News for Amateur Radio Operators In and Around Hillsdale County

 

Field Day was held at Sprow Tax & Accounting.  Setup began Friday evening and finished Saturday morning.  Operations began at 1400 on 20 and 40 meters.  In the evening 80 meters picked up.  We closed up shop at 2am Sunday for some shuteye.  Sunday morning contacts were made on 15, 20 and 40 meters.  In all we made 236 contacts, less than expected but not bad considering the small number of experienced operators on hand.

We had 36 participants total, including visits by 2 elected officials and 2 served agency officials.  Our entry on the ARRL Field Day Site Locator yielded 3 visitors, including a couple from Montpelier and a ham from Holland that was making it his mission to visit as many sites as possible during the 24 hour period.

Brenda Sprow did a fantastic job with the food.  She served 6 meals starting with dinner on Friday and finishing with something called Mustgo for Sunday lunch.  Um Um good!  Thanks Brenda!!!

The Hillsdale Daily News ran two articles about the club Field Day event.  A preview article ran on Thursday, June 21 and a follow-up article ran on Thursday, June 28.  Many local libraries have subscriptions.

In honor of Field Day the Michigan House of Representative adopted a resolution declaring the week of June 17-23 as Amateur Radio Week in the State of Michigan.  Click here to view the Michigan ARRL press release and resolution.

If you haven't had a chance to complete our Field Day survey, you can access here through July 4.


Congratulations to Donald Zalensy N8YBA who recently upgraded his license to Amateur Extra.

The next ham breakfast will be Saturday, July 14 at 8am at the Sidekick Cafe, 4682 Hudson Road, Osseo (map, near intersection of M99 & M34).  Please come join us.

The new Amateur Extra class (Element 4) question pool became effective on July 1. The previous pool expired on June 30, 2012 and cannot be used after that date. This new pool will remain valid until June 30, 2016. The new pool contains 702 questions, from which 50 are selected for an examination. The current Technician class question pool is valid through June 30, 2014. The current General class pool is valid until June 30, 2015. (ARRL article, PDF of new question pool)

The ARRL Board of Directors has unanimously approved the 9 cm band plan, as presented by the ARRL UHF/Microwave Band Plan Committee. (ARRL story)

Two new repeaters recently came online in the county.  The 444.825+ repeater is up at Bundy Hill with a 107.2 PL and also has IRLP on it.  In Osseo the repeater frequency is 440.75, PL 103.5

Russell Gee WA8DCK, previously of Waldron, became a Silent Key on May 4.  He and his wife Jean WA8PNN were active in previous incarnations of the club and local nets (obit).

President Obama announced that he will re-nominate Mignon Clyburn for a new five-year term as one of five FCC Commissioners.  Clyburn, a Democrat, came to the Commission in August 2009.  (Read more)

The Michigan ARRL Section Outing will be held on July 5-8 at the Woodlands Conference Center & Campgrounds in Hale. (info & map)

Merle G. Kachenmeister, WA8EWW, founder of SKYWARN and Toledo TV meteorologist, became a Silent Key May 29 at the age of 82.  While working for the US Weather Bureau he developed the SKYWARN weather warning system following the 1965 Palm Sunday tornadoes. (ARRL Story  Toledo Blade Story)

The next board meeting will be Thursday, July 5 at 7pm at McDonald's in Hillsdale (map).  The agenda will be a Field Day review and planning for the Fox Hunt and Club Picnic events.  Board meetings are open to all club members. 

Don't forget to participate in the Monday night net, held weekly at 7pm on the 147.06 repeater. 

No club meetings are currently planned for the summer.  Tentative plans call for a foxhunt in July and a picnic in August.  The next club meeting will most likely be in September.  Details to follow...

Upcoming Events
July - Board Meeting
July 5-8 - Michigan ARRL Section Outing(info  map)
July 14 - Ham Breakfast at Sidekick Cafe (map)
July 19 - Foxhunt (tentative, stay tuned for details)
August 4 - Angola Hamfest (info & map)
August 16 - Picnic (tentative)
September 16 - Adrian Hamfest (info & map)
September 20 - Next Club Meeting (tentative)