ARRL Member Survey

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Making a Big Decision — Together

Dear ARRL member,

For only the second time in 22 years, we are considering a dues increase. Promoting and protecting amateur radio requires a strong and vibrant ARRL. Paying our dues (and some of you go above and beyond) is one way each of us does our part.

In my column in the April issue of QST (read now), I introduced the following question:

How does ARRL handle an increase in dues?

On May 1, we will launch an online survey, inviting all ARRL members to participate. The survey will include some short questions about raising dues and modifying the way some membership benefits are bundled. The survey will also include an opportunity to share your feedback. The participation of every member is important.

Do this before May 1: Review your ARRL website account

Before you can take the survey in May, you’ll need to make sure you have a working ARRL website account that is associated with your membership.

Follow these steps:

  1. Go to www.arrl.org/take-dues-survey. This is a member-only page.
  2. If you are already logged in to your account, you’ll see CONGRATULATIONS! on the members-only page that will host the survey in May.
  3. If you are NOT already logged in to your account, follow the instructions on the page to log in. Or, select the Login button at the top of the web page, and you will be prompted to enter your ARRL website username (usually your call sign) and password. If you have not logged in since April 2022, please use these Login Instructions.
  4. The survey will open on May 1. Return to this web page to take the survey on, or after, May 1: www.arrl.org/take-dues-survey.

If you need additional help with your login, call us Monday – Thursday from 8 AM to 7 PM ET, and Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM ET at 860-594-0200 or email us at membership@arrl.org.

Thank you for being a member and collaborating on this big decision.

73

David A. Minster, NA2AA
Chief Executive Officer

Virtual Ham Bootcamp May 13th

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The Nashua Area Radio Society will be holding an online Ham Bootcamp on Saturday May 13th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Eastern Time.

Ham Bootcamp is a program to help new, inactive, and prospective hams gain the skills and information that they need to Get on The Air. It is open to any interested Ham or Prospective Ham in the US and Canada and there is no charge to attendees.

The morning session is geared toward operating on the VHF/UHF bands:

  • Putting together a Station for Repeaters – How to pick an HT or Mobile Radio and an Antenna
  • Radio Programming Tutorial
  • Making Contacts and Joining a Repeater Net
  • Getting Started with Amateur Radio Satellites
  • Getting started with Fox Hunting

The afternoon session is geared toward operating on the HF Bands:

  • Putting together an HF Station for SSB, CW, and Digital
  • Picking and putting up an HF Antenna, Feedlines, and Grounds
  • Operating on the HF bands using SSB Voice
  • Getting started with WSJT-X and FT8 Digital

There will also be breakout sessions where attendee can choose one of the following topics:

  • Learning CW
  • Intro to EmComm
  • Finding DX, Logging and QSLing
  • Portable Operating

… and more! Registration is now open for the May 13th session. You can get more information about Ham Bootcamp, including a link to register at n1fd.org/bootcamp If you have any questions, you can contact us at bootcamp@n1fd.org. Registration is required to receive the link to the web conference.

ÄRTEN™ at Microwave Update 2023

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NCRC’s own K1YBE presented “ÄRTEN™ Project – New England MESH Networking” at the Microwave Update 2023 and 46th Eastern VHF/UHF Conference held April 14 & 15, 2023 held in Windsor, Connecticut.  The conference was sponsored by the North East Weak Signal Group and ARRL.

There were many presentations about Ham experimentation and antenna build techniques up to 122 GHz as well as simpler practical advice on TV station interference.   You can get a flavor for all to this at

K1YBE presents…

…to a good size audience.

Along with his presentation, K1YBE set up and demonstrated connected  ÄRTEN™ nodes.

Chris Cox, NØUK and his ham XYL from Minnesota. She is interested in setting up a STEM activity based on ÄRTEN™.

Several interested parties have since contacted us about sharing the ÄRTEN™ concept.  We have been scheduled to provide the presentation by Zoom on June 19th to the West Carleton Amateur Radio Club in Ontario.  In the past, this club was very active with ham mesh, but interest has waned.  We hope to fix that.

Skip Youngberg, K1NKR made a request for ÄRTEN™ participation in this year’s HamXposition held in Marlborough, MA and he specifically requested our participation on Saturday, August 26th.   Since this is a local ham convention that some in NCRC attend,  we can include you in a demonstration we are concocting.  Early planning stages for now…

For some perspective on size, consider if you will, a 2.4 GHz (12 cm band) Yagi antenna on a table…

…and 144 MHz (2m band) & 440 MHz (70cm band) Yagi antennas in the parking lot!!

Conference attendees well represented the eastern seaboard amateur radio community.

Photos credits KC1LYG.

73

Time to Get Ready for Field Day*

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ARRL Field Day is just over two months away, but like spring cleaning, it pays to start getting ready now.

2023 Field Day will be held June 24 – 25. It is ham radio’s open house. Every June, hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to communities and the nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Some participants may also choose to operate from home, using the exercise to develop and practice their personal radio communications capability.

Field Day has been an annual event since 1933 and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

In 2022, 4,929 entries were submitted (including check logs), and there was a total of 29,679 reported participants.

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 and may submit entries as check logs.

The main focus of Field Day is to work as many stations as possible on the 160-, 80-, 40-, 20-, 15-, and 10-meter HF bands, all bands on 50 MHz and above, and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less-than-optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness and acquaint the general public with the capabilities of amateur radio.

For Field Day 2023, several rules changes have been made. It’s a good idea to make sure that your logging software has been updated to the most current version to incorporate these rule changes including the updated Canadian sections list. There are many facets to operating on Field Day and knowing the rules and keeping good logs are paramount to successful contacts.

To start preparing for Field Day, check out arrl.org/field-day for the official rules and all the information you’ll need.

Newport County Radio Club will again participate as W1SYE 2A RI from Glen Park in Portsmouth, RI.

For more information on how to participate with NCRC contact: Dick Bianco

* from: The ARRL Letter for April 6, 2023