We have more cancellations and format changes to report this month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with one new event! The Huntsville Hamfest in Alabama, scheduled for mid-August, has been cancelled for this year; the AMSAT Space Symposium and annual meeting has been converted to a virtual event on the same weekend, October 16-18; and ARISS, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program, has been continuing to test its "MultiPoint Telebridge" system to allow students in a variety of locations (such as their homes) to still visit with ISS astronauts via amateur radio.
In addition, Youth on the Air in the Americas replaced its planned
summer camp in late June with a series of on-air events, including
"Virtual YOTA Day" on June 24 and a special event station, W8Y, which
was to be operated during the week of June 21-26 from various locations by the young
hams who had been scheduled to attend the camp that week. See <https://youthontheair.org/>
for details.
Across the Atlantic, IARU Region 1's Youngsters on
the Air program <https://www.ham-yota.com/> inaugurated monthly online
meetings to discuss various topics, such as Region 1's Youth Contesting
Program.
On the flip side, trying to fill the vacuum created
by so many hamfest cancellations, QSO Today podcast host Eric Guth, 4Z1UG,
has organized a worldwide virtual hamfest for the weekend of August 8 and 9.
The "QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo" will use an online exposition platform
to connect attendees with various vendors and to present talks on a variety of
ham radio subjects. More information is available at <https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/>.
