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The ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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April 4, 2024

John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, Editor <news@arrl.org>

ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Letter Archive
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>Audio News
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> IN THIS ISSUE

- Ham Radio's Many Roles During Solar Eclipse
- Register Now for the 2024 ARRL Youth Rally!
- ARRL Seeking Applicants for Assistant Education and Learning Manager
- 2024 ARRL Field Day Poster Released
- Amateur Radio in the News
- ARRL Podcasts
- Announcements
- In Brief...
- The K7RA Solar Update
- Just Ahead in Radiosport
- Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions

==> HAM RADIO'S MANY ROLES DURING SOLAR ECLIPSE

In one of nature's most spectacular visual displays, on April 8, 2024,
the sun will align with the moon and the Earth, casting a shadow that
will transit much of North America.

Spectacular Display and Gathering

Millions will gather along the path of totality - the section where the
sun is fully blocked by the moon - to witness something that happens,
on average, once every 375 years for any place on our planet. The
moon's shadow path will begin over the South Pacific Ocean, and then it
will cross into North America, passing over Mexico, the United States,
and Canada. Weather permitting, the first location in continental North
America that will experience totality is Mexico's Pacific coast, at
around 11:07 a.m. PDT. The shadow will exit continental North America
on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada, at 5:16 p.m. NDT.

Ham radio will be there - operators will participate in scientific
experiments, serve local communities that will be overrun with hundreds
of thousands of visitors, and provide a valuable tool for communicating
if the mobile phone networks become overloaded.

Science

Regular sun and moon watchers will be out in force while many
scientists, astronomers, and amateur radio operators will be "working"
the eclipse. ARRL has partnered with Ham Radio Science Citizen
Investigation (HamSCI), a NASA citizen science project, to encourage
hams to send and receive signals to one another before, during, and
after the eclipse. The project will be led by Nathaniel Frissell,
W2NAF, a professor of Physics and Engineering at the University of
Scranton in Pennsylvania. HamSCI participants will share their radio
data to catalog how the sudden loss of sunlight during totality affects
their radio signals. All radio amateurs are welcome to participate in
the ionospheric research that is being conducted. Information is
available at the Solar Eclipse QSO Party on the HamSCI website
<https://hamsci.org/eclipse>.

NASA plans to point a large telescope at the eclipse and broadcast the
entire event across North America. The agency will host live coverage
of the eclipse from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT (17:00 to 20:00 UTC) on April
8 on the NASA YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelevision>
channel. There will be live views of the eclipse from watch parties
across the country, and even from NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio,
which happens to be inside the path of totality.

In addition to NASA's plans, the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network
(SuperDARN), a collection of radars located at sites around the world,
will bounce radio waves off of the ionosphere and analyze the returning
signals. Their data will reveal changes in the ionosphere's density,
temperature, and location.

There is also the Radio JOVE project, which is made up of a team of
citizen scientists dedicated to documenting radio signals from space,
and especially from Jupiter. During the total solar eclipse, Radio JOVE
participants will focus on the sun. Using radio antenna kits that they
set up themselves, they'll record solar radio bursts before, during,
and after the eclipse.

EmComm

Emergency communications groups, including those affiliated with the
Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) <http://www.arrl.org/ares>,
will be active in the areas near totality. National Weather Service
(NWS) offices are closely watching weather patterns in and around the
eclipse path for any severe weather that could impact watchers and
increase traffic. Many first responders, including law enforcement,
medical personnel, and fire departments, will be ready to respond to
any emergency that might occur during the eclipse. Those officials
represent some of the served agencies that radio amateurs work to
support.

Most ARRL Sections within the path of totality have been working with
their local served agencies to provide communications volunteers
through amateur radio. In New Hampshire, for example, where cell phone
and road networks are expected to be overwhelmed, New Hampshire ARES
has local groups activated in many communities.

Public Information Coordinator of the ARRL New Hampshire Section Skip
Camejo, AC1LC, said members across the state are ready. "A small team
pulled from several NH-ARES groups will be providing limited
communications support for the American Red Cross, using both HF and
VHF. We will have an RV-based station in Lancaster, NH, and another in
Pittsburg, both at locations provided by the New Hampshire Department
of Transportation," he said.

In the event of a mass-casualty incident or a need for emergency
sheltering, the teams will travel to the scene with a state police
escort. They're expecting 10,000 to 50,000 visitors on Monday in that
community alone.

Other ARES groups have been preparing and drilling over the last few
months. In the ARRL North Texas Section, a set of criteria has been
established as reportable to the local served agencies' emergency
operations centers. Look for more details on ham radio involvement
during the eclipse in next week's The ARRL Letter.

Outreach

Many groups are holding eclipse festivals. Some amateur radio groups
and clubs are taking advantage of these gatherings to get radio in
front of the curious public. Vice Director of the ARRL Hudson Division
Ed Wilson, N2XDD, is preparing an informational display for an event at
his local library.

The Suffolk County Radio Club on Long Island, New York, will be
participating in the Solar Eclipse QSO Party from the Moriches Branch
Library.

Wilson saw radio as a perfect addition to the library's eclipse
activities. "Another club member and I went down to the librarian and
spoke to her about the HamSCI event. We asked if we would be able to
set up a ham radio station during the course of the day. They loved the
idea and approved it, and they invited us to some other events that
they're having in the next few months," he said.

For clubs that may have a public presence during the eclipse, there are
resources on the ARRL website
<https://www.arrl.org/what-is-amateur-radio> detailing how to help
explain the hobby to the uninitiated.

The total solar eclipse will be the last of its kind for more than two
decades in the contiguous U.S. The next total solar eclipse on U.S.
soil won't occur until March 30, 2033, and it will be viewable only in
Alaska.

==> REGISTER NOW FOR THE 2024 ARRL YOUTH RALLY!

As part of the fun at Dayton Hamvention®, youth attendees are invited
to participate in the 2024 ARRL Youth Rally on Saturday, May 18. The
day will include a special agenda of activities and presentations
intended to engage and inspire young hams and young newcomers to
amateur radio.

The Youth Rally is intended for students who are 11 to 21 years of
age. While Hamvention offers free tickets for junior high and high
school students, advance registration for the Youth Rally is
recommended. A preliminary Youth Rally agenda and registration
instructions are on the ARRL website, at www.arrl.org/expo
<https://www.arrl.org/expo>. The Youth Rally registration fee is $20
and includes a tee shirt (to wear on Saturday), a badge, a lanyard, and
a reusable tote bag.

The Youth Rally promises a full day of activities, discovery,
sharing, and fun. Rally day begins at 9:15 AM on Saturday with the
annual Dayton Youth Forum -- open to all Hamvention attendees --
moderated by well-known amateur radio educator Carole Perry, WB2MGP.

The forum includes presentations from young hams covering a variety of
amateur radio activities, topics, and technology.

After lunch (on your own), Youth Rally registrants will gather in
Forum Room 3 to get to know each other and explore a variety of amateur
radio interests and activities. Learn about satellite communications,
participate in a short sprint contest, contact a parachute mobile
station, and participate in other fun! Bring a 2-meter handheld if you
have one. The afternoon activities will be led by ARRL Education and
Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, and will include other guests
representing well-known amateur radio youth programs.

The Youth Rally will wrap up on Saturday with a forum for the ARRL
Collegiate Amateur Radio Program (CARP).

The 2024 ARRL Youth Rally is just part of the fun planned for the 2024
ARRL National Convention at Hamvention. Visit www.arrl.org/expo
<http://www.arrl.org/expo>, where you can find the full listing of
ARRL-sponsored forums, exhibits, and activities. Hamvention is May 17 -
19, 2024, at the Greene County Fair and Expo Center, in Xenia, Ohio;
hamvention.org <https://hamvention.org/>.