Weaver's Words
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division
Date: Thursday, October 22, 2009 2:16 AM
Subject: WEAVER'S WORDS -- Watch for Goblins
(Reply to ki8je@arrl.org)
- FCC Clarifies Section 97.113 Regarding Drills
- Online Seminar will Discuss Section 97.113
- Publicity for Amateur Radio
- ARRL to FCC: 'tain't so McGee
- Region 3 IARU Conference ends
- Hamfest Sponsors, You Own Part of the Agreement
- Humanitarian Award: Nominations Wanted
- Canadian Mobiles must become Hands Free
- Great Lakes Division in Print
- The 2010 Handbook -- Wow!
- Travel & Hamfest Schedule
+++ FCC Clarifies Part 97.113 Regarding Drills +++
FCC Issued Public Notice DA 09-2259 on October 20 to resolve the
confusion concerning 47CFR97.113 of its rules governing Amateur Radio.
There are two aspects of this Public Notice as I see it. The first is
that the wording of 47 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 97.113
says precisely what the FCC has said it says all along. In today's
phraseology, "read my lips."
The second aspect of the Public Notice adds a new wrinkle to the issue.
This is simply that FCC recognizes there may be individual instances
when it may be appropriate for employees with Amateur Radio licenses to
use Amateur Radio to communicate on behalf of their employers during
drills. The critical learning here is that these instances relate to
government-sponsored drills and the use of employee ham operators is to
be cleared on a case-by-case basis through a waiver process the
Commission has instituted.
In other words, one does not decide a day or two before a drill that
employee amateurs can be used or that the employer-employee
relationship is OK to operate on a continuing basis.
Everything stated in "Words" last month as well as everything stated in
the position statement we ARRL Directors issued about the
commercialization of Amateur Radio applies today as much as it did 20
years ago. The only difference between what we discussed is FCC's
addition of the waiver process for occasional government-sponsored
drills.
The bottom line as this Director sees it is:
- Under no circumstances may Amateur Radio operators conduct
communication via Amateur Radio on behalf of their employers on a
continuing basis. As just one example, an Emergency Management
Director may not use Amateur Radio to communicate with employees who
are licensed amateurs in the conduct of the routine business of the
emergency management department. Regular conduct of weather training
nets by employees of the NWS or an EM Department as part of their
duties would appear to represent another form of prohibited activity.
Period, end of discussion per the FCC Public Notice.
- Any use of Amateur Radio by an employer to communicate with employees
occur during individual, government-sponsored drills and only then if
prior waiver for this communication has been obtained in writing from
the FCC. The drill may not be repeated without repeating the waiver
process. In addition, the drill may not be a continuing operation.
Again, period, end of discussion per the FCC Public Notice.
To beat a dead horse, FCC rules regarding this issue have not changed
for many years. As proof of this, all one needs to do is to read the
Public Notice
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2259A1.pdf and
Part 97.113. Focusing on the current issue, Part 97.113 reads:
"(a) No amateur station shall transmit:
"(2) Communications for hire or for material compensation, direct
or indirect, paid or promised;
"(3) Communications in which the station licensee or control
operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf
of an employer. Amateur operators may, however, notify other amateur
operators of the availability for sale or trade of apparatus normally
used in an amateur station, provided that such activity is not
conducted on a regular basis;
"(5) Communications, on a regular basis, which could reasonably
be furnished alternatively through other radio services."
Whether you or I agree with an FCC rule does not change the fact that
it is the current rule with full, legal status. It applies regardless
of any well-meaning rationalization anyone may try to use to justify
ignoring it.
While I'm in the opinion-offering mood, let me suggest that the FCC has
done everything it can do to get Amateur Radio and us out of a thorny,
community relations, rock-and-hard-spot with served agencies. Giving
copies of Part 97.113, the new FCC Public Notice and the ARRL
Commercialization of Amateur Radio discussion should give any sincere
manager at a served agency a clear understanding of what can and cannot
be done using Amateur Radio. Add to this a discussion by a
knowledgeable member of your ARES, club or other ham group on how you
can fit in to emergency plans and the picture of how you can assist our
communities should come into focus.
Instead of telling an agency, we do what you want, try saying, "Federal
regulations do not permit us to do exactly what you have requested, but
here is what we can do to help . . ." Discussing the situation openly
and honestly should then be useful.
Keep in mind that this discussion relates to drills. The FCC rules
(47CFR97.403) still also state "No provision of these rules prevents
the use by an amateur station of any means of radiocommunication at its
disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with
the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property
when normal communication systems are not available." Training for
such an eventuality by employees of served agencies must be done
following FCC rules, however.
FCC rules and regulations are published for anyone to study. Don't
have a copy? You can go to
http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?category=&words=fcc+\&SearchWords.x=13&SearchWords.
y=8.
They are also posted on the web at
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/news/part97/.
Incidentally, "except as otherwise provided in these rules" in (2),
above, refers to the ruling that allows operators of W1AW and certain
other stations to be paid for transmitting material such as relevant
news bulletins, propagation information, code practice on the ham bands
to amateurs.
+++ Online Seminar Will Discuss Section 97.113 +++
As stated in a special announcement to Great Lakes Division members,
ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, will lead an online seminar
about Section 97.113 of the FCC rules. Provided there is still room in
the "webinar," any GLD member is invited to participate. The seminar
will be by Internet with presentations on your computer screen and
audio using VOIP or telephone.
The seminar is at 9 PM, Wednesday, October 28. To register:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/326759760. You will be able to
submit questions when you register.
+++ Publicity for Amateur Radio +++
A recent poll on the ARRL web site asked visitors to it if they were
familiar with the league's new training course, PR-101. The result was
that only about 10% of those who took the poll said they knew anything
about this course. This is an unfortunate statistic.
PR-101 is a series of lessons on CD that covers the how's, why's and
what's of getting print or broadcast media coverage for services we
hams provide to the public and for Amateur Radio activities.
I've lost count of the number of times members have asked why ham
public safety and public service events fail to receive coverage by the
news media. PR-101 provides amateurs with the knowledge needed to get
this coverage.
PR-101 was put together under the guidance of ARRL Media Relations
Director Allen Pitts, W1AGP to provide us gals and guys in the field
with the tools we need to promote hamming locally.
To be honest, hams indeed have a problem getting the press coverage our
works deserve. We can sit back and complain about this problem or we
can act to do something to correct it as have many of our fellow
amateurs. If you, too, wish to become part of the solution, please
contact Allen at apitts@arrl.org and ask what you can do to improve
press coverage in your community. For information about PR-101,
specifically, go to
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/05/15/10817/?nc=1.
PR-101 is a must-read for club Public Information Officers (PIOs) and
anyone else interested in getting good publicity for Amateur Radio.
Your club doesn't have a PIO? It should. Nearly wherever there is an
active PIO knowledgeable in how to obtain publicity, ham radio receives
it.
+++ ARRL to FCC: 'tain't so McGee +++
In a filing with the FCC, the IBEC corporation provided technical data
showing that the general electrical noise floor in the US has risen
considerably. The point of the submission was that any ambient noise
added by BPL and similar systems was relatively negligible --
justifying radiation from BPL. ARRL recently filed comments that
strongly rebut the IBEC argument.
Studies done by ARRL's Ed Hare, W1RFI, totally demonstrated the
incompetence of the investigative approach used by IBEC. Using more
sophisticated and accepted methodology, the ARRL study clearly supports
the continued validity of data previously provided earlier by such
organizations as the United Nations' International Telecommunications
Union (ITU) and NATO.
+++ Region 3 IARU Conference ends +++
Region 3 of the International Amateur Radio Union held its triennial
conference in Christchurch, New Zealand October 12-16. Major actions
taken by the delegates included affirming obtaining allocation of an
amateur 500 kHz band during WRC-12. The conference also firmly stated
its dedication to strengthening its protection of amateur frequencies
against intruders by strengthening the Region 3 Intruder Watch.
Ten member national societies sent delegates. Three more were
represented by proxy. ARRL represents amateurs in US territories and
possessions in the Region III. These include American Samoa (KH8) and
Guam (KH2).
The conference accepted the invitation of the Vietnam ARC to hold its
15th Triennial Conference in Ho Chi Minh City in 2012.
+++ Hamfest Sponsors, You Own Part of the Agreement +++
ARRL is happy to sanction qualified hamfests as "ARRL Hamfests." The
benefit to clubs and the hamfests they sponsor is free publicity in QST
and on the ARRL web site. Free gift certificates usable to purchase
ARRL publications are also given to use as prizes.
In return, hamfests that are sanctioned agree to a quid pro quo deal
for ARRL. In return, ARRL hamfests agree to ". . . make space
available for an ARRL display, and those ARRL hamfests which include
formal speaking programs will schedule time for an ARRL meeting if so
requested by the Director or another elected League official."
In my opinion, mutual courtesy between ARRL and the hamfest sponsors
should include each one promoting the appearance of an ARRL official at
a sanctioned hamfest when this appearance is known sufficiently in
advance. This is precisely the reason behind the Travel Schedule
published at the end of each of these issues of Words.
I hope that hamfest committees that do not plan formal speaking
programs will still make time available for an ARRL Forum provided that
space is available for it and the time is requested. Additionally,
sanctioned hamfests "shall make every effort to use the ARRL diamond .
. . on the front of all advertising and program materials."
Obviously, a sanctioned hamfest can promote itself as being an ARRL
Hamfest. This is encouraged, in fact.
For the complete rules regarding sanctioning of hamfests and
conventions, please see
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/hamfests/rules.html.
+++ Humanitarian Award: Nominations Wanted +++
The ARRL Humanitarian Award is given to individual or groups of
amateurs that provide outstanding work in areas of international
humanism and the furtherance of world peach. Nominations for this
award are open through December 31.
Information on the award and submitting nominations for it are at
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/awards/humanitarian.html.
+++ Canadian Mobiles must become Hands Free +++
According to an alert from the Radio Amateurs of Canada (the Canadian
National organization), a new law in the Province of Ontario requires
all two-way radios in nearly all vehicles on Canadian roadways to be
hands free. The requirement applies to all commercial, CB and amateur
equipment. The only exception to the rule is gear in emergency
response vehicles.
We can only assume at this time that the law applies to vehicles
operated by visitors from the US as well as Canadian amateurs. The new
law became effective October 26. Tickets for infractions will begin to
be issued effective February 1.
+++ Great Lakes Division in Print +++
Page 20 of the November 2009 QST was nearly taken over by Great Lakes
Division clubs. The left column covers a needed antenna replacement at
the Bluegrass Amateur Radio Service club station in Lexington, KY. In
the lower right, there is a nice "art" photo of antennas and a hot-air
balloon above Findlay Radio Club antennas in Findlay, OH.
A technical article by Mike Bryce, WB8VGE begins on p. 35. The North
Lawrence, OH amateur wrote "A Universal Frequency Calibrater." Nice
article.
In addition, John Davis, WA8YXM of Davison, MI and Kevin Taylor,
KD8TAY, of Loudonville, OH each had a letter-to-the-editor published.
Finally, Bill Jones, K8CU (ex-NS8T) of Westerville, OH and Arnie
Hayward, NS8T of Coldwater, MI were featured in a Stray that involved
their mutual interest in NS8T.
Did I miss anyone?
+++ The 2010 Handbook -- Wow! +++
I received my copy of the 2010 Handbook today, October 19. All I can
say is it is quite an improvement over an already-leading publication.
It is billed as "The BIGGEST Handbook EVER!" I think this is
self-evident!
It is a packed, 32 chapters plus a CD of the entire book, plus an
Advertisers Index and useful ads, plus a topic index, plus a project
index, plus much more. Having cut my ham radio teeth on the 1957
Handbook, I can assure you this isn't your grandfather's or even you
father's (may not even your son's or daughter's) Handbook.
My copy is hardbound in a nice-looking blue with gold embossed type
cover. Soft back covers are also available.
Did I say that many smaller countries of the world use the ARRL
Handbook as their bible for radio communications and RF engineering?
Well, they do and a look at the 2010 edition will immediately show you
why. It is complete, practical and easy to understand.
For an introductory period the hard cover and the soft cover editions
are $49.95 plus shipping. After the introductory period, the hard
cover edition will return to its regular $59.95.
+++ Travel & Hamfest Schedule +++
Beginning this month, all hamfests/swaps sanctioned by ARRL will be
included in the monthly Travel and Hamfest Schedule. Typically,
hamfests will be listed three months in advance. Events that will be
attended by a Division representative will be noted. Division
Legislative Action Chair John Meyers, NB4K and 8th Area QSL Bureau
Manager Jay Slough, K4ZLE may join Vice Director Gary Johnston, KI4LA
and me on selected visits.
Date......Event.......................Division Representative(s)
2009
7 Nov: Georgetown OH Hamfest, Grant ARC -- Gary
10-12 Nov: Newington, CT, A&F Meeting -- Jim
6 Dec: Mt. Clemens, MI, L'Anse Cruise ARC Swap
2010
8 Jan: Dayton, OH, Dayton ARA Meeting -- Jim
13-14 Jan: Newington, CT, A&F Meeting -- Jim
15-17 Jan: Newington, CT, ARRL Board Mtg. -- Gary & Jim
17 Jan: Hazel Park, MI, Hazel Park ARC Hamfest
17 Jan: Nelsonville, OH, Sunday Creek AR Fed. Hamfest
31 Jan: Strasburg, OH, TUSCO ARC Hamfest
14 Feb: Mansfield, OH, Hamfest, Inter-City ARC -- Jim
21 Feb: Livonia, MI, Swap n Shop
6 Mar: Cave City, KY, Mammoth Cave ARC Hamfest
14-16 May: Dayton Hamvention(r), Dayton ARA -- Gary, Jim
8 Jul: Youngstown, OH, MVARA Meeting -- Jim
NOTE: Thanks to clubs that have already had their 2010 hamfests
sanctioned by ARRL. Don't know who these are? Check out the Great
Lakes Division hamfest schedules at
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.htmlfor 2010 to find them.
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.org, Tel.: 513-459-1661
ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
_____________________________________________
Date: Saturday, October 3, 2009 6:08 PM
[REPLY TO k8je@arrl.org]
- Commercialization of Amateur Radio
- Division Award Winners
- Who was that Invisible Ham?
- WRC 11 (or 12!)
- Survey Results: NCJ, QEX, QST
- We Got Sponsors, We Got Sponsors . . .
- Hamfest Sales of Illegal CB Equipment
- Travel Schedule
+++ Commercialization of Amateur Radio +++
As promised, the Board of Directors has issued a guidelines statement
concerning the proper and improper uses of Amateur Radio to support
not-for-profit or profit-making organizations. As you read this
statement, please understand that it says absolutely nothing new. The
reason for this is there is absolutely nothing new to say. It merely
helps puts FCC regulations into perspective relative to new requests
and demands being made of Amateur Radio.
The basic fact is that the FCC has issued no new rules regarding
pecuniary interest since it issued the "pizza rule" years ago. What
the pizza rule says is it is OK for an amateur to use Amateur Radio to
order pizza or other materials from a dealer. The logic is that the
ham has no pecuniary interest in this type of deal. In sharp contrast,
it remains a violation of FCC rules for the pizza parlor clerk to use
Amateur Radio to take orders.
The philosophy remains unchanged and applies as much to hospitals, the
Red Cross, etc. as it applies to a pizza parlor, a railroad and other
business operations.
The result of all this is it is up to us as amateurs to know FCC rules
and to apply them to situations we face. My suggestion is, "If it
doesn't feel right, it probably isn't."
The old "If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck and quacks like a
duck, it's probably a duck" admonition works most of the time.
What can also be said is that trinkets (T-shirts, car signs, caps)
given gratuitously by event sponsors that identify the event are not
pay. They publicize the event and identify the event worker.
Similarly, reimbursement for gasoline or other expenses incurred while
serving an event is just this -- reimbursement, not pay. It's OK to
accept reimbursement.
It also is OK for an amateur organization to accept donations. This is
provided the donations are true donations -- freely given and not
solicited. For example, if a served organization wants to give a ham
club a gift, take it. On the other hand, it isn't OK to ask the served
organization for a donation. By no means should we negotiate how much
a donation should be.
When is a donation not a donation? If we have to play mental games to
justify it as a donation and not as pay, it isn't a donation.
+++ Division Award Winners +++
Major awards are presented to deserving members in the Great Lakes
Division on alternate years. The growing tradition of presenting these
awards at the GLD conventions was continued in Findlay on September 12.
The awards and winning nominations are:
The George S. Wilson, III, W4OYI, Award -- Presented to James "Mike"
Wagoner, KB4VKS of Covington, KY for continued lifetime excellence as a
radio amateur as a roll model and helper for other amateurs. In his
service to other amateurs and the public he exemplified the spirit of
former GLD Director and ARRL President George Wilson, III, W4OYI.
The Amateur of the Year Award -- Presented to James J. Aylward, KC8PD
of Ravenna, OH for outstanding contribution to Amateur Radio.
DX Achievement Award -- Presented to Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW of
Strongsville, OH for his exemplary record of lifetime achievement in
promoting DX operations, and for dedicating his time, talents and
service to the art and science of Amateur Radio.
The Young Radio Amateur of the Year Award: Presented to Joseph J.
Lipa, N8OY of Saline, MI. The award was in recognition demonstrating
the spirit of Amateur Radio through guiding other young people into
Amateur Radio and through his accomplishments in academic,
extracurricular and community life. Joe comes from a ham family.
A Director's award for Outstanding Achievement was presented to Thomas
J. Mansfield, Jr., KG4TND of Lexington Kentucky for outstanding
achievement in managing an ARES unit in the face of external
difficulties. A Vice Director's award was presented to Bill Kelsey,
N8ET for his effort in organizing the Symposium.
Congratulations to the award recipients. Thanks to Scott Yonally, N8SY
for his fine job of designing and printing the award certificates.
My thanks to Vice Director Gary Johnston, KI4LA for his job as
Symposium chairman.
+++ Who was that Invisible Ham? +++
There appeared to be a ghostly recipient in last month's listing of
scholarships awarded to Division amateurs through the Foundation for
Amateur Radio (FAR). The scholarship was listed, but the name of the
recipient somehow was lost in the rare ethers around my laptop.
Who was the mysterious winner? It was none other than Christina Check,
W8HBI. Tina won a QCWA SK $1000 scholarship. And yes, it was her
daughter, Kayla, N8KAY who won the QCWA Myerson scholarship. And, yes
again, this all made Bob Check, W8GC a proud father and grandfather.
Congratulations Tina.
Now, you know the rest of the story -- thanks to Susie Scott, N8CGM for
calling the missing name to my attention. This proves she is a better
editor (the Buckeye Burr of the Buckeye Belles and also the Q-Fiver of
the OH-KY-IN ARS) than me.
+++ WRC 11 (or 12!) +++
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) will hold World Radio
Conference 2011 in 2012, as it appears at this time. Regardless of
when WRC 11 will occur, one of ARRL's aims is to work with other member
societies of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) to get
representative agencies at the WRC to agree to a new 500 kHz ham band.
ARRL recently filed comments with the FCC, asking the Commission to
support the 500 kHz band. The US is represented at WRC treaty
conferences by the US Department of State. The US delegation will
include Federal workers from several departments and experts from
non-governmental groups such as IEEE and ARRL.
+++ Survey Results: NCJ, QEX, QST +++
Thanks to you who participated in our most recent Great Lakes Division
survey. You may recall, the survey asked if you would prefer receiving
the National Contest Journal (NCJ), QEX (focused on experimentation) or
QST as your membership-benefit journal. The results are that 273
members identified QST as their preferred journal, 13 identified QEX
and 11 identified NCJ.
I was somewhat surprised to see that only 297 members expressed their
opinions in this survey. This makes it the Division survey that has
attracted the least participation since I've been taking member
surveys.
+++ We Got Sponsors, We Got Sponsors . . . +++
The number of US Representatives signed-on to co-sponsor HR-2160
continues to grow. As Division Legislative Action Chair (DLAC) John
Meyers, NB4K announced, "There are two new co-sponsors from the great
Lakes Division." These are Geoff Davis, KY-4 and Michael Turner, OH-3.
This brings the total of co-sponsors to 23.
This bill is the first step toward overcoming Codes, Covenants &
Restrictions (CC&Rs) in private contracts that ban effective amateur
antennas.
Why shouldn't it be OK for sellers to put antenna structure
restrictions into purchase contracts? Isn't it the seller's privilege
to put restrictions into contracts and the buyer's privilege to decide
either to buy or not to buy?
From a philosophic standpoint, freedom of choice sounds very good in
this country. The problem with CC&Rs in modern life is that nearly
every piece of privately-owned land in even modestly populated areas is
covered by CC&Rs. The buyer is functionally denied the freedom of
choice -- the right -- to find unrestricted property to purchase.
Overcoming CC&Rs would restore the freedom of choice to amateurs who
want to install antenna structures.
Keep in mind that the FCC concluded CC&R bans of TV antennas were so
improper that it issued a rule requiring TV antennas to be allowed in
spite of the contractual restrictions. In addition, some states (Ohio
included) have passed laws that nullify contract restrictions that had
existed against flagpoles!
John continues to work diligently to assist GLD amateurs write their US
Representatives urging them to support HR-2160. Watch for him at a
hamfest near you (see travel schedule, below).
John also reports one can keep track as new co-sponsors come on board,
by going to http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2160.
At the web page, click on show co-sponsors.
+++ Hamfest Sales of Illegal CB Equipment +++
I've received a few complaints about the sale of illegal CB gear at
Division hamfests/swaps. This is new, CB gear that has not been
type-accepted by the FCC and, therefore, is illegal to import into the
US. I will appreciate your help in placing this problem in
perspective.
First, I do not wish anyone to become a renta-cop and try to throw this
gear or its vendors out of flea markets or indoor space. Although, it
might not be a bad idea for hamfest committees to put a note on
applications for space that illegal CB equipment is not to be sold.
What I would like to know is where and when non certified CB equipment
has been seen. If you have noticed new, uncertified CB gear offered
for sale at a hamfest, please send me an e-mail. If possible, please
include the places (hamfests) and dates. If you know the name of the
seller, please include it.
I will not distribute your identity, but please include your name and
call so I can ask additional questions if this becomes desirable.
Thanks.
+++ Town Meetings +++
Town meetings either in person or via telephone have become rather
popular this year. Both DLAC Meyers and I have participated in the
telephone variety. These meetings may provide excellent opportunities
to encourage US Representatives to support HR-2160 when public
questions and comments are invited.
The very beginning of these meetings may be your only chance to get in
a plug for the bill. Invitations to give your 2-cents worth to your
Congressman may come only when one enters the room for in-person
meetings or answers the telephone invitation to participate in a phone
meeting.
What should you say if asked for your comment? The key points are to
remember that the number of the bill is HR-2160, that the bill would
instruct the Department of Homeland Security to study and report on any
inappropriate legal constraints that prevent Amateur Radio from serving
the country even better in time of emergency. Ask the Congressman to
support HR-2160.
Brief comments about specific examples of ham radio assistance to the
public in previous emergencies would be appropriate.
Does this work? All I can say is that letters from amateurs in his
District and my brief conversation with Rep. Michael Turner (above)
brought his co-sponsorship of the bill.
Please review information at
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/05/12/10818. Please notice the
recommended route of sending letters to your Representative.
+++ Travel Schedule +++
The following is the travel schedule for Division staff during coming
weeks. In addition to Vice Director Gary Johnson, KI4LA and me,
Division
Legislative Action Chair John Meyers, NB4K and 8th Area QSL Bureau
Manager Jay Slough, K4ZLE will visit the events shown below.
With regret, I have had to cancel the planned visit to the Massillon
Hamfest for this year.
Date......Event.......................Division Representative(s)
5 Oct: Lexington, KY, Bluegrass ARC Meeting -- Jim
6 Oct: Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN ARRL Nite -- Jim
7 Oct: Cincinnati, Cinti FM Club ARRL Nite -- Jim
17 Oct: Holland, MI Hamfest, Holland ARC -- Gary, Jay
18 Oct: Kalamazoo, MI Hamfest, Kalamazoo ARC & SMART -- Gary, Jay
31 Oct: Hazard KY Hamfest, Kentucky Mountains ARC -- Gary
7 Nov: Georgetown OH Hamfest, Grant ARC -- Gary
NOTE: Thanks to clubs that have already had their 2010 hamfests
sanctioned by ARRL. Don't know who these are? Check out the Great
Lakes Division hamfest schedules at arrl.org for early 2010 to find
them. While on this subject, why not submit a sanctioning request for
your 2010 hamfest?
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.org, Tel.: 513-459-1661
ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
_____________________________________________
Date: Saturday, August 29, 2009 2:41 AM
Subject: WEAVER?S WORDS CORRECTION? Survey on web site, now.
[Reply to k8je@arrl.org]
Journal Preference Survey on web site, now.
Strange things happened to the journal preference survey discussed in
the latest issue of Weaver's Words. First, I made a mistake in stating
the frequency of publication for QEX, A Forum for Communications
Experimenters. This should have read as being bimonthly rather than
quarterly. QEX is published six times a year as is NCJ.
Second, the survey had not yet been posted on the Great Lakes Division
web site by the time many members went to the site. I had given Gary
relatively little time to post the survey. This was compounded by the
need for him to address serious family issues at the same time. Of
course, family comes first in such situations. Even so, Gary has
gotten the survey posted, now.
To participate in the survey, go to "survey/feedback" on the Great
Lakes Division web site http://greatlakes.arrl.org/.
Tnx to W8XS for his help. All the best to him and the family.
73,
Jim
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
_____________________________________________
Date: Friday, August 28, 2009 3:33 AM
Subject: WEAVER'S WORDS -- Lucky Parents', school opens
[REPLY TO k8je@arrl.org]
- We Keep Growing and Growing!
- Division Symposium Update Updated
- Valuable New Items from HQ
- Ohio Congressman Praises Hams
- Happy Birthday OM Maxim
- Survey: QST, QEX or NCJ?
- Division Hams win Scholarships
- H.R.2160 Progress
- Musing about Public Relations
- Travel Schedule
+++ We Keep Growing and Growing +++
New amateur licenses seem to be overcoming the blip in licensing
figures brought on by the onset of the 10-year license. There are
about 14,000 more licensees now than a year ago.
Last year's increase brings the number of ham licensees in the US to
over 674,000. This total is just under the all-time high for US
licensees. If we add another 14,000 this year, we will have exceeded
the all-time high for ham licensees.
Therefore, current facts do not support the contention being spread by
many amateurs that ham radio is a dying avocation. We may not be in a
teen-age growth spurt, but we are growing. Don't count Amateur radio
out.
For further details see http://www.ah0a.org/AH0A.html.
+++ Division Symposium Update Updated +++
August 27, 2009
Preparations for the Great Lakes Division Symposium are moving along
well. The slate of speakers is full -- in fact -- there is one more
speaker than time slots available! The extra presentation is on a CD
coming from the UK, so it can be used to fill a slot if a speaker has a
last minute conflict. Otherwise it will be presented over the lunch
hour and included on the CD or DVD that we hope will be available after
the Symposium.
The precise schedule is still being worked out. It will include the
following sessions:
- ARRL Division Officers - Amateur Radio update and Q and A.
- Keynote Speaker Tony England, W0ORE will talk about his experience as
a ham as a teenager and how it influenced his career.
- Charlie Sufana, AJ9N - will talk about the ARISS space program.
- Dave Pruett, K8CC -- Contesting 101 -- How to get started in
contesting.
- Rick Campbell, KK7B -- will do a remote presentation from Oregon
about getting started in VHF experimenting.
- Steve Coy, K8UD and others -- will talk about getting started on
Satellites.
- Tom Sly, WB8LCD -- will talk about keeping clubs active.
- Jim Hicks, WB4CTX - will talk about his success using Ham Radio in
High School instruction.
- Dave Dryden, KD8AVT -- will talk about his success getting Boy Scouts
into Ham Radio through Radio Merit Badge classes.
- Richard Knowles, N8IJ -- will discuss Emergency Communications.
- George Dobbs G3RJV -- will talk about getting started on QRP. (This
is the presentation on a CD)
The final session will be a Hints and Kinks hour. Bring your
questions, answers, stories, projects, etc. This will be an audience
participation session, and a lot of good ideas should come out of this
session.
Registration starts at 8 AM, and the first presentation will begin at
9. The Symposium will end at about 5 PM.
When you register you will be able to order a lunch ($5 each) that will
be brought to the Symposium in time for the lunch break at noon. You
will also be able to buy tickets ($10 each) to the Chicken Barbeque
that will be held at the hamfest site that evening.
Admission to the Symposium is FREE. To help with planning -- please
send an e-mail to n8et@arrl.net if you plan on attending so we can be
sure we have enough room and seats for everyone that attends. If you
don't get the e-mail sent -- don't let that keep you from attending
As details of the schedule are finalized they will be posted on the
Symposium Web page which is accessible from the Findlay Radio Club page
at www.w8ft.org (click on the "Hamfest and Symposium" link). The
Symposium web page also includes links to local hotels, speaker info, a
map to the site, and other relevant information.
We are working on making a DVD of the Symposium available after the
Findlay Radio Club members recover from the Hamfest the next day!
Be sure to encourage your friends -- especially the new hams and the
younger hams - to attend!
See you all in Findlay on September 12 for the Symposium and September
13 for the hamfest!
Bill Kelsey, N8ET.
Symposium date: Saturday, September 12.
Location: Findlay Center for Business and Technology, 1700 Fostoria
Ave., Findlay, Ohio. This is a tremendous facility for our Symposium.
Lunch and Dinner: Box lunch and chicken BBQ dinner may be purchased the
morning of the Symposium. The BBQ dinner starts about 6 PM.
Housing, etc.: See the Symposium web site, above.
Division Awards: Will be presented at a time to be announced.
+++ Valuable New Items from HQ +++
"Choosing a Ham Radio" is a new pamphlet designed especially to help
younger hams select the best amateur equipment for them. The pamphlet
is included as a bonus in the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual and is
available to download at
http://www.arrl.org/members-only/choosingaradio/.
"PR-101" is a new course in public relations. It is available as a
CD-ROM and was developed by The ARRL Public Relations Committee.
"This course is designed to give hams a quick course in conducting
public relations activities. It discloses the skills of experts in
various aspects of public relations to provide volunteer Public
Information Officers with the basic skills and expectations that a PIO
needs to know. PR-101 covers everything from the basic news release to
Web sites and video work.
"The course is conveniently set-up for you to complete it on your own
schedule. Upon completion it guides you to the Web for the final exam.
Participants who successfully complete the exam will be directed to a
special area where they can create, print and save a certificate of
completion.
"For more information on PIOs: www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/pio.html."
For information on PR-101:
http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?category=&words=pr-101&SearchWords.x=5&SearchWords.
y=6.
+++ Ohio Congressman Praises Hams +++
Think US Congressmen don't pay attention to things that go on around
them? Think again. US Representative Michael Turner, OH District 3,
gave about the best plug for Amateur Radio that we've seen in recent
years -- and he isn't himself a ham.
His article is posted on his web site at
http://turner.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=142521.
One may consider copying and saving this article for use in showing
local legislators that Amateur Radio is truly valuable.
Great Lakes Division Legislative Action Chair John Meyers, NB4K suggest
that all Ohio US District 3 amateurs consider sending a thank you note
to Mr. Turner. This can be done easily at
http://turner.house.gov/Contact/. Before you send the thank you note,
please copy it. After sending the note to Rep. Turner, please paste
your note to him in a message and e-mail it to NB4K at nb4k@arrl.org.
I can't take credit for the article, of course, but I can say that Rep.
Turner appeared to be sincerely supportive of Amateur Radio when I
spoke with him of the needs and value of our service in a recent
telephone town meeting. This may in large part be due to the number of
letters he received urging him to support H.R.2160.
+++ Happy Birthday OM Maxim +++
The Hiram Percy Maxim Birthday celebration is back! This year, we will
honor the 140th birth date of the League's first president and
cofounder. Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW. HPM was born September 2, 1869 and
died February 17, 1936.
The Maxim operating event is open to all amateurs. The goal is to work
as many stations that have "/140" added to their call signs as
possible. Contacts must be made during the period from 0000 UTC
September 2 until 2400 UTC September 9.
Amateurs eligible to add /140 to their call signs include ARRL elected
volunteers (e.g. Directors, Vice Directors and Section Managers), ARRL
appointees (e.g. ASM, SEC, ARRL Life Members, ARRL Headquarters staff
and DECs, ECs, VEs, QSL bureau workers and awards managers who are ARRL
members). Complete rules and a list of eligible positions can be found
on page 20 of the September 2009 issue of QST.
Operators who work at least 25, "/140" stations, are eligible to
receive an attractive certificate. The certificate can be endorsed in
increments of 25 QSOs, up to 100.
Exchange: All stations signing /140 send RS(T), their appointment and
their name. Stations not eligible to use /140 stations send RS(T) and
name.
To receive the award, send in a log extract with the date, time, band,
call sign worked and exchange for each /140 contact made. Include your
name, call sign and address. Mail to HPM/140 Celebration, c/o W1AW,
225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. You can also send in your entry on a
disk or CD in regular text format. All entries must include a check or
money order for $5 (US) payable to ARRL. Please make sure your entry
is postmarked by October 9, 2009.
+++ Survey: QST, QEX or NCJ? +++
Occasionally, someone comments they would like to receive a journal
other than QST with their ARRL membership. Instead, they say, they
would rather receive either QEX or NCJ -- both published by ARRL.
Before I ask your opinion on this issue, let me provide important
background for you to consider.
In reaching your decision, keep in mind that QEX is the Forum for
Communications Experimenters magazine. It is published once every
three months (four times a year). NCJ, the National Contest Journal,
covers contesting and is published every other month (six times a
year). As you know, QST is published every month (12 times a year).
It is the ARRL journal that covers all aspects of Amateur Radio.
Finally, QEX and NCJ contain relatively few pages in comparison with
QST.
The question is:
If you had your choice, which ARRL journal would you choose to receive
as one of your ARRL membership benefits?
1. NCJ -- The National Contest Journal.
2. QEX -- The Forum for Communications Experimenters.
3. QST -- The ARRL membership journal.
To vote, please go to "survey/feedback" on the Great Lakes Division web
site http://greatlakes.arrl.org/.
+++ Division Hams win Scholarships +++
Congratulations to the following Great Lakes Division amateurs who have
won scholarships through the Foundation for Amateur Radio:
- Rose Ellen Bills Memorial Scholarship - $2,000 -- Jacob Wagner,
KD8CDC, Rocky River, OH.
- Leland Smith, Sr. (W5KL) Memorial Scholarship - $1,500 -- Stephen M.
Sciarini, KC8IDJ.
- Leo Mayerson (W0GFQ) Family Living Scholarship - $1,000 -- Kayla M.
Check, N8KAY, Independence, OH.
- QCWA Silent Key Memorial Scholarship - $1,000 --,Independence, OH.
and,
-- John A. Sohl, III, KG4WWE, Shepherdsville, KY.
- Radio Club of America Scholarship - $1,000 -- David C. Perkins,
KE4JZJ, Sommerville, KY.
- Robert E. True Memorial Scholarship - $1,000 -- Alex Pasini, N8QL --
Fairview Park, OH.
Incidentally, if Bob Check, W8GC recently seems to be smiling more than
usual, you know the reason. Kayla, N8KAY is his granddaughter, the
daughter of Christina, W8HBI.
The Foundation for Amateur Radio, Inc. (FAR) of Washington, DC
administers the funds for the scholarships listed above.
It is never too early to begin preparing to apply for scholarships.
Information on scholarships managed by the ARRL Foundation is at
http://www.arrlf.org/. Information on Foundation for Amateur Radio
scholarships is at http://www.amateurradio-far.org/.
+++ H.R.2160 Progress +++
Word from "reliable sources" is that two additional US Representatives
from Kentucky and Ohio are signing on as co-sponsors of H.R.2160. This
is the bill that provides the first step toward overcoming
antenna-banning Codes, Covenants and Restrictions in property contracts.
Now is a perfect time to encourage or even to re-encourage your US
Representative to support this bill. Please write to him/her.
Information on writing your representative to get the most out of your
effort is at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/05/12/10818. If you
write, please also send a copy of your letter to Great Lakes Division
Legislative Action Chair John Meyers, NB4K at nb4k@arrl.org.
While considering writing to encourage your US Representative to
co-sponsor H.R.2160, why not drop current sponsors a note to thank them
for support Amateur Radio and the bill. Co-sponsors from the Great
Lakes Division are:
Kentucky: Rep. Brett Guthrie, KY-2.
Michigan: Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter, MI-11.
Ohio: Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, OH-15.
+++ Musing about Public Relations +++
Upon becoming active in a local Amateur Radio club many years ago, I
quickly learned that the newsletter editor was the Public Relations
(PR) Chairman. I also learned that his sole task was to publish the
club newsletter. In looking at other nearby radio clubs, the same
pattern was apparent -- the PR Chairman published the club newsletter.
In other words, there was no PR effort for these clubs. The effort,
regardless of the name attached to it, was "internal relations," not
public relations.
Don't get me wrong, internal relations (internal communications) are
extremely important to a club. The point is that regardless of how
great a job one does with internal relations, it does not begin to meet
the possibility for creating interest in Amateur Radio that is open
through true public relations.
In this era nearly anything over 25 years old is considered ancient.
As a result, Amateur Radio clubs must perform true public relations or
public information if we are to contract new members. I encourage club
PIOs to consider studying the new PR-101 course as a way to sharpen
their PR skills. For more information on PR-101 go to
http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?category=&words=pr-101&SearchWords.x=5&SearchWords.
y=6.
+++ Travel Schedule +++
The following is the travel schedule for Division staff during coming
weeks. In addition to Vice Director Gary Johnson, KI4LA and me,
Division
Legislative Action Chair John Meyers, NB4K and 8th Area QSL Bureau
Manager Jay Slough, K4ZLE will visit the events shown below.
SCHEDULE
Date......Event.......................Division Representative(s)
12 Sep: GLD Symposium, Findlay RC -- Gary, Jim, John
13 Sep: Findlay Hamfest, Findlay RC -- Gary, Jim, John
19 Sep: Reynoldsburg, OH, Ohio Sec. Conf. -- Jim
20 Sep: Cincinnati Hamfest, Gr. Cincinnati ARA -- Gary, John, Jim
27 Sep: Cleveland Hamfest, Hamfest Assoc./Cleveland -- John, Jim
6 Oct: Cincinnati, OH, OH-KY-IN ARRL Nite -- Jim
17 Oct: Holland, MI Hamfest, Holland ARC -- Gary, Jay
18 Oct: Kalamazoo, MI Hamfest, Kalamazoo ARC and SMART -- Gary, Jay
31 Oct: Hazard KY Hamfest, Kentucky Mountains ARC -- Gary
1 Nov: Massillon OH Hamfest, Massillon ARC -- John, Jim
7 Nov: Georgetown OH Hamfest, Grant ARC -- Gary
NOTE: Thanks to clubs that have already had their 2010 hamfests
sanctioned by ARRL. Don't know who these are? Check out the Great
Lakes Division hamfest schedules at arrl.org for early 2010 to find
them. While on this subject, why not submit sanctioning information
for your club hamfest?
73,
Jim
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.org, Tel.: 513-459-1661
ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
_____________________________________________
Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 11:41 AM
[REPLY TO k8je@arrl.org]
- Ohio QSO Party
- Monthly OO Activity Report
- Division Symposium Update Updated
- H.R. 2160 Support
- GLD Member offers iPhone/iTouch Applications
- AMTOR and ASCII out; PSK31 and MFSK16 in at W1AW
- The A-1 Operator Club
- Manuals Online
- Travel Schedule
+++ Ohio QSO Party +++
The Ohio QSO Party (OQP) will be August 22. The emphasis in the Party
is for out-of-state amateurs to contact Ohio amateurs. Ohio amateurs
may contact other Ohio amateurs as well as out-of-state amateurs.
Contacts may be made on 80 meters through 10 meters excluding the WARC
bands. Entries are open to single operators as well as multiple
operators.
The OQP being as 12 noon and ends at 12 midnight EDT. Entry categories
include DX, US outside Ohio and inside Ohio, low-power, high-power and
QRP, fixed and mobile, and single and multiple operations.
For further details on the rules as well as logging requirements, see
www.ohqp.org. Winners in the 13 scoring categories in 2008 and prior
Parties are also available at this site.
The OQP has been sponsored by the Mad River RC for several years.
+++ When is it Inappropriate for Amateurs to Provide Communication?
+++
ARRL is asked frequently if it is proper for amateurs to provide
communication support to many, varied activities. Many questions
appear to be related to ideas that have arisen following Hurricane
Katrina and more recent emergency and disaster situations.
"Is it OK for my hospital to get its nurses licensed as hams so they
can use ham radio in emergencies?" is just one example of these
questions. Actually, this question appears to be relatively simple to
answer. But, is it?
As a result of confusing situations and fine lines hams face these
days, we on the ARRL Board instructed President Joel Harrison, W5ZN to
appoint a special committee to study the issue. The committee is
tasked with recommending examples of appropriate and inappropriate
activities within 30 days. After being reviewed by the Board,
guidelines to help each of us understand what according to FCC which
activities are proper for us to support and which are improper, and
why.
+++ Monthly OO Activity Report +++
For many years, FCC did not provide feedback to ARRL on Official
Observer reports it received. This has changed. Because of legal
constraints, the feedback isn't very detailed, but it is being given.
In June there were a total of 692 Official Observers (OOs) in the US.
During June, ARRL received 10 recommendations for hams to begin the
process to become OOs. OOs are still needed in parts of the Great
Lakes Division as well as the country. If you are interested in
becoming an OO, please contact your Section Manager, your Official
Observer Coordinator or another League official.
A few of the situations OOs reported in June include:
- Complaints about activities on or near 14.275 MHz; especially about
the language used.
- Reports from . . . Michigan regarding unlicensed hunters using 2
meter simplex frequencies. Information has been forwarded to the FCC.
- Reports of boot-legged calls.
- A report of "numbers stations" (Spanish speaking stations
transmitting numbers) on 30 meters. Another report was of
transmissions of 5 letter code groups.
No official actions were added to the FCC listing during June; however,
several reports were handled off the record. Summaries of many FCC
actions can be found at
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/AmateurActions/Welcome.html.
The June report concluded, "As always, we thank you all for your time
and efforts involved with the Official Observer program and we invite
you to let us know of problems you hear on the air and possible
resolutions through your regular monthly reports and e-mails."
+++ Division Symposium Update Updated +++
By now, many members know that the Great Lakes Division Symposium is on
September 12 in Findlay, Ohio. But, I haven't talked about the
specific site for this gala event. I don't know why I've neglected to
menti9n the site of the Symposium for so long, but here is the scoop on
it.
The Symposium will be at the Findlay Center for Business and
Technology, 1700 Fostoria Ave., Findlay, Ohio. The Business Center has
tremendous facilities for our symposium. It is only 1.9 miles from the
site of the Findlay Hamfest the following day.
The Business Center is located on the corner of Fostoria Ave. (Ohio
S.R. 12) at Plaza St. The Findlay Hamfest is at the Hancock County
Fairgrounds, 1017 E. Sandusky St. in Findlay the following day,
September 13.
+++ H.R. 2160 Support +++
There is good news on the legislative front. H.R. 2160, the first step
toward overriding anti-antenna codes, covenants and restrictions
(CC and R) continues to receive new co-sponsors. With the US House
planning to begin its summer break in early August, we now can number
Rep. Don Young of Alaska as the 19th co-sponsor.
Our drive to gain still more co-sponsors continues. If you have not
yet sent a letter to your US representative to encourage him/her to
support H.R. 2160, please do this very soon. A boilerplate letter can
be obtained at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/05/12/10818.
Click on sample letter in paragraph three. Copy and save the letter.
Once it is in your computer memory, modify it to personalize it for
yourself.
The name and address of your US Representative can be found at the
Member Only page of the ARRL web site. The name and address appears on
the opening screen of Members Only.
Once you have printed and signed the letter, please send it or a signed
copy of it to John Chwat, Chwat and Co., 625 Slaters Ln., Suite 103,
Alexandria, VA 22314. John heads our congressional contact service.
He will combine your letter with others going to your congressman and
hand-deliver them to him. This will ensure the letters will receive
the greatest attention possible.
+++ GLD Member offers iPhone/iTouch Applications +++
Carlton Yaffey, K8NU of Columbus, Ohio has developed two apps that can
be downloaded using itunes on a PC or Mac. The apps are a chart of the
Amateur Radio bands and a grid square map.
The HamBands application displays the layout of the segments of the
radio spectrum assigned to FCC-licensed US radio amateurs. The layouts
indicate which portions of each band are for RTTY, CW and DATA and
which are for PHONE and IMAGE. The layouts also indicate which
portions are open to which license class.
The iGridSquare Amateur Radio application converts latitude and
longitude into their 6-character grid square. Grid squares are often
used to indicate a station's location, especially during contests or
for obtaining awards.
Details of the apps are at:
http://www.carl-yaffey.com/hambands.html and
http://www.carl-yaffey.com/igridsquare.html.
+++ Ohio State Parks on the Air +++
The Portage County (OH) ARS (PCARS) is sponsoring the Ohio State Parks
on the Air operating event again. The second running of this contest
will be from noon to 8 PM, EDT on Saturday, September 12. The
objective is to put as many Ohio state parks on the air and to work as
many of the parks as possible.
Prizes and awards are given for top finishers! Non-park stations in
Ohio as well as outside of Ohio can also compete.
Complete information, including rules, forms and FAQ's are at
http://parks.portcars.org or contact the contest chairman, Chuck, W8PT
at w8pt@portcars.org. Check the web site for updates as the contest
nears.
In case you wish to consider taking the family along or staying
overnight, Information on park facilities is on Ohio Department of
Natural Resources web site,
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/default/tabid/80/Default.aspx.
+++ AMTOR and ASCII out; PSK31 and MFSK16 in at W1AW +++
As a result of a survey of W1AW listeners, W1AW will change two
different digital modes on August 17. W1AW will replace its AMTOR and
ASCII transmissions with PSK31 and MFSK16, respectively. RTTY (Baudot)
will continue to be the first digital mode used in the transmission
schedule.
Frequencies used by W1AW for its digital transmissions remain
unchanged. All regular 6 PM and 9 PM Eastern Time digital
transmissions will begin with RTTY. PSK31 and MFSK16 will be sent as
time allows.
Tuesday and Friday Keplerian data bulletins will be sent using RTTY and
PSK31.
The W1AW operating schedule -- complete with times and frequencies
-- can be found at, http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#w1awsked.
+++ The A-1 Operator Club +++
As described on the ARRL web site, "Only the best operators can qualify
for the A-1 Operator Club, amateurs who have met the highest operating
standards." No one can apply for membership. One must be recommended
independently by two amateurs who already belong to the Club. "Who
knows? Fine-tune your operating skills, and one of these days you may
be pleasantly surprised when the mailman delivers an A-1 Operator Club
certificate."
The A-1 Op Club is open for voice, CW, RTTY and other modes. It is
posted on the ARRL web site, it has been described in QST every now and
then, but it isn't talked about by hams very much.
Information on the A-1 Operator Club, how new members are selected, who
has received one nomination and is waiting for the second, and who is
included among its 5386 members is available at
http://www.arrl.org/awards/#a1.
In addition to receiving a nice certificate, A-1 Ops can also obtain a
great looking pin!
+++ Manuals Online +++
I believe most active amateurs realize the value of the Internet
whether they use it for sending and receiving e-mail, for submitting
QSO records to Logbook of the world (LoTW), spotting DX, getting help
from a friend . . . or finding a manual that's disappeared and is
needed to repair a rig. During recent days, local club reflectors have
listed two sites where manuals for rigs, rotators and other pieces of
equipment can be found and downloaded at no cost. The web sites listed
are http://bama.sbc.edu/ and http://www.radioamateur.eu/schemari.html.
These seem to be active sites leading to many operating manuals and
schematics. Being a cautious individual, there is one watch-out I will
mention about sites such as this.
Most of these are not owned or operated by the manufacturers or sellers
of the equipment related to the manuals they feature. This means that
their posting online and offering them for downloading may likely to
violate copyright law. Unlikely though it may be, downloading
copyrighted material without first obtaining permission from the
copyright owner could result in legal action against the person who
violates this law.
The fact that no fee is charged to download a copyrighted item does not
make downloading and using the item legal.
As I mentioned above, this is just a watch-out.
+++ Travel Schedule +++
The following is the travel schedule for Division staff for coming
weeks. In addition to Vice Director Gary Johnson, KI4LA, Division
Legislative Action Chair John Meyers, NB4K and 8th Area QSL Bureau
Manager Jay Slough, K4ZLE will visit the events shown below.
SCHEDULE
Date......Event.......................Division Representative(s)
1 Aug: Columbus, OH, Voice of Aladdin ARC -- Gary
7 Aug: Massillon ARC 75th Ann. ARRL Affiliation -- Jim
9 Aug: Lawrenceburg, KY, Bluegrass ARS -- Gary
16 Aug: Cortland, OH, Warren ARA -- Jim, John
12 Sep: GLD Symposium, Findlay RC -- Gary, Jim, John
13 Sep: Findlay Hamfest, Findlay RC -- Gary, Jim, John
19 Sep: Reynoldsburg, OH, Ohio Sec. Conf. -- Jim
20 Sep: Cincinnati Hamfest, Gr. Cincinnati ARA -- Gary, John, Jim
6 Oct: Cincinnati, OH, OH-KY-IN ARRL Nite -- Jim
17 Oct: Holland, MI Hamfest, Holland ARC -- Gary, Jay
18 Oct: Kalamazoo, MI Hamfest, Kalamazoo ARC and SMART -- Gary, Jay
25 Oct: Massillon, OH, Hamfest, Massillon ARC -- Jim
31 Oct: Hazard KY Hamfest, Kentucky Mountains ARC -- Gary
1 Nov: Massillon OH Hamfest, Massillon ARC -- John, Jim
7 Nov: Georgetown OH Hamfest, Grant ARC -- Gary
NOTE: Please apply to have your hamfest/swap sanctioned well in
advance of the date it will be held. The sooner it is sanctioned, the
sooner it will begin to receive publicity on the ARRL web site. It is
not too early to submit your 2010 'fest for sanctioning. Doing this
will assist Vice Director Johnston and me develop a travel schedule
that includes early 2010.
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.org, Tel.: 513-459-1661
ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
_____________________________________________
Date: Sunday, July 5, 2009 3:00 PM
Subject:WEAVER'S WORDS -- the Rockets Red Glare
[REPLY TO k8je@arrl.org]
- Ohio SM Joe Phillips, K8QOE, SK
- H.R. 2160
- Division Symposium Update
- ARRL Annual Report Available
- Cost of Vanity Calls Increases
- ARRL Board of Directors will meet
- "CQ" names Great Lakes Division Members two of the Best
- WRC 11 now WRC 12
- GLD Hams place high in ARDF Contest
- PRB-1 type bill is in the Ohio House of Representatives
- Michigan PRB-1 bill Eminent
- EC of 35 years Retires
- Travel Schedule
+++ Ohio SM Joe Phillips, K8QOE, SK +++
For members in the Kentucky and Michigan Sections who may not have
heard the sad news, Ohio SM Joe Phillips, K8QOE became a Silent Key on
Saturday, June 20. His funeral was on Saturday, June 27. ARRL made a
very appropriate remembrance has been in Joe's memory.
In addition to members in Ohio, Joe was well-known and loved by many
members in Kentucky and Michigan. He is missed.
+++ H.R. 2160 +++
Members told the ARRL Board of Directors they want us to do something
to overcome the effect of Codes, Covenants and Restrictions (CCandRs) in
private contracts. CCandRs are the part of property contracts that
prevent a great many hams from putting up outdoor antennas. ARRL has
taken the first step toward this goal. Now it is time for members to
do their part.
What has ARRL done? We have worked with members of the US Congress to
introduce and co-sponsor US House Bill H.R. 2160. This bill is the
first step toward nullifying the effect of CCandRs on amateur antennas.
We need you to help yourself and your fellow amateurs . . . now.
Please write letters to your US Congressman. For information on
writing, go to http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/05/12/10818. A
draft letter is available through a link at this site as is special
information concerning where to send your signed letter (to the ARRL
Legislative Liaison in Washington, DC, please).
The name of your US Congressman -- or Congresswoman -- is shown on the
left side of the Members Only opening page (click on Members Only at
the top of the www.arrl.org web opening screen).
Use your US Representative's name and address on the letter, but please
be certain to send a signed copy of the letter to John Chwat in DC. He
will hand carry the letters he receives to the offices of your US
Representatives. Doing this will make your letter more effective.
HR 2160 is titled the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
Enhancement Act of 2009. It is sponsored by Representative Sheila
Jackson-Lee of Texas. It has eight co-sponsors at present.
Co-sponsors from the Great Lakes Division are Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio
District 15 and Brett Guthrie of Kentucky District 2.
+++ Division Symposium Update +++
September 12 is approaching more rapidly than we may realize. This
means you'll hear more about the Great Lakes Division Symposium that is
on the 12th. Here is the current run down:
Highlights of the program include a presentation by former astronaut
Tony England, W0ORE. Tying in with the presence of England will be a
discussion by Charles Sufana, AJ9N on the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) program. Charlie is an ARISS.
The remainder of the program is still being developed; however, a few
more program highlights are:
- QRP -- A remote audio/video presentation by G3RJV
- New Designs for Getting Started on VHF -- a remote audio/video
presentation by KK7B
- QSLing -- 8th Area QSL Bureau Manager, K4ZLE
- A Successful Radio Merit Badge Class for Boy Scouts by KD8AVT
- Emergency Communications -- N8IJ
- Radio Clubs -- WB8LCD
There is no registration fee; however, attendees will be requested to
sign up in advance so the Symposium team can obtain an estimate of the
attendance.
Lunch will be available at a modest price or attendees may go to nearby
restaurants. A chicken barbeque is planned for Saturday evening. The
cost will be announced later.
+++ ARRL Annual Report Available +++
The Annual Report of the ARRL can be read on line at
http://www.arrl.org/announce/annualreport/2008/2008-Annual-Report.pdf.
+++ Cost of Vanity Calls Increases +++
The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order (NPRM) on
May 14 seeking to raise fees for Amateur Radio vanity call signs. The
cost of a vanity call sign will go from $12.30 to $13.40 for 10 years.
The FCC is authorized by the Communications Act of 1934 (as amended) to
collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs involved in the
program. The fee is payable when applying for and when renewing a
vanity call sign. Instructions on how to comment on this NPRM are
available on the FCC Web site.
Vanity call signs issued before 1996 are exempt from this fee. These
"heritage" vanity call signs are not listed as vanity licensees in the
FCC database.
+++ ARRL Board of Directors will meet +++
The 2009 Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors will be July
17-18 in Windsor, CT. Standing Committees meet July 16 at ARRL HQ.
+++ "CQ" names Great Lakes Division Members two of the Best +++
Writing in the June issue of CQ magazine, Uncle DX identifies 11 DXers
from around the world who excel in one or more phases of the skills
needed to star in the search for DX. His article, "Let's Improve Our
DX Pileup Act," begins on p. 44. Two of the amateurs he mentions live
in the Greater Cincinnati Area.
The two amateurs are Jay Slough, K4ZLE of Lebanon, OH and Wayne
McKenzie, K8LEE -- a Cincinnatian who moved to Lawrenceburg, IN for
antenna space.
Both men are members of the Southwest Ohio DX Association (SWODXA).
I am pleased to say Jay is the fine Manager of the 8th Area Incoming
QSL Bureau. He is also known for going on several DXpeditions, headed
Hamvention(r) DX Forums and SWODXA DX Banquets at the Hamvention. He
is in the happy job of building an antenna farm at his new home.
+++ WRC 11 now WRC 12 +++
This won't affect our schedule, but the 2011 World Radio Conference
(WRC) of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has been
delayed until 23 January to 17 February 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland.
+++ GLD Hams place high in ARDF Contest +++
Ohio and Kentucky were well represented at the 2009 ARDF National
Championships in Boston. To be precise, three amateurs and one budding
amateur from the GLD won medals. Medals were awarded to the top three
overall finishers in each class.
Complete info is available at www.bostonardf.org.
80 Meter Results:
M13 Class - Addison Bosley, 12 year old grandson of Dick Arnett, WB4SUV
took 1st Place Overall, the Gold Medal and US National Champion.
M40 Class - Matt Robbins, AA9YH of Cincinnati captured 1st Place USA,
US National Champion and 4th Place overall.
M60 Class - Bob Frey, WA6EZV, Cincinnati copped 2nd Place USA and
captured 3rd place and the Bronze Medal overall. Dick Arnett, WB4SUV,
Erlanger, Kentucky finished in 3rd Place USA.
2 Meter Results:
M13 Class - Addison Bosley excelled again by taking 1st Place overall,
the Gold Medal and US National Champion. I bet grandpa was very
happy!
M40 Class - Cincinnati's Matt Robbins, AA9YH took 2nd Place overall,
Silver Medal, 1st Place in USA and US National Champion.
M60 Class - Dick Arnett, WB4SUV of the Bluegrass State and Bob Frey of
the Queen City were very strong in the class once again. Dick grabbed
1st Place Overall, Gold Medal and 1st Place USA, US National Champion
with Bob walking off with 3rd Place USA.
Bob and Dick are perennial favorites to be among the top DFers whenever
they compete. Addison may just be the "young find" for the future.
This will be especially likely if Dick helps makes certain there is a
new ham licensee in the family.
+++ PRB-1 type bill is in the Ohio House of Representatives +++
Ohio Hams are asked to Write in Support of Ohio House Bill 212.
The state legislation we have known as Ohio PRB-1 is now known
officially as Ohio House Bill No. 212. This bill will essentially
place the provisions of FCC PRB-1 into Ohio State Law. As part of Ohio
law, it will be more visible to townships, cities and other government
organizations. Just as PRB-1 applies only to government ordinances,
HB-212 will apply only to ordinances. Nonetheless, with some
government organizations attempting to ignore the partial pre-emption
from PRB-1, it is important that HB-212 is passed.
HB-212 is sponsored by Ohio State Representatives Gerald Stebelton and
Mark Okey. It is co-sponsored at the time this e-letter is being
written by 11 additional Ohio Representatives.
Ohio State Government Liaison Nick Pittner, K8NAP, is the leader of
this effort, with District 7 DEC Steve Katz, N8WL, serving as project
manager.
Pittner commented, "We need to have hams contact the remaining 86
members of the Ohio House to possibly be co-sponsors but at least be
supporters of HB No 212."
Go to www.arrlohio.org to see full information about HB-212 as well as
to learn the identity of your representative.
+++ Michigan PRB-1 bill Eminent +++
Michigan amateurs lead by Section Manager Dale Williams, WA8EFK and his
PRB-1 committee will soon introduce a PRB-1-like bill into the Michigan
Legislature. Michigan hams are requested to be on the alert for
announcements concerning the new bill and what they can do to support
it. At deadline time, the bill is being put into "Legislature style"
before it is assigned a number and introduced for action.
+++ EC of 35 years Retires +++
Fred Jones, WA4SWF of Louisa, KY has always had the reputation for
doing everything at the 100%+ level. He did this when he served as
Emergency Coordinator for Lawrence County, Kentucky for 35 years and he
continues to do this. Fred retired as EC at the Big Sandy Hamfest in
Louisa, KY on May 2. I thought I was pretty sharp by having Assistant
Director John Meyers, NB4K present Fred with a special recognition from
the Great Lakes Division at the hamfest.
Once again, Fred has done us all one better. He received the mother of
all awards at the Little Sandy Hamfest in Grayson, KY on June 6.
Dubbed the Award for Receiving the Most Awards, it was presented to
Fred by Bill Eldridge, KD4DZE of Grayson.
Way to go, Fred.
+++ Travel Schedule +++
The following is the travel schedule for Division staff for coming
weeks. In addition to Vice Director Gary Johnson, KI4LA, Division
Legislative Action Chair John Meyers, NB4K and 8th Area QSL Bureau
Manager Jay Slough, K4ZLE will visit the events shown below.
Date......Event.......................Division Representative(s)
TRAVEL SCHEDULE
9 Jul: Mahoning Valley ARA Meeting -- John, Jim
16 Jul: AandF Committee meeting, Newington -- Jim
17-18 Jul: ARRL Board meeting, Newington -- Gary, Jim
26 Jul: Randolph, OH, Portage ARC 'fest -- John, Jim
1 Aug: Columbus, OH, Voice of Aladdin ARC -- Gary
7 Aug: Massillon ARC 75th Anniv. of ARRL Affiliation -- Jim
9 Aug: Lawrenceburg, KY, Bluegrass ARS -- Gary
16 Aug: Cortland, OH, Warren ARA -- Jim
12 Sep: GLD Symposium, Findlay RC -- Gary, Jim, John
13 Sep: Findlay Hamfest, Findlay RC -- Gary, Jim, John
19 Sep: Reynoldsburg, OH, Ohio Sec. Conf. -- Jim
20 Sep: Cincinnati Hamfest, Gr. Cincinnati ARA -- Gary, John, Jim
NOTE: Please apply to have your hamfest/swap sanctioned well in
advance of the date it will be held. The sooner it is sanctioned, the
sooner it will begin to receive publicity on the ARRL web site. It is
not too early to submit your 2010 'fest for sanctioning. Doing this
will assist Vice Director Johnston and me develop a travel schedule
that includes early-2010.
73,
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.org, Tel.: 513-459-1661
ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
_____________________________________________
Special Note
+++ National Convention/Hamvention +++
The ever-popular Dayton Hamvention(r) will play host this year to the
ARRL National Convention. In addition to the fine list of forums
sponsored by the Hamvention, ARRL will host a few of its own. These
forums range from one on the earthbound Field Day to one on a truly
spacy one by astronaut Richard Garriott, W5KWQ.
The ARRL forum schedule is:
- ARRL Field Day - Friday, May 15 at 10:30 AM, Room 5 featuring Dan
Henderson, N1ND
- Ham Radio and the Law - Friday, May 15 at 12:15 PM, Room featuring
Jim O'Connell, W9WU
- QST Presents . . . "The Doctor is IN" - Friday, May 15 at 12:15 PM,
Room 2 featuring Joel Hallas, W1ZR
- ARRL Public Relations Forum - Friday, May 15 at 1:30 PM, Room 2
featuring Allen Pitts, W1AGP
- ARRL Member Forum - Saturday, May 16 at 10:30 AM, Room 2 featuring
ARRL officials
- ARRL's Getting Started in Digital Contesting - Saturday, May 16 at
1:15 PM, Room 3 featuring Steve Ford, WB8IMY
- Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, Private Astronaut - Saturday, May 16 at 1:30
PM, Room 1 featuring Richard Garriott, W5KWQ as Richard Garriott,
W5KWQ.
Note, too, that the FCC forum is 2:15 on Saturday in room 2.
Be sure to visit the ARRL Expo area to see what is going on and to talk
with a variety of ARRL officers and staff.
Of course, also be sure to wander through the indoor exhibits and
ourtdoor flea market at the biggest-in-the-land Hamvention.
73,
Jim Weaver, K8JE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
_____________________________________________
April 29, 2009
Reply to k8je@arrl.org.
- ARRL Convention at the Hamvention
- Scholarship winners in the Division
- Telephone numbers
- What ARRL does for me
- DTV Presentation Still Available
- Time for Antenna work is nearly over
- Fred Jones, WA4SWF
- Travel Schedule
+++ ARRL Convention at the Hamvention +++
The 2009 ARRL National Convention at the Dayton Hamvention will be
Friday through Sunday, May 15 through 17. The Hamvention is the
greatest ham radio show on earth. As always, it will showcase nearly
every product and service available to radio amateurs. Attendees are
expected to include most of the World's leaders in essentially every
aspect of Amateur Radio. Always a great event, the Hamvention holds
even more significance when it and the ARRL National Convention are
combined.
Great Lakes Division involvement --
This year there is a particularly interesting forum and an especially
useful display that many Division members will doubtlessly want to
patronize. These are the ARES(r) forum and the ARRL Legislative Agenda
booth.
ARES Forum: The forum title, "The Maturing of ARES in this decade of
911 and Katrina," can only suggest the significance of the discussions
it will generate. Mark Hamvention Meeting Room 3 at 2:30 PM Saturday
on your calendar. Be there to see the exciting and challenging changes
that will happen to ARES in coming years. As Ohio SM Joe Phillips,
K8QOE has said, "This isn't our grandfather's ARES."
We amateurs have always prided ourselves with the thought that we are
on hand to pick up the pieces when all other forms of communication
fail. Those who attend this ARES forum will get a good view into what
is needed if we are to continue to meet this self-portrait into the
future.
The forum panelists will be: Charles Miller, AE4UX Section Emergency
Coordinator for South Carolina; Southeast Division Director Greg
Sarratt, W4OZK and Rob Macedo, KD1CY Director of Operations for the
VoIP Hurricane Net. Director Sarratt was Alabama Section Manager at
the time of Hurricane Katrina. He was a major organizer of the
post-Katrina Amateur Radio relief operation. Ohio SEC Jack Sovik
KB8WPZ of Youngstown, OH will moderate the forum that he organized.
Legislative Agenda at Dayton Hamvention: This will be the first year
for an ARRL Legislative Agenda booth at the Hamvention. It will be
located in the ARRL section. Along with myself, NB4K, there will be
many other Division Legislative Action Chairmen, Coordinator's and
Assistant's. We have had nine of the 15 Division Directors also say
they would be looking forwards to the information given out and taken
in at this booth for further education in the Divisions. This is not
just a Great Lakes Division endeavor but a coordinated agenda among the
many Divisions.
We will have handouts and information for those not yet familiar with
our agenda along with folks who will be able to answer any of your
questions. Stop by and see us as we will be looking forward to seeing
you.
73
John D. Meyers, NB4K
Great Lakes Legislative Action Chairman
+++ Scholarship Winners in the Division +++
The ARRL Foundation has announced scholarship winners for 2009. Of the
52 scholarships awarded, six went to amateurs in the Great Lakes
Division. Division recipients are:
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association Scholarship - $1000
Thomas Fielitz, KC8YAK, Smiths Creek, MI.
The K2TEO Martin J. Green, Sr. Memorial Scholarship - $1000
Jacob Wagner, KD8CDC, Rocky River, OH
The David W. Misek, N8NPX Memorial Scholarship - $1500
Janet Ruminski, KC8WGT, Beavercreek, OH
The Thomas W. Porter, W8KYZ Scholarship Honoring Michael Daugherty,
W8LSE - $1000
Robert Garfield, W8BOB, Cincinnati, OH
The YASME Foundation Scholarship - $2000
Kathryn Ankenbauer, KD8AHA, Portage, MI
Andrea Hill KD8FJS, Bellefontaine, OH
Congratulations to the winners. All the best to them in their
studies.
+++ Telephone numbers +++
Several recent situations have come up that suggest many of us overlook
keeping our contact information up-to-date with ARRL. Most often, this
involves not updating telephone numbers when new numbers are obtained
or when one retires. At other times, e-mail addresses and even street
addresses may go for years without being kept current.
Overlooking keeping data up-to-date by clubs usually happens when new
officers are elected. It is surprising that officers for some very
active clubs that are proud to say they are affiliated with ARRL have
failed to update their information annually are really years out of
date.
Members can update their addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses by going to Members Only on the ARRL web site. Club updating
is done on the Club page of the web site. If you need help, let me
know or, for clubs, contact your Section Affiliated Club Coordinator.
Speaking of telephone numbers, members who have stored my telephone
number may not have noticed it has recently changed. The number to use
in reaching me at home is 513-459-1661. This number now appears in
QST.
Incidentally, mailing addresses, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers
of Vice Director Johnston, KI4LA and me are always on p. 15 of QST.
The counterpart information for SMs Joe Phillips, K8QOE, Dale Williams,
WA8EFK and Jim Brooks, KY4Z are always on p. 16. We may be "shakers,"
but we aren't "movers" when it comes to these two pages.
+++ What does ARRL do for me? +++
Last month I began this series of discussions on the benefits members
receive from membership in ARRL. I provided a simple listing of
services and noted which were available with no fee associated with
them. I also referred to a number of the best-known services (e.g.
DXCC, contest) as being superficial. By superficial I mean they are
great activities that provide many of us with needed relaxation and a
lot of fun (admittedly, with a little frustration at times), but they
don't do much of earthshaking consequence for Amateur Radio or the
public.
ARRL is the only ham radio organization in this country that can mount
a sustained, full-scale effort to achieve the regulatory and
legislative action Amateur Radio deserves. Through this effort,
Amateur Radio, and you and I benefit.
What other ham organization in the US could have brought a successful
lawsuit against the FCC in Federal Court? None.
However, because of ARRL, the FCC has been prevented from putting an
ill-conceived regulation into effect. A US Court has required FCC to
suspend implementing it and to go back to the drawing board. The
Commission is required to follow its own operating rules in developing
a new regulation, provided it wants to develop a new regulation.
ARRL successfully showed the Court the Commission ignored its own rules
when it paid no attention to relevant data it had received in
developing rulemaking. The resulting rule would give unlicensed
transmitters dominance over licensed transmitters. In other words,
Part 15 unlicensed devices could interfere with license radio services
(including Amateur Radio). The most notable Part 15 device at this
time is BPL.
When one considers only BPL, if you operate from 160 through 2 meters,
you have benefited from the League's fight to keep Part 15 devices,
including BPL, to operate free of interference to ham operations.
Next month I'll feature another aspect of something ARRL "Does for
Me."
+++ DTV Presentation Still Available +++
I've received e-mail that praised the Alliance (OH) ARC's switch-to-DTV
PowerPoint presentation. If your club plans a similar presentation,
feel free to contact Frank Sanor, WA8WHP, wa8whp@arrl.net to obtain a
free copy.
+++ Time for Antenna Work is nearly Over +++
It is my unfortunate duty to remind everyone the time to install and
repair antennas has nearly passed for our part of the world. The next
opportunity to ensure the value of this work will not come again until
early winter.
The Law of Mass Inclemency clearly states that the worse the weather
when antenna work is done, the better the antenna will perform.
Conversely, the less uncomfortable the weather when this work is
performed, the less well the antenna will perform.
+++ Fred Jones, WA4SWF +++
On May 2, Fred retires as Lawrence County, Kentucky EC after 35 years.
I don't typically become involved in recognizing work done in
individual ARRL Sections. The Section Managers take care of this quite
adequately. I'm making an exception in this instance because the
person involved is an exceptional individual and has performed
exceptional service for ARRL and Amateur Radio that goes beyond the
Kentucky state line.
Fred thanks for your tremendous work and the outstanding effort you
have devoted since before you became EC until now. Knowing you and
your devotion to our great service, you will remain in an active role
in Amateur Radio for many years to come.
Congratulations and thanks.
+++ Travel Schedule +++
The following is the travel schedule for Division staff for the coming
weeks. In addition to Vice Director Gary Johnson, KI4LA, Division
Legislative Action Chair John Meyers, NB4K and 8th Area QSL Bureau
Manager Jay Slough, K4ZLE will visit the events shown below.
Date......Event.......................Division Representative(s)
SCHEDULE
2 May: Louisa, KY Hamfest -- Jim
8 May: Miami County ARC, Troy, OH -- Jim
11 May: Northern KY ARC -- Gary
15-17 May: Hamvention(r)/ARRL National Conv. -- Gary, John, Jim
6 Jun: Grand Rapids, MI; Independent Rapt Assoc. 'fest -- John, Jim
6 Jun: Olive Hill, KY; Little Sandy RC -- Gary
7 Jun: Chelsea, MI; Chelsea ARC 'fest -- John, Jim
20 Jun: Midland, MI; Midland ARC 'fest -- Jay, Jim
21 Jun: Monroe, MI; Monroe Co. RCA 'fest-- Jay, Jim
9 Jul: Mahoning Valley ARA Meeting -- Jim
16 Jul: A and F Committee meeting, Newington -- Jim
17-18 Jul: ARRL Board meeting, Newington -- Gary, Jim
26 Jul: Randolph, OH -- Portage ARC 'fest -- John, Jim
NOTE: Please apply to have your hamfest/swap sanctioned well in
advance of the date it will be held. The sooner it is sanctioned as an
ARRL event, the sooner it will begin to receive publicity in the
listing of hamfests on the ARRL web site. It is not too early to
submit your 2010 'fest for sanctioning. Doing this will assist Vice
Director Johnston and me develop a travel schedule that includes
early-2010.
73,
Jim
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.net; Tel.: 513-459-0142
ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is!
Members - The Reason ARRL Is!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
_____________________________________________
Feb. 22, 2009
(Reply only to k8je@arrl.org.)
- Library Section Dedicated to Memory of W4OYI
- Swedish Amateurs become more Accessible
- Should It be "Our Way or No Way"?
- Triple Play Award and Logbook
- The ARRL A-1 Operators Club
- Wouff Hong at the National Convention and Hamvention
- International Amateur Radio Union happenings
- More Triple Play Winners
- And, in Miami the Winner is . . .
- Division Travel Philosophy
- Tentative Travel Schedule
+++ Library Section Dedicated to Memory of W4OYI +++
The Owensboro (Kentucky) Amateur Radio Club in cooperation with ARRL
and the Daviess County Kentucky Public Library has dedicated a section
of Amateur Radio books to the memory of former Great Lakes Division
Director and ARRL President George Wilson, III (W4OYI, SK). The
dedication was made on February 17. Wilson was a highly respected
resident of Owensboro.
George Wilson is the only member of the Great Lakes Division to have
become president of the ARRL. Division Legislative Action Chairman and
former Kentucky SM John Meyers, NB4K and I were privileged to represent
the League and the Division at the dedication.
+++ Swedish Amateurs become more Accessible +++
QSOs with Swedish amateurs should become more frequent beginning 1
April when Sweden expands its 40 meter band to 7.0 to 7.2 MHz. This
change follows the opening earlier this year of 6M (50-52 MHz) to
normal amateur use. Swedish amateurs can use up to 200 w. output power
on 6. The change in 6M operation in Sweden means amateurs there will
no longer need to obtain a special license at extra cost for this
band.
The addition of the 100 kHz segment to the 40M band brings Sweden into
line with International Telecommunications Union (ITU) action in 2003.
At this time, ITU d3legations approved moving all international
broadcasting out of the 7.1-7.2 MHz segment and to allocate 7.0-7.2 MHz
only to Amateur Radio use. Expansion of the international 40M band by
the ITU was in response to work by the International Amateur Radio
Union (IARU).
The ITU action; however, does not require any country to give
additional privileges to amateurs. The decision to give more
frequencies on 40 M to its amateurs is up to each country.
+++ Should It be "Our Way or No Way"? +++
In this country we have generally been raised with the thought that we
should be independent thinkers. "Think out of the box," is a very
popular admonition given to us. This is just another way of saying,
"Don't follow one another like a flock of geese walking from one
location to another."
Individualism is great. Pushing the sides of the envelope to see what
we can accomplish by developing a new "paradigm" offers many benefits.
Without individual thinking, we would not have electricity, the light
bulb, telecommunications and so many other inventions that were
developed by Edison, the Maxims and many others who were not tied to
the world of their "today."
However, there are times when following the leader is the best way to
go. Fighting this truism is a sign of impracticality. There are times
when letting go of the detail we have learned is good and accepting
different differing detail is preferable under the circumstances.
For example, we who matured our message handling skills using National
Traffic System (NTS) procedures might think this is the only way to
handle traffic. This isn't true. The military, government and other
emergency support agencies have their own message handling systems.
Although the NTS way is good, it isn't the only way. Depending upon
the total situation, it might mot even be the best way. (If you are
still reading this, you know I haven't been struck by lightning . . .
yet!)
As it says in the Bible, 'Render unto Cesar that which is Cesar's and
unto God that which is God's." Applying this wisdom to message
traffic, we might say, "Put into Emergency Management Agency format the
traffic which is EMA's and into ARRL NTS format the traffic which is
NTS's.
The bottom line is that when we provide communications service to a
served agency (EMA, Salvation Army, Red Cross), we should follow their
requests provided they are legal, ethical and moral. The discipline
and skill we gained through learning to use the NTS message system will
provide the discipline and skill we need to communicate using any
procedures preferred by EMA, SA, RC or other agency.
We need to avoid offering our service only to place irrelevant
restrictions on the manner in which we will provide the service.
+++ Triple Play Award and Logbook +++
First, let me correct an error in my comment last month about the early
winners of the Triple Play Award. The call sign given for Jeffrey
Wheeler, winner of the second Award earned, was incorrect. His correct
call is W7JW, not W7JIO. Sorry, Jeffrey.
My Triple Play comment brought a question. To summarize, the question
is, "Why has ARRL initiated the new, Triple Play Award (ed., Available
only through Logbook of the World.) but still requires paper QSL cards
to be submitted for the VHF/UHF Century Club Award?
This is a good question. On the surface, initiating a new award that
requires confirmation only by LoTW, but not allowing LoTW to be used
for VUCC doesn't make sense -- on the surface, this is.
Below the surface, the answer and the logic are quite simple.
Resolving the issue is more complex. It involves programming. LoTW
simply was not set up to service VHF/UHF Century Club.
For the Triple Play, the only thing that was needed was to tweak the
existing WAS portion of Logbook to add the new award. In the case of
VUCC, the programming hurdle is much greater.
Marrying VUCC with LoTW is a definite objective of the ARRL officers,
senior staff and each of us 15 Directors. The fact, though, is that
the project to complete the redo of the ARRL web site has much more
precedence. The VUCC-LoTW project must wait for now.
+++ Wouff Hong at the National Convention-Hamvention +++
Michigan Section Manager Dale Williams, WA8EFK was quick to provide a
little history lesson on The Royal Order of the Wouff Hong. I noted
last month that the script SM Phillips uses for the Wouff Hong was
first used at the second annual ARRL Michigan State Convention in Flint
on February 11, 1923. I added, "This probably wasn't the first
exemplification of the Wouff Hong, but it had to be among the earlier
ones."
Dale nicely pointed out that records prove the 1923 presentation of the
Wouff Hong was the first time it was offered anywhere.
This original script will be presented at the ARRL National
Convention-Dayton Hamvention(r) on Saturday night at 11.
+++ International Amateur Radio Union happenings +++
On 10 February 2009 the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)
counted ballots in its regular election for new officers and on
accepting two additional national societies into membership. When the
counting was finished, IARU had elected new officers and accepted two
new national societies into membership.
Timothy S. Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA of Canada was elected the new president.
He succeeds Larry Price, W4RA who retired from the position. Ole
Garpestad, LA2RR, was chosen Vice President. Terms of office for IARU
President and Vice President in the IARU are five years.
The election involved voting by 73 member societies. The societies
cast votes (aye or nay) or abstentions in each of the four ballots.
Fifty seven affirmative votes were required for adoption. Each
proposal was approved without dissent.
Upon being elected IARU President, Mr. Ellam said: "I am very
honoured to have been elected as President of IARU and look forward to
working with all three Regions and the Member-Societies during my term
in office. We no doubt will face many issues in the run up to the 2011
World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-11), but I look forward to
working as a team to meet the challenges ahead. (Courtesy IARU.)
While ranking officer of the Radio Amateurs of Canada, Ellam was a
guest at ARRL Board meetings. He is a very knowledgeable amateur.
+++ The ARRL A-1 Operator Club +++
One of the relatively unheralded awards given by ARRL is the A-1
Operator Award. This Award recognizes good personal operating and good
equipment operation. It is an award each of us who take Amateur Radio
reasonably seriously should want to achieve.
Before I get jumped on by someone who has the mistaken idea this award
is for CW ops, only, let me say this is not correct. It is open for
ops using any mode available and on any band assigned to amateur use.
One unique feature of the A-1 Operator Award is that the recipient must
be nominated by two amateurs who already hold it. In most instances,
the recipient of the award does not even know they have been nominated.
A-1 Operators are eligible to receive a nice lapel pin that identifies
them as members of the club.
Information about the A-1 Operator Club is available at
www.arrl.org/awards/a1-op/. Members of the Club are listed at
www.arrl.org/awards/a1-op/roster. Rules the procedure for nominating
amateurs to the club are at www.arrl.org/awards/a1-op/a1v11.html#who.
As of January 30, 2009, there are 5,252 members of the A-1 Operator
Club. Why not double check your operating procedure against Club
requirements. One never knows when two Club members will hear or work
you and nominate you to join the Club.
+++ More Triple Play Winners +++
Additions to the Triple Play Award roster since my last e-letter are
Ernest S. Jurusik, W8DCH, Columbus, OH; James F. Tullis, W8CZN, Hudson,
OH; Robert A. Daniels, K8KWT, Kentwood, MI; James D. Main, N8FV,
Muskegon, MI; John S. Comella, N8AA, Hamilton, OH; Daniel N. Hardy,
N8VV Newcomerstown, OH; Eric Kindig, W8EJK, Sidney, OH; Mad River Radio
Club, W8MAD, Mad River Radio Club, c/o Dave Pruett, K8CC, Ypsilanti,
MI; D. Douglas Friend, WB8TLI, Troy, OH; John A. Wulf, K4FT, Crab
Orchard, KY. 2/20/09
+++ W1AW CW Transmission on 160 M changes Frequency +++
Beginning March 9, ARRL's W1AW will shift its CW transmission on 160 M
to 1802.5 KHz. This move is to help avoid interference with increasing
activity that is developing near the 1817.5 kHz frequency previously.
+++ And, in Miami the Winner is . . . +++
Ohio SM Joe Phillips, K8QOE is a theatre aficionado and well he should
be. He taught theatre at Princeton High School in Springdale, OH for
many years. This was a very good program.
Since retiring from his teaching duties, he has continued his love
affair with the stage by following movies and the legitimate stage
whenever his schedule permits. Included in his activities is putting
together his best estimate of the winners at the annual Academy Awards.
He has just issued his list for 2009.
Anyone who follows the Academy Awards to any degree might wish to make
a note of Joe's selections and compare them with the actual winners.
Why? If he is pretty well on target, one could congratulate him for
his great insight. If he is well off target, a good razzing might be
in order.
K8QOE's Academy Award predictions for 2009 are:
Best pix: Slumdog Millionaire
Best actor: Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler
Best actress: Kate Winslet for The Reader
Best supporting actress: Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler
Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best director: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Best original screen play: Dustin Lance Black for Milk
Best adapted screen play: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire
(adapted from the book Q and A)
Best cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire
Best foreign film: Israel for Waltz With Besir
+++ Division Travel Philosophy +++
The past two years generally saw Vice Director Gary Johnston, KI4LA and
I travel together to most hamfests/swaps and other events in the
Division. This was logical. Because of the way we did this, the two
of us were able to travel nearly as inexpensively as if only one of us
had made the individual trips.
The disadvantage of following the general plan of traveling together is
that time constraints on each of us made it impractical to visit
several areas of the Division that we could have visited by travelling
separately.
This year we are changing our plan for travel. Gary and I will
typically go to different hamfests and, much of the time, we will have
another member of the Division Cabinet join us. We believe this will
allow us bring more ARRL representatives to more areas of the Division
while enabling us to live within the Division budget.
The two cabinet members who most often can be expected to join Gary and
me are Jay Slough, K4ZLE and John Meyers, NB4K. Jay will be able to
discuss the operation of the 8th Region Incoming QSL Bureau that he
manages. John, as Division Legislative Action Chairman, will be able
to share the operation of the ARRL Legislative Action Program directly
with members.
+++ Tentative Travel Schedule +++
The tentative travel schedule (through June) for Great Lakes Division
officers and chairpersons is shown below. This schedule will be
expanded to additional months in future issues of Words. In addition
to Vice Director Gary Johnston, KI4LA and I, Division Legislative
Action Chairman John Meyers, NB4K and 8th Area ARRL Incoming QSL Bureau
Manager Jay Slough, K4ZLE will join in some of our trips to discuss the
programs they head.
This year, we are working especially hard to optimize the value members
receive from our travel. Gary and I may not appear together at a
number of hamfests. In addition, instead of being at the "same old"
hamfests as in the past, we may visit hamfests in parts of the Division
that have not been covered during recent years.
If you would like any of us to consider visiting your hamfest/swap,
meeting or event, please contact me at k8je@arrl.org.
Date.....Event.......................Division Representative(s)
7 Mar: Cave City, KY; Mammoth Cave ARC -- Gary. John(?)
14 Mar: Marshall, MI; SMARS and Marshall HS club -- Jim and John
15 Mar: Toledo, OH; Toledo Mobile AR -- Jim and John
10 Mar: Waynesville, OH, Bellbrook ARC dinner -- Jim
28 Mar: Reynoldsburg, OH; Section ARES Conference -- Gary. Jim(?)
19 Apr: Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Cuyahoga Falls ARC -- Jim and Gary
26 Apr: Athens, OH; Athens Co. ARA -- Jim and Gary
15-17 May: Dayton Hamvention(r) -- Jim, Gary and John
6 Jun: Olive Hill, KY; Little Sandy RC -- Gary
6 Jun: Grand Rapids, MI; Independent Repeater Assoc. -- Jim and John
7 Jun: Chelsea, MI; Chelsea ARC -- Jim and John
20 Jun: Midland, MI; Midland ARC -- Jim and Jay
21 Jun: Monroe, MI; Monroe Co. RCA -- Jim and Jay
26 Jul: Randolph, OH -- Portage ARC -- Jim
NOTE: Please apply to have your hamfest/swap sanctioned well in
advance of the date it will be held. The sooner it is sanctioned as an
ARRL event, the sooner it will appear on the listing of hamfests and
conventions on the ARRL web site. This will provide more publicity for
the event.
73,
Jim
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.net; Tel.: 513-459-0142
ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is!
Members - The Reason ARRL Is!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
_____________________________________________
01-31-2009
(Reply only to k8je@arrl.org.)
- FCC names Riley's Successor
- Division Amateurs earn Triple Play Awards
- January Meeting of the ARRL Board
- Wouff Hong at the National Convention and Hamvention
- Update Your Affiliated Club Information
- Sanction Your Hamfest/Swap
- Tentative Travel Schedule
+++ FCC Names Riley's Successor +++
Laura L. Smith of Pennsylvania has been named by the FCC to fill the
vacancy created when by Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH retirement as the
FCC Special Counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement Division. Riley held
the position as FCC's enforcement guru for Amateur Radio for over 10
years. He is an excellent man, a fine ham and did a great job.
Ms. Smith began her legal career with the FCC in the Mass Media Bureau
and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. She also was Deputy Division
Chief of the Public Safety and Private Wireless Division. She left the
Commission in 1998 to join the Industrial Telecommunications
Association (ITA), now the Enterprise Wireless Alliance.
Most recently, Smith was an attorney with the Maryland law firm of
Shulman Rogers. While there, she dealt with telecommunications matters
and served as counsel to numerous entities in the private radio and
public safety communities. Smith has served as an industry consultant
and written columns for a variety of trade publications including
Mobile Radio Technology Magazine and The Private Wireless Magazine.
In an October 2008 letter to then-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, ARRL
President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, urged Martin to name a successor to
Hollingsworth. President Harrison cautioned, "The appointment of a
replacement Special Counsel in this position is of critical importance
to the Amateur Radio Service, as the delay in finalizing the
appointment stands to undermine in very short order an exceptionally
successful and low-cost program of enforcement in the Amateur
Service."
Although Ms. Smith apparently has had no direct involvement with
Amateur Radio, her experience with other radio services should provide
her with the basic background needed to fill the amateur enforcement
post.
+++ Division Amateurs earn Triple Play Awards +++
When I arrived at ARRL HQ for the January meeting of the Administration
and Finance Committee Meeting I quickly learned the first Triple Play
Award had been received earlier in the day. During the subsequent
Board meeting, the announcement was made that the second Award had been
received -- from a member in the Great Lakes Division, of course.
As of the end of January 29, four members in this Division are listed
as having earned the award. In the top ten are Jeffrey Wheeler, W7JIO
of Plymouth, MI (#2) and Kenneth Hinkleman, NU8Z of Tecumseh, MI (#8).
Coming soon after are Reno Tonsi, WT8C of Mentor, OH and Dave Vest,
K8DV or Goshen, OH.
Congratulations fellows. Talk about quick action!
It is possible I did not recognize other Division amateurs if they have
call signs with numbers other than 4 or 8 in them. Anyone knowing of a
GLD amateur who should be on this list, please let me know.
To earn the Triple Play Award, one must confirm WAS using voice, WAS
using Morse code and WAS using digital modes. Each QSO must have
occurred no earlier than January 1, 2009 and must be confirmed through
Logbook of the World (LoTW), only.
+++ January Meeting of the ARRL Board +++
As typical, the ARRL Board of Directors and several committees of the
League met in Newington and Windsor, CT. Major committee meetings are
held at ARRL HQ in Newington. Because of space requirements, the Board
has been meeting in a hotel in Windsor.
Also as has been typical, we were met with low double-digit and single
digit temperatures. Gary and I managed to avoid freezing; however,
many scheduled flights were off-schedule thanks to delays of
interconnecting flights.
Actions taken by the Board included:
TECHNOLOGY TASK FORCE (TTF): Having served its purpose, the TTF was
disolved by the Board. Established in 1999, TTF as well as its Working
Groups studied and assessed the applicability of a variety of new
technologies and technologic developments to Amateur Radio. These
technologies include digital voice, high-speed multi-media and software
defined radio.
It was concluded that continued work in the areas TTF had been tasked
to function is no longer required. However, the resolution to dissolve
TTF clearly requires ARRL to continue to explore and promote new
communications technologies in the future.
I believe action by the Board to dissolve TTF is fully appropriate when
one considers that the prime reasons for which it was founded are
increasingly being adopted by the amateur community. The use of
software defined radios, the use of digital voice and the spread of
several forms of digital data communications continue to expand.
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: The Board passed a resolution to offer ARRL
assistance in managing station K2BSA at the 2010 National Scout
Jamboree. We also are exploring the mutual desirability of a Statement
of Understanding between the Scouts and ARRL.
The coming National Jamboree has been delayed from 2009 until July
26-August 4, 2010 to coincide with the 100th Anniversary of the Boy
Scouts of America. National Jamborees are held at Ft. A. P. Hill in
Virginia.
ARRL INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD: The 2008 award was given to the
Amateur Radio operators of the Sichuan Radio Sports Association, the
Chinese Radio Sports Association and many operators from around China.
Their immediate actions and use of Amateur Radio rendered assistance to
victims of the May, 2008 earthquake centered in the Wenchuan area of
Sichuan Province.
FCC CALL SIGN PROGRAMS: The Board directed the Executive Committee
(EC) to study FCC's sequential, vanity and special call sign programs.
The study will determine if we will recommend changes in these programs
to the Commission. The EC will consult with the Programs and Services
Committee in the study.
PROTECTION OF PRUDENT MOBILE OPERATION: States and municipalities
continue to study laws to prevent reckless driving attributed to cell
phone use. Because of the increase in this activity, it is
increasingly likely that the zeal to protect the public may
inadvertently threaten to outlaw legitimate Amateur Radio mobile
operations.
The Board directed the Executive Committee to develop a proposed policy
statement that may be used prevent adoption of laws that prohibit
prudent mobile amateur operation. ARRL CEO Dave Sumner, K1ZZ and
General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD will submit a draft statement to the
EC no later than February 1, 2009 for consideration.
NEW MEMBERS OF IARU: The Board approved Aye votes be cast by ARRL on
IARU resolutions that would admit the Emirates Amateur Radio Society
and the Kazakhstan Federation of Radiosports and Radioamateur into IARU
membership.
FREE ARRL MEMBERSHIPS TO SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN ABROAD: A few years
ago, the Board approved a temporary rule to offer full ARRL membership
free of charge to service men and women who hold FCC amateur licenses
while they are serving outside the US. This temporary rule was made
permanent. The rule reads as follows:
"Upon request, the Executive Vice President is authorized to maintain
membership privileges without charge for the duration of a member's
active military deployment outside the ARRL operating territory as
described in Bylaw 30, with or without the delivery of QST at the
member's option."
ARRL RETIREMENT PLAN: In case anyone was not aware of this, the Board
of Directors is ultimately responsible for all financial operation of
the League. This includes responsibility for financial issues related
to our employees -- the people who work for ARRL in Newington and
Washington, DC. The financial and administrative responsibilities are
generally overseen by the Administration and Finance Committee. This
Committee in most instances recommends actions to the Board which in
turn adopts, modifies or rejects the recommendations.
One action taken by the Board in mid-January was to authorize ARRL to
hire firms to be Custodian and to be Recordkeeper for our 403(b)
retirement plan.
REVAMP OF ARRL WEB SITE: The Board approved continuing of a total
revamp of the ARRL web site. This project is being brought in right on
schedule and right on budget. We anticipate it to be finished by the
deadline which is the end of this year.
A review of the project by the Board included glimpses of a number of
new and improved features that will benefit individual members, clubs
and ARRL. Exciting!
+++ Wouff Hong at the National Convention-Hamvention +++
The Royal Order of the Wouff Hong will be given at the Dayton
Hamvention(r)-ARRL National Convention in May. The Wouff Hong
presentation will be directed by Ohio Section Manager Joe Phillips,
K8QOE at 11 PM Saturday evening at the Crowne Point Plaza Hotel.
SM Phillips noted this will bring his record of directing Wouff Hong
exemplifications at National ARRL Conventions in the Great Lakes
Division to three consecutive. I am looking forward eagerly to learn
who he taps to be the Novice in the ceremony. Watch for further
details.
If you have not yet participated in a Wouff Hong ceremony, this may be
your best opportunity to have the experience. No hams are sacrificed
in the ritual. ;-)
Incidentally, SM Phillips reports that the script he uses for the Wouff
Hong was also used at the second annual ARRL Michigan State Convention
held in Flint on February 11, 1923. This probably wasn't the first
exemplification of the Wouff Hong, but it had to be among the earlier
ones.
+++ Update Your Affiliated Club Information +++
As Ohio Affiliated Club Coordinator Joanne Solak, KJ3O reminds, it is
time for clubs affiliated with ARRL to update their information.
Although our people at HQ aren't hard-nosed about this, the fact is
that continued affiliation requires clubs to file periodic (preferably
annual) update reports.
What is the value of filing an annual report to a club? Maintaining
up-to-date information about the club and key personnel makes it easy
for nonmember who are looking for a club to find you and join. In
addition, up-to-date club information is the only way key information
distributed by ARRL can be gotten to clubs.
To file an annual report go to
www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/#affiliation. The annual report can be
filed on line by clicking on No. 2 under Advantages of Affiliation.
Incidentally, if your club is not affiliated with ARRL, you might want
to read through the information on this same site to see if affiliation
is in the club's best interest as well as in the best interest of
Amateur Radio.
+++ Sanction Your Hamfest/Swap +++
While on the subject of club affiliation, it seems appropriate to
comment about sanctioning hamfests, swaps, seminar or convention. The
visible procedure for having a hamfest sanctioned is rather simple --
fill out and submit a sanctioning application online. With rare
exception, the submitter will receive a message a few days later that
says the hamfest has been sanctioned by ARRL. During the few days from
submission of the application until the approval is received, the
application has been reviewed by the ARRL Convention Hamfest Manager at
HQ and by the Division Director who gives approval for the
sanctioning.
In the case of ARRL Section or State Conventions, the ARRL EC provides
the final approval. The full Board gives approval to National
Conventions.
The benefits of sanctioning include free publicity in QST, free listing
as a sanctioned hamfest on the ARRL web site and a selection of nice
goodies to use as prizes at the hamfest -- also free.
To review the rules and helpful information about sponsoring a
sanctioned hamfest, go to www.arrl.org/FandES/field/hamfests/. The
application form to have hamfests sanctioned is available at this site.
It can be completed and submitted online.
Clubs that plan to have their hamfests sanctioned are encouraged to
submit the applications for this sanctioning, soon. The sooner the
application is approved, the sooner the hamfest is publicized on the
ARRL web site.
+++ Tentative Travel Schedule +++
The tentative February through May travel schedule for Great Lakes
Division officers and chairpersons is shown below. This schedule will
be expanded to additional months in future issues of Words. In
addition to Vice Director Gary Johnston, KI4LA and me, Division
Legislative Action Chairman John Meyers, NB4K and 8th Area ARRL
Incoming QSL Bureau Manager Jay Slough, K4ZLE will join in some of our
trips to discuss the programs they head.
This year, we are working especially hard to optimize the value members
receive from our travel. This means that both Gary and I may not
appear at a number of hamfests together. It also means that instead of
being at the "same old" hamfests as in the past, we may visit hamfests
in parts of the Division that have not been covered during recent
years.
If you would like any of us to consider visiting your hamfest/swap,
meeting or event, please contact me at k8je@arrl.org.
Date.....Hamfest.......................Division Representative(s)
15 Feb: Mansfield, OH; InterCity ARC -- Jim and John
7 Mar: Cave City, KY; Mammoth Cave ARC -- Gary. John(?)
14 Mar: Marshall, MI; SMARS and Marshall HS club -- Jim and John
15 Mar: Toledo, OH; Toledo Mobile AR -- Jim and John
19 Apr: Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Cuyahoga Falls ARC -- Jim and Gary
26 Apr: Athens, OH; Athens Co. ARA -- Jim and Gary
15-17 May: Dayton Hamvention(r) -- Jim, Gary and John
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.net; Tel.: 513-459-0142
ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is!
Members - The Reason ARRL Is!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
_____________________________________________
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 7:02 PM
Subject: WEAVER'S WORDS -- Special Edition
- Digital Mode Webinar
- ARRL Board of Directors Meeting
- Travel Itinerary
+++ Digital Mode Webinar +++
All Great Lakes Division members are invited to join in the Atlantic
Division digital Webinar on digital modes. The details are:
Title: Atlantic Division Digital Mode Webinar
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2009
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM EST
"Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/764477825
"This presentation will focus on the use of the Narrow Band Emergency
Messaging System software (NBEMS), most specifically on the main
application in the software suite named FLDIGI.
"Digital sound card modes (MT63, Domino, Olivia, and MFSK16) have been
utilized for many years now by Amateur Radio for contesting and casual
conversations. Many of the digital modes in use today are very well
suited to emergency communications but are very underutilized in this
respect.
"After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing
information about joining the Webinar.
"System Requirements:
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows? 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
"Macintosh?-based attendees
Required: Mac OS? X 10.4 (Tiger?) or newer"
Audio for the Webinar is available by telephone or Internet.
+++ ARRL Board of Directors Meeting +++
As many of you may know, Gary and I have just returned from the January
meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors. Several interesting and
important decisions were made. None of these relate to changes in
operating privileges. I'll discuss these in coming e-letters.
+++ Travel Itinerary +++
An itinerary for the Division staff is being developed and should be
available in about two weeks. This year, travel is being coordinated
for four staff members to enhance on-sight representation of ARRL
throughout the Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio Sections. It will be
helpful for sponsors of hamfests/swaps to submit applications to be
sanctioned by the League as early as practical.
When completing an application for sanctioning, please be sure to
provide a good approximation of the attendance that is expected. This
information is used by HQ as well as the Division staff in supporting
hamfests.
73,
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040
E-mail: k8je@arrl.net; Tel.: 513-459-0142
ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is!
Members - The Reason ARRL Is!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org
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