Our club needs a new banner, so I’ve come up with the design below. I’m not much of a designer, but I don’t think this is so bad. I’m also happy to get some suggestions. Fire away.
btw, I’m obviously using an unregistered copy of the drawing program I used to created this. It’s a pretty good program, though, and I’ll be purchasing it soon.
I often hear hams lament that their communities show little interest in amateur radio. While this may be true, these hams have to realize that community involvement is a two-way street. To get communities involved in amateur radio, amateur radio needs to be involved with the community.
I’ll give you an example of what I’m talking about. Here in Ann Arbor, MI our amateur radio club worked with the local Red Cross and maintained a station there in the 1980s and early 1990s. For reasons too complicated to get into here, this partnership was severed in the late 1990s.
Even so, we often talked about what we’d have to do to re-establish the mutually beneficial relationship that we once had. Unfortunately, we really didn’t know who to talk to at the Red Cross, and the attempts we made to try to get back in their good graces were fruitless.
That is until I joined the Ann Arbor Rotary Club in March 2006. It just so happened that one of the guys that joined the club at the same time I did was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Red Cross. Not only that, but he was very interested in re-establishing an amateur radio capability at the local chapter.
The result is that our club is now working with them again. We have helped them install their 47 MHz radios at the chapter headquarters and in their emergency response vehicles. Having finished that project, we are now in the process of setting up the amateur radio station. While we may have eventually been successful without the contact I made at the Rotary Club, my guess is that this contact greatly accelerated the effort.
Another example is our work with the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. This is a science museum that gives kids (and adults, too) some real, hands-on experience with science and technology. There are, for example, exhibits that help kids learn about electricity, springs, weather, electricity, and other topics in science and technology.
When the executive director of the museum spoke to our Rotary Club, the thought occurred to me that this would be a great place for an amateur radio station. I met with the director, who is also a Rotary Club member, and he was very enthusiastic about the possibilities. The result is that we are going to be operating a series of special events throughout the fall of this year, with a goal of setting up a permanent station at the museum in 2008.
I’m sure that my involvement with the Rotary Club was a big part of the enthusiastic reception they gave me and amateur radio. Membership in the Rotary Club, and other community service clubs, such as Kiwanis or the Optimists, give one, if not instant credibility, at least some measure of it. So, my advice is that if you want to get your community involved in amateur radio, perhaps you should first get involved with your community, and one way to do that is to join a service club.
Eleven folks attended ARROW’s first one-day Tech class on Saturday, July 28, with seven passing the test. They include:
CONGRATULATIONS!
There was also another gentleman who passed the test, but I couldn’t find his new callsign in the database. It may not have been issued yet as he was reluctant to give his Social Security number to our VEs.
If some of those names sound familiar, it’s because they are. Fern Katz is Ralph Katz’ (KB8ZOY) mother, and Rachel and Naomi are his daughters. Ham radio is a tradition in Ralph’s family. His father was a ham (K8JZT), his wife Deb is a ham (KD8ESJ), his brother Louis is a ham (W0IT), and he has two brothers-in-law (N8DNX and N8ZKF) and a sister-in law (KC8NEW) who are hams.
Lorie Zupan is Jeff’s (W8SGZ) wife.
Unfortunately, four students failed the test, although by the slimmest of margins. One of the attendees missed passing by only one question, another by only two questions. Both have said that they are determined to take the test again and pass next time.
A third student failed by a bit more, but I take the blame for this as I didn’t stress the importance of studying the material before attending the class. Fortunately, he, too, is determined to study and pass the next time. Bruce, KD8APB, one of the instructors, will be holding a review session before the next VE test session to ensure that they pass next time.
Lessons Learned
The students weren’t the only ones that learned something. I certainly learned some things about how to conduct one of these one-day Tech classes.
First of all, I need to stress more clearly the importance of not only reading through the study guide, but also studying it thoroughly. In a one-day class, we really don’t have time to cover material in depth, so it’s important that students come prepared.
It’s also important that the students take the online tests before they show up for class. I point this out in my study guide, but I also need to do that in the class information sheet.
I think we also need to develop some kind of schedule so that we make sure we cover all of the topics. I know that there are some things we didn’t cover, and one of the folks who failed the test missed a question from that section.
THANKS!
First, a big thanks to the instructors—Bruce, KD8APB and Jeff, W8SGZ. Rich, KD6HWF, also helped out after he arrived around noon.
Second, thanks to the Red Cross. I was a little disappointed that only one RC volunteer took our class, but the facilities were first-rate, and they did provide lunch.
I think that despite some of the snags, the class was a success. It was a lot of fun, and now we have seven new Techs and seven new ARROW members. As a result, I think the feeling is not if we’ll hold another one-day class, but when.
Field Day 2007 is tomorrow!
I really love Field Day. It’s like the perfect amateur radio event. You do, however, have to prepare for it. I actually work on it all year ’round, mostly finding and recruiting CW ops for the station I captain.
The week before the event, I start getting the equipment ready. I take antennas, radios, power supplies, etc. My philosophy is to take anything that might be useful. If it actually does get used, great. If not, well, that’s OK, too.
One thing that I think I’m going to bring this year is a first aid kit. Fortunately, we’ve never needed one, but you never know. Again, it’s better to have it and not use it than to need it and not have one handy.
Finally, take (and use) sun screen! You don’t want to get burnt.
Also arriving in yesterday’s mail was an attractive certificate from the Washington State Salmon Run, a contest sponsored by the Western Washington DX Club. It seems as though I finished second in Michigan in the low-power, CW category. I don’t recall making all that many contacts, so I was probably second out of two. :) I checked the contest website, but they haven’t yet posted the final results.
UPDATE 4/16/07: In today’s mail, I got yet another certificate. This one for placing first in Michigan in the single-operator, low power category of the 2007 Virginia QSO Party. I did this one all on 80m CW. Thanks, guys!
I worked a guy down in GA a couple days ago, and we got to talking about a bunch of different things. It was such a good QSO that he asked me to e-mail him so that we could continue the discussion.
Well, as it turns out, one of his hot buttons was the Amateur Extra license class. His contention is that it’s not really that “extra” anymore, and that he wanted the FCC to create a new class of license whose requirements would include a 25 wpm CW test and a “really hard” written examination.
I replied that it probably would be next to impossible to have volunteer examiners administer such a test. My thought is that if we really want to recognize someone’s technical or operating skills, we should perhaps put more emphasis on programs such as the A-1 Operator’s Club and the various technical awards.
Then, it hit me that our club should have such a program, and I ripped off an e-mail to our Board of Directors. In the e-mail, I proposed the following awards:
How does this sound to you? Do you have any suggestions for other awards that we should give?
Also, does your club have an awards program? If so, what kinds of awards do they give out? How often do they give them out? What are the criteria?
Last February, I gave a talk to our club about the basics of operating CW. I thought I’d already posted the slides I used , but I guess not. At any rate, here are the slides I used for the talk. Feel free to use them to give a talk at your club and to modify them as you see fit.
===========================
CW is Fun!
Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, February 8, 2006
Getting Started – Learning the Code
Getting Started – Choosing a Key
Making Contacts – A Basic QSO
KB6NU DE W8JNZ R TNX FER RPT–UR RST 599 599–NAME IS CLAY CLAY–QTH DIXBORO, MI DIXBORO, MI–HW NW? KB6NU DE W8JNZ K
Making Contacts – Using Abbreviations
Making Contacts – Q Signals
Making Contacts -Prosigns
Getting Faster
I’ve gotten several e-mails responding to my Op-Ed piece in the September complaining about the clubs in their area. The correspondents have tried attending local club meetings only to get the cold shoulder. This is sad, but it’s the way things go sometimes.
I am encouraging these people to start their own clubs. I know this sounds easier than it is, but folks do it all the time. You might even be able to recruit hams in your area that for one reason or another do not care to belong to the club that already exists.
One idea would be to form this club in conjunction with an organization that could use the services that an amateur radio club could provide. These include:
There are several advantages to working with one of these groups:
The ARRL website has many pages devoted to helping you set up a club and run it properly. Here are a couple to get you started:
Also, most ARRL sections have an Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC). It’s the ACC’s job to help existing clubs thrive and hams in their sections start new clubs. They are listed on the section webpage. To find out what section you’re in, go to the ARRL Sections page.
That’s it! If you do decide to start up a club, let me know how it goes.
QST finally published my op-ed piece “No Ham Left Behind” in the September issue. I’ve already gotten several e-mail comments. A couple of them have mentioned restrictive homeowner’s agreements as a factor in ham inactivity. While I don’t mean to minimize the problem of restrictive covenants, there are ways to get around them.
First and foremost, don’t move into such a development! I had one guy e-mail me saying, “I know I chose to move here, but….” Well, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. I do realize that this could be a big impediment for youngsters who don’t have the option of moving, but adults have no excuse.
Second, there are a variety of stealth antennas that amateurs can build and use effectively. We had a great presentation at our club from a member who’d moved into a condo and experimented with a variety of antennas that he could put in his attic. He’s now happily working 80-10 with the results of his experiments.
Third, clubs should work to establish club stations. These could be located at a local community college, community recreation center, Red Cross chapter, or Salvation Army facility. Certainly, in the case of the Red Cross or Salvation Army it’s a win-win situation. The club gets a club station that can be used by the members and the agency gets amateur radio capabilities. Our club right now is working with the local Red Cross to set up an amateur radio station in their new facility.
I’m sure there are other innovative ways to get around this problem. If you know of one, please let me know.
Norm Fusaro, W3IZ sent this to the club president’s mailing list about six months ago. I thought you’d find it useful….Dan
Resources for clubs
Multi-Media Library
The multi-media library has videos and programs that clubs can use for meeting programs. Many new PowerPoint programs are free to download.Club Callsigns
Does your club have a unique callsign? Download the forms to get a club callsign or renew the club’s existing license.License Class Search Page
This page lets prospective hams search for license classes in their area. Registered Volunteer Instructors may list classes on the web by following the link from the Volunteer Instructor Support Page http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/instructor/New Amateur Report
The New Amateur Report is a member’s only page that lets clubs download a list of new or recently upgraded hams. Lists can be generated from information selected by ARRL section, Division or from a list of Zip Codes. Reports can be CSV, HTML or .pdf for Avery mailing labels. Access to the New Amateur page is restricted to the club president, contact person and newsletter editor.Big Club List
The Big Club List allows you to search for active or inactive clubs in an ARRL section and also reports in many formats.Club Commission Membership Recruitment Program
Under the ARRL Club Commission Membership Recruitment Program, clubs retain $15 for each NEW membership and $2 for each renewal submitted (regular and senior memberships only). A NEW MEMBER is defined as any individual who has never been a member of ARRL or any individual who has not retained a membership for two or more calendar years prior to the application submission.Liability and Equipment Insurance for Clubs
This comprehensive policy provides coverage for lawsuits resulting from bodily injury and property damage at ARRL Affiliated Club-sponsored activities. This includes concession stands, dances, banquets, parties, auctions, raffles, picnics and meetings, to name just a few. Coverage would also apply for official Club participation, for instance participating in a community-sponsored event. Plus, in addition to the policy limits described below, this plan also pays the court and legal costs of defense for covered claims.Club Updates
Once your club is affiliated, it remains affiliated. To stay actively affiliated, you must complete and submit an Annual Report at least once a year. Your club’s status will be changed to inactive should 2 years go by without our receiving an Annual Report. Your club can return to active status at any time by simply completing and submitting an Annual Report.Updates are as simple as:
Locate your listing.
- Click on your club’s highlighted name to get to its listing.
- When your page appears, scroll down to the bottom where it says, “Submit updated information for this club.”
- After you’ve made your changes, click the “submit” button and your update will be sent to us.
After the submitted data is reviewed, updates are made and changes can be viewed on the web in a few days.
Leadership
You’ve heard it before, “There is no “I†in TEAM.†Make sure that you have the tools and skills when your organization is looking to you for direction:Grant Writing
Here are a couple of links to some grant writing instructions
