ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter May 2014 Ankeny, Iowa

13 Pages·2014·1.7 MB·English

ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter
May 2014
Ankeny, Iowa Centennial High School
Amateur Radio Station AC0HS is on-the-air!
Ankeny Centennial High School's new Amateur Radio club started in the fall of 2013 and stu-
dents have been busy contacting other amateur radio
stations across the country including those in Florida,
Texas, and throughout the Midwest. AC0HS is the call
sign for the club at Ankeny Centennial High School.

The station at Centennial High School is available for
use by students, alumni, and district employees. Activi-
ties so far this year have included contacting NASA's
Juno satellite, assisting with the IMT Des Moines Mara-
thon, and competing in the ARRL Fall and Spring
School Club round-up, a contest in which school sta-
tions around the U.S. try to contact as many other am-
ateur radio stations as possible over the course of one
Daniel and Nathan Anderson tested the new
week.
antenna for AC0HS and made a contact with
One of the activities another station in Indiana. Daniel is a student
of the Ankeny Cen- at Ankeny Centennial High School (class of
2014) and Nathan is an alumnus (class of
tennial High School
2009).
Amateur Radio Club
has been to contact
other amateur radio stations in as many states as possible
with the goal of reaching all fifty states. Ham radio opera-
tors often refer to this as “Worked all States” and the Ameri-
can Radio Relay League (ARRL), the largest membership
organization of amateur
radio operators in the
U.S., offers a handsome
award for those stations
Sydney Steinle (class of 2014) uses the which reach this goal.
AC0HS amateur radio station to contact Our radio club,
a school club in Florida during the AC0HS, is well on its
ARRL School Club Roundup.
way towards earning the
“WAS” award. In the
short time the club has been operating, club members have
established two-way radio communications with thirty-three
VHF and HF antennas on roof of Cen-
states including Alaska, California, and Florida.
tennial High School.
(Article and Photos courtesy of Ankeny Centennial High
School Amateur Radio Club, AC0HS)
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— May 2014 p. 2
BCARES Supports 24th Annual Froze-Toes Bike Race
by Bill McFarland, N0AXZ
More than 150 riders participated in the Columbia Bike Club’s 24th annual Winter Road Race,
the Froze-Toes Race, held in north-east Boone County, Missouri. Boone County ARES
(BCARES) supported the race with
communications even though the
temperature was all of 7 degrees F
at race time. The race consisted of
7 events over the 31 mile road
course through the prairie into Au-
drain and Callaway counties with
ham radios at each corner, start/
finish and Net Control. The Boone
County Fire Protection District pro-
vided their Command 2 Emergency
Communications vehicle for the
NCS and a 30 foot mast for our ver-
tical. A 2M directed simplex net
provided full circuit coverage and kept race officials aware of where each group was on the
course as the races progressed. One rover BCARES vehicle provided information from the
last riding person as the various events progressed. Amateur operators providing communica-
tions included: KE0MI, NS0Y, KC0MGG, KV0S, AB0SE, WH6EB, KC0WGB, AC0MP, and
N0AXZ.
The collage shows some of our operating positions including the warmth that NCS enjoyed
inside Command 2! No bicyclists, or hams, were harmed in the running of this race.
Nebraska Section Manager Issues Challenge!
I have a couple of simple yet easily obtainable goals for each and everyone of us. There are a
little over 4,000 hams in the state of Nebraska. A little over 800 ARRL members. Here's the
challenge. Each and everyone of us 4,000 need to introduce a new person to this hobby and
help them get licensed. If just half of us do that, we would have over 6,000 plus hams. For
each one of us that are ARRL members, we need to get just ONE more person to join the
league. You have eight more months to get that done. And I'll sweeten the pot. So, here it is,
and I guarantee that no other Section Manager is doing this.
For every ham that YOU PERSONALLY bring to the hobby and help them get their ticket, I will
GIVE you a hat with YOUR callsign on it and the callsign of the NEW HAM. I will make that
retroactive to January 1st, 2014. ALSO, the same criteria for getting someone to become an
ARRL member as well, in other words, you convince them to become a member. This is for a
NEW member and NOT a renewal. E-mail me with your callsign and that of the NEW member
- NEW ham. I will verify their membership thru the ARRL. Both of you will benefit.
So, are you up to the challenge?. It's HIGH time, that the Nebraska Section leads the way.
Matt Anderson KA0BOJ, Nebraska Section Manager
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— May 2014 p. 3
W1AW/0 from Nebraska!
By Bill Hohnstein K0HA
Nebraska's January activation of W1AW/0 was an interesting experience. The transmitter
sites were recruited and the schedule was set before any other states had been on the air. It
was planning for the unknown. The ARRL thought that my five transmitter sites would be ad-
equate. Then the first states started operating on January 1st. I knew that I needed to have
more sites active! I quickly recruited six more.
As Nebraska's week
started the expected
bedlam began. I then
better understood
what's it's like being on
a DXpedition. There
were times when the
pileup was incredibly
thick and no call stood
out in the call. I
learned some tricks in
dealing with that. Be-
fore Nebraska's acti-
vation the solar flux
was near 200 with the
forecast that it would
remain above 150 during our entire week. Because of that the higher HF bands were often
scheduled. However, the MUF wasn't as high as expected and I had some people scheduled
for "dead bands." I quickly added some extra band/mode choices for everybody on the latter
days.
The transmitter sites K0GND (w/K0GND, K0NEB, K0NC, WB0YYE, N0ADR, N0GVK &
NU0S as operators), KT0K, K0NE, N0LWF, K0HA, K9RZ, AA7RX, KQ0J, WB0M, KA0VXK
and WB0MNW all did a great job! Everyone was pleased with the response to activating a
historic call sign from their home stations. It was a unique experience. But, we were all ham-
pered by strong winds. Three different days had winds approaching 60 MPH. There were
several hours of myself not wanting to rotate any of my Yagi's. Several people had minor an-
tenna damage. As the picture below shows, three of my four 6M Yagi's had insufficient grip
with their mast and were blown off of the rotator's (and the lower antenna) headings.
We are now close to Nebraska's second week, beginning May 7 (Tuesday evening May 6 at
7:00 p.m.—0000 UTC). With the number of callers appearing to grow each week, and addi-
tional points awarded for repeat QSOs made during our second week, I've recruited addition-
al transmitter sites and operators for the second week. With fewer active HF stations active
here, I could still use to add some more. Please contact me if you are interested or would like
more information. Thanks. Bill K0HA [email protected].
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— May 2014 p. 4
W1AW/0 - Missouri - May 28
By Ward Silver N0AX
The first week of W1AW/0 in Missouri is coming up - the fun begins at 0000 UTC on May
28th (that's 7 PM on Tuesday, May 27th here in the U.S.) and goes for a week. If you've
been on the bands lately, you know the activity has been hopping for all of the
W1AW/portable operations. Missouri's first week will generate a lot of interest.
We are fortunate to be able to use the web-based software written by James, N2IW that man-
ages operator sign-ups and posts operating schedules for everyone to see. Special thanks to
web maven Ken Humbertson, W0KAH, for transferring and hosting the software on his web
site: w0kah.net/w1aw. You can see when W1AW/0 will be active, on what bands, and from
what stations.
If you would like to activate W1AW/0 yourself, please contact Mitch NW0M ([email protected])
for access to the sign-up software. We also thank our club coordinators who made the extra
effort to get club members signed up and ready to go. We would especially like to activate
the call on AM, RTTY, PSK, FM, and other modes!
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— May 2014 p. 5
Cliff’s Notes
 Acting on the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Youth in the Second Century the ARRL
Board at its July 2013 meeting authorized the appointment of a Section Youth Coordina-
tor. For more information see http://www.arrl.org/section-youth-coordinator. Contact your
Section Manager if you are interested in this position or know of someone who should be
considered for appointment.
 Kudos to KD0ZZ, W0SZV, and K2HT of the W0CSR Community Service Radio Club of
Montgomery County, Missouri, who provided an amateur radio demonstration for the
Montgomery County Department of Health. Let’s all make an effort to show our communi-
ty and local agencies the public service and emergency communications that Amateur
Radio can offer?
 Congratulations and best wishes to the Pacific Meramec Valley Amateur Radio Club of
Pacific, Missouri on becoming a new ARRL Affiliated Club.
 Special recognition goes out to Reynolds Davis K0GND, who started the Friday night (news-
weather-sports) net in Lincoln, Nebraska on April 18, 1974. Congratulations and best wishes to
Reynolds and the Lincoln ARC on the net's 40th anniversary!
 W1AW/0 will be on from the Midwest Division two weeks during this month of May:
Nebraska (coordinator K0HA) —week of May 7
Missouri (N0SS / coordinator NW0M) —week of May 28
If you would like to operate W1AW/0 from your home station or be a guest operator, con-
tact the coordinators for your state to volunteer. For more info see https://centennial-qso-
party.arrl.org/. Let’s listen for and work our Midwest Division friends and neighbors on the
air this month as they operate W1AW/0.
 Herb Fiddick, NZ0F and KC HamLink www.kchamlink.org/, have two exciting clinics this
month. On May 8, there will be Public Service Events 101 for hams interested in public
service, and on May 22, there will be Ham 101 for newly licensed hams. Both events are
in Kansas City, Kansas. Details and flyers for both events are on the www.kchamlink.org
web site. Contact Herb NZ0F for more information or to volunteer at
[email protected] .
73, Cliff K0CA
Upcoming W1AW/0 Operations from Midwest Division
Nebraska—May 7 to May 13
Missouri—May 28 to June 3
Missouri—October 8 to October 14
Kansas—November 5 to November 11
Iowa—December 24 to December 30
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter—May 2014 p. 6
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter—May 2014 p. 7
Around the Midwest Division

The University of Kansas
ARC (K0KU) made over
1000 QSOs in the
W1AW/0 Centennial QSO
Party operation
Cliff Ahrens K0CA, ARRL Mid-
west Division Director, ARRL
President Kay Craigie N3KN,
CEO Dave Sumner K1ZZ , Sec-
ond Vice President Jim Fen-
stermaker K9JF, and Interna-
tional Affairs Vice President
Jay Bellows K0QB honored
the SLSRC by attending the
March meeting and pre-
senting a presentation cele-
brating the 100th birthday of
the ARRL. (photo courtesy St.
Louis and Suburban Radio
Club Printed Circuit news-
letter)
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter– May 2014 p. 8
Midwest Division Special Events
05/15/2014 | 30 Meter Mobile Beacon
May 15-May 20, 0824Z-0824Z, W0B, Nixa, MO. Beacon Busters. 18.113 10.129. QSL. Al Gal-
lo, 1730 State Hwy HH, Highlandville, MO 65669. An experimental 30 meter mobile beacon
giving up to date grid squares will be on the air starting May 15 on 10.129. W0ERE and
N0SAP will be running 3 watts to a quarter wave trailing wire floating in free space on our trip
from Missouri to the Dayton Hamvention. We will monitor 18.113 for live signal reports and
also looking for reports via email or audio files. The beacon will be back on the air May 19th on
our return [email protected]
05/17/2014 | Kansas Armed Forces Day
May 17, 1400Z-2000Z, WX0EK, Elk Falls, KS. Elk County, KS Amateur Radio Society.
14.250. QSL. Elk County, KS Amateur Radio Society, PO Box 70, Elk Falls, KS 67345. We will
be celebrating Armed Forces Day with multiple stations operating from different location within
the state. We will be operating on 80m,40m, 20m,15m.www.facebook.com/
ElkCountyKsAmateurRadioSocietyWx0ek?ref=hl

05/17/2014 | Scouting 500 Extravaganza
May 17-May 19, 2200Z-0300Z, W0S, Kansas City, MO. Heart of America Boy Scout Council.
28.390 24.960 21.360 18.140 14.290 7.190. QSL. Bob Tenny, W0CC, 11912 Mohawk Ln,
Leawood, KS 66209. Times are daily: May 17 5PM-10PM CST, May 18 8AM-10PM CDT.
Please include SASE.

05/24/2014 | Honoring Veterans for Memorial Day
May 24, 1500Z-2200Z, W0FSB, Waterloo, IA. Five Sullivan Brothers Amateur Radio Club.
21.240 14.240 7.240. Certificate & QSL. Five Sullivan Brothers ARC, 3186 Brandon Diagonal
Blvd, Brandon, IA 52210. For QSL card: Send card and #10 SASE; For Certificate &QSL:
Send QSL, address label and 3 Forever stamps; For eQSL & Certificate: Send eQSL, then an
email, requesting a .jpg file of the certificate that you can print yourself.
www.qrz.com/db/w0fsb

05/25/2014 | Relay For Life Miller County Missouri
May 25-Jun 5, 0000Z-2300Z, W4L, Lake Ozark, MO. Northside Amatuer Radio Club. 14.295
7.178 3.908. Certificate. Luke Milka, 19285 Wonderland Rd, Eldon, MO 65026. Donations ac-
cepted, made out to the Miller County Relay For Life/American Cancer Society, Box 224 Lake
Ozark, MO 65049, or main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY14PL?
pg=entry&fr_id=60125 [email protected]
06/28/2014 | World War I Centennial Special Event
Jun 28-Jun 29, 1500Z-2200Z, WW1USA, Kansas City, MO. National World War I Museum
Amateur Radio Club. 24.950 18.150 10.110. Certificate. Herb Fiddick, NZ0F, National World
War 1 Museum Amateur Radio Club, 100 W 26th St, Kansas City, MO 64108. E-mail
[email protected] for more information. Certificates for worked stations available at
theworldwar.org/amateurradio.
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter– May 2014 p. 9
Midwest Division Special Events: (continued)
09/06/2014 | Route 66 on the Air
Sep 6-Sep 14, 0001Z-2359Z, W6O, Lebanon, MO. Lebanon Amateur Radio Club. 14.266
7.266. QSL. Bill J. Wheeler, 272 Donna Lee, Lebanon, MO 65536.
09/27/2014 | Home on the Range Cabin Rededication and Anniversary of the Writing of
the Song
Sep 27-Oct 11, 0000Z-2359Z, K0H, Smith Center, KS. M&M Amateur Radio Club. 14.250.
QSL. Michael G. Saft, 220 E Kansas Ave, Smith Center, KS 66967. [email protected]
10/11/2014 | Lester Dent -- Doc Savage Special Event
Oct 11-Oct 12, 1422Z-1421Z, W0D, Macon, MO. Macon County Amateur Radio Club. 14.270
14.070 7.270 3.970. Certificate. Macon County ARC, PO Box 13, Macon, MO 63552. The Ma-
con County Amateur Radio Club will operate the Lester Dent-Doc Savage Mystery Special
Event W0D, in La Plata, MO. The purpose of the Special Event is to honor of the Birthday of
Lester Dent, one of the most prolific writers of Pulp Fiction, and an Amateur Radio Operator. It
is also the 81st "Birthday" of his creation, the first "Superhero" Doc Savage. A colorful certifi-
cate will be provided to those that contact the Special Event Station and send a QSL including
a # 10 SASE to the Macon County Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 13, Macon, MO 63552. You
can check out the certificate on the MCARC www.maconcountyarc.net.
For updated Special Event listings, see:
www.arrl.org/special-event-stations
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter– May 2014 p 10
Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests, Conventions & Events
05/31/2014 | HARA HAMFEST/FLEA MARKET
Location: Lexington, NE
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Heartland Amateur Radio Association (HARA)
Website: http://qsl.net/hara
07/12/2014 | PIONEER ARC'S 17TH ANNUAL FLEA MARKET
Location: North Bend, NE
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Pioneer Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.k0jfn.com
07/12/2014 | W0MG SWAP MEET 2014
Location: Cedar Falls, IA
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Northeast Iowa Radio Amateur Association (W0MG)
Website: http://www.w0mg.net/presentations/SwapMeet2014.pdf
07/19/2014 | Warrensburg MO Hamfest
Location: Warrensburg, MO
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Warrensburg Area ARC
Website: http://waarci.org
07/20/2014 | Zero Beaters Washington Hamfest
Location: Washington, MO
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Zero Beaters Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.zerobeaters.org
08/02/2014 | Heartland Hams Hamfest
Location: Emerson, IA
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Heartland Hams ARC
Website: http://www.heartlandhams.org
(08/03/2014 | Cedar Valley ARC Hamfest
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://cvarc.rf.org
08/10/2014 | SCARC HAMFEST 2014
Location: O'Fallon, MO
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: St. Charles Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://wb0hsi.org
(continued next page)