AmateurRadio.com

There is much rhetoric in amateur radio about getting more people into the hobby. Especially young people. The ARRL has a Teachers Institute which reflects the conventional “train-the-trainer” model of getting K-12 school teachers (mostly) into ham radio in order to expose their students to the fun and learning. The challenge of this is that it’s quite small, even when effective.

Moreover, clubs face increasing challenges simply getting into schools, particularly public schools, to offer programs to students. It doesn’t take much imagination for a school administrator to evaluate the typical proposition. Hmm, a group of usually old guys want to spend time with students during or after school to talk about something called “ham radio.” I can say no and that’s that. I have no consequences in my decision. I can say yes but I need to do background checks to rule out folks on some nefarious list, find a teacher who will stay with them to watch over the process, deal with space requests and insurance liability (“Can we put up an antenna permanently?”) and so forth. If something bad happens, I have to deal with that and I could get demoted or worse, fired. Which option would you most likely take if you were the administrator and not a licensed amateur radio operator yourself? I have only spoken with a few Principals and Superintendents but I was told by these career professionals that this is likely to occur in many instances. It varies, of course, but this does illustrate the vagaries of getting programs from outside into schools these days.

Visiting the library remains the most common cultural activity Americans engage in, by far.

Gallup Poll Report, 2019

The ARRL and other EmComm groups often use the term, “served agency,” to indicate an agency or organization needing specific attention by amateur radio groups. We have yet to implement a similar perspective or approach for educational outreach, from everything I’ve read. Schools can be one. But so can public libraries. In fact, Gallup just reported from one of their surveys that “Visiting the library remains the most common cultural activity Americans engage in, by far.” Visits to libraries were 10.5 per year in 2019 which exceeds eight other leisure time activities. Library visits were about double annual visits to movies (5.3 per year).

The number of public libraries in 2016 (latest year data is available, covering 98% of the total public libraries in the U.S.) is more than 17,000 central libraries, branches, and bookmobiles in more than 9,000 public library systems. According to my analysis of the 2016 data, this includes a median of 122 children’s program per year, which means at least one half of the 9,000 or so public library systems had at least that many programs directed toward children. (This includes 205 that reported having zero programs directed towards children.) There is potential here!

Public libraries may well be a more efficient “served agency” within which to reach children, young adults and older persons in communities as compared to schools. I do not make this argument to lessen the attempts to get amateur radio curriculum and experiences into schools but simply want to emphasize the untapped potential that the Public Library System has for reaching the public to promote amateur radio.

Which Section can get the most libraries served by constituent ARRL Affiliated Clubs donating the League’s 10-book Library Set to libraries near them?

David Norris K5UZ ARRL Delta Division Director

Starting with the ARRL Louisiana Section Convention in Minden LA last December and continuing to last weekend’s Mississippi Section Convention in Jackson, Delta Division Director David Norris K5UZ and I created a new program just announced in Jackson. It’s the Plant the Seed! Initiative. It’s being rolled-out in the four Sections comprising the Delta Division as a Director’s Challenge to the Section Managers. Which Section can get the most libraries served by constituent ARRL Affiliated Clubs donating the League’s 10-book Library Set to libraries near them? The League offers these book sets, including the two big ones (Handbook, Antenna Handbook), for $200 including shipping. The contents and offer description from the ARRL website is as follows:

ARRL LIBRARY BOOK SET
Special money saving offer! This book set includes popular ARRL publications, intended for clubs or individuals that wish to make a gift to a local library or school. Only complete sets of these publications are available at the special price of $200 per set. Price includes ground shipping throughout the 48 contiguous states, only. Call for other shipping options. Editions sent will be those available at the time the order is received. Publications and prices are subject to change without notice. This special offer applies only to orders purchased directly from ARRL. Orders must be pre-paid.

ARRL No. Title Value (Retail Price)
 4050    ARRL Handbook $49.95
 6948    ARRL Antenna Book $49.95
 5965    ARRL Operating Manual $29.95
 #9857   ARRL Satellite Handbook $24.95
 0977    Ham Radio License Manual $29.95
 8119    ARRL General Class License Manual $29.95
 5170    ARRL Extra Class License Manual $29.95
 0823    Understanding Basic Electronics $32.95
 0915    RFI Book $29.95
 8737    ARRL Instructor's Manual $19.95
 9728    Getting Started with Ham Radio $19.95
 1173    FCC Rules and Regulations $5.95
 7717    ARRL Map of the World (Azimuthal) $15.00

As David said in his announcement to Section Managers on Friday, “This Initiative has indeed already begun. The Mississippi Section’s affiliated club, the Central Mississippi Amateur Radio Association, has already obtained two (2) commitments: one from the Board who challenged the membership to match which they quickly did. Other clubs can quickly follow suit. As described below, the affiliated club membership numbers show that the donation per-member to reach the $200 goal is minimal, ranging from $1.46 to $40.00 in the Division with an average of $7.36 (median is $5.00). So, for the average price per-member of less than ten dollars, ARRL-affiliated clubs can plant the seed of amateur radio and sow the future of the hobby.” CMSARA’s two sets of book have already been delivered and the club has identified two area libraries that will receive them shortly.

The median contribution throughout the Delta Division of just $5 per club member can potentially reach many people in the community for years to come. I constructed a map using GIS software and databases to identify which club is nearest each public library. These are shown by (tan) lines below. Spreadsheets were then exported for each of the four Sections and, within each Section, each club. These files are stored online with a link included in David’s email to each SM in the Delta Division. The Section Manager can email the club contact using information in each club’s spreadsheet with their customized listing of potential “served libraries” nearest them. This makes it very easy for Section Managers and local clubs to consider the Initiative and take action without much spin-up on their end.

Vice Director Ed Hudgens WB4RHQ added, “This is a very exciting Initiative that we are launching. It puts action in the hands of local ham groups who can easily make an impact in their communities with public libraries.” I’d have to agree with Ed’s sentiments. It’s not a vague idea to change the world waiting for “big things” to happen. The Plant the Seed! Initiative is something that for less than a pizza or hamburger lunch per member, a local club can get a broad set of books from the ARRL onto the shelves of a local public library. Getting a photo of the donation into the local newspaper wouldn’t be a bad thing for the club, either. I hope you’ll agree. You can spread the word by copying the logo I created for the Delta Division Initiative below and using it to promote the program in your club, section or Division. The Delta Division has already started and Malcolm’s (W5XX) Section is in the lead. You’re playing catch-up…but the competition is what this kind of “radiosport” is all about. And to Sow the Future of the amateur radio hobby.

bumfuzzle[ buhm-fuhz-uh l ]
verb (used with object), bum·fuz·zled, bum·fuz·zling. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.
– to confuse or fluster.

Origin of Bumfuzzle

1900–05; bum- (expressive prefix, perhaps to be identified with the initial syllable of bamboozle) + fuzzle to confuse (perhaps expressive alteration of fuddle)

This is how I would characterize my reaction to this item appearing on the ARRL website on January 19, 2020. Just confused and flustered:

My own belief was that CEO Howard Michel WB2ITX was doing a necessary and deliberate job in changing the operational focus of the League’s office and services. The main goal as he stated publicly was to increase the value of League membership. He was a very successful CEO of the much, much larger and more complex association, IEEE.

As a Presenter on the ICQ Podcast, I’ve had the opportunity to regularly interview Howard after each Board meeting of the ARRL so as to get our listeners updated on Board actions that had occurred and were being rolled out. I put him on the spot each time, asking what he had done to increase the value of membership. He always responded with an articulate set of accomplishments and plans. As a Life Member of the League, I thought he was doing a great job, especially walking into an opening where his predecessor was ousted after only a couple of years, amidst much rancor and consternation by members and non-members alike. So I’m bumfuzzled.

League officials, including the just re-elected President, have stated that it’s a personnel matter so there is no public comment. Others engage in conjecture, based upon the nefarious “I heard…” source of information that always occurs in the absence of factual source-based statements. I’ve heard a lot, too. And from a wide range of sources. But not much that is public.

The recent emergence of a “backlash group,” coming on the heels of the previous CEO hiring, censure of a Board member, and the attempted change of officers getting a vote on matters in addition to the long-standing votes of Board members, has pressed for greater openness in League business. This group stated that transparency in League actions is paramount. The myARRLvoice group states the following on it’s web-page:

This group had a couple of supporters get elected to the Board in a recent election. We will see how these two Directors, especially, act to publicly announce how they voted regarding election of the CEO Howard Michel WB2ITX. It’s on the “I heard…” rumor mill that the vote was 9-6 to not re-elect Michel. How did each Board member vote? I asked my Director, David Norris K5UZ, how he voted. Note: I serve as one of his appointed Assistant Directors. He told me that he voted to retain Howard and thought he was doing a fine job. So that is one vote now made public.

How did your Division Director vote? If you don’t know, ask them! And why? Did they take your views into account in the run-up to this Board meeting? They are your voice on the ARRL Board, if you’re a member of the League.

A few months ago, I challenged the ARRL’s new mission to serve members in a more effective way by bringing “value” to members. I suggested that one quick “win” would be to stop selling through Amazon (at a 55% discount) and use that money-per-book to fund “free shipping” for members who purchase books. Many readers just didn’t read beyond the title of “free shipping” before raining down the it-will-just-be-passed-along-to-members rhetoric. This does not understand that the League would make a greater profit margin by selling at the 100% retail price (even with whatever discount the member may receive by being a Certified Instructor, etc.), charging no shipping, and still recouping a higher profit than the automatic 55% “loss” through the standard wholesale discount.

In one of my interviews with Howard Michel ARRL CEO on the ICQ Podcast, he said he ran the numbers and that it wouldn’t work out. I did not directly challenge him on that issue since it’s clearly his call. My thought was that it was a pure and simple strategy to demonstrate his new vision of “increasing value.” But enough with my recommendations, already!

However, perhaps it’s just me, but has the ARRL increased their free or discounted shipping stance in marketing publications? Like other League members, I’m sure, I received the above coupon code for Cyber Monday (after Thanksgiving). It’s FREE SHIPPING on $50 or more. That’s an incentive, especially with the new Handbook out and discounted temporarily at $40. So, I thought I’d grab another discounted book to reach $50 or more and get a FREE SHIPPING discount. On my daily driver desktop, I run Linux Mint on a Dell T-5500 8-core CPU with 72GB of RAM and a gigbit Internet service via ethernet to my commercial class switch. I rarely ever have buffering of websites from my end. Ever. But, boy, did I on this Cyber Monday order at ARRL.org! It took several HOURS for me to get the order through to checkout. I tried several different machines, in addition, just to ensure it wasn’t on my end. It wasn’t as I did a network speed operation test on getting packets to and from the ARRL.org server. It was on that end…because, no doubt, there was a boatload of customers ordering. So that’s the point of marketing offers, no? And I’m very happy to see evidence of it drawing a crowd at the virtual checkout page at the League’s website.

And, here are several more adverts e-mailed to members, all with $5 discounted shipping. So, has the ARRL been rolling out a version of this “free shipping” strategy? Well, only some offers reflect actually free shipping but a cap at $5 shipping is also a winning offer, too. I’m delighted at this marketing move by ARRL Product Development Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. Keep it up, Bob! This increases value to members who receive the code coupons.

I had the privilege of recording an interview meeting between the two candidates running for ARRL West Gulf Division Director, in Houston this past weekend.  We were able to livestream the event on Facebook, but the YouTube livestreaming ports were blocked at the meeting location.  However, I did also record the meeting to disk and was able to clean-up the audio a bit, and now the raw video footage has been posted to my YouTube channel.

For those in Texas and Oklahoma who are interested in your ARRL Leadership, please see the video below.  The session is 2-hours long, but some good questions were asked and answered, and I think both candidates gave a good idea of their vision for leadership inside of the League for the West Gulf Division.

Here are the website links for the candidates also:

N5AUS’ Election Page: https://votewestgulf.org
W5MJ’s Election Page: https://www.qrz.com/db/w5mj

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7c7vUXwOTY[/embedyt]

Today started early, about 5:30am or so, getting email, RSS feeds, and social media perused, worked or avoided so I could communicate on behalf of the Mississippi Section ARES Simulated Emergency Exercise (S.E.T.) from 9am-9pm. I won’t work the entire 12 hours but I did assist our RACES Director, Mike N5DU operate the MS Emergency Management Agency’s EOC Radio Room. A few other hams, like Todd K5TDD, Bob KG5ZDZ, and Jim K0UPW (newly relocated from State of Washington) also came by to assist.

Mike N5DU has a RACES Team that he is growing, putting together continual training for those who can be deployed to other emergency zones around the country and those who will remain local (like me) to operate either at the MEMA Command Center or sheltered in-place at their QTH. It’s always a growth process as volunteer hams come and go, tire of EmComm, or leave our midst due to health reasons. But it takes organized, thoughtful, and diligent leaders like N5DU to keep the ball rolling.

MEMA has grown in it’s technical capability since the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Our team working the SET today got a tour of the Command Center when integral state agencies, non-government organizations, and selected others have designated “seats” in front of PCs on the floor of the Command Center. The facility meets federal security standards specified by FEMA, Homeland Security, and other relevant regulations.

Our THIS IS A DRILL scenario today was at sudden, significant seismic activity at the New Madrid Fault in Northeast Arkansas. It is pronounced New Maaa-drid, unlike the city in Spain, commonly pronounced Ma-DRID. I texted our Section’s Emergency Coordinator, Robert KC5IMN, the correct pronunciation to relieve him of future abuse at the hands of Emergency Coordinator’s near Memphis!

We had a good response and participation during the first four hours with one-hour shifts for net control operators around the state. Steve K5OMK in Starkville did a great job as did the ARES Team in Starkville. They had a lost person beacon chase (successful) in addition to the earthquake activity. I guess that was simulated preparation for the start of Southeastern Conference Football weekends in StarkVegas. Operators in Houston, Vicksburg, and elsewhere worked until we closed the MEMA EOC operation about 12:30pm. They are still at work as I write this blog post. As Assistant Delta Division Director, I’m proud of the work that Malcolm W5XX, Bob KC5IMN, and Mike N5DU have engaged in this annual activity.

The MS Section finished # 1 in ARES Section rankings for the SET in 2018. Whether that ranking continues this year matters not, if we all get more effective, efficient, and engaged in bringing our amateur radio communications game to a higher level. You keep score to motivate teams to get better, not to just win rankings, when lives are on the line. Thank God, it’s just a drill today.

Here’s a gallery of pictures from the MEMA Command Center, Levels of Activation, how this agency is organized into regions, and the radio network operating in the State, called MSWin. A staffer at MEMA today kindly gave us a brief tour.

A solid 1960’s saying for disappointing but not tragic events was … bummer! That’s fitting for this announcement from the ARRL with the ICQ Podcast’s endorsement. We’d certainly not want an event, no matter how exciting, to get the W1AW station license in dutch with Part 97. After all, the League should lead by setting examples of following the rules.

“Put Howard to Work” Event Canceled
05/03/2019
Earlier this week, ARRL announced that ARRL CEO Howard Michel, WB2ITX, would be on the air at W1AW on Monday, May 13, giving ARRL members a chance to chat with the CEO and get to know him better as a ham. An issue was raised, however, that this event may pose a potential FCC rule violation.

The particular rule is §97.113: “A station is also not allowed to transmit communication in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer.”

Given that ARRL is Michel’s employer and that an effort was made to publicize an event at which members of the organization could chat with the CEO, such an event could be perceived as a benefit to the organization. So, out of an abundance of caution and to avoid any potential violation of FCC rules, or even the appearance of a violation, Michel has decided to cancel plans for the “Put Howard to Work” event.

“I’ve operated W1AW before and will continue to do so in the future,” Michel said. “I hope to meet many of you on the air, but only as part of my regular ham radio activities and not as part of an ARRL-promoted event.”

The “Put Howard to Work!” event was conceived by the ICQ Amateur/Ham Radio Podcast, on which Michel was a guest on March 31. “We are disappointed, of course, at this turn of events but fully understand and endorse ARRL’s decision,” said ICQ Podcast Presenter Frank Howell K4FMH.