In the log this week
* MVARC In the Park: Club POTA Activation Recap
* MVARC Breakfast Recap
* FCC Batch Filing System Unavailable
* Icom Announces IC-7300 MK2 and Updated ID-5200 at Tokyo Ham Fair
* Great Band Conditions Expected as Autumn Approaches
* What's happening with DX?
* Solar Activity Update
* Upcoming Contests
* Interesting Online Radio Content
MVARC In the Park: Club POTA Activation Recap
Image Courtesy Corey KN4YZY
Last weekend the Mount Vernon Amateur Radio Club activated seven parks at once for Parks on the Air. We had a great turnout at the parks and had eight operators get on the air as K4US: Larry KN4XW, Joseph WB8KMJ, Clayton KI5YFN, Paul WC9A, David KU8V, Eric N0UVD, Ed N2EC, and Gersohn KO4IUK. We activated at 100 Watts using a Yaesu FT-897 and an N2EC VersaHex Antenna. We made a total of 83 QSOs with 70 being made on Single Sideband and 13 being made on CW all on the 20 meter band. Our signals made it coast-to-coast in the US and Canada despite some challenging propagation conditions. A QSO map can be seen below. The outing was such a success that we may look to do another one soon. Thanks to everyone who made it such a fun day at the park.
MVARC Breakfast Recap
Image Courtesy Corey KN4YZY
Last Saturday, MVARC had its weekly breakfast and we had a fantastic turnout with 19 people joining us. We had so many folks joining us we had to split up into multiple groups because the room wasn't big enough for a full length table! It was great seeing everyone and we look forward to having you join us next month.
FCC Batch Filing System Unavailable
The ARRL reports that the Federal Communication Commission's Electronic Batch filing system is currently unavailable. It is used by all Volunteer Examination Coordinator organizations to submit exam sessions, applications, and club license applications. As a result applications for new and upgraded licenses and other filings are not currently being processed. The ARRL reports that the FCC has been notified and they are working to fix the issue. There is no estimated time of resolution. For updates on the status of the situation visit https://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-batch-filing-system-unavailable.
Icom Announces IC-7300 MK2, Updated ID-5200, and AH-6 at Tokyo Ham Fair
Image Courtesy Icom Japan
Last weekend brought the 2025 Tokyo Ham Fair and Icom used the event to announce some new radios and equipment. The biggest announcement was of the IC-7300 MK2 -- the next version of one of the most successful radios ever produced in Amateur Radio. The new version improves RMDR and phase noise performance to help reduce adjacent signals, better power efficiency (they report a 23% reduction in RX standby current consumption), an HDMI port for external display usage, a built in CW decoder, a separate connector for RX antennas, USB type C connectivity with virtual COM ports for simultaneous FT8 and logging, and a LAN connection to remote using their RS-BA1 software without the use of a server computer.
Image Courtesy Icom UK
Icom also announced the next edition of their ID-5200 2 meter/70 centimeter mobile radio which supports dual reception of FM, FM-DV, and DV-DV signals as well as having a color touchscreen, broad receive, WiFi and Bluetooth Connectivity, an Internal Gateway for networking, and a DV repeater monitor. Also announced was the AH-6 Automatic Antenna Tuner with support for 50 Ohm and long-wire antennas, coverage from 160 meters to 6 meters, and a power rating of 100 Watts.
Information about the new products can be found at https://www.icomjapan.com/news/4411/ and https://icomuk.co.uk/ICOM-Announces-New-ID-5200-AH-6-Concept-Models-at-Tokyo-Ham-Fair-2025/2/5240/.
Great Band Conditions Expected as Autumn Approaches
If you've been on the air in the last few days you may have noticed that we appear to have moved out of the Summer doldrums and into better conditions on the HF bands. Forecasters are predicting that conditions will be quite good through the end of the month due to elevated sunspot activity, quiet geomagnetic conditions, low solar winds, few coronal mass ejections, and very low coronal hole activity. This means it is a great time to get on the air and enjoy the conditions. In the past week I was able to work Kiribati, Hawaii, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Argentina, and all over Europe. Get on the air and enjoy these great conditions. Good luck and good DX to all!
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 including Lord Howe Island (VK2/SP9FIH), Benin (TY2AA), South Sudan (Z81D), Tarawa Kiribati (T30TTT), Kuwait (9K2HN), Rhodes Island (SV5/DJ5MN), Palau (T88DF), Banaba Island (T33TTT), Tanzania (5H3DX), Rwanda (9X2AW), Colombia (HK3JCL), Annobon Island (3C0W), Equatorial Guinea (3C3W), Palestine (E44OM), Solomon Islands (H44MS), 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 232 and the estimated sunspot number was 227 with 13 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has dramatically increased. Solar activity has been at low levels recently. The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels to unsettled levels and the Kp index reached 2 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 421 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at quiet to unsettled levels levels today and at quiet levels over the weekend. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is low at 15% today and 10% over the weekend. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are likely in the near term with a predicted probability of 60% today and 65% this weekend. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 10% chance predicted today and 15% over the weekend. 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 SCRY/RTTYOps WW RTTY Contest, the Feld Hell Sprint, the ALARA Contest, the U.S. Islands QSO Party, the World Wide Digi DX Contest, the Colorado QSO Party, and the Kansas 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
Elle Marie KJ5LXP give an introduction to Meshtastic -
Josh KI6NAZ takes a look a the TX-500MP Manpack HF Radio -
Kevin KB9RLW shows how to use an oscilloscope to sniff RF noise -
Chris K2CJB shows an trailer hitch mount for a Spiderbeam 10 meter mast -
Lewis M3HHY takes a look at the Choyong LC90 LW/MW/SW/FM/Internet Radio -
Matt M0DQW takes a look at the Liligo T-Embed SI4732 and CC1101 radios -
Mark KD7DTS and Ara N6ARA talk to Umesh KK6TXI about batteries, camping, and SOTA on Sofas on the Air -
Walt K4OGO takes a look at the T41-EP SDR and talks to its creators -
Kevan 2E0WMG builds a POTA Performer from off-the-shelf parts -
Kevin W1DED talks to the contest crew about Single Operator 2 Radio Secrets and plans for CQWW -
George VK2AOE compares tubes for his QRP Rig (Part 1) -
George VK2AOR compares tubes for his QRP Rig (Part 2) -
TJ K9KJ takes us around the Tokyo Ham Fair -
Dr. Tamitha Skov WX6SWW talks about recent solar activity -
Kevan 2E0WMG does QRP operation from a tiny island via kayak -
Sean W9FFF has a less than stellar experience with the Heltec Meshpocket -
Matt M0DQW takes a look at the Baofeng UV-5R Mini -
Di KO6BTM does SOTA on VHF and SHF with SOTA Cat Ormoo -
Walt K4OGO does beach portable with the Guohetec PMR-171 -
Alan W2AEW takes a look at the SV4401A Vector Network Analyzer -
Hayden VK7HH takes a look at the newly announced Icom IC-7300MK2 -
Mike K8MRD looks at the Buddipole PowerPro -
That's it for this week.
Best 73,
Ed
N2EC
