ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter
August 2017
St. Louis QRP Society Field Day 2017 by Jeff Logullo, N0MII
In a word... Wow! Field Day 2017, St. Louis QRP Society edition, will go down in history as one of
the finest Field Days ever. We had several "firsts," each of which would have made Field Day a
good one. But put them all together, and wow -- it's gonna be tough to beat!
Mock Field Day — Antenna Dry Run
This was not the first time we’ve used O’Connor Park as our FD site, but we were planning to
have a wider variety of antennas this year. Rod Koch WA9GQT and I decided it might make
sense to pay one more preliminary visit to the site and do an antenna “dry run.” We wanted to see
if his 40m half-square and my bi-square for 15m would interfere with each other. We met at the
park the week before, and were joined by Jon Poland N0WL. The three of us got the antennas
raised, radios connected, and made some quick test transmissions. Just in time to start ripping
things down, with due haste, as our phones had begun sounding a severe weather alarm. We
were treated to an amazing (and unnerving) lightning show, first to the east of us, followed
immediately by strikes to our west, all at distances of 1,000 yards or less. I’ve never seen lightning
strikes that close before!
Weather
Mention "Field Day" and what's one
of the first things a St. Louis ham
thinks of? Heat. Sweltering heat.
And humidity too, right? Now with
that as the backdrop, layer in an
obligatory thunderstorm or two. It's
just a given. Right? Not this year.
The temperature was much lower
than average. When we arrived
Saturday the temperature was a
very pleasant 77; our high that day was only 82 with low humidity. And for most of the duration,
we had a pleasant breeze. How many of us remember sweat dripping off our noses onto the FD
log sheets? Not this year!
In addition, we had not one single drop of rain. I can only attribute it to our Mock Field Day, which
must have tricked Mother Nature into bringing her worst a week early. If that’s what happened,
then I think we need to follow this strategy from now on.
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 2
The Setup — Main Pavilion
The morning setup crew started arriving around 10am Saturday. Keith Arns KC0PP was first on
the scene, and soon the many pieces of the Mosley TA-33 Jr. were laid out and began to take
shape. By the time the beam was bolted together, the mast and guys were laid out, and the
ground anchor was in place, we had a quorum ready for an antenna raising party. Keith affixed
an American Flag to the top of the mast, and up she went! The beam at 25’, complete with
“Armstrong” rotator, was to be our 20M antenna.
Rod KA9GQT was now ready to launch the corners of his half-square… but to which trees? I
looked up and realized that the 20m three element beam was bigger than I had planned for. So
Rod simply set his sights to the south a bit, chose another tree, and got his antenna headed
skyward.
Meanwhile I’d begun unrolling an 80m dipole I’d lashed together a few nights before. I wanted a
proper common mode choke, and the toroids I’d ordered had just arrived in time. I’d put the
finishing touches on the antenna the night before, and was looking forward to giving it a go.
After a few misfires with my antenna cannon (first time using it in the wind!) I got the antenna
where I wanted it… but the antenna analyzer kept saying ‘nyet’. Hmm. Dave Gauding NF0R
fetched a screwdriver and quickly found the problem: the RG-58 I’d used to wind the choke was
suffering a broken center conductor. Next time I’ll leave a little more slack! We got it patched up
and ready for action.
We then turned our attention to 15m. I wasn’t too hopeful about band conditions for 15, but I’d
been dreaming about putting up a bi-square for a few months. I have WA9GQT to thank for
sharing the QST article (June 1998 p.30) and putting the idea in my head. It’s pretty tall, and
pretty big, but we got it up and staked down.
Our “bread and butter” HF bands for CW were ready to go!
The Setup — SSB Annex
Another first for the club this year was to try setting up a second operating location—staying
within the 1,000 ft. circle per FD rules, but separate from the pavilion where the CW operation
would take place. The hope was that if we had both SSB and CW operations on the same
band, keeping the operating positions (and antennas) separated might reduce interference.
The original name for the secondary site was “The SSB Annex” — however it also became
known as “The Kids’ Tent” — all in good fun. It may have been that some of the operators there
were a bit younger than the club average, or perhaps it was because of all the fun and activity
that was taking place up the hill there!
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 3
Whatever you want to call it, the SSB area was an antenna playground to be sure. Feed lines
from the SSB operating table led to the following: 6m dipole; 40-6 OCF dipole; Par EndFedZ EF-
10/20/40; 15m vertical; Alex loop; Alpha loop; BuddiPole dipole.
Get Ready, Get Set…
While I scrambled to get my antennas squared away, FD pit master KC0PP turned his attention
from beam to BBQ. Keith fired up the grill to get some of Nathan’s hot dogs ready for lunch. We
also passed around a bag of grapes that NF0R brought to share, in memory of Randy Miller
WA0OUI (SK), who established that as an SLQS FD tradition many years ago.
Go!
At 1:00 we took to the airwaves on 40, 20, and 15. Rod “The Machine” settled in on 40 with his
beloved K2 and went to work. Bob Pritchard K0RHG spent a majority of his time on 20, alternately
working stations on the east coast and Texas, periodically swinging the beam around to find fresh
stations. Dave Fine W0DF joined us for a while, and I only wish I could have shown him my keyer
in working condition!
We were happy to see Derek Cohn WB0TUA arrive! This year, Field Day coincided with Derek’s
duties of hosting a monthly internet-based Morse Telegraph Club net. So for the first hour of Field
Day, we also had the happy click-clacking sound of a telegraphy sounder ringing out American
Morse in the pavilion. Once that was finished, Derek operated 15M and put plenty of contacts in
the log.
The three-man team that anchored the Kids Tent were Kevin Moore KE0FXA, Jon Poland N0WL,
and newest club member Mark Biernacki KB5YZY. They were joined by Dirk Benham KE0FID,
Dave NF0R, and me, as we each took turns logging a few. There was plenty of experimentation
with antennas and gear going on, but in the end we set a club record of 43 SSB contacts. A
modest mark, but one to build on in years to come.
The scores would have been higher, if the tent hadn’t been attacked by ferocious giant chiggers
(see photo).
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 4
Radios, Power, and Etc.
Field Day is a good day for everyone to bring their portable-capable rigs out for a spin. Through
the course of Field Day, we used at some point
the following: one Elecraft K2; four Elecraft
KX3s, and three Yaesu FT-817s.
We ran 100% battery power again this year, and
Rod WA9GQT brought his solar power setup for
our Natural Power bonus. This year was the first
time I used a BioEnno Power LiFePO4 battery
(aka LFP, aka Lithium Iron Phosphate), and it
lasted for the duration.
Visitors
Mark KB5YZY had to take a break, but he
returned with his family! Our guest book
recorded Katherine KD0LSB, Eric KD0LSC, and
Julie KC5DPI. We also had sign-ins by Bob
Gatos KB0TUA, Jim Cline KC0DTD, Bob
Amelung KD0JIY, Mike Marx WB0SND, and
Clyde Chavis N0BDS.
Bonus Points
We were also visited by Officer Michael Mutert of
the Bridgeton Police, who had accepted our
invitation to stop by. We would be claiming 1,250
bonus points this year for the following:
100% Emergency Power
Media Publicity
Public Location
Public Information Table
W1AW Field Day Message
Natural Power QSOs
Site Visit by Invited Served Agency Official
Submitted using the brh.net web applet
Safety Officer Bonus
Social Media Bonus
Giant chiggers mounted a relentless attack on
operators located at “Kids Tent”
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 5
Dinner Break
On the advice of his XYL, KC0PP brought some delicious smoked beef brisket for dinner. The
brisket was the centerpiece of a fine buffet-style dinner spread for everyone to enjoy.
The Night Shift
By late afternoon, 15 meters abruptly went silent. I was glad to hear signals on 80m — my choke
was still healthy! As darkness fell, we settled in for the late night operation.
Coffee was in great supply this year! As another club FD first, Jon N0WL brought a coffee pot,
which was a welcome friend late Saturday night.
The coffee was hot, and so was eighty meters. What was not hot was the weather. In fact, a
steady breeze, combined with a 56 degree low, meant that it was downright chilly early Sunday
morning. Who knew I would have wished for long pants and a jacket? I had to retreat to my car
around 4:00am, not for sleep, but to get out of the wind and warm up!
Day Break
Sunrise brought warmer temperatures as well as refreshments. Dirk brought donuts and fresh
coffee for breakfast; Mark brought water and ice.
Band Conditions
The nearly complete lack of sunspots for the first half of 2017 indicates we’re in the bottom of the
sunspot cycle. We did log one solitary CW contact for 10m. Fifteen meters was only open for a
few hours on Saturday afternoon. With that said, there was still plenty of fun to be had. We made
a total of 556 CW QSOs, which included working Hawaii on both 40 and 80.
Special Thanks
A special note of thanks to John Lonigro AA0VE. Although John couldn’t join us this year, he was
there in spirit! He helped with a lot of the logistics and setup (log book sheets, etc.), and he helped
me transcribe our contacts from our log sheets to a sorted dupe list for submission to ARRL.
I’d also like to say “thanks” to each of you who were involved in any way with Field Day this year.
If I missed mentioning someone by name, or forgot to call out something in particular you did, or
brought, I apologize. (Memo to self: next year, take more photos and keep better notes!)
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 6
Summary
I’m pretty sure it was unanimous: Field Day was a great time this year! We had a lot of fun, we
tried some new things, and we turned in a respectable score.
The only thing missing
this year may have
been… you! If you
weren’t there this year,
please make plans to
join us next year.
Field Day Photos: https://photos.slqs.net/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARES and Field Day 2017 in Lincoln, NE.
by Lonnie Rech, WDØAOP, ARRL Nebraska SEC
ARES is alive and well in Lancaster County, Nebraska. LARC President Ed Holloway KØRPT invited me out to visit the 2017 Field Day site and see what the Lincoln Amateur Radio Club had set up for this year. My wife Cathy KCØVET and I arrived on the site and were welcomed and shown the variety of Emergency type setups the club had set up to be utilized on Field Day 2017.
The Lincoln Amateur Radio Club and the ARRL Annual Field Day Event has become known in Lincoln and Lancaster County as the Mobile Emergency Readiness Exercise. LARC, Lancaster County Emergency Management, and other Emergency Readiness Clubs and Agencies put together an exceptional array of
portable antennas, generators, and emergency lighting systems to begin operating on Field Day 2017 Saturday until operations ceased on Field Day 2017 Sunday.
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 7
Ed Holloway KØRPT President of the Lincoln Amateur Radio Club said that this year was going to be an exceptional year for Field Day Operations, and we were not disappointed. Ed worked his magic on the hamburgers and hot dogs for the hungry Hams for the Saturday evening nourishment, and the Sunday morning Breakfast. LARC put on an exceptional Field Day for 2017 to include Transmitter Hunts on site with 3 hidden transmitters, 2 transmitters were found by the team of KEØNC & KDØRIY, and the other transmitter was found by KCØPOC. Four (4) transmitters were used this year for the Field Day Ops. Greg KTØK made 714 CW contacts alone, and there were over 110 Digital contacts, 1068 Phone contacts, and a total of 1892 contacts for the weekend activity.
From the portable Tri-Band beam and portable tower, to the perfectly tuned dipoles, to the tall Verticals, the club members put their training to good use making contact with all areas of the US and many DX stations. These kind of operations in a real situation, normally demand 24 hour a day operation to assist with communications needed for health and safety, locating relatives in devastated areas, passing health and welfare traffic, and the gathering of public officials that have to get messages in and out of the devastated area involved.
This years Field Day Committee extended invitations to City of Lincoln Officials, and Lancaster County Officials. One Lincoln City Councilman attended as well as Two Lancaster County Commissioners. LARC had 80 total participants, as well as many visitors and a contingent of future hams from the Grand Island area to provide assistance and help as needed. This was an experience unlike others for the future of Ham Radio in Nebraska. Lancaster County Emergency Management Agency is a willing partner in this annual event with the Lincoln Amateur Radio Club (LARC). They provided the emergency generators, emergency lighting systems, and trailers full of equipment to handle Emergency Communications Setups as needed. Jim Davidsaver is the Lancaster County Emergency Manager, and has
provided his agencies equipment to the Lincoln Amateur Radio Club for Field Day and Emergency Operations as needed. The Lincoln Salvation Army’s SATERN organization an ARRL Affiliated Club also provided a portable, fully equipped, communications trailer and ran the GOTA station for LARC.
Photos by Catherine Rech KCØVET
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 8
Cedar Valley ARC (Iowa) Field Day 2017
by Elizabeth Caldwell, N0UTP
The Adora Christian Community (www.adoracommunity.com) was half way through their summer
trimester. Five students had just completed a unit on electricity, magnetism, and circuits. During
the two weeks leading up to field day, each participant built a Four State QRP ZZRX-40 receiver
kit. By June 24, it was time to hook up an antenna and check out the receivers.
Students and their instructor Dr. Elizabeth Caldwell (N0UTP) packed up their equipment and
traveled to Clark Park in Hiawatha, IA where the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club hosted a
Field Day site. With help from N0LNO (Bill Caldwell), KC0YGW (Christopher Caldwell), and other
HAM operators, the radio receivers were tuned up and tested. As a bonus the Adora Community
students were able to make contacts on the 40 meter SSB station located in the Linn County
Emergency Management Agency (EMA) field operations shelter.
Student built ZZRX-40 Receivers Donovan Herrod and Jordy Mairakiza watch radio tests
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 9
Nik Rasmussen and Bill Caldwell, N0LNO take a peek inside Nik's ZZRX-40 receiver
Christopher Caldwell, KC0YGW, shows Nik Rasmussen 40 meter FD QSO's
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 10
Relevant by Steve White, NU0P
Some time ago I was having lunch with a group of hams and one of my friends was talking about
a briefing he had seen about being relevant. We all should be relevant in our lives and he
challenged me to be relevant. After thinking about the importance of this, I thought about what I
could do to be relevant to my local Radio Club. We have a great club in Cedar Rapids but the
leadership of that club can only do so much since they have other lives as well as a ham radio
life.
I really am interested in building and repairing Ham Radio hardware and I believed that there
were others in our club that might share the same interests. I asked for some time during one of
club meetings to give a presentation on Home Brewing - thinking this might stir some interest. I
did a 45 minute presentation on this subject and was amazed at the response from the club
members. There were lots of questions and lots of interest.
I must tell you that I was very hesitant to give this briefing since I am NOT an expert at home
brew hardware. But I do know some things and probably am better than many but there are
others in our club that put me to shame. However, I took a chance and did the presentation and
was more than surprised at the reaction. The presentation covered equipment I built and made
work, it also covered some of my failures as well as some things I would like to build. I was
careful not to go into lots of technical detail (I don't think I know enough to do that anyway). I had
gone to the internet to get some inspiration from others as well. There were lots of briefs on
Home Brewing to draw on. It turned out well and I was glad that I had done it.
At the end of the briefing I did ask if anyone would be interested in building something and lots of
hand went up. I chatted with several of them, answered questions, etc. This became the
beginning of the Cedar Valley Builders. Five hams signed up and we were off and running. The
Builders all had different abilities and experiences which is what I had expected and we chose to
build the BITX 20 Meter Transceiver. This was not the kit from the QRP group in the US but the
kit from India based on the original design.
This has been awhile ago now and the Cedar Valley Builders meet once a week on Sunday
afternoons at my QTH. I am fortunate enough to have space in my garage to host this kind of
event and have the tools that are needed to do this kind of work. The Builders were very helpful
in bringing their own hand tools as well, soldering irons, pliers, strippers, etc. Work on the radios
progressed nicely with testing of major circuits proving to the builders that they could "DO IT".
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 11
As time progressed the Transceivers were completed at different rates. The Builders learned a
lot in this process, not only building techniques but also how to test the individual circuits in the
radio. At the end of the BITX build cycle, I put up a low 20 Meter dipole and they made Q's using
their newly built radios.
One of the things that came as a surprise to them was the amount of time and effort it took to
package the circuit boards in a chassis of some kind. Various chassis were used, some came
from old radios, some from other electronics that were stripped and used as a chassis for the
BITX. So lots of mechanical work was required to adapt these to the BITX and it took lots of
time.
After the transceivers were built, the crew decided they needed more power and soon they were
off building 100 watt solid state PA's. I will tell you about that in part 2 of this story along with
what else has been going on and is planned.
From a personal point of view this journey has been very rewarding for me and I know it has
been for the participants as well. I really recommend an approach like this for you since it brings
achievements and good fellowship to your organization. It just takes putting yourself out there
and try - you will be surprised at the response.
Three of the Builders at Work
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 12
Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -
Iowa's Newest Amateur Radio Club
by Bob McCaffrey, K0CY (Iowa SM)
BUENA VISTA COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB (Storm Lake, Iowa)
Organized in April and affiliated with ARRL May 11, 2017
Top Row: Joe, KE0MSI Louis, KE0IHK Mike, N5KB Bottom Row: George, KB0HVB Mike, KD0NMZ Ralph, WB4FFV
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 13
Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -
Activities Around Kansas
by Richard Johnson, K0RCJ, McPherson, KS
We do have the Salina Hamfest/ARRL convention coming up.
Also, an item of what I consider to be of import, the Ladies on the Air net, out of Wichita, KS, has
recently surpassed the first year mark of their Tuesday evening net. Congratulations could be
given there, and they are considering expanding and enlarging the group to off the air endeavors
on topics such as Safety, Contesting, Net Control functions, Antenna construction, soldering,
other building techniques, just to mention a few things. The ladies are busy studying for
upgrades, with one achieving Extra class from General, and two going from Technician to
General, and studying for another upgrade.
Members of the WARC (Wichita Amateur Radio Club) are going to set up out in the field for the
solar eclipse on the 21st for propagation studies.
August 2nd the Wichita Amateur Radio Club has representatives from Yaesu to explain/comment
on Fusion and Wires modes of their radios. This will be at the Red Cross Building in Wichita, Ks
at 6:30 PM, all are welcome to attend.
The McPherson, KS ARC along with the Newton, KS ARC provided communications for a
bicycle race/ride, the Mobray Metric starting and ending in McPherson, Ks. There were 20, 40
and 60 mile courses, and operators provided Sag comm along with rovers.
The Hutchinson, KS radio club (RCKARA) held a Radio in the Park meeting, where they have an
impromptu buy, sell, swap meeting, open to anyone and everyone. Very hot weather for that
one!!
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 14
Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -
WW1USA July Event Report
by Herb Fiddick, NZØF
Event number 14 for WW1USA was completed last weekend. In spite of really bad band
conditions, a total of 18 different operators logged 1590 contacts for the weekend. All but 18 of
those contacts were on 20 meters due to conditions.
The breakdown of contacts:
1525 Phone
60 CW
5 Digital (PSK-31)
The vast majority of our contacts for this event were US, but we did manage to work 101 non-US
stations including some interesting DX (Panama, Christmas Island).
This event featured a local CW station - a first for our indoor operations. That station was pretty
effective, and I think the operators were generally pleased with the setup for that station.
However. It suffered from the same poor band conditions and was also not staffed much of the
time.
Through 14 events, WW1USA has logged 17,665 contacts.
WW1USA wishes to thank all the operators who participated and the other hams that came by to
visit and observe. Our next event is scheduled to be an outdoor event and will be held on
October 14-15. That event will be special as it commemorates the first engagement of US
troops in combat operations in the fall of 1917.
Let us know if you have questions or comments.
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p.15
Midwest Division Special Event Stations
08/19/2017 | Andrew Jackson Higgins Memorial at Columbus Days Aug 19, 1400Z-1800Z, WA0COL, Columbus, NE. Pawnee Amateur Radio Club. 14.270 7.250. QSL.
Pawnee Amateur Radio Club, via LoTW or C/O Chris Augustine, 1421 14th Street , Columbus, NE
68601. sites.google.com/site/pawneearc
08/20/2017 | AA0RC Solar Eclipse Party Aug 20-Aug 21, 1700Z-2100Z, AA0RC, Mexico, MO. Audrain Emergency Communications Inc.. 14.240
7.265 3.980 3.970. Certificate. Mike Wood, 22374 Audrain Rd.320, Mexico, MO 65265. Will begin
operating 12noon Sunday until 6pm. Will begin operating 10.00am Monday until 4pm. www.aecimo.org
08/20/2017 | Near Zero Sunlite, Great American Eclipse, Crystal City, MO
Aug 20-Aug 22, 1400Z-2200Z, N0S, Crystal City, MO. Jefferson County Amateur Radio Club. 14.300
7.250 3.850. QSL. Jim Berger, 131 Ozark Drive, Crystal City, MO 63019. SASE Required for
QSL www.jcarcmo.org
08/21/2017 | K0E Eclipse Special Event Station
Aug 21, 1500Z-1930Z, K0E, Harrison, NE. Black Hills Amateur Radio Club. 14.280 14.260 443.850 146.2
Call in. QSL. Black Hills Amateur Radio Club, 3288 Sandstone Lane, Rapid City, SD 57701. Grid
DN82bq www.w0blk.com
08/21/2017 | Total Eclipse Across America Aug 21, 1500Z-1900Z, W0E, Saint Joseph, MO. Missouri Valley Amateur Radio Club. 14.260 14.044
7.260 7.050. QSL. Missouri Valley ARC, 4409 North 29th Terrace, Saint Joseph, MO 64506. Celebrating
center of country / center of 2017 eclipse totality.
08/27/2017 | Hollenberg Pony Express Festival Celebrating the 156th Anniversary of the Pony Express Aug 27, 1430Z-2100Z, K0ASA, Hanover, KS. Crown Amateur Radio Association. 18.085 14.245 14.045
7.045. Certificate & QSL. Crown Amateur Radio Association, 11551 W 176th Ter, Overland Park, KS
66221. www.arrlmidwest.org/ponyexpress.html
09/09/2017 | Great American Market Sep 9, 1300Z-2100Z, W0EMP, Emporia, KS. Emporia Amateur Radio Society. 14.270 7.270; 146.985 FM
repeater; 146.580 FM simplex. QSL. Dwight Moore, KD0OIX, 22452 S Stubbs Rd, Quenemo, KS 66528.
Community celebration for downtown Emporia, KS. Help us introduce Ham radio to the
community. emporiahamradio.org
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2017 p. 16
Midwest Division Special Event Stations
09/09/2017 | William Becknell Heritage Days 2 - Founder of the Santa Fe Trail
Sep 9-Sep 10, 1400Z-2200Z, KC0VYS/WB0SFT, Overland Park, KS. William Becknell Heritage Days
Amateur Radio Club. 21.365 14.265 7.265 3.865 1.830. Certificate & QSL. See website for info and how
to obtain QSL or Certificate, or contact, Robert "Steve" Everley, 6521 West 78th Ter, Overland Park, KS
66204. www.wb0sft.org
09/22/2017 | Dubuque, Iowa 200 Years of History
Sep 22-Sep 23, 1500Z-0200Z, W0DBQ, Dubuque, IA. Great River Amateur Radio Club. 14.247.
Certificate. GRARC, POB 1384, Dubuque, IA 52004. The Great River Amateur Radio Club - Dubuque,
Iowa on the mighty Mississippi River celebrating 200 years of history and operating from the famous
Julien Dubuque Mounument overlooking the Mississippi River and the Mines of Spain State
Park. www.w0dbq.org
09/22/2017 | Scouting 500
Sep 22-Sep 24, 1800Z-2100Z, KA0SOG, Kansas City, KS. Heart of America Council. 21.280 14.280
7.280. QSL. David Hinkley, 1221 SE 11th St, Lees Summit, MO 64081. Kansas City Heart of America
Council Boy Scouts of America - Council-wide Jamboree at the NASCAR Kansas Speedway. Multi-
modes. ISS 'School' contact approved and scheduled. Help us introduce Ham Radio to 12,000 kids and
their parents. [email protected] or www.hoac-bsa.org
09/30/2017 | NE150 Rare County Activation Sep 30-Oct 1, 1200Z-2200Z, many, Murray, NE. Chapter 25, QCWA, Lincoln, NE. 14.324 14.056.5 7.188
7.0565. QSL. Fred Eriksen, 500 West Read St, Murray, NE 68409. This is the 4th annual Rare County
Activation. As in previous years it will have mobile stations operating throughout the state. County Hunter
Net frequencies are specified. This year it is also part of the Nebraska Sesquicentennial (NE150)
celebration. NE150 special event QSL cards are available. ne150hams.org
10/07/2017 | Lester Dent - Doc Savage Oct 7-Oct 8, 1200Z-2359Z, W0D, Macon, MO. Macon County Amateur Radio Club. 28.370 14.270 7.250
3.900. Certificate. Macon County ARC, P.O. Box 13, Macon, MO 63552. On October 7th and 8th, the
Macon County Amateur Radio Club will operate the Lester Dent-Doc Savage Mystery Special Event W0D,
in Macon, 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 84th "Birthday" of his
creation, the first "Superhero" Doc Savage. A colorful certificate 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
website www.maconcountymissouriarc.org
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter– Aug. 2017 p. 17
Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests & Conventions
08/06/2017 | Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club Hamfest Location: Cedar Rapids, IA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club (CVARC) Website: http://www.w0gq.org
08/13/2017 | SCARC Hamfest Location: O'Fallon, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: St. Charles Amateur Radio Club Website: http://wb0hsi.org/
08/20/2017 - Kansas State Convention Location: Salina, KS Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Central Kansas Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.W0CY.org
08/26/2017 | 2017 Joplin Hamfest Location: Joplin, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Joplin Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.joplinhamfest.org
09/16/2017 | AK-SAR-BEN Amateur Radio Club Flea-Esta Location: Springfield, NE Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.aksarbenarc.org
09/23/2017 - Iowa State Convention Location: Sergeant Bluff, IA Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Sooland Amateur Radio Association & Dakota County Amateur Radio Club
10/01/2017 | Southeast Iowa Hamfest Location: West Liberty, IA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Muscatine & Washington Area Amateur Radio Clubs Website: http://www.waarc.net/hamfest.html
ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter– Aug. 2017 p. 18
Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests & Conventions
10/21/2017 | SouthSide ARC Hamfest Location: Belton, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: SouthSide Amateur Radio Club Website: http://southsidehamfest.com
10/28/2017 | 26th Annual Halloween Hamfest Location: Kirkwood, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Saint Louis Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.halloweenhamfest.org
11/04/2017 | Northeast Nebraska Hamfest Location: Norfolk, NE Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Elkhorn Valley Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.qsl.net/evarc
11/04/2017 | Raytown ARC Hamfest Location: Kansas City, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Raytown Amateur Radio Club Website: http://K0GQ.com
11/11/2017 | Nixa Amateur Radio Club Hamfest - NARCfest 2017 Location: Nixa, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Nixa Amateur Radio Club Website: https://smlrs.info/hamfest-information/
Hamfests & Conventions Calendar: http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar
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
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
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/