Do you have an interest in weather? Would you like to be able to help your local National Weather Service office by providing the ground truth on the atmosphere that we observe from radar, satellites and various reporting stations? Then consider attending the SKYWARN® program Basic course.

Abie Akexander, AB1F, recently activated Armenia as EK/AB1F. He has put an article about the adventure at https://www.abiealexander.com/ek-ab1f/

Attached are Special Event Stations for July.

AARC starts with the ARRL listing and resorts to thematic events first, then date, so that those who specialize in hunting specific events can more easily identify them.

We have been requested by our hosting company to add some anti-spam technology to some of our pages.

You may see the captcha prompts on some of the pages that have forms that can be filled out going forward.

As a part of the 2023 ARRL Year of the Volunteer celebration, the portable operation of the W1AW callsign will be occurring in states and territories throughout the United States. ARRL members in each state/territory will be approved to operate their stations during two different weeks in 2023 using the callsign W1AW/x where x is one of the local regions: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, KL, KH0, KH2, KH6, KH7, KH8, KP2, KP3, or KP4. 

Attached are the Special Event Stations for June 2023. We start with the ARRL listing and reformat the list by the event type then by date.

This month there are two events with a significant number of stations for an event: Coast Guard Auxiliary Anniversary and Ships on the Air/Museum Ships. And there are other special events as well, including one for WWI Code Talkers (Yes World War I).

Good Hunting.

As a reminder, the next license exam session will be June 10. The Laurel VE team will be administering the Technician, General and Amateur Extra exams. Preregistration is preferred on the W3VPR website.

Check-in begins around 12:15 pm at the clubhouse, with the tests starting at 1:00 pm.

Official volunteer sign-ups for the 2023 Marathon will open up in July. We've already had our first planning meeting with the Marine Corps Marathon Office. The course will be the same as last year as of right now. The field of runners will be back to pre-COVID levels. As of my last discussion with the Program Office, they were pretty close to already being sold out for spots in this year's race.

The amateur radio station of the National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC (NHC), located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami, will conduct their on-the-air Annual Communications Test on Saturday, May 27, 2023, from 9 AM - 5 PM EDT (1300z- 2100z).

A sign-up sheet for Field Day is currently accessible at signupgenius

The club will again be holding a class for the Amateur Extra license. This year the sessions will be on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 Eastern Time. The class will run from July 12 until November 5, with the exception of September 27.

On April 12, 2023, the Anne Arundel Radio Club (W3VPR) administered the Amateur Radio Exam to thirty-five midshipmen and one military instructor during a special testing session at the United States Naval Academy.  AARC is a member of the Laurel Amateur Radio Club Volunteer Examiner Coordinator, one of fourteen VECs that serve under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  The Laurel VEC was established in 1984.

Attached are the Special Event Stations for May. We start with the ARRL listing and resort by type of eventfor those searching for specific QSL cards or certificates.

Of note this month are three stations commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Radio Communication between the Netherlands and Indonesia, Indianapolis races, and a special event stations for commemorating a silent picture actress.

Good Hunting

Dear ARRL Affiliated Club,

This Monday, May 1, ARRL will launch a survey for members, encouraging their participation as we consider a dues increase.

The survey will include some short questions about raising dues and modifying the way some membership benefits are bundled. The survey will also include an opportunity for members to share their feedback.

The participation of every member is important. Please encourage all the ARRL members in your radio club to complete the survey in May.

The Nashua Area Radio Society's spring 2023 online Ham Bootcamp will be held on Saturday, May 13, from 10 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time. Access to the session will be provided via Zoom.

Ham Bootcamp includes a series of demonstrations and tutorials designed to help newly licensed Technician-, General-, and Extra-class license holders get on the air. Ham Bootcamp is also a great opportunity for hams who are interested in seeing what the hobby has to offer.

Get ready for amateur radio’s largest on-air operating event with official 2023 ARRL Field Day merchandise available for order now. T-shirts, hats, pins, patches, and stickers are a great way to show off your involvement in this annual event. This year’s colorful design features a globe centered on North America and the words “TUNE IN THE WORLD.” The back of the t-shirt includes a check-off list of ARRL and RAC Sections.

The ARRL News will not be on the W3VPR repeaters Friday, April 21 or Saturday, April 22.

Dave Earnest usually assures these announcements are available to the club, but is unable to do so this weekend due to other commitments. 

April 21st for MDC Section EchoLink Net every 3rd Friday of the month @ 8:00 PM ET, *WASH_DC* Node# 6154 and several local Maryland RF repeaters.  Thanks John, WB3GXW, for making available EchoLink server. Download, free-of-charge, http://echolink.org

The US Department of Defense (DoD) will host this year's Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test on May 13, 2023. This annual event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators and will not impact any public or private communications. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event.

The Anne Arundel Radio Club will be holding its annual General Class beginning Sunday, April 23. The Class is free and will be held over Zoom. The class begins at 1 pm and will run for several Sunday afternoons. To register, visit https://www.w3vpr.org/preregister

The only expense would be the ARRL textbook for the General license available from ARRL or Amazon.