KB3UJW Joins CQ Staff as Associate Editor

Sabrina Herman, KB3UJW, of Lyndhurst, Ohio, has been named CQ magazine's Associate Editor, succeeding Managing Editor Jason Feldman, KD2IWM, who is leaving CQ Communications after 12 years to pursue opportunities outside of publishing.

Herman has been a ham for close to 13 years and comes to CQ from Hermes Press, a small book publisher in Pennsylvania, where she served as Managing Editor and Promotional Coordinator.  At CQ, she will be an integral part of the editorial team producing each issue of the magazine and will work to expand CQ's social media presence as well.

 Herman says she hopes to learn more about the ham community in her new position, noting that nearly all of her friends are hams, including her husband, Jacob, about whom she says "he's the reason I decided to take the license exam back in 2010!"

 "I have two dogs who are my fur babies, Ginger Rogers and Noodle," she adds. "I am an avid collector of Disney paraphernalia, books of all kinds, and original comic book art. I play lots of Nintendo Switch games, my favorite being Animal Crossing." 

Hamvention Names 2023 Award Winners

The Dayton Amateur Radio Association has announced the winners of the 2023 Hamvention awards. The awards, among the most prestigious in amateur radio, recognize the Amateur of the Year, Special Achievement, Technical Achievement and Club of the Year.

Dayton’s 2023 Amateur of the Year is Carsten Dauer, DM9EE, a longtime advocate for youth in amateur radio (he and his children are featured in the 2021-22 CQ Amateur Radio calendar). Carsten was honored for his work in collecting and transporting amateur radio equipment to hams in Ukraine and, on the return trips, driving war refugees from Ukraine to safe havens in Germany, including his own hotel. To help, visit <https://tinyurl.com/25baptav>.

This year’s Technical Achievement Award goes to Dr. James Breakall, WA3FET, a prolific antenna designer and professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Penn State University. He helped develop the Numerical Electromagnetic Code, or NEC, which is the basis for most of today’s antenna modeling programs. He also worked with K1JT, WP3R and NP4A in 2010 to do moonbounce ftom the Arecibo Observatory (SK) in Puerto Rico.

The Special Achievement Award for 2023 honors Dr. Jason McDonald, N2TPA. A trauma surgeon by profession, his major ham radio interest is promoting amateur radio among young people, particularly through Radio Scouting, forming scout radio clubs in the U.S., Canada and the Philippines. Through these clubs, he has gotten more than 500 young people licensed and on the air.

The 2023 Club of the Year is the Delaware Valley Radio Association in Trenton, New Jersey, whose wide range of amateur radio activities and events has led the club membership to triple in size over the past six years.

The honorees will be formally recognized at the Dayton Hamvention awards dinner in May,

Sohn Withdraws as FCC Nominee

(CQ Newsroom
file photo)

Gigi Sohn has withdrawn from consideration for membership on the FCC, after her nomination by President Biden was not acted on by the Senate for nearly two years. 

According to “The Hill,” a Capitol Hill newspaper, Sohn’s decision came soon after West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin announced that he would not support her confirmation, which has been supported by most Democrats and opposed by most Republicans and many in the media and wireless industries. 

The White House has not yet indicated when the President might announce another nomination to fill the fifth Commission seat.

3Y0J Wraps Up Weather-Shortened DXpedition

The much-anticipated 3Y0J DXpedition to Bouvet Island is over and the team is safely back in friendlier climes. While the team’s original goal was to operate 12 stations simultaneously for 22 days and hoped to make 200,000 QSOs, they were only able to get two stations on the air and made about 19,000 contacts, according to the ARRL Letter. 

In addition to terrible weather and extreme difficulty getting equipment on shore, the only safe place on the island to set up camp had a huge rock blocking the short path to most of North America. Plus, the effort was beset by massive amounts of deliberate interference. 

CQ will have a complete report on the expedition in the May issue.

ARDC Releases 2022 Annual Report Showing $7 Million in Grants

The Amateur Radio Digital Communications foundation has released its annual report for 2022, outlining more than $7 million in grants made during the year. 

The ARRL Letter reports that ARDC made grants in four categories, amateur radio ($2.1 million), education ($2.3 million), scholarships ( $1.5 million) and research-and-development ($2.4 million). The foundation’s philanthropy included 47 grants to amateur radio clubs and projects, as well as 95 scholarships. For more information, visit <www.ardc.net>.

“Human Security” Theme for World Amateur Radio Day

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) announced that this year’s World Amateur Radio Day on April 18 will have the theme of “Human Security for All,” of HS4A. The theme is the result of a partnership between IARU and the United Nations Fund for Human Security and the World Academy of Art and Science. 

According to the UN, “human security” includes “seven interrelated dimensions of security” – economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community and political – that are essential to an individual’s well-being. The IARU says amateur radio has “repeatedly demonstrated its ability to address human security needs.” The group and its member societies will have special event stations on the air between April 11 and 25 to call attention to the HS4A theme.

Nominations Open for Young Ham of the Year

Do you know a young radio amateur, age 18 or younger, who is doing extraordinary things for his/her community or for amateur radio? If so, the Amateur Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak Young Ham of the Year Award committee wants to hear from you. Nominations for the 2023 YHOTY award are being accepted through May 31. For more information and nominating forms, visit <arnewsline.org> and click on the YHOTY tab. CQ is a corporate sponsor of the Young Ham of the Year award.

Milestones: Former FCC Chief Engineer W4QAW Silent Key

Raymond Spence, W4QAW, became a Silent Key in February at age 93. According to Newsline, Spence was retired from a career at the FCC capped off by service as the agency’s Chief Engineer. He was also a dedicated DXer and contester. He lived in Washington’s Virginia suburbs and was an for much of his life.

New Distance Records on IO-117 Satellite

The IO-117 satellite prior to
launch (AMSAT photo)

Italy’s IO-117 amateur satellite is bringing real DXing back to ham satellites. The AMSAT News Service reports on two recent contacts of more than 8000 miles – between KG0D and VU2LBW and between W5CBF and A65BR, the latter setting a new record for the medium-orbit bird of 8075 miles (12,996 kilometers) – as well as numerous hams using IO-117 to qualify for ARRL Worked All States and DXCC awards, plus the initial level of CQ’s Worked All Zones Satellite award (25 of 40 zones needed). The satellite was launched last summer.

Radio and Electronics Merit Badges Score Big Gains

The ARRL Letter reports that the Boy Scouts’ radio and electronics merit badges are gaining significantly in popularity. Quoting a study of merit badges in Scouting magazine, the report says Radio jumped from 98^th-most popular merit badge in 2021 to #81 in 2022, a surge of 18 places and the biggest increase in popularity of any merit badge. The second-biggest jump was for the electronics badge, moving up 15 spots from 80^th place to 65^th. 

Scouts work their way toward the top rank of Eagle Scout by earning at least 21 merit badges, along with other requirements.