Amateur Information:

Here is the information for our upcoming, free, live General Class Licensing course on Zoom. Please feel free to share the following announcement online or at your club meetings:

A free, weekly, live, Amateur Radio General Class Licensing course on Zoom will begin on Thursday, October 30, and will run through Thursday, January 8 (9 sessions with no class on Thanksgiving or Christmas). The three-hour sessions will start at 6:30 PM Eastern Time. These are the classes that we have been holding for years sponsored by the Amateur Radio Club of the National Electronics Museum. Participants in the course should have or be studying for the Amateur Radio Technician license. Those wishing to sign up should email [email protected].

Please spread the word and publicize this with anyone you know that you think would be interested.

We have overlapping mailing lists, so if you received a duplicate of this message, thanx for your understanding.

Thanx

73,

Rol Anders, K3RA

Tom Christovich K3YH

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Hams Needed to Track NASA Moon Misson 09/26/2025 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking volunteers to passively track the 2026 Artemis II Orion spacecraft as the crewed mission travels to the Moon and back to Earth.

The Artemis II test flight will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT; Victor Glover, KI5BKC; and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, KF5LKU, on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon.

Targeted for no later than April 2026, the mission will rely on NASA’s Near Space Network and Deep Space Network for primary communications and tracking support throughout its launch, orbit, and reentry. However, with a growing focus on commercialization, NASA wants to further understand industry’s tracking capabilities.

This collaboration opportunity builds upon a previous request released by NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation Program (SCaN ) during the Artemis I mission in 2022. Ten volunteers successfully tracked the uncrewed Orion spacecraft on its journey thousands of miles beyond the Moon and back.

One of those volunteers tracking in 2022 was Scott Chapman, K4KDR, of Montpelier, Virginia. “Sometimes it’s what you don’t know that makes this kind activity interesting,” said Chapman. “All I had was a small S-band dish and receiver and wasn’t sure what I could or couldn’t hear…but when I started hearing the signals…it made everything worth it.”

Chapman said he felt good about the whole process and, while it was interesting, it was also lot of fun!

There were also other participants during the Artemis I mission, including international space agencies, academic institutions, commercial companies, nonprofits, and private citizens who were also attempting to receive Orion’s signals. Chapman added that NASA is also looking for commercial partnerships to share in the process.

If you’re interested in volunteering for next year’s event, all of the information can be found at SAM.gov. The response deadline is October 27, 2025, at 5:00 PM EDT.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Amateur Radio Licensing Update During US Government Shutdown 10/03/2025 Original Story 10/1/2025 Updated 10/2/2025 (CORES is not available for new registrants) Updated 10/3/2025 (Temporary testing procedures for examinees without FRNs) A bulletin sent to members of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® included information about the impact of the US Government shutdown on licensing for the Amateur Radio Service. The government shutdown began at 12:01 Eastern time on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, when Congress had not passed an appropriations bill or other plan to keep the government funded for the new fiscal year (begins October 1). The Federal Communications Commission, which issues Amateur Radio Service licenses, issued a Public Notice on Tuesday, September 30, indicating that it would suspend most operations following a shutdown. “Aside from a few emergency and auction filing systems, all other Commission electronic filing systems will be unavailable to the public until normal agency operations resume,” said the FCC Notice. ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, said the FCC systems appeared to go off-line around 1 PM Eastern time on Wednesday, and are redirecting to the Public Notice. This means the FCC will not be processing any amateur radio license applications during the shutdown, which includes individual, club, and exam session (new and upgrade) applications. “But ARRL Volunteer Examiners should continue giving exam sessions,” said Somma. “Keep doing what you’re doing. Keep serving new and upgrade candidates for amateur radio licenses.” Somma also urged that Volunteer Examiners continue to promptly forward session results from their exams to the ARRL VEC. “Please do not hold your session results. Send your sessions to us, and ARRL VEC will continue to queue all applications as they are received. Once the federal government reopens, ARRL VEC will promptly resume submitting applications to the FCC for processing. So, keep sending sessions to the ARRL VEC.” The FCC’s shutdown notice indicated that CORES registration system would remain available for certain activities, but New Registrations are currently not being accepted. This means that new applicants cannot register for an FRN. This has created a temporary barrier for individuals who wish to take an amateur radio exam but do not yet have an FRN. Existing users can still log in and access their accounts and applicants who already have an FRN can test without issue. Temporary Testing Procedure Without an FRN: Given the current situation, ARRL VEC will temporarily allow testing without an FRN (FCC Registration Number), with the understanding that: 1. The applicant would take the exam and receive a CSCE (Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination). 2. Once CORES resumes issuing new registrations, the applicant would: Register for an FRN. Contact the coordinating VEC with their FRN. The VEC will submit their application to the FCC. In the ExamTools system candidates without an FRN should: 1. Use ‘0000000000’ (ten zeros), then select “I don’t have an FRN”. 2. Complete the session registration. CSCEs will be issued to successful candidates. For teams using paper exams: Candidates without an FRN should leave the FRN field blank on all forms. CSCEs will be issued to successful candidates. This approach will preserve momentum for new licensees and avoid delays in testing. Note: Other VEC organizations may also offer similar alternative testing methods. Please check with them directly for their specific procedures. Please continue to check the ARRL website for updates as they become available. The FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) databases are also currently unavailable to the public. ULS and related systems (like the License Manager, License Search, Application Search, etc.) are not accessible during the shutdown. Users cannot file applications with the FCC, or access license data, including address information. To find an amateur radio exam session, please visit www.arrl.org/find-an-exam. For a list of VE Teams that offer Online Exam Sessions, go to www.arrl.org/online-exam-session. About the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC) The ARRL VEC program has a long standing tradition of serving the Amateur Radio Service and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with integrity and expertise. As the largest VEC in the nation, the ARRL VEC operates as a knowledgeable information source for a wide-range of licensing services and issues. The ARRL VEC supports nearly 30,000 ARRL-accredited Volunteer Examiners (VEs) who support the amateur radio community by offering exam opportunities. Photo Gallery Back ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Arats 10 Meter net Every Tuesday Night At 8pm, Strve KD2PPZ Net Control

Arats two meter net is held every thursday night at 8pm on 146.955 with a pl 151.4

                    OTHER NETS:

MONDAY NIGHT AT 8pm 6 METER NET 50.200 (NET CONTROL KEATH WB2VUO)

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS at 8pm 2 METER SIDE BAND NET 144.210 (NET CONTROL KEATH WB2VUO)

LARA (Lockport Amatuer Radio Association) holds a two meter net on Sunday at 8 PM, ON 146.820 PL 107.2

RAWNY (W2PE) holds thier net every monday night at 7 PM, (444.000)

STARS (south towns amatuer radio association) has a two meter net on thursday night at 7:30 PM, 146.090 PL107.2

Western district net(WDN} holds a traffic handeling net every night at 9:30pm ON 145.390 WDN is part of the amatuer radio national traffic handeling system. Western district net handles formal written messages in a specified format, WDN is opareted by the national trffic system. any amatuer with or without traffic can check into this net.

ARATS Board Meeting

ATATS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS WILL START UP WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2025. TIME 6pm. ARATS GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS WILL START UP WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2025. TIME 7pm.

BOARD AND GENERAL MEETINGS ARE HELD ON THE THIRD WEDNESDAY OF EVERY NONTH AT TONAWANDA CITY HALL. 200 NIAGARA STREET, CITY OF TONAWANDA NY.

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