Division news
Dale Williams, WA8EFK
Another 61 days and this year draws to a close. Now, I take the time to look back on the recent past
and think about the improvements that have been brought about at ARRL. Our new CEO David
Minster NA2AA has been at the helm for a little over two years and has been recognized for his skills
as leading up onto a bright future. Since becoming a ham, David has been very active in many
aspects of amateur Radio. He operates; he works DX, he contests and he rag chews. He has an
excellent understanding of what we need and how to bring it about. Under his leadership, our
Headquarters staff is fully engrossed in the fact that our members are key to our success and
everything we do has to focus on that area.
Those of us on the ARRL Board are concentrating on updating and revising how we can interact
more with members, assist clubs in growing, and updating our ARRL Field Organization to match the
current and future needs of ham radio. Simply put, "If you don't grow, you don't survive".
This puts a bit of a challenge upon all of us. I can carry on in this newsletter about how people
should be ARRL members, but Dale's Tales is distributed to all of you who are already members. The
membership message has to go to those hams who are not yet members of ARRL.
This means we all must become champions for the League and get onto the recruiting bandwagon.
No one needs to grab the cymbals and a platform and stand on a street corner and shout "Join
ARRL", but we all need to show our ham radio brethren the benefits of ARRL membership
Here are just a few:
•
Advocacy Programs
•
PRB-1 and Antenna Protection Legislation Lobbies for spectrum protection - Intruders and
ventures wanting our frequencies Lobbies for additional bands. - WARC and VLF Represents the
interests of US hams at IARU Rules Enforcement - Amateur Auxiliary and New FCC Monitoring
Program
•
ARRL Laboratory
•
Technical Information Service
•
Tests new equipment and provides reports RFI Assistance Provides Social Media Programming
•
W1AW - Training and Bulletins
•
VEC – examinations
•
Free license renewal service
•
Publications - Technical and Operating Journals QST Monthly Journal On the Air new Bi-Monthly
Magazine QEX and NCJ Bi-Monthly Journals QSL Service - incoming and outgoing
•
Training Courses
•
Technician Licensing
•
General Licensing
•
Teachers Institute
•
Volunteer Counsel Program
•
Volunteer Consulting Engineer Program
•
Technical Specialists
•
Volunteer Instructors
•
Electromagnetic Compatibility Committee
•
RF Safety Committee
•
ARRL Outreach Program
•
Youth
•
Schools
•
ARRL Foundation - Scholarships
•
Heritage Museum
•
NTS
•
ARES
•
Public Service Honor Roll
•
LoTW
•
On the Air Awards
•
DXCC
•
WAS
•
VUCC
•
A-1 Operator Club
•
Triple Play
•
Fred Fish Memorial Award
•
Morse Code Proficiency
•
Elmer Award
•
First Contact Award
•
Contests
•
Straight Key Night
•
Kids Day
•
RTTY Roundup
•
January VHF
•
School Club Roundups
•
International DX, CW and Phone
•
June VHF
•
Field Day
•
IARU HF World
•
222 MHz and Up
•
10 GHz and Up
•
Rookie Roundup RTTY
•
EME 23 GHz and Up
•
EME 50-1296
•
Nov Sweepstakes CW and Phone
•
160 Meter Contest
•
10 Meter Contest
•
Rookie Roundup - CW
•
Special: Board of Directors Awards
•
Doug DeMaw W1FB Technical Excellence Award, Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award,
Knight Distinguished Service Award, Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award, Technical Service
Award, Phil McGan award for outstanding PR effort, QST Cover Plaque Award, monthly for best
QST article
A look at just a couple of these "bennies" should convince many that League membership is truly
worthwhile.
I suppose many of who have been around a while have heard some of the comments offered by
non-members, like "...the cost may be too high". I answer that with "I can cut one cup of coffee a
week from my regimen and cover the cost of membership". You have to want to do it.
Then there is the unfortunate bad experience with someone at ARRL that a person had 25 years ago
and the resentment still exists as a result.
Rest assured that the person that caused that issue is most likely no longer at ARRL and we do
deserve another opportunity to welcome that person's membership. You have to want to do it.
So, as I drop my cymbals an step off the soapbox, I close with the request that we all become loyal
Ambassadors for ARRL and encourage others to join us and become members. And do it now!
SCOTT'S STUFF: Comments from your ARRL Vice Director Scott, N8SY.
Fall has definitely arrived! The leaves have turned into a very beautiful array of colors and yes, we’ve
even had some snow falling.
Now that Halloween is out of the way let’s start the really festive holidays. Oh, but before we get to
shove all that great food into our tummies and gulp down grandpa’s special spiced up eggnog, we do
have the annual returning to "normal" time coming up this next Sunday! Yes, you will need to set the
clocks back to Standard Time this coming Sunday, November 6th.
This past month has been a very busy month with S.E.T., club meetings, hamfests including the one
in Lexington Kentucky, and I dropped in on a couple of Jamboree On The Air events as well. I had a
blast getting on the air with a bunch of kids during School Roundup and rounded the month of
October off going to a really special celebration for the Cambridge Amateur Radio Association, W8VP
here in Ohio. They were honored by the ARRL Board of Directors for being an Affiliated Club for 75
years! What a great accomplishment and congratulations to all the members of CARA.
What about your club? Has it reached a milestone like this yet? Many clubs around the Great Lakes
Division were started before World War II and became ARRL Affiliated not long after. So, your club
might have already gotten to that milestone of 50, 75 or even 100 years of affiliation. Yes, we actually
do have one club in the Great Lakes Division that has already reached that 100-year milestone!
Shifting gears... I am happy to inform you that the scholarship application process is now open.
There is a link on the ARRL homepage in addition to the link on the scholarship page. More than 100
scholarships ranging from $500 to $25,000 will be awarded in 2023. Hey, this is FREE money! How
many kids do you know that couldn’t use a helping hand with their college tuition? All applicants
must be active, FCC-licensed amateur radio operators and all applicants must submit a completed
online application no later than January 4, 2023, at 12pm. Go to: http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-
program
Shifting gears again... Did you notice in the November issue of QST in the Silent Key listings that they
have now started identifying those SK’s that were also veterans. This is just one of the changes that
our EC&FS Committee had initiated and has now been put into place. If you didn’t notice it, do
yourself a favor and go back and take a look at all the veterans listed.
Speaking of QST, how many of you noticed in the October issue the listing of all of the "current"
Special Service Clubs. Yes, the list looks long, in fact there are 97 clubs listed. The real truth of the
matter is it’s actually very short compared to what it should look like, well over 300. Why do I say
that? What you are not seeing is a list of literally hundreds of clubs that "used to be" a Special Service
Club that, for whatever reason, just didn’t update their SSC record.
Now, we realize that some won’t meet all the requirements from year to year. But I’m afraid that this
list is short simply because no one from the club bothered to update the record. In the past, the
Special Service Club record needed to be renewed just once every 2 years. Thus, making this update
very hard to remember. This is something that the EC&FS Committee also changed just recently. To
make it easier for the Special Service Clubs to remember when they need to renew, the renewal date
will now be on January 01 of each year beginning on January 01, 2024 and will need to be renewed
every year on January 1st. Now, if things go as planned, (keep your fingers crossed) there will be new
forms to use that will make renewing a breeze. Oh, here’s one other stat that you need to know
about that SSC listing, 22 of those 97 are in the Great Lakes Division. Yes, the Great Lakes Division
has over 22% of all the SSCs in the country! How’s about making that number grow simply by
renewing your club’s SSC today!
Shifting gears again... QST’s newest column, "Club Station," is a space for clubs to share their
practical ideas about what has helped lead them to their success. If your club has developed a
creative way to get around common challenges, the ARRL wants to hear from you! They have
published author guidelines that are geared toward "Club Station."
Want more information on how to submit an article? Go to:
https://www.arrl.org/qst-club-station-guidelines-and-profile-form All clubs are welcome to
participate. Also, have you noticed in the ARRL ARES E-Newsletter that they are now publishing news
from many of the Section Emergency Coordinators from around the country? Got an interesting
ARES news story? Send it to: Rick Palm, K1CE at k1ce@arrl.net
OK, shifting down to come into the pit... Don’t forget the ARRL Sweepstakes (CW and Phone) as well
as the ARRL EME contest. All of these are really great fun to do. Oh, I should mention that there are a
few more contests as well but there’s just too many to mention here, so here’s the link to see them
all... https://www.contestcalendar.com/
I hope that you can see that we ARE moving in a positive direction!
Yes, sometimes it takes longer than any of us would like, but we are listening to you and are working
very hard every day to try to make things better for YOU, the member!
Okay, that is going to do it from here this month. Stay safe and "Catch Me On The Air, at a meeting or
hamfest!!!" But most of all... Have FUN!!!!
73,
Scott, N8SY
Vice Director
Great Lakes Division
n8sy@arrl.org
HAMFEST LISTING:
Here is the current listing of Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned hamfests through the end of
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 January 2023:
Please note there are no ARRL Sanctioned Hamfests in the Great Lakes Division scheduled for
November.
12/03/22 - Fulton County Winterfest, Archbold, OH
12/04/22 - Lanse Creuse, Troy, MI
01/15/23 - SCARF Hamfest, Shade, OH
01/22/23 - Hazel Park Hamfest, Royal Oak, MI
Just a brief final, 10 meters has been hopping the past few days, timing it right opens it up locally
and also world-wide. Nice to see the band so active again. Hope to catch you there (while you are
also recruiting for ARRL).
Division news
Dale Williams, WA8EFK
Another 61 days and this year draws to a close.
Now, I take the time to look back on the recent past
and think about the improvements that have been
brought about at ARRL. Our new CEO David Minster
NA2AA has been at the helm for a little over two
years and has been recognized for his skills as
leading up onto a bright future. Since becoming a
ham, David has been very active in many aspects of
amateur Radio. He operates; he works DX, he
contests and he rag chews. He has an excellent
understanding of what we need and how to bring it
about. Under his leadership, our Headquarters staff
is fully engrossed in the fact that our members are
key to our success and everything we do has to
focus on that area.
Those of us on the ARRL Board are concentrating on
updating and revising how we can interact more
with members, assist clubs in growing, and updating
our ARRL Field Organization to match the current
and future needs of ham radio. Simply put, "If you
don't grow, you don't survive".
This puts a bit of a challenge upon all of us. I can
carry on in this newsletter about how people should
be ARRL members, but Dale's Tales is distributed to
all of you who are already members. The
membership message has to go to those hams who
are not yet members of ARRL.
This means we all must become champions for the
League and get onto the recruiting bandwagon. No
one needs to grab the cymbals and a platform and
stand on a street corner and shout "Join ARRL", but
we all need to show our ham radio brethren the
benefits of ARRL membership
Here are just a few:
•
Advocacy Programs
•
PRB-1 and Antenna Protection Legislation Lobbies
for spectrum protection - Intruders and ventures
wanting our frequencies Lobbies for additional
bands. - WARC and VLF Represents the interests
of US hams at IARU Rules Enforcement - Amateur
Auxiliary and New FCC Monitoring Program
•
ARRL Laboratory
•
Technical Information Service
•
Tests new equipment and provides reports RFI
Assistance Provides Social Media Programming
•
W1AW - Training and Bulletins
•
VEC – examinations
•
Free license renewal service
•
Publications - Technical and Operating Journals
QST Monthly Journal On the Air new Bi-Monthly
Magazine QEX and NCJ Bi-Monthly Journals QSL
Service - incoming and outgoing
•
Training Courses
•
Technician Licensing
•
General Licensing
•
Teachers Institute
•
Volunteer Counsel Program
•
Volunteer Consulting Engineer Program
•
Technical Specialists
•
Volunteer Instructors
•
Electromagnetic Compatibility Committee
•
RF Safety Committee
•
ARRL Outreach Program
•
Youth
•
Schools
•
ARRL Foundation - Scholarships
•
Heritage Museum
•
NTS
•
ARES
•
Public Service Honor Roll
•
LoTW
•
On the Air Awards
•
DXCC
•
WAS
•
VUCC
•
A-1 Operator Club
•
Triple Play
•
Fred Fish Memorial Award
•
Morse Code Proficiency
•
Elmer Award
•
First Contact Award
•
Contests
•
Straight Key Night
•
Kids Day
•
RTTY Roundup
•
January VHF
•
School Club Roundups
•
International DX, CW and Phone
•
June VHF
•
Field Day
•
IARU HF World
•
222 MHz and Up
•
10 GHz and Up
•
Rookie Roundup RTTY
•
EME 23 GHz and Up
•
EME 50-1296
•
Nov Sweepstakes CW and Phone
•
160 Meter Contest
•
10 Meter Contest
•
Rookie Roundup - CW
•
Special: Board of Directors Awards
•
Doug DeMaw W1FB Technical Excellence Award,
Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award, Knight
Distinguished Service Award, Hiram Percy Maxim
Memorial Award, Technical Service Award, Phil
McGan award for outstanding PR effort, QST
Cover Plaque Award, monthly for best QST article
A look at just a couple of these "bennies" should
convince many that League membership is truly
worthwhile.
I suppose many of who have been around a while
have heard some of the comments offered by non-
members, like "...the cost may be too high". I answer
that with "I can cut one cup of coffee a week from
my regimen and cover the cost of membership". You
have to want to do it.
Then there is the unfortunate bad experience with
someone at ARRL that a person had 25 years ago
and the resentment still exists as a result.
Rest assured that the person that caused that issue
is most likely no longer at ARRL and we do deserve
another opportunity to welcome that person's
membership. You have to want to do it.
So, as I drop my cymbals an step off the soapbox, I
close with the request that we all become loyal
Ambassadors for ARRL and encourage others to join
us and become members. And do it now!
SCOTT'S STUFF: Comments from your ARRL Vice
Director Scott, N8SY.
Fall has definitely arrived! The leaves have turned
into a very beautiful array of colors and yes, we’ve
even had some snow falling.
Now that Halloween is out of the way let’s start the
really festive holidays. Oh, but before we get to
shove all that great food into our tummies and gulp
down grandpa’s special spiced up eggnog, we do
have the annual returning to "normal" time coming
up this next Sunday! Yes, you will need to set the
clocks back to Standard Time this coming Sunday,
November 6th.
This past month has been a very busy month with
S.E.T., club meetings, hamfests including the one in
Lexington Kentucky, and I dropped in on a couple of
Jamboree On The Air events as well. I had a blast
getting on the air with a bunch of kids during School
Roundup and rounded the month of October off
going to a really special celebration for the
Cambridge Amateur Radio Association, W8VP here
in Ohio. They were honored by the ARRL Board of
Directors for being an Affiliated Club for 75 years!
What a great accomplishment and congratulations
to all the members of CARA.
What about your club? Has it reached a milestone
like this yet? Many clubs around the Great Lakes
Division were started before World War II and
became ARRL Affiliated not long after. So, your club
might have already gotten to that milestone of 50,
75 or even 100 years of affiliation. Yes, we actually
do have one club in the Great Lakes Division that
has already reached that 100-year milestone!
Shifting gears... I am happy to inform you that the
scholarship application process is now open. There
is a link on the ARRL homepage in addition to the
link on the scholarship page. More than 100
scholarships ranging from $500 to $25,000 will be
awarded in 2023. Hey, this is FREE money! How
many kids do you know that couldn’t use a helping
hand with their college tuition? All applicants must
be active, FCC-licensed amateur radio operators and
all applicants must submit a completed online
application no later than January 4, 2023, at 12pm.
Go to: http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-program
Shifting gears again... Did you notice in the
November issue of QST in the Silent Key listings that
they have now started identifying those SK’s that
were also veterans. This is just one of the changes
that our EC&FS Committee had initiated and has
now been put into place. If you didn’t notice it, do
yourself a favor and go back and take a look at all
the veterans listed.
Speaking of QST, how many of you noticed in the
October issue the listing of all of the "current"
Special Service Clubs. Yes, the list looks long, in fact
there are 97 clubs listed. The real truth of the matter
is it’s actually very short compared to what it should
look like, well over 300. Why do I say that? What you
are not seeing is a list of literally hundreds of clubs
that "used to be" a Special Service Club that, for
whatever reason, just didn’t update their SSC record.
Now, we realize that some won’t meet all the
requirements from year to year. But I’m afraid that
this list is short simply because no one from the
club bothered to update the record. In the past, the
Special Service Club record needed to be renewed
just once every 2 years. Thus, making this update
very hard to remember. This is something that the
EC&FS Committee also changed just recently. To
make it easier for the Special Service Clubs to
remember when they need to renew, the renewal
date will now be on January 01 of each year
beginning on January 01, 2024 and will need to be
renewed every year on January 1st. Now, if things go
as planned, (keep your fingers crossed) there will be
new forms to use that will make renewing a breeze.
Oh, here’s one other stat that you need to know
about that SSC listing, 22 of those 97 are in the
Great Lakes Division. Yes, the Great Lakes Division
has over 22% of all the SSCs in the country! How’s
about making that number grow simply by renewing
your club’s SSC today!
Shifting gears again... QST’s newest column, "Club
Station," is a space for clubs to share their practical
ideas about what has helped lead them to their
success. If your club has developed a creative way to
get around common challenges, the ARRL wants to
hear from you! They have published author
guidelines that are geared toward "Club Station."
Want more information on how to submit an article?
Go to:
https://www.arrl.org/qst-club-station-guidelines-
and-profile-form All clubs are welcome to
participate. Also, have you noticed in the ARRL ARES
E-Newsletter that they are now publishing news
from many of the Section Emergency Coordinators
from around the country? Got an interesting ARES
news story? Send it to: Rick Palm, K1CE at
k1ce@arrl.net
OK, shifting down to come into the pit... Don’t forget
the ARRL Sweepstakes (CW and Phone) as well as
the ARRL EME contest. All of these are really great
fun to do. Oh, I should mention that there are a few
more contests as well but there’s just too many to
mention here, so here’s the link to see them all...
https://www.contestcalendar.com/
I hope that you can see that we ARE moving in a
positive direction!
Yes, sometimes it takes longer than any of us would
like, but we are listening to you and are working
very hard every day to try to make things better for
YOU, the member!
Okay, that is going to do it from here this month.
Stay safe and "Catch Me On The Air, at a meeting or
hamfest!!!" But most of all... Have FUN!!!!
73,
Scott, N8SY
Vice Director
Great Lakes Division
n8sy@arrl.org
HAMFEST LISTING:
Here is the current listing of Great Lakes Division
ARRL Sanctioned hamfests through the end of 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 January 2023:
Please note there are no ARRL Sanctioned Hamfests
in the Great Lakes Division scheduled for November.
12/03/22 - Fulton County Winterfest, Archbold, OH
12/04/22 - Lanse Creuse, Troy, MI
01/15/23 - SCARF Hamfest, Shade, OH
01/22/23 - Hazel Park Hamfest, Royal Oak, MI
Just a brief final, 10 meters has been hopping the
past few days, timing it right opens it up locally and
also world-wide. Nice to see the band so active
again. Hope to catch you there (while you are also
recruiting for ARRL).