ARRL

ARRL
Full name	American Radio Relay League
Founded	1914, by Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence D. Tuska
Headquarters	Newington, Connecticut
Headquarters station	W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station
Activities
Journal	QST, published since 1915
Operating events	Field Day, Sweepstakes, International DX Contest, VHF contests
Services	Logbook of the World, ARRL VEC, ARES
International	US member society of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)

The ARRL, the American Radio Relay League, is the national association for amateur radio in the United States. It is a nonprofit membership organization that publishes the magazine QST, runs operating events such as Field Day, coordinates license exams, and represents hams before the FCC and Congress. The ARRL is not a government body. It doesn't issue licenses or write the rules, though it plays a large part in both the exam system and the debates that shape the rules.

History

Hiram Percy Maxim, a Hartford, Connecticut, inventor and radio amateur whose station was 1AW, founded the league in 1914 with fellow amateur Clarence D. Tuska. The name describes its original purpose. Stations of the time had limited range, so messages crossed the country by being relayed from one amateur to the next, and the league organized the routes. That tradition lives on in traffic nets.

QST first appeared in December 1915. When amateur stations were ordered off the air during World War I, the ARRL campaigned for their return afterward, and in 1925 it helped found the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), with Maxim as its first president. The IARU now speaks for national amateur societies around the world, including at the international conferences that allocate radio spectrum.

W1AW and publications

The league's headquarters is in Newington, Connecticut, near Hartford. On the same grounds stands W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, which carries Maxim's old call sign. On a published schedule, W1AW transmits Morse code practice at a range of speeds, along with bulletins on CW, voice and digital modes carrying ARRL news and propagation information. Licensed visitors may operate the station during visiting hours.

QST is the league's monthly membership journal, covering news, operating, product reviews and construction projects. The ARRL also publishes On the Air, a bimonthly magazine for beginner and intermediate hams launched in January 2020, QEX for technical experimenters and NCJ (the National Contest Journal), along with books including The ARRL Handbook, The ARRL Antenna Book and a series of license manuals. It publishes the national band plans for the United States.

History collections and learning

The ARRL keeps several collections on the history of the hobby. The ARRL Heritage Museum holds paper archives, photographs, technical books and several thousand cataloged pieces of equipment, preserved by volunteers at the ARRL Laboratory in Newington. Part of the hardware is on show there in an exhibit on the evolution of amateur radio, with apparatus from the early 1900s to the 1980s, including a spark transmitter from about 1907 and a 1969 Novice station. Radio Alpha, the ARRL Museum and Research Library, is an all-volunteer online database of amateur radio people, organizations, manufacturers, events and equipment, still being built up. The free ARRL Online Library offers presentations that clubs can use at meetings, oral histories in which hams describe their experiences, and brochures and handouts for promoting the hobby.

The ARRL Learning Network is a series of live online webinars given by member volunteers, usually about 30 minutes long with time for questions afterward; members can watch recordings of past sessions.

Operating programs

Field Day, each June, is the league's best-known event.
Contests run through the year, including the November Sweepstakes, the International DX Contest, a 10-meter contest and several VHF contests. See ARRL contests and Contesting.
Awards include DXCC (the DX Century Club, for contacts with 100 or more countries and entities) and Worked All States. See DXing.
Logbook of the World (LoTW) is the ARRL's online system for confirming contacts electronically, accepted for its awards. See QSL cards and logging.

Advocacy and public service

Much of the ARRL's work happens away from the air. It files comments and petitions in FCC rulemaking proceedings, defends amateur frequencies against competing users, and lobbies Congress on issues such as antenna restrictions. Internationally, it works through the IARU to protect amateur spectrum at the International Telecommunication Union.

The ARRL VEC is one of the largest Volunteer Examiner Coordinators. It accredits volunteer examiners, coordinates exam sessions across the country, and forwards successful applications to the FCC.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is the ARRL's volunteer organization for emergency communications. Members register with a local emergency coordinator, train, and support agencies such as emergency management offices and the Red Cross. The league also runs a Volunteer Monitor program, whose members listen for serious rule violations and report them to the FCC.

Organization

The ARRL is governed by a board of directors elected by its members, who are grouped into regional divisions. Each division is made up of sections, usually a state or part of a state, and each section has an elected section manager who leads local volunteers in emergency communications, traffic handling and technical help. Membership is open to anyone, licensed or not, and many local clubs are ARRL-affiliated. In July 2024 the board adopted a strategic plan for 2024 to 2027 as the basis for later planning. In February 2026 the ARRL was announced as a supporting partner of America250, the nonpartisan organization Congress charged with leading the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence; its activities for the anniversary year included a year-long America250 Worked All States event.

W1AW's code practice sessions are a free way to build Morse speed at home. Look up the published schedule, tune in at the speed just above your comfortable one, and copy along.

References

ARRL, official website.
American Radio Relay League, Wikipedia.