An extraordinary outbreak of stratospheric clouds is underway around the Arctic Circle. Longtime residents are describing it as a “once in a lifetime event,” and the clouds are being mistaken by some tourists as “daytime auroras.” These rare clouds can form only when the temperature in the polar stratosphere drops …

12/31/2019 In 2017, Category 4 Hurricane Harvey left the region of Texas where Assistant Scoutmaster Scott deMasi, KC5NKW, lived under water. With roads flooded, bridges washed away, and cellular service and power out, deMasi said it soon became clear that his Scout troop’s emergency preparedness plan wasn’t designed for a …

EA3FHP reports a petition on Change.org calling on the ARRL to add Catalonia to the list of DXCC entities reached 1,745 signatories on Sunday, December 29   Catalonia (Catalunya) has a level of autonomy far in excess of that enjoyed by Wales when it was added to the DXCC list. …

Don Beattie G3BJ reports on the IARU Region 1 site that after many years’ involvement in monitoring intruders on the amateur bands, Wolf Hadel DK2OM, retired at the end of 2019 Don writes: Wolf has worked for the DARC monitoring system in Germany for more than 30 years and since …

Chair of the IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group, Lisa Leenders PA2LS, (pictured) reports Saturday, January 4 is Kids Day On the IARU-R1 site she writes: Just in the beginning of 2020 it’s time for a new Kidsday. Kidsday is generally on the first Saturday in January and the third …

‘Make amateur radio visible’ is the slogan Netherlands society VERON is using for radio amateurs to come out of the shack. Show people amateur radio. And tell them how great this radio hobby still is. Radio amateurs usually operate from their fixed location to which outsiders have limited access. Result, …

New – Radio Theory Handbook – Beginner to Advanced Second Edition. 616 pages. Large format. What’s New?Hundreds of new sharp, clear explanatory diagrams.Two New ChaptersDigital Modulation.Mathematics for AC circuits. Most radio theory chapters substantialy expanded and brought completely up to date for 2020. Now Available in 2 versions of Softcover …

12/31/2019 Yahoo Groups, which has hosted a considerable number of ham radio interest groups over the years, is shutting down. All previously posted content on the site became unavailable in mid-December, but Yahoo is processing requests to download content until January 31, 2020. Yahoo also has provided group administrators (“admins”) …

12/31/2019 Tropospheric propagation is being credited with enabling a 70-centimeter contact between the Cape Verde islands and Scotland that may be a new world record. Exceptional tropo conditions over the eastern part of the North Atlantic this past weekend allowed many stations in the UK and Ireland to make contacts …

12/31/2019 Jim Idelson, K1IR, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, recently provided a club meeting program on ham radio tower safety for the Billerica Amateur Radio Society (BARS). Kayla Creamer, W2IRY, recorded and edited the presentation and made it available online. It runs approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. In his presentation, Idelson …