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
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: Dale R Williams, WA8EFK
--------------------------------------------------------------------
