Greetings, welcome to "Dale's Tales" for September, 2023.
I think we all can agree that the weather for 2023 has been literally unbelievable. All three Sections of the Great Lakes Division, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio have faced flooding, tornadoes, ice storms, severe heat, drought almost without precedent. Reports of Amateur Radio support for local Emergency Management, the National Weather Service, Red Cross, Salvation Army and a host of other Non-government agencies have been very favorable. We have faced disaster after disaster in the past year and are meeting these challenges.
A lot of thanks goes out to ARES and NTS teams for providing needed communications during these events and in the interim, taking the necessary time to train and learn about how our served agency partners operate and what their communications needs really are.
Jumping into the fray with a radio on your hip just does not cut it anymore, (if it ever did). More and more we find ourselves using the standardized forms the agencies are using, and insuring consistent and reliable message delivery.
Speaking of message delivery, the recent surveys
conducted by the NTS Review Sub-committee from the ARRL, reveal that the most
significant problem in the entire National Traffic System (NTS) still remain
the final delivery of the message. Often
the recipient's phone number is invalid, but somehow it seems that the
delivering station just drops the ball and there it lies. Could it be because the message seems too
innocuous or unimportant? That is not
our call, it could be the first time the parties have communicated in years and
we are part of it.
While the message delivery failure does not happen often,
we should strive for 100% delivery.
Those goals have been set, let's meet them.
We can and should be the folks that set the example of how messaging should be done. My sincere thanks go out to all the hard working folks who dedicate so much of their time to traffic handling.
But let's not have the kudos stop here. There are many more people who deserve thanks for their often unsung efforts. The operators, the technologists, the DXers, the Contesters and the rag chewers immediately come to mind. The Contesters and DXers put our equipment to the real test, pushing the envelope, working through QRM and QRN and showing us all how to improve on these skills. And the people on the technical and development side are likewise giving us new modes and equipment based upon the experience of those operating under critical conditions. Let's not forget the goodwill efforts of many DXpeditioners who demonstrate ham radio to many areas of the globe, help them form new amateur radio clubs and even provide them with their first equipment from the DXpedition. Even the casual operators, the rag chewers, play an important part in keeping ham radio viable as an important community resource.
One has to feel proud and honored just to be even a small part of this wonderful adventure called Amateur Radio.
On a very personal note, Judy and I were very surprised
and pleased at all the well wishes that arrived following her July 7 shoulder
injury.
It all has been truly appreciated. She is progressing, never as fast as one would like, but the PT program is really helping. Thanks everyone for your kind words.
SCOTT'S STUFF: Comments from your ARRL Vice-Director Scott, N8SY. - September Edition
Have we had a wild August or what!!!... All the rain, tornadoes and humidity have made this August one for the books for sure.
Hey, are you ready for some football??? September brings a plethora of football games back. High School (my favorite), college and of course pro. The match ups this year in all 3 categories look like it will be a very good year for "real" football. Hang on to your hats and let’s get rolling. Oh, now is probably a good time to remind everyone to be extra careful when driving and to heed those flashing red lights on those big yellow school buses. Give them plenty of room to get the kids on and off, as well as crossing the streets.
Shifting Gears...
I want to give a big shout-out to Roy Hook, W8REH.
He was declared elected without opposition and is your Great Lakes Division Vice Director Elect!! Congratulations Roy!! I know that you’ll do a great job for the Division.
Shifting gears again... August and September are always really busy months for me. I’ve been having a blast attending hamfests, club meetings and even one Amateur Radio Mobile Cruise-In Night! I even got an authentic A&W Root Beer Float there!! Wow, I haven’t had one of those in years. It’s been really great getting back out after all the hubbub of COVID to shake hands, meet up with old friends and make new ones, but most of all just being able to sit and listen to you! My notebook has pages and pages of your thoughts and ideas and they will be shared with the various committees as they meet. Thank you for sharing and for being an ARRL member!
Shifting gears again... There’s a new ARRL video that helps members navigate our digital magazines. This video is helping our members get more out of their digital magazine experience. ARRL members all have digital access to four high quality magazines: QST, On The Air, QEX, and NCJ. If you have questions or concerns about how to get the most out of the digital editions, this new video on the ARRLHQ YouTube channel will help walk you through it.
The video, hosted by Jherica Goodgame, KI5HTA, explores many features including switching between magazines, saving to PDF, searching for content, bookmarks, and zooming in to content. It covers the web browser version, as well as the Android and iOS applications.
If you download the ARRL Magazines app for Android or iOS, ARRL will send a notification to your device when a new edition is available for reading. The video may be viewed at the following link:https://youtu.be/vmZflC2IUIs
Shifting gears again...
Is your ARES group getting ready for S.E.T.?
The Simulated Emergency Test (S.E.T.) is October 7-8 and next to Field Day, one of the busiest times for ham radio! Is your ARES group or club already in the planning stage yet? If not, it should be, like Field Day, S.E.T. demonstrates to our served agencies what amateur radio is really all about, communications.
Shifting gears to come into the pits... Whelp, that’s going to do it from here this month. Stay safe and "Catch Me On The Air" at a hamfest or your next club meeting.
Hey, don’t forget to participate in your local club’s activities!!!!
It’s important to be a part of your club and ham radio, and not just a reporter.
73,
Scott, N8SY@ARRL.ORG
Vice Director
Great Lakes Division
HAMFEST AND EVENT LISTING:
Here is the current listing of Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned hamfests and Special Events through October of 2023.
09/09/23 - Letcher Co KY ARC Hamfest, Whitesburg, KY
09/09/23 - Greater Louisville Hamfest, Shepherdsville, KY
09/09/23 - GRAHamfest, Wyoming, MI
09/10/23 - Findlay Hamfest, Findlay, OH
09/16/23 - Hiawatha ARA Swap, Negaunee, MI
09/16/23 - Richmond Hamfest, Richmond, KY
09/16/23 - GMARC Trunk Swap, Shelby Twp, MI - NS
09/17/23 - Adrian Hamfest, Adrian, MI
09/23/23 - CMARC Hamfest, Okemos, MI
09/23/23 - Gaylord Hamfest, Gaylord, MI
09/23/23 - BARA Trunk Sales, Berrien Center, MI
09/24/23 - Cleveland Hamfest, Berea, OH
09/30/23 - KY4ARC Hamfest, Paintsville, KY
10/07/23 - Central Kentucky, Lexington, KY
10/07/12 - Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, MI
10/14/23 - Muskegon Color Tour, Muskegon, MI
10/28/23 - Hazard, Hazard, KY
10/29/23 - Massillon, North Canton, OH
Please post this listing in your club's newsletter and announce the swaps on your local nets. Talk them up. Let's fully support all of our hamfests in every way possible. It means success for everyone. "NS"
indicates not ARRL Sanctioned, due the annual limit on Sanctions.
Be sure to invite your ARRL Officials as soon as your date is set.
If your ARRL Affiliated club plans to request Hamfest Sanctioning, you should make that request well in advance of the scheduled Hamfest date, as this allows adequate time for QST Listings. QST announcements require a 3 month lead time. To be fair to our Division's clubs, the Great Lakes Division policy is to offer a club ARRL Sanctioning for a limit of two hamfests/swaps in any given calendar year, and they must be four months apart. If your swap is cancelled or the date is going to change, please notify ARRL HQ.
For the latest detail on regional hamfests, check the ARRL web page at:
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar.
73,
Dale Williams WA8EFK
Director
Great Lakes Division
wa8efk@arrl.org
