The Tall Ships Celebration Update, July 18-21, 2019
I am still waiting upon confirmation from the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society concerning the Rear Range Lighthouse. I talked with Karl Eckelle, K8FE, this week and he told me that DOW is involved in the PGA Golf Event and it has been difficult to contact them. Karl also told me that he will contact me when he receives any word.
The original plan for this event was to have four stations. We are now only able to have three, and that is dependent upon us being able to use the lighthouse. The two confirmed locations are the U.S.S. Edson and the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army will be located at the GM plant parking area which will be used for event parking and bus transport.
This is the first time we have been involved with this event. There are glitches and mistakes have been made but this is a learning process. After the event, we will conduct a review of ideas so we can record what could be done better and what we would like to do in the future.
What needs to be done before The Tall Ships Celebration.
All the clubs who will attend need to appoint someone to communicate with me for club coordination. That person needs to provide me a list of who will attend, when they will attend, where they would like to work, are they willing to work at a different location, and their contact information.
Any individual not participating as a member of a club needs to contact me at kc8usu@yahoo.com with the same information supplied by the clubs.
I will notify everyone of the exact location with driving instructions for The Salvation Army at a later date. I will also post driving instructions at that time for U.S.S. Edson.
The U.S.S. Edson provides us with the largest area to operate from. If everyone can only come on the same day it will be crowded but I'd still like you to participate. The radio room on the ship has electric power and there is an electrical outlet that we can use on shore. The shore power is very limited so we need to use emergency power. There is room for generators but if we get too many operating at once there could be problems. I have been asked to provide a generator for an operator and it will be provided. It is a 65 dB model and will work fine. There is a lot of room on shore so I don't anticipate any problems.
The Salvation Army site will not require many operators. I would like to have at least six there at all times. Two to operate 2-meter communication, two to operate HF stations, and two operators for public information. HF and 2-meter radios will need to use vertical antennas.
If we are allowed to operate at the lighthouse we will only be granted entry at 8am, and not be able to leave until the close of business. Access during the event is restricted. The buses that will be entering and exiting will have keys to the gates for their entry and exit only. All other times the gates will be locked. At the close of the business day, all radio resources will have to be removed. The lighthouse will only be in operation on Friday and Saturday of the event.
What equipment is needed? Two operational 2meter radios with operators at every site. Everything else is optional. Once we have those to radios in operation for the public to make contact with someone we can use the remaining areas for HF communication. Both the ship and the lighthouse can be used as special event stations for working other ships, lighthouses, or anyone else.
With many of the posts I have made on the Bay Area Amateur Radio Club's Facebook page, and the handouts I have given each club, I have stated my intentions for this event. My original intention was this; Promote Amateur Radio by informing the public of our existence, demonstrating our skills and providing the public with an opportunity to communicate by radio. The plan is simple, participate in the event as Amateur Radio Operators and provide a method of communication that will be reliable and easy to use. I have provided a means to accomplish that but it is up the Amateur Radio Community to make it a success. I am a one man coordinator trying to make this happen any and all help is needed and appreciated.
Jon Dee Coulter, KC8USU
President, BAARC
kc8usu@yahoo.com ... See MoreSee Less
Greetings, welcome to "Dale's Tales" for June, 2019.
The fourth full weekend in June brings Field Day, probably the largest
ham radio operating event held annually. It's a time to test our
mettle, get out there with our temporary antennas, improvise shelters,
set up non-commercial power and see how many contacts we can put in the
log. Field Day is a great opportunity to demonstrate some of the most
interesting facets of our hobby.
So with that in mind, I recommend you invite some of your local elected
officials and some of the non-elected ones as well. (You get FD points
for doing this). Let them see first-hand some contacts being made. If
you do this, remember to talk with them in terms they can understand.
Drop the ham-lingo, forget "QSO", forget "DX", even forget "rig", your
guest probably doesn't have a clue about what those terms mean. Think
about keeping the terms pretty basic and in understandable common
vernacular. These demonstrations keep ham radio in the eyes of our
public officials; keeps the information flowing about how Amateur Radio
can service the public good, and shows them how we are community minded.
Remember this when you want to install that new antenna.
Most importantly, don't forget the really good parts of Field Day; the
pot-luck meals with our families joining us and the opportunity to
nurture some new operators.
At this time, let's not forget our fellow hams in Ohio as these gals and
guys are heavily involved with the aftermath of a series of tornadoes
that struck several communities this past week. ARES Teams across the
state are assisting local officials and their needs with surveys and
cleanup operations. Please be alert for continuing net operations on
frequencies across the state. What may be a temporarily quiet channel,
frequency or talk group may have ongoing operations related to the
storms.
TOM'S COMMENTS:
Another successful Hamvention this month! The organizers again deserve
a lot of credit and praise for a job well done. Things keep getting
better at the new facility.
And they really struck a good note with their theme: “Mentoring the
Next Generation.” Very timely. It’s been on the minds of many of
us as we look around for the next generation. Where are they? At the
ARRL Forum on Saturday, President Rick Roderick, K5UR, asked how many in
attendance were under thirty. The answer—none. How many under forty?
— one!
Not to be all doom and gloom, there really are younger hams out there,
and many local clubs in the Division are reaching out and offering
classes. In fact, I’ll bet that your club, or a club near you, has
just finished spring classes and your area has a number of newly
licensed hams. That’s great. Now—are the efforts at mentoring
ready? It can’t just be that, well, I’m available to talk if
someone wants to. Who scheduled the next meeting for that group of new
hams? Class is over, and that’s it? Who’s going to help them get
on the air? Can we make that a club activity and priority? Some clubs
do, with great success. All clubs should do the same. Need some
suggestions? Contact me, and I’ll pass along the stories of those
clubs that are making the efforts.
Another way to reach out is coming up in June. It’s called Field Day.
Yes, Field Day is lots of things. Operating. Meals. Good friends.
It’s also about meeting the public. Are you prepared? Do you have a
PIO specifically for Field Day? Have you done any publicity? Will you
have people at the site looking out for visitors? Can you explain ham
radio in terms that interest non-hams? Do you have a good supply of
hand-outs about ham radio? For young people in particular, can someone
talk about some fun technical projects that having a license can
facilitate? Yes, the contesting aspect of Field Day is on display. But
what about describing “science” things that might interest, like
balloon launches with APRS tracking, remote control of models, and
particularly remote control of robots?
Interestingly, really young kids, up to about 8 years old, are
fascinated by CW, in that they love to learn how to send their name in
code. Can someone please bring a code practice oscillator to let them
try? Are you doing data as part of Field Day? Show them how the
computer works through the radio.
The recent tornado outbreak, unfortunate as it was for so many people
who lost homes, can be a chance to talk about public service, both in
Skywarn and in the many relief efforts underway. There are lots of
things to talk about in ham radio, so make sure you’re prepared to
meet the public.
As you can tell, I can get pretty wound up about this subject. I look
forward to talking with many of you at some of the many summer
hamfests.
--73, Tom W8WTD Vice Director, Great Lakes Division
HAMFESTING: Here is the current Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned
Hamfest Schedule covering the next few months. These swaps have
received their sanctioning approval from ARRL HQ at the time of this
publication.
If you plan to request ARRL Sanctioning, please be sure to do it well in
advance of your Hamfest date, as this allows adequate time for QST
Listings. Be sure to invite your ARRL Officials as soon as your date
is set. With 52 weeks and 70+ hamfests in the Great Lakes Division,
things do double up a little and we need to share duties. Plan ahead
for requesting your ARRL Officials to attend.
6/1/19 Luce County Newberry, MI
6/1/19 Princeton Princeton, KY
6/1/19 IRA Hudsonville, MI
6/1/19 Fulton County Wauseon, OH
6/2/19 Chelsea Chelsea, Mi
6/8/19 Union County Marysville, OH
6/15/19 Milford/W8DXCC Conv Milford, OH
6/15/19 Midland Hamfest Midland, MI
6/16/19 Monroe Monroe, MI
7/7/19 20/9 RC Tailgate Swap Austinville, OH
7/20/19 Big Sandy Hamfest Louisa, KY
7/20/19 NOARS Fest Elyria, OH
7/20/19 Gladwin Swap Gladwin, MI
7/27/19 Van Wert Van Wert, OH
7/28/19 Portage Hamfair Portage, OH
OUR GREAT LAKES DIVISION web page does carry news from some of the
recent events in the Division, useful links and information as well as
some neat photos supplied from around the Division. Check it out:
arrl-greatlakes.org/
Be sure to check your Section's news pages for the latest local
happenings, club and net information.
73, Ham it up!
Dale Williams WA8EFK
Director
Great Lakes Division
wa8efk@arrl.org
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ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: Dale R Williams, WA8EFK
wa8efk@arrl.org
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Inside this website
The ARRL Great Lakes Division Leadership provides the interface between League Members and the National Organization. Time to make a go kit 2M antenna. Contact me for more information. I believe the meeting starts at 7pm
Hi, Dean...
Wondered if you could spread the word to the BC club that you are all invented to our May 23 ARES training at Harry Browne Airport. We will be building the antenna attached and Ron will be going over the SET.
No charge for materials, but a $5.00 donation to SVARA would be appreciated. Bring extra money as we will be having a raffle.
Dave, N8ERL ... See MoreSee Less
Photo