First X-flare in 4 years
A new sunspot emerged during the early hours of July 3rd and promptly exploded, producing the first X-class solar flare since Sept. 2017

Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPIA)
On Wednesday 30 June 2021, the SARL Secretary sent out two SARL Communications about the Protection of Personal Information Act that came into effect on Thursday 1 July 2021

Bitcoin to the Moon? LABRE interview
Brazil’s national Amateur Radio society LABRE was interviewed by Tecnoblog about regulatory issues that arise from the alleged sending of Bitcoin via ham radio Moonbounce (EME)

The ZS Sprint this afternoon
The ZS Sprint will be run from 14:00 to 15:00 UTC (16:00 to 17:00 CAT) this afternoon Sunday 4 July 2021 with CW and phone activity on 40 metres

23 new Technician class radio amateurs graduate
The Searchlight website reports that twenty three new radio amateurs were on Monday June 28, added to the Ham radio fraternity in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)

SARL Next Generation Beacon Fund now R20 400
The SARL beacon fund increased this week to R20 400. The fund was started by AMSAT SA as a crowd funding project to generate enough funds to construct and install a SARL next generation beacon in the Karoo and the Western Cape

Pandemic special event
Bill, VE3ES, is now active as VE3VACCINE from Windsor, ON, until July 15th

Propagation Report from Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP
Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to be at low levels

Foundations of Amateur Radio
What mode is that? – The hobby of amateur radio is about communication. When you go on-air and make noise, you initiate a communications channel, sending information out into the world and hoping for another station to receive and decode what you sent. The channel itself can be used in an infinite number of ways and each one is called a modulation mode, or mode for short. The popular ones come with most radios, CW, AM, SSB and FM

Ham radio helping lifelong hobbyists stay mentally fit in old age
Australia’s ABC News has an excellent article on the benefits of amateur radio in old age

ARRL EC Minutes record President’s deep displeasure with FCC
ARRL President Rick Roderick K5UR has expressed his deep personal displeasure with the lack of action by the FCC on Amateur matters

EMF Licence Regulation – RSGB Webinar
At 8pm (1900 GMT) on Monday, July 5, EMC Committee Chair John Rogers M0JAV will explain how to assess your station against ICNIRP EMF levels. It will be streamed live on YouTube

NASA scientists available for interviews on hurricanes, tropical storms
The center of Hurricane Elsa has formed to the east of the Windward and southern Leeward islands and is expected to bring heavy rainfall to those areas over the weekend, according to an update Friday from the National Hurricane Center

Propagation de K7RA
Solar activity is strong! Average daily sunspot number rose from 14 to 34.7, and average daily solar flux increased from 79.3 to 86.9. Both figures represent a dramatic increase in solar activity