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ARRL Club News

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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December 19, 2023

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

IN THIS ISSUE

- Happy Holidays from ARRL
- Clubs Give Kids a Chance to Speak with Santa via Ham Radio
- UHF Simplex Net in Puerto Rico
- Special Event Station Celebrates Iowa Statehood
- Updating Club Information
- Write for Club Station
- Submitting Info for this Newsletter
- How to Plan and Apply for an ARRL Hamfest or Convention
- Important Links

==> HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ARRL

The holidays are upon us, and now is the time to celebrate the joy and
festive nature of the season. How ever you and your family spend this
time of year, it's a time to remember friends and family. Enjoy the
celebrations and spend time with friends, on the air and in person.
Many clubs are holding their holiday gatherings and some are
participating in on-air programs. Check out a repeater that you've
never tried and make a contact on a mode that is new to you!

Happy Holidays from us all at ARRL and Club News.

==> CLUBS GIVE KIDS A CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH SANTA VIA HAM RADIO

Clubs around the country are hosting special events and sharing the
magic of the season with amateur radio by connecting kids with the big
guy on the air. I remember walking into a hospital ward with an HT back
in the 70s to allow kids to speak with Santa. Whether it's through a
public event, a special event station, or from your own shack, ham
radio can make the thrill of sharing a kid's Christmas list possible.
Local nets on VHF, UHF, or even larger HF nets, can make it fun. Share
the magic of ham radio and Santa Claus with your children,
grandchildren, and neighborhood kids. The Santa Net is held every
evening between Thanksgiving and Christmas on 3.916 MHz at 7:00 PM
Central Time (check-in opens 30 minutes before).

==> UHF SIMPLEX NET IN PUERTO RICO

The Bayman Radio Club, KP4NM, in Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico, has been
conducting a weekly FM simplex net since May 2023. The net is run at
439.000 MHz, on our local simplex sub-band option, every Wednesday
night at 8:00 PM AST (Thursday 0000 UTC). Originating from the town of
Toa Alta, the net covers an area of approximately 15 miles, depending
on weather, band conditions, and the topography between the stations.

It's main purpose is to maintain a regular simplex presence on the
70-centimeter band by getting to know our simplex neighbors. At the
same time, it provides an opportunity to determine a station's
capabilities in a line-of-sight ground-wave propagation environment.
The testing of upgraded antennas, radio equipment, and coaxial cables
are done on a regular basis with reliable reports from the stations.

This also serves as emergency communications and disaster preparedness
when repeaters and regular communications fail, like in the 2017
Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and the 2019-2020 series of earthquakes here
in Puerto Rico.

After reporting the stations and listening to traffic, net control
provides technical capsules of topics related to the 70-centmeter band.
Upon closing, the stations are encouraged to stay in the frequency to
chat or check their coverage area for future reference.

By Jimmy Drowne, KP3BR

==> SPECIAL EVENT STATION CELEBRATES IOWA STATEHOOD

Connect with the Battleship IOWA Amateur Radio Association (BIARA),
NI6BB, on the air to commemorate the 177th anniversary of Iowa
statehood. This celebration is an annual activity of NI6BB. Remembering
the heritage of Battleship USS Iowa, as well as celebrating the yearly
milestone for the state, offers a unique opportunity to operate.
Operations are expected to be from 1700 to 2400 UTC on 12/28/23. Modes
will be determined by a BIARA operator. Complete information can be
found at the club's website (https://biara.org), including expected
frequencies and QSL information. In this year celebrating volunteers
work this amazing heritage station.

==> UPDATING CLUB INFORMATION

Each year, we ask all ARRL Affiliated Clubs to update their listing on
the Find-A-Club application of the ARRL website. That information may
only be updated by a currently listed club officer. If the listing is
out of date and no officer is available to update it, contact
clubs@arrl.org and ask to have the club's contact updated. There is now
a new link on each club listing page, called Club Update Help, which
provides instructions on how to update the club information. There are
a couple of reminders:

1. Only club Officers or contacts may change the information.

2. You must be logged into the ARRL website as a member to make any
updates.

3. Remember to hit the submit button at the bottom of the page.

Updates make it possible to keep listings for clubs up to date and help
new members find your club.

==> WRITE FOR CLUB STATION

Clubs are the backbone of the amateur radio community. Whether your
part of a special interest or general club, its members are the
community that you serve. In the same way that every ham is different,
each club is also different -- not every club will offer the same
programs and projects to their member community.

QST's newest column, "Club Station," is a space for clubs to share
their practical ideas about what has helped lead them to their success.
If your club has developed a creative way to get around common
challenges, we want to hear from you!

If you are interested in writing for "Club Station," please follow the
author guidelines that are tailored to this column. Additionally, you
will find a Club Profile Form at the end of the author guidelines,
which must be filled out and included with your submission. If this
form is missing, your submission will not be considered complete.

Club Station Author Guidelines and Profile Form
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST/This%20Month%20in%20QST/2022/Club%20Column%20Author%20Guide%20and%20Form.pdf>

==> 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
completes 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 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. 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 it to be an
ARRL-sanctioned 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 have your event sanctioned, complete the online application at
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 at www.arrl.org/opt-in-out
<https://home.arrl.org/action/My-Account/Opt-In-Out>. Archived issues
can be found at http://www.arrl.org/club-news

Copyright (c) 2023 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/>