Scouting’s Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) 2018 reports that total Scout participation in the annual fall event jumped by 36% from 2017. Each year more than 1 million Scouts and Guides get together over the airwaves for JOTA, which takes place on the third weekend of October. Since the first JOTA in 1958, millions of Scouts have become acquainted via Amateur Radio, and contacts sometimes result in relationships that extend for many years.
This year, 10,703 Scouts took part in the event, compared with 7,872 last year. Participating Amateur Radio operators topped 1,000 for the first time since 2016. At 610, the number of registered JOTA locations was way up, as was the number of JOTA stations registered, with 314. Participating JOTA stations reported contacts with stations in 99 countries, also up over 2017.
See full story at: http://www.arrl.org/news/jota-reports-36-growth-in-scout-participation
11/28/2018
The annual Santa’s Radio Club Special Event from 200 kilometers above the Arctic Circle will be on the air December 1 – 8 as OH9S — OH9Santa. Activity will be mainly on 160 – 6 meters using all modes, including FT8. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS (preferred) or LoTW. Contacts will be automatically confirmed via the bureau. Operating from Finnish Lapland, OH9S will not employ any remote stations and will let propagation decide when and where contacts are possible.
“Yes, we know it is not easy to contact us while we are mostly operating from above the Arctic Circle, but that’s part of the game!” the announcement said. “This is the most northernmost Santa station in Finland.” Multiple stations will be on the air.
Due to anticipated poor radio conditions, OH9S will focus activity on FT8.
Source: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/santa-s-radio-club-special-event-set-for-december-1-8
11/28/2018
SKYWARN™ Recognition Day (SRD) 2018 takes place on Saturday, December 1, from 0000 until 2400 UTC, and Maxim Memorial Station W1AW will be active as bonus station WX1AW, the call sign of The HQ Doods Recreational Deployment Team. Developed in 1999 by the National Weather Service (NWS) and ARRL, SRD celebrates the contributions that SKYWARN volunteers make to the NWS mission of protecting life and property. During SKYWARN Recognition Day, many special event stations will be on the air from NWS offices, contacting radio amateurs around the world.
See full story at: http://www.arrl.org/news/wx1aw-at-arrl-headquarters-will-be-skywarn-recognition-day-bonus-station
Nov 27, 2018: From our friends at Southgate Amateur Radio News.
It was on the night of 27th November 1923 that the first Trans-Atlantic short wave radio contact was made. It took place between radio hams: Leon Deloy (8AB) in France and Fred Schnell (U1MO) in the USA.
This first short wave Trans-Atlantic contact represented the culmination of many tests and attempts to hear and then make contacts across the Atlantic.
The contact pushed forwards the technology used, not only by radio amateurs but other users as well.
After the First World War, it took some time before British radio amateurs were allowed back on the air, and as a result of restrictions and for many other reasons, the equipment available was limited. This forced the use of improved technology and techniques. That said, the first contact was made between the USA and France, but Britain also succeeded and went on to make the first contacts with the Antipodes later.
Read the whole story here:
https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/history/amateur-ham-radio/first-transatlantic-contacts.php
11/26/2018
A fifth “candidate release” — or beta version — of WSJT-X 2.0 now is available for download and use by beta testers. WSJT-X Developer Joe Taylor, K1JT, says WSJT-X 2.0-rc5 is stable, works well, and fixes kno+wn problems in RC4, the most-recent beta version released in mid-November.
“It is likely that the General Availability (GA) release of WSJT-X 2.0, scheduled for 2 weeks from today, will be nearly identical to RC5,” Taylor said on November 26. He also announced that a final FT8 “practice contest” would take place on Saturday, December 1, 0200 – 0300 UTC (Friday evening, November 30 in North American time zones).
The first “serious” FT8 contest — the FT8 Roundup — is set for the December 1 – 2 weekend. In the brand-new operating event, radio amateurs worldwide will contact and exchange information with other amateurs using FT8 on 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. Any station may work any other station. The exchange is signal report and state/province for US and Canadian participants. Non-US/VE stations will transmit a signal report and consecutive serial number starting with 001.
Taylor also noted that the ARRL RTTY Roundup January 5 – 6 will, for the first time, permit the use of FT8 as well as traditional RTTY.
See full ARRL story at:
http://www.arrl.org/news/new-wsjt-x-2-0-rc5-beta-version-now-available-first-serious-ft8-contest-this-weekend
