Author - Chris Cloclough G1VDP

The time is quickly approaching for this years DX Feile, the EIDX Group’s convention. This is a superb weekend to meet with like minded DXers from over in the Emerald Isle and visitors from afar. It is on Saturday 5th October at the Templegate Hotel, Ennis, Co Clare. 

The weekend for myself will start on the Friday with a flight to Dublin to meet up with Charles, M0OXO, and Dave, EI9FBB, who will then drive us down through the beautiful Irish countryside to Ennis. A meal and some Guinness will then follow before the real fun on Saturday.

There is a packed programme of events as can be seen from the photo below. The dinner on the evening gives us all chance to enjoy some good company, food, and drink. The talk will inevitably be about the hobby and and all it’s different aspects, but especially DXing and Contesting. 

Hope to see you there and I will try and update with some images upon my return home.

Following on from the recent LOTW outage and the ARRL cyber attack the statement below was issued by the ARRL yesterday. As suspected by many people in the amateur radio world it was ransomware. 

Sometime in early May 2024, ARRL’s systems network was compromised by threat actors (TAs) using information they had purchased on the dark web. The TAs accessed headquarters on-site systems and most cloud-based systems. They used a wide variety of payloads affecting everything from desktops and laptops to Windows-based and Linux-based servers. Despite the wide variety of target configurations, the TAs seemed to have a payload that would host and execute encryption or deletion of network-based IT assets, as well as launch demands for a ransom payment, for every system.

This serious incident was an act of organized crime. The highly coordinated and executed attack took place during the early morning hours of May 15. That morning, as staff arrived, it was immediately apparent that ARRL had become the victim of an extensive and sophisticated ransomware attack. The FBI categorized the attack as “unique” as they had not seen this level of sophistication among the many other attacks, they have experience with. Within 3 hours a crisis management team had been constructed of ARRL management, an outside vendor with extensive resources and experience in the ransomware recovery space, attorneys experienced with managing the legal aspects of the attack including interfacing with the authorities, and our insurance carrier. The authorities were contacted immediately as was the ARRL President.

The ransom demands by the TAs, in exchange for access to their decryption tools, were exorbitant. It was clear they didn’t know, and didn’t care, that they had attacked a small 501(c)(3) organization with limited resources. Their ransom demands were dramatically weakened by the fact that they did not have access to any compromising data. It was also clear that they believed ARRL had extensive insurance coverage that would cover a multi-million-dollar ransom payment. After days of tense negotiation and brinkmanship, ARRL agreed to pay a $1 million ransom. That payment, along with the cost of restoration, has been largely covered by our insurance policy.

From the start of the incident, the ARRL board met weekly using a continuing special board meeting for full progress reports and to offer assistance. In the first few meetings there were significant details to cover, and the board was thoughtfully engaged, asked important questions, and was fully supportive of the team at HQ to keep the restoration efforts moving. Member updates were posted to a single page on the website and were posted across the internet in many forums and groups. ARRL worked closely with professionals deeply experienced in ransomware matters on every post. It is important to understand that the TAs had ARRL under a magnifying glass while we were negotiating. Based on the expert advice we were being given, we could not publicly communicate anything informative, useful, or potentially antagonistic to the TAs during this time frame.

Today, most systems have been restored or are waiting for interfaces to come back online to interconnect them. While we have been in restoration mode, we have also been working to simplify the infrastructure to the extent possible. We anticipate that it may take another month or two to complete restoration under the new infrastructure guidelines and new standards.

Most ARRL member benefits remained operational during the attack. One that wasn’t was Logbook of The World (LoTW), which is one of our most popular member benefits. LoTW data was not impacted by the attack and once the environment was ready to again permit public access to ARRL network-based servers, we returned LoTW into service. The fact that LoTW took less than 4 days to get through a backlog that at times exceeded over 60,000 logs was outstanding.

The board at the ARRL Second Board Meeting in July voted to approve a new committee, the Information Technology Advisory Committee. This will be comprised of ARRL staff, board members with demonstrated experience in IT, and additional members from the IT industry who are currently employed as subject matter experts in a few areas. They will help analyse and advise on future steps to take with ARRL IT within the financial means available to the organization.

We thank you for your patience as we navigated our way through this. The emails of moral support and offers of IT expertise were well received by the team. Although we are not entirely out of the woods yet and are still working to restore minor servers that serve internal needs (such as various email services like bulk mail and some internal reflectors), we are happy with the progress that has been made and for the incredible dedication of staff and consultants who continue to work together to bring this incident to a successful conclusion.

Last year I attended the EI DX Group gathering in Shannon, Eire (see previous posts) and had a top weekend. Well it is now that time of year to be booking once again, and yes I am trying to attend and have booked my room. So get your rooms, flights, and other travel booked for this years DX Feile, I know you will be welcomed and have fun – the Irish guys know how to look after you and make you feel like an old friend even though you have just met them. Or as they post on their Facebook page.

DX Féile 2024 BOOKINGS NOW BEING TAKEN….
For information and how to book please contact David EI9FBB at QTHR, ei9fbb@gmail.com or Tel:+353877444777
Rooms likely to sell out fast however day tickets readily available. …
Full Programme announced soon!

Just thought I would share some of my images with you of this years show. From 2600 images I have selected 140 that are on my Facebook page, and I will select a few more to process and maybe share around the groups. Here’s some of my favourites.

Well that’s the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) done with for another year. Once again, we smashed it as a team in the Viewing Village, lots of comments from customers about how good it was on all 3 days. In fact the whole team who organise the show must be thanked from me for one of the best, both in the air and on the ground. Without all the planning and preparation done over the year it just would not happen. The RAF Charitable Trust Enterprise (RAFCTE) who put together the show and give all profits from the show to the RAFCT whose aim is to inspire future generations through STEM and education.

Lots of fun each day too when we returned to our accommodation at the Royal Agricultural University, nicknamed Hogwarts, with other volunteers from other teams. I must also add a thank you to the staff here for looking after us, especially Louis in the bar who convinced his boss to open on the Sunday evening so we could celebrate a team members birthday – happy birthday Dave.

I must also mention, and thank, the Royal Air Force Cadet Force who attend and help out each year. These kids do a stirling job helping to set up the seating in the Viewing Village, doing the FODPLOD to make sure no litter is on the ground and can get into the aircraft, and with our customers when they come through the reception area. When they set up the chairs we give them a challenge, an idea of mine and their officer Scott, to insert a word and/or numbers of one of the themes of the show. Previous years have been USAF 75, Italia 100, and this year RCAF 100 in honour of the Royal Canadian Airforce 100 years. We are already planning 2025 and now we have CAD it will be easier to design.

So thanks to all and hopefully see you on an airfield in Gloucestershire during July 2025.

Friday morning came and after having breakfast we ordered a local taxi to take us to the Messe for the show, Ady (G6AD), Charles (M0OXO), Grant (VK5GR) and myself arrived with plenty of time to get to the stand and get set up. Unfortunately, Grant had to wait for the doors opening to the show before he could gain access, while the three of us were part of the IOTA stand we had exhibitor passes and went to the stand to complete the set up. Thanks at this point must go to Corrine from the team at the Messe for getting 2 of her guys to move the wall so we were not cut off from the main DX Plaza. This also gave us a good view of the small presentation area we had next to the stand, of which more later.

The doors opened, and a steady stream of visitors came to see us, mostly friends from previous visits along with many of our friends from off the air. This is the best part about the show, socialising and chatting with the person you have only before heard on the air or not seen since the last Ham Radio show here. It is also good to see the operators who you only see in photographs about the DXpeditions and IOTA activations that are on the air for short periods. It is also good to see the number of British visitors to the show, and I think this year there were a lot more visitors from far flung places – Australia, USA, Japan, etc – walking around and saying hello as they passed.

As previously mentioned, we had a small presentation area next to the stand where some of the recent DX-pedition operators came and gave a talk on their adventures. This started with Philip, DK6SP, giving a presentation of the 8R7X Guyana trip. This was one of the best DX-peditions I have ever heard or worked. 4 young lads, all with experience from other trips, all good at CW and controlling the pile ups, and they were on the air and readable by everyone. It was just a pleasure to hear them when they were there.

As the day passed, we each went for a walk around the halls to see what the latest equipment was on sale, meet old friends, pay our memberships to some of the DX groups and societies, and check out the food stalls. A beer late afternoon in the garden gave me chance to catch up with Rune, LA7THA, and Gjermund, LB5GI. No news on any DXpeditions from him, but it was good to chat and hear the news from Norway.

Looking at the equipment I was taken by the small footprint of the Optibeam OB9-5 antenna that they had on display, Optibeam Yagis were there promoting their antennas. The OB9-5 Covers the bands 20, 17,15, 12, and 10M with 2 elements on each band, and a boom length of only 5.1M, this would fit into many of the small gardens here in the UK and would certainly improve the signals to work DX for many. I guess this antenna with an amplifier could get some of us little pistols competing in the Dxpedition pile ups.

Soon it was time to close the IOTA stand and head back to the hotel to change ready for the evening meal. With it being the 60^th Anniversary of the IOTA Award, started back in 1964 by Geoff Watts – A British shortwave listener – and going from strength to strength each year, we held a dinner at the Zeppelin Museum Restaurant. This was the first time that the restaurant had opened in the evening, and we felt extremely honoured and grateful to the staff for hosting us. A fun evening again with old and new friends chatting about the IOTA awards, and other radio related matters. A most enjoyable evening and the food was excellent.

A walk back to the hotel and a beer sat outside to finish the day was just what was needed.

Saturday morning and again breakfast with a taxi to the Messe for day 2 of the show. The weather was looking as if it was going to be a scorcher in the hall, especially as the previous day the air conditioning had failed, and it was like being in a sauna. But the staff had been working on it and it was lovely and cool in there, which lasted throughout the day.

Again, a steady stream of visitors to the stand brought old and new friends, along with one or two interesting characters who needed to vent a little about the award – especially the gent from Manhattan who didn’t agree that it didn’t have an IOTA reference as it “is an island”, we then had to explain the ruling on why it didn’t qualify. It was good to meet him though and we did have a good chat and some laughs with him afterwards.

More wine, cheese, beers, and the French Pastis were brought to us from our friends around the DX Plaza at lunchtime. Along with the presentations and visitors we had another good day. I also managed to go and visit the “flea” market and drool over some old bits of kit that were on sale, and I do keep saying one day I may drive over and bring something back with me. Just not yet as I enjoy the travelling and socialising parts too much.

The day ended and we retired back to the hotel. A beer sat with friends before a small group of us went for the annual steak at Tiffany’s restaurant. A treat to ourselves, they really do some of the best steaks I have ever tasted. Back to the bar and watch the football, Germany played Denmark and won. At midnight the streets were full of people in cars blowing their horns and celebrating the German win. The roads were gridlocked but it was a happy atmosphere, though not good for sleep.

Sunday is the last day of the show, although not many visitors attend, mostly the weekenders who come and say their goodbyes and start the ravel to their homes around the globe. Our weekend companion Grant, VK5GR, said his farewells at breakfast and he started his 39 hour journey back to Adelaide with a train to Stuttgart. We packed away the stand and said our goodbyes to all around the DX Plaza before getting a taxi to the ferry.

This journey is the worst part about the trip, well not the actual travelling as like on the inbound trip it is relaxing and chilled. It is just the wait at the airport for the aircraft that is the bad bit.

On the ferry a coffee was bought, and a slice of cake enjoyed, is there a pattern here? hahahaha. But this year rather than go and sit on the platform waiting for the train to depart we decided to have a treat at the café on the Romanshorn marina, a beautiful little place with plenty of outdoor seating – even though it was raining. The train was still at the station when we finished and paid so no waiting there either.

Arriving in Zurich it was time to sit in the “Circle” and have our main meal. McDonalds and KFC were the choices of the four of us, Jaimie, M0SDV, had joined us for this trip back to the airport. It is strange no matter where you go there is always somewhere to sit, have a drink or food, and watch the world go by. I think it must be a worldwide hobby – people watching.

Over the road to the airport, find the check in desk and wait for it to open. This is the bad part about the journey, waiting. Eventually we check in and go through security and passport control to get the duty-free stuff. Years ago it would have been beer and wine, now I look for the giant orange flavoured Toblerone and huge Milka chocolate bars that end up coming home with me. A walk through the departures to another little favourite restaurant in the airport and we sit and chat over a lemonade before Jaimie had to leave us for his flight. The departure board was showing may of the flights were delayed by the weather, not just at Zurich but all over Europe. Ours was 1 hour late by the time we departed.

Arriving back at Heathrow we grabbed our bags, cleared customs and headed to collect the car. A long day and one we were all happy to see end in the hotel and a comfy bed.

Following a good nights sleep we had breakfast and set off home. My thanks must go once again to Charles and Ady for their wonderful company, the laughs, and the beers. To all the staff at the Hotel City Krone in Friedrichshafen, all at the Messe, and to DARC for organising the show. If I have missed any one out I am sorry and I will include you next year.

Did I say next year? Yes we are already booked in to the hotel(s), just need the flights to open up for sale. Again we are going that day earlier so we can enjoy Friedrichshafen and explore some more. So see you all at Ham Radio 2025.

July 1, 2024

MEMBER BULLETIN July 1, 2024 Dear ARRL member, Effective 12:00pm ET / 16:00 UTC we will be returning Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) to service. As work progressed on the network, some users encountered LoTW opening briefly during which some 6600 logs were uploaded. The logs were not processed until this weekend as we tested that the interfaces to LoTW were functioning properly. We are taking steps to help manage what will likely be a huge influx of logs. We are requesting that if you have large uploads, perhaps from contests or from a DXpedition, please wait a week or two before uploading to give LoTW a chance to catch up. We have also implemented a process to reject logs with excessive duplicates. Please do not upload your entire log to “ensure” your contacts are in LoTW as they will be rejected. Lastly, please do not call ARRL Headquarters to report issues you are having with LoTW. You can contact support at LoTW-help@arrl.org. Through the end of the year, you may experience planned times when LoTW will be unavailable. We have been using this time to evaluate operational and infrastructure improvements we would like to make to LoTW. Those times will be announced. We appreciate your patience as we worked through the challenges keeping LoTW from returning to service. We know the importance of LoTW to our members, and to the tens of thousands of LoTW users who are not ARRL members. LoTW, just behind QST, is our second most popular ARRL benefit.

Tuesday 25th June 2024

The time has arrived and we set off on our annual trip to Ham Radio, Friedrichshafen. Charles (M0OXO) once again kindly drove the car to London Heathrow where we had an overnight stay at the Premier Inn, Bath Road. Picking up Ady (G6AD) on our way through we had a nice trip from our home in the Midlands. 

Arriving around lunchtime at the hotel we had a short wait to get into our rooms. So we had a couple of drinks of coffee and then decide to have a beer to try and knock us out for some sleep. After checking in a meal in the bar area and early night was the order of the day ready for the 02:00 alarm to get to the airport for our flight departure of 6am.

Wednesday 26th June 2024.

When arriving at the airport the check ins didn’t open until 04:00 so a short wait before checking in, and then straight through security to our Swiss Air departure gate. 

Onto the aircraft and away we went, on time and in the air for 06:15.One hour and fifteen minutes later we arrived at Zurich Airport, disembarked the aircraft, collected our baggage, and into the train station. Tickets purchased and on the platform within 45 minutes of the plane touching down. 

The wait for the train was around 5 minutes, and with the usual efficiency we have come to remember of the Swiss rail service it arrived and our second leg of the journey began. What amazes us about the train service is how smooth and quiet it is within the carriage, both on the upper deck and lower decks there is hardly any noise, unlike the British train where it is clunky and noisy with running over the points and rail joints. After roughly one hour we arrive at our destination of Romanshorn, the interchange with the ferry across the beautiful Lake Constance.

The short 40 minute journey across the lake gave us time to get some refreshment. Both Ady and I chose to have Apple Pie and cream to take off the hunger before we went to dinner later that day, with a coffee for all 3 of us. If ever you are on the boat across Lake Constance on this journey then do try the apple pie, it was delicious, and one of the best I have ever tasted. Docking in FHN gave us the chance to walk through the town to our hotel, the Hotel City Krone, completing the whole journey from taking off at Heathrow to sitting outside the hotel in 4 1/2 hours. A record for us in our travelling time. We had a little wait before we could get into our rooms so we sat outside on the street tables, watched the world go by and had another coffee. Completely chilled and ready for the madness of the weekend.

At 15:00 (local) we were able to enter our rooms and drop our luggage. This gave us time to go for a walk and find somewhere to eat along the lake front, A beautiful promenade with bars and restaurants to one side, and their outdoor seating areas to the other, overlooking Lake Constance. The choice of many styles and tastes, this night we chose our favourite – Bella Vista – which is a gorgeous little Italian restaurant serving excellent food. Charles received a message from our friend Grant (VK5GR) had arrived at the hotel from Australia, a 38 hour journey for the 4 days in Friedrichshafen, and went to meet him before bringing him down to the promenade to join us. This gave Ady and myself the chance to have a sneaky beer while we waited. Charles and Grant arrived and we ordered some of the most beautiful food I have ever tasted, and it is no wonder we have made this our favourite.

Thursday 27th June 2024.

As we had planned this was the day we would explore the small town centre and visit the Zeppelin Museum in the town, this is also situated along the lake side and is a beautiful 1920’s art deco building. A very interesting and informative place, and it just reminds you of how far we have advanced with the technology in just over 100 years. I had always been under the impression that the Zeppelins were made as a war machine rather than a passenger aircraft, but the Graf Zeppelin and the Hindenburg were both passenger aircraft that quite literally circumnavigated the earth. They were huge!! A model of the Airbus A380 (72 Meters long) was shown next to one of the airships (212 Meters) long and it looked tiny. The passenger cabins were small, but looked comfortable, and the public areas were plush with silver service for dining and waiter service for drinks – just showing the opulence of the era.  The images on here don’t do it justice.

Following this we went to the Messe (Exhibition Hall) to set up the IOTA (Islands On The Air)  table and get ready for the start on Friday. With this being the 60th Anniversary of the IOTA scheme the organisers DARC (Deutscher Amateur-Radio-Club), the national society of Germany, had constructed a special display with images of QSL cards and other information from many activations from the past. This was in the main foyer as you entered the show, and proved popular with many asking about the IOTA programme when they came into the hall and the stand.

There was not many on site when we arrived in the main hall, may be this being a working day for most they were still travelling to get there stands set up ready for the main event on the Friday and Saturday. EUDXF (European DX Foundation) were the first to arrive followed by the CDXC (Chiltern DX Club) from the UK the next, Chris (G4FZN) and his wife Pauline.
 

Today is the start of our journey to Ham Radio 2024, Friedrichshafen.

A journey that starts with Charles (M0OXO) leaving home at 05:00 to arrive at my house at 07:00, just having a coffee and catch up. Ady (G6AD) will be joining us shortly for the first leg to Heathrow for some fun plane spotting. We then get our flight to Zurich at 06:00 on Wednesday morning. A nice chilled relaxing trip from there on a train and a boat. 

Hopefully this year will see many old friends and new coming to say hello on the IOTA stand for the IOTA 60th anniversary. Hope all that are going have signed up for the IOTA dinner on Friday evening at the Zeppelin Restaurant. A week of good food and beer with lots of laughs guaranteed thrown in.

See you all there.