IARU Region 1 Exam and Licence comparison
A comparison chart for amateur radio exams and licences in countries in IARU Region 1 has been released by IARU-R1 President Don Beattie G3BJ

QSO Today – Roberto Ramirez, CE3CT
Roberto Ramirez, CE3CT, from Chile, is a well known South American DXer and Contester who began his ham radio story as a short wave listener

VK6WIA NewsWest
In this week’s special edition of NewsWest, we invited Amateur Radio clubs across Australia to tell us who they are and what they get up to. We are hoping that it will result in a better understanding of what makes other clubs tick, and to share ideas about what they get up to

Digital Communications Conference (DCC) call for papers
Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC) and publication in the Conference Proceedings. Annual conference proceedings are published by the ARRL

NASA sets sights on May 5 launch of InSight Mars Mission
NASA’s next mission to Mars, Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight), is scheduled to launch Saturday, May 5, on a first-ever mission to study the heart of Mars. Coverage of prelaunch and launch activities begins Thursday, May 3, on NASA Television and the agency’s website

AMSAT at the Hamvention – 2nd call for volunteers
Last year, we had 30 people assist with the AMSAT booth at the Hamvention. We’ve had a good response so far to our first call for volunteers, but we could really use another 10-15 people. The 2018 Hamvention is May 18-20 in Xenia, Ohio. Would you consider helping AMSAT at the Hamvention this year?

Foundations of Amateur Radio #151
In the past I’ve talked about the Standing Wave Ratio, the SWR, and how it describes some of the characteristics of your antenna system. I say system because it’s not just the antenna, it’s the connection between your radio and the antenna as well. The coax or feed line, their length and how you’ve connected your antenna, all feature in the performance of the entire kit and caboodle

How does GDPR affect amateur radio clubs?
Essex Ham have published information on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679 which takes effect May 25. There is a misconception among some radio amateurs that “not-for-profit groups” are exempt from GDPR, that is not the case

Ham Radio 2.0 – Innovation and Discovery at Hamvention
Sponsored by the Yasme Foundation, Ham Radio 2.0 is intended to be a gathering spot for innovative groups and organizations at Hamvention

Orford Ness site on TV
Channel 5 TV show Portillo’s Hidden History of Britain featured Orford Ness where development work on the Cobra Mist HF over the horizon radar was carried out in 1960s and 70s

DF6NM wins inventor award
Markus Vester, DF6NM has been honoured as one of the ‘Inventors of the Year’ for 2017

YLs in Bhutan
YL operators Kay/WA0WOF/A52YLE and Mio/JR3MVF/A52YLM will be active as A52YLfrom Dochula Eco Retreat in Bhutan between April 29th and May 5th

A special conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter
This weekend, the Moon and Jupiter are converging in the constellation Libra for a special conjunction

Propagation de K7RA
Solar activity increased over the past week, with average daily sunspot numbers up from 5.4 to 20 and average daily solar flux rallying from 69.9 to 73.4. The previous week saw four days with no sunspots, and the recent week had sunspots on every day. New sunspot groups emerged on April 19 and 21

Germany to get a temporary allocation on 70MHz again in 2018
A new ruling from BNetza for the German amateur radio service; Temporary admission will be granted to 70.150 – 70.180 MHz, from 2 May to 31 August 2018

ISWL callsigns for May
The following ISWL club callsigns will be used throughout the month of May 2018

Villa Griffoni Bologna: the birthplace of radio
Steve Ahern writes in Radio Info about his visit to Villa Griffoni where Guglielmo Marconi carried out his early experiments with radio

An fm transceiver from an unexpected chip
The Si47xx series of integrated circuits from Silicon Labs is a fascinating series of consumer broadcast radio products, chips that apply SDR technologies to deliver a range of functions that were once significantly more complex, with minimal external components and RF design trickery

Ofcom fines Care Free £10,000 for breaking complaints rules
Ofcom has fined the landline and broadband provider Care Free £10,000, after an investigation found it broke rules designed to ensure that customers can seek appropriate redress when things go wrong with their services

Kettering student’s Young Achiever’s Award
Kettering University student Ruth Willet KM4LAO has received the Radio Club of America’s Young Achiever’s Award

Ofcom publishes updated ‘calling line identification’ guidance
Ofcom has today published updated guidance to help phone companies comply with new ‘calling line identification’ requirements, in advance of them taking effect from 1 October 2018

DX News from the ARRL
The American Radio Relay League’s round-up of the forthcoming week’s DX activity on the amateur radio bands