ARRL Establishes Program to cover Initial FCC License Fee for Young Applicants

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ARRL Establishes Program to cover Initial FCC License Fee for Young Applicants

The ARRL Board of Directors has formally endorsed a proposed program calling on ARRL to cover the $35 application fee for license candidates younger than 18 years old. The FCC is not expected to implement the $35 application fee schedule until sometime in 2022.The Board approved the 'Youth Licensing Grant Program' at its July meeting in Hartford, Connecticut.

The program concept, first raised at the Board’s annual meeting in January, was reviewed by an ad-hoc committee, which expanded the scope of the original motion by ARRL Southeastern Division Director Mickey Baker, N4MB.

Goals of the Program include expanding the reservoir of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts within the amateur radio community, and removing a financial obstacle to young people who wish to acquire an amateur radio license, as a means of encouraging potential careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

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Woman Says Ham’s RF Interferes with Her Insulin Pump

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Woman Says Ham’s RF Interferes with Her Insulin Pump

A Marion County woman is taking on her neighborhood association, in a matter she said puts her health at risk.

Michelle Smith, a Type 1 Diabetic, and a consultant determined that her neighbor’s ham radio hobby might have interfered with the doses of insulin being pushed out from her pump.

The 55+ community where she lives hired that consultant and told the neighbor to shut down his amateur radio station.

But a copy of the community’s rules shows a change was put in place that could pave the way for other similar antennas to be installed.

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Ham Saves Long-Distance Radio Friend (by accident)

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Ham radio is what gave Blil Scott K6PKL and Skip Kritcher K7ZAA the gift of friendship.

But ironically, it was the connection via another form of radio communication -- the cellphone -- that gave Skip the gift of life.

According to a report from CBS Sacramento, the Myrtle Point, Oregon radio operator was apparently felled by a stroke last month and desperately punched up numbers on his mobile phone, thinking he was calling his sister. Those numbers connected him instead with Bill, 500 miles away in San Joaquin County, California.

Skip had difficulty speaking because his speech was slurred but suddenly Bill released who it was who was speaking and that his friend was in distress. Bill's wife, Sharon, a retired nurse, concluded Skip had just had a stroke. The couple called 9-1-1 and first responders in Oregon were dispatched to his home to transport him to a hospital

According to the news report, Skip is back at home recovering after four days in the hospital and for now he still has some impaired vision. One of the EMTs told Bill and Sharon he would have died within a few hours if he hadn't found help.

While Skip recovers, he and Bill, who belongs to the Ham Radio Club in Manteca, have gone back to communicating under less urgent circumstances. They are also using their preferred means of getting in touch with one another: amateur radio.