Division news

Dale Williams, WA8EFK

Greetings, welcome to "Dale's Tales" for March, 2022. Part 97.1(e) of the FCC Rules states that part of the Basis and Purpose of Amateur Radio is "...Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill." Recently, this has been difficult for many of as we watch recent world events unfold. The friends and family of many of us find themselves involved in a conflict that is endangering many and costing lives. It is difficult to sit here and think about the above rule while this situation continues. Yet, I must remind myself that as a ham operator, I am obligated to adhere to these time-honored rules and not draw harsh conclusions or demean either side of the conflict. As s very difficult as may be, we simply must place ourselves outside of these hostilities while we are operating as hams and remember to offer what we can to promote international good will. The Ukrainian Amateur Radio League (UARL) web page was still operating at the writing, http://www.uarl.org.ua . It is posted in Ukranian. We at ARRL would expect any official Amateur Radio related information to come from the UARL to the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) and then to ARRL. With Amateur Radio in Ukraine temporarily shut down by their government, I would not anticipate any immediate requests for our involvement. Hamvention 2022 News directly from the Dayton Amateur Radio Assn.: Many Hamvention volunteers attended the recent Hamcation weekend in Orlando, FL. It was heartening to see so many of our friends at the show! The aisles were full of people, the vendors were pleased with the brisk business, and the Hamvention booth was bombarded with well- wishers and folks with one question on their mind: “Are you going to have Hamvention this year?” It was a pleasure to assure one and all that Hamvention 2022 is a go. “Absolutely, we will be having Hamvention” echoed from our booth all weekend. We sold a bunch of tickets to Hamvention at the pre-show price, also available right now on the Hamvention.org website. More recently, Michael Kalter W8CI and I were interviewed on a DX Engineering YouTube ( https://youtu.be/vTDZqVgPLgE) to unveil the official logo for Hamvention 2022. This year’s theme is Reunion - to celebrate getting a world of hams together after missing two Hamventions and to commemorate the history of the Dayton Hamvention stretching back to 1952. The Logo represents amateur radio operators from around the globe getting together at Hamvention for a Grand Reunion. So, if anyone in your club asks, or if the subject comes up on air, please let everyone know that 11 weeks from now, WE WILL HAVE HAMVENTION! Vy 73 de WS8G Rick Allnutt General Chair Hamvention 2022 Hamvention, an official ARRL Sanctioned Event, will be held Friday-Sunday, May 20-22 at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, OH. Just a reminder, while you are sitting here, take a look at your Personal ARRL Page and see if it needs an update. You will find everything accessible if you click on "Edit your profile" in the blue field at the top of the ARRL Web page. Here you will be able to verify that all of our contact information is still correct, check the Groups to which you belong, actually edit your profile, make sure you are subscribed to all of the electronic publications you wish to receive (like this newsletter, which is listed at "News and Information from your Division Director...") and you can add feeds to your page to keep you up to date with bulletins and announcements. I must also note it is surprising how many e-mail addresses have changed over the years: we all should ensure that the one listed is correct. SCOTT'S STUFF: Comments from your ARRL Vice Director Scott, N8SY. Wow, we sure had some wild and wooly weather for February! Today is March 1st, Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). It is also the meteorological 1st day of spring! Yes, I know that March 20th is the actual spring equinox, but what the heck, we can have some fun with this, can’t we? March 1st is also National Peanut Butter Lover's Day as well. March 13th is when we “Spring Forward” an hour as Daylight Saving Time takes effect and don’t forget March 17th, Saint Patrick’s Day! Yes, a day that I will have a green beer or two... After all I am 4 percent Irish! Rounding out the month, on March 31st we will celebrate National Clams on the Half Shell Day and National Tater Day! Hamfests are on their way back! There is a bunch of them already scheduled in the Great Lakes Division. Dale has the complete list compiled and listed below. OK, shifting gears… March 5th through 6th is the International DX–Phone contest. The Novice Rig Roundup is coming up this month as well, it starts March 5th through March 13th. There are a bunch more contests in March, too many to post all of them here, but if you are interested in just having some fun, here is a link to a schedule of all the contests for the month of March https://www.contestcalendar.com/fivewkcal.html Now, for you really big contesters / DXpedition hounds, Crozet Island DXpedition Preparations are moving forward. The upcoming solo Crozet Island DXpedition spearheaded by Thierry Mazel, F6CUK, will likely arrive on the island around Christmas. While traveling aboard the Marion Dufresne, Mazel will make stopovers at other remote islands that are also rare DXCC entities, including Tromelin Island. The Crozet and Tromelin islands are administered as part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (abbreviated in French as TAAF). Shifting gears once again... I’m sure by now many of you are wondering just what’s going on with the newest committee formed by the ARRL Board, the EmComm Field Services Committee (ECFSC) for short. Well, as Dale announced last month both he and I are on that committee, Dale is the chairman, and I can tell you for a fact that we are moving things forward. In fact, the committee recently went through a grocery list of items that our committee has committed itself to get done to improve your experience with ARRL and to help those in leadership positions to be better trained and equipped. Ok, shifting up to sixth gear and starting down the back stretch... Hey clubs, have you heard, there is a new ARRL Foundation Club Grants program, funded by a grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), will make $500,000 available to radio clubs. The program will provide up to $25,000 for worthy club projects. Requests for more than that will be referred back to ARDC. The new Club Grants program will help clubs more easily provide and expand their important services. Beginning in April, amateur radio clubs will be able to apply for these grants by filling out a simple form on the ARRL website. The ARRL Foundation will evaluate the grant proposals. The Foundation was established in 1973 to advance the art, science, and societal benefits of the amateur radio service by awarding financial grants and scholarships to individuals and organizations in support of their charitable, educational, and scientific efforts. That is going to do it from here this month. Stay safe and “Catch Me On The Air or at a hamfest”!!! 73, Scott Yonally N8SY, Vice Director, Great Lakes Division HAMFESTING: Here is the current listing of Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned hamfests through May 2022. Please note that all are subject to change, so please stay current by checking the sponsoring club's web page before making your travel arrangements. Be sure to invite your ARRL Officials as soon as your date is set. Please feel free to reproduce and publish in your local Club Newsletter with credit to the source. ARRL Sanctioned Hamfests through June 2022: 03/05/22 - Cave City, Cave City, KY 03/12/22 - MOVARC Hamfest, Bidewll, OH 03/13/22 - NOARS Winter Hamfest, Elyria, OH 03/19/22 - Crossroads, Kalamazoo, MI 03/20/22 - CANCELED, Toledo Mobile Radio Assn Swap, CANCELED, Perrysburg, OH 04/09/22 - Cuyahoga Falls, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 04/24/22 - Athens Hamfest, Athens, OH 04/24 to 04/29/22 - RV Radio Network Spring Rally, Millersburg, OH 05/01/22 - Lucas County Trunk Swap, Toledo, OH 05/07/22 - Cadillac Hamfest, Cadillac, MI 05/20 to 05/22/22 - Dayton Hamvention, Xenia, OH 05/21/22 - GM ARC Trunk Swap, Shelby Twp., MI 06/04/22 - Fulton County Swap, Wauseon, OH 06/04/22 - IRA Hamfest, Hudsonville, MI 06/05/22 - Chelsea Hamfest, Chelsea, MI 06/05/22 - Flying Beers, Ferndale, MI 06/11/22 - Luce County Yooper Hamfest, Newberry, MI 06/18/22 - GM ARC Trunk Swap. Shelby Twp., MI 06/19/22 - Monroe Hamfest, Monroe, MI If you club plans to request ARRL Hamfest Sanctioning, they should do so well in advance of the planned Hamfest date, as this allows adequate time for QST Listings. QST announcements require a 3 month lead time. If your swap is cancelled or the date is going to change, please notify ARRL HQ. For the latest detail on regional hamfests, check the ARRL web page at: http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions- calendar