Last month was busy. Right on the heels of Field Day, I attended the 2015 Central States VHF Society Conference in Denver, Colorado. It was an intense four days of talks and workshops covering VHF and above. The highlight of the event was a rousing talk at the Saturday banquet by ARRL First Vice President Rick Roderick K5UR, an avid VHFer. If you haven’t attended one of these, I highly recommend it. Next year it will be in Minneapolis, MN. http://www.csvhfs.org
The following weekend was the 2015 ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention held in beautiful Bryce Canyon, Utah. It was a cozy affair with about 300 in attendance. The theme was “Ham Radio 101 & Beyond”, celebrating 101 years of the ARRL. There were a variety of forums aimed at the beginner and advanced topics, and Dan Henderson, N1ND, the ARRL HQ Regulatory Information Manager, spoke on Sunday morning about “Getting On The Air — And Beyond”. Next Year’s Division convention will be held in Keystone Resort, Colorado. http://www.hamconcolorado.org/
Finally wrapping things up was the 2015 Albuquerque Duke City Hamfest and ARRL New Mexico State Convention. If you didn’t make it, you missed one heck of a hamfest. At the Saturday banquet the keynote address was given by Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH. Riley’s talk focused on “Amateur radio in the world of today”. Bill Boedeker, NM5BB, received the ARRL New Mexico Section Ham of the Year Award for 2015 and the Taos Amateur Radio Club was awarded the ARRL NM Section Club of the Year Award for 2015. Santa Fe ARES was recognized as having achieved their ARRL Special Service Club status. At the Saturday morning DX/Contesting Bob Allison, WB1GCM, give an interesting and informative talk covering, by the numbers, what makes a good contest radio. There were about 850 in attendance. Three hundred and ninety letters to our representatives in support of the Amateur Radio Parity Act were generated, signed, and sent to ARRL HQ for hand delivery to Capitol Hill. Thank you to all the volunteers who made the convention happen and stay tuned for details on next year’s event.
If you missed out on signing letters to your Congressmen supporting the Amateur Radio Parity Act, don’t fret. I’ll be at at the Alamogordo and Socorro hamfests so members can generate and sign them there. Or you can go to http://rescue-radio.com/learn and generate your own. More information about the Amateur Radio Parity Act can be found at http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act
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Upcoming events around the New Mexico Section:
September 5th, 2015: Alamogordo Hamfest
http://www.qsl.net/k5lrw/index.htm
September 19th, 2015: Pecos Valley ARC Tailgate
http://www.pecosvalleyarc.com
October 3rd, 2015: Socorro Hamfest
http://socorroara.org/hamfest.html
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We regret to report that the following Keys are now silent:
Sanford “Sandy” Fortner, WB5CYK.
Albuquerque, NM.
Passed 7/1/15, Age 92.
Obituary in ABQ Journal, 8/2/15.
George Revels, K5FXN.
Albuquerque, NM.
Passed 7/12/15, Age 88.
Obituary in ABQ Journal, 7/16/15.
Robert “Bob” Sparks, WB5QZD.
Socorro, NM.
Passed 7/12/15, Age 83.
Obituary in ABQ Journal, 7/16/15.
Jesse Brown, KE5DAN.
Clovis, NM.
Passed 7/12/15, Age 76.
Obituary in ABQ Journal 7/16/15
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Please visit the New Mexico Section website for the latest information on what happening in amateur radio in and around the Section: http://www.arrl-nm.org
New to the webpage is a listing of recently licensed amateur radio operators across the state of New Mexico, based on public information provided by the FCC. Amateur radio clubs across New Mexico are encouraged to use this resource to reach out to any new licensees in your area, welcome them to ham radio, and recruit them to your club. This listing is available at https://www.arrl-nm.org/wp/new-ham-report
If you’re interested in serving as a member of the ARRL New Mexico Section Field Organization, don’t hesitate to contact me. More information on the Field Organization can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/field-organization
Thank you for being a valuable member of the League. Your feedback is always welcome.
