In the log this week
* DXpedition Spotlight: PJ2Y Youth DX Adventure in Curacao
* Contest Spotlight: The YOTA Contest 2025
* MVARC Nets on the Air
* What's happening with DX?
* Solar Activity Update
* Upcoming Contests
* Interesting Online Radio Content
DXpedition Spotlight: PJ2Y Youth DX Adventure in Curacao
Image Courtesy https://youthdxa.org/
The Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure is back on the air July 17-22 this year. They will be operating at the Caribbean Contesting Consortium's super contest station PJ2T in Curacao. The youth team will be operating as a DX special event station for four days with round-the-clock operations being anticipated. The youth team includes Isaiah Russell KJ5CMP, Josiah Russell WD5JR, Agnes Wagner AD8IR, and Ben Wagner AD8FQ. Joining the kids will be John Russell N5VOF and JoAnn Russell. I've been fortunate enough to meet Isaiah and Josiah through teaching CW with the Long Island CW Club and I am very excited to get the team in the log on this exciting DX adventure. Congratulations to the entire team and we wish them good luck and great DX. For more information check out the Youth DX Adventure site at https://youthdxa.org/.
Contest Spotlight: The YOTA Contest 2025
Image Courtesyhttps://www.ham-yota.com/
This weekend brings round two of the Youth on the Air (YOTA) Contest organized by the IARU R1 Youth Working Group and the MRASZ (Hungarian Amateur Radio Society). The purpose of the contest is to increase activity by youth on the airwaves and to build support for youngsters across the globe. The contest gets started on July 19th at 1000 UTC (5 AM EDT) until 2200 UTC (5 PM EDT) and is open to all amateurs and also to YOTA defined as any operator 25 years of age or younger. The bands of operation will be 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m, and 10m and the modes will be CW and SSB. There are several different operating categories for both all ops and YOTA with different numbers of bands, operating hours, and numbers of operators. In the contest everyone can work everyone and you can work the same station on the same band in CW and SSB. The exchange is RS(T) and Age on January 1 for single ops and RST and average of ages on the 1st of January for multiple operator stations. QSO points for a station over 25 are 1 point in the same continent and 2 points for another continent. QSOs with youngsters (regardless of continent) are 13 points for under 12 years old, 12 points for 12-16 years old, 11 points for 17-21 years old, and 10 points for 22-25 years old. Different ages worked act as multipliers and the final result is the sum of points earned per band and mode multiplied by the sum of multipliers worked per band, so points can escalate quickly. This promises to be a fun contest for everyone, so give it a go this weekend and support the YOTA stations. Full rules and details can be found at http://yotacontest.mrasz.org/rules. 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 Svalbard (JW0V), Fuerte Island (5K0C, 5K0T), Greenland (OX3LX), Nicaragua (YN2RP), Tarawa Kiribati (T30TTT), Benin (TY5AD), Kuwait (9K2HN), and Antarctica (DP0GVN).
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 156 and the estimated sunspot number was 182 with 11 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has increased. Solar activity has been at low levels recently. The geomagnetic field was at active to minor storm levels and the Kp index reached 4 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 789 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at quiet to active levels today and at quiet to unsettled levels over the weekend. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is low at 10%. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are likely in the near term with a predicted probability of 60%. R3 or greater blackouts are less likely with a 15% chance predicted. 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. HF conditions have been favorable overall. 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
On the contest calendar this weekend we will see the LABRE DX Contest, the Russian Radio Team Championship, the Trans-Tasman Low-Bands Challenge, the YOTA Contest, the Feld Hell Sprint, the CQ Worldwide VHF Digital Contest, the IARU Region 1 70 MHz Contest, the North American QSO Party on RTTY, the RSGB International Low Power Contest, and the Run for the Bacon QRP Contest. 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
Kevin W1DED and the Contest Crew talk to Rol K3RA and Frank W3LPL about the record breaking W3AO Field Day team -
Mike K8MRD does a Late Shift POTA Activation -
Elle-Marie KJ5LXP shows her mobile FTM-510D radio installation -
Kevin KB9RLW takes a look at the Elikliv 4K Digital Microscope -
Matt M0DQW takes a look at the VGC VR-N7600 mobile rig with a full KISS TNC -
Forrest KI7QCF is the DX as he operates CW from the beach in Jamaica -
Matt M0DQW finishes his 70 cm Amplifier build -
The Solar Lab gives the basics on using solar panels in series and parallel configurations -
Josh KI6NAZ gives his favorite portable HF antenna pick -
Mark KD7DTS and Ara N6ARA talk Field Day and lots more on the latest Sofas on the Air -
Dan WD4DAN talks about the shutdown of Hamshack Hotline -
Elle-Marie KJ5LXP goes on a road trip and makes contacts on her mobile VHF rig -
Lidi KQ3Q Activates Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Florida with CW -
Nanofix talks soldering temperatures and techniques for electronics work -
That's it for this week.
Best 73,
Ed
N2EC
