Greetings
everyone, welcome to "Dale's Tales" for May, 2016.
MAY is here and
soon we'll be enjoying the Dayton HamVention®.
ARRL will host the ARRL
EXPO again this year and we will include about
20 exhibit booths. We will also include
booths fromour friends at the Radio Society of Great Britain, the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club, Japan Amateur Radio League, and the Quatar Amateur Radio Society. The League is also presenting a number of forums this year. On Friday, we will host "The ARRL Laboratory- Behind the Scenes", and "Amateur Radio and the Law". Saturday will include "ARRL National Parks on the Air" and the "ARRL Member Forum". Sunday's forums are "Maximizing your ARRL Field Day Effort" and the "Amateur Radio Disaster and Emergency Communications Panel".
As the Great
Lakes Division is the hosting division, I will have the opportunity to moderate
the ARRL Member Forum and have booked the League's "Heavy Hitters" as
guest speakers. We will hear commentary
from ARRL President Rick Roderick K5UR, ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher NY2RF, 1st VP
Greg Widin KØGW, 2nd VP Brian Mileshosky N5ZGT and our International VP Jay
Bellows KØQB. These people are on top of
the latest happenings in our hobby and this is the perfect setting for
everyone's introduction to the League's new leadership team. We will also include a member Question and
Answer Session. Last year's Forum was a
full house, and with our new team in place this year, this is an ideal
opportunity to introduce and discuss new ideas and plans. Every one of our guest speakers will also be
spending time at the ARRL EXPO. Do take to opportunity to stop at the EXPO's
Meet-and-Greet area to say hello.
KUDOS to the
Dial Amateur Radio Club as they celebrate their 75th Anniversary. Based in Middletown, OH, they recently hosted
their Anniversary Party and displayed many interesting memorabilia from the
club's history, including several hundred video slides collected and compiled
for the occasion. Ohio SM Scott N8SY,
Vice Director Tom W8WTD and I were pleased to attend and help the club
celebrate.
TOM'S
COMMENTS: Comments from our Vice
Director Tom Delany W8WTD
April was the
month for club meetings –for me, at least.
More than I usually go to in several months. But a good opportunity to observe the health
of amateur radio around here. These were
very different events, with a variety of topics and attendance. All of the participants were engaged and
interested in whatever aspect of ham radio was being presented.
Two events stand
out. One was a celebration –75 years for
the DIAL radio club of Middletown, Ohio.
There was a proclamation and a visit from the Mayor of Middletown, and
some of us representing the ARRL were there as well. The club is aware of its history. They have a long tradition of education and
helping people once they get licenses.
They do Field Day and other events together. Seems like a strong club. All the best, ladies and gentlemen, and keep
up the good work!
Maybe because
it’s a little more rural, I was surprised by the turnout at the Highland
Amateur Radio Association’s meeting.
People came from several surrounding counties. But then when you look at the effort they put
into education, it’s not so surprising.
In the month or so before the meeting, classes were held, and the week
before the meeting 28 people took tests, some of them for upgrades, and 18 new
people got licenses. Given the level of
involvement during the meeting and afterwards, I’d say that most of those
people will be on the air and quite active in ham radio over the next year.
At two of the
other meetings, there were technical presentations. We can’t all be involved in all aspects of
ham radio, but when people are willing to share new technologies, then we all
find what interests us and what doesn’t.
That’s what keeps us coming to meetings, and gets us on the air in new
modes, or variations of old ones.
If you’re
reading this and you don’t belong to a club, think about joining one. And if you belong already, pitch in, get active,
and meet some of your fellow hams or help someone new in the hobby. With the Dayton Hamvention® coming up, stop
by your club’s table, or go to a forum and learn something new. And while you’re at it, come and meet your
Division and Section leadership teams, and meet some of the new ARRL leaders at
the ARRL Expo. See you there!
73, Tom
W8WTD Vice Director, Great Lakes
Division
AMATEUR RADIO
PARITY ACT: Our Legislative Action Team
is continuing its efforts to achievehttp://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act .
Thanks to so many of the Great lakes Division hams who have sent letters
supporting the legislation. If you have
not done so, you can find a sample on the listed web page. Please be sure to route your letters through
ARRL Headquarters: ARRL, Attn: Amateur Radio Parity Act grassroots campaign, 225
Main St., Newington, CT 06111. Our
Legislative Action Team will hand deliver the letters, thus avoiding delays
caused by the postal inspection system in DC.passage of these bills in the House and Senate. You can find the latest information at
ARRL SANCTIONED
HAMFESTS: Here is the current Great
Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned Hamfest Schedule covering the next few
weeks. These swaps have received their
sanctioning approval from ARRL HQ at the time of this publication. We have approximately 65 hamfests each year
in the Great Lakes Division. I do
encourage each Hamfest Chair to register early for ARRL Sanctioning. It is never too early to register your
hamfest with Headquarters. Be sure to
invite your ARRL Officials as soon as your date is set. Help avoid date conflicts, do it early!
May 7 - Cadillac
- Cadillac, MI
May 14 -
Chassell Hamfest - Chassel, MI
May 20-22 -
Dayton HamVention - Dayton, OH
May 28 - Ashland
- Ashland, KY
June 4 - Fulton
County - Tedrow, OH
June 4 -
Princeton Hamfest - Princeton, KY
June 5 - Portage
Hamfair - Ravenna, OH
June 11 - Luce
County - Newberry, MI
June 18 -
Midland Hamfest - Midland, MI
June 18 -
Milford Hamfest - Milford, OH
June 19 - Monroe
Hamfest - Monroe, MI
73, See you on
the bands.
Dale Williams
WA8EFK
Director
Great Lakes
Division
