North Carolina ARRL Section Newsletter

April 15, 2024

GREETINGS FROM THE HIGH COUNTRY

A few days ago, some readers might have suspected some of weather reports I give about the slow approach of Spring up here might be untrue.  Three days ago I wondered when we would get to Springtime as we had snow flurries last week.  The weather up here can be quite different from that occurring down off the mountain.

My home is located 3850 feet above sea level.  I traveled to Hickory several times in the past month and I saw that some people down there had mowed their lawns a couple of times. Down off the mountain, flowers have bloomed and I have to admit that Spring is truly in bloom in the Piedmont .

Not so up here!  Trees in the mountains have just started to have buds; looking at the woods, you will see a generally reddish tint to the trees.  Now, after a warm day or two, the trees are taking on a brownish yellowish tint.  No leaves have been seen at 3850 feet above sea level bit things change fast up here.  Down in Boone, leaves are green and mowing services are busy.

A few days ago, we had one last dusting of snow and the temps dropped down into the high 20’s.  Today the temp got up to 76 and it was a very nice day but the weather has been unsettled.  On Saturday, Spectrum News reported that Grandfather Mountain weather station recorded a peak wind of 95 mph.  My weather station recorded a peak wind of 51 mph at 1:15 am on April 12.    On last Thursday the National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Wilkesboro while a number of buildings were damaged in Catawba County.

So, up here on Tax Day, we all know that it is time to check out our lawn mowers and to sure that contracted lawn maintenance people are ready to go, probably later this week. 

And, speaking of weather, the Hurricane researchers at Colorado State University have released their prediction that 2024 will have an extremely active hurricane season; they expect the hurricane season to include 23 named storms, 11 that will reach hurricane strength and five storms will be major hurricanes.  Information about the CSU predictions can be found at https://tropical.colostate.edu/forecasting.html .

INFO ABOUT THE ARRL

It is probably time to review various aspects of how ARRL is structured and how it operates.  Several people have approached me at hamfests me and asked, “Who runs the ARRL and what is your job (as Section Manager?”  So here is a quick overview.

ARRL HEADQUARTERS

Located in Newington CT, HQ staff is comprised of about 100 paid employees and a few contractors who produce four magazines (QST, QEX, National Contest Journal and On the Air) and a variety of technical books pertaining to amateur radio.  ARRL has a few contracted staff who represent the interests of amateur radio before the FCC and certain international organizations.  A large variety of operating awards are offered by the ARRL to reward members for their skill in contacting amateur stations around the world.  ARRL also publishes technical evaluations of new amateur radio equipment and urges amateur operators to participate in public service events.

One of the largest activities of the ARRL is Field Day in June in which amateur operators and clubs are encouraged to operate away from home, using temporary antennas and emergency power.  Points are awarded for the number o station contacted in a 24 hour period.  Information about Field Day 2024 can be found at http://www.arrl.org/field-day .

The HQ staff is responsible to a Chief Executive Office who is chosen by the ARRL Board of Directors.  The CEO is responsible for seeing that ARRL policy is implemented and that staff at HQ are performing at a high level.

ARRL is governed by a 15 member Board of Directors that represents geographical areas; the Board is elected by ARRL members for staggered three year terms.  Five Directors are elected each year for terms that begin on January 1.  Each Division also has a Vice Director who can stand-in for an absent Director and can vote during Director Absences or in conflict of interest situations.  Vice Directors for the Divisions are elected at the same time as the Director for a particular Division. 

The ARRL Board meets in person in Connecticut twice each year (January and July) and hears from ARRL Committees before establishing policy.  Among the three major committees (Administration and Finance, Programs and Services and Emergency Communications and Field Services)the Administration and Finance Committee reviews budgetary matters and sets the ARRL budget.  There is also an Executive Committee comprised of Directors and the ARRL President which makes policy decisions in behalf of the ARRL Board between the formal meetings of the entire Board. 

Information on the Divisions and the Directors and Vice Directors can be found on the web  at http://www.arrl.org/divisions .

SECTIONS

The North Carolina Section is one of 71 ARRL Sections in United States.  Most Sections cover an entire state (like North Carolina) but a few of the more populous states have more than one Section (like New York, Florida, California, Massachusetts and others.  A listing of sections can be found at http://www.arrl.org/sections . 

Each Section is led by an elected Section Manager who is responsible for keeping in touch with clubs, attending club meetings and hamfests and choosing personnel to fill various jobs within the Section.  A description of the various positions that assist the Section Manager and filled by appointments can be found at http://www.arrl.org/field-organization .

Section Managers do not receive a salary but are reimbursed for expenses like  mileage, meals and lodging incurred during  activities that support ham radio in their section ; these activities include hamfests, Field Day, and club meetings.  The North Carolina Section annual budget is $4,044 which comes from the dues you pay.

Part of the Section Manager’s job involves visits to Field Day sites.  In 2021-2023 I traveled over 3,000 miles visiting Field Day sites the West, Piedmont and Central parts of the state.  Let me know if your group plans to operate on Field Day in a park or other public site.  I hope to travel down east this year.

As your Section Manager, I do my best to keep in touch with members and I welcome their inquiries. 

One way of keeping in touch with members is through the NC Section Newsletter.  This is edition number 102 and all the NC Section Newsletters are archived at ncarrl.org.  Each newsletter issue has 1500-2000 words and the newsletters alert members to hamfests, interesting club projects as well as various special events and training sessions.  Producing one of the NC Section Newsletters takes up the better part of a day that involves composing and posting a newsletter twice each month.  ARRL sends the newsletter out by email to approximately 2,800 members in the North Carolina Section.

I participate in a Roanoke Division on-line meeting of the four Section Managers and Director and Vice Director each month.  There is also an ARRL meeting to which all Section Managers are invited and expected to attend.   . The Roanoke Division holds an on-line Town Hall to which ARRL members are invited each quarter.

NC Emergency Management’s Communications Unit holds an on-line meeting every other week   Approximately fifty persons from the cable companies, NC SHP, NCPBS, Verizon, AT&T and Auxcomm as well as other public safety and critical infrastructure groups participate in the biweekly COMMU meetings.

If you want a national perspective look at the ARRL Annual Report which highlights previous activities, membership numbers as well as the annual audit.  The report also identifies major donors to the ARRL.  Copies of recent Annual Reports can be found at http://www.arrl.org/annual-reports .

MEMBERS

There are approximately 146,000 ARRL members who are drawn from the 751,828 amateur license holders In the US.  Approximately 4,400 ARRL members have home addresses in North Carolina.  Estimates are that the average age of amateur operators in the United States is around 75 years and each issue of QST lists about 150 hams who have recently passed away.  Since becoming your Section Manager I have advised HQ of the names and calls signs of 206 hams whose passing I learned about in messages sent to me by friends and club leaders.

CLUBS

Clubs range in size from a dozen or so members  all the way up to 500 or more members.  There are 98 clubs in North Carolina which are listed with the ARRL but some of the clubs apparently disbanded during the COVID epidemic.   To find information about clubs, go to https://www.arrl.org/clubs .

General information about the ARRL and its programs can be found in the ARRL Annual Report which is posted at http://www.arrl.org/annual-reports .

Additional information about the ARRL can be obtained by contact Director Jim Boehner (N2ZZ), Vice Director Bill Morine (N2COP) or your Section Manger (WA4NC).  Each person listed can be reached via   email by using their callsign followed by “@arrl.org”. 

Person interested in seeking the Roanoke Director or Vice Director position should follow the election process  which will be described in the July and August issues of QST.  ARRL members in the Roanoke Division (NC, SC, VA and WV) will cast votes in the Fall among the nominees who meet the ARRL requirements  as to eligibility after a review by  the Elections and Ethics Committee (soon to be replaced by an outside committee).  Votes will be counted in November and the election winners will take office on January 1, 2025.

DUES

The ARRL Board voted almost year ago to raise dues from $49 to $59 per year effective January 1, 2024.  In addition the Board decided to separate the mailing of a printed copy of QST from ARRL dues and set  an additional  print copy fee at $24 per year.

On April 5, 2024 ARRL announced  that Life Membership costs will vary according to the age of the prospective life member.  The following Life Membership rates have been set for new life members:

Age                        Cost

70+ $960

50-69                     $1,635

30-49                     $2,625

Under 30              $3,333

 

In an effort to attract more young person in to the hobby, he ARRL Board also decided to waive membership dues for students under 21 years of age; these new members will be non-voting Associate Members and receive electronic copies of QST.

DATA ON HAM LICENSES  -  FCC March 29, 2024

AREA	NOVICE	TECHNICIAN	GENERAL	ADVANCED	EXTRA	TOTAL
NC	141	10,536	5,905	978	5,157	22,496
NC %	0.63%	45.85%	26.25%	4.35%	22.96%	100%
US	5,714	373,428	186,360	31,472	154,443	752,417
US%	0.76%	49.63%	24.77%	4.18%	29.66%	100%

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

ARRL Kids Day, June 15, 2024,1:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the Wendell Museum, 122 . Second St.

Wendell, NC 27591.  Organized by the Five County Ham Radio Enthusiasts.   The Wendell Museum opened in June of 2022 and featured Amateur Radio in their time line. Please contact Mark Gibson 919-6146822 to volunteer or to serve.

 

FIELD DAY, June 22-23, Info at http://www.arrl.org/field-day

 

HAMFESTS

 

Goldsboro, 05/04/2024 – UnFest sponsored by the Wayne County Amateur Radio Association.   Info at http://www.k4cyp.com

 

Salisbury, 07/13/2024 - Firecracker Hamfest sponsored by the Rowan County Amateur Radio Society. Info at https://rowanars.org/

 

Cary, 07/20/2024 - 51st Annual Cary Mid-Summer Swapfest sponsored by the Cary Amateur Radio Club.  Info at http://caryarc.org

 

Waynesville, 07/20/2024 - WCARS Hamfest sponsored by the Western Carolina Amateur Radio Society.  Info at http://wcars-club.org/.

 

W4DNA - NC Section Net Report - MARCH 2024

 

Each month Dave Roy (W4NA, Section Traffic Manager) compiles a report based on data submitted by the various net managers.  The ARRL email system does not handle attachments very well so the data set out below is an abbreviated version of Dave’s report.  The entire STM report can be found at ncarrl.org in the format used by Dave.

W4DNA SECTION TRAFFIC REPORT – MARCH 2024
NET	NMGR	QNI	LISTED	PASSED		TIME IN MINUTES	SESSIONS	TFC %
SECTION NETS
CN	AA4MP	296	108	106		504	62	98.15%
CSN	KI4KZS	154	24	24		697	31	100.00%
NCEN	WK4WC	335	109	105		383	31	96.33%
NCMN	W3OJO	270	111	110		396	31	99.10%
THEN	K4SEH	332	NA	NA		394	22	N/A
LOCAL TRAFFIC NETS
CWTN	N4CNX	411	105	105		538	31	100.00%
ENCTN	W4DNA	92	3	3		163	25	100.00%
PCTN	W4TTO	214	53	53		262	31	100.00%
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NETS
C-MNN	KI4FAQ	322	NA	NA		1171	31
TOTAL		2426	513	506	4508		295	98.64%

 

CLOSING COMMENT

 

The future of ham radio will rest on bringing in more young members. Too many hams apparently are losing interest as they get older, being nostalgic for what ham radio was when many of us started out several decades ago. 

 

The future always rests on motivating young people to become active.

 

Field Day operations from your homes limit the opportunities for the public to see passionate ham operators putting up temporary antennas and operating at parks and other public places using generators or solar power.   

 

What are you doing to publicize Field Day and attracting young people?  With an average age of hams now at 75, what will ham radio look like in ten years?  How many of today’s hams will have lost interest in ham radio a decade from now?  How many of today’s hams will have passed away in ten years?

 

We need to do more.

 

Some ham clubs and groups in North Carolina go out of their way to publicize upcoming license exams but more efforts are needed by clubs to offer radio classes prior to offering license exams. 

 

What is your club doing to reach out to the public schools to get kids interested in radio and electronics?  Kids are likely to be less interested in contesting than many of our older members but the youngsters seem to be interested in satellites, radio direction finding and simple construction projects like a tape measure direction finding antenna.   Some groups are launching High Altitude Balloons and showing students how to track the balloons with aprs as the balloon travels from one end of the state to other or even successfully traveling around the world.

 

Ham radios future rests with you.

 

Marv, WA4NC

NC Section Manager