Dale's Tales for December

Greetings, welcome to "Dale's Tales" for December, 2020.

THE ARRL FOUNDATION, with the generosity of many donors and the hard work of a long line of dedicated Foundation Directors, has had a positive impact on the lives of many young amateur radio operator students since 1973. Being awarded an ARRL Foundation scholarship could mean the difference in whether a student can pursue their education in 2021 or not.

You can check on available scholarships at:
http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-descriptions

And you may use this URL for applications:
http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-application

Since only amateur radio operator students may apply, the chances of being selected for a scholarship are quite good. It would be a shame to miss this opportunity. The ARRL Foundation offers over 100 scholarships and it only takes a simple online application to apply. Please pass this information along to anyone you feel is eligible for this opportunity. It is your chance to have a direct positive impact upon the life of a student.

MY THANKS to you all for supporting me in the recent ARRL Election for Great Lakes Division Director. I am truly honored that I will be able to serve you for another term. As you know, Tom Delaney W8WTD has chosen to retire from his roll our Vice Director. Our new Vice Director will be Scott Yonally N8SY who will take office on January first. Scott currently serves as Ohio Section Manager. A new SM will be selected to fill the remainder of Scott's term. This appointment is made by ARRL President Rick Roderick K5UR, based upon recommendations from yours truly and the ARRL Radiosport and Field Services Manager Bart Jahnke W9JJ. We will be working with Scott and his staff over the next few weeks to complete this process.

OUR EFFORTS to convince the FCC to reconsider their proposed new fee structure for Amateur Radio licensing have been very strong and have included a wide range of opposing arguments. As of today, the FCC has received nearly 4000 responses to the NPRM. Thank you for your efforts.

With the expected changes to the Commission due to the departure of Commissioner O'Reilly and Chairman Pai, the FCC will not be expected to offer any major decisions through the remainder of this year.

TOM'S TOME: Comments from your ARRL Vice Director Tom W8WTD.

My last column in this space. It’s been amazing over the past few years, to hear from so many people who have read something here and made comments, in person or by email. Thank you for reading.

It has been my privilege to serve as a representative for the Division with the ARRL. I’ve enjoyed helping Dale in all the business of the League, and it’s been especially rewarding to be able to talk to so many hams throughout the three states, getting your perspective on important matters, and being able to help you understand the ARRL’s position on the many things that affect ham radio.

Congratulations to Scott, N8SY, who will take over as Vice Director. I’m sure he will do a great job.

As for me, I’m just stepping back from some of the direct involvement with ARRL. I remain a strong supporter of the League, and still want to do whatever I can to further ham radio, especially getting newer, younger members interested. I miss seeing so many of you, and hope that we can safely go back to hamfests and meetings sometime in the coming year.

--73, Tom W8WTD Vice Director, Great Lakes Division

HAMFESTING: This is a continuing struggle for most hamfest sponsors, both in terms of meeting community safety requirements and those imposed by the host venue. If your swap is cancelled or the date is going to change, please notify ARRL HQ. We work together with the HQ staff to verify all new date selections in the hope of mitigating date conflicts.

Here is the current listing of Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned hamfests for early 2021. 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.

On the ARRL Sanctioned Hamfest calendar:

03/06/2021 - Cave City Hamfest, Cave City, KY
03/07/2021 - WINTERHAMFEST, Elyria, OH

For the latest detail on regional hamfests, check the ARRL web page at:
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar.

If you plan to request ARRL Hamfest Sanctioning, please do so well in advance of your Hamfest date, as this allows adequate time for QST Listings. QST announcements require a 3 month lead time.

Be sure to invite your ARRL Officials as soon as your date is set. Things do require some advanced planning, especially under the current travel restrictions.

It should be noted that there has been a change in the way ARRL contributes to your ARRL sanctioned hamfest efforts. Please carefully read the e-mail from ARRL Headquarters confirming your sanctioning as IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT DETAILS REGARDING PRIZES.


73, Stay safe.

Ham it up!

Dale Williams WA8EFK
Director
Great Lakes Division
wa8efk@arrl.org

Dale's Tales for November

 Greetings, welcome to "Dale's Tales" for November, 2020.

MY THANKS to everyone who responded to the plea a few weeks ago to protest the re-imposition of fees for Amateur Radio Licenses.  The plea continues, as the NPRM Comment Period is still open for a few more days.

While the $50 fee can be amortized over 10 years, how many youngsters can be expected to do that?  How many adults do that?

ARRL's Legal Counsel has advised us that the FCC does have some options as they relate to the Congressional Mandate to recover costs through the imposition of fees.

The opportunity exists for you to let the FCC know your opinion on thematter.  For step-by-step instructions on the filing process, see:  http://www.arrl.org/FCC-Fees-Proposal  From there, select: "ARRL's Guide to Filing Comments with the FCC (PDF version or web version)" for the detailed instructions.

We know that ham radio is quite different from the commercial aspects of many radio services.  Amateur Radio has no profit motivations, and quite to the contrary, we can derive no income from our ham activities.

Certainly, that is one argument against an arbitrarily excessive fee for our licensing.  How many more can you add to that?  Please consider filing a response to the FCC's NPRM.

THANKSGIVING will be different for many families his year.  With notable upswings in COVID-19 infections on the increase, it's going to be tough sharing a turkey via Zoom but we urge erring on the side of caution as our families gather later this month.  Please plan to be safe.  All of our best wishes go out as we celebrate this year.

HALLOWEEN was last evening and many ham radio groups assisted their local communities with patrol efforts to help insure the safety of the youngsters out for Trick or Treat.  Our thanks go to all who participated.  It was truly different this year; many areas did not allow Trick or Treat, while others permitted it with homeowners participating at their own comfort level.  We had reports of several innovative non-contact ideas to deliver the treats, ranging from bags of treats hung out by clothes pins to chutes from second floor windows to drop candy directly into the Halloweeners' bags.  What fun.  Still, many hams safely volunteered their services, keeping watch for the safe passage for children.

TOM'S TOME: Comments from your ARRL Vice Director Tom W8WTD.

To say “what a year it’s been” is hardly a new thought, right?

Still, trying to see where we’ve been and where we might be going with ham radio might be worthwhile.  A lot of things happened that we don’t like, and some may have possibilities for the future.

Dale and I were just talking the other day about how in order to complete some simple bench projects, we actually had to go on the internet and buy new parts, instead of waiting for the next hamfest and finding what we need in the “anything in the box for a buck” from a local ham.  We miss that.  Hope it comes back soon. 

Even though most clubs are still meeting, the informal chats outside the main meeting aren’t happening, since everything is on Zoom.  On the plus side, I’ve been to several club meetings lately where the program portion was really outstanding.  Teleconferencing can bring experts from far away to a local meeting, without the expense or trouble of traveling.  We’re all getting much more comfortable with video.  Even after club meetings in person resume, look for this aspect to continue.

A good presenter has always been a draw for meetings, and the ability to reach out farther will help everyone.  Club officers should be thinking about who can be tapped for programs.  Many presenters are quite willing to share, particularly since they can do it from the comfort of their own homes.

Fall and winter bring contests and final antenna tweaking before the snow flies.  The great outdoors seems a safer place to avoid the virus, and antenna work usually involves some distance between workers.  So we can probably get some of those projects done in the next few weeks. 

Some of the bigger contests happen over the next few months.  Maybe you’re not a big contester, but you could give it a try.  We need to keep using all our bands.  Being on the radio for any purpose is a good thing right now.  The latest solar update indicates some good news that propagation may be on the increase.

On a technical note, some hams are IT professionals, and some are scared of computers.  It’s clear that interconnectivity makes things easier.

Did you see that ARRL has issued some new temporary guidelines for multi-operator stations for the ARRL DX Contest coming up in February and March?  Maybe the IT professionals can help the rest of us figure out how to set up network logging software and use a communications platform to stay in touch, so that more people and clubs will participate in contests like that one.

That’s about it for now.  Remember, talk on the radio!  And stay safe as the holidays approach.

--73, Tom W8WTD Vice Director, Great Lakes Division

HAMFESTING: This is a continuing struggle for most hamfest sponsors, both in terms of meeting community safety requirements and those imposed by the host venue.  If your swap is cancelled or the date is going to change, please notify ARRL HQ.  We work together with the HQ staff to verify all new date selections in the hope of mitigating date conflicts.

Here is the current listing of Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned hamfests remaining through the end of 2020.  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.

Still on the ARRL Sanctioned Hamfest calendar:

11/1/20 Massillon,   Massillon, OH

11/8/20 Livonia Amateur Radio Repeater Group,          Livonia, MI

For the latest detail on cancelled hamfests, check the ARRL web page at:  http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/search/page:5/keywords:Canceled/model:Event

If you plan to request ARRL Hamfest Sanctioning, please do so well in advance of your Hamfest date, as this allows adequate time for QST Listings.  QST announcements require a 3 month lead time.

Be sure to invite your ARRL Officials as soon as your date is set.

Things do require some advanced planning, especially under the current travel restrictions.

It should be noted that there has been a change in the way ARRL contributes to your ARRL sanctioned hamfest efforts.  Please carefully read the e-mail from ARRL Headquarters confirming your sanctioning as IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT DETAILS REGARDING PRIZES.

73, Stay safe.

Ham it up!

Dale Williams WA8EFK  Director - Great Lakes Division 

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ARRL Great Lakes Division

Director: Dale R Williams, WA8EFK

wa8efk@arrl.org

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