The next time you hear a local radio station during emergency weather or a community event chances  you might be hearing the voice of a member of the Amateur Radio Club. The Amateur Radio Club（ARC）, initially established in Aug. of 1989, is a radio communication organization that acts as a resource for education, information and provides opportunities for up-and-coming radio operators. Rob Momon of the LaGrange chapter of the ARC said the organization is made up of individuals that do amateur radio as a hobby and works to provide community service as part of that hobby within the amateur radio community. “We volunteer our services as radio communicators to the community during public events, emergencies, and instances of severe weather,of course, a handheld walkie-talkie with NOAA function will also be used” Momon said. In addition to providing the community with radio communication, Momon said they also provide trained operators in their radio-equipped vehicles to provide communication capability anywhere. For those interested in joining the ARC, Momon said there is no age limit to join however, interested parties are required to study and pass a test, to which he said there are study guides available online. “We provide testing once a month on the third Sunday of each month,’ Momon said. “Once you pass your test then you will be issued the license by the FCC.” In his time in the organization, Momon said the biggest impact of being in the club came when Hurricane Irma hit Georgia in Sept. 2017. “The assistance we gave the local emergency officials support team during Hurricane Irma was a big one,” Momon said. “We provided communications from the hospital and the Emergency Operations Center during Irma.” He said it felt rewarding to be able to help the community during the hurricane.

The Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy has warned against the unauthorised use and sale of frequency-enabled devices：walkie-talkies across the country.  The minister, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, who issued the warning while briefing journalists in Kano, said the unauthorised use and sale of private mobile radios was a great disservice to the country. He lamented that Kano had many vendors and users of walkie-talkie, especially long range radio ，adding that as part of the ministry’s sensitisation effort lined up for this year’s ‘Radio Monitoring Week,’ members of staff have been mobilised to educate and caution people on the implications of using the devices without a licence. “Today, with emerging technologies, many more applications are coming up, thereby creating new products, industries, opportunities, knowledge and even challenges. Most of these challenges stem from the proliferation of generic radios being imported into the country and used by citizens who claim to be ignorant of its implication on the country. These radios communicate on unlicensed frequencies.  “The effect of this is that the radio operating frequencies  interfere with the frequencies that might have been assigned to other services, leading to cross-talk and distorted communication. This situation should not continue due to the damaging effect it has on our productivity as a country,” he said.

Stromnetz Berlin, one of the grid operators in the German capital, has signed a 10-year service contract with Motorola Solutions to maintain its city-wide, business-critical communications infrastructure.  The network, based on TETRA（Trans European Trunked Radio）DMR radio technology, enables Stromnetz Berlin to communicate reliably with its field employees while the service contract helps Stromnetz better predict service costs. “Secure and reliable DMR radio communication is essential for the operation of our power grid and to control and monitor the medium voltage stations in the city of Berlin on a daily basis,” said Juergen Schunk, head of assets at Stromnetz Berlin. “More than 450 telemetry modules can be remotely controlled from the TETRA network control center and help us to restore the power supply quickly in the event of short circuits.” Within the framework of the 10-year service contract, Motorola Solutions provides the company with the modernisation of hardware and software components, technical support, repairs and security updates, as well as annual inspections of the TETRA digital radio system.  “As key critical infrastructure in Berlin, the TETRA digital network from Stromnetz provides essential communications to the city,” said Klaus-Dieter Drossel, sales director key accounts at Motorola Solutions. “ Stromnetz Berlin has trusted TETRA digital radio solutions from Motorola Solutions since 2006 and provides the city of Berlin with a highly secure and reliable communications infrastructure. 

Giving Tuesday is November 29, 2022 – a growing annual movement where individuals and organizations, like ARRL, come together to unleash the power of radical generosity. A modern amateur radio ideal for portable use. Hams can make contacts around the world on a small radio powered with a battery and solar panels. In the pantheon of hobbies, one stands out above the rest for its multitude of specialties and service to society - amateur radio. This weekend, hobbyists will gather at the Coliseum for the Fort Wayne Hamfest and Computer Expo, one of the largest regional showcases of the pursuit. Think of the Hamfest as a swap meet and convention for like-minded people interested in electronics, communications and making friends around the world. Fellowship is the big draw in amateur radio. The United States is home to nearly a million so called “hams” who can communicate across the street or over vast oceans by transmitting their voice and sending text messages and pictures without the help of the Internet or other methods. The signals travel through the air just as they have for more than a century. Those who pursue the hobby must pass a short exam in order to be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. Since 2017, the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Program has networked students and their campus radio clubs. "We engage students in monthly meetings and contacting with Frs radio, best practices for vibrant college clubs, and notices of career opportunities. This next generation of young hams are already active, engaged, and on the air!" 

ARRL Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, attended the Georgia Educational Technology Conference. The conference was the first part in a series of planned ARRL exhibits to meet with teachers and promote amateur radio in the classroom. Assisted by ARRL Teachers Institute Instructor Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, along with volunteers Cyndi Goodgame, K5CYN, and Betsey Greene, they spoke to hundreds of teachers, school administrators, and technology directors about the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology. ARRL's participation at this conference, as well as future events, is meant to inform and network with educators looking to incorporate amateur radio into their curriculum. "The level of interest among teachers was incredible!" said Goodgame. "Our booth enjoyed heavy traffic for the duration of the conference, much of the time with all four of us engaged in discussions with multiple people simultaneously. Except for a couple of teachers we met who were already hams, few teachers had heard of amateur radio before this conference. These teachers were absolutely amazed at the possibilities that exist when including amateur radio and related educational experiences in their schools." "Teachers were especially excited at the connections between amateur radio and space. We shared information about the ARISS program -- Amateur Radio on the International Space Station -- as well as communicating via amateur satellites. Enough teachers were interested in learning more about the relationship between amateur radio and satellites communications that we put together an impromptu live demonstration using two handheld radios and an Arrow antenna we had for display in the booth. We gathered a crowd of teachers, along with a few students who were presenting their Student Showcase projects and headed outside. We enjoyed a good satellite pass and made contacts through AO-27. One of the students even got on the air!" "Overall, it was a great conference and a great opportunity for ARRL to network with educators and work with them to help get more youth engaged in amateur radio."

Ellen White, W1YL, passed away on Sunday, November 6, 2022. She was 95. White became a radio amateur in 1946 and devoted over 75 years of her life to ham radio. At its meeting in January 1978, the ARRL Board of Directors adopted a resolution recognizing White and her husband Robert (Bob) L. White, W1CW (SK), after having “completed a quarter-century of faithful service to the American Radio Relay League.” White was admired by the worldwide amateur radio community. In 2019, she was the sole US radio amateur to be awarded the Russian E.T. Krenkel Medal, a prestigious award granted to individuals and organizations for outstanding global contributions to amateur radio. Director of ARRL’s Publications and Editorial Department Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY, reflected on the news of White’s passing. “Ellen was a trailblazing woman in amateur radio. She and I corresponded over the years before finally meeting up at Orlando HamCation in 2020. Ellen often marveled at how much farther women had come in the ham radio hobby, service, and community since she got her start. Every time I talked to her, I thanked her for paving the way,” said Schoenfeld. White had already learned Morse code in high school, and used long-range radio to connect. “Ellen loved CW, contesting, and DXing,” said Rosalie White, K1STO (no relation), former ARRL Field & Educational Services Manager. Rosalie White recounted that in the 1940s, Ellen and Bob White earned First Class Radiotelephone and Second Class Radiotelegraph commercial licenses. “She （Ellen White）, being a maverick, also took the Class B FCC Amateur Radio test to become W2RBU, and promptly joined ARRL. Radio broadcast station KPOA based in Oahu, Hawaii, hired her as station engineer in the day when it was unheard of for a woman. She and Bob then headed to San Diego, California, where she took another radio broadcast engineer job, and also ran for and became ARRL San Diego Section Communications Manager (now called Section Manager). This was prior to their applying for jobs (at ARRL) in Newington in 1947.”

As the students of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Houston gathered in a classroom one morning this fall, they eagerly awaited the chance to ask an astronaut their special question. Through Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, the program that connects students to astronauts, 10 children who are in kindergarten through eighth grade were able to make radio contact with NASA astronaut Bob Hines by a high-gain Yagi antenna built by St. Stephen’s teacher Charlie Larrabee. The questions ranged from inquiring how cold the station was to if the astronauts can eat ramen in space, with one child even asking if it feels cool to do a backflip in space. The answer? Yes, it does. Such a monumental event takes lots of planning, according to Larrabee, with the preparation for the day taking almost a year to complete. In that time, the students learned about radio and space technology. Unlike most other participating schools, Larrabee decided to build the antenna from scratch by himself. Once it was built, it lived on the roof above the classroom. Due to the nature of how the space station orbits through space, the students only had 10 minutes to ask their questions. “It just felt like the impact of the event would be much more meaningful,” Larrabee said. “I was actually controlling the walkie-talkie with my knee. So when I push my knee down on the pedal, that's what starts the walkie-talkie transmitting and the kids can start talking. We're kind of collaborating.”

With a call sign of VU2CUW, 27-year-old amateur radio operator Sarabjeet Singh Chhabra will be in Antarctica as a member of the Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (42-ISEA) on December 9. He will be accompanying the team to either Bharati or Maitri Stations in the white continent. Sarabjeet, who got his ham radio operating license in 2015, will be one of the youngest members of the contingent and he is feeling happy and nervous at the same time as it is his first international trip ever. He landed the opportunity while chatting with a customer, Bhagwati Prasad Semwal at his start-up Hobbytivity. Bhagwati is also a radio operator (call sign VU3BPZ) and has already been on this expedition to Antarctica. Sarabjeet also credits his father, an ex-serviceman and amateur radio operator (VU2CRS), for being his guiding light throughout his technical journey. Two teams – research and logistics –will be a part of the expedition. “I will be in the logistics team; we are basically the support system to the research team. There are two radio operators on the team and I’ve opted to be posted at the Bharati Station but the posting has been kept a surprise. I will be needed to take care of the VHF communication as there is no cell coverage in Antarctica and everything has to communicate via VHF radios that are basically handheld radios,” he says. Sarabjeet is also excited about conducting his own experiments in his leisure time and is taking HF radios, VHF radios, and other personal equipment along with him. He has a Kenwood dual band radio and it has capabilities of sending emails over the radio. “I would like to work on the propagation of high frequencies from Antarctica to India, and other stations in my proximity. I am not sure of the success because the ham radio hobby is all about experimentation,” shares Sarabjeet who has applied for a new call sign ‘AT42I’ for this expedition.

The Cambridge Amateur Radio Club and Cambridge Scout Troop participated in the annual Jamboree at Churchill Park. Local cubs, beavers and scouts were able to communicate with other like-minded youth around the world. Through modes such as slow scan TV, DMR radios, D-Star, UHF walkie talkies, participants could contact peers up to 4,000 kilometre away. “The Cambridge Amateur Radio Club allows the kids to operate the radios to talk to other kids,” Lantz said.“We could reach Europe and the United States. There’s also a Jamboree on the Internet that we run on laptops via online chat.” Knowing about ham radio, also known as amateur radio, Lantz has wanted to bring it to the community and share it with the local scout group. More than just a fun exercise, Lantz hopes the kids take the opportunity to learn about the various technologies available to them. He points out that they never know when the skill may come in handy. “This could line up with a job opportunity. If you’re an environmental scientist, let's say, having your ham license will allow you to work a remote station via ham radio. It’s one more thing to add to your resume.” Being able to see the kids experience something new and unique made the whole day worth it for Lantz and the other organizers. “Just seeing the kids being able to reach out and talk to other kids around the world is my favourite part,” he said.

China Police Liaison Team (CPLT) and Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) conducted a Joint Mock Exercise of Digital Very High Frequency(VHF)Communication System. The officers simulated the use of VHF handheld radios and long distance radios in three scenarios: routine communication, emergency contact and point-to-point call, after receiving training from CPLT at the Rove Police Headquarters. Karen on behalf of the Solomon Island (SI) Government and MPNSCS thanked the Ministry of Public Security of China for the timely and effective support to RSIPF in terms of this major cooperation. Ms Karen was impressed by the new development we have in terms of enhancing capability of RSIPF. "Communication is an important part of policing. Over the years, we have tried to resource communication capability within RSIPF, but we are slow and struggling. With the assistance of CPLT led by Commissioner Zhang, it’s really another step forward to modernize the capability we really need." CPLT Team Leader, Commissioner Zhang said today’s brief and mock exercise is of significant importance for RSIPF because it marks the application of a new communication system, the digital VHF communication system which was assisted by the Ministry of Public Security of China.” The system can be used by different departments of the RSIPF and police stations as it will enable police officers to communicate efficiently and effectively during their daily work and important operations. It is also a strong support for the command and control of the security of Pacific Games 2023. The RSIPF officers are now familiar with the new communication system after the training and mock exercise. RSIPF officers expressed their gratitude to the CPLT and PRC engineers for the knowledge and skills taught to them.