Greetings everyone, welcome to "Dale's Tales"
for December 2017.
CLUB Holiday Parties.
Wow, it is that time of year to start all of the celebrations. I see a lot of
PCARS Donation to the Center of Hope. Every year, since
year one of the Portage County (Ohio) Amateur Radio Service's existence, they
have donated to a local charity, the Center of Hope, in Ravenna, OH. The Amelia
DiGirolamo Center of Hope is dedicated to enhancing the nutrition of low-income
people in Portage County where local food pantries are not present.
In 2006, the first year as a club, PCARS donated
approximately $300 to the Center of Hope.
Each year since then, they have donated the club's portion of their
50/50 raffle at the November meeting, plus any other donations they could
collect from members and friends. Annual
contributions have increased in amount almost every year. There are over 100,000 individuals who
receive service through the Center of Hope each year.
With the club's donation of the other half of the 50/50,
and the generous donations made by and collected by their membership, the total
contribution to the Center of Hope for 2017 was $6445.00. When totaled up over the past 12 years,
PCARS' contribution to the Center of Hope currently exceeds $28,950.00! Amateur Radio has certainly had an impact on
their entire community.
As we enter this holiday season, let us all consider
those less fortunate than ourselves and give generously to help those in need.
PCARS sets an outstanding example of what a local club
can do, our hats go off to them for their outstanding community service. I know there are other radio clubs who share
in their generosity. Please stand and be recognized. I will be honored to report your service.
PARITY ACT: A reminder, the Amateur Radio Parity Act
continues as we move into 2018. Our efforts in Washington will press strongly for action in the year remaining for
this session of Congress. While it has
passed the House, it remains blocked in the Senate (Florida Sen. Nelson) and
our advisors on the Washington scene are working on a means to remove the block
and allow it to be passed by the Senate.
Nelson has reportedly heard from a large contingency of his Florida ham
radio constituents requesting his full support for the bill.
TOM'S COMMENTS:
Comments from our Vice Director Tom Delaney W8WTD
Antennas. If you
believe the adage about them working better when the weather is awful, well,
this is not a good time. Too mild. But if you need an antenna, almost anytime is
the best time. A recent windstorm was
not kind to me. My end-fed random-length
wire came down, although it took me a while to realize it. I had made a number of contacts in the ARRL
Sweeps with a drooping, shorter-than-it-was-supposed-to-be antenna. And the
wind finally put enough torque the wrong way on my rotor that now it isn’t
working, either. I took advantage of our
mild days to re-string the wire antenna, but it will take some doing to tilt
over the tower and replace the rotor.
Maybe spring.
And it’s not just my antennas. Soon, I’ll be helping another ham set up some
antennas for a new residence. And last
month, someone else needed some evaluation of their antenna set up.
In some ways, ham radio is an individual thing. It’s the contacts I make, the scores I
get. In other ways, though, it’s a
community thing. We benefit from working
together in clubs towards a common goal.
The advice you can
get at just one meeting can get you inspired for a whole year. And it not only helps to have friends,
sometimes it’s necessary to have friends to help with construction projects
like antennas. The younger among us can
do the heavy work, and sometimes those of us with experience can design
projects that will work best for a particular location.
I’m also continually amazed by the amount of information
that is out there. ARRL has lots of
books on antennas, with great advice for just about any situation. I have to share one little story –I still
have a copy of the 1968 Handbook, because in every other antenna book and
Handbook that I have seen, there has not been the simple dipole chart that I
found there many years ago. The book
falls open to that page, I have used it so many times. As for current publications, if you’re
looking for limited-space antennas, there’s the book Small Antennas for Small
Spaces, or for a comprehensive look at wire antennas, how about Wire Antenna
Classics in any one of three volumes.
So as we go into the holiday season and have our December
parties at the club meetings, remember how important it is to have good
clubs. And pitch in if you’re asked to
help. Maybe you also will need some help
the next time you have an antenna problem.
73, Tom W8WTD Vice Director, Great Lakes Division
STATE CONVENTIONS:
In even numbered years, the Great Lakes Division's three Sections host
their individual State Conventions. If
your local hamfest is interested in serving as the host for your State
Convention in 2018, your club should contact your Section Manager and request
to serve as the sponsor. State
Conventions normally encompass special forums, can request guest forum speakers
from ARRL and often hold recognition Banquets and special programs. Having a convention also
means additional attendance beyond that normally expected
at a regular hamfest.
HAMFESTING: 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. Here is the current Great Lakes Division ARRL
Sanctioned Hamfest Schedule covering the next couple of months. These swaps have received their sanctioning approval
from ARRL HQ at the time of this publication.
12/2/17 Fulton
County Delta, OH
12/3/17 Lanse
Creuse Madison
Heights, MI
1/14/18 SCARF
Hamfest Nelsonville, OH
1/28/18 Hazel
Park Hamfest Madison Heights, MI
1/28/18 Tusco
Hamfest Strasburg, OH
2/03/18 HARA
Hamfest Negaunee, MI
2/10/18 Cherryland
Hamfest Traverse City, MI
2/18/18 InterCity
Hamfest Mansfield, OH
2/18/18 Livonia
Hamfest Livonia, MI
Be sure to check your Section's news pages for the latest
local happenings, club and net information.
From Judy and me, to all our ham radio friends in the
Great Lakes Division, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan, we offer the best wishes in
the coming holiday season.
73,
Dale Williams WA8EFK
Director
Great Lakes Division
