KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

Clubs

WB2ITX dares us to embrace the future

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In the January issue of QST, ARRL CEO Howard Michel, WB2ITX, dares us to imagine the future of amateur radio. He points out that the demographics of the ARRL membership does not match the demographics of amateur radio as a whole, and then say, “They are different, and they want different things.”

He then goes on to enumerate some of the steps the ARRL is taking to meet the needs of the future generation  of hams, including starting a new magazine called On the Air aimed at new hams and the Lifelong Learning Program.

He then talks about “verticals.” This terminology is kind of unfortunate because he’s not talking about antennas that need radials, but rather special interest groups (SIGs), including “Radiosport, Experimenters, and Emergency Communications.” The ARRL already has contesting and emergency communications departments, and publishes QEX magazine for experimenters. I’m not really sure how the “verticals” are going to differ from the ARRL’s current activities in these areas, but it is a good idea to think about how to serve special interest groups. Another SIG that the ARRL might consider is digital communications. I’m sure you all have some ideas about this, too.

What really caught my eye is what he has to say about clubs. He writes:

Another way we play to engage hams is through local clubs. ARRL will be hiring a national club coordinator in 2020, who will be charged with developing new  ways for clubs to organize and operate. We will continue to support traditional clubs, clubs that meet monthly for business and social events, organize ARRL Field Day activities, etc. But traditional clubs are not the future of clubs. Young people join causes, not clubs.

Our focus will be on developing ways, and an infrastructure, that members can use to organize themselves in ways they want, to do things that they consider meaningful. I can see these new clubs organized to support special events, such as a marathon; to engage in STEM education; or prepare for disasters. These types of clubs exist now, but they may need to conform to a set of rules designed for traditional clubs. Can we scrap the rules and provide meaningful support? To aid in this, club leadership could be another vertical. ARRL could provide training in soft skills, such as how to run a meeting or give an effective presentation.

I think some of these ideas are spot on. I’ve written many times here about what the ARRL might do to help clubs. I have also served as the Michigan Section Affiliated Club Coordinator and developed and provided leadership training for club officers here in Michigan.

I’m excited really that WB2ITX realizes how poor the ARRL support for clubs has been and is considering creating the position of a national club coordinator. Heck, I might even apply for the job myself!

Amateur radio in the news (club edition): Pumpkin patrol, Spring Hill club ready for emergencies, new club in San Luis Valley (CO)

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Pumpkin patrol in full force this Halloween thanks to amateur radio operators

Spring Hill radio club enjoys hobby, ready for emergencies

SPRING HILL — Young Dustin Henderson and his adolescent pals used one to save the world from monsters from another dimension in the hit TV series “Stranger Things.” What did they use? A ham radio. The Netflix series is pure fiction, but the idea that a ham radio was the vital link in an emergency isn’t farfetched at all, say members of the Spring Hill Amateur Radio Club, an organization dedicated to the hobby of ham radio.

Communications have improved much in the 30 years since the period the television show depicts, and ham operators today are not as crucial as they once were. Nevertheless, they still stand ready to help when catastrophe strikes, said Lenny Sechrist, vice president of the Spring Hill Amateur Radio Club. Most notably, club members stepped in to handle help and welfare duties to the Florida Panhandle after Hurricane Michael roared through in a year ago. The help involved getting messages to and placing calls to family members to report the status of those impacted by the storm.

…read more

SLV HAM radio operators have first meeting

San Luis Valley — San Luis Valley HAM radio operators met for their first meeting Oct. 19. HAM radio is a hobby that involves using various types of radio communications equipment to connect with other people who have the same interest. Ham radio is a popular term for amateur radio, derived from “ham” as an informal name for an amateur radio operator.

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“I’ve wanted to get something going because there’s a lot of “HAMs” in the Valley,” said Bob Galey. Garley is the pastor of Calvary Baptist and he also enjoys being a HAM radio operator. Galey went on to say, “One of the things this valley doesn’t have is an organized emergency radio group and I’d like to get something going. We’ve got enough people in this room to have a pretty good club if we want to.”

…read more

National VOA Museum asks for your support

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Reprinted from RadioWorld, with their permission…

By Joe Molter, N8IDA

The museum celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Bethany Station in September with a fundraiser to make the first floor of the museum accessible for people of all abilities.

Her six massive transmitters may be quiet,
but she is far from silent.

SIT AT THE BOARD

The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting is open every weekend from 1 to 4 p.m. Tours are given continuously on weekend afternoons by knowledgeable docents. It houses the Bethany station’s last control room and one of the remaining 250 kW Collins shortwave transmitters.

You can sit at the massive audio console that controlled the six shortwave transmitters and literally take a tour inside one of the Collins transmitters. You can view the massive switch gear, built during World War II, that changed Bethany’s 24 rhombic antennas to its six transmitters.

At one time, Bethany Station covered a square mile of property on former farmland. Today the museum sits on 14 acres and the antennas are gone; but with surrounding park acreage, you get a sense of the massive scale the site covered with towers and the miles of transmission lines and antenna wire.

The antennas are a memory, but the site’s spirit lives on.

The museum houses a large collection of radios from the early part of the 20th century, including names such as Hallicrafters, National, Drake and Collins. A large collection of Drake Amateur Radio products is always a must-see by visiting radio enthusiasts and ham radio operators.

Drake radios were produced nearby in Miamisburg, Ohio. An area dedicated to the Crosley Corporation shows off many of the Crosley brothers’ radio, TV and household products that were manufactured in Cincinnati. Crosley contributed heavily to the war effort during World War II, with the production of tens of thousands of portable radios for the U.S. Army and millions of proximity fuses for anti-aircraft ordinance.

Not only did Crosley develop radios, but content as well, with its on-air radio station WLW, which still broadcasts today on 700 AM. WLW transmits from its original site and the large Blaw-Knox tower can be seen from the VOA museum. The museum contains the original 50-watt AM transmitter that WLW started with in 1922.

WLW was the only U.S. station allowed to operate at 500,000 watts of power during the 1930s. The collection includes a bright red Crosley Hot Shot sports car, too. Crosley Corporation developed a number of vehicles during the late 1930s and resumed production after World War II until shutting down in 1952.

An additional area of the museum houses artifacts and memorabilia from the early era of Cincinnati radio and TV broadcasting. The Cincinnati Media Heritage section includes many of the celebrities who got their start at WLW and other local broadcasting outlets. These WLW radio stars, many of whom transitioned from radio to TV, include Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame; sisters Rosemary and Betty Clooney; Eddie Albert; Doris Day; The Mills Brothers; and Ruth Lyons.

Housed in three of Bethany’s old transmitter vaults, the history of broadcasting showcases the talent and equipment that made Cincinnati an early nursery for radio and television entertainment. Artifacts include equipment from a 1930s radio station; a 1950s AM station, including disc jockey’s audio console and turntables; and a 1000-watt transmitter. A very early and massive RCA Victor color television camera is on display, along with other television and video equipment.

RADIO LIVES HERE

Our amateur radio station is operated under FCC license WC8VOA and is manned by the West Chester Amateur Radio Association.

The station has seven operating positions equipped with modern and vintage amateur radio gear. Antennas cover the radio spectrum from two meters down to 160 meters. The former VOA receiving satellite dish has been converted to 10 GHz transmit and receive capabilities for EME (Earth Moon Earth) bounce. Signals are sent to the moon and the dish used as a passive satellite to communicate with other amateur radio operators.

The club participates in radio contests, portable operations and local STEM events. It averages some 6,000 contacts per year, covering modes of voice and digital and CW. The club also operates two FM repeaters on two meters and 440 Mhz.

Operators are in the shack every weekend and hold an open house every Wednesday night for radio enthusiasts and those interested in obtaining a ham radio license. Our WC8VOA call sign is recognized by many of our fellow radio amateurs around the world. We have made contacts from all seven continents and hundreds of countries.

Radio is still an important part of our lives. Whether it is listening to AM, FM or satellite services, radio remains a viable source of our news and entertainment.

CINCINNATI LIARS

Voice of America broadcasts were never intended for Americans. They were targeted to people living in oppressed countries where media was censored to change people’s minds by providing sourced and accurate news.

In fact, the VOA Charter (Public Law 94-350), which was passed in 1976 during the Ford administration, states that VOA news will be “accurate, objective and comprehensive.” It will also “represent America, not any single segment of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions.” Last, the VOA is mandated to “present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively and will also present responsible discussions and opinion on these policies.”

VOA news and feature stories are still broadcast and transmitted today to more than 275 million people weekly in 40-plus languages in nearly 100 countries. VOA programs are delivered on multiple platforms, including radio, television, web and mobile via a network of more than 3,000 media outlets worldwide.

Broadcasts have aired continually for more than 75 years, along with sister stations of Radio Free Europe; Radio Liberty; Radio Free Asia; and Radio Martí.

Here is the crux of the matter for all of us at the VOA museum: Once Bethany Station began operation during mid-World War II, an infuriated Adolf Hitler was quoted as saying on one of his radio broadcasts to never listen to those “Cincinnati Liars.” We’re proud to be part of the VOA heritage we are entrusted with and even more proud to be related to those “liars” from Cincinnati.

But while we’re proud of our heritage, I must be honest: The museum is housed in an aging, uninsulated, 75-year-old building that constantly needs repairs. We receive no federal funding, and this is our big fundraising push for the year.

Our workforce of docents, conservators and maintenance crews are all unpaid volunteers. And many of our volunteers come from our local radio club, the West Chester Amateur Radio Association.

Please help us out with a donation. For information on the museum and how you can help with donations, visit www.voamuseum.org. Please donate today. If you’re interested in our amateur radio group, additional information is at wc8voa.org.

Joe Molter, WCARA, N8IDA, ARS Operator, is with the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting.

Amateur radio in the news: Villanova students get ham tickets, club presents at library, VOA museum plans anniversary party

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They may be building nanosatellites, but there’s nothing small about Villanova’s CubeSat Club

Villanova’s CubeSat club was launched in fall 2018 and has taken great strides for such a young club. The CubeSat club’s 2018-2019 year was packed with a variety of workshops and projects, including:

  • Setting up temporary ground stations called SatNOGS (Satellite Network Operators Group)
  • Building Yagi-Uda antennas from tape measurers and scrap wood and using them to track low earth orbit satellites as they flew over Villanova
  • Building an AMSAT CubeSat Simulator, a functional satellite model
  • Assisting with the freshman CubeSat mini-design projects
  • Earning amateur radio licenses and ham radio callsigns
  • Assembling and selling electronic transceiver boards used in CubeSats as a fundraiser
  • Attending the 2019 Hamvention conference and running the AMSAT education table
  • Received and decoded a special message sent from the AO-73 FunCube Satellite especially for Villanova

Space ham: Local radio operators present program at library

SOUTH POINT – The Southern Ohio Amateur Radio Association is always trying to expand the interest in ham radio and does many public events to spread the world. But a recent request had the club reaching beyond the earth’s stratosphere. Jan Gullett, Briggs Lawrence County Public Library Southern Branch children’s reading librarian, asked the members of SOARA to present an introduction to ham radio, but with a twist……

I was able to visit this museum when I went to Dayton this year. It’s a very cool place, and I plan to go again, perhaps next year……Dan

National VOA Museum of Broadcasting Plans Anniversary Party

Her six massive transmitters may be quiet, but she is far from silent.

Amateur radio operators routinely talk to the world from station WC8VOA in West Chester, Ohio, located about 25 miles north of Cincinnati. This former VOA relay station is now the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting with collections from the Gray History of Wireless Museum; Powel Crosley Jr., and Cincinnati radio and TV broadcasting history; and the Voice of America. Next week the museum celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Bethany Station Saturday, Sept. 21, with a fundraiser to make the first floor of the museum accessible for people for all abilities.

Rethinking amateur radio clubs

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The June 2019 issue of RadCom, the Radio Society of Great Britain’s equivalent to QST, contains the article, Building a strong local club structure, by Richard Thomas, G4JJP. In the article, G4JJP proposes changes to the way we organize amateur radio clubs.

Citing the dwindling membership of most local clubs, one of the proposals he makes is that instead of many small clubs, he proposes that we form more regional associations and that this regional association would exist primarily online, except for perhaps a club station. Organizing in this way would reduce the overhead costs of running a traditional club.

I would say that in addition to forming regional associations, we need to make them more like real nonprofit organizations, and that includes paid staff. There’s only so much that you can do with volunteers. And, running a club like this is going to be even more work than running a smaller club. It’s already difficult to find folks to be be club officers for small clubs. I don’t think that there will be that many people who are willing and able to run one of these regional associations solely on a volunteer basis.

Once set up, these regional nonprofit corporations will have to provide services that people can’t get online. For example, access to a club station and a lab with equipment, such as a spectrum analyzer and a 3D printer, might just be something that you can get people to pay for. Other services might include regularly-scheduled license classes as well as classes on a variety of other topics, such as software-defined radio, digital modes, DMR, and operating techniques.
I like this idea, but to make it work, the national amateur radio associations—the RSGB and the ARRL—are going to have to step up and work with local groups to affect these changes. For the most part, the clubs just don’t have the resources to pull this off. I’m not really sure the ARRL does, either, but as G4JJP points out, “We need to change. Before we die.”

 

 

Some Field Day 2019 thoughts

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We ran four HF stations this year, including two CW and two SSB stations. Also shown in this photo are the GOTA station, the public information table, and the food tent. Photo: Larry Works, KD8MDM.

Well, Field Day 2019 has come and gone. We didn’t do quite as well as we did last year. This year, we made just short of 2,100 QSOs, compared to 2,245 in 2018. We also missed some bonus points that we scored last year, so our overall score is going to be lower this year.

I had a good time, as usual, as did everyone that attended, but I’m a bit disappointed that our score is going to be lower. So, it got me to thinking about how we could do better next year.  Here are a few thoughts:

  1. Schedule operators. I think that we should set up a written schedule so that we’re sure that the stations are in operation for all 24 hours. There were some times, especially late at night/early in the morning, when they weren’t being operated. You can’t make Qs if stations don’t have operators.
  2. Train operators beforehand. I think it would be helpful to give the operators some training before Field Day, so that when they do sit down in front of a radio, they know what to do .
  3. Better antennas. Steve, K8QKY, one of our CW operators, made this point. Even though there are no multipliers on Field Day, louder stations get more attention, and therefore, make more contacts. We’ve been using a series of dipoles held up by 40-ft. masts, and they work well, but if we want to take our operation to the next level, we need to think about directional antennas.

Of course, doing these things takes a lot of work, so, the question is whether it’s worth it or not. Scoring more points is more fun than scoring fewer points, so perhaps it is.

Tell me about your Field Day experience? Did you make any changes to your operation that helped you score more points or made Field Day more fun? Do you have any thoughts about how to improve your operations next year?

Amateur radio in the news: Club edition

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Locals keep ham radio alive and well

In a time when social media platforms are often criticized more for their divisiveness than praised for their ability to bring people together, a number of Seacoast residents are tapping into a different network to forge connections worldwide. Local interest in ham radios has been growing at an accelerated rate in recent years thanks to lower entry hurdles, according to clubs and operators. They say it’s put new generations one twist of a dial or tap of a touchscreen away from the rush that comes from a meaningful chat with people on the other side of the globe.

World explorers: WCS students travel across radio waves. The U.S., Canada, Central America and Europe represent just a handful of global locations Worthington Christian School students have been able to explore with no passport required. Using radio frequency technology, WCS students have made contact with hundreds of people across the world by way of radio waves. “You get to know people you wouldn’t otherwise know,” said WCS fifth-grader Cali Visser of her experience transmitting shortwave radio signals.   Led by longtime amateur radioer Randy Shirbroun, students interested in learning about amateur (ham) radio have had several hands-on experiences over the past two years during both casual and organized radio operating events via the school’s club station, W0WCS.

Amateur radio operators make worldwide contact. Having a good time enjoying a hobby interest that also serves an important service when severe weather or disasters strike was a good reason for a “party” Saturday in a school parking lot. Amateur radio operators from the Chickasaw Amateur Radio Association (CARA) and the Olive Branch Amateur Radio Club (OBARC), along with the DeSoto Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, spent 12 hours in the parking lot of Pleasant Hill Elementary School attempting to make contact with the rest of the world, or at least the rest of the country. They joined other operators in what OBARC president Shawn Braddock called, “The Mississippi QSO Party.”

Three great club newsletters: SARC, PCARS, ERC

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Every month (well, almost every month), I send out a column to amateur radio newsletter editors. (To get on the mailing list, click here.) As a result, these newsletter editors put me on their mailing lists, and I get a variety of club newsletters every month.

Perhaps the most impressive newsletter that I get is from The Communicator from  Surrey Amateur Radio Communications. The April issue is the “Antenna Building Issue” and has articles on the Yagi-Uda antenna (you did know that Yagi wasn’t the only inventor, didn’t you?), vector network analyzers, NVIS antennas, my column on indoor antennas, a homebrew 6m Yagi antenna, a homebrew 2m and 70cm roll-up J-pole antenna, a homebrew 2m tape measure Yagi, a 40-6m end-fed,  a fence fan dipole, and a a 2m square loop,

Overall, this issue was 80 pages long, and the impressive thing is that they do a newsletter this long every month!

Another great newsletter is The Radiogram from the Portage County [OH] Amateur Radio Service (PCARS). In addition to reprinting my April Fool’s column on the FCC reinstating the Morse Code test, the 56-page April issue includes articles on Hamvention award winners, gearing up for Field Day, an explanation of decibels (dBs), and a bunch of other great articles.

Finally, I’d like to mention VE3ERC-LUB from the Elmira [ON] Radio Club (ERC). I’ve joined the ERC for the past two years at the Point Clark Lighthouse for the International Lighthouse Weekend in August. The March 2019 issue of VE3ERC-LUB is only 12 pages, but contains this funny cartoon:

I always wondered how that worked…..

From the October 1948 CQ–Radio Clubs: Making ’em Work

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Our club banner hanging on the public information tent at the entrance to our Field Day site.

I recently came across the October 1948 issue of CQ Magazine. In this issue, Herb Brier, W9EGQ (later W9AD), who wrote for both CQ and Popular Electronics, and for whom the ARRL Instructor of the Year Award is named, write about how to make radio clubs work. It’s amazing to me how much of his advice is still good today.

For example, he writes about the importance of a suitable meeting place and gives several suggestions about how to find one. This has certainly been true for our club, ARROW. We’ve met at the Red Cross, at the local community college, and now, under the aegis of a couple of members who are university employess, in a room at the University of Michigan.

Herb also writes, “What names interesting meeting depends on a number of things…Entertainment and refreshments are the principle ingredients. If both can be supplied, so much the better, but light refreshments, like coffee and doughnuts, or ice cream and cookies, are often better pullers than routine entertainment.”

By entertainment he means presentations. He gives a few suggestions for presentations, including getting club members to give talks on their projects and demonstrations of new equipment. Being responsible for scheduling speakers for our club, I took these suggestions to heart.

There are also a few cautions, too. For example, start meetings on time. Herb says, “Late starts often tie in with uninteresting meetings.” Also, don’t make the monthly meetings business meetings. “Most members have no more interest in such details than in the minutes of the Ladies’ Aid Society,” he writes.

Taking this advice to heart, we start our meetings now with the featured speaker and take care of any club business afterwards. Members who don’t want to stick around for the boring business meeting are free to leave.

There are also several paragraphs on sustaining member interest. Field Day is number one on Herb’s list. It’s a great way to mobilize the troops.

Another suggestion Herb makes is to have a picnic. I know some clubs regularly hold their meetings outside in the summer. We’ve done that in the past here, and I think that this summer, we should try to do that again. Who wants to be cooped up in a stuffy room when you can get outside and enjoy the summer weather?

So, all told some good advice. I would also add two other bits of advice: teach classes and organize a Volunteer Examiner team. For a club to survive, it needs to continually add new members.

At the end of the article, there was an unrelated, but interesting item on a recent change to “Part 12 of the Rules Governing the Amateur Radio Service.” The change itself wasn’t so extraordinary, but my question is when did the amateur radio rules change from Part 12 to Part 97?