Gatherings

The next club meeting will be Thursday, July 16 at 7pm at the First United Methodist Church, 45 N Manning in Hillsdale (map).  Park in city lot F and use the east entrance off the alley and follow the signs.

 

There was no club meeting in June.

 

 

This month the Ham Breakfast will be held on Saturday, July 11 at 8am at the Coffee Shop, 119 W Main in North Adams (map).  Everyone welcome!

 

The June ham breakfast was held at the Sidekick Cafe.in Osseo and was attended by 6 hams.

 

 

The next Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 5 at 6pm at the First United Methodist Church, 45 N Manning in Hillsdale (map).  All members welcome.  No Board Meeting in July.

 

Membership Report

Club membership stood at 15 as of June 30.  No activity in June.

 

 

New Hams

Congratulations to new county ham Deborah McCloud KE8BPS.  She was granted her Technician license on June 29.  Deborah is the wife of Roy McCloud AB8RM.

 

 

Club Leadership Positions Available

Two club leadership positions remain open.  The Vice President and Secretary positions had no nominations during last years annual elections or subsequent special elections.  Those interested should check the club constitution on our website for information about officer duties and election procedures.  Feel free to contact any of the current club leadership for more information.

 

 

Free Windows 10 Upgrade Available July 29

Microsoft will offer free upgrades to Windows 10, the next version of its operating system, first for Windows 8.1 users and then for Windows 7 users, the company announced recently.  Microsoft hopes to encourage customers to embrace its new operating system by offering a free refresh for multiple devices.  The free upgrade is only available for the first year after the release date, which is July 29.  (Digital Trends story)

 

 

200th Episode of Ham Nation

Rocker Joe Walsh WB6ACU was a guest on the 200th episode of the Ham Nation podcast.  Click here to view the complete episode.  (eHam.net promo article)

 

 

FCC, Lawmakers Agree On Scaled Back Field Office Shutdowns

Leaders of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee have reached agreement with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to amend the Commission’s plans to close FCC field offices.  Under the revised plan, the FCC will keep 15 of its 24 field offices open.  The plan would “ensure better rapid response capabilities for the West, provide a mechanism for escalating interference complaints, improve enforcement of the FCC’s rules against pirate radio operators, and prevent the Commission from transferring field office jobs to FCC Headquarters,” a Committee media release said. The FCC has been under pressure from lawmakers and others to step back from its plan to close two-thirds of its field offices.  (ARRL story)

 

 

Dodge Airs Charger Morse Code Commercial

Dodge has been running a commercial that features a Charging blinking Morse code with its headlights.  Click here to view commercial.

 

 

ARRL Offering 20 Percent Off On Select Antenna Publications

ARRL is rolling back prices on some of the hottest antenna publications in Amateur Radio.  Save 20% on select publications when you order online through July 31.  No coupon code is necessary to receive the savings, and discounted titles may be combined with one coupon code offer.  For a complete list of discounted publications, visit the ARRL Antenna Books Price Rollback page.

 

 

States, Communities Recognize Value Of Amateur Radio, Field Day

Several US states, counties, and communities took the opportunity to formally recognize the value of Amateur Radio and the occasion of ARRL Field Day.  Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Washington and Wisconsin all issued proclamations recognizing Amateur Radio and Field Day.  (ARRL story)

 

 

Another Earthquake Felt In Hillsdale County

A 3.3 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Calhoun County on June 30 at 11:42am was felt in Hillsdale County.  News reports indicated that it was probably an aftershock to the 4.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred on May 2.  Hillsdale County 911/Central Dispatch Manager Doug Sanford N8WFB reported that they received several calls after the earthquake.

 

US Geological Survey event detail page

 

Mlive.com Stories

06/30/15 12:05 PM 3.3 magnitude earthquake confirmed in Calhoun County

06/30/15 1:15 PM Michigan earthquake occurs about 20 miles from May 2 quake

06/30/15 1:34 PM Michigan earthquake leaves Tekonsha cafe patrons shaken

06/30 15 1:53 PM Michigan earthquake likely an aftershock of May 2 quake, says U.S.  Geological Survey

06/30/15 4:30 PM Residents describe Michigan earthquake as 'a big thump'

06/30/15 5:00 PM Michigan readers share earthquake reactions

 

 

New General Question Pool Starts July 1

The Question Pool Committee of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) has released the 2015-2019 Element 3 (General Class) question pool.  The pool took effect on July 1, and will remain valid until June 30, 2019.  The previous General question pool, released in 2011, is no longer valid after June 30.  (ARRL story)

 

 

FCC Amateur Radio License Database Activity in Hillsdale County

06/04/15 KC8PMC, CROMWELL, PETER M, license status set to expired

06/10/15 KC8WWA, Stephenson, John M, license status set to expired

06/29/15 KE8BPS, McCloud, Deborah M, new licensee Technician

 

 

PRB-1 Update

A companion Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 bill has been introduced in the US Senate.  Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker introduced S.1685 on June 25, with Sen Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat of Connecticut, as the initial cosponsor.  The Senate bill joins an identical measure in the US House, HR 1301, which was introduced in March.  Both measures would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private land-use restrictions.  Click here to follow the progress of S.1685.  (ARRL story)

 

Now that there is Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 legislation in both chambers of the US Congress, the League has a combined web page to accommodate activities on behalf of the two bills.  The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 is HR 1301 in the US House of Representatives and S 1685 in the US Senate.  The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 page provides a clearinghouse for all information on these identical pieces of legislation.

 

Federal PRB-1 legislation HR 1301, the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015, was introduced in March and now has 83 cosponsors as of June 30, up from 57 on May 31.  Click here to follow the progress of HR 1301.

 

 

QSM

The Michigan Section Family Outing will be held July 10-11 at the Woodlands Conference Center & Campgrounds in Hale (map).  It is a 2-day fun-filled event hosted by your ARRL Michigan Section Staff and paid for totally from donations, involving fun events for the whole family!  There will be games, campfires, and sing-a-longs for all to enjoy.  There will be ARPSC training and other informative seminars available on both Friday and Saturday for any who wish to participate.  Check the calendar for the schedule of events.  Note that the event has been shorted from 4 days to 2.

 

The FCC is eliminating the regulatory fee to apply for an Amateur Radio vanity call sign.  “The Commission spends more resources on processing the regulatory fees and issuing refunds than the amount of the regulatory fee payment,” the FCC said.  “As our costs now exceed the regulatory fee, we are eliminating this regulatory fee category.”  The change will not go into effect until required congressional notice is given.  (ARRL story)  The fee was most recently raised from $16.10 to $21.40 last September.  (ARRL story)

 

 

Upcoming Events

July 10-11 – Michigan ARRL Section Family Outing  *** Note date change ***

July 11 – Ham Breakfast

July 16 – Club Meeting

July 25 – CMARC Outdoor Hamfest

August 1 – Great Lakes Division Convention

August 5 – Board Meeting

August 8 – Angola Hamfest