ARRL News

Tropical Storm Melissa is nearly stationary in Caribbean on Friday, October, 24, 2025. Forecasters warn it could quickly intensify, impacting Jamaica as a hurricane and causing catastrophic flooding and landslides Haiti and the Dominican Republic. 

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) a group of licensed Amateur Radio Operators trained and organized to provide essential communications support to the Na...

Solar activity reached moderate levels this past week, but has now
returned to, and remains at, lower levels. Region 4248 produced an
M1.1 flare on October 20, which was the largest event of the period.
Region 4261 was numbered this period as it rotated into better
viewing conditions.

Region 4262 was numbered this period as well, splitting it from
Region 4257. Additionally, new spots were noted near ...

All eyes and ears are on Tropical Storm Melissa, now in the Caribbean Sea. As of 11:00 AM EDT on Wednesday October 22, 2025, Melissa was drifting west-northwestward in the central Caribbean. Heavy rain and flooding are expected over portions of Hispaniola and Jamaica for the reminder of the week.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, from the border with the Dom...

Region AR4246 underwent significant evolution, growing in overall
size while gaining multiple new spots. Subsequently, AR4246 was the
main provider of activity which included an M1.2 flare on October
13. Several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) with potential
Earth-directed components are in the mix at this time.

Additional modeling efforts are underway to perhaps confirm those
suspicions. The largest f...

As part of a much larger overhaul focused on deleting almost 400 obsolete wireless regulations, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced plans to delete or modify four minor provisions of Part 97. 

ARRL’s Washington Counsel has reviewed the proposal and agrees that the deletions are to obsolete rules and will have no impact on today’s modern Amateur Radio Service. One of the del...

Amateur radio operators serve their communities across the United States in many ways, before and When All Else Fails®. Using their skills as communicators, their personal equipment, and the Amateur Radio Service, the “hams” provide a needed boost to public safety radio systems.

The 47th Bank of America Chicago Marathon, held on October 12, 2025, featured 55,000 runners from around the world. An...

Edward F. “Ed” Hare, Jr., W1RFI, who spent decades as an employee of the ARRL Laboratory, has become a Silent Key. He died on October 10, 2025, at the age of 74 after an illness.

Hare was first licensed as a teenager in 1963 as KN1CV (later KA1CV) and was an active ham throughout his life. He was an avid QRP operator, earning his Worked All States certificate with 250 milliwatts on CW. In his pr...

Solar activity has been at moderate levels for the past 24 hours. Solar
activity is expected to be low with a chance for M class flares. Solar wind
speed reached a peak of 1124 km/s.

Solar activity reached moderate levels following an M2.0 flare (R1-Minor) at
from a region just around the Northwestern limb. Only low-level C-class
activity was observed from the remaining spotted regions on the visibl...

The ARRL Foundation is accepting grant applications from amateur radio organizations for eligible amateur radio-related projects and initiatives, particularly those focused on educating, licensing, and supporting amateur radio activities. To grow amateur radio's future, youth-based projects and initiatives are especially encouraged.

The ARRL Foundation grants program accepts proposals on a cycli...

Solar activity, which has been at low levels, has returned to
moderate levels. Region AR4232 produced the largest event of the
period, an impulsive M3.6 flare (R1-minor) on October 1, 2025.

An associated Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) was observed in subsequent
SOHO LASCO/C2 coronagraph imagery that began on September 29.
Analysis and modelling of the ejecta is ongoing.

Newly numbered Region AR4237 rema...

A bulletin sent to members of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® included information about the impact of the US Government shutdown on licensing for the Amateur Radio Service.

The government shutdown began at 12:01 Eastern time on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, when Congress had not passed an appropriations bill or other plan to keep the government funded for the new fiscal year (beg...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Notice of Violation (NoV) to Mike F. Conte of Naples, Florida, citing alleged rule violations related to unauthorized transmissions and refusal to allow station inspection. The FCC notice by the Regional Director, Region One, Enforcement Bureau, was released on September 29, 2025, and includes that Conte holds an Amateur Radio Service lic...

Hurricane Imelda, now a strong Category 1 storm, is forecast to make landfall on, or come extremely close to Bermuda, late Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) will activate for the first time this season beginning Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at 3:00 PM EDT (1900 UTC).

Activation times and frequencies are as follows:

3:00 PM EDT (1900 UTC) on 14.325 MHz

7:00...