ARRL Club News for November 15, 2022

[ARRL Web site]

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ARRL Club News

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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November 15, 2022

Editor: Michael Walters, W8ZY <cl...@arrl.org>

IN THIS ISSUE

- San Angelo Amateur Radio Club Celebrates 100 Years
- Northwoods Gravel Grind Bicycle Race
- Fair Lawn ARC Visits W1AW
- Special Event for USAF 75th Birthday
- Run Against Hunger 2022
- Call For Instructors
- Club Station Update
- Submitting Info for this Newsletter
- How to Plan and Apply for an ARRL Hamfest or Convention
- Important Links

==> SAN ANGELO AMATEUR RADIO CLUB CELEBRATES 100 YEARS

The San Angelo Amateur Radio Club <https://www.w5qx.org/> (SAARC),
based in San Angelo, Texas, celebrated their 100th anniversary on
October 15, 2022. The club has engaged in a century of community
service; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
education; emergency preparedness, and disaster response.

Founded in 1922, SAARC held their first meeting on June 14 of that
year, and membership today has grown to 40 members. The celebration
took place at their clubhouse, and included a tailgate swap meet that
began at 9 AM, amateur radio operators working to make contacts with
100 stations, and the Boy Scouts Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA).

The club call sign, W5QX, honors Carl Brinegar, who originally held the
call sign 5QX before the "W" prefix was added. He was one of the
earliest members of SAARC.

SAARC is currently working in partnership with Angelo State
University's Mayer Museum
<https://www.angelo.edu/community/mayer-museum/>, located on the campus
of Angelo State University, to create an exhibit that will tell the
story of local radio pioneers. Topics will include amateur radio
operators, retail radio businesses, public safety radio innovators, and
broadcast radio stations that formed in the Concho Valley area in the
1920s and 1930s.

Club member Mike Dominy, KD5URW, said SAARC is the only club within a
70-mile radius of San Angelo, Texas. "Our club and Amateur Radio
Emergency Service volunteers cover 14,000 square miles with a
population of 165,000," Dominy said. "With cell phone coverage only
along major roads and highways, amateur radio is the only communication
during storms and tornadoes."

Dominy added that there are only 381 licensed amateur radio operators
in the area, and the club is working on grants to add and upgrade
repeaters under a 5-year plan.

SAARC is an ARRL Affiliated Club.

==> NORTHWOODS GRAVEL GRIND BICYCLE RACE

By Phil Duggan, N1EP

On September 10, nearly 200 riders entered the seventh annual
Northwoods Gravel Grind in the Rangeley area of Maine, which
encompassed parts of Franklin and Somerset counties. The course
included 35-, 50-, and 68-mile loops.

The riders were not out there in the northwoods alone. Besides deer,
moose, and bear, there were about 15 amateur radio operators assigned
to various locations and in sweep vehicles throughout the course.
Franklin County ARES and friends made sure important safety and
logistical information was relayed to net control, and they did this by
2-meter simplex!

Many of the hams were using their mobile radios in vehicles with
mag-mount antennas or similar aerials. Several hams set up external
J-pole or high-gain antennas 20 feet or higher at key locations, and
they were invaluable in relaying communications if net control (Randy
Gauvin, KB1RDG, and Ruth Gauvin, KB1SBZ) couldn't hear a mobile or
portable station.

I had the privilege of helping. It was enjoyable to be out in the woods
listening to the call of the loons, as I was assigned to Loon Lake
Road, right next to Loon Lake. Franklin County ARES Emergency
Coordinator Russ Norris, KA1FKC, stopped by and chatted with me for a
while. Have you ever seen his vehicle? There is no doubt he is a ham
radio operator! And I absolutely loved his pooch, Mabel, who wore a
fancy harness labeled ARES.

Many times throughout the race, riders would thank me for being there,
and I am sure the other hams got this feedback as well. Public service
events such as this promote our hobby in a positive way. They also help
us hone our emergency communications skills. If you have never
volunteered to help in such events, you should consider doing so. It's
rewarding and fun. You can contact me at n1...@arrl.org or ARRL New
England Division Assistant Director for Emergency Communications and
Public Service Cory Golob, KU1U, at ku...@nediv.arrl.org, and we can
share when public service events need hams.

Hams that participated in this year's event included KA1FKC, KB1RDG,
KB1SBZ, AA1XD, WA1KLI, N1TCJ, KB1YES, NT1N, KC1LGJ, KC1ROC, N1EP,
KC1RID, K1OK, K1NEO, and N1TCJ.

==> FAIR LAWN ARC VISITS W1AW

Members of the Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club (FLARC), W2NPT, in Fair
Lawn, New Jersey, visited ARRL Headquarters on October 13. This visit
allowed FLARC members to see headquarters, visit the ARRL store, and
meet some of the staff. The members then moved to W1AW, the Hiram Percy
Maxim Memorial Station, for a tour and to operate. After a brief
orientation by station volunteers, the members discovered what it's
like to be on the other end of a W1AW pileup.

==> SPECIAL EVENT FOR USAF 75TH BIRTHDAY

Rick Rogers, K7RCR

On September 17, members of the Green Valley Amateur Radio Club (GVARC)
in Arizona activated a special event station to celebrate the 75th
birthday of the US Air Force (USAF). The event was held at the Titan
Missile National Historic Landmark operated by the Arizona Aerospace
Foundation as the Titan Missile Museum in Sahuarita. The Collins

discage antenna, which was used by Titan missile launch crews when
the site was on alert, was used by the club to make 152 contacts in 24
states. The antenna would have been used to send and receive messages
from the national military command authorities during alerts and was
just one of several communications systems on the site. The antenna is
still functioning, with virtually no maintenance performed since 1982,
when the site went off alert. A cable runs from the base of the antenna
to the parking lot, allowing amateur radio operators use of the antenna
while the museum is open. The cable was installed by GVARC with the
cooperation of the museum.

==> RUN AGAINST HUNGER 2022

Malcolm Pritchard, NM9J

The 42nd Annual Harry Chapin Memorial Run/Walk Against Hunger took
place on Sunday, October 16. This was the eighth time that the
Peekskill/Cortlandt Amateur Radio Association (PCARA) has been asked to
provide communications support for the event. The first Run Against
Hunger event was organized to commemorate singer/songwriter Harry
Chapin, who died in a car accident in July 1981. In addition to music,
Chapin dedicated his life to the cause of ending world hunger. This
inspired citizens in Croton-on-Hudson in New York to create an annual
race in his name to raise funds to fight hunger and provide food to
those in need. Greg Appleyard, KB2CQE, and Westchester Emergency
Communications Association (WECA) Public Service Director Kathleen
O'Keefe, KC2VCT, had been contacted in July by race Directors Mike
Grayeb and Jud Ramaker regarding participation from PCARA and WECA.
There were live races on October 16, as well as a virtual event during
the preceding week. Greg was especially keen to encourage PCARA
participation in the 2022 event, and made mention in the September and
October issues of the PCARA Update newsletters, with a suggestion that
participants might meet up for lunch afterward.

The morning of Sunday, October 16, was bright and sunny, with a
temperature of 47°F. The forecast showed rising temperatures and
continuing sunshine -- perfect weather for admiring the fall foliage
and racing around Croton-on-Hudson. Greg paid an early-morning visit to
the Westchester County RACES emergency vehicle, which was set up by
WECA's Alan Crosswell, N2YGK, in its usual spot at Croton-Harmon High
School. Greg supplied run maps, plus a station list, and was on the air
for a while as net control. Kathleen was also at the high school,
providing members of the public with amateur radio information. Later,
she filled the role of the organizers' shadow.

Final thoughts

The event went quite smoothly. The only unmanned post was in the early
morning at the 5K run's stop #3. There might not have been quite so
many runners as in pre-COVID events, but they completed the course
without incident. Communication with net control using WECA's 147.060
repeater was dependable and uninterrupted this time. David Wright,
K2WPM, offered the following memory of the event: "I was at Croton Dam
East [with a] J pole on a tripod and handheld transceivers. [The] solar
panel and antenna drew dozens of inquiries about ham radio. I should
have thought to bring some ham radio brochures!"

==> CALL FOR INSTRUCTORS

ARRL is embarking on a journey of training for club officers and
members. The new club development webinar series will include live Q&A,
and the live sessions will be available to everyone. The webinars will
be recorded and available to ARRL members through the ARRL Learning
Center. We're looking for ARRL members to help us produce, create, and
deliver the webinars.

The purpose of this program is to offer a series of short webinars that
offer training for the skills needed to build and run a successful
club. Topics will include leadership, activities, finance, and
recruiting. Envisioned is a series of 10 or more webinars, all lasting
from 20 to 30 minutes.

The hope is that club officers and members will view the series as an
opportunity to learn from others that have been able to put those
skills to use. To do this, we need the help of membership. We're
looking for instructors to help with building the training. We're also
looking for members that can present in a standard format and have the
skills necessary to do the training. If this sounds like something that
you are interested in, please contact Mike Walters, W8ZY, at
mwal...@arrl.org for further details. We hope to start this series in
late January 2023.

==> CLUB STATION UPDATE

"Club Station," QST's newest column, continues to grow. In the coming
months, clubs from around the country will share stories about their
activities and programs, such as one Florida club's Field Day operation
that included a CW station operated by two blind hams, and an Ohio club
offering advice and recommendations on how to successfully put together
a club newsletter, among others.

"Club Station" is intended to show the successes and contributions of
clubs by highlighting how they're overcoming the challenges of an
ever-changing world to thrive, in an effort to help other clubs do the
same. All clubs are invited to submit their story. The details on how
and where to submit are located on the Affiliated Club Resources
<http://www.arrl.org/affiliated-club-resources> web page, under Club
Station Author's Guide and Form. You do not have to be a professional
writer to submit your club's story, and QST editors will be happy to
work with you. We look forward to hearing from your club!

==> SUBMITTING INFO FOR THIS NEWSLETTER

ARRL Club News is for radio clubs to show how they are working in the
community and the hobby to advance amateur radio. If your club
completes a project, supports an event, does an EmComm activation, or
activates a park, we want to hear about it. You can submit your
newsletter article to us at cl...@arrl.org. We like to get them as text
or Word files instead of PDFs. If you have pictures, please submit them
with caption information, as well as the name and call sign of the
photographer. We want to highlight the good work being done by the
clubs and show others in the community. Think of this as a chance to
show off your club and your programs.

==> HOW TO PLAN AND APPLY FOR AN ARRL HAMFEST OR CONVENTION

If your amateur radio club is planning to host a convention, hamfest,
tailgate, or swapfest, please consider applying for it to be an
ARRL-sanctioned event. To learn what it means to be an ARRL-sanctioned
event, and to get some ideas on how to prepare for and conduct a
hamfest or convention, visit www.arrl.org/arrl-sanctioned-events
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-sanctioned-events>.

To have your event sanctioned, complete the online application at
www.arrl.org/hamfest-convention-application
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfest-convention-application>.

The ARRL Hamfests and Conventions Calendar can be found online at
www.arrl.org/hamfests <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>. In addition, the
Convention and Hamfest Calendar that runs in QST each month also
presents information about upcoming events.

==> IMPORTANT LINKS

ARRL Home: www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/>

Find an ARRL Affiliated Club: www.arrl.org/clubs
<http://www.arrl.org/clubs>

Find your ARRL Section: www.arrl.org/sections
<http://www.arrl.org/sections>

Find a license class in your area: www.arrl.org/class
<http://www.arrl.org/class>

Find a license exam in your area: www.arrl.org/exam
<http://www.arrl.org/exam>

Find a hamfest or convention: www.arrl.org/hamfests
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>

Email ARRL Clubs: cl...@arrl.org

ARRL Club News is published every month (12 times each year). ARRL
members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member
Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/club-news.

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