ARRL Newsfeed

• Former FCC official John B. Johnston, W3BE, Silent Key

  John B. Johnston, W3BE (SK), of Derwood, Maryland, passed away on January 7, 2026.He was 98 years old. Born in Zanesville, Ohio, Johnson was a World War II veteran and served in the Pacific Theater.

  He was first licensed on March 15, 1954, as KN2HHR. Following military service and college, he worked for the General Electric Company, and then as an engineer for the Federal Communications Commis...

• The ARRL Solar Update

  Solar activity continued at low levels this week. Low level C-class
  flares were observed from Regions 4342 and 4353. The majority of the
  regions were either stable or in decay. New Regions 4359, 4360, and
  4361 emerged on the disk and were numbered. No Earth-directed
  Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) were observed. The forecast calls for
  solar activity to remain at low levels with a chance for M-class
  fla...

• North Carolina Students Scheduled to Make Contact with the International Space Station

  580 students at Conn Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina, will participate in a conversation with an astronaut on board the International Space Station (ISS). Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has confirmed the contact, scheduled for Friday, January 30, 2026, just after 10:00 AM EST.  

  Radio communications will be provided by theRaleigh Amateur Radio Socie...

• ARRL to announce winner of Icom® Dream Station at HamCation®

• ARRL Director Tharp, KB7HDX, Receives Search-and-Rescue Award

  Mark Tharp, KB7HDX, Director of theARRL Northwestern Division, has received the Hall of Honor Award for 35 years of service to theYakima Search and Rescue group.  

  Tharp called the award “unexpected and very much appreciated,” adding, “You don’t do volunteer work to get awards, you do it because it’s needed and makes a difference.” 

  Tharp was first licensed in 1989 and now holds an Extra Class...

• Student Coding Competition is Underway with $25,000 Award

  ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® is asking members to help encourage licensed youth in their communities to participate in the ARRL Student Coding Competition, an initiative focused on developing practical resources for the Amateur Radio Service. The competition, which began January 1, 2026, challenges young amateurs to create a mobile application that ARRL will use as a long-te...

• Register Now for HamSCI 2026, Hosted by ARRL

• Winter Storm Closes ARRL Headquarters on Monday, January 26

  ARRL Headquarters and the Maxim Memorial Station, W1AW, will be closed on Monday, January 26, 2026, due to heavy snowfall across the Northeast.
  
  Most membership services will continue uninterrupted, with staff working remotely. Members can access many benefits and services online at www.arrl.org. Members and prospective members may also join, renew, and place orders online or by phone at 860-594-...

• The ARRL Solar Update

  Solar activity reached moderate levels with two M-class flares
  earlier this week.
   
  The first flares occurred on January 21 in regions 4345 and 4349.
  Region 4345 continued to show development, as well as region 4342.
  Region 4341 was a main contributor to the C-level activity of the
  day, including a larger C-class flare on January 21. No
  Earth-directed CMEs were observed in the available coronagraph
  im...

• Now Shipping: the 2026 edition of The ARRL Repeater Directory® powered by RepeaterBook

  ARRL is excited to announce that the 2026 edition ofThe ARRL Repeater Directory® is once again powered by RepeaterBook, amateur radio’s worldwide repeater database. New for 2026, The Repeater Directoryfeatures a City Quick Find Index, making it faster and easier than ever to locate nearby repeaters.

  “Each year The ARRL Repeater Directory continues to set the standard for trusted repeater infor...