--- HamCom 2013
--- N5GMJ, North Texas Section Manager
--- Are You Covered? What About Your Club?
--- ARRL Field Day, June 22 – 23, 2013
--- June VHF Contest Coming June 8-10
--- Planned ARRL Events for K5RAV and N5AUS
--- Upcoming Hamfests/Conventions
News from David Woolweaver, K5RAV, West Gulf Division Director
--- HamCom 2013
HamCom at Plano Centre opens its doors Friday, June 7th at 8:00 AM and
begins its 35th Anniversary celebration. The festivities continue
until 6:00 PM on Saturday. As usual many great forums have been
scheduled, but please be certain to attend the ARRL Forum at 11:00 AM
Saturday in the Sonny Slope rooms.
Director Woolweaver will be presenting the 1st Annual West Gulf
Division Awards to the winners of this year’s Ham of the Year, Young
Ham of the Year and Excellence Awards. Also, back by popular demand,
the ARRL First Vice President Rick Roderick, K5UR will be speaking at
the ARRL Forum on Saturday. Rick has been licensed for 45 years, is
an avid DX’er, and has been involved on the ARRL Board of Directors
for 20+ years. He has also served on CQ Magazine's DX Advisory
Committee for 40 years. A dynamic speaker, Rick is always a crowd
pleaser and speaking about “Amateur Radio - The Greatest Hobby in the
World, Part 2." Be sure to plan on attending the ARRL Forum.
New to HamCom 2013 is the DFW Contest Forum to be held on Friday. The
DFW Contest Forum kicks off at 12:00 noon with a light luncheon ($20)
and special guest speaker Doug Grant, K1DG, followed by four hours of
presentations on contesting. Presentations during the Contest Forum
will cover topics from the beginner to advanced contest topics. To
learn more about Doug, visit the DFW Contest website. Seating is
limited so check at registration to see if tickets are still available
for this event. Even if you can’t make the lunch, the other four
hours are expected to offer a wealth of information and education.
Check at registration for the availability of W5DXCC Dinner tickets
($40) Friday, June 7th. Lone Star DX is proud to present its keynote
presenter, Gene Spinelli, K5GS who was part of the 2012 ZL9HR
DXpedition to Campbell Island. Come sit, relax, eat, ragchew, and
listen to a great presentation. Every year the Lone Star DX Association
dinner is one of the best events of Ham-Com and this year’s dinner
looks to be extra special. LSDX is featuring a generously donated
Yaesu FT2000 transceiver as its door prize!
HamCom has arranged for some awesome Grand Prizes to be given away each
day. Friday’s Door Prize is a Flex 3000 and Saturday’s is an ICOM
IC-7600!
The West Gulf Division hopes that you will join us in celebrating
HamCom’s 35th Anniversary!
--- N5GMJ, North Texas Section Manager
Chris Brewer, N5GMJ, of Saginaw, Texas, has been appointed ARRL North
Texas Section Manager as of April 30. Previous Section Manager, Walt
Mayfield, KE5SOO, of Krum, announced his resignation due to work and
family commitments. Walt had served as Section Manager since October
2011. ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton,
NN1N, appointed Brewer after consulting with ARRL West Gulf Division
Director David Woolweaver, K5RAV.
Chris has been an amateur radio operator for 30 years. He has been a
net control for Tarrant County RACES since March 2011. He also held
the position of President of the Tri-County Amateur Radio Club from Aug
-2004 through Aug -2007. Additionally, Chris is on the Board of
Directors for the Kilocycle Club of Fort Worth and is an active member
of the Texas Interconnect Team. Chris has operated in just about every
mode that is available to us. But his specific interests are digital
modes: specifically APRS and D-Star on VHF/UHF and PSK and RTTY on HF.
However, he also likes to jump into a good rag chew QSO on HF at times
as well. Chris was asked to be the Official Observer Coordinator in
January 2013, having served as an Official Observer since 2009. Chris
will complete the current term of office as North Texas Section Manager
that continues through March 31, 2015.
Walt continues his service to the ARRL as an Assistant Director for the
WGD, and he wishes to congratulate Chris on his appointment.
--- Are You Covered? What About Your Club?
Given the recent weather that has besieged Oklahoma we want to take
this opportunity to remind you to double check your equipment insurance
coverage. The ARRL began a new partnership with Hays Affinity Group in
2011 to provide its ARRL Membership Equipment Insurance and Club
Liability Insurance plans. Hays serves as the program administrator to
provide equipment insurance to ARRL members that choose to elect
coverage. Hays introduced new policies for both plans, underwritten by
the Hanover Insurance Company.
Not only is equipment protection coverage through Hays Affinity Group
slightly less expensive than it was with Marsh, it’s easier to enroll
in the plans. You can sign up online and even schedule your equipment
online, too. With Hays Affinity Group, you can have all your radio
equipment covered, even the computers, hard drives and printers in your
shack. You can also elect to have coverage for your towers and antennas,
up to $15,000 of replacement cost. All losses are settled on the
replacement cost value you have stated for your equipment. In addition,
any newly acquired equipment during the policy term, up to a value of
$2000, will be covered, and once scheduled, until your next policy
renewal without any additional premium. All this -- and more -- with
only a $50 deductible ($25 for repair claims).
Hays will also provide club liability insurance to ARRL Affiliated
Clubs for those clubs that wish to take advantage of that program.
This comprehensive general liability policy provides coverage for
lawsuits resulting from bodily injury and property damage at ARRL
Affiliated Club-sponsored activities. This includes concession stands,
dances, banquets, parties, auctions, raffles, picnics and meetings, to
name just a few. Coverage would also apply for official Club
participation, for instance, participating in a community-sponsored
event. In addition to the policy limits described below, this plan also
pays the court and legal costs of defense for covered claims. The club
plan reimburses expenses for first aid to others at the time of an
accident and an owner of a premises used or rented by the Club can also
be named as an additional insured. To learn more about Affiliated Club
benefits visit http://www.arrl.org/
--- ARRL Field Day, June 22 – 23, 2013
ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held
annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June of each
year, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups
or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. Field Day is
a picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest, and
most of all, FUN!
It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to
highlight our many roles. While some will treat it as a contest, other
groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response
capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Amateur
Radio to the organizations that Amateur Radio might serve in an
emergency, as well as, the general public. For many clubs, ARRL Field
Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar.
The Field Day objective is to work as many stations as possible on any
and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands).
Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC
Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. DX stations
residing in other regions may be contacted for credit, but are not
eligible to submit entries.
The contest part is simply to contact as many other stations as
possible and to learn to operate our radio gear in abnormal situations
and less than optimal conditions. We use these same skills when we
help with events such as marathons and bike-a-thons; fund-raisers, such
as walk-a-thons; celebrations, such as parades; and exhibits at fairs,
malls and museums — these are all large, preplanned, non-emergency
activities.
For more information visit http://www.arrl.org/field-day.
Director Woolweaver will be visiting multiple Field Day sites in North
Texas. Vice Director Stratton will be visiting multiple sites in
Central Texas and in the Houston area.
The rest of the West Gulf Leadership will be scattered around the
various Sections and visiting as many locations as they possibly can.
We will look forward to seeing everyone at your local Field Day event!
--- June VHF Contest Coming June 8-10
As summer starts to warm up, the VHF bands will be hot for the 2013
ARRL June VHF Contest, June 8-10. Even with a modest station, it’s
possible to work hundreds of miles on the VHF bands during a good
opening. ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, is a VHF
enthusiast. “The June VHF Contest occurs at the beginning of
summer’s sporadic E season, which can produce intense openings on 6
meters, and even 2 meters,” he said. “With interesting propagation
characteristics like sporadic-E, tropospheric ducting, aurora and even
meteor scatter and moonbounce, VHF offers QSO opportunities that HF can
never satisfy.”
Kutzko explained that getting on the VHF bands can be quite simple,
since many HF transceivers come equipped with at least 6 meters, and
possibly other VHF/UHF bands. This year, the June VHF Contest has two
new entry classes: Single Operator/FM Only and Single Operator/3-Band.
“SOFM” allows 100 W on 6 meters through 70 centimeters using only
FM, while “SO3B” allows 100 W on 6 and 2 meters, and 50 W on 70
centimeters on any mode. Operations for both the new categories must be
conducted from a single fixed location.
You can find plans for simple VHF antennas at the Technical Information
Service area of the ARRL website, as well as in the “Antennas”
chapter of the ARRL Handbook or in the “VHF and UHF Antenna
Systems” chapter of the ARRL Antenna Book. Because VHF antennas are
generally smaller than their HF counterparts, Kutzko said that portable
operation is simple: “You can operate from your favorite hilltop,
campsite or any location with high terrain and make many QSOs. All you
need to know is the Maidenhead grid square of your operating location,
which is the contest exchange. Some grids can be quite rare; if
they’re not too far from you, you might want to consider a portable
operation to a rare square for a chance to be sought-after DX.”
“The weekend promises to be a tremendous amount of fun on the VHF and
UHF bands. Don’t miss out! All amateurs -- from Technicians to Extras,
experienced VHF operators to the first-time VHF dabblers -- can join in
the excitement,” Kutzko said. The ARRL June VHF Contest runs from
1800 UTC Saturday, June 8 through 0259 UTC Monday, June 10 (Saturday
afternoon to Sunday evening for most of the US and Canada). Complete
rules and entry forms may be found here. All logs must be e-mailed or
postmarked no later than 0300 UTC Wednesday, July 10. Questions can be
sent via e-mail to the Contest Branch.
(Source the ARRL website)
--- Planned ARRL Events for K5RAV and N5AUS
Director Woolweaver, K5RAV and Vice Director Stratton, N5AUS are
planning to attend the following upcoming events:
K5RAV
- -HamCom, West Gulf Convention, June 6-7, Plano, TX
-- Field Day Events, June 22-23, North Texas Section
-- ARRL Second Board Meeting, July 19-20, Windsor, CT
-- Ham Holiday, OK State Convention, July 26-27, Oklahoma City, OK
- -Austin Summerfest, Texas State Convention, August 2-3, Austin, TX
N5AUS
- -HamCom, West Gulf Convention, June 6-7, 2013, Plano, Texas
-- Field Day Events, June 22-23, Central Texas and Houston area
-- ARRL Second Board Meeting, July 19-20, Windsor, CT
- -Austin Summerfest, Texas State Convention, August 2-3, Austin, TX
ARRL Convention and Hamfest events are a great place to visit with the
Division and Section Leadership! Each event will also include an ARRL
forum where you can receive additional insight into Division and
Section matters.
At anytime that you have a concern or just want to say hello, contact
Director Woolweaver at K5RAV@arrl.org. Visit our website at
www.arrlwgd.org; follow us on Twitter at ARRL_WGD and on Facebook at
ARRL West Gulf Division.
-- Upcoming Hamfests and Conventions
06/07/2013 | West Gulf Division Convention - 35th Anniversary Ham-Com
Location: Plano, TX
Type: ARRL Convention
Sponsor: Ham-Com, Inc.
Website: http://www.hamcom.org
06/29/2013 | W5AW Hamfest
Location: Big Spring, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Big Spring Amateur Radio Club (W5AW)
Website: http://www.qsl.net/w5aw/
07/13/2013 | Texas City, Tidelands Hamfest
Location: Texas City, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Tidelands Amateur Radio Society
Website: http://www.tidelands.org
07/26/2013 | Oklahoma State Convention (Ham Holiday)
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Type: ARRL Convention
Sponsor: Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs
Website: http://www.hamholiday.com
08/02/2013 | Texas State Convention (Austin Summerfest 2013)
Location: Austin, TX
Type: ARRL Convention
Sponsor: Austin Amateur Radio Club & Texas VHF-FM Society
Website: http://www.austinsummerfest.
09/07/2013 | Gainesville Hamfest 2013
Location: Gainesville, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Cooke County Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.gainesvillehamfest.
09/13/2013 | ADA HAMFEST
Location: Ada, OK
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Ada Radio Club, Durant Amateur Radio Club, & Shawnee Radio
Club
10/25/2013 | Texoma Hamarama
Location: Ardmore, OK
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Texoma Hamarama Association
Website: http://texomahamarama.org
11/09/2013 | NCTECH 2013
Location: Azle, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Tri-County Amateur Radio Club (WC5C)
Website: http://www.wc5c.org/WC5CClub/
------------------------------
ARRL West Gulf Division
Director: David A Woolweaver, K5RAV
k5rav@arrl.org
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