In the log this week
* Contest Spotlight: North American QSO Party CW
* ARRL Announces America250 Worked All States Award
* QRZ.com Announces USA250 Award
* Youth on the Air Camp Accepting Applications for 2026 YOTA Camp
* 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.
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Contest Spotlight: North American QSO Party CW
This weekend brings the latest edition of the North American QSO Party to the air, this time on CW. The goal of this contest is to work as many North American stations as possible during the contest. It runs from 1800 UTC on Saturday, January 10th (1 PM ET Saturday) until 0559 UTC on Sunday, January 11 (12:59 AM ET on Sunday). For the purposes of the contest North American stations are defined by the ARRL DXCC list, plus Hawaii. The exchange is a simple one: operator name and location (state, province, or country). So for me in Virginia, my exchange would be “Ed VA”. For non-North American stations the exchange is just their name. Operating categories include Single Operator (no spotting assistance permitted), Single Operator Assisted (spotting assistance permitted), and Multioperator Two Transmitter. Power is limited to 100 Watts for the Low Power category and 5 Watts and under for QRP. Allowed bands include 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. Multipliers are all 50 US states and DC the 13 Canadian provinces and territories, and other North American DXCC Entities. Non-North American entities don’t count as a multiplier, but do count for QSO credit. The score is the number of valid QSOs multiplied by the sum of multipliers worked on each band. There is also a team competition that allows you to have your score added to a cumulative team score. Logs are due no later than 7 days after the end of the contest and electronic submission via Cabrillo format is preferred. For more information check out the contest rules at https://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf. Good luck.
ARRL Announces America250 Worked All States Award
Image Courtesy ARRL
2026 brings the semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and several celebrations are planned to mark this milestone. The ARRL has announced they will be running a year-long Worked All States operating event to commemorate the occasion with their America250 WAS event. The event is also part of their “Year of the Club” initiative and will see participation from ARRL affiliated club stations as well as several W1AW/portable stations. Even if you’ve already achieved WAS, this will be a fun way to get a commemorative certificate (shown above) that is available for purchase. There will also be endorsements for WAS by contacting W1AW/portable stations, WAS by contacting ARRL Affiliated Club Stations, and a WAS Triple Play by contacting all states on 3 modes (phone/CW/digital) that can be received after being awarded the America250 WAS. You can monitor your progress for the award and apply on ARRL’s Logbook of the World. More information can be found on page 76 of the January 2026 QST magazine and at https://www.arrl.org/america250-was. Good luck!
QRZ.com Announces USA250 Award
Image Courtesy QRZ.com
QRZ.com announced that they’ll be issuing the USA 250 Award during 2026 to commemorate the semiquincentennial. To get the award operators need to make 250 confirmed QSOs (on QRZ.com) with US-based amateur radio stations. All operators in any location are eligible and QSOs need to take place in 2026 and be logged and confirmed on the QRZ logbook. Endorsements based on mode are also available. Applications for the award are free. This is another fun way to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary. More information about the event can be found at https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/announcing-the-usa250-award.976740/. Good luck!
Youth on the Air Camp Accepting Applications for 2026 YOTA Camp
Image Courtesy https://youthontheair.org/
Youth on the Air (YOTA) Camp is accepting applications for their session this Summer, June 14-19 2026, in Huntsville, Alabama. YOTA Camp is for licensed amateur radio operators between the ages of 15 and 25 years old. This year the theme of the camp will be “Space”. The application process is free and the process continues until May 1, but for the best chance at being selected they recommend completing applications by January 15, 2026 at 2359 UTC. If accepted a $100 deposit is required, although scholarships and waivers are available to those in need. Up to 50 campers will be accepted this year with a priority being given to first time attendees. For more information check out the YOTA web site at https://youthontheair.org/huntsville2026/ and apply at https://youthontheair.org/campapply/.
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 this week. Stations on the air include Palau (T88HS), Burkina Faso (XT2MAX), Lakshadweep Islands (AU7RS), Cambodia (XU7GNY, XU7O), Aruba (P40AA), Gambia (CY5K), Roatan Island (VE3VSM/HR9), South Sudan (Z81D), Greenland (OX7A, OX7AM, OX7AKT, OX3LG), Solomon Islands (H44MS), 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 140 and the estimated sunspot number was 95 with 6 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 to active levels and the Kp index reached 4 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 442 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 minor storm levels today and at quiet to active levels on Saturday and quiet to unsettled levels on Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 10% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are possible in the near term with a predicted probability of 45% today through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 10% 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
This weekend brings the YB DX Contest, the Old New Year Contest, the SKCC Weekend Sprintathon, the UBA PSK63 Prefix Contest, the North American QSO Party on CW we spotlighted earlier, the NRAU Baltic Contests on SSB and CW, the DARC 10 Meter Contest, the RSGB AFS Contest on Data, and the 4 States QRP Second Sunday Sprint. 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
Jason KM4ACK talks about problems with APRS on the new Retevis Ailunce HA2 -
Ed W4EMB talks about choosing a portable radio on the second edition of his podcast -
Michael KB9VBR finds a budget headset that he likes for POTA activations -
Matt M0DQW takes a look at the Ailunce HA2 -
Craig KM6LYW puts a webcam on the air via Winlink -
Jason KM4ACK upgrades the USB jack on his Icom 705 -
Steve KM9G talks about a Xiegu G90 firmware upgrade that breaks FT8 and how to fix it -
Linas LY2H uses the FX-4CR to activate a park on 20 Watts -
Bob WV7W talks about antenna marketing hype and how to be informed about your purchase -
Matt M0DQW takes a look at the new PACTOR modem from SCS -
Steve KM9G experiments with a Chameleon remote antenna tuner -
Mike K8MRD builds a 3D Printed PowerPole Distribution box -
Mark KD7DTS and Di KO6BTM activate SOTA in Australia -
Rob N1NUG takes a look at an abandoned AM transmitter site for sale in Connecticut -
Mike K8MRD gets signal reports from his new Icom 7300MK2 -
George VK2AOE has a challenging POTA activation at a nude beach in Australia -
Peter VK3YE builds a QRP transmitter on a tin can -
Callum M0XXT talks antennas for small yards -
Kevan 2E0WMG activates island portable with his new IC-705 -
Matt M0DQW takes a look at Intercept software for RTL-SDRs -
Paul OM0ET compares the Mobile-Whip active antenna to a telescoping whip -
Colin MM0OPX talks about his experience using a doublet antenna for 9 months -
Steve KM9G gets a RT95 on the air with the TOADs DI and Direwolf -
Mr. Carlson’s Lab explains why air variable capacitors have cuts in their plates and how to use them -
Matt M0DQW shows an inexpensive WSPR transmitter -
George VK2AOE looks at a cheap 60 MHz Function Generator -
Dugbo KD7DUG gets on 2m SSB with a Quansheng HT -
Hayden VK7HH talks about GPS disciplined frequency references and why you might need one -
Callum M0XXT talks about why he prefers a superhetrodyne receiver to an SDR -
Kevin W1DED talks to Manuel WP4TZ about SOTA and contesting from Puerto Rico -
Mike K8MRD talks about FME Series cables from ABR Industries -
Rob N1NUG talks to Tom of Tom’s Radio Room about whether Shortwave is still alive -
The Broadcast Engineer looks at Cincinnati Public Radio’s transmitter site -
That’s it for this week.
Best 73,
Ed
N2EC
