I suppose it’s time someone said it, we’re in the back half of the year now. Traditional summer is half over with the next holiday stop being Labor Day. Though we’re losing less than a minute of daylight each day now I think can feel that. Probably because sleep remains elusive and in short supply here. And while I love America and support my neighbors enthusiasm for celebrating it, I’ll be glad to have all this noisy night time nonsense behind us. My opinion of backyard fireworks is that it would be more fun to light twenty-dollar bills on fire in the backyard and probably amounts to much the same thing.

Notable

I caught news that Don Lancaster had recently died. The passing of the legendary electronics wizard was covered by Hackaday recently and mention of it was made by notable QRP enthusiast Paul Harden, NA5N. RIP Don.

The IARU HF World Championship occurs this weekend, beginning at 1200 UTC on Saturday, July 8 and concluding at 1159 UTC on Sunday, July 9. Participants can enter in CW, SSB, or mixed mode categories. The exchange is a signal report and your ITU zone. ITU zones for stations in the Lower 48 are 6, 7, or 8. ITU zones for Canadian stations are 2, 3, 4, or 9. US and Canadian participants should visit the rules page for more information on how to determine their ITU Zone.

The ARRL is shipping a new book. Here to There: Radio Wave Propagation presents the principles of amateur radio propagation in an easy-to-understand style. Knowing ionospheric structures, how they form, and which bands they interact with will prepare you for practical operating and help you make the most of your time on the air.