Holland Amateur Radio Club K8DAA USA

Join the fun at the Holland Amateur Radio Club’s monthly general membership meeting Friday night, February 15 at 7:00pm at the Chick-Owa Sportsman’s Club, 9279 E. Ottogan St., Holland.  Club business will be discussed, followed by a presentation on an amateur radio-related topic.  Those who are interested in the MMDVM Hotspot group build project are encouraged to attend the project kick-off meeting as part of this meeting.  You need not be a member or even a ham to attend.  All interested in amateur radio are welcome!

   Josh, KE8DXB with Big Red lighthouse in the background.  (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Winter Field Day (WFD) 2019 ran 24 hours, from 2pm on January 26 to 2pm on January 27.  Operators world-wide were challenged to practice and exercise their emergency communications skills during the winter months in the face of inclement weather or adverse conditions and Michigan delivered those conditions in spades!

The driving force behind this enterprise was a group comprised of Jared Luellen KE8BGF, Josh Barnes KE8DXB, David Chase K8RXB, and Dan Yonker KN8X.  Kim Lobert N8KAL was executive chef for the event, treating the team to breakfast and dinner.

This was the first time that the Holland Amateur Radio Club took part in WFD and this hardy group of guys did us proud!  They came up with the idea, reserved two cabins at Holland State Park, hauled in and set up the equipment, and made it happen.  They operated indoors, where they set up one cabin for the phone station and one for digital and CW.  They took turns operating as 2i (i for indoors), phone and digital/cw.  One highlight of the weekend was making contact with the “mother ship”, W1AW, the ARRL’s station.  The results of the weekend contest were:

CW:                                           43
Digital (PSK31):                   47
Phone:                               162
Total:                                  252

Points (minus bonus):      2,736
Points (including bonus): 6,972

Check out the Holland ARC Winter Field Day Facebook page for more pictures:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1895035050615406/.  

The next E.A.T. meeting (Education And Training) will be held on Friday, February 22, 2019 at 7 pm at the Chick-Owa Sportsman’s Club located at 9279 E. Ottogan Street (just west of Winding Creek Golf Club). 

The club has purchased a series of instructional electronics videos which are around 30 minutes long. 

HARC E.A.T. sessions are open to the public and you do not need to be a HARC member or have an amateur radio license to attend.  If you have questions about amateur radio equipment, operating practices, licensing, test and measurement, or anything remotely related to amateur radio, this is the place to be.

The Holland Amateur Radio Club will be joining the Grand Rapids Amateur Radio Association, Michigan Amateur Radio Alliance, and the Lowell Amateur Radio Club for the annual “Get Outta the Cabin” dinner, formerly known as the “New Hams Dinner.”

The dinner will be held in a reserved room at the Pizza Ranch, 3858 28th St SE, in Kentwood on Saturday, February 23, 2019 beginning at 2:00 p.m.  Anyone interested in amateur radio is invited to the dinner.  You need not be a club member or even a licensed ham.  A menu and pricing for the Pizza Ranch buffet is available on their website: https://pizzaranch.com/locations/mi/kentwood/3858-28th-st–se. 

Hope to see you there!

The annual Kent/Ottawa County Skywarn class will be held Tuesday evening, March 12, at Grandville Middle School.  The event is free and open to anyone of any age but especially targets residents of Kent and Ottawa County age 16 and up.  It is limited to the first 400 people who sign up.  Doors open at 6 pm with the training from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.  Please enter from the Canal Street entrance to the school.

The material presented covers the basics of being a SKYWARN storm spotter, including learning about severe thunderstorms, funnel clouds and tornadoes, safety considerations for all hazards, spotter report criteria and spotter procedures.  Becoming an official storm spotter for the county is optional after the training, not required.

SKYWARN storm spotter training participants should print out their free tickets at the eventbrite website and bring them with them to the training, as the personal information on the tickets will be used by the National Weather Service.  To register for the event, visit skywarn2019.eventbrite.com.  Registration is open through March 5.  Seats not filled by 6:20 on March 12 will be open to walk-ins.

On Saturday, March 9, the Holland Amateur Radio Club will be holding licensing exams for anyone wishing to get or upgrade their amateur radio license .  The testing will be held at the Chick-Owa Sportsmans Club, 9279 Ottogan St., Holland.  The testing session will begin at 6:00 p.m.  There is no charge for any testing.  No Morse code is required for any grade license.  In addition, if your license is within 90 days of expiration, it can quickly be renewed at no charge between 6:00 and the end of testing.

What to bring with you:  If available, bring a legal photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport.  If no legal photo ID is available, bring 2 pieces of legal ID.  Anyone 16 years old or younger must have a parent or legal guardian present for the entire testing session.  IMPORTANT… If you currently hold a ham radio license, bring the license and a copy of the license to the test session.  (Copy will be sent in with the testing results.)   

Note:  This is a federal exam and the FCC requires you to have an FRN.    You can obtain your Federal Registration Number (FRN) before the test, by going to this website:   https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do   The FCC FRN process is simple, and quite fast. 

For further information on license testing, please email Bob Broene, K8RJB, at k8rjb[dot]ham[at]gmail.com. 

Support us when you shop on Amazon. Go to smile.amazon.com/ch/38-2136386 and Amazon will donate a percentage to Holland Amateur Radio Club.  This adds nothing to the cost of your purchase but benefits the club.  Thanks!

Due to conflicts with the use of the clubhouse, our meeting days will change from Tuesday to Friday for January, February, and March, 2019.    The plan at this time is to change back to our regular Tuesday dates from April forward.  Thus:

General HARC meetings will be held on Fridays – February 8, and March 8.

Education and Training meetings will be held on Fridays – January 25, February 22, and March 22.

“Ham in a Day”  will be held at the Chick-Owa Sportsman’s Club located at 9279 E. Ottogan Street (just west of Winding Creek) in Holland.  This is an opportunity for anyone wishing to get their amateur radio technician license to study and take the exam all in one afternoon.  Directed study starts at 1:00 and continues till 6:00, when the test will be given.  For registration and more information, go to: http://tinyurl.com/holo-hiad-ve.  Cost for the Ham in a Day study session is $25 (which includes the book Ham Radio by Bob Heil), but there is no cost for testing.  Also, anyone holding a current technician or general license may arrive at 6:00 and take the test to upgrade at no cost.  Anyone whose license is within 90 days of expiring can also renew their license between 6:00 and the end of testing at no charge.