48F when I woke this morning. This foretaste of autumnal awesomeness is simply too good to be true for August in Central Indiana. It’s been wonderfully comfortable these last few days and it seems there is another day or two of it ahead before the heat returns. Good news - the kids are back in school and there are only a few more weeks until Fall begins to settle over the Heartland…

The Jarvis Island operation (N5J) has concluded. I saw on Club Log they were reporting over 100,000 Q’s so there should be lots of satisfied DX chasers around the world. I only worked them once, on 17 meters. Happy ATNO for me!

ARRL reported weeks ago that some of the DXCC award services were still down following the ransomware attack, but they expected all these to be back online on August 20. That didn’t happen. Instead, a message now appears on the LoTW site that says:

Current estimated DXCC System restoration has been extended - more files affected by Cyber Attack require attention! – To all Award participants: UPDATE - Current estimated DXCC System restoration has been extended (date uncertain) - more files need attention (files affected by Cyber Attack)

A short video teasing what could be the heir apparent to the ICOM IC-7610 has been making the rounds. More details are promised on August 24th (Tokyo Ham Fair).

Nick, M0NTV is back with a new build series. This time he’s homebrewing another Direct Conversion Receiver.

The Hawaii QSO Party takes place this weekend 0400Z, Aug 24 to 0400Z, Aug 26 and good propagation to the Pacific will be along for the ride. Complete details and rules here. Aloha!

An interesting video review of the Icom IC-905 VHF/UHF/SHF All Mode Base/Portable Transceiver. ICOM keeps dropping the price and I’m not sure if that’s because these aren’t selling well or not? One more price drop and I might have to own one.

Check the band, check your license. I’ve mentioned here previously that most mornings I eavesdrop on the Treasure Coasters Net on 40 meters. I’ve noticed that at least once a week, sometimes more often than that, the net control station has to remind a new station checking-in that the net is conducted in the Extra portion of the band (7.153) for US operators. The response to these check-in attempts are always handled in a friendly manner and never with a scathing retort. But it happens often enough that I have to wonder why US hams don’t know the legal limits of their own license? A printed 3x5 card with permitted frequencies should be affixed in their shack, if not on their foreheads…