-Pettis Amateur Radio Klub, an ARRL Affiliated Club.
The helium-filled balloon rose to an altitude of 110,000 feet, or nearly
21 miles, before bursting and parachuting back to the ground. The
payload consisted of tracking transmitters, a camera, and experiments
developed by students at the Missouri University of Science and
Technology (Missouri S&T) and cadets from the Missouri Civil Air Patrol.
It landed in a tree roughly 30 miles away from its launch point in
Sedalia. After the launch, attendees gathered around an exhibit of
emergency communication trailers to view the balloon tracking on a large
display in real-time.
The SPARK-CON convention October 9-10 at the Missouri State Fairgrounds
in Sedalia drew in hams from across Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and
Kansas. ARRL Director of Marketing and Innovation Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R,
was the keynote speaker at the conventions Friday night banquet.
Missouri Civil Air Patrol cadets help prepare high-altitude
balloon for launch from the ARRL Midwest Division Convention in
Sedalia, Missouri on October 10. [Sedalia Pettis Amateur Radio
Klub President Bret Kuhns, WVK, photo]
Radio Science in the Air - Part 2
Skills acquired in amateur radio are often transferable to other
pursuits, especially those involving radio. One example is Glenn
Pollock, WAFMY, of Omaha, Nebraska, who has used the knowledge he gained
as a VHF weak-signal enthusiast to lead teams of volunteers in designing
and building 18 (so far) tracking stations for radio-tagged monarch
butterflies and other small creatures.
The transmitters for monarchs are solar-powered, weigh about the same as
a grain of rice, and allow researchers and the general public to track
individual butterflies as they make their annual migration to overwinter
in Mexico. The data they transmit are relayed via Bluetooth to a central
database maintained by Project Monarch, which displays locations and
tracks on a free app.
Project Monarch collaborates with Motus, a project of Birds Canada which
uses larger receive sites to track migrating birds, bats, and insects,
and these are the sites that Pollock has been building in Iowa and
Nebraska. The sites are built around an internet-connected computer and
software-defined receiver (SDR) installed in a weatherproof enclosure
below at least 8 VHF/UHF Yagi antennas, each pointed in a different
direction. These sites cost several thousand dollars each to build and
install, but Pollock says all of his projects have been funded by
government agencies, non-profits, and individual contributions, plus
lots of free labor and equipment from hams. He also gets help from
biology students and others working in environmental fields.
Pollock says his VHF weak-signal knowledge has helped with antenna
selection, spacing, and impedance matching. I feel this is how amateur
radio operators contribute to science, he says. Installing Motus
receivers shows how hams do not just hide in a basement trying to make
contacts but are involved in the community.
Motus station installation team with one of their recent projects.
From left, John Wolken, KVMAS; Ray Turkle; Glenn Pollock,
WAFMY, and Dudley Allen, KDNMD. [Photo by Dudley
Allen, KDNMD]
A.I. in the Ham Shack
Artificial intelligence, or A.I., has been in the news quite a bit
lately, but have you thought about ways in which it might be put to use
in your ham station? Steve Walz, KUO, has. Walz has helped integrate
A.I. and machine learning into the US military and now has set his
sights on the ways in which it can help ham radio contesting and DXing.
An ARRL Life Member, Technical Specialist and Volunteer Consulting
Engineer, Walz foresees many uses of this technology in the ham shack,
including A.I.-driven antenna tuning and beam steering; enhanced
propagation prediction models; smart antennas, remote station control,
contest planning, and more.
Walz told ARRL that several European hams are already experimenting with
A.I. on-air, including real-time voice recognition to interpret an
incoming signal, generate appropriate responses in a contest setting,
and generate a voice message in reply; and Robo-QSOs in which entire
contacts are conducted and logged by an AI system. He added that he is
experimenting at his station with a voice skimmer, which identifies call
signs in a voice signal just like a CW skimmer does with a Morse code
signal. He says he used it in a recent contest just for checking, and
that its getting smarter.
Steve has a blog titled AI for Ham Radio: Contest, DX, Station Design &
Automation (youll need to scroll down a bit to get to it), which goes
into considerable detail on the emerging possibilities. As he notes,
Things are changing overnight.
KUO using real time data with A.I. integration for analyzing DX Cluster,
lightning protection systems, station control, real-time band management
for antennas and radios, along with other data. [Photo courtesy of
Steve Walz, KUO]
Hams Help Promote Rural Repopulation in Spain
Rural communities in Spain are suffering from shrinking populations, and
organized efforts to reverse this trend include a special event station
from PRESURA 2026, the 10th National Fair for the Repopulation of Rural
Spain, being held from November 6-8 in Burgos, about a 3-hour drive
north of Madrid. Radio amateurs will be operating EG1PR, Radio por la
Repoblacion or Radio for Rural Repopulation, from the fair. The activity
is sponsored by the Burgos branch of URE, Spains national amateur radio
organization, and aims to raise awareness of the challenges facing rural
communities through on-air contacts with radio amateurs around the
world.
PRESURA aims to be a meeting point between urban and rural Spain. EG1PR
will create another meeting point this time through the airwaves, says
event organizer Luis Oscar Carnicero Gonzalez, EA1IIF, who adds, Every
contact will once again demonstrate one of amateur radio's oldest
qualities: its ability to connect people regardless of distance, borders
or the size of the place from which the signal originates. For
territories that have experienced geographical isolation and population
loss for decades, that ability has a special meaning.
The EG1PR operation includes an award program. Rules (in Spanish) are
https://www.ureburgos.es/bases-eg1pr-2026/ and
https://www.ure.es/diploma-presura-2026-eg1pr-radio-por-la-repoblacion/.
ARRL New England Division Leadership Change
ARRL New England Division Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, resigned
from the ARRL Board of Directors effective November 1, 2026.
Temples was appointed Vice Director in 2020 and elected to another term
in 2024. He previously served three terms as Eastern Massachusetts
Section Manager and held several other ARRL Field Organization
appointments, including Assistant Section Manager, Assistant Division
Director, Affiliated Club Coordinator, and Public Information Officer.
ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, has appointed Bruce Blain, K1BG, of
Harvard, Massachusetts, as the new Vice Director. Blain will serve the
remainder of the term, which expires December 31, 2027.
Blain has served as an Assistant Section Manager and Affiliated Club
Coordinator for the Eastern Massachusetts Section. He holds several
roles with the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club, which serves north
central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, and is a committee
member for Northeast HamXpositionTM, the annual host of the ARRL New
England Division Convention held in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He is
also the New England Ambassador for CWops, and an advisor for its CW
Academy program.
Amateur Radio in the News
The Depiction of Amateur Radio in the Movies and TV / Hackaday (online),
November 3, 2026
Ham radio convention launches balloon more than 21 miles above Sedalia /
Sedalia Democrat (Sedalia, MO), October 15, 2026 -- Sedalia-Pettis
Amateur Radio Club is an ARRL Affiliated Club (Also, see story above)
Pumpkin Patrol ramps up on NY Thruway bridges ahead of Halloween weekend
/ WRGB-TV (Albany, NY), October 28, 2026
ARRL Live Events and Podcasts
On the Air LIVE
Learning CW From Zero to Your First QSO
Interested in learning Morse code but not sure where to start? Join ARRL
Director of Education and Learning Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, for the
November edition of On the Air Live as we explore practical ways to
learn CW and put your new skills to work on the air. Wayne will discuss
proven learning methods, free training resources, common mistakes to
avoid, and how to build an effective practice routine. Whether you're
completely new to CW or have tried learning before, this episode will
help you take the next step toward your first CW contact. The livestream
will air on Tuesday, November 24th at 8 PM Eastern at the ARRL Learning
Center, learn.arrl.org.
Date: November 24, 2026
Time: 8 PM Eastern / 5 PM Pacific
Register Now | Previously Recorded Sessions
Listen to , available every Friday. 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.
On the Air
Sponsored by Icom
Get Ready for Contest Season
ARRL Director of Education and Learning and host of On the Air LIVE,
Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, joins the podcast to talk about what goes into an
on-air contest, and what you, as a new ham, can get out of participating
in one. More info | Listen on Blubrry | Also available on iTunes and
Apple Podcasts.
Announcements
The following America250 W1AW Portable Activations begin 0000z on
Wednesdays, and end 2359z on Tuesdays (7 days total for each
activation). See the complete schedule at www.arrl.org/america250-was.
Review your award progress and order your certificate and endorsements
at america250.arrl.org.
11/4/2026 Arizona W1AW/7 (host W7RAP)
11/4/2026 Virginia W1AW/4 (host WA8AHZ)
11/4/2026 Oklahoma W1AW/5 (host N5HZR)
11/11/2026 Kansas W1AW/ (host KSJD)
11/11/2026 Wyoming W1AW/7 (host WY7AA)
11/11/2026 Maryland W1AW/3 (host K2EJ)
11/18/2026 Mississippi W1AW/5 (host W5UE)
11/18/2026 Washington W1AW/7 (host W7MKE)
11/25/2026 No activations
In Brief...
The World Radio-TV Handbook will be published only as a web app,
beginning with the 2027 edition. The go-to source for shortwave
listeners has been published in book form for the past 80 years, but the
publisher announced in late October that the 2026 edition would be the
final one in print. The web app will include a Now on air feature,
enhanced search capabilities, links, and updates throughout the year.
The November issue of The NTS Letter has been sent to subscribers.
Highlights include a look at updates to the National Traffic System
pages on the ARRL website, a review of the new certified radiogram
precedence, and a look at NTS training on new digital voice nets.
Published monthly, The NTS Letter is available for free to ARRL members
interested in amateur radio message handling. You can sign up on the
opt-in page of your member profile.
Forty Scouts from the Cincinnati area took part in Octobers Jamboree on
the Air from WC8VOA at the National Voice of America Museum of
Broadcasting in West Chester, Ohio. Held every third full weekend of
October since 1958, Jamboree on the Air connects more than a million
Scouts in over 150 countries using amateur radio, according to the Dan
Beard Council Radio Scouting Committee. Scouts swap greetings, compare
notes on camping and school, and make friends on other continents
without having to travel. WC8VOA is operated by the West Chester Amateur
Radio Club, an ARRL Affiliated Club.
The FCC has cited an amateur in California for unauthorized
transmissions on GMRS frequencies and a CB radio operator in Georgia for
using excessive power. Jerry Seehaas, KG6UMF, of Oceanside, California,
who is also trustee for club station KG6OPA, was issued a Notice of
Unauthorized Operation and a Notification of Harmful Interference for
allegedly transmitting an approximately 6 second siren on the inputs of
two General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) repeaters in southern
California. According to the FCC, Seehaas does not currently have a GMRS
license and was cited for allegedly operating on GMRS frequencies
without a license and causing harmful interference. In the Georgia case,
CBer Roy Grant of Marietta was cited for allegedly making one-way
transmissions on CB channel 6 (27.025 MHz) at a power level of 280
watts. He was warned that operating with excessive power could void his
authorization to operate on CB and could subject him to further
penalties. Both individuals were given 10 days to respond to the
allegations.
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:
Technical Editor
RFI Lab Engineer
Public Relations and Outreach Manager
Membership Marketing Analyst
Instructional Specialist
Full details may be found on the ARRL HR web page at
www.arrl.org/careers.
ARRL is an equal opportunity employer.
The ARRL Solar Report
Solar activity is expected to be low in the coming days, according to
NOAAs Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), with a chance for M-class
flares and a slight chance for stronger X-class flares associated with
sunspot region 4566, which is showing rapid growth in both size and
magnetic complexity. No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs)
have been observed. Sunspot numbers are increasing from a low of zero
last week. Region 4564 continues to decay, while 4565 remains stable.
The Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre predicts normal HF
propagation conditions for the middle latitudes, with generally quiet
conditions on the sun.
The W3LPL Propagation Forecast from the Daily DX is predicting some good
north-south propagation on 10 and 12 meters, while east-west openings
remain poor due to low sunspot activity. Solar flux levels are predicted
to be above 100 in the coming week, creating excellent F2 propagation on
17 and 15 meters from early morning to late evening. Twenty meters
should also be excellent, with good DX conditions lasting well into the
night. Nighttime propagation on the lower HF bands should be excellent
as well, with openings beginning in the afternoon on 30 meters, about an
hour before sunset on 40, and shortly after sunset on 80 meters.
Predicted 10.7-centimeter solar flux is considerably higher than last
week, leading to hopes of somewhat improved propagation on the upper HF
bands: Nov 5, 105; Nov 6, 110; Nov 7-8, 115; Nov 9, 120; Nov 10, 115;
Nov 11-12, 110. (Source: NOAA SWPC)
Share your reports and observations. Send your tips, questions, or
comments to w2vu@arrl.org.
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.
Solar image on November 5, 2026
[Photo courtesy NOAA Space
Weather Prediction Center]
Just Ahead in Radiosport
November 5 -- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity, NA (digital)
November 5 -- NRAU 10m Activity Contest (CW, phone, digital)
November 5 -- SKCC Sprint Europe (CW)
November 5 - 6 -- Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)
November 7 -- IPARC Contest, CW (CW)
November 7 - 8 -- YBDXPI FT8 Contest (digital)
November 7 - 9 -- ARRL November Sweepstakes, CW (CW)
November 8 -- IPARC Contest, SSB (phone)
November 8 -- FIRAC HF Contest (phone)
November 9 -- Four States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint (CW, phone)
November 10 -- DARC FT4 Contest (digital)
November 11 -- RSGB 80m Autumn Series, SSB (phone)
November 12 -- VHF/UHF FT8 Activity Contest (digital)
November 14 - 15 -- WAE DX Contest, RTTY (digital)
November 14 - 15 -- 10-10 International Fall Contest (digital)
November 14 - 15 -- JIDX Phone Contest (phone)
November 14 - 15 -- OK/OM DX Contest (CW)
November 14 - 15 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
November 14 - 16 -- PODXS 070 Club Triple Play Low Band Sprint (digital)
November 14 - 16 -- CQ-WE Contest (CW, phone, digital)
November 14 - 23 -- AWA Bruce Kelly 1929 QSO Party (CW)
November 15 -- Homebrew and Oldtime Equipment Party (CW)
November 15 - 16 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)
November 15 - 18 -- Classic Exchange, Phone (phone)
November 16 -- RSGB FT4 Contest (digital)
Remember to visit the ARRL Contest Calendar for more events and
information.
Upcoming ARRL Conventions and Major Events
ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions (next 60 days)
Search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database at www.arrl.org/hamfests
to find events in your area.
November 7 | Superstition ARC Superfest, hosting the ARRL Arizona State
Convention, Mesa, Arizona
November 14 | Montgomery Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Alabama State
Convention, Montgomery, Alabama
December 11 12 | Tampa Bay Hamfest, hosting the ARRL West Central
Florida Section Convention, Plant City, Florida
Save the Date
Join ARRL at these Division Conventions and other major events
throughout the upcoming year, 2027.
February 12 14 | Orlando HamCation, hosting the ARRL Southeastern
Division Convention, Orlando, Florida
April 3 | RARSfest, The Raleigh Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Roanoke
Division Convention, Raleigh, North Carolina
April 17 | Ham Radio University, hosting the ARRL Hudson Division
Convention, Brookville, New York
May 21 23 | Dayton Hamvention, Xenia, Ohio
August 14 | Cincinnati Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Great Lakes Division
Convention, Owensville, Ohio
Have News for ARRL?
Submissions for the ARRL Letter and ARRL News can be sent to
news@arrl.org. -- Richard Moseson, W2VU, ARRL News Editor
ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information
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NCJ -- National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly, features articles
by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprints, and
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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.
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