XPost: rec.radio.info

********************************************
ARRL Club News

Published by the American Radio Relay League ********************************************

November 23, 2021

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

IN THIS ISSUE

- Welcome
- The Premiere of NIGHT, the Movie
- South Jersey Radio Association POTA Event
- Meriden Amateur Radio, W1NRG, Club Gets Active
- ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative
- Memorial Donation
- Submitting Info for this Newsletter
- How to Plan and Apply for an ARRL Hamfest or Convention
- Important Links

WELCOME

Welcome to the first edition of the re-launched ARRL Club News
newsletter. The last time that this newsletter was published was
December 2009. Some folks over the years have made the comment that
clubs are dead. That is not the sentiment of today's ARRL leadership.
Clubs are an essential part of the success of our organization, and we
want to help them in any way that we can. Progress is often a challenge
for many folks, and the way to help them with that is most often
communication. If we know what is happening, we have the chance to
adjust as we go. The best way for us to move forward together is to
communicate from Headquarters to the field and for the field to have a
way to communicate to ask questions and get answers from us. This
newsletter will highlight some of the great things that clubs are
doing. We want your feedback, and we want to know how your club is
dealing with an ever-changing world. Let us know. Send your feedback to clubs@arrl.org. We are listening. Thanks - Mike Walters W8ZY, Field
Services Manager

THE PREMIERE OF NIGHT, THE MOVIE

During this year's ARRL Field Day, a visitor from John D'Aquino's Young
Actors Workshop arrived at the Edmond Amateur Radio Society's location.
Marcus Sutliff, N5ZY, talked with them and found they wanted to make a
short film with an amateur radio plot, and they needed some help. They
were filming in Stillwater, OK, and needed someone with film/video
experience and someone who could be a technical advisor. So, they got
Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW, involved, and in no time, he had assembled radios,
props, consulted on the script, and was ready for a long day of
filming.

The purpose of this film is to give young aspiring actors a chance to
hone their craft in a real movie environment. Thanks to the Oklahoma
Film and Music Office, https://okfilmmusic.org/, they filmed three
short movies in Oklahoma. So, when you watch the film, you can see the improvement in the youngsters as the movie progresses.

This week the movie premiered in September and is available on YouTube
as a 34-minute short at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf1Q4tS32Ww <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf1Q4tS32Ww>

Kevin stars as the radio voice of Colonel and should be up for an Emmy
for best supporting actor. Kevin says any requests for autographs
should go through his agent, Wilma, W5WRO. Both Kevin and Marcus have
their name in the credits, so make sure you stay through the ending!

Thanks, Kevin, for putting a great light on amateur radio!

Mark Kleine, N5HZR
ARRL Oklahoma Section Manager

SOUTH JERSEY RADIO ASSOCIATION POTA EVENT

K2AA POTA EVENT
By Rick Lawn, W2JAZ

Tony Canuso, N2ATB, and Rick Lawn, W2JAZ, left Cherry Hill at 10:30 AM
for their first POTA (www.parksontheair.com
<http://www.parksontheair.com>) activation at a New Jersey Park
designated as K-1629 on the Rancocas River in Hainesport. Tony had
posted our activation in advance on the Parks on the Air website. Once
at the park it took about an hour or more to set up the 40-10-meter
MyAntennas end-fed antenna at about 20 feet, and an MFJ 22' fiberglass
push-up pole that supported a new Pacific Antennas 40/20-meter trap
dipole that was mounted in an inverted V configuration. It was decided
that Tony would work 40-meter CW and Rick would work 20 meters using CW
and SSB. Rigs included Tony's Xiegu G90, running about 15 watts, and
Rick's IC-705 running 2 watts out to a Hardrock50 amplifier/tuner. For
power we used two sources, an 8500Mah LiFe battery that powered the
Icom radio at low power, and a large 80Ah Bioenno LiFe battery that
powered both the G90 and Hardrock50. This larger battery is used for
Rick's fishing boat trolling motor and is amazingly robust. It barely
broke a sweat after over two hours of operation and several previous
fishing trips.

Rick was first to get on the air, making a park-to-park QSO with a
station on SSB in Florida (K8375). Later, when hooking up the
amplifier, Rick realized he worked the Florida station on only 2 watts
out since the 705 had been set up to excite the amplifier and was
therefore set to only two watts out! No wonder the report was only 4 by
4, but the contact was made!

Tony caused quite a pileup on 40-meter CW, and we realized we had been
spotted. Once Tony got on the air, we discovered a problem that we had anticipated might occur - crosstalk between the two rigs despite their different frequencies. Our antennas and radios were just too close.
Rick decided it might be best to operate in stages, so he logged for
Tony who racked up 40-meter CW QSOs.

A much-needed lunch break came at 1:30 PM when we decided to reorient
the 20-meter inverted V's legs so they would be at 90 degrees to the
40-meter end fed. While that did not eliminate the cross-band
interference, it was significantly improved to allow both stations to
operate simultaneously. Rick fired up the 705 and small amplifier that
was run at around 35 watts out. His first contact on 20-meter SSB was
F4IDC in France reporting a 5-7 signal! Things were working very well.
Before the afternoon was out, Rick worked five countries on 20-meter CW
and SSB. All together Tony and Rick operating as K2AA worked 50
stations on two bands using CW and SSB in a little more than 2 hours.

Our first POTA experience was a complete success, and the most
important thing is that it was lots of fun and proved that our gear was
more than up to the task. The next time out I believe we could improve
our number of contacts by using several sources to spot ourselves on
specific frequencies rather than wait for others to spot us.

MERIDEN AMATEUR RADIO, W1NRG, CLUB GETS ACTIVE

Saturday, September 18 was a fine day for a POTA activation. This was
my first time as a participant, and it went very well. I want to thank
Dave Tipping, NZ1J, for his help and the loan of a battery and
long-wire antenna to get me on the air. Eight of us showed up at
Wharton Brook State Park that morning while John Kasinskas, KC1KQH,
made it his second activation of the day after having already worked
Sleeping Giant State Park. We had five stations going and made QSOs on
all bands from 2 to 160 meters. I was happy to finish with 37 of my
own, far more than I expected for my first time out. I couldn't have
done it without Dave's assistance and the availability of equipment
that could work bands my gear couldn't. Dave mentioned that he was
approached later in the day by a park ranger who "seemed to be
mesmerized by the idea of operating a radio in the park." He told the
ranger about our VE sessions at the club. Never miss an opportunity to
interest a new ham/member! The smiles on everyone's faces proves what a
great time we all had. Rob Cichon, K1RCT, was working from the parking
area above and behind what is shown in the picture, so you'll just have
to use your x-ray vision to see him. --Ted Renzoni, KC1DOY

We had another fun foxhunt on Sunday, September 19, with Bob, Biancur,
WB1GYZ, as guest fox. As usual, he didn't make it too easy for us and
we all did our share of backtracking before locating him. This time we
all stayed connected with each other (simplex) and converged on the
rest area off of I-91. After much consternation and additional bearings
with multiple antennas it was decided that he was West of the highway
so off we went again. A vehicle train left the rest area and after a
number of turns, several of them "U"s, we found him on Jobs Road. This
was a very well-attended hunt. I wonder what the next big activity will
turn out to be.

The club is located in Meriden Connecticut.

ARRL COLLEGIATE AMATEUR RADIO INITIATIVE

There's an age-old question in our amateur radio community. "Why aren't
there more youth involved in ham radio?" The question, though, often
comes from individuals who are unfamiliar with the places where young
hams are, and have always been, active participants.

Since the earliest days of radio experimentation, colleges and
universities have been a vibrant part of our community. Some campus
radio clubs are as old as our ham radio record-keeping, and make up
many of the oldest ARRL Affiliated Clubs. Year after year, these
student clubs recruit freshman and other newcomers to join their ranks.
They develop leaders to hold positions as club officers. When the
annual student activities fair is held on the quad, these clubs set up alongside other campus organizations - like the chess club, cultural
clubs, theater, sports and recreation groups - and invite their peers
to discover radio technology and radio communications through ham
radio. Campus radio clubs host licensing classes, exam sessions, and a
variety of hands-on activities to introduce others to radio.

In 2017, though an endowment established by the W1YSM Snyder Family,
ARRL launched the Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative <http://www.arrl.org/WeWantU> (CARI). CARI supports and promotes
amateur radio among students and ham radio clubs at colleges and
universities. Through monthly online meetings and social media channels (Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/groups/ARRLCARI> and Discord <https://discord.gg/Rd5BcrWcxb>), CARI helps network campus radio club participants including students, faculty, staff & administration, and
alumni.

The monthly CARI meetings are held via Zoom on the second Tuesday of
each month at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT. Registration details can be on the
CARI web page <http://www.arrl.org/collegiate-amateur-radio>. Each
meeting includes a short presentation and lots of time for networking.
A typical meeting can attract representatives from more than a dozen
college radio clubs. Recent meetings have included students from Old
Dominion University, College of DuPage, California Polytechnic State University, Case Western Reserve University, Missouri S&T, University
of Florida, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of Arizona, the University of Texas at Austin, and many more.

Many campus radio clubs have also established themselves as an academic resource. For instance, some college clubs have a relationship with an engineering department to offer ham radio licensing to introduce radio electronics engineering. The club's ham shack may even double as a
laboratory, extending a course to include practical instruction on
antennas, propagation, and signal modes. Amateur radio and space
science come together on campuses to support CubeSat amateur satellite projects.

College radio clubs often collaborate with community radio clubs. Major
races like the Boston Marathon, which attract a large number of
participants and spectators, draw from both local radio clubs and
college radio clubs to make up the large force of needed volunteers for
public service communications. Student hams also participate in local
ARES® and EmComm groups.

A recurring theme with college radio clubs is career networking.
Students often share stories of how having a ham radio license
connected them with ham-professionals for internships and jobs. One
CARI meeting included recruiters from a major company that was looking
for recent graduates for job openings as radio communication
technicians and engineers. Ham radio opens doors!

If your radio club finds itself within arms reach of a college or
university find out if it has an active college radio club. Even if
doesn't, it may be worth finding out if there are active hams among the students and staff at the school. Introduce them to the resources ARRL
has for networking college radio clubs. For more information about the
ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative, visit www.arrl.org/WeWantU <http://www.arrl.org/WeWantU>. -- Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, Director of
Public Relations and Innovation, and liaison to the ARRL Collegiate
Amateur Radio Initiative

MEMORIAL DONATION

The High Desert Amateur Radio Club of New Mexico (HDARC) has made a
donation to the ARRL Education & Technology Fund in memory of their
friend Bill Firth, KE5TOB (SK). In addition to being active in HDARC,
Bill also enjoyed photography, astronomy, shooting, and "G" scale model
trains. We send our condolences to Bill's wife Beverly.

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 does 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 clubs@arrl.org. We like to get them as text or Word files
instead of "PDFs". If you have pictures, please submit them with any
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 of clubs. 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 ARRL sanctioned
status for your 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 apply for ARRL sanctioned status for your event, log on to 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: clubs@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 <http://www.arrl.org/contests/club-news>.

Copyright (c) 2021 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated.
Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is
permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution.
All other purposes require written permission.

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

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)