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Nebraska Club Tops Frequency Pomotion Competition
NEWINGTON, CT, Nov 4, 2000--The Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club of Omaha, Nebraska, has been chosen as the winner of the Frequency Amateur Radio promotion competition. The Nebraska club topped a list of six Amateur Radio organizations that were selected to receive prizes for their efforts in spreading the word about Amateur Radio in conjunction with the movie Frequency, which uses ham radio as a central plot device.

The top prize ICOM IC-746 HF-VHF transceiver donated by ICOM was among several prizes pledged by manufacturers for the clubs that did the best job of promoting Amateur Radio at a local theater screening Frequency. In addition, the ARRL donated the choice of a 2000 edition of The ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs or Handbook CD-ROM to each of the 25 clubs that entered the competition (see "Frequency Promotion Competition Winners and Prizes," below.)

The second place winner was the Bay Area Amateur Radio Club in Bay City, Michigan. Taking third place was the Austin Amateur Radio Club in Austin, Texas.
Winners were selected based on a point system that ranked the clubs in order of their success in several areas, including getting publicity for the display, the number of operating modes used, the availability of ham radio literature and more. Prize awards were determined by a panel of representatives of the manufacturers and suppliers who donated to the prize pool. The ARRL agreed to receive submittals for the competition.
Frequency's far-fetched plot involving communicating across time offered a unique opportunity to promote Amateur Radio in communities across the country. Shortly before the movie's release last April, Amateur Radio industry representatives joined with the ARRL to sponsor the competition for clubs.

With an enthusiastic show of support from theater management, the top-ranked Ak-Sar-Ben club put up a first-rate, professional-quality display booth and wowed moviegoers at the 20 Grand Theater in Omaha. Complete with a Heathkit SB-103 transceiver--similar to the rig used in the movie--club members demonstrated a variety of modes and Amateur Radio technologies, letting moviegoers make HF contacts, track moving vehicles with APRS or see themselves on SSTV (reportedly a big hit with the younger crowd). After the event ended, theater management asked the club to leave behind as much of the display as it could--excluding the radios and the computers, of course--so more theater goers could learn about Amateur Radio.

In order to capitalize on its Frequency PR effort, Ak-Sar-Ben club members set up a Technician license class shortly after the event. The club's PR Chairman Bill Newman, K0NSA, says that all who turned out for the class did so as a result of having visited the theater display.
The Ak-Sar-Ben club also will receive 500 feet of mini coax from Cable X-Perts, a "Goldline" microphone from Heil Sound, an Alpha Delta antenna switch and a 40-meter double bazooka antenna compliments of International Antenna.
Five other clubs will receive prizes donated by M², ADI, Alinco, and Alpha Delta. Prizes included an M² 17-30 LP 7 log periodic antenna, an ADI AR-147+ 2-meter mobile transceiver, an Alinco hand-held transceiver, and an ADI PMC-100 desk microphone.

The League has expressed its thanks and appreciation to those members of the Amateur Radio industry who donated to the prize pool and congratulates all of the clubs who took the time to share the magic of radio with the public.
For those who still have not had a chance to see the movie, Frequency now is out in home video.--Jennifer Hagy, N1TDY   SEE PAGE 4