ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter

August 2016

Bit by the Bug at 10 Years Old

By Jim Andera, K0NK

The ham-radio bug bit 10-year-old Jim Krentzel while watching his grandfather, Bill Berokoff,

KI7O, operate his station when Jim’s family would make occasional trips to Oregon to visit his

grandparents. This bug grew even bigger when Jim operated the GOTA station at the 2015 Field

Day with the Santa Fe Trail ARC (SFTARC) near his home in Gardner, Kansas. Shortly after

Field Day, with the goal of getting young Jim licensed, study was underway.

Any instructor will tell you that one of the greatest rewards that can be found in teaching is having

an enthusiastic student. As Jim’s Elmer, I can tell you his enthusiasm was about 40 dB over S9.

Some might say that we did our study the old-fashioned way; we walked through the lessons in

the ARRL License Manual one chapter at a time -- studying the concepts rather than jumping right

into the questions and answers. While sitting at his kitchen table, modulation was explained as

being much like a rider being placed on a horse. Operating procedures were demonstrated in my

ham shack in front of the radios. A highlight of the learning experience for Jim was the excitement

of soldering two wires together for the first time.

The efforts paid off. In October, Jim passed his Technician test and a few days later was

assigned the callsign KE0GEY. With the enthusiastic support of his parents, Troy and Sarah

Krentzel (both non-hams), a station went together at Jim’s house. Troy welded up a special

bracket to mount a VHF/UHF tri-band vertical to the peak of the roof. A rented lift allowed Jim and

his dad to install a 53 ft end-fed wire antenna for HF and 6m operation. SFTARC member Joe

Krout, W0PWJ, had an extra HF/6m transceiver and I had extra 2m and 222 MHz mobiles radios

to support the setup of a station.

Ever since observing the operation of the CW station at the SFTARC’s 2015 Field Day, one of

Jim’s goals was to learn the Morse code. Considering that 10 meters was not doing very well at

supporting communications between Kansas and his grandfather in Oregon, we knew that

learning CW would open up more HF bands for this Technician-class licensee to use; that made

learning the code even more attractive. Our CW-Elmering sessions consisted of sending CW on

10 meters supported by voice communication on 222 MHz. Within two months, KE0GEY was

able to make contact with KI7O on 15m CW during the day or 80m CW at night!

Perhaps it is the coordination that Jim has acquired through pitching baseball, or the rhythm he

has learned in his music studies (he plays 3 instruments), but young Jim now sends better slow-

speed code with a straight key than his Elmer.

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 2

Five months after getting his Technician ticket, Jim was again taking an FCC exam, this time for

the General-class license. After attending upgrade classes taught by the SFTARC and some

one-on-one Elmering, not to mention taking practice tests, Jim, now 11 years old, passed the

General exam on the first attempt.

Talking to his grandfather and checking into VHF nets are among KE0GEY’s favorite on-the-air

activities. Our code practice can now take the form of CW schedules with me when I travel to

my cabin for the weekend or visit the Dayton Hamvention. And we continue our CW practice

sessions using 10m and 222 MHz.

Jim’s off-the-air ham-radio activities include giving his 5th grade classes a presentation on the

Morse code—which was well received by students and teachers alike. Jim also treated the

SFTARC to a repeat of his Morse code presentation to at one of our SFTARC Tech-Nite

meetings (read about it in the May SFTARC newsletter at http://dev.sftarc.org/sftarc-events-

menu-hidden/229-he-s-a-fifth-grader-yes-but-he-s-much-smarter-than-that ).

Next on Jim’s ham-radio bucket list is mastering an iambic keyer and continuing to add contacts

to his logbook. So if you hear a slow-speed CQ on the CW bands from KE0GEY, slow down to

5 or 6 wpm and give him a call. Or if you don’t hear him on the air, you can check out his

webpage on QRZ.

At the 2015 SFTARC Field Day, K0NK introduces Jim and his dad, Troy, to the operation of the GOTA

station. This provided Jim an opportunity to experience the thrill of operating a station and gave his dad a

chance to ask questions about ham radio and the associated equipment. Photo by AC0KN.

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 3

The challenge of the Morse code continues to intrigue Jim and CW is his favorite way to talk to his grandfather. The heart of his station consists of an Alinco DX-70 HF/6m transceiver and an Icom 2m rig along with a Kenwood 222MHz radio. Photo by K0NK

Iowa Governor's Volunteer Award to Buchanan County ARC

by Clair Franzen, KC0RFN Members of the Buchanan County Amateur Radio Club received a Governor’s Volunteer Award

from Governor Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds during a special recognition

ceremony held June 28 in Cedar Falls. Nominated for the award by Buchanan County Emergency

Management. The club has provided support to the agency since its creation in 2004.

Emergency Management Coordinator Rick Wulfekuhle commented, “Our emergency response

services are to be commended in Buchanan County. Our local program here in emergency

management relies heavily on the good grace of great volunteers and that is no different in our

communication group of the BCARC. This group of individuals have went over and above the call

to establish back up communications but have set up and preformed training, exercising and

deploying in actual events whenever called upon.

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 4

“They do all of this for most of the time a simple ‘thanks for help’ but also knowing their efforts

keep friends families and residents safer for what they do. Along with myself and my commission

being forever grateful, I had filed an application with the Governor’s office for an award nomination

in which they received with honor.”

“I am pleased to honor those who have given the precious gift of their time to meet essential

needs across Iowa,” stated Governor Terry E. Branstad. “The commitment of these volunteers—

and all volunteers—helps Iowa consistently remain in the top 10 states in the nation for its

volunteerism rate.”

“Volunteering not only has a positive impact on the individuals receiving the service, but serving

others transforms the volunteer themselves,” said Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. “The dedication of

the people selected for these awards often encourages others to become involved in service, and

I am delighted to recognize them for their amazing contributions.”

Coordinated by Volunteer Iowa, the Governor’s Volunteer Award program provides an easy way for Iowa nonprofits, charitable organizations, and government entities to honor their volunteers with a prestigious, state-level award. Hundreds of volunteers are recognized each spring during ceremonies held at several locations around the state. More information is available at volunteeriowa.org.

Buchanan County Amateur Radio Club members receiving the Governor’s Volunteer Award, from left: Rick Wulfekuhle, David Huff, Governor Terry Branstad, Clair Franzen, Randall Pease, Larry Locke, Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, Jay Nabholz and Steve Murphy.

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 5

Southeast Nebraska Amateur Radio Club

80 Year Anniversary Celebration

Saturday, September 24 and Sunday, September 25

KØC SPECIAL EVENT STATION 20 meters 14.230 and 40 meters 7.180

Saturday, Sept 24 CDST 1000-1600 (1500Z—2100Z) Sunday, Sept 25, CDST 1000-1400 (1500Z -1900Z)

Coryell Park

Johnson, Nebraska 73203 633rd Avenue

Johnson, Nebraska 68378 402 856-2875

1936—2016

80 Year Celebration

All Hams are welcome to attend.

Limited camping spaces are available at Coryell Park, Fri, Sept 23 thru Sat. Sept. 25. You must email kd0ptr@gmail.com or www.senebrradioclub@gmail.com to reserve a spot. There is no

electric hookup available, only parking space. Motels available in Auburn: Arbor Manor Motel, 402- 274-3663; Auburn Inn, 402-274-3143; Palmer House Motel, 402-274-3193 and Southside RV Park, 402-274-4434, Longcreek TV Park, 402-274-7898.

—Chuck, KDØPTK

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 6

Amateur Radio at the Nebraska State Fair

By Stan Coleman, N0YXV Once again this year the Nebraska Amateur Radio community will come together to volunteer their support for the Nebraska State Fair. This is a yearly tradition that has gone back decades. Hundreds of man hours are donated every year in various support rolls. Amateurs walk the grounds wearing their ARRL approved Lime Green Vests touting "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications" on the back. Some of the many duties that the Amateur Radio community provides are: Extra eyes and ears for the Nebraska State Patrol. We report everything we see and hear directly back to the Patrol on a commercial radio frequency provided by the local Emergency Management frequency coordinator. Being extra eyes and ears mean we get involved with things from assisting in finding lost children and reunited family members to reporting safety concerns. Assisting in Medical Calls is another one of our daily activities. We do everything from reporting emergencies via direct radio contact with emergency medical staff to helping locate incident scenes. If we get to a call first, we fan out and direct responding medical teams to the site. In some cases, we have even assisted Security and the State Patrol with crowd control so that emergency vehicles can get through crowds quicker. In past years we have received high praise from medical personal for our assistance in getting through crowds. If that's not enough, we provide an additional avenue for information to fair patrons. We are often stopped as we walk the grounds and asked for directions, times for events, or where a good place to eat is. If we can't directly answer their questions, we put the question on the air to see if other Amateurs know the answer. In some cases, we have even had teams roam an area looking for a vendor or exhibit in question. Often times we can radio the information back to the original radio operator requesting the information which can then be relayed to the visitor. All of this provides us with a chance to directly communicate with the public the many aspects of Amateur Radio and how they too can enjoy the hobby. The ability to promote our hobby to thousands of people on a daily basis is immeasurable. If you would like to come assist us in our volunteer efforts, we have a schedule and signup sheet available at: http://gihams.org/index.php/events-volunteer-sign-up/. Questions or comments can be directed to; N0YXV Stan Coleman n0yxv@gihams.org

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 7

Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -

From the St. Charles, MO ARC

Here is a shot from the St. Charles, MO 4th of July Parade. SCARC had a float in the parade, and Ward Silver, NØAX, was Abe Lincoln. He spent the two hours on the float sending the Gettysburg Address by CW. This picture shows that “Abe” was not technologically challenged. Photo and story by Don Domina, KC0DE

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 8

Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -

Field Day with W0GCJ

By Mike Stillwell, AC0I

The Marshall County ARC

(Marysville, KS) operated 1A under

the club call of W0GCJ . We had

13 participants and made 214

contacts (much less than last year

due mostly to band conditions and

we had to shut down for 2 hours

because of storms).

The first picture is of the

antennas. We utilized the 40'

crackup tower mounted on a trailer,

to support a TA33, 40/80 dipoles

and a omni directional 2m

horizontal antennas. Near the

building we used a 2M Ringo

Ranger for FM and a horizontal 6M

loop on a push up mast.

The second picture is showing

operators starting at the bottom

going clockwise; Al KD0AKT,

Nathan N0NB, Caleb KE0EGS,

Lucas KE0EGR (both new hams

and club members) and Mathew

N0RKM.

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 9

Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -

NPOTA Activation by Jerry Miller W0PP

Ken, W0KRB, along with Roger, N7IXL, Bill, K0WB, and Jerry, W0PP, activated the Wilson's

Creek National Battlefield (BF11) on May 16. Ken was asked by the park administrator if he

could get some amateur's to activate it that day because of the 100th anniversary of the

national parks. Ken and Roger worked SSB and Bill and I worked PSK31. I believe Ken's crew

made 60 or so contacts while Bill and I had 65 confirmed contacts. I'm attaching a couple of

pictures. Thanks to the ARRL for flyers about amateur radio that were given to visitors to the

stations.

The W0PP Station Set-up at the

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield

Bill Besore, K0WB enjoying QSO's

at the Park.

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 10

Around the Midwest Division - Here and There -

ARRL Teachers Institute

by Bob McCaffrey, K0CY

Mike Miller AC0BD, the Iowa Section Youth Coordinator, (SYC) was selected to participate in the ARRL Teachers Institute at ARRL Headquarters this week. Mike teaches at Ankeny Centennial High School and is sponsor of the Ham station there. Mike is pictured at the entrance to W1AW

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p.11

Left to Right: Loran KA9IVP, Larry N0GP, Gary W0GRY, Colin W9UPK, & Adam AD0M

SES from Field of Dreams, July

22-23 from Dyersvlle, Iowa

By Bob McCaffrey, K0CY

The Great River Amateur Radio

Club operated from the famous "Field Of

Dreams" site at Dyersville on July 22-23.

Because of the location and the association

with the Field of Dreams movie we were

often on the end of big pile ups. We

worked coast to coast and into Canada.

The stations contacting us wanted to share

their own visits to the site with us and how

they loved the movie.

I think we will be there next year again.

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter— Aug. 2016 p. 12

Midwest Division Special Event Stations

08/11/2016 | Iowa State Fair Aug 11-Aug 20, 1300Z-2200Z, W0ISF, Truro, IA. Madison County DX Club. 14.240 7.240. QSL. Mark Mease, 2989 Truro Rd, Truro, IA 50257.

08/20/2016 | Andrew Jackson Higgins Memorial at Columbus Days Aug 20, 1500Z-1900Z, WA0COL, Columbus, NE. Pawnee Amateur Radio Club. 14.270 7.250. Certificate & QSL. Pawnee Amateur Radio Club, c/o Chris Augustine, 1421 14th St, Columbus, NE 68601. To commemorate the life of Andrew Jackson Higgins inventor of the LCVP or Higgins Boat the WWII landing craft used successfully at the invasion at Normandy. Send SASE for certificate. QSL via LoTW https://sites.google.com/site/pawneearc

09/10/2016 | Route 66 on the Air Sep 10-Sep 18, 0000Z-2359Z, W6O, Lebanon, MO. Lebanon Amateur Radio Club. 14.266. QSL. Bill Wheeler, 272 Donna Lee, Lebanon, MO 65536. k0dew@centurylink.net or www.lebanonarc.com 1000Z-1800Z, W6R, Pleasant Hope, MO. SMARC. 3.966 7.266 14.266 21.266. QSL. W6R Special Event, PO Box 249, Pleasant Hope, MO 65725. K9EID@arrl.net or smarc.org

10/08/2016 | Lester Dent - Doc Savage Special Event Oct 8-Oct 9, 1400Z-2300Z, W0D, Macon, MO. Macon County Amateur Radio Club. 14.265, 7.240. Certificate. Macon County ARC, PO Box 13, Macon, MO 63552. This special event to honor Lester Dent who was a creative genius, man of adventure and Amateur Radio operator W0CBL, and who was one of the most prolific Pulp Fiction Authors in the world. Lester Dent was born in La Plata, MO and is most famous for creating the first American Superhero Doc Savage. Mr. Dent was also the creator of the Dent Master Fiction Plot Formula that forms the foundation for almost all action adventure movies and TV programs. To learn more about Mr. Dent and his life, go to the Macon County ARC website http://maconcountyarc.net/ and select the appropriate tab. There is a nice story and several pictures of Mr. Dent. www.maconcountyarc.net/index.html

10/17/2016 | 50th Anniversary of St. Louis Arch - WØA Special Event Oct 17-Oct 25, 0900Z-2359Z, W0A, Saint Louis, MO. St. Louis and Suburban Radio Club (WØSRC). 14.250 7.250. QSL. SLSRC, PO Box 885, Ballwin, MO 63011. Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis Missouri! www.slsrc.org

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter– Aug. 2016 p. 13

Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests & Conventions

08/07/2016 | Cedar Valley ARC Hamfest (K0DAS & K0AIZ Attending) Location: Cedar Rapids, IA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.W0GQ.org

08/14/2016 | SCARC Hamfest Location: O'Fallon, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: St. Charles Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.WB0HSI.org

08/21/2016 | Kansas State Convention (Salina Hamfest) (K0DAS Attending) Location: Salina, KS Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Central Kansas Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.w0cy.org

08/27/2016 | JOPLIN HAMFEST (K0DAS & K0AIZ Attending) Location: Joplin, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Joplin Amateur Radio Club Website: http://joplinhamfest.org

09/10/2016 | 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

10/02/2016 | 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. 2016 p. 14

Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests & Conventions

10/13/2016 | Microwave Update 2016 Conference (K0DAS Attending) Location: St. Louis, MO Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Bob Sluder, N0IS, Mel Whitten, K0PFX & Jim Richardson, N5MU Website: http://www.microwaveupdate.org

10/15/2016 | SouthSide ARC Hamfest Location: Belton, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: SouthSide Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.southsidehamfest.com

10/29/2016 | Halloween Hamfest Location: Kirkwood, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: St. Louis ARC Website: http://www.halloweenhamfest.org

11/05/2016 | NARCfest 2016 Location: Nixa, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Nixa Amateur Radio Club Website: http://smlrs.info/hamfest-flyer/

11/12/2016 | Raytown ARC Hamfest Location: Kansas City, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Raytown Amateur Radio Club Website: http://K0GQ.com For Hamfests & Conventions Calendar, go to: http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar

ARRL Midwest Division Leadership

Director: Rod Blocksome K0DAS k0das@arrl.org 319-393-8022

Vice Director: Art Zygielbaum K0AIZ k0aiz@arrl.org 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, Fred Miller KB0WIL, Dave Propper K2DP,

Barbara Rich KG0UT, John Rogers W0WC, Kent Trimble K9ZTV, Roger Volk K0GOB, and Eric Zust

W0TT.

Assistant Directors (Kansas): Mike Albers K 0FJ, Jim Andera K0NK, Andy Anderson W0AFQ, Bill

Henderson K0VBU, Charlie Hett K0THN, Jon Jones N0JK, Brian Short KC0BS, and Rick Tucker

W0RT.

Assistant Directors (Iowa): Don Boyvey AK0BG, Dennis O’Brien KA0DOS, C.W. Pantel K0IIR,

Jim Spencer W0SR, and Jim Lasley N0JL.

Assistant Directors (Nebraska): Frank Cahoy K 0BLT, Stan Coleman N0YXV, Reynolds Davis

K0GND, Bill Duffy KA0VXK, Joe Eisenberg K0NEB, Allen Harpham KB0ASQ, Todd LeMense

KK0DX, Mike Nickolaus NF0N, and Roxanne Baxter AA7RX.

Midwest Division Webmaster: Steve Schmitz W0SJS email: w0sjs@arrl.net

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