arrl midwest division newsletter september 2016 arrl ...arrl midwest div. newsletter— sep. 2016 p....
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ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter
September 2016
ARRL Member Loyalty Recognition by Rod Blocksome, K0DAS
ARRL HQ recently sent out membership loyalty pins in recognition of people who
have completed continuous membership in ARRL for 40, 50, 60, 70, & 80 years.
There were a total of 223 members in the Midwest division recognized for 40 years
continuous membership: Iowa = 64, Kansas = 55, Missouri = 70, Nebraska = 34.
Those recognized for 50 years or more are listed in the following tables for each
section. Congratulations to all for this grand achievement.
IOWA KANSAS
Years Name Call Years Name Call 50 Richard E Amundson WA0JFS 50 Lester A Anderson Jr W0AFQ
50 Leroy R Auxier WA0DNV 50 Charles C Childress W0MNK
50 James B Bailey W0YWP 50 Darwin L Gray WA0JFC
50 George E Carsner W0PPF 50 Donald W Schmidt WA0JRZ
50 Richard D Ethington WA0PZU 50 David L Soldan N0IN
50 Richard W Hadley W0FG 50 Lawrence E Stoskopf N0UU
50 Richard J Janousek W0EGK 50 Harvey C Tewes K0RY
50 Glenn R Johnson W0GJ 50 Ronald R Tremblay WA0PSF
50 Norman W Kelley K0IA
50 Dallas L Kibbe WA0KJW 60 Robert L Dyson K0AYO
50 James M Lasley N0JL 60 Vernie L Ellis K0IEW
50 William Q Meeker Jr K0KT 60 Theodore A Geisert AF0R
50 David Metz WA0AUQ 60 William E Hart W6QAT
50 Stephen R Pacha K0JWO 60 Rodney R Hogg K0EQH
50 Theodore H Pfeiff WA0NDD 60 Edwin A Pick W0BBM
50 Jerry L Remhof W0CI 60 Robert R Weidenheimer W0YXC
50 John P Rundall K0GVG
50 Carmi J Smith W0JOC
50 Richard M Taylor WA0NVN
60 James M Livengood W0NB
60 James L Spencer W0SR
60 John W Wickenkamp W0JA
70 David B Hallock W0SS
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 2
MISSOURI NEBRASKA
Years Name Call Years Name Call 50 Joe R Brown AK0V 50 O L Darrington W0VF
50 Charles Burkhardt K0GPF 50 Charles H Davis K0FY
50 Robert M Cantwell K0AC 50 Timothy L Loewenstein WA0IVW
50 T R Cassens 50 Larry D Martens K0SW
50 James Lewis Cioccio W0RQZ 50 Loren R Mc Ginnis WA0JCE
50 Ronald L Cunningham W9MAF 50 Glen C Pollock WA0FMY
50 Newton M Davis Jr WA0KGT 50 Roger L Sullivan WA0ETE
50 Harold E De Canniere K0HD 50 Richard D Wilson W0KT
50 George W Dowell K0FF
50 R V Eaton K0IPM 60 Donald C Cox W0REL
50 Jerry G Gorrell W0CLR 60 Roger K Ghormley W0KK
50 Robert W Gumm WA0NVX 60 Dr Richard Gobel K0US
50 George L Howard W0TU
50 Mr Torsten E Isaacson K0HQW 80 Lyle B Quinn W0US
50 Eugene D Kidd KC0CA
50 Rikki Lareau Mc Kelvy KM0J
50 Fred P Mellers K0FZT
50 David E Michael WA0NXD
50 S David Propper K2DP
50 Thomas J Thornton KC0BW
50 Roger H Volk K0GOB
50 David W West WB0ATD
50 Ron R Wood K0BRO
50 Wayne A Yost KA0JJH
60 Judson L Abernathy WA0WHS
60 Peter S Freeman K6RFT
60 Parker W Fritschle K0CPO
60 James E Jones WJ0R
60 Leon R Knoernschild W0KR
60 Mr Charles J Nagel K0CW
60 Willis A Nelson KI0T
60 Houston Taylor Jr W0LPR
60 Roy D Welch W0SL
60 Bill J Wheeler K0DEW
70 George F Franklin W0AV
70 James B Logan W0JC
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 3
ARISS QSO Scheduled with Students in Lawrence, Kansas
Students in Lawrence, Kansas will have an opportunity to visit with astronauts on the International
Space Station on Friday Sept. 9th at 16:25 UTC (11:25 AM Local). The astronaut will be Takuya
Onishi.
The event will take place at the Lawrence Public Library in partnership with the Douglas County
Amateur Radio Club and Keith Pugh, W5IU, ARISS Technical Mentor. Here is background
information provided by the library:
Lawrence Public Library (LPL) is located in the vibrant community of Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence has a population of around 87,000 people and is home to the University of Kansas. LPL provides free access to a wide range of informational, intellectual, and cultural resources for our community. We seek to create an environment in which all members of the community feel welcome, and to act as a community living room where all types of important topics can be discussed and examined. Through participation in the ARISS program, we hope to provide all members of our community with the opportunity to learn more about space exploration, the international space station, and radio in general. We most especially are hoping to encourage 6-12th graders in our community to expand their horizons and consider STEM careers. In the months leading up to our contact with the International Space Station LPL has provided a number of programs in partnership with the Douglas County Amateur Radio Club ranging from building crystal radios and preparing for and taking the radio technician exam, to star gazing and learning about the science of rocketry and what life is like in space. Space-themed story hours for the smallest kids, and book displays for teens and adults also sought to educate and excite as many community members as possible about the upcoming contact. Our full community was encouraged to become involved in the contact by submitting potential questions to ask the astronauts, and then by voting for their favorite questions in order to narrow the list down to our community's top 20. A lucky group of 6-12th graders will get to ask these questions as we all listen in to the radio contact. In the hours surrounding our contact, LPL and a number of local organizations will provide activities and informational booths on everything from what it takes to become an astronaut, to activities such as launching paper rockets on the library lawn. It will be an event for the whole community to enjoy, and an opportunity for our teens to look beyond the everyday and imagine a future with STEM.
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 4
Putting Our Natural Satellite to Good Use
Rod Blocksome, K0DAS
On the evening of July 30th, after an enjoyable banquet dinner at the Central States VHF Conference, the gang had retired to the hospitality suite for liquid refreshments. I casually joined a conversation in progress with Lance, W7GJ, noted 6-meter EME'er. Bill, N0LNO, Gregg, KC0SKM, and Wyatt, AC0RA, fellow VHF'ers from Cedar Rapids, immediately informed me that we had committed to building a 6-meter EME station in time to work Lance in three weeks when he travels to the islands of Palau and Ulithi Atoll in Micronesia. A few days later we started building a very long yagi and quickly realized we were going to have to "infect" one or two more retired hams in order to pull this off in time. We also needed a flat, noise-less location in order to achieve the needed "ground gain" when the moon is close to the horizon. We recruited Steve, NU0P and Jason, NR0X who also agreed to let us use a flat area at the NR0X QTH. Jason also had pieces of two M2 6M9KHW long yagis that had been damaged years earlier. In the course of one Saturday, the crew plus my brother-in-law rebuilt one good yagi from the pieces of two. The antenna is 50-feet long and is specified to have 14.8 dBi of gain. Over the next few days, a T/R relay with LNA and sequencer was built, a 1.5kW PA was obtained, WSJT software was loaded on computers, and a plethora of cables interconnected everything. The first few evenings of operational testing was conducted with the station on the tail gate of my pick-up along with a 6.5 kW generator roaring away and supplying AC power. Our feed line was only 24-feet of 1/2-in. hard line coax to minimize loss. Since the antenna was only 20-feet high, this meant moving the pick-up to keep the station under the antenna driven element while tracking the moon as it moves across the sky. Nine days after starting the project, we logged our first EME contact on 6-meters using JT-65A. It was time for celebration and refinements in the time remaining before the first chance to work Lance on Palau. Steve, NU0P fabricated an exquisite elevation mount which allows manual tracking of the moon at elevations up to 50-degrees. Jason, NR0X built a heavy 220 VAC cable to bring power from the barn thus eliminating the generator and enabling normal conversation around the rig. He also furnished an enclosed utility trailer to house the station, thus eliminating the need to reassemble the station for each moon window. Only a few of our team managed to work Lance, T88GJ, on Palau due mainly to our lack of experience and Lance having a high noise level in the direction of his moon rise. But we were encouraged by the many fellow 6-meter EME'er who offered encouragement and who copied our signal off the moon. Later Lance relocated to Ulithi Atoll and became V6M. As I write this, every member of our team has now worked V6M on EME.
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 5
Reflecting back on the past few weeks of this project, there are several aspects to consider:
1. There is great admiration of the character qualities that propel a ham (such as Lance, W7GJ) to travel to remote islands in the Pacific on his own funds enduring many hardships just to work fellow hams solely on 6-meters EME.
2. Assembling a 6-meter EME station in a short time, brought together a group of Iowa hams each with the specific skills required: Antennas, RF, Computers, Software, Systems, Logistics, and Mechanical.
3. Interacting with the Moon for our communication purposes thereby accomplishing the ultimate DX (distance) of a 500,000 mile propagation path length.
In summary, it was a "hoot" - a richly rewarding learning experience. If any of this sparks your imagination, give it a try. There are many experienced EME'er who willingly help the newcomer to EME. Below are some photos of our station.
Before Elevation Capability: KC0SKM - Antenna Control and AC0RA - Operator
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 6
Working V6M With the 9-Element Yagi Pointed to the Moon
Initial Open-Air Station: L to R
AC0RA, NU0P, NR0X, KC0SKM
Later Sheltered Station: L to R
NU0P and N0LNO
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 7
Azores 2015 - HQ Doods DXpedition
By Bruce Frahm, K0BJ, Honorary Vice-President ARRL
Click on this Link to read Bruce's interesting article on his recent adventure in amateur radio: http://www.arrlmidwest.org/pdfs/azores-2015-K0BJ.pdf
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Southeast Nebraska Amateur Radio Club
80 Year Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, September 24 and Sunday, September 25
KØC SPECIAL EVENT STATION 20 meters 14.230 and 40 meters 7.180
Saturday, Sept 24 CDST 1000-1600 (1500Z—2100Z) Sunday, Sept 25, CDST 1000-1400 (1500Z -1900Z)
Coryell Park
Johnson, Nebraska 73203 633rd Avenue
Johnson, Nebraska 68378 402 856-2875
1936—2016
80 Year Celebration
All Hams are welcome to attend.
Limited camping spaces are available at Coryell Park, Fri, Sept 23 thru Sat. Sept. 25. You must email [email protected] or [email protected] to reserve a spot. There is no electric hookup available, only parking space. Motels available in Auburn: Arbor Manor Motel, 402- 274-3663; Auburn Inn, 402-274-3143; Palmer House Motel, 402-274-3193 and Southside RV Park, 402-274-4434, Longcreek TV Park, 402-274-7898.
—Chuck, KDØPTK
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 8
Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -
New Iowa STM Lelia Garner, WA0UIG, of Robins, Iowa has accepted the appointment of SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER (STM) for Iowa. An active traffic handler, she will handle Net Reports and traffic issues in the section. CONGRATULATIONS LEE! Robert McCaffrey, K0CY ARRL Iowa Section Manager
ARRL Kansas State Convention The Central Kansas ARC, Salina, Kansas hosted another fine convention and hamfest on Sunday, August 21st. The facilities are nice and spacious and the food is great. I would estimate the attendance at about 300. I'm always amazed to see that the attendance at the ARRL Forum is one of the highest in the division in terms of percentage of the total attendance. Kansas SM, Ron Cowan, KB0DTI, always has an informative presentation of interest to Kansas ARRL members. Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, from ARRL HQ came out and presented general happenings at league HQ and in particular the Official Observer Program which he administers. The evening before the convention, Rod Hogg, K0EQH, hosted a dinner at a local Salina restaurant for convention attendees. After a fine dinner ordered from the menu, the gang enjoyed a couple of video presentations followed by a door prize drawing. You may notice the similarities in the calls K0BOG, K0EQH, and K0DAS. In our much younger days we were all hamming in western Kansas. My log book shows my first QSO with K0EQH occurred 8:25 to 9:45 AM on Mar. 7, 1961 on 3.892 MHz AM. A little over a year later, I worked K0BOG on July 17, 1962 on 3.8 MHz AM. On the next two pages are scans of their QSL cards from over a half-century ago that I recently found in my collection. Rod Blocksome, K0DAS
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 9
Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -
Kansas ARRL Convention ARRL Booth Crew (L to R): Rod Blocksome, K0DAS; Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG; Mike Albers, K0FJ (Asst. Dir.); Ron Cowan, KB0DTI (Kansas SM) Photo: Mary Skolaut, KC1IHS
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 10
Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -
The Ozarks Mini Maker Faire Ward Silver, N0AX
The Maker Faire will be of interest to Amateur Radio Operators who like to build and experiment. It will be held Saturday Sept. 10, 2016 at the Springfield, MO Expo Center. Additional details can be obtained on the web site: https://theozarksmakerfaire.com
Kansas Convention Attendees: Louis Hayward, WB0YWZ WX Net manager, his Son Larry, N0MRS and Chuck Moore, N0MXI who runs the K-Link Net Saturday Nights. Photo: Ron Cowan, KB0DTI
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 11
Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -
Cedar Valley ARC Hamfest
The annual Cedar Valley ARC Hamfest was held Sunday Aug. 7th this year. The weather was perfect and attendance was estimated at 600. Forums, meetings, VEC testing, free coffee, door prizes, and a large flea market brought out the attendees. Some photos of the activities are below:
Cedar Valley ARC Hamfest inside flea market and a well preserved receiver from yester-year. Photos: Dave Maley, WA0ZZG
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p.12
Cedar Valley ARC Hamfest outside flea market and N0LNO's VHF-Microwave Rover Vehicle Photos: Dave Maley, WA0ZZG
Midwest Division News and Photos Wanted!
If you have news and photos about events or activities from the Midwest Division, email
them to Director Rod Blocksome K0DAS at [email protected]. I will try to include
as many as possible in upcoming editions of the Midwest Division News.
Thanks and 73, Rod, K0DAS
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Sep. 2016 p. 13
Midwest Division Special Event Stations
01/01/2016 | ASCRA 40th Anniversary QSL Jan 1-Dec 31, 0000Z-2359Z, W0SHQ, Independence, MO. Association of Saints Church Radio Amateurs. 14.287 7.190. QSL. ASCRA, PO Box 73, Independence, MO 64051. ASCRA 40th ANNIVERSARY ASCRA is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of its First General Membership Meeting in 1976 and the 2016 Community of Christ World Conference. Make contact with W0SHQ during 2016 and you can receive a Special Edition Commemorative QSL Card celebrating both events. Please send a SASE with your QSL
card confirming contact to: ASCRA, PO Box 73, Independence, MO 64051 ascra.org
09/10/2016 | Route 66 on the Air Sep 10-Sep 18, 0000Z-2359Z, W6O, Lebanon, MO. Lebanon Amateur Radio Club. 14.266. QSL. Bill Wheeler, 272 Donna Lee, Lebanon, MO 65536. [email protected] or www.lebanonarc.com 1000Z-1800Z, W6R, Pleasant Hope, MO. SMARC. 3.966 7.266 14.266 21.266. QSL. W6R Special Event, PO Box 249, Pleasant Hope, MO 65725. [email protected] or smarc.org
10/08/2016 | Lester Dent - Doc Savage Special Event Oct 8-Oct 9, 1400Z-2300Z, W0D, Macon, MO. Macon County Amateur Radio Club. 14.265, 7.240. Certificate. Macon County ARC, PO Box 13, Macon, MO 63552. This special event to honor Lester Dent who was a creative genius, man of adventure and Amateur Radio operator W0CBL, and who was one of the most prolific Pulp Fiction Authors in the world. Lester Dent was born in La Plata, MO and is most famous for creating the first American Superhero Doc Savage. Mr. Dent was also the creator of the Dent Master Fiction Plot Formula that forms the foundation for almost all action adventure movies and TV programs. To learn more about Mr. Dent and his life, go to the Macon County ARC website http://maconcountyarc.net/ and select the appropriate tab. There is a nice story and several pictures of Mr. Dent. www.maconcountyarc.net/index.html
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter– Sep. 2016 p. 14
Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests & Conventions
09/10/2016 | AK-SAR-BEN Amateur Radio Club Flea-Esta Location: Springfield, NE Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.aksarbenarc.org
10/02/2016 | Southeast Iowa Hamfest Location: West Liberty, IA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Muscatine & Washington Area Amateur Radio Clubs Website: http://www.waarc.net/hamfest.html
10/13/2016 | Microwave Update 2016 Conference (K0DAS Attending) Location: St. Louis, MO Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Bob Sluder, N0IS, Mel Whitten, K0PFX & Jim Richardson, N5MU Website: http://www.microwaveupdate.org
10/15/2016 | SouthSide ARC Hamfest Location: Belton, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: SouthSide Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.southsidehamfest.com
10/29/2016 | Halloween Hamfest Location: Kirkwood, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: St. Louis ARC Website: http://www.halloweenhamfest.org
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter– Sep. 2016 p. 15
Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests & Conventions
11/05/2016 | NARCfest 2016 Location: Nixa, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Nixa Amateur Radio Club Website: http://smlrs.info/hamfest-flyer/
11/06/2016 | Davenport RAC Hamfest & Computer Show
Location: Davenport, IA
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Davenport Radio Amateur Club (WØBXR)
Website: http://www.arcsupport.com/drac/hamfest.html
11/12/2016 | Raytown ARC Hamfest Location: Kansas City, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Raytown Amateur Radio Club Website: http://K0GQ.com For Hamfests & Conventions Calendar, go to: http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar
ARRL Midwest Division Leadership
Director: Rod Blocksome K0DAS [email protected] 319-393-8022
Vice Director: Art Zygielbaum K0AIZ [email protected] 402-421-0839
Iowa Section Manager: Bob McCaffrey, K 0CY
Kansas Section Manager: Ron Cowan, KB0DTI
Missouri Section Manager: Cecil Higgins, AC0HA
Nebraska Section Manager: Matt Anderson, KA0BOJ
DX Advisory Committee: John Yodis, K2VV (MO)
Emergency Communications Advisory Committee: Reynolds Davis, K 0GND (NE)
Contest Advisory Committee: Glenn Johnson, W0GJ (IA)
Midwest Division Volunteer Counsel: Craig Long, K0CSL
Division Legislative Action Chair: Mike Edwards, WB9M (MO)
Legislative Action Coordinators: Nick Critelli, K 0PCG (IA); Bruce Frahm, K0BJ (KS & NE); Mike
Edwards, WB9M (MO).
Assistant Directors (Missouri): Paul Haefner K 0JPL, Fred Miller KB0WIL, Dave Propper K2DP,
Barbara Rich KG0UT, John Rogers W0WC, Kent Trimble K9ZTV, Roger Volk K0GOB, and Eric Zust
W0TT.
Assistant Directors (Kansas): Mike Albers K 0FJ, Jim Andera K0NK, Andy Anderson W0AFQ, Bill
Henderson K0VBU, Charlie Hett K0THN, Jon Jones N0JK, Brian Short KC0BS, and Rick Tucker
W0RT.
Assistant Directors (Iowa): Don Boyvey AK0BG, Dennis O’Brien KA0DOS, C.W. Pantel K0IIR,
Jim Spencer W0SR, and Jim Lasley N0JL.
Assistant Directors (Nebraska): Frank Cahoy K 0BLT, Stan Coleman N0YXV, Reynolds Davis
K0GND, Bill Duffy KA0VXK, Joe Eisenberg K0NEB, Allen Harpham KB0ASQ, Todd LeMense
KK0DX, Mike Nickolaus NF0N, and Roxanne Baxter AA7RX.
Midwest Division Webmaster: Steve Schmitz W0SJS email: [email protected]
Midwest Division’s website: http://www.arrlmidwest.org/