ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter

ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter

January 2018

How to Motivate Your Club Members by Randal R. Schulze – KDØHKD

Forward:

ARRL affiliated amateur radio clubs are on the “front lines” for attracting and retaining new

hams. To be successful in this effort and others, a club needs enthusiastic and vibrant

members that are engaged in its activities. Publically recognizing exceptional and

outstanding efforts of club members is a key ingredient and Randy’s article gives you the

formula. Rod Blocksome, K0DAS,

ARRL Midwest Division Director

Have you ever been recognized, or received an award for your hard work or a notable

accomplishment you’ve made? How did that make you feel?

I can recall receiving awards though my employment where at first, I felt a bit

embarrassed. After all, I was being put into the spotlight after I had just been doing my

job. But then a co-worker explained to me that yes, I had been doing my job, but that I

had done it exceptionally well, and that I put in that extra effort which made for a better

outcome. After I thought about it, I had to agree. I did do an exceptional job. I felt good

about the recognition and I was proud that I was being recognized!

In most cases, just about everyone feels good when they have been recognized for their

good deeds and actions. There’s quite a bit of research on the topic, which can be found

on the internet. I won’t go into a lot of detail, but the results basically conclude that

organizations that give regular thanks to their people far out perform those that don't 1.

We started an informal recognition program for the Raytown Amateur Radio Club while I

was Vice President. For years, the club hosted a pot luck dinner during the holiday

season, and called it the “Member Appreciation Dinner.” While we had a good dinner,

and conversation was fun and lively, there had been no activity based on Appreciation or

Recognition. I came up with the idea that we should single out a few of our members who

had provided exceptional effort, and recognize them with a certificate. We put some effort

into creating a good, quality certificate, which made all the difference in the world.

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Jan. 2018 p. 2

While our initial efforts were a success, we really had no formal process. We simply

recalled what someone had done over the past year, and proceeded with the award.

After I became President, and our club became larger, we came to the conclusion that

recognition would be more relevant and meaningful if the award came from the

members, not just the club leadership. Thus a process was created where a committee

lead by our Vice President would name individuals worthy of recognition, and would

take an active part in writing the citation. This has become the core of the Awards and

Recognition Program for the Raytown Amateur Radio Club.

The actual program is very inexpensive overall, yet goes a very long way toward raising

morale and initiative. I will provide the steps we take in our organization, and will also

list what some other organizations are doing. This might provide what can be best

suited for your club or organization.

How We Do It:

A few things are needed: A computer, some computer savvy, a printer, and certificate

stock.

Computer: I work professionally in information technology, so I’m pretty good at

working with computers. The computers used have not been very exotic, and are more

or less standard personal computers without any significant amount of power or

memory. The software we use has been Microsoft™ Word with no added whistles and

bells. Most of the fonts on board should suit your needs. If you need something

different, I would recommend that you obtain the specific fonts you want to for your

projects or certificates at your local office supply, software store, or on line for a nominal

fee, or sometimes free of charge.

Printer: Hopefully, you or someone in your organization has a good color printer. A

color laser printer is best, but a good quality ink jet printer will suffice. My particular

situation is good, in that both my wife and I work from home, and for years we have

owned very good quality printers in our home office.

Blank Certificate Stock: Your local Office Supply Stores or Stationary Stores often

carry blank certificate stock, sometimes referred to as “Go Stock.” These come in

many different colors and varieties, and range in cost from inexpensive to more

expensive. Typically they come in packs of twelve or more at a cost of $5.00 to $15.00.


I prefer the certificates with the gold colored foil trim on the boarders. (See figure 2.)

They cost about $7.00 for a pack of twelve sheets 2.

Design a Template:

Now that we have the physical items, it’s time to prepare your template.

Some people are more experienced with word processing software than others. If you’re

not one of those with a lot of experience, this might be a learning experience for you.

Our certificate template incorporates our club’s logo, and more than one font and font

size. In this example, the template has been filled out in a manner which we know will fit

on the certificate. Each section is built into its own independent “frame” which can be

moved or positioned. It contains the Club Logo, the Organization Name, the Award

Description, the Recipient’s Name and Call Sign, the Award’s Conclusion, the Citation,

and the Endorsements.

(A sample template “Zip File” can be downloaded from:

http://hamsinspace.com/resource/Sample_Award_Certificate%20_Template.zip

a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Figure 1: Example of Blank Certificate

Stock with an intricate blue boarder.

Figure 2: Example of Blank Certificate

Stock with a gold colored foil border.

http://hamsinspace.com/resource/Sample_Award_Certificate%20_Template.zip

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/


To test that your template will fit your certificate stock, simply print your template to plane

paper, hold the printed paper against a blank certificate, while holding it with a light

behind it. This will allow you to see that your work will fit the certificate, without wasting a

blank certificate stock. Once you have completed your tests to your satisfaction, you’re

ready to print a real certificate.

Figure 3: Example of a Certificate Template for Microsoft™ Word, with call outs for the various components of the template.

Figure 4: Hold your template, printed on plain

paper behind a blank certificate up to the light to

make sure your text will be within the border on

the certificate.

Figure 5: Example of the finished, printed certificate product.


Fill in the variable on the template for the individual certificate, and “Save As” under a

different name so you don’t over write your template. Load your blank certificate stock

into your printer, and print your file to the certificate. Your results should look similar to

figure 5.

It’s All About the Presentation:

As you can expect, what really makes the award an experience for the recipient, is the

presentation.

Get a frame for the certificate. A frame makes the recognition go from just a certificate to

an Award! You can go as expensive or least expensive as you want on a decent frame.

I’ve seen them anywhere from $2.00 to over $100.00. Often, I’ve found plastic frames

which appear very much like rosewood for as little as $4.00, which really look nice!

Next, choose a venue where you will present the award to the recipient. You should

make the presentation, with the recipient in front of an audience. Be creative! As I

mentioned, we present our recognition to our members at our Annual Holiday and

Recognition Dinner. Another good option would be to arrange to make the presentation

at a local hamfest or convention. This is a big deal and should be treated as such!

George Rossen, KD4RUU receives his award from Raytown ARC President, Randy Schulze, KD0HKD and Vice President, Ryan Francis, KD6MFR at the Annual Holiday and Recognition Dinner in December 2015.


Publicize the Presentation:

The presentation of the award should always be made public. Often, local newspapers

will publish a photograph and a story in their news paper. We send a story with photos

to our ARRL Division Director who publishes the news about the event and

presentations in the Division’s Monthly Newsletter.3 All this adds up to building value

and credibility to the award, and much deserved praise to the recipient.

Let’s Take a Look at the Return on Investment:

I purchased a package of twelve blank certificates: $7.00

I purchased five Certificate Frames: $20.00

Printed five or so certificates from my Color Printer: $1.50 (Probably less than that, but

let’s estimate high for the sake of argument.)

Some time at my computer: About two hours or less.

Making and Enjoying the Presentation: Fifteen minutes.

The effect on making my Club Members feel Proud, Confident, Appreciated, and

Happy: Priceless!

Awards are Not Just for the Club Members:

Often, hams from other club’s have contributed their talents and expertise to help our

organization. I can recall more than a few from the greater metropolitan area who have

been of great service to the Raytown Amateur Radio Club. For this we have bestowed

the prestigious title of “Elmer Deluxe” and presented the award with great flourish and

fanfare! You may have a local business or a government official who has gone out of

their way to assist your club, organization, or Amateur Radio as a whole. Such awards

are appreciated, and go a long way toward spreading good will for your organization.

Other Options:

Did you know the ARRL sponsors awards and recognition? Take a look at

http://arrl.org/award Take a look at the Elmer Award. Do you know someone who

should get this award? Another, larger organization I heard of provides many awards

to its members. They print these in bulk, and have worked the unit price down to .50

cents each!

http://arrl.org/award


All This is Just Scratching the Surface:

Be creative! Think of how you can implement an Awards and Recognition Program for

your club or organization. But more importantly, think of all the members of your club or

organization who are deserving of a well earned pat on the back.

With so little effort, and very little expense you can make the difference between making

your members be just another ham, and making them become active and contributing

member of the Amateur Radio Community.

footnotes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Information regarding the benefits of awards and recognition:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2012/06/13/new-research-unlocks-the-secret-of-employee-recognition/#7d2542d15276 2 A typical sale of blank certificate stock: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/970415/Geographics-

30percent-Recycled-Blank-Parchment-Certificates/ 3January 2016 Edition of the ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter, Page 7 Through 14:

http://www.arrlmidwest.org/pdfs/arlmwd-jan2016news.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2012/06/13/new-research-unlocks-the-secret-of-employee-recognition/#7d2542d15276

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2012/06/13/new-research-unlocks-the-secret-of-employee-recognition/#7d2542d15276

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/970415/Geographics-30percent-Recycled-Blank-Parchment-Certificates/

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/970415/Geographics-30percent-Recycled-Blank-Parchment-Certificates/


A Christmas Message

By Wayne Schlueter, KDØWAT Andover, Kansas

Last December 2017, members of the Flint Hills Amateur Radio Club spent the evening doing something simple for kids in the hospital to hopefully make their holiday a little better, something that would take their minds off of the needles, blood tests and constant invasion of personal privacy. One member of the club had read somewhere about using ham radio to help children talk to Santa Claus at the North Pole or at least relay a message from the children to Santa Claus for their Christmas gifts. It was a low cost activity and a member of the club, who just happened to work at the hospital, set it all up with the hospital officials. The hospital in Wichita was really delighted to have this activity because it meant so much to the children. It was so successful that now there is already talk to have the club back next year, complete with QSL cards! Some of the children the club visited with were not talking much to the hospital staff but after the ham radio visit with Santa, their eyes opened up, their spirit lifted and they started talking about their wonderful experience talking to Santa on a ham radio. This being the first year for the activity, there were a lot of lessons learned but each member really enjoyed seeing the smiles on each child as they went from room to room. Unfortunately there are strict regulations on how many in a group can go into a room otherwise they would have invited every ham in the club, their spouses and their friends if they wanted to participate. And in respect to the children, the local media was not invited because this was for inspiring the children. There is no better feeling knowing these kids got the chance to speak to Santa. Try it sometime; you’ll be amazed how a smile stays on your face weeks afterwards!


Wayne, KDØWAT; Dennis, KCØIFQ; Steve, KDØIJP; Dick, NØTGR (bending down

to look the part of an Elf); and Tom, KEØKQP; Hospital Staff Casey and Bethany.

Photo by Barb Schlueter, KDØWAU


The St. Louis QRP Society Celebrates 30 Years 1987 – 2017

by Keith Arns, KC0PP

The St. Louis QRP Society (SLQS) celebrated its 30th anniversary on November 15,

2017. The club was organized on November 9, 1987 by Dave Gauding, NF0R and Keith

Arns, KC0PP by a gathering of local Hams with an interest in operating QRP and

Homebrewing.

Twenty-five members attended the anniversary dinner. Each member received a new 30

year ID badge to commemorate the anniversary. Over the years several members have

been honored for exceptional work by receiving a member of the year award. This year

to celebrate 30 years, the club honored Dave Gauding for his many years of dedication

to the club. Dave was presented a certificate of appreciation. Dave also received a

custom built magnetic loop antenna from the clubs recent magnetic loop antenna project.

When the club was organized, it was decided the SLQS would remain a local club and

would not compete with the larger national or international QRP Clubs. The intent of the

club is local Hams to discuss QRP and technical amateur radio subjects. There are no

officers or a constitution. We keep it simple and we believe this has lead to its success.

The club has put together many kits over the years ranging from transmitters, receivers,

transceivers, keys, antennas, antenna tuners and various station accessories. The kits

are for members only to keep it manageable and again not to compete with the larger

clubs and kit suppliers.

The SLQS has many activities throughout the year. Field Day is number one. We also

have the annual picnic, swap night, an occasional fall outing and anniversary dinner.

The club has produced a monthly newsletter for the past 30 years called The Peanut

Whistle. We meet the third Wednesday of each month at the Florissant Valley

Community College in the 1st floor conference room of the Engineering Building.

Everyone is welcome to join us. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.


Dave Gauding, NF0R, Receiving Certificate of Appreciation at the

SLQS 30th Anniversary Dinner


The Builder’s Class by Rod Blocksome, K0DAS

The following is a true story – intended to foster similar activities in other amateur radio

groups.

Nearly two years ago, my friend Steve White, NU0P, a long time ham and retired

Marketing manager from Rockwell Collins, stood up at our local Cedar Valley ARC meeting

and asked for a show of hands of those interested in a weekly “builder session” hosted by

him. We were pleasantly surprised to see eight eager hands in the air.

After the meeting, Steve says to me “Well I guess it’s a go – will you come and help mentor

these folks?” I agreed and in a few days we met for the first time in Steve’s 3-stall garage.

In an earlier life, Steve owned a small electronics fabrication business so his garage held

everything – except vehicles. There was a small milling machine, a metal shear and brake,

band saw, and parts – lots of parts in the wall shelves, along with many pieces of test

equipment.

Initially the group settled on building the BitX 20 meter transceiver kit. Everyone built the

kits and helped each other de-bug and align the finished product. It was like kids at

Christmas when they got the transceivers working – and certainly when they put them on

the air and made a first QSO.

They were hooked. Word spread and soon there were more hams wanting to join the fun

than there was space in Steve’s garage. Who would have thought we would have to

institute a “waiting list”? So Steve started another class to learn CW. The “students” sat

around tables and practiced sending CW to each other on “Pixie” rigs that Steve had them

build first. After a few months, it was time for the “final exam” and “graduation”.

The final exam consisted in actually getting on the air and making a CW contact. It was a

bit of stressful anticipation for some but Steve and I would back them up by copying the

other station – just in case. After each completed QSO, it was ‘high fives’ all around.

Everyone graduated!

The CW class was held on a week-day evening while the builder class moved to Sunday

afternoon 1 – 5 PM to allow plenty of time for construction, technical lectures, and “eye-ball

QSOs”.


The next project was HF power amplifiers - but each chose a different design. Examples

were: a dual 3-500Z tube PA, a single 811A PA, and a pair of 813 tubes PA. Rather than

start from scratch, several bought hamfest “boat anchors” and did an extensive “make-

over”. Others in the group built the 100 Watt Transistor HF PA found in the older Motorola

RF Application literature. They planned to drive it with their BitX transceiver.

The HF PA build brought another interesting aspect – How to find parts? These newer

hams were introduced to the art of scrounging for parts in the surrounding area hamfest

flea markets and surplus outlets. Steve, early-on, created a Yahoo Group where the

“students” could exchange ideas and lists of needed parts for their projects. Everyone

helped each other - learning from each other in the process.

Currently the builder group is working on restoration of vintage or classic equipment. Each

has selected an older receiver, transmitter, or transceiver to restore back to health and

operation. As you can imagine, this project involves learning the equipment design,

learning trouble-shooting skills, using test equipment & metal fabrication, and the search

for needed parts. Others in the group are exploring surface mount technology and

software control by building the Tenna Testa kit – a small Arduino based impedance

analyzer for their antennas.

And through it all, everything is kept very informal and is enjoyed by all. Steve is very

willing to provide details and answer questions about organizing a “Builder Group” in your

area. Contact Steve at: [email protected]

A power amplifier under

construction at the “PA Builders

Class” using a pair of 3-500Z

tubes.

mailto:[email protected]


Jeff’s (AD0AK) PA Project “Students” hard at work

What to do with a case of 4CX250 pulls? Build a custom tube tester – of course!

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Jan. 2018 p.15

Mark, K8XK and Gregg, KA0SKM observe Steve, NU0P, demonstrating how NOT to solder small parts on a solid state PA board


Around the Midwest Division

As we begin a new year, I’d like to thank the ARRL members of the Midwest Division for your support as I begin a new 3-year term as your voice and representative on the ARRL board. As you are no doubt aware, there are many tough issues facing the organization including a few surrounded by controversy, hype, and a certain amount of “fake news”. As the board tackles these issues, I’ll do my best to represent the Midwest members’ in an ethical and thoughtful manner. Realistically I’ll never make everyone happy all the time but I do strive to make most happy most of the time. So please don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions, suggestions, concerns, and opinions related to ARRL and amateur radio. The best way is via email: [email protected] or my home phone: 319-393-8022. I’ll always follow-up with a response. I try to attend all the conventions and larger hamfests in the division to provide an opportunity for personal discussions as well as conducting an ARRL forum on current topics and issues. In the meanwhile 73 & Happy New Year, Rod Blocksome, K0DAS ARRL Midwest Division Director


ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter– Jan. 2018 p. 17

Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests & Conventions 01/27/2018 | Winterfest Location: Collinsville, IL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: St. Louis and Suburban Radio Club Website: http://winterfest.slsrc.org

02/03/2018 | Mine Creek Winterfest Location: LaCygne, KS Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Mine Creek Amateur Radio Club

02/24/2018 | 2018 Winter RF Fest Location: Perry, IA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Hiawatha Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.qsl.net/kd0neb

03/03/2018 | Southwest Iowa ARC Hamfest Location: McClelland, IA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Southwest Iowa Amateur Radio Club Website: http://swiradio.org/

03/10/2018 | Nebraska State Convention Location: Lincoln, NE Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Lincoln Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.k0kkv.org

04/06/2018 | OzarkCon QRP Conference Location: Branson, MO Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Four State QRP Group Website: http://www.ozarkcon.com/index.php

08/04/2018 | Midwest Division Convention Location: Linn County Fair Grounds at Central City, IA Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.w0gq.org

Hamfests & Conventions Calendar: http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/winterfest-12

http://winterfest.slsrc.org/

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/mine-creek-winterfest-7

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/2018-winter-rf-fest

http://www.qsl.net/kd0neb

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/southwest-iowa-arc-hamfest

http://swiradio.org/

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/nebraska-state-convention-6

http://www.k0kkv.org/

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/ozarkcon-qrp-conference-2

http://www.ozarkcon.com/index.php

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/midwest-division-convention-2

http://www.w0gq.org/

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter– Jan. 2018 p. 18

Midwest Division Special Event Stations 02/17/2018 | 14th Annual "Freeze Your Keys" day Feb 17, 1400Z-2200Z, W0EBB, Leavenworth, KS. Kickapoo QRP ARC. 14.058 14.325 7.035 7.240. QSL. Gary Auchard, 34058 167th Street, Leavenworth, KS 66048. Other bands possible if open. [email protected]

02/24/2018 | Hastings Naval Depot 75th Anniversary Feb 24, 1500Z-2100Z, W0WWV, Wood River, NE. ARAN. 14.250 7.150. QSL. Michael Matthews KD0QEO, 13330 W Warren, Wood River, NE 68883. The Naval Ammunition Depot is 75 years old February 2018. The Depot produced 40% of all naval munitions for the Second World War and for the Korean War. [email protected]

Midwest Division News and Photos Wanted!

If you have news and photos about events or activities from the Midwest Division, email them to Director Rod Blocksome K0DAS at [email protected]. I will try to include as many as possible in upcoming editions of the Midwest Division News. Thanks and 73, Rod, K0DAS

mailto:

mailto:

ARRL Midwest Division Leadership

Director: Rod Blocksome K0DAS

[email protected] 319-393-8022

Vice Director: Art Zygielbaum K0AIZ

[email protected] 402-421-0839

Iowa Section Manager: Bob McCaffrey, K 0CY

Kansas Section Manager: Ron Cowan, KB0DTI

Missouri Section Manager: Cecil Higgins, AC0HA

Nebraska Section Manager: Matt Anderson, KA0BOJ

DX Advisory Committee: John Yodis, K2VV (MO)

Emergency Communications Advisory Committee: Reynolds Davis, K 0GND (NE)

Contest Advisory Committee: Glenn Johnson, W0GJ (IA)

Midwest Division Volunteer Counsel: Craig Long, K0CSL (IA)

Division Legislative Action Chair: Mike Edwards, WB9M (MO)

Legislative Action Coordinators: Nick Critelli, K 0PCG (IA); Bruce Frahm, K0BJ (KS &

NE); Mike Edwards, WB9M (MO).

Assistant Directors (Missouri): Paul Haefner K 0JPL, Dave Propper K2DP, Kent Trimble K9ZTV, Roger Volk K0GOB, Cecil Higgins AC0HA, John Frederick N8GOU, Eric Zust W0TT,and Randy Schulze KD0HKD.

Assistant Directors (Kansas): Mike Albers K 0FJ, Jim Andera K0NK, Bill Henderson K0VBU, Charlie Hett K0THN, Brian Short KC0BS, Richard Johnson, K0RCJ, Rick Tucker W0RT, and Jon Jones N0JK.

Assistant Directors (Iowa): Tim Busch N0CKR, C.W. Pantel K0IIR, and Jim Spencer W0SR

Assistant Directors (Nebraska): Reynolds Davis K0GND, Joe Eisenberg K0NEB, Allen Harpham WD0DXD, and Todd LeMense KK0DX.

Midwest Division Webmaster: Steve Schmitz W0SJS email: [email protected]

Midwest Division’s website: http://www.arrlmidwest.org/




http://www.arrlmidwest.org/

ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter

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