September is here and the testing team has another session coming up. If you know of anyone that would be interested in getting their license or upgrading, please let them know. They would like for you to pre-register so they can have the correct number of tests available.
We have been monitoring hurricane Idalia's progress on making landfall, several frequencies are in use for this event. Please remember to give them priority of said frequencies and if you want to help with the efforts then you will need to get with their coordinators. Also be mindful of the other storms out there as several are still active in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and just off the coast of Africa. This season is far from being over and the rain is welcome here to aid in relief of our drought and burn ban.
I have heard talks about an antenna class and if someone would like to teach one then we can host it. Much going on this month, join us in fellowship.
Hack the ARRL?
By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU
A couple of weeks ago, I attended DEFCON, which is arguably the premiere hacking conference in the world. DEFCON hosts a a number of special interest groups they call “villages,” which organize their own sub-conferences on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to voting. One of those villages is the Ham Radio Village, and as I did in 2022, I taught a one-day Tech class in the Ham Radio Village on Thursday, August 10.
So, what does this have to do with the ARRL? Well, one of the more popular amateur radio sub-hobbies is to complain about the ARRL. I won ’t list all the complaints here, but I think that most of you will agree that there are more than a few complaints out there.
Well, part of the hacker ethos is to not just complain about things, but to do something about it. The Wikipedia entry on hacker culture puts it this way, “ [hackers enjoy] the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming the limitations of software systems or electronic hardware (mostly digital electronics), to achieve novel and clever outcomes.” It seems to me that we could creatively overcome some of the limitations of the ARRL, i.e. hack the ARRL, if we put our minds to it.
I think that Parks on the Air (POTA) is a good example of this. The ARRL actually gave birth to POTA with their year-long National Parks on the Air program in 2016, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the U.S. National Park System. It was a very popular activity, but the ARRL dropped it like a hot potato once the year was over.
Fortunately for ham radio, a dedicated group of ham hackers stepped up and created the current POTA program. POTA is wildly popular and has been a real boon to amateur radio.
Get your hacking hats on
So, what else can be hacked? One thing that I can think of off the top of my head is Logbook of the World. At one time, there was talk about making it a more real-time system. I’m not sure whatever happened to that project, but my guess is that the programming was a lot more complicated than originally anticipated, and it got put on the back burner.
Another possible ARRL hack would be to do something about the ARRL’s digital magazines. This hack is particularly needed now that fewer and fewer members are going to be getting the print versions of QST, QEX, and the National Contest Journal. Making the information more easily accessible I think would end up being beneficial for the ARRL as well as ham radio in general.
Can you hack a hamfest?
This isn’t strictly an ARRL thing, but one aspect of ham radio that I would love to see hacked is hamfests. Recently, on the social media platform Mastodon, someone wrote:
“Researching local hamfests, and they’re still such an old man thing. 7 am open gates. Grange fair. Fire house. Greasy breakfast cart. Noon close.
“Can we get like a 3 pm start time at a farmer’s market with snacks, kombucha, and chiptune DJ?”
My reply was, “There’s nothing that I know of that stopping anyone from starting something new.” I would love to see someone come up with something like a hamfest that’s more relevant for younger hams and easier for them to attend. It wouldn’t be easy to do, but life’s not easy, is it?
Ham radio needs the hacker ethos now more than ever. Hackers take on difficult challenges because they are difficult, don ’t they? So, let ’s get to it.
Announcements from ARRL Letter
The 16th annual Ohio State Parks On The Air (OSPOTA) contest will be held on Saturday, September 9, 2023. This contest is always held on the first Saturday following the Labor Day holiday. This year, 75 Ohio state parks will be open for the event. Operating hours will be from 1400 UTC to 2200 UTC (10 AM to 6 PM ET). To sign up and read the full list of rules, visit OSPOTA.org.
On September 11, 2023, the Handiham Radio Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, will operate a Day in the Park special event QSO party to honor the 56th anniversary of the Courage Kenny Handiham Program and Handiham Radio Camp. The Courage Kenny Handiham Program provides tools for people with disabilities to learn amateur radio and technology skills, and to earn their amateur radio licenses. The goal is to contact as many stations as possible throughout the United States and beyond. The exchange for this special event will be your name, state or province, and your country. Contacts will be confirmed via a commemorative Handiham special event QSL card, if requested. For a list of frequencies, times, and QSL card information, visit the ARRL Special Event Stations database at www.arrl.org/special-event-stations.
Quote of the Month
“Keep Your Face To The Sunshine And You Will Never See The Shadows” – Helen Keller
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