CQ Amateur Radio

OCTOBER FAIRBANKS, ALASKA – ARCTIC ARC, - from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 7. Bentley Mall, 32 College Rd. Talk-ln: 146.88 (103.5Hz). Free Adm! www.kl7kc.com LAKESIDE, CALIFORNIA – LAKESIDE ARC, - from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on October 7. Lakeside Rodeo Arena, 12584 Mapleview St. Talk-ln: 146.55. Free Adm $5 www.lakesidearc.org NEW HOLLAND, PENNSYLVANIA – RED ROSE REPEATER ASSOCIATION, - from 8 a.m. on October 7. Garden Spot Fire Rescue, 339 E. Main Street. Talk-ln: 147.015 (118.8Hz). Adm $5 www.w3rrr.org CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA – NORTH OKALOOSA ARC, - from 8 a.m. on October 14. Crestview Community Center, 1446 Commerce Dr. Talk-ln: 147.36 (100 Hz). Adm $7 www.w4aaz.org/noarc-hamfest BEDFORD, INDIANA – HOOSIER HILLS HAM CLUB, - from 8 a.m. to NOON. on October 14. Lawrence County 4-H Fairgrounds, 11265…

FCC Back to Full Strength The FCC is finally back to having five commissioners, after the Senate voted in early September to confirm the nomination of Anna Gomez to fill a long-vacant seat. This will allow the Commission to take action on significant issues, as it previously had been deadlocked with two commissioners from each major political party. Gomez is a former high-level FCC staffer, and just prior to her appointment was working for the State Department, leading the U.S. preparations for the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23). According to the ARRL Letter, Gomez has been succeeded in that role by Steve Lang, the State Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Information and Communications Policy. He had already been working closely with Gomez on WRC-23 preparations. ARRL Asks Hams to…

One of the interesting things about being a magazine editor is that sometimes an issue “talks to you” as it’s being put together. I’ve written here a couple of times about issues that tell me what’s going to be in them rather than the other way around. This is not one of those issues, but it is talking to me and is telling me what to write about right here (and if I know what’s good for me, I’ll listen, HI). It wants me to talk about the magic of “voices from the air” and to urge all of us never to lose that magic in the name of “progress” as our analog world becomes more and more digital. For many of us, our love affair with radio began with…

Kees Van Oosbree, W0AAE, a 19-year-old ham from Maple Grove, Minnesota (Photo A), was presented with the 2023 Bill Pasternak Memorial Newsline Young Ham of the Year award at the Huntsville Hamfest in Alabama on August 19. Van Oosbree was honored for his leadership in both the Youth on the Air (YOTA) Americas program and the Remote Ham Radio Youth Network. (For more background on Kees, see the August 2023 issue of CQ.) Amateur Radio Newsline anchor Don Wilbanks, AE5DW (Photo B), was the master of ceremonies at the annual presentation. Joining Don and Kees on stage was Yaesu USA Sales Office Manager Nori Romero (Photo C), who came bearing gifts! Yaesu is a corporate sponsor of the Newsline Young Ham of the Year award, along with CQ, Heil Sound…

This past July, 29 campers from all over the US, Canada, and Argentina, along with guests from Germany and Croatia, met for a week at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to participate in the third annual Youth on the Air (YOTA) Americas camp (Photo A). YOTA camp is a weeklong summer camp for youth operators ages 15-25 from North, Central, and South America. The goal of the program is to build skills and foster lasting friendships and mentors with younger operators. Throughout the week, the focus is on hands-on, peerled activities. YOTA camp is different from other youth programs in that the campers share each other’s expertise whenever possible. The young hams are the ones setting up the shacks, deciding on and planning activities and outings, promoting the camp,…

Vladimir Kovaceski, Z35M, is ham radio’s “marathon man.” His first CQ article, back in 2005, described his making more than 43,000 contacts the previous year. He’s checked in periodically with us since then, writing about various additional feats and adventures, such as operating from a cable gondola going up a mountain and pioneering the concept of “guerilla QRP portable” operation. In this issue’s cover story, Vlado takes us through nearly 15 years of portable operations as he celebrates portable expedition number 1,000! In the photo, he’s using his bicycle as an antenna support during one of his annual bicycle mobile trips from his home in North Macedonia around Ohrid Lake, which borders both North Macedonia and Albania. The trips cover more than 100 kilometers (62 miles). For his 1000th portable…