Public Relations

World Amateur Radio Day, April 19, 2022

by

World Amateur Radio Day 2022 flyerWhat: 2022 World Amateur Radio Day

Who: All amateur radio operators worldwide

When: Monday, April 18, 2022 at 0000 UTC until Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 0000 UTC

Where: A global event covering all regions of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)

Why: World Amateur Radio Day, held on April 18 each year, is celebrated worldwide by radio amateurs and their national associations which are organized as member-societies of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). It was on this day in 1925 that the IARU was formed in Paris. American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Co-Founder Hiram Percy Maxim was its first president.

Amateur radio experimenters were the first to discover that the short-wave spectrum?could support long-distance radio signal propagation. In the rush to use these shorter wavelengths, amateur radio was “in grave danger of being pushed aside,” the IARU’s history has noted. Amateur Radio pioneers met in Paris in 1925 and created the IARU to promote the interests of amateur radio worldwide and to protect and enhance its spectrum privileges. Today, the IARU is a federation consisting of more than 160 national amateur radio organizations in as many countries and separate territories. The International Secretariat of the IARU is ARRL, the national association for amateur radio® in the United States.

On World Amateur Radio Day, all radio amateurs are invited to take to the airwaves to enjoy our global friendship with other amateurs, and to show our skills and capabilities to the public.

How: World Amateur Radio Day is not a contest but rather an opportunity to “talk” about the value of amateur radio to the public and our fellow amateur colleagues. It is also a great opportunity to talk about your radio club and amateur radio in local media as a lead-up to ARRL Field Day (held each year during the fourth full weekend in June) and another ham radio related activity in your community – such as volunteers who serve in local emergency communication readiness including the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service®.

Here are just a few ways to participate in, and promote, World Amateur Radio Day:

  • Get a station on the air! Create your own personal “event” to talk about amateur radio to others, including family and friends.
  • Find out more about World Amateur Radio Day by checking the IARU website and other Resources listed below.
  • Create and hold a special net or on-air event on World Amateur Radio Day to raise the level of attention for the celebration, and to encourage other hams to talk about our hobby. Consider creating and offering a commemorative certificate for contacting your special activation. It can be an electronic one as these are cost effective.
  • Get the word out! If you are an ARRL Public Information Coordinator, Public Information Officer, or responsible for radio club publicity, send a press release and conduct some public relations outreach to highlight the day and/or events. Talk about all of the activities radio amateurs have continued to support during the pandemic, and how amateur radio serves our communities. Find recent examples of amateur radio in-the-news at www.arrl.org/media-hits.
  • Promote your personal World Amateur Radio Day activity(ies) on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook by using the hashtag #WorldAmateurRadioDay. Make sure you send it to various clubs, reflectors, and media.

Join us in celebrating World Amateur Radio Day and all the ways amateur radio brings us together!

Resources

ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio
http://www.arrl.org/world-amateur-radio-day (this page)

IARU
https://www.iaru.org/on-the-air/world-amateur-radio-day

IARU Region 2: The Americas
https://www.iaru-r2.org/en/on-the-air/world-amateur-radio-day/

Article: “Why World Amateur Radio Day is key to highlight crucial service,” ITU News Magazine (No. 1, 2021)
https://www.itu.int/en/myitu/Publications/2021/02/02/15/24/ITU-News-Magazine-No-1-2021

Public Relations and Outreach

2022 World Amateur Radio Day backgrounder (PDF)
2022 World Amateur Radio Day media advisory (WORD template)

Poster or flyer
World Amateur Radio Day poster (8-1/2 x 11 JPG)
Día Mundial de la Radioafición poster (8-1/2 x 11 JPG)
Special thanks to ARRL member Anne Frank, KD9LRB of Deer Park, Wisconsin, featured in these posters!

ARRL_WARD_Logo_1080x1080_English.jpgSocial media and website graphics (JPG)
440 x 220  English  Spanish
468 x 200  English  Spanish
608 x 259  English  Spanish
700 x 225  English  Spanish
1080 x 1080  English  Spanish
1200 x 628  English  Spanish
5599 x 1566 banner  English  Spanish

AB1OC Helps Prepare Students for ARISS Contact at Sussex County Charter School for Technology, Sparta, NJ, February 23, 2022

by

ARISS logoNew England Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, writes:

“It’s been my pleasure to work with the Sussex County Charter School for Technology (SCCST), as their ARISS Mentor, to prepare for their contact. The school has partnered with the Sussex County Amateur Radio Club to build a ground station which they will use to make their contact. Club members have also worked closely with the school to provide many Amateur Radio activities for SCCST students. The school has formed an Amateur Radio club at the school and conducted Amateur Radio activities as part of an outstanding STEM learning program. Working with a school such as SCCST is a great way for a local amateur radio club to build a strong, ongoing relationship with a group of young people interested in Amateur Radio.”

The downlink from the astronaut may be heard in New England on 145.800 MHz. The livestream will start at 9:50 AM and the ISS pass will start at 10:31 AM.

—

ARISS News Release No. 22-11
Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
aa4kn@amsat.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARISS Contact is Scheduled for Students at Sussex County Charter School for Technology, Sparta, NJ, USA

February 21, 2022—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).

This will be a direct contact via amateur radio between students at the Sussex County Charter School for Technology, Sparta, New Jersey and Astronaut Mark Vande Hei, amateur radio call sign KG5GNP. Students will take turns asking their questions. Local Covid-19 protocols are adhered to as applicable for each ARISS contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the radio relay ground station.

Amateur radio operators, using the call sign KD2YAQ, will operate the ham radio ground station for this contact.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for February 23, 2022 at 10:31 am EST (New Jersey), (15:31 UTC, 9:31 am CST, 8:31 am MST and 7:31 am PST).

Sussex Charter School for Technology (SCCST) is a STEM-focused, rural middle school in Sparta, NJ, serving 225 students. In preparation for this ARISS contact, through hands-on activities and class instruction, students worked with the local HAM radio club, high school, and university Physics departments to learn more about radio communications and solar influence on such communications. Members of the Sussex County Amateur Radio Club are supplying the direct contact equipment and will be conducting the ISS radio contact. New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has partnered with the school to introduce modules on space weather, solar cycles and ionospheric phenomena into their curriculum. Faculty members of NJIT’s amateur radio club, K2MFF, are founding members of HamSCI, and will lead the NJIT-SCCST collaboration and assist in the ARISS event and follow-up activities. Sussex County Technical School is their neighboring vocational/technical high school, and will provide filming and streaming capabilities.

The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://youtu.be/dQpyK-uyzPU

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

  1. Do you have any telescopes on the ISS and, if so, how far can they see?
  2. In the event of space debris, asteroids, or solar flares collisions, what are the safety protocols or systems to ensure the astronaut’s/cosmonaut’s safety in situations like that?
  3. How do you exercise on the space station if there’s no gravity?
  4. What science experiments are you working on that will have an impact on the future?
  5. How do you feel about private space companies trying to make space travel open to civilians?
  6. What is the best space food you’ve eaten, and do you notice any improvement in the quality of the food since the Deep Space food challenge started?
  7. How often do you need to communicate with the Earth (Mission control)?
  8. What would you do if the communication with Mission Control broke down and you couldn’t communicate with Earth?
  9. Being that you see 16 sunrises and sunsets in each day, how do you regulate your sleep schedule?
  10. What steps are taken on the ISS to shield you from the pathway of the Sun’s radiation?
  11. How do astronauts control the robotic arm on the outside of the space station? Do you use a computer program or use a joystick like on a game controller?
  12. Who put the first pieces of the International Space Station together and will any of it be reused after the mission ends?
  13. How do astronauts maintain good hygiene on the ISS if there are no showers?
  14. What happens if an astronaut gets a serious virus or other illness while they are on the ISS?
  15. What is your least favorite chore or dangerous task that you do in space?
  16. What are the legal parameters followed in regards to the fly zones? If something should go wrong, while over a country other than the U.S., what fly zone rules are followed for legal purposes?
  17. How did your parents react when you arrived at the space station or when you left them?
  18. Considering the limited amount of your own items you can bring along with you from Earth, can you share with us one of the items you brought?
  19. What are the negative physical impacts on your body of being in space and does it go back to normal when you’re back on Earth?
  20. Would you let your own young kids, nieces, or nephews go to space if young people were given an opportunity to do so?
  21. If you could change one thing about space travel what would that be?

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) and NASA’s Space communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.

SKYWARN Recognition Day, December 3-4, 2021

by

SKYWARN logoRob Macedo, KD1CY, writes on WX1BOX.org:

SKYWARN Recognition Day 2021 (SRD’21) will occur this year but modified due to COVID19 and the fact NWS offices are not allowed to have volunteer Amateur Radio Operators at any NWS office due to COVID. Similar to last year, a social media component will be added to engage non-Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters more with 2021’SRD. An additional update on SRD’2021 will be posted Friday Morning 12/3/21.

Due to COVID19, typical WX1BOX Amateur Radio Operations will not occur at NWS Boston/Norton. There is a possibility similar to last year through the efforts of employees at NWS Norton who have Amateur Radio licenses, the WX1BOX station will be on the air for a few hours during SRD. Otherwise, the WX1BOX Amateur Radio team will be operating remotely via their home stations. The NWS Gray Maine office cannot be active at the office due to the same restrictions on volunteers at NWS offices nationwide but will have remote SRD operation for 2021.

For WX1BOX Amateur Radio operations, we will cover the typical SKYWARN repeaters on VHF/UHF as well as simplex and be on HF via the various remote home stations along with our WX1BOX social media pages. In addition, contacts with other Amateur Radio SKYWARN stations will count towards NWS certificates. Similar to 2020, there will be a social media component to engage non-Amateur Radio and Amateur Radio SKYWARN spotters alike. The current set of information is available and additional information will be made available on the SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) web site via the following link:
https://www.weather.gov/crh/skywarnrecognition.

Also, all participants are welcome to register on the SRD web site. They can obtain a SRD number. The SRD Number for this year is part of the QSO exchange but is not a requirement. It is something new since 2020’SRD so as always there will likely be some glitches and delays in getting the SRD number but if you register and obtain your SRD number, please feel free to add that to your exchange.

[Full story]

 

Whitman (MA) ARC to Operate at Plimoth Patuxet, November 27-28, 2021

by

Whitman ARC logoFrom ema.arrl.org:

Members and friends of the Whitman Amateur Radio Club in Whitman, Massachusetts, will operate amateur radio at the Plimoth Patuxet [formerly known as Plimoth Plantation]. Setup time is scheduled for 10 AM on Friday, November 26. The group will operate on Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM to 3 PM.

“We really need anyone who is going to please email us this weekend the days and times you can be there,” writes WARC president Bob Azanow, WA1Q. “I would like to submit the schedule to Plimoth Patuxet on Monday [November 22].”

 

 

New England Sci-Tech ARS Crew to Participate in JOTA, Lexington (MA), October 16, 2021

by

JOTA-JOTI logoTate Aldridge, K1MKD, writes:

With Bruce [N9JBT], Mindy [KM1NDY], and Marc’s help (and flyers from Rusty and Bob), we are hosting a Jamboree On The Air for scouts in Lexington. We will have several radios out and will be making contacts and educating scouts about amateur radio. We would be very happy to see you there!

https://www.jotajoti.info/
Lexington Visitor Center lawn, Lexington, MA
Saturday Oct 16
Scouts are coming from 1-4 and we start set up around 11 – STARS friends are welcome any time!

73,
Tate, K1MKD

KM1NDY Featured on Pittsfield Community TV, WTBR-FM, October 13, 2021

by
Mindy Hull,  KM1NDY, South Boston, will be the featured guest on Ham On!, simulcast on Pittsfield Community Television and WTBR-FM 89.7 on October 13, 2021 at 9 AM.  The early morning program is produced and moderated by Western MA Assistant Section Traffic Manager Peter Mattice, KD2JKV.
 
Mindy will speak on a wide variety of topics including: Summits On The Air (SOTA); Parks On The Air (POTA); her work with New England Sci-Tech in Natick, MA; and operating in Winter Field Day. 
 
The show will also be available as a podcast.
 

Navy History Day Morse Code Demo, Portsmouth NH, September 18, 2021

by

Sign for USS-Albacore Submarine Park, Portsmouth NHKriss Kliegle, KA1GJU, writes on the Port City ARC mailing list:

Saturday, September 18th at the USS Albacore Submarine Park is Navy History Day.

We have been asked to demonstrate Morse code to the younger (and possibly older) visitors to the park.

Hours are from 10 AM to 3 PM and some knowledge of Morse code would be essential. With a code oscillator (I have one) we can demonstrate code and interact with visitors.

Would be better if we break up the times so one of us doesn’t have to be there all day. Any takers? 

Thank you!
73 Kriss KA1GJU