Ham’s Efforts Help Shed Light on Solar Eclipse

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The recent solar eclipse over North America gave hams a chance to give back to science in a big way - as big as the sun itself, you might say.

The day after the 8th April 2024 solar eclipse, logs were already rolling in from hams and radio clubs in North America who had taken part in the Solar Eclipse QSO Party. The party's organizer, the citizen science group HamSCI, was already embarking on its next big challenge: to study the logs and the results of other propagation experiments that were taking place concurrently.

“We are certainly very very happy with yesterday. A lot of people were on the air who understood that from the standpoint of science you have to populate to propagate.”
— Ed Efchak, WX2R

That population included the Suffolk County Radio Club, W2DQ, which set up a Field Day-style operation outside an eastern Long Island library where it operated SSB and FT8. It was also a chance to educate visitors as club vice president Ed Wilson N2XDD explained the hams' roles in the ionospheric studies.

Meanwhile, HamSCI reported that WSPR data was already coming in from a concurrent event, the Gladstone Signal Spotting Challenge. He said valuable results were collected as well from HamSCI's personal weather stations, the time-delay-of-arrival experiment and the medium-wave recordings experiment.

Conclusions are, of course, a long way off -- but visitors to Hamvention in Ohio next month will be hearing more of what's to come.

Club Grant Program to Return

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The ARRL Foundation Club Grant Program is returning for 2024. After receiving additional funding from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), the next round of grants will be available later this year. More than $500,000 in grants have been awarded to clubs across the country. This program centers around club projects that are transformational in nature (i.e., projects that have the greatest impact on the local community). Previously successful grants concentrated on the recruitment and training of new hams, STEM programs, emergency preparedness, and amateur radio technology development.

“ARRL is proud to partner with ARDC to administer the Club Grant Program. These grants offer an opportunity to have a significant impact on amateur radio’s future.”
— ARRL Director of Development Kevin Beal, K8EAL

More information will be announced on all ARRL news outlets in the coming weeks. Now is the time for your club to consider if you have a project that could qualify for a grant. Start thinking just how your club can impact amateur radio, today and in the future. Grants will be available for up to $25,000 and will include reporting and media requirements. Stay tuned for additional information, and get ready for the next round of the Club Grant Program.

ARRL Foundation Club Grant Program - https://www.arrl.org/club-grant-program


Radio Communications Foundation Recruiting New Trustees

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The Radio Communications Foundation (RCF) is a small charity dedicated to encouraging people to take up radio as a hobby or, in the case of youngsters, considering an RF-based career.

The RCF is proud to sponsor Arkwright Scholars, work with the RSGB and Bletchley Park to deliver radio building workshops, and to make grants for various projects around the UK.

The RCF is now looking to recruit a couple of new Trustees to help it deliver its aims.

Applicants should have an interest in radio communications and be prepared to be involved in decisions over grant making, delivering RCF projects, and attracting charity funding.

The RCF would particularly like to hear from anyone with links to secondary education in the UK.

Expressions of interest and applications should be sent to rcfsecretary@commsfoundation.org preferably by the end of June 2024.

Radio Communications Foundation - http://www.commsfoundation.org