General

Scheduled to launch on Monday March 31st, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry the Fram2 mission to space. Comprised of four astronauts, the mission is designed to take a polar orbit around Earth for a 3-5 day period. During that time, astronaut and amateur radio operator Rabea Rogge (LB9NJ/KD3AID) will be transmitting SSTV images from the Dragon spacecraft between 435 and 438 MHz. (A simulation conducted from the International Space Station in February occurred on 437.550 MHz utilizing mode PD-120.)

Fram2Ham is an experimental radio competition open to high school and university ages. Rogge will send pictures of three geographical locations via an onboard ham radio, but here’s the twist: they’ll be cut into pieces and mixed up! Participants will receive only fragments of the locations and need to guess where on Earth they are and what their role in polar history was.

Visit the Fram2Ham website for more information or join the Discord server.

The 2025 National Hurricane Conference will be held next month, April 14–17, at the Hilton Riverside Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana. The event’s long-running Amateur Radio Workshop will be conducted on Tuesday, April 15, from 1:30 to 5 PM. Watch a video of the amateur radio workshops at the 2024 National Hurricane Conference, courtesy of Jim Palmer, KB1KQW.

Hurricane Watch Net founder Gerald E. “Gerry” Murphy, K8UYW, passed away on February 25, 2025, at age 88. In 1965, Murphy, then 28 years old, was stationed at the U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Center in Davisville, Rhode Island. During his time off, he handled countless phone patches and messages to and from military-deployed personnel as a member of the Intercontinental Amateur Radio Net (IARN) on 14.320 MHz.—Hurricane Watch Net manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV

The ARROW Communications Association and the Toledo Mobile Radio Association (TMRA) are proud to sponsor a motor coach trip to the Hamvention 2025 in Dayton, Ohio. This one-day trip leaves early in the morning on May 17, 2025, and returns the same day after Hamvention closes for the day at 5:00 p.m. The bus has two pickup spots, in Ann Arbor and in Toledo (Rossford). Please join us!

Tickets are $70 per person. Please note that this does not include the Hamvention ticket, which you need to purchase separately. To Register and see full Details visit:w8rp.org/daytonbus2025

There are two pickup/drop off locations on May 17th, 2025
Ann Arbor – 601 W Stadium Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI – Departing 4:30 am
Toledo – 727 Lime City Rd. Rossford, OH – Departing 5:30 am

On board, you can stretch out, relax, take a nap, chat with other hams, and enjoy a light breakfast with coffee as the coach takes you directly to the country’s largest amateur radio event!

Thanks, ARROW & TMRA