Greetings Michigan Amateurs:

NEW AWARD. A few weeks ago, I had announced a new award program for the Michigan ARRL Section. That is the Honor Roll for Emergency Coordinators/Radio Officers and their counties who had achieved a full calendar year of 100% monthly reporting. We owe a great deal to these individuals and their groups' efforts. They all have worked diligently to insure that their local programs are in place and effective. It is not an easy task to effectively manage a volunteer program. It requires true leadership to keep everyone motivated, interested and willing to donate many hours of time, while receiving only the reward of: "Thanks, your have done a great job". Importantly, these new awards apply to the local teams as well. It takes the support of every organization member to make the team fully effective.

Greetings Michigan Amateurs:

NEW AWARD. For years we have recognized the efforts of our traffic handlers with the Brass Pounder's League award, DXers are acknowledged by the DXCC Awards program, while many other groups receive similar kudos for their efforts. But little has gone into officially recognizing the efforts of our Emergency Coordinators / RACES Radio Officers and their local organizations. Yet, this group remains constantly active in training and preparing us to activate in an emergency. Therefore, the Michigan Section is taking the step to create and award for these ECs to be known as the Amateur Radio Public Service Corps (ARPSC) Honor Roll. A key part of each EC's commitment is to report monthly on the activities of his group. These reports let us know that the program is alive and well, how many participants there are, and how many operator hours have actually been devoted to public service in the community. Our Section Emergency Coordinator / State Radio Officer (SEC/SRO) WB8RCR consolidates these reports monthly and provides them to the State Police Homeland Security/Emergency Management Division and local Emergency Managers to document the public service activity levels in each county. There are number of ECs who are very consistent in fulfilling this important obligation, setting a performance quality example for their peers and they deserve to be recognized. So I am pleased to announce those EC/ROs whose counties have achieved 100% reporting for the year will become members of the new Michigan ARPSC Honor Roll. A full report will appear here in January.

Greetings Michigan Amateurs:

PRB-1: The ARRL Michigan Section PRB1 Committee would like to announce some developments in our efforts to get the PRB-1 exemption codified into Michigan Law. Representative Steve Lindberg, N8UZP,(D-Marquette) forwarded our proposed bill, the Michigan Emergency Communications Preservation Act to the Legislative Services Bureau to be drafted into the proper language for submission to the House.

The Bill has now been given the proper form, a new title and has been submitted to the Committee for Inter-Governmental and Regional Affairs, with Representative Lindberg as Sponsor. It is now known as House Bill # 5556, an amendment to the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act. How did the Bill become a Zoning Act? Representative Lindberg felt that our proposed bill was in fact a Zoning Act versus a Communications Act. His plan is to modify an existing law, the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act. The Michigan PRB-1 Committee and your Section Manager discussed this and determined that we would enthusiastically support Rep. Lindberg’s strategy. The Bill now also includes a “height clause” (i.e. if we stay below the specified height, local governments would not allowed to challenge it except in unusual circumstances). A copy of Bill 5556 can be found at http://www.prb1michigan.org/id17.html.

Greetings Michigan Amateurs:

I am seeing some good news as far as one of the favorite ham radio activities: hamfests. Attendance seems to be increasing in recent months and sponsors are becoming more innovative in developing activities that will increase the crowds. Forums and meeting rooms have been made available and attendance at these sessions appears to be growing. There are a lot of reasons we all attend swaps, whether it is to buy, sell, swap, bargain, visit, have eyeball QSOs, attend meetings and forums, enjoy a banquet or just have a good time, hamfest sponsors are certainly being more accommodating to everyone in attendance. I certainly encourage everyone to keep up the innovative ideas. While you are thinking about it, invite a new ham or two to attend the next hamfest with you.

Dan, KB6NU, and Bruce, KD8APB, will be conducting the infamous One-Day Tech Class on Saturday, November 7. at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum on Saturday, November 7, 2009. The museum is located in downtown Ann Arbor at 220 E. Ann St., Ann Arbor, MI (between Fourth Ave. and Fifth Ave.). The class begins at 9 am and will last until 3 pm. Immediately after the class, students will take the Technician Class license exam.

The fee for the class is $10 (all proceeds help pay for our club station at the museum), and the license exam fee is $15.

GET A HEAD START!
To get a head start, prospective students should download a PDF file of the study guide available for no charge at www.kb6nu.com/2006techstudyguide.pdf. By reading through the study guide and taking the online tests, students may even find that they can pass the test without taking the class.

CLASS IS FULL!
Unfortunately, this class is now full. You can, however, get on our mailing list to get information on our next session, which will probably be sometime in January. To do this, contact Dan, KB6NU by phone at 734-930-6564 or e-mail cwgeek@kb6nu.com.

The one day Technician Class scheduled for September 26th in Gaylord has been canceled due to the fact that no one has registered for the class.

The class could be re-scheduled for a future date if there is a renewed interest.

Greetings Michigan Amateurs:

It was just announced Tuesday that the K8DAR ham radio program in Menominee received an "Outstanding Program" award from the State of Michigan, matched with a similar one from the State of Wisconsin. All this happened within the space of just a few months. The DAR Boys and Girls Club of Marinette and Menominee sponsors an stellar program for amateur radio. This is just another of their continued success stories, demonstrating how youth in our communities can be introduced to this hobby. You can check the DAR club out at http://community-2.webtv.net/dx2100/16thAve/ Our congratulations to everyone and to Ed KG8CX who coordinates the effort.

Dan, KB6NU, and Bruce, KD8APB, will be conducting the infamous One-Day Tech Class on September 26, 2009 in Gaylord, Michigan. The class will take place at the United Way Building 116 E 5th St. Gaylord, MI 49735.
There is a suggested donation of $10 to take the class. All proceeds go to the Ham Radio at the Hands-On Museum project. The license exam fee is $15.
The class begins at 9 am and last until 3 pm, immediately after the class, you will take the Technician Class license exam.
PRE-STUDY IS ENCOURAGED!
To help ensure that you will pass the test, we encourage you to study the material beforehand. You will greatly increase your chances of passing the test if you do this. You can download the study guide for no charge or purchase a printed version. In fact, by reading through the study guide and taking the online tests, you may find that you can pass the test without taking the class.

Greetings Michigan Amateurs:

Bring on the Bridge! Lake Effect ARC is putting on a special event at the Hiawatha Shore-to-Shore chapter of the North Country Trail Association campout bringing in hikers to hike the 5 mile segment of the North Country National Scenic Trail that goes over the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day this year. Lake Effect is looking for a few good operators in the Eastern UP/Northern LP to take a turn on the air. The radio event runs from afternoon Friday, September 4 to evening on Labor Day, September 7. All operator classes are welcome. Callsign will be N8T. Radio gear provided. Primitive camping is available on site (the old Mackinac County Fair Grounds near Moran, Michigan). Details on the hike and campout are here: http://www.northcountrytrail.org/news.php?news_id=26 . Info on the special event is here: http://lakeeffectarc.info/N8T-2009.htm . The North Country National Scenic Trail is the longest of the national trails and runs from North Dakota to NY, 4600 miles across seven states. Established 1980, managed through the National Park Service (the trail is actually a "linear" national park!) and the North Country Trail Association with QTH in Lowell, Mi. More access to pastys per mile than any other national scenic trail! Contact John, KC8ULE (kc8ule@arrl.net) for questions and to sign up. As the saying goes, Get Out - Take a Hike!

Greetings Michigan Amateurs:

While good friend Ohio SM Joe Phillips K8QOE (SK) and I did not agree on everything, college football being the most notable example, we did share a sincere love for amateur radio and the goals of the ARRL. Our near-weekly conversations brought us closer as we talked about our common interests for our respective Sections and how we could best work together and share resources. Our deepest sympathies go to Donna and their children as we all mourn his passing. Now we extend our sincere welcome to Frank Piper KI8GW as the new SM for the Buckeye State.

It seems like Field Day can and went like a flash this year. This is always a great event, and perhaps the one that gets the most out of us for on-the-air activity. I received reports from several teams who were having a great run. HF band conditions seemed variable at the start of FD, but everyone seemed to be hitting good scores despite the band changes. Lots of good PR was reported including some local TV coverage. From the photos and reports supplied, most of not all of our FD sites were equipped to welcome visitors and some ushered them right into the GOTA station and on the air!