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Teachers are gathered from around the United States to learn about amateur radio, and how to use it in their classrooms as part of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The 2024 cohorts of the ARRL Teachers Institute (TI) on Wireless Technology have begun.
The first group members for the year are each returning teachers participating in the second round of learning, TI-2.
Read MoreIn many parts of the world, amateur radio is moving in sync with Mother Nature, finding its way increasingly outdoors. The first weekend in June seemed to be a worldwide celebration of operating from mountains and other summits, and here in the US, an organized group of YLs established a new tradition.
Never mind playing King of the Hill. Paula K9IR, Amy AG7GP, and a few dozen YLs around the US - if not the world - were Queens of the Mountains. It happened on the weekend of June 8th and 9th when it seemed that many of the more adventurous ham radio operators were heading to the summits. The pair were kicking off an inaugural YL SOTA event to encourage women to try activating for Summits on the Air and to support one another in making summit-to-summit QSOs. Amy told Newsline she and Paula were inspired to try out this event after a group of eight YLs activated a summit in July of last year during the Pacific Northwest W7O (W Seven Oh) SOTA campout. Although near-blackout conditions for radio posed challenges on the first day, this was hardly the toughest obstacle the YLs faced. Amy said many of the activators braved heavy rain, mud, poison ivy and vehicle break-downs. She told Newsline: "Doing Summits on the Air, you learn to be prepared for the extra environmental challenges." Despite those challenges - or perhaps because of them - expect the Queens of the Mountains to be back on top next year.
Hobbyists will be glad to know that the US military is making an effort to be more balloon-friendly.
NORAD - the North American Aerospace Defense Command - has been making a concentrated effort to track and identify objects that might be high-altitude weather, research or hobbyist radio balloons, such as ones launched by amateur radio clubs and school groups. NORAD is now studying numerous websites to determine as best as it can what balloons are flying over North America at any given time. US fighter jets shot down three hobbyists' balloons in 2023 after detecting - and shooting down - another high-altitude balloon, which the government department identified as a spy balloon from China.
Steven Armstrong, NORAD's chief of strategic engagement, told the military website Task & Purpose that NORAD is now taking a closer look at raw radar returns to ensure more hobbyists' balloons don't meet the same fate. NORAD now reaches out to hobbyist or researcher groups when it is practical to do so.
It seems to be working. Armstrong said that in April, NORAD confirmed there was a hobbyist balloon that had been launched but concluded it did not pose a threat.
The ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast is a fortnightly amateur/ham radio podcast covering news and technical features from the US, UK and around the world.
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