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Cheating Prompts Revisions of WRTC Scores and Winners |
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The scores and winners of the 2026 World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC 2026), which took place in July, have been revised, with four teams disqualified following an investigation into several forms of cheating.
In a report published by the WRTC 2026 Organizing Committee, judges found that the operators of three teams — MB1I, MB2A, and MB2M — had their identities deliberately revealed through pre-contest frequency handoffs, violating a rule intended to prevent competitors from being identified to outside stations.
The committee also found that outside stations used 15 pirated call signs to make fraudulent multiplier-enhancing contacts, with the activity disproportionately benefiting MB2A and MB2M. Contacts with the pirated call signs were removed from all WRTC logs.
According to the report, MB2M (operators VE3DZ and UW7LL), the original declared winner of the competition, has been disqualified, as were MB2A (operators US2YW and IK4VET), MB1I (operators E77DX and DJ4MX), and MB5Q (operators RW7K and KU1CW). MB5Q was disqualified after 10 multiplier-enhancing contacts in the team’s log could not be found in its audio recording.
The revised order of finish is: 1st place — Manfred Wolf, DJ5MW, and Ulrich Ann, DM5EE (MB5O); 2nd place — Dan Craig, N6MJ, and Chris Hurlbut, KL9A (MB4G); and 3rd place —Randy Thompson, K5ZD, and Tom Georgens, W2SC (MB1T).
The committee also reported that similar frequency-transfer and fraudulent-multiplier activity is now believed to have taken place during WRTC 2023 in Italy. You can read the complete report on the WRTC 2026 website.
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Candidates Named for ARRL Director and Vice Director Elections |
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ARRL has announced that the candidates for the 2026 ARRL Division elections are now official. ARRL members will choose between two candidates for Director in the Delta, Great Lakes, and Midwest Divisions, and two candidates for Vice Director in the Midwest Division. The Director positions in the Atlantic and Dakota Divisions are unopposed, as are the Vice Director positions in the Atlantic, Dakota, and Delta Divisions. The Great Lakes Division had no candidates for Vice Director.
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Declared Elected without Opposition -
Atlantic Division: Marty Newingham, AG3I, Director; and Ray Sokola, K9RS, Vice Director. Newingham has held the Director position since January 2026, and Sokola has held the Vice Director position since July 2026.
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Dakota Division: Bill Lippert, ACØW, Director; and Christian Stallkamp, KIØD, Vice Director. Lippert has held the Director position since January 2021, and Stallkamp has held the Vice Director position since March 2026.
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Delta Division: Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, Vice Director. The current Vice Director, John Mark Robertson, K5JMR, who was appointed in December 2025, chose not to seek election.
Contested Seats -
Delta Division: Incumbent David Norris, K5UZ, and David Thomas, KM4NYI, will run for Director.
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Great Lakes Division: Incumbent Scott Yonally, N8SY, and Michael Kalter, W8CI, will run for Director. There were no candidates for the Vice Director position.
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Midwest Division: Incumbent Art Zygielbaum, KØAIZ, and Drew Vonada-Smith, K3PA, will run for Director, while Ron Ochu, KOØZ, and Todd LeMense, KKØDX, will run for Vice Director. The current Vice Director, Dave Propper, K2DP, who has served since 2021, chose not to seek re-election.
Balloting for contested seats will take place this fall. Votes will be counted and successful candidates will be announced in November. Candidates declared elected will assume their roles for terms beginning January 1, 2027.
ARRL is governed by its Board of Directors. Elections are held for five of the 15 ARRL Divisions each year, for terms of three years.
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Calling All Amateur Radio Instructors |
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ARRL National Instructor Gordon West, WB6NOA | | |
A Special Message from ARRL National Instructor Gordon West, WB6NOA:
The Summer (August) ARRL National Instructor Newsletter was sent out last week by email to all ARRL Registered Instructors.
It contains information about the ARRL Learning Center's library of training videos, updated Technician Class PowerPoint slides, lesson plans for basic electronics, discounts for instructors who purchase student study books from ARRL, student graduation certificates, and even more free resources to support instructors teaching amateur radio classes.
Important: If you are an active volunteer instructor who has never signed up as an ARRL Registered Instructor, please make yourself official at www.arrl.org/license-instructor-registration. If you believe you are already registered but did not receive the most recent newsletter, please register again using the same link so we can make sure you receive future communications.
We don't want you to miss these messages and updates intended to support volunteer classroom instructors.
Want a sample of some of the free resources available to support ARRL Registered Instructors? Visit www.arrl.org/gordon-west.
I encourage all volunteer instructors to email me with questions you may have as we build participation and engagement in the ARRL National Instructor Program. Email instructors@arrl.org with your ideas!
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Former ARRL COO Harold Kramer, WJ1B, Silent Key |
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Harold R. Kramer, WJ1B, SK | 1948 – 2026. In this photo, Kramer is operating at W1AW in February 2016. [Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, photo] | | |
Former ARRL Chief Operating Officer (COO) Harold Kramer, WJ1B, passed away on Monday, August 31, 2026, at age 78. Kramer served as COO and QST Publisher from 2005 to 2016, following a career in broadcasting.
He was an ARRL Life Member and donor, supporting the Diamond Club, the Second Century Campaign, and the ARRL Lab.
Former ARRL CEO Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, recalled, “We hired Harold away from Connecticut Public Broadcasting (CPB), not long after doing the same to bring in Mary Hobart (also now SK) as Chief Development Officer.
I was told the CPB President wasn't happy about being ARRL's farm team!” Sumner referred to Kramer’s 11 years of service to ARRL staff as “one sunspot cycle” on the staff.
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a friendlier person than Harold Kramer,” said ARRL Lab Manager George Spatta, W1GKS. “Harold continued volunteering at ARRL long after he retired by helping the Lab test donations, and he was very active in the ARRL Historical Committee, where he was passionate about documenting and presenting the history of amateur radio and the equipment used by hams over the decades.
Harold will be sorely missed by his good friends in the ARRL Lab."
Kramer was also a contributing author to ARRL’s The Parks on the Air® Book. He was active on the air until a couple of months before his passing, and he made some of his final contacts as a Parks on the Air “hunter.”
In addition, Harold was very active in his hometown of Cheshire, Connecticut, having served as an elected member of the town’s Planning and Zoning Committee and chairing its public library board. He was also a past president of Temple Beth David in Cheshire, which is where his funeral service will take place on Friday, September 4 at 11:30 AM. Burial will follow at Hillside Cemetery. A full obituary may be found at www.fordfh.com/obituaries/harold-kramer.
ARRL extends sympathy to Harold’s wife, Karen, daughters Anna and Ruth, and many other relatives and friends.
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Rich Moseson, W2VU, Named ARRL News Editor |
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ARRL News Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU | | |
Former CQ magazine Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, has been named ARRL News Editor, succeeding John Ross, KD8IDJ, who has served in the position since 2022. Moseson, a veteran journalist, previously wrote for the Associated Press national radio/TV wire and was a writer and producer for CBS News, where his work earned three Emmy Awards and a Christopher Award, among others.
He is better known to the amateur radio community as the producer of CQ’s “Getting Started” video series, the founding editor of CQ VHF magazine, and the editor of CQ Amateur Radio magazine from 1999 until it ceased publication in 2023.
Since 2024, Moseson has been working — mostly behind the scenes — on several ARRL publications, including The ARRL Letter, National Contest Journal, and On the Air. He has also contributed articles to QST.
Moseson has been an amateur since 1970 and holds an Amateur Extra-class license. He is an ARRL Life Member and a former Section Manager and Affiliated Club Coordinator, and he served on the ARRL Public Relations Committee for more than 20 years. His current interests lie in QRP (low-power operating) and kit building.
Moseson is also active in his community as a member of his town’s Environmental Commission, and he is president of his local county park conservancy.
Email news stories to Rich at news@arrl.org.
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Amateur Radio in the News |
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National Public Radio’s “On the Media” program aired a reprise of its 2025 episode on the effort by Wall Street traders to use portions of the shortwave spectrum
— portions close to amateur frequencies — for high-speed data transmissions that would cross the Atlantic milliseconds ahead of cable or satellite transmissions.
It took a deep dive into the history of shortwave radio and amateur radio’s role in it. The episode, titled “Finance Bros Are Coming for the Public Airwaves,” is part of the program’s “The Divided Dial” series.
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ARRL Live Events and Podcasts |
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On the Air LIVE
Join ARRL Director for Learning and Education Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, for the September episode of OTA Live on Tuesday, September 22 at 8 PM Eastern, where he will explore an inexpensive and practical way to evaluate the performance of your handheld (HT) radio. Using a low-cost Software Defined Radio (SDR) dongle, free SDR software, and free audio-editing software, Wayne will demonstrate several tests that can help you get a better idea of how well your HT is working. While these measurements won’t replace lab-grade testing, they can reveal useful information about your radio’s performance. Wayne will also demonstrate how to use these tools to identify CTCSS tones and DCS codes. The livestream will air on the ARRL's learning center, learn.arrl.org. Preregistration is required and can be accomplished through the Learning Center.
📅 Date: September 22, 2026
🕗 Time: 8 PM Eastern / 5 PM Pacific
👉 Register Now
| ⏪ Previously Recorded Sessions
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ARRL Audio News
Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday. ARRL Audio News is a summary of the week's top news stories in the world of amateur radio and ARRL, along with interviews and other features. More info
| Listen on Blubrry
| Also available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
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On the Air
Sponsored by Icom
Hams and Hurricane Season
ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY, joins the podcast to talk about the Atlantic hurricane season and ham radio’s role in it, as a follow-up to the July/August 2026 issue’s article “Ham Radio and the Hurricane Season” by Rick Palm, K1CE. More info
| Listen on Blubrry
| Also available on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
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The following America250 W1AW Portable Activations begin 0000z on Wednesdays, and end 2359z on Tuesdays (7 days total for each activation). See the complete schedule at www.arrl.org/america250-was.
09/02/2026 North Carolina W1AW/4 (host N1X1)
09/02/2026 Colorado W1AW/Ø (host K1DDN)
09/09/2026 Kentucky W1AW/4 (host W4NHO)
09/09/2026 North Dakota W1AW/Ø (host WØND)
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ARRL
Headquarters will be closed on Monday, September 7, 2026, in observance of the Labor Day federal holiday. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions. ARRL Headquarters will reopen on Tuesday, September 8, at 8 AM EDT (1200 UTC). Visit the ARRL Special Events Stations
database to find on-the-air events and commemorations this weekend.
ARRL wishes its members and friends a safe and enjoyable holiday!
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Last week, ARRL emailed all Full members in the Southeastern and Delta Divisions, seeking their participation in an online survey about moving the Alabama Section to the Delta Division. The ARRL Board of Directors conditionally approved the move for February 1, 2027, pending completion of the survey and without major exceptions. Members must log in to the ARRL website to complete the survey at www.arrl.org/alabama-survey.
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Can artificial intelligence help improve your contesting skills? John Myers, WG8X, wrote in the current newsletter of the Portage County (Ohio) Amateur Radio Service newsletter that he was inspired to give it a try after a mention of using AI to examine contest logs by Hal Kennedy, N4GG, at last May’s Contest University in Dayton. Myers wrote that he gave ChatGPT a link to the rules for the North American QSO Party
and “asked for guidance as to how to maximize my score.” He reported that the response, “personalized to my own situation, was nothing short of amazing. It broke down the 12-hour contest into smaller bite-size nuggets showing me when to spend time on a band or move.” Myers said AI also provided impressive after-contest analysis and suggested that it might also help other contesters as well. The Portage County Amateur Radio Service
is an ARRL Special Service Club.
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Musician and ARRL Life Member Lauren Speeth, KK6NGE, has developed a unique way to learn Morse code, using electric bass and puppies! Her free MorseBass.com website combines music and visuals to help learners recognize and remember CW characters.
The site also includes a list of common “CW Chat Words” commonly used in on-air QSOs, helping learners quickly recognize frequently used words.
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Open Positions at ARRL
Come join the headquarters staff of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®! We are currently seeking qualified applicants for the following positions:
Membership Manager
Technical Editor
RFI Lab Engineer
Public Relations and Outreach Manager
Advertising Sales Manager
Full details may be found on the ARRL HR web page at www.arrl.org/careers.
ARRL is an equal opportunity employer.
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September 3 -- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest-NA (digital)
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September 3 - 4 -- Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)
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September 5 - 6 -- ARRL EME Contest (CW, phone, digital)
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September 5 - 6 -- All Asian DX Contest (phone)
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September 5 - 6 -- Russian RTTY WW Contest (digital)
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September 5 -- AGCW Straight Key Party (CW)
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September 5 - 6 -- RSGB SSB Field Day (phone)
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September 5 -- CWOps CW Open (CW)
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September 5 - 6 -- PODXS 070 Club Jay Hudak Memorial 80m Sprint (digital)
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September 6 - 7 -- Tennessee QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
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September 7 - 8 -- MI QRP Labor Day CW Sprint (CW)
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September 8 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)
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September 10 -- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest-NA (digital)
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September 11 -- K1USN SST Open (CW)
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September 12 - 13 -- WAE DX Contest, SSB (phone)
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September 12 - 13 -- SEANET Contest (CW, phone)
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September 12 - 13 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
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September 12 -- Ohio State Parks on the Air (CW, phone)
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September 12 - 13 -- New Jersey QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
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September 12 - 13 -- Colorado QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
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September 12 - 14 -- ARRL September VHF Contest (CW, phone, digital)
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September 13 -- North American Sprint (CW)
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September 14 -- 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint (CW, phone)
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Remember to visit the ARRL Contest Calendar
for more events and information.
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Upcoming ARRL Conventions and Major Events |
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ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions (next 60 days)
Search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database at www.arrl.org/hamfests to find events in your area.
September 4 – 5 | Shelby Hamfest, hosting the ARRL North Carolina State Convention, Shelby, North Carolina
September 26 | Red River Radio Amateurs Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Minnesota State Convention, Moorhead, Minnesota
October 3 | Third Annual Micro Expo, hosting the ARRL Santa Barbara Section Convention, Camarillo, California
October 3 | Wichita Area Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Kansas Section Convention, Wichita, Kansas
October 9 – 10 | SPARK-CON 2026, hosting the ARRL Midwest Division Convention, Sedalia, Missouri
October 10 | North Star Radio Convention, hosting the ARRL Dakota Division Convention, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
October 11 | Nutmeg Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Connecticut State Convention, Meriden, Connecticut
October 11 | HamFest, hosting the ARRL Southern New Jersey Section Convention, Mullica Hill, New Jersey
October 16 – 18 | Pacificon, hosting the ARRL Pacific Division Convention, San Ramon, California
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Submissions for the ARRL Letter and ARRL News can be sent to news@arrl.org. -- Richard Moseson, W2VU, ARRL News Editor
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ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information
Join ARRL or renew today!
No other organization works harder to promote and protect amateur radio. Membership supports benefits, services, programs, and advocacy to help you get (and stay) active and on the air. Membership includes access to digital editions of all four ARRL magazines: QST, On the Air, QEX, and NCJ.
Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday.
The ARRL Letter is available in an accessible format, posted weekly to the Blind-hams Groups.io
email group. The group is dedicated to discussions about amateur radio as it concerns blind hams, plus related topics including ham radio use of adaptive technology.
On the Air. Published bimonthly for newer hams, featuring introductions to popular activities and key concepts, equipment buying guides, and practical projects with step-by-step instructions — all in language that’s easy to understand.
NCJ -- National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprints, and QSO parties.
QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bimonthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns, and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.
Free of charge to ARRL members...
Subscribe
to the ARES® Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), the NTS® Letter (monthly news about the ARRL National Traffic System message-relay network), the ARRL Contest Update (biweekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts, and much more!
Find ARRL on Facebook! Follow us on Threads, X, and Instagram.
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The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 51 times each year. ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their profile at www.arrl.org/opt-in-out.
Copyright © 2026 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated.
Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution.
All other purposes require written permission.
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