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ARRL Club News

Published by the American Radio Relay League ********************************************

January 25, 2022

Editor: Michael Walters, W8ZY <clubs@arrl.org>

IN THIS ISSUE

- Welcome
- ARRL Foundation to Create Club Grants Program
- Winter Field Day Is Coming
- Maine Scouts On 40 Meters
- Philadelphia Club Supports Wounded Veterans via Stamp Collecting
Program
- Go Fully Electronic in 2022!
- Monthly Zoom Meeting for Collegiate Clubs Offers a Variety of Topics
- Get to the 2022 ARRL National Convention at Orlando HamCation
- Submitting Info for This Newsletter
- How to Plan and Apply for an ARRL Hamfest or Convention
- Important Links

WELCOME

Winter is in full swing, but so far here in Connecticut, other than a
few really cold nights, we have had a very mild time. I want all of the
clubs' presidents to think about what seems to be a common theme across
the country. Many clubs have a new slate of officers, some old and some
new. Many clubs are collecting dues for the next year. January is
always a bit of a time for renewal. Now is the time to renew the club
in general. Do you have plans to do outreach in your community? Are you sponsoring a new ham training class or working with a school club? Do
you have plans for activities for the membership to get them involved
or to do EmComm training? COVID has had us all locked up for the last
couple of years and we all need a chance to get involved in some way.
Work with your club and see if there is an event, a contest, a net that
you can be more active in. Winter is a great time for Net Control
training. Most of can attest to the fact that the amount of traffic on
the local repeaters might be less than it used to be. What do you need
to do to light a fire under the club and have some fun?

By the way: I will be at HamCation in Orlando in the ARRL Clubs booth.
Stop by and say hello if you are in the area for the hamfest.

Mike, W8ZY

ARRL FOUNDATION TO CREATE CLUB GRANTS PROGRAM

01/13/2022

A new ARRL Foundation <http://www.arrl.org/the-arrl-foundation> Club
Grants program, funded by a grant from Amateur Radio Digital
Communications (ARDC <http://www.ampr.org/>), will make $500,000
available to radio clubs. The program will provide up to $25,000 for
worthy club projects. Requests for more than that will be referred back
to ARDC.

ARRL has long recognized that it is in the best interests of amateur
radio to encourage and support amateur radio clubs. Clubs historically
have recruited, licensed, and trained new radio amateurs and have
provided the community setting for radio amateurs to continue their
education and training. The new Club Grants program will help clubs
more easily provide and expand their important services.

Beginning in April 2022, amateur radio clubs will be able to apply for
these grants by filling out a simple form on the ARRL website. The ARRL Foundation will evaluate the grant proposals. The Foundation was
established in 1973 to advance the art, science, and societal benefits
of the Amateur Radio Service by awarding financial grants and
scholarships to individuals and organizations in support of their
charitable, educational, and scientific efforts.

A key criterion for determining awards will be how the project will
advance amateur radio in the grantee's community. In most cases, this
process should take no longer than 90 days.

ARRL Foundation President David Woolweaver, K5RAV, shared his
enthusiasm about this new program. "This program will substantially
contribute to the growth of amateur radio clubs and their efforts to
expand and support the amateur radio community," he said.

ARDC is a California-based foundation and makes grants to projects and organizations that follow amateur radio's practice and tradition of
technical experimentation in both amateur radio and digital
communication science. ARDC Executive Director Rosy Schechter, KJ7RYV,
noted that this program will streamline the process for getting club
projects funded, so that clubs can get started on these projects more
quickly.

"We're very excited about working with the ARRL Foundation on this
program," said Schechter. "We can't wait to see what kinds of creative
things clubs will do with these grants." All of the details of
application and criteria are still being developed at this time. Please
watch for further details to be released as the program is finalized.
-- Thanks to ARDC

WINTER FIELD DAY IS COMING

For those who operate HF, note that Winter Field Day is

coming up on the weekend of January 29-30, 2022. This is

a great opportunity for hams around the country to

exercise their skills and equipment under conditions that are "less
ideal" than late June. You are encouraged to set up a simple field

station, or to make contacts with stations from home.

Remember to send us pictures of Winter Field Day and make sure that you
stay warm - and most of all, have fun.

Details: https://www.winterfieldday.com

MAINE SCOUTS ON 40 METERS

Thanks to Al Sirois, N1MHC, some scouts in Lincoln County, Maine, were introduced to amateur radio while they worked on their Radio merit
badges on December 18. N1MHC and friends set up a schedule on 40-meter
phone. and four scouts and Scoutmaster Mike Lomas were able to chat
with Phil Duggan, N1EP, in Maine, Ralph Churchill, W3FME, in
Pennsylvania, and Skip Newell, K1WMN, In Massachusetts on 7.262 MHz.

Scout Elijah Smith shared with N1EP that he was 11 years old and was
working on his Radio merit badge. Elijah also volunteered that he liked anything related to nature.

Scouts Dylan Lomas, Phil Smith, and Eddie Seiders chatted with W3FME
and K1WMN about radio and scouting. Skip, K1WMN is an eagle scout.
Ralph, W3FME, earned his Radio merit badge and ham radio license in the
1950s.

PHILADELPHIA CLUB SUPPORTS WOUNDED VETERANS VIA STAMP COLLECTING

PROGRAM

What do you do with the envelopes when you receive about 1,000 QSL
card requests followingthe 13th Annual 13 Colonies Special Event in
July?" Do you just throw out the envelops, or is there something you
can do with the cancelled stamps? This was a question discussed by the
QSL managers for WM3PEN, the club call of the Holmesburg Amateur Radio
Club (HARC).

WM3PEN trustee Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, learned of a program called
Stamps for the Wounded. Stamps for the Wounded (SFTW) is a service
organization dedicated to providing comfort and stimulating activity to
US veterans through stamp collecting. SFTW sends donated US and foreign
postage stamps and other philatelic material and supplies to wounded,
ill, and isolated veterans. SFTW has been helping veterans since 1942.
The program gives the wounded something to spark their interest and
stave off boredom.

Just how many stamps has the club shipped? According to Rich Shivers,
K3UJ, who coordinates the shipments, HARC has shipped over 60 pounds of
stamps. Shivers says approximately 4,000 stamps equal 1 pound. That
means that about a quarter of a million stamps have been shipped to
SFTW! Stamps have been received from several countries, including Great Britain, Germany, and Canada. People learn about amateur radio through
local publicity. Several hams who are active in other organizations
have started their own stamp collection and are sending them directly
to the SFTW program.

Josuweit says that this is a project that clubs, special event
organizers, or even individuals can start. They promote the program on
our QSL cards as well as on the web and social media sites. For further information on the SFTW program, go to
https://www.stampsforthewounded.org/ or contact HARC at WM3PEN @
ARRL.net.

GO FULLY ELECTRONIC IN 2022!

By Maria Somma, AB1FM, ARRL VEC Manager

Online Examinations and Remote Testing

Your club's VE team can become part of the fun and excitement of
remotely administered Online Examinations.

The remote exam sessions are conducted using an online video
conferencing platform and a web-based examination system with on-screen
tests. ARRL VE teams have had the option to be completely electronic
since June 2020 by using online exams. The online exams can also be
utilized at in-person sessions automating most of the process, for a
fully electronic in-person session experience.

VE teams have been using the Exam.Tools <https://exam.tools/> Online Examination system for remote video and in-person sessions. Over 25,000 applicants have been tested through the Online Examinations system in
the past two years. The system works well for online or printed
examinations and includes registering and tracking candidates
throughout the session, on screen exams and grading, online signing of
CSCE and 605 forms by the candidate and examiners, logging and
compiling session stats and VE participation list (test report
summary), and output files for upload to the coordinating VEC. The
program manages and handles almost everything needed to conduct a test
session. Time and experience with in-person exam sessions is invaluable
when transitioning to remote video-supervised online exam sessions.

Interested ARRL VE teams must contact the VEC department <vec@arrl.org>
to receive the online exams instructions and remote video session
procedures.

Not a VE? Become one today!

Visit http://www.arrl.org/become-an-arrl-ve

Electronically File Exam Session Documents for Quicker Service

After the session has concluded, VE teams can upload in-person
documents or remote video session files via ARRL VEC's secure web page
(program service option since 2018).

New and upgraded licenses are issued within 1 to 2 business days for
weekend sessions and are usually issued on the same day for weekday
sessions.

Please contact the VEC department <VEC@arrl.org> for the information
and instructions on electronically filing exam session documents
through our upload page. Authorized VEs will be sent the upload page
URL which, is hidden from the public.

Resources for ARRL VEs

The ARRL VEC VE Resources <http://www.arrl.org/resources-for-ves> page
offers the information you will need to help conduct exam session
business. Our support page offers easy access to session forms and
information, online examinations, remote video session instructions, VE
Manual supplemental information, FCC rules, basic qualification
question procedures, and much more. There is also some helpful
information for the community, such as preparation resources for
candidates, in-person and remote video exam session search, vanity call
sign information, and more.

The ARRL VE Newsletter relays important updates relating to FCC rule or
policy changes, exam session document or procedural changes, video
sessions, and other topics. VEs can sign up for the newsletter at https://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/ve-list

We appreciate your service to the amateur radio community!

MONTHLY ZOOM MEETING FOR COLLEGIATE CLUBS OFFERS A VARIETY OF

TOPICS

<http://www.arrl.org/WeWantU>Each month, ARRL hosts a Zoom meeting
with student representatives and advisors from the large community of
college radio clubs. The group met on January 11, led by ARRL
Collegiate Amateur Radio Advisors Tony Milluzzi, KD8RTT, and Andy
Milluzzi, KK4LWR. Among the schools represented were College of DuPage, University of Arizona, University of Florida, The Ohio State
University, Temple, Cal Poly, University of Michigan, Penn State, Texas
A&M, and others.

These meetings often include a guest speaker or spotlight the
activities of a particular college club. This meeting, however, was a
bit more open ended - inviting a rapid-fire collection of the different activities the clubs have taken on over the school year. Here's what
they did:

- Foxhunts
- Satellite operating
- Winter Field Day
- School Club Roundup (second full school week of February, and third
full school week of October)
- Parks on the Air (POTA) expeditions
- State QSO parties
- A shopping trip to a ham radio dealer. Bringing along some of the new
and inexperienced members
- Project building. Examples:- 1/4-λ ground-plane antenna to help
extend the signal of a handheld radio
- Tape measure beam for radio direction finding
- End-fed half-wave antenna (see kit available from ARRL <http://www.arrl.org/end-fed-half-wave-antenna-kit>)

- High-altitude balloon launch with amateur radio payload
- Restoration of vintage radio gear
- NTS nets and informal nets
- Hosting license exam sessions in the community or at events
- Volunteering to support public service communications at a marathon
or bikeathon

Each of these activities can encourage new experiences for participants
and helps everyone in the club develop skills and knowledge. Consider
creating a 12-month calendar of events for your club, with one activity scheduled every month. For example: three contests or operating events (including ARRL Field Day); three projects or workshops; two public
service events and/or an annual basic EmComm training session; and four speakers.

College radio clubs are uniquely organized to emphasize learning by
doing. After all, most of their membership are busy students who join
the club for new experiences and to have fun. It's a model that might
work for every radio club!

For more information about the monthly ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio
webinars and related resources, visit www.arrl.org/WeWantU <http://www.arrl.org/WeWantU>.

GET TO THE 2022 ARRL NATIONAL CONVENTION AT ORLANDO HAMCATION

<www.arrl.org/expo>The ARRL National Convention & Orlando HamCation®
is February 10 - 13, 2022. Register at www.arrl.org/expo <http://www.arrl.org/expo>.

The convention will be held in two parts. On Thursday, February 10, an
all-day ARRL National Convention Program will be held at the DoubleTree
by Hilton Hotel Orlando at SeaWorld. Advance registration is required
and includes a series of day-long ARRL Training Tracks and a National Convention luncheon. Registration can be completed online <http://www.arrl.org/expo>.

DX Engineering <https://www.dxengineering.com/> is the Official Sponsor
of the 2022 ARRL National Convention Program.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, February 11 - 13, HamCation will take
place at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park in Orlando -- an
87-acre lakefront fairgrounds. The convention marks the 75th
anniversary of HamCation -- one of the largest annual gatherings of
radio amateurs in the US. Get your tickets for HamCation at
www.hamcation.com <https://www.hamcation.com/>.

SUBMITTING INFO FOR THIS NEWSLETTER

ARRL Club News is for radio clubs to show how they are working in the
community and the hobby to advance amateur radio. If your club does a
project, supports an event, does an EmComm activation or activates a
park, we want to hear about it. You can submit your newsletter article
to us at clubs@arrl.org. We like to get them as text or Word files
instead of PDFs. If you have pictures, please submit them with any
caption information, as well as the name and call sign of the
photographer. We want to highlight the good work being done by the
clubs and show others in the community of clubs. Think of this as a
chance to show off your club and your programs.

HOW TO PLAN AND APPLY FOR AN ARRL HAMFEST OR CONVENTION

If your amateur radio club is planning to host a convention, hamfest,
tailgate, or swapfest, please consider applying for ARRL sanctioned
status for your event. To learn what it means to be an ARRL sanctioned
event, and to get some ideas on how to prepare for and conduct a
hamfest or convention, visit www.arrl.org/arrl-sanctioned-events <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-sanctioned-events>.

To apply for ARRL sanctioned status for your event, go to www.arrl.org/hamfest-convention-application <http://www.arrl.org/hamfest-convention-application>.

The ARRL Hamfests and Conventions Calendar can be found online at www.arrl.org/hamfests <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>. In addition, the Convention and Hamfest Calendar that runs in QST each month also
presents information about upcoming events.

IMPORTANT LINKS

ARRL Home: www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/>

Find an ARRL Affiliated Club: www.arrl.org/clubs
<http://www.arrl.org/clubs>

Find Your ARRL Section: www.arrl.org/sections
<http://www.arrl.org/sections>

Find a License Class in your area: www.arrl.org/class <http://www.arrl.org/class>

Find a License Exam in your area: www.arrl.org/exam
<http://www.arrl.org/exam>

Find a Hamfest or Convention: www.arrl.org/hamfests <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>

Email ARRL Clubs: clubs@arrl.org

ARRL Club News is published every month (12 times each year). ARRL
members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member
Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/club-news.

Copyright (c) 2022 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated.
Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is
permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution.
All other purposes require written permission.

<http://www.arrl.org/>

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