Greetings everyone, welcome to "Dale's Tales"
for October, 2016.
WELL, FALL PLINKED in on us this week and I am reminded
that all of my spring and summer antenna projects are still far from
completion.
Yeah, I know the best working antennas seem to be the
ones installed temporarily during a winter ice storm, but this is just some
maintenance work and now it means working in the wind with cold
fingers. So much
for good planning, I guess getting in some good operating time took precedence. Most certainly, the bands, both HF and VHF
have not been showing the best propagation conditions, but the contacts are
there to be made. I have heard a few
operators comment that they wondered if their antennas were connected. Still, there have been some outstanding moments and we all hope they
become more frequent as our weather grows colder. Some of my best contacts have been made when
I though the band was dead. With all the
ups and downs in propagation, I have been following Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA's
writings on the subject. You may want to
look at his web pages http://k9la.us. Every article really piques my interest and
of course, each reminds me that I need to get on with those antenna projects!
AS OF THIS WRITING, we ARRL Members across the country
have provided our Senators in Washington with 58,898 letters supporting the
Amateur Radio Parity Act. That includes
2228 letters from those of us in the Great Lakes Division. Thanks to you all for the outstanding job of
supporting this legislation. The Senate
will be in recess until after the election and our Washington Legislative
Action Team will continue its effort to secure passage during and after the
Senate's down-time.
You can find the latest information at
THE SUMMER COMMUNITY SERVICE programs wind down a little
at this time of year, but many ARES groups and clubs are active around
Halloween to assist in insuring the safety of youngsters while they are out for
Trick-or-Treat. Over the years of doing
this, we've noticed the increase of cellphone equipped parents traveling with
the kids, but still it is neat to hear the frequent "Thanks for being
there" spoken to us while on patrol.
It is a good service to be coordinated with your local police agency to
insure a good flow of communications and well defined responsibilities.
TOM'S COMMENTS:
Comments from our Vice Director Tom Delany W8WTD
The big news right now is the Amateur Radio Parity Act,
which Dale has written about. I'll just
add my voice to his, and remind you to contact your Senators.
There were a number of hamfests that I attended this past
month, and it was good to see and talk to
So let us hear
from you!
Hamfests are also great places to meet other people with
similar interests. But you have to look
for them. Sometimes we at the Division
or Section level can make introductions, so stop by. If you're looking for someone else who shares
your interest in a particular aspect of the hobby, maybe we can tell you who
else is around that day that you can swap stories with, or increase your
knowledge by learning about what they are doing in their county or area. Bargains are not the only things to look for
at a hamfest.
There's still some time left to make contacts in National
Parks on the Air. The interest level has
been high, so let's finish out the year strong.
73, Tom W8WTD Vice Director, Great Lakes Division
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 ARRL 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. Tom and I are
already committed for several dates in 2017.
Oct 1 - Vette City
- Bowling Green, KY
Oct 8 - Thunder
Bay - Alpena, MI
Oct 15 - Muskegon Color Tour - Muskegon, MI
Oct 16 -
Conneaut Hamfest - Conneaut, OH
Oct 16 - Kalamazoo Hamfest - Kalamazoo, MI
Oct
23 - Massilon Hamfest, Massilon, OH
Oct 29 - Hazard Hamfest - Hazard, KY
Oct 30
- USECA Swap - Madison Heights, MI
Nov 5
- Grant ARC Hamfest - Georgetown, OH
Dec 4 - Lanse Creuse Hamfest - Harrison Twp, MI
Be sure to check your Section's news pages for the latest
local happenings, club and net information.
73, See you on the bands,
Dale Williams WA8EFK
Director
Great Lakes Division
eof
