In the log this week
* Amateur Radio News and Notes on New Years Break Next Week
* Straight Key Night Returns New Years Day
* ARRL Kids Day 1/3/2026
* Reminder: Free Extra Class Course Online Starting January 15, 2026
* MVARC Nets on the Air
* What’s happening with DX?
* Solar Activity Update
* Upcoming Contests
* Interesting Online Radio Content
As always, links to all referenced content can be found in the show notes, or at our Substack at mvarc.substack.com
Thanks for reading MVARC News! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Amateur Radio News and Notes on New Years Break Next Week
Amateur Radio News and Notes will be taking a break next week to enjoy the coming of the New Year and get on the air with Straight Key Night. We’ll return for our next edition on January 9, 2026. We wish you and yours a joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year filled with great DX and fun on the air.
Straight Key Night Returns New Years Day
New Year’s Day brings one of the most fun operating events of the year: ARRL Straight Key Night. From 0000 UTC on New Year’s Day (7 PM ET New Year’s Eve) until 2359 UTC New Year’s Day (6:59 PM ET New Year’s Day) people will be on the air using their straight keys and bugs. The idea behind the event, which is not a contest, is to celebrate our CW heritage utilizing manual keys like straight keys or bugs. This is always a fun event, with a laid back pace, and a social feel. I’ve had many great ragchews on Straight Key Night and had some great conversations. Since it isn’t a contest, all bands are fair game. I particularly enjoy working it on New Year’s Eve (on the East Coast) as it is always a whole lot more entertaining than the countdown shows trying to get you to watch more advertising before the year’s end. Slow things down a bit and get out your favorite old key and get on the air for a great way to close out 2025 and welcome 2026. If you end up having an interesting QSO you can submit it to the ARRL as well. For more information visit https://www.arrl.org/straight-key-night. Good luck.
ARRL Kids Day 1/3/2026
On Saturday, January 3, 2026 the ARRL will host the next edition of their Kids Day special event. The event is designed to build excitement about Amateur Radio with kids and the community at large. The idea is to get kids on the air with licensed amateurs to make contacts around the country and the world. The event runs from 1800 UTC (1 PM ET) until 2359 UTC (6:59 PM ET) and the ARRL encourages you to operate as much or as little as you like. The suggested exchange is Name, Age, Location, and Favorite color. If the operator changes, working the same call sign again is encouraged. When calling CQ say “CQ Kids Day” to let people know what you’re doing. The ARRL encourages you to submit stories and pictures on the Kids Day Soapbox page and there is a printable certificate you can give to young ops who get on the air. This is a great way to get kids on the air. I know from events I have done with kids that this brings out some of the kindest and most welcoming ops in the hobby to share the magic of radio. For more information including suggested frequencies and stories about past Kids Day operations visit https://www.arrl.org/kids-day. Good luck.
Reminder: Free Extra Class Course Online Starting January 15, 2026
Rol Anders K3RA and the National Electronics Museum will be starting a 11 week online course to help operators study for the Amateur Extra Class license. Classes will be held on Zoom on Thursdays at 6:30 PM ET from January 15, 2026 until March 26, 2026. Attendees should hold (or be studying for) the General Class license. If you’ve been considering upgrading your license and learning a lot more about the hobby, these free classes are a fantastic opportunity. To sign up contact Rol at roland.anders@comcast.net.
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 lot of DX on the air over the next two weeks. Stations on the air include South Sudan (Z81D), Morocco (CN2DM), Cambodia (XU7GNY), Greenland (OX7A, OX7AM, OX7AKT, OX3LG), Gambia (C5YK), Solomon Islands (H44MS), Palau (T88HS), Colombia (HK3JCL), 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 134 and the estimated sunspot number was 103 with 8 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has increased. Solar activity has been at low levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet to unsettled levels and the Kp index reached 3 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 663 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at low levels with a chance of an M-class flare today through Sunday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at quiet to unsettled levels today and at quiet levels on Saturday and 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 possible in the near term with a predicted probability of 40% today and 45% on Saturday and Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 5% 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
Since Amateur Radio News and Notes will be taking a break next week, here are the highlights on the contest calendar over the next two weeks. This weekend brings the Stew Perry Topband Challenge, the Original QRP Contest, and the RAEM Contest. During the week we’ll see the YOTA Contest, the Worldwide Sideband Activity Contest, the QRP Fox Hunt, and the Bogor Old and New Contest. Next weekend will bring the PODXS 070 Club PSK Fest, the Marconi Club ARI Loano QSO Party Day, the WW PMC Contest, the RSGB AFS Contest on CW, the ARRL RTTY Roundup, ARRL Kids Day, the EUCW 160 meter Contest, and the FOC Old School Classic 1960s QSO Party. 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
Steve KM9G assembles some All-In-One-Cable boards -
Sean W9FFF transforms a Spotify Car Thing into a radio controller using AI -
SAQ Grimeton makes its annual Christmas Eve transmission on VLF and we get a tour -
Adam K6ARK climbs a challenging summit with friends with zero SOTA Activations -
Ciprian YO6DXE tries to listen to SAQ’s VLF transmission using an upconverter -
Kevin KB9RLW designs and 3D prints a wrist mounted set of CW paddles -
Craig KM6LYW shows how to use AX.25 to connect to BBSes via Packet Radio -
Ciprian YO6DXE shows us how he built his VLF up-converter -
Tim K5OHY shows us the SaVVy Portable Yagi by Jacob KC7WXD -
Steve KM9G shows off his TOADS DI6 board and gives a demo -
Matt M0DQW talks about PoC radios that use the cellular networks to communicate -
Ara N6ARA gives us part 3 of the build and test of his Tiny Gawant antenna -
Mike M0MSN refines his mobile installation -
That’s it for this week.
Best 73,
Ed
N2EC
