In the log this week
* FCC Extends Filing Deadlines and ARRL Prepares To Send Backlog of License Filings
* MVARC Club Meeting Tomorrow 11/22/2025: Learn about the N2EC VersaHex Antenna
* MVARC Breakfast Tomorrow 11/22/2025
* Contest Spotlight: North American SSB Sprint
* MVARC Nets on the Air
* What’s happening with DX?
* Solar Activity Update
* Upcoming Contests
* Interesting Online Radio Content
FCC Extends Filing Deadlines and ARRL Prepares To Send Backlog of License Filings
The Federal Communications Commission announced that it would extend the filing deadline to March 5, 2026 for any licenses that were set to expire during the period between October 1, 2025 and March 5, 2026 in their Public Notice DA-25-943. The shutdown of the federal government earlier in the month was the reason for this extension. This means anyone whose license renewal deadlines were missed during the period now has more time to complete the filings and continue operations.
The shutdown also caused a large backlog of new license applicants who passed their tests but were not able to get their FRN or have their licenses issued. The ARRL VEC announced that they will be submitting over 2,500 amateur radio license applications that were held up during the shutdown as soon as possible. The Electronic Batch Filing system used for that purpose has had problems this week and is no longer accepting applications. The FCC’s site reported that users should expect delays in search results, delays in processing of applications, intermittent timeouts of submissions, general sluggishness, and inability to complete fee payments.
While they’re working to resolve the issues the FCC asks that users postpone non-urgent filings and refrain from repeated submissions if there are errors. According to the FCC “FCC technical staff and contractors are actively investigating the cause and are working to restore normal system performance as quickly as possible. This issue is being treated with the highest priority.” More information can be found at:
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-announces-revised-filing-deadlines
https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/uls-asr-tcns-experiencing-significant-performance-degradation
MVARC Club Meeting Tomorrow 11/22/2025: Learn about the N2EC VersaHex Antenna
Tomorrow at 10:30 AM is the Mount Vernon Amateur Radio Club’s next club meeting at the Mount Vernon Government Center, 2511 Parkers Lane, Alexandria, VA 22309. Our speaker this month is club member Ed N2EC who will be talking about the 3D printed antenna he designed, the N2EC VersaHex. It is a portable antenna designed for versatility and experimentation and supports use as a v-dipole as well as a vertical with the ability to add loading coils, extensions, tripods, and ground plane systems for resonant operation from 40 meters to 6 meters.
If you’ve joined us for our recent POTA activations, ARRL Field Day, the George Washington’s Birthday Special Event Station, or the Masonic Lodges on the Air event this year, you’ve seen it in action. Now learn how it was designed and tested and how you can 3D print and build your own for a modest investment in parts. More information about the VersaHex Antenna can be found on Ed’s blog at https://n2ec.us/project/the-n2ec-versahex-antenna/. We look forward to seeing you in-person or online at tomorrow’s meeting.
MVARC Breakfast Tomorrow 11/22/2025
Tomorrow, Saturday, November 22, 2025, is the date of our next monthly breakfast. As usual we will meet up at 8 AM in the IHOP at 7694 Richmond Highway in Alexandria, Virginia for great conversation, camaraderie, and breakfast too. We have been having a great turn out in the last few months and there is always room for you to join in the fun. We hope to see you there.
Contest Spotlight: North American SSB Sprint
This weekend brings the fall edition of the North American SSB Sprint Contest. The Sprint is a relatively short four hour contest running from 0000 UTC Sunday November 23 (or 7 PM ET Saturday, November 22) until 0359 UTC (or 10:59 PM ET Saturday) running on SSB on 20 meters, 40 meters, and 80 meters. This contest has some interesting quirks having to do with the “sprint” portion. If you’re running (i.e. calling CQ or saying QRZ) you can only make one QSO on the frequency you’re running. After that QSO you have to QSY (change frequency) at least 1 kHz to answer another station or 5 kHz if you want to call CQ again. This has the effect of somewhat equalizing the field between those who run and those who search and pounce. The organizers suggest activity in the following ranges 14.200-14.275 MHz on 20 meters, 7.125-7.225 MHz on 40 meters and 3.700-3.825 MHz on 80 meters (with the exception of the DX window from 3.790-3.800 MHz).
The exchange for the contest is the other station’s call sign, your call sign, a serial number starting at 1, your first name, and your State/Province/Country. So if I was having my 42nd QSO with K1ABC the exchange would be “K1ABC N2EC 42 Ed Virginia”. Stations outside of North America should give “DX” as their location. For the purposes of the contest North America is defined by the rules of CQ World Wide DX Contests plus KH6. In terms of multipliers each US state plus DC count as multipliers as are the 13 Canadian provinces and territories. There are also several listed North American countries listed in the rules as well. Logs must be submitted within 7 days of the sprint. Cabrillo formatted logs sent via the web form on their site is preferred, with a mailed CD or paper log being other options. Check out their web site at https://ssbsprint.com/ for rules and more information. If you’re looking to try something a little different this weekend, give the sprint a try. Good luck.
MVARC Nets on the Air
* 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ]
* 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM]
* MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW]
* MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB]
What’s Happening with DX
There will be a good amount of DX on the bands this week. Stations on the air include Saint Kitts (V47JA), Benin (TY0RU), Aruba (P44W), Cambodia (XU7RRC), Bahamas (C6AQQ), Bermuda (VP9I), Bhutan (A52AA), Chatham Islands (ZL7IO), Sint Eustatius (PJ5C), Vanuatu (YJ0GC), Grenada (J38W), San Andres (5J0EA), Lord Howe Island (VK2/LZ1GC), Ghana (9G5ZZ), Uganda (5X1XA, 5X1DF, 5X7W), Gabon (TR8CR), Rodrigues Island (3B9KW, 3B9/M0CFW), Colombia (HK3JCL), Madagascar (5R8IC), Mali (TZ4AM), Marcus Island Minami Tori Shima Islands (JG8NQJ/JD1), Solomon Islands (H44MS), and Antarctica (DP0GVN, FT4YM).
A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at https://dxnews.com/calendar/
Solar Activity Update
As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 121 and the estimated sunspot number was 51 with 4 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has decreased. Solar activity has been at low levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet levels and the Kp index reached 3 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 456 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at low levels with a slight chance of M-class flares through Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 1% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are unlikely in the near term with a predicted probability of 15% today through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 1% chance predicted today through Sunday. There is a chance of 6 meter propagation so keep an eye on the band and spotting clusters to be ready for the next time the magic band does its thing. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world.
Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/.
Upcoming Contests
It is a bit of a quiet weekend for contests as we are in the calm between the storms of ARRL Sweepstakes SSB last weekend and CQ World Wide CW next weekend. That said, we do have a couple events in store. On the contest calendar this weekend we will see the LZ DX Contest and the North American SSB Sprint Contest we spotlighted earlier. As always the K1USN SSTs, MSTs, and CWTs will also be on the air.
The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php
Interesting Online Radio Content
Rob N1NUG tests out the ATU-100 Antenna Tuner -
George VK2AOE tries to diagnose a failure in his QMX radio -
Hayden VK7HH talks about different size LiFePO4 batteries -
Simon VA7BIX experiments with a remote antenna tuner -
Imsai Guy reviews the FNIRSI LC1020 LCR Meter -
Dave KE0OG talks about the ZS6BKW antenna -
Chris K2CJB muses about the perceived decline of amateur radio -
Thomas K4SWL activates rainy day POTA with a Vibroplex bug -
The Slow Mo Guys join Jeff KF0MYB and Joe KF0MYJ to see how RF burns from broadcast antennas look in slow motion -
Dugbo KD7DUG activates the wind swept peak of Sugarloaf Mountain for SOTA -
Mike K8MRD takes a look at the Micro PA50 Gen 3 Amplifier -
Peter VK3YE builds a tin can delta loop antenna -
Hayden VK7HH takes a look at an integrated power station and how it impacts HF -
Matt M0DQW looks at the Sirio Monsoon 5/8 wavelength 10 meter antenna -
Hayden VK7HH encourages you to get on the bands while we’re near the top of the solar cycle -
Sean W9FFF builds a multi-band multi-vertical antenna -
Walt K4OGO reviews the POTAbeam Hexbeam for 10 meters -
Tim K5OHY goes over the basics of the End Fed Half Wave antennas -
Steve KM9G takes a look at a bluetooth mic from VGC -
Mike K8MRD looks at the Meshnology N39 V4 Meshtastic node -
That’s it for this week.
Best 73,
Ed
N2EC
