Greetings everyone, welcome to "Dale's Tales"
for July 2017.
I have always felt that radio clubs are the life blood of
Amateur Radio. They are the
go-to resource for getting started in the hobby. They are the go-to resource for help with
antennas. They are the go-to resource
for help with rig problems. They are the go-to resource for learning how to be
a good operator and for absolutely everything one needs to be a ham. Triggered by Tom Delaney's reference to clubs
that follows in his commentary, I did some research to see how the Great Lakes
Division was doing in its efforts to generate more interest in ARRL Affiliation
for our local radio clubs. I find that
in the past 12 months, we have had more 8 radio clubs join the ranks of ARRL
Affiliation. Congratulations to
all. 
For the clubs themselves, affiliation with ARRL offers
some nice benefits:
Referrals of new area hams as potential club members, Mailing Lists for
special mailings and advertising hamfests, Club Commission program for
recruiting new ARRL members, Club Liability insurance, Ham Equipment insurance,
assistance with filing for club Licenses, Club E-mail forwarding service as
well as a number of others free services to clubs. And, importantly, the cost to a club for ARRL
Affiliation is only the time you take to complete the on-line
application. ARRL is also a frequent contributor of prizes for our Affiliated
Club's hamfests. If your club is not
already affiliated, please consider it.
By the way, if YOU personally are not affiliated, not an
ARRL member, please consider joining.
Your benefits are great as well: our journal QST, Members-only Web
Services (this include Digital QST, Access to the QST Archives, free
e-newsletters, Product Review Archives, E-Mail forwarding Service and the ARRL
Member Directory). Plus members have
access to the Technical Information Service, Member Discounts, Ham Radio
Insurance Plans, ARRL Visa Signature Card, Outgoing QSL Service, Operating
Awards, to name a few. Plus your
continued support advocates for Amateur Radio locally, nationally and
world-wide. Thanks.
TOM'S COMMENTS:
Comments from our Vice Director Tom Delaney W8WTD
June's big event is always Field Day. Hope you had fun! The essence of Field Day is working
together. Yes, there are lots of other
great things that happen on Field Day, but the teamwork and cooperation are the
best. You didn't get your start in ham
radio without someone telling you about it, or showing you how it works. Now that may not have happened at Field Day,
but it often is a good starting point.
Some people get their licenses by going it alone, working the books
exclusively. Many, though, find that
classes, or at the very least, an understanding ham who is willing to explain
the harder parts, make passing that test an easier task.
Some people who get their license on their own don't know
what to do next, and don't know who to turn to.
Those who worked with a club may find someone who will show them how to
get a station set up.
And operating? A
few people at Field Day like to be by themselves. But often, logging for someone, or having
someone log for you while you make contacts, is an enjoyable experience. In between contacts you talk about band
conditions, antennas, stations you've worked... and you learn something, both
about ham radio and also about that other individual.
Young people are particularly enthusiastic about Field
Day. The thrill of making more contacts
in an hour than they've (probably) made in a month really gets to them. And they learn about propagation, antennas,
and all sorts of other stuff.
So Field Day is a good measure of what it means to be a
ham. Not everyone wants to go outside in
less than ideal conditions and struggle over putting an antenna up where it
doesn't want to go. But whatever you did
on Field Day, or in Field Days past, you probably learned something else about
ham radio, and maybe even passed along some of the things you learned.
Field Day comes along once a year. But the teamwork can persist into the next
club meeting, the next class, or the next opportunity to help a new ham. Take what you've learned, and pass it on.
73, Tom W8WTD Vice Director, Great Lakes Division
GREAT LAKES HAMCON.
Announcing Carole Perry WB2MGP will be hosting her well received Youth
Forum at HamCon. In addition we have scheduled forums for DX, Fox hunting -
complete with a fox hunt, QRP Operating, Radio Propagation, Kit Building
Techniques for Success, a One-Day Tech Class with FCC License Testing and the
ARRL Members' Forum. The Ohio Section
will also host a special ceremony for new inductees into the Royal Order of the
Wouff Hong and the Toledo Mobile Radio Assn. will hold a presentation on their
recent activations of Museum Ships.
As we get closer to the fall, your Section Manager's
bulletins will carry more complete information as well as what appears in
Dale's Tales.
HamCon Tickets are
now on sale along with camping reservations.
Check the web pages at http://glhamcon.org/.
HAMFESTING: 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 Division. I do encourage each Hamfest Chair to register
early for ARRL Sanctioning. Be sure to
invite your ARRL Officials as soon as your date is set.
Jul 8 - GARS
Hamfest - Germantown, OH
Jul 9 - 20/9
Tailgate - Austintown, OH
Jul 15 - NARS Fest - Elyria, OH
Jul 16 - Van Wert Hamfest - Van Wert, OH
Jul 22 -
Harrison Hamfest - Harrison, MI
Jul 22 - GMARC Tailgate - Shelby Twp, MI
Jul 22
- Big Sandy Hamfest - Louisa, KY
Jul 29 - CMARC Outdoor Hamfest - Lansing, MI
Jul 30 - Portage Hamfest - Ravenna, OH
Aug
5 - Columbus Hamfest - Columbus, OH
Aug
5 - UP hamfest - Escanaba, MI
Aug 12 - Central KY - Lawrenceburg, KY
Aug
12 - Midland Hamfest - Midland, MI
Aug 13 - Seaway Trunk Swap - Port Huron, MI
Aug 19 - Thunder Bay ARC Swap - Alpena, MI
Aug 20 - Warren Tailgate Swap -
Cortland, OH
Aug 27 - Cuyahoga Falls Tailgate Swap - Stow, OH
Be sure to check your Section's news pages for the latest
local happenings, club and net information.
73, Let's be radio-active as we celebrate Independence
Day in the USA!
Dale Williams WA8EFK
Director
Great Lakes Division
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ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: Dale R Williams, WA8EFK
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