News & Announcements

Rocky Mountain Division HF Net
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2010 Rocky Mountain Division member survey results
We are pleased to provide the results of the 2010 Division survey. Please click here (Adobe PDF format)

K2BSA at the 2010 National Scout Jamboree
The 2010 National Scout Jamboree, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, was held at Fort AP Hill, Virginia July 26 - August 4 and ham radio was a big part of the event that attracted over 43,000 participants from across the nation and world.

K2BSA, a ham radio exhibit present at the National Jamboree since the 1970s, had three elements: a demonstration station, licensing classes and VE exams, and radio merit badge instruction. Three Rocky Mountain Division members -- Brian Mileshosky N5ZGT (K2BSA station coordinator/manager), George Weber WA0BSA (licensing class and VE exams) and Sid Hughes K0SCH (demonstration station) -- were among the 50 volunteer staff members who ran the overall K2BSA operation.

The station was QRV on at least 10 transceivers and as many monoband yagis or dipoles atop 60 foot telephone poles on 70 centimeters, 2, 6, 10, 15, 20, 40, and 80 meters making contacts using modes/methods like phone, CW, PSK31, meteor scatter, IRLP, D-Star, APRS, and satellite. Thousands of QSO were made. A dual-band repeater was also put on the air and a nightly net was held for Jamboree participants who brought their HT to the Jamboree.

Nearly 6,000 youth scouts (13% of the total Jamboree attendance) received thorough exposure to ham radio by touring the K2BSA station and getting on the airwaves. Six lucky scouts conducted a memorable contact with astronaut Doug Wheelock aboard the International Space Station (ISS) before an onlooking crowd of Jamboree participants. Technician license classes and two VE exam sessions were conducted daily, resulting in 147 new Technicians, 33 Generals, and 8 Amateur Extras. 210 scouts earned their radio merit badges, too.

One of those new hams is Lt. Col. John Haefner KJ4WRN, Commander of Fort AP Hill, who learned of K2BSA’s presence and visited the station to inform us of his longtime desire to become a ham radio operator. Making time in his busy schedule, he self-studied, and ultimately became a General class ham. Thank you for your and Fort AP Hill’s support, Lt. Col. Haefner!

Support from the ham community and manufacturers was abundant as well. Equipment was loaned for K2BSA’s operation from companies including Icom America, Yaesu USA, Ten-Tec, Heil Sound, MFJ, Cushcraft, HyGain, Buckmaster, HRO, XGGCOMM, Quicksilver Radio Products, and Array Solutions. Ray Novak N9JA of Icom America and Dennis Motschenbacher K7BV of Yaesu USA both traveled to the Jamboree to observe and assist with K2BSA’s operations. ARRL also provided significant support including VE exam materials, license study manuals for loan to Jamboree participants, other publications, and the enthusiasm of longtime K2BSA staff member Larry Wolfgang WR1B (editor of QEX magazine) who served as ARRL’s staff liaison.

K2BSA’s operation at the 2010 National Scout Jamboree was a resounding success, as was the Jamboree overall. A big thank you goes to everyone who worked K2BSA while it was QRV, and especially to all scouts and scouters within our Division who attended the Jamboree. All eyes are on 2013 when the next National Jamboree will be held at its new, permanent location – the Summit Bechtel Family National Scouting Reserve located adjacent to the New River Gorge National River park in West Virginia. We look forward to K2BSA once again carrying on its tradition of introducing thousands of youth to the extraordinary hobby/service of ham radio.

Look for pictures to be posted soon on the Rocky Mountain Division website (linked from this article on the News & Announcements page).

July ARRL Board of Directors Meeting
The second and final ARRL Board of Directors meeting of 2010 took place over the weekend of July 16. A summary of topics discussed and decisions made is available at http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-board-of-directors-meets-in-connecticut-for-2010-second-meeting. Minutes and committee reports are available for your review at http://www.arrl.org/board-meetings.

Heads Up: 2011 Division Convention
The New Mexico section will host the 2011 Rocky Mountain Division Convention, and planning is commencing. More details, including date and potential location should be available in the September Rocky Mountain Division update.

Tech Tip of the Month
The purpose of the Tech Tip section is to offer a platform for ARRL members like you to offer concise, technical advice and suggestions for all. Our aim is not to teach someone how to design a radio, but to offer brief hints and kinks for hams to learn from. If you have a Tech Tip you’d like to offer – any topic pertaining to ham radio is welcome – please send it in a few paragraphs to Vice-Director Dwayne Allen WY7FD (wy7fd@arrl.org) for consideration.

Mobile Amateur Radio Operation Policy Statement
At its January 2009 meeting the ARRL board voted to create a policy statement with regard to mobile Amateur Radio operations to address the growing number of state and local laws and ordinances regulating the use of cellular telephone and text messaging, inadvertently affecting Amateur Radio mobile communications.

Earlier in 2009 there was pending state legislation of this sort in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Through contact with hams and various legislators, Section Managers and State Government Liaisons of these states coordinated grassroots efforts to eliminate the bills' potential impact on mobile amateur radio communications, or to oppose the bills entirely. This issue isn't new, and it's not going to disappear either, which is why ARRL has created this policy statement which includes suggested statutory language for state motor vehicle codes.

A brief story about this action and the actual policy statement can be found at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/02/03/10609/?nc=1

Please keep in close contact with your respective Section Managers and his appointed State Government Liaison when it comes to addressing these sorts of bills. A closely coordinated effort is crucial to success when engaging lawmakers, informing them of drawbacks to their legislation, and lobbying them to make changes to it.

ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Update archive (PDF)

2009
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