ARRL and NASA Team Up to Help Teachers

A radio experiment held on 26th July 2023, to decode a slow-scan TV (SSTV) message sent via the ham radio station on the International Space Station (ISS) was successful.

The image was received by a group of educators at the headquarters of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio in Newington, Connecticut through the voice repeater on the ISS. Teachers from around the United States were on hand for the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology, a program that empowers educators to incorporate amateur radio into their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum. As part of the professional development program, the group received and decoded the image sent by volunteers with Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). The transmitted image said, "ARRL Teachers Institute: ensuring a space for radio in the next generation."

“Amateur radio is so important to the future of engineering and STEM in our country”

— Kristen Kucko, KQ4ECP

The teachers thought it was cool. The group gathered outside ARRL Headquarters with antennas they had made earlier in the day. As the pass happened, the educators tracked the ISS by hand. A warble of SSTV transmission filled the air, and the group was excited. After the pass, they used laptops to decode the audio stream into an image, while they sat on picnic tables and enjoyed pizza and wings.

For ARRL Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, the experiment was a way to allow teachers to engage with the power of radio.

“When teachers can pull an image off the ISS via amateur radio, it gives a sense of accomplishment that gets them excited. We want to get them fired up about radio, so they can carry that energy back to their classrooms and do the same thing with their students,”

— Steve Goodgame, K5ATA

Each of the teachers on hand for the second phase of the institute, -- "TI-2: Remote Sensing and Data Analysis," -- have already been through the introductory course and they are all licensed radio amateurs. The institute costs teachers nothing to attend, thanks to funding from the ARRL Education & Technology Program - https://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-in-the-classroom

Landmark PACT for African Amateur Radio Response

A new agreement between the African Telecommunication Union and the International Amateur Radio Union is being hailed as a landmark agreement on the African continent. Jason Daniels VK2LAW has those details. Praising ham radio for its responsiveness in a crisis, the secretary-general of the African Telecommunications Union signed an agreement with the International Amateur Radio Union advocating for expanded use of ham radio during emergencies in African nations. The agreement places a special emphasis on ham radio's role in the 51 African countries that belong to the ATU. Both organisations pledged to cooperate when preparing for and responding to crises. A large part of the pact involves coordinating workshops and training programs and stepping up promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education in Africa through the use of amateur radio.

“This is our first step to initiating a collaborative approach that is keen to find solutions and to ensure a conducive environment for amateur radio operations in the region.”

— Sylvain Azarian, F4GKR, President of IARU Region 1

Sylvain Azarian, F4GKR, the president of IARU Region 1, said that the agreement would also have an impact on regulatory changes that are needed for amateur radio in Africa.