ARRL Newsfeed

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.

  • Preview the 2026 ARRL Online Auction

    The 21st annual ARRL Online Auction opens October 16, and you can preview more than 200 items now.

    This year’s selection includes gear from QST “Product Review” articles, vintage books, pre-owned equipment, signed original sketches by Salty Walt Hudson, K4OGO, from Salty Walt’s Portable Antenna Sketchbook, and four popular mystery boxes contributed by the ARRL Lab team. Featured equipment includ...

  • ARRL Headquarters Closing Early on Friday, October 9, 2026

    ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® will close our headquarters at 12 PM Eastern time on Friday, October 9, 2026, for a staff event.

    The ARRL Headquarters lobby and store, as well as W1AW, will be open to visitors from 8 AM to 12 PM EDT. Members are reminded that many transactions may be completed on our website at www.arrl.org. 

    There won’t be any interruptions to the W1AW bulletin...

  • Radio Amateurs Prepare for Hurricane Isaias

    Updated Saturday, October 10, 2026 @ 11 AM EDT

    As of Saturday morning, October 10, the Hurricane Watch Net remained active on both 14.325 and 7.268 MHz, collecting and forwarding post-storm reports to the National Hurricane Center and assisting with any emergency, priority or outgoing health and welfare traffic. Please keep these frequencies clear. 

    Updated Friday, October 9, 2026 @ 10 AM EDT

    Upda...

  • Watching the Gulf

    The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) is closely monitoring Invest 92L, which is expected to become Tropical Storm Isaias in the next 24 hours. According to HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, the potential area of concern for this storm is a wide swath of the Gulf coast, extending from Louisiana to Florida. Graves says there is no HWN activation at this time, but the net will go into operation if offici...

  • 2026 Collegiate QSO Party is October 3 – 4

    Get ready to contact college and university radio clubs during this weekend’s Collegiate QSO Party, 0000 UTC October 3 through 2359 UTC ImageOctober 4 (Friday evening through Sunday in the US). Students, faculty, staff, and alumni will be on the air using the call sign of a college, university, or other post-secondary academic institution. Look for stations on CW, phone, and digital modes on an...

  • Remembering Four Silent Keys

    We are saddened to report this week on the passing of four well-known amateurs, including two members of the extended “ARRL family.” 

    Longtime ARRL Rhode Island Section Manager Robert George “Bob” Beaudet, W1YRC, became a Silent Key on September 10, 2026, at age 88. An ARRL Life Member, Gold-Level Diamond Club member, and Maxim Society member in the President Class, Beaudet served as Rhode Islan...

  • Video/Podcast with ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA

    ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, was a guest on episode 103 of The DX Mentor, which aired September 19, 2026. Hosted by Bill Salyers, AJ8B, with Joe Pater, W8GEX, the discussion covered highlights from the ARRL Board of Directors’ annual Second Meeting, held July 17; the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU); the August ARRL National Convention hosted by the Huntsville Hamfest, and recent supp...

  • Will RADE Be the Next SSB?

    It’s been a half century since single sideband (SSB) supplanted amplitude modulation (AM) as the most popular voice mode on HF, due largely to its spectrum efficiency, occupying roughly half the bandwidth of an AM signal. Now, there’s a new digital voice mode from FreeDV called Radio Autoencoder, or RADE, that occupies half the bandwidth of an SSB signal and reportedly provides more natural-sou...

  • FCC and HHS Initiate New Proceedings on RF Exposure

    ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® is following two new federal proceedings concerning radio frequency (RF) exposure. On September 17, 2026, the FCC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiated parallel comment periods on RF safety issues. Neither inquiry changes the current FCC RF exposure rules that apply to all radio amateurs but could lead to changes in...

  • The ARRL Solar Update

    Solar activity is likely to continue at low levels with isolated to
    occasional C-class flare activity, along with a slight chance for
    R1-R2 (Minor-Moderate) M-class flare events, through September 25,
    according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. The SWPC reports
    that nine sunspot regions are on the visible disk, including a new
    Region 4541. There were three solar flares observed in the past...