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News for Amateur Radio Operators In and Around Hillsdale County
Gatherings The next club meeting will be Thursday, September 18 at 7pm at the Hillsdale Community Health Center, 168 South Howell in Hillsdale (map). The program will feature hospital Director of Organizational Development Jeremiah J Hodshire.
This month the Ham Breakfast will be held on Saturday, September 13 at 8am at the Sidekick Cafe, 4682 Hudson Road in Osseo (map). Everyone welcome!
Seven hams and one spouse attended the August breakfast at the Tastes of Life.
Membership Report
PRB-1 Update The ARRL continues to request your support to promote co-sponsorship of HR.4969, the Amateur Radio Parity Act. The measure, introduced in the US House of Representative with bipartisan support on June 25, would call on the FCC to apply the “reasonable accommodation” three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to private land-use restrictions regarding antennas. If you have not yet taken the opportunity to send a letter to your representative, please consider it. Sample letters are available from club leadlership. For a complete update, click here to read the report from the August issue of HCARC Happenings, including a call to action from ARRL Michigan Section Manager Larry Camp WB8R.
Click here to follow the progress of US House HR 4969
Click here to follow the progress of the Michigan Senate Bill 0493.
In a related story, nearly 300 radio amateurs who live in Poway, California, may erect antenna support structures of up to 65 feet with only a building permit and a courtesy notice to their neighbors. The Poway City Council unanimously approved the new ordinance on August 5. According to an August 6 Pomerado News report, the Council “declined to adopt an alternative ordinance that would have required obtaining a special minor use permit” for structures between 35 and 65 feet. (ARRL story)
FCC Commissioner Meets With First Responders in Kalamazoo Michigan Congressman Fred Upton and FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai were in Kalamazoo recently to discuss with local first responders plans for a nationwide public safety communications network. During the meeting at the Kalamazoo Public Safety 911 Center, Pai and Upton shared details with public safety officials from across Southwest Michigan about how the network will be rolled out. (Mlive story)
RFinder Now Finds Repeaters Over Routes World Wide In the next step of pushing the limits of The World Wide Repeater Directory, the RFinder team has released Repeater Routes! New users are encouraged to obtain access to RFinder via purchasing the app in Google Play on Android and The Apple App Store on iPhone/iPad/iPod. The annual subscription for the World Wide Repeater Directory is only $9.99 and for that one price, includes access from any platform RFinder is available on. (QRZ.com story)
Shortwave Broadcasting Impact Declining The Broadcasting Board of Governors Special Committee on the Future of Shortwave Broadcasting foresees a dim outlook for the medium. The Committee this month released its assessment of the current and projected use of shortwave radio as a platform for programming by US international media. “United States international media must optimize delivery by audience/market,” one main finding concluded. “While there is still a critical need for shortwave in key countries, it is a medium of marginal and continuously declining impact in most markets.” The report said that even in countries where shortwave radio will enjoys significant usage levels, “audiences will migrate to other platforms as they become more accessible.” (ARRL story)
FCC Amateur Radio License Database Activity in Hillsdale County 08/01/14 KJ6TAR, Brian Newberry, address updated from out of county
FCC Enforcement News The FCC continued to demonstrate that it’s serious about enforcing its rules and regulations, proposing to fine a Florida Citizens Band operator $14,000 for failing to allow FCC agents inspect his station. The Commission issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in which it alleged that the CBer earlier this year denied permission for agents from the FCC’s Tampa Office to check out his station in the wake of renewed complaints of interference to a neighbor’s home electronic equipment. (ARRL story)
QSM The ARRL has posted a Centennial QSO Party leader board that participants can use to determine how many points they have accumulated in the Centennial QSO Party and in the W1AW WAS (Worked All States) operations. Log in using your Logbook of The World (LoTW) user name and password, and your position will appear at the top of the leader boards. Results are updated daily, based on contacts entered into LoTW.
The ARRL Centennial QSO Party kicked off January 1 for a year-long operating event in which participants can accumulate points and win awards in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the ARRL. During 2014 W1AW will be on the air from every state (at least twice) and most US territories, and it will be easy to work all states solely by contacting W1AW portable operations. The event is open to all, although only ARRL members and appointees, elected officials, HQ staff and W1AW are worth points. (ARRL story) Lots of addition information about the centennial QSO party is available here.
ARRL membership certificates commemorating the League’s 100th anniversary in 2014 now are available. Members logged onto the League’s website can generate their own certificates or cards online for printing. (ARRL story)
Upcoming Events September 3 – Board Meeting September 7 – Findlay Hamfest September 13 – Ham Breakfast September 13 – Grand Rapids Area Hamfest September 14 – Adrian Hamfest September 18 – Club Meeting October 1 – Board Meeting October 11 – Ham Breakfast October 16 – Club Meeting October 19 - Kalamazoo Hamfest November 20 – Officer Elections |
