News | Q R P e r

UPDATE: The USPS has reversed this decision and parcel delivery has been resumed.

Many thanks to Eric (WD8RIF), who notes that if you live in the US and have incoming packages from China or Hong Kong via the USPS, you may experience delays. Here’s the story from the BBC:

US Postal Service halts China parcels after Trump tariffs (BBC)

The US Postal Service (USPS) said it has stopped accepting parcels from mainland China and Hong Kong until further notice.

Letters will not be affected by the suspension, said the company, which declined to offer a reason for the decision.

However, on Tuesday new rules came into force which closed a loophole that allowed small packages worth $800 (£641) or less to be sent to the US without paying tax or fees.

It was one of the measures announced by US President Donald Trump who imposed an additional 10% tariff on all goods imported to the US from China. [Continue reading…]

Here’s the official note from the USPS:

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE SUSPENSION NOTICE – effective Feb. 4, 2025

Effective Feb. 4, the Postal Service will temporarily suspend only international package acceptance of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong Posts until further notice. Note the flow of letters and flats from China and Hong Kong will not be impacted.

Note that this doesn’t currently affect items shipped via UPS, FedEx, or DHL. You may take this into consideration before placing an order from China or Hong Kong.

According to a new article published by NASA, we may have finally hit the rock bottom of the Solar Cycle and are on our way to Solar Cylce 24. According to sunspot forecaster David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the recent sun spots groups that have appeared on the sun belong to Solar Cycle 24. This is an encouraging development since we have been dealing with the solar minimum for what feels like an eternity in QRP time (nearly 2 years, according to NASA).

I’ve seen a lot of discussions on ham radio sites, in the ham press and in email groups about hams waiting to try QRP until the next sun spot cylce is in full swing. I don’t think this is necessary. In fact, I have been operating QRP throughout this lull and found that the solar minimum has had no effect on my daily/weekly QRP QSOs in the lower bands (160/80 & 40 Meters). I’ve also done some pretty respectable DX in the higher bands as well. Yes, those DX contacts are more rare, but it makes me appreciate each one even more.

With that said, QRP will really come alive in the higher bands in a couple of years. There’s no better time to hone your skills than to be practicing when the going is tougher. It’ll make you a better operator. I promise.

So, box up that amplifier and sell it on eBay. Then, find the power knob on your transceiver and turn it down until you barely notice the power output meter trembling–hit the air and have some QRP fun!