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ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter
December 2014
Kansas Radio Amateur Brian Short KC0BS Wins
2014 ARRL McGan Silver Antenna Award
The ARRL Board of Directors has selected Brian Short KC0BS of Olathe, Kansas, as the recipient of the 2014 ARRL Philip J. McGan Silver Antenna Award. This award is given to recognize excellent public relations efforts to promote Amateur Radio to the general public. Brian
appeared in the Kansas City Public Media’s “Up to Date” interview program on KCUR-FM, in November, 2013. The show entitled “Exploring Ham Radio in a Digital World” highlighted Amateur
Radio’s value to the community and explained how individuals
can get involved. Brian has done an outstanding job of using
both traditional and social media to bring the message of Amateur
Radio to the public.
Brian is an ARRL Midwest Division Assistant Director, serves as
Johnson County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
Emergency Coordinator, and is
a SKYWARN weather spotter. He is also
president and frequency coordinator of
the Kansas Amateur Repeater Council and of the NEKSUN/K0HAM
group. He has been a Public Information Officer in the Kansas City
area.
Brian is also an Amateur Radio instructor, and received the 2009 Herb
Brier Instructor of the Year Award. Brian and Matt May KC4WCG
have been leaders in the “Million Ham March” of HamClass.org. This
group of dedicated Amateur Radio instructors has recently graduated
their 1100th student! Congratulations to Brian Short KC0BS on his
efforts to promote Amateur Radio to the public!
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— Dec. 2014 p. 2
W1AW/0 MO—ARRL Centennial QSO Party Results
By Ward Silver N0AX and Mitch O’Neal NW0M
After all the shouting and sending was complete, the Missouri team logged a grand total of
66,182 W1AW/0 contacts. (35,444 in May and 30,738 in October) That is a pretty amazing
total and there were still people calling when the final plug was pulled at 2359Z on Oct 14th! In
the second week, 118 countries and 35 CQ Zones were logged. 68% were from the US and
we had 7% from Japan, 4% from Germany, 3% from Italy, and another 3% from Canada. The
remaining 15% were sprinkled all around the world.
The team was composed of 67 different operators: NW0M, N0AX, K0JPL, K0DEQ, WB0SND,
KC0GP, N0TT, W2AGR, KD0PLS, W0HBH, K0ARY, W7FB, K0CA, N0TKN, N0ZH, K9ZTV,
WA0IYY, WA0BSW, KD0PMW, W0NFS, N3PDT, K2HT, KI0I, KC0M, WA0JCO, AC0CU,
W0RMS, AB0TO, K0KL, KD0NEO, K0LH, WB2UFO, K0LIR, W0TT, NI0R, AA0PO, AD0DQ,
K2DP, N5RR, K0BX, AB0RX, W0MA, AD0JA, W0TSM, KW0KW, W0VM, KD0IXM, NS0D,
K0TPP, KD0FW, WC0W, KD0UAG, WA0JRJ, KD0JBN, KG0KP, KD0AKF , N7WY, N7BD,
NO0L, WB0IIS, KF0TW, K0JFC, KB0QHZ, K0OG, K0OU, and N0SO. This does not include
any operators at club stations, such as the Boeing Club W0MA, who did not participate as individuals.
Can we work the pileups from Missouri? I think we can! Perhaps we should change the state
slogan to The Work Me State. Thanks to all of the operators who put time and energy into
making Missouri a very visible presence on the bands during our two weeks of fame as part of
the ARRL Centennial QSO Party.
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— Dec. 2014 p. 3
Prestigious Larry Award Presented to W0KC – Norma Libby
Every so often, the Amateur Radio Clubs from the Kansas City Region come together to recognize an individual for their contributions to Amateur Radio. The first such award was presented
to W0AIB - Larry Staples in 2012 for his work with Larry’s List, thus the award has become
known as the “Larry Award.”
This year, clubs banded together to present a Larry
Award to W0KC – Norma Libby. Norma has been a
Volunteer Examiner Coordinator, (VEC,) in the Kansas City Area since 2006. If anyone has taken an
FCC Test for the Amateur Radio Service anywhere in
Kansas City since then, it was very likely that Norma
was there! According to the W5YI Organization,
while they can't provide exact figures, they can tell us
that since 2006, Norma has participated in 256 testing sessions, with 84 of those sessions where she
was the Coordinating Examiner. In one way or another, Norma has been involved in the testing of hundreds of Amateur Radio Operators!
Organizations participating in the Larry Award for
Norma Libby included:
Independence FM Amateur Radio Club, Independence, Missouri
Blue Springs Amateur Radio Club, Blue Springs, Missouri
Heart of America Amateur Radio Club, Kansas City, Missouri
Johnson County Radio Amateurs Club, Inc. Overland Park, Kansas
Kansas City DX Club, Peculiar, Missouri
Raytown Amateur Radio Club, Inc. Raytown, Missouri
Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club, Olathe, Kansas
Southside Amateur Radio Club, Inc. Grandview, Missouri
Warrensburg Area Amateur Radio Club, Inc. Warrensburg, Missouri
The award was presented to Norma during the Raytown Amateur Radio Club Hamfest by
W0AIB – Larry Staples (see photo) and KD0HKD – Randy Schulze on November 1, 2014, and
was a complete surprise to her! A video of the presentation, produced by N0IRS – JD DuPuy,
can be seen at: https://vimeo.com/112062888
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— Dec. 2014 p. 4
WW1USA Special Event Station
to be On the Air, December 27th and 28th
By Randy Schulze
One-Hundred years ago, a great war was raging across Europe. Regardless of this conflict, a small miracle of peace occurred over the battlefield on Christmas Eve 1914. The Christmas truce (German: Weihnachtsfrieden; French: Trêve de Noël) was a series of widespread, unofficial ceasefires that took place
along the Western Front around Christmas 1914, during World War I. Through the week leading up to
Christmas, parties of German and British soldiers began to exchange seasonal greetings and songs between their trenches; on occasion, the tension was reduced to the point that individuals would walk
across to talk to their opposite numbers bearing gifts. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many soldiers from both sides—as well as, to a lesser degree, from French units—independently ventured into
"no man's land", where they mingled, exchanging food and souvenirs. As well as joint burial ceremonies,
several meetings ended in carol-singing. Troops from both sides were also friendly enough to play
games of football with one another, in one of the truce's most enduring images.
Special Event Station WW1USA of the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial will be on the
air at Kansas City, Missouri to commemorate this historic event. The Warrensburg Area Amateur Radio
Club will sponsor this special operating event at the museum, with assistance from the Joplin Amateur
Radio Club from 15:00 UTC on December 27th through 22:00 UTC on December 28th. All Amateur Radio Operators from around the world are invited to participate in this Special Event by contacting
WW1USA on the radio. If you’re in Kansas City during the Special Event, all Amateur Radio operators
who present an operator license will receive $5 admission to the Museum for themselves and up to
three guests. (No other discounts apply.)
Stations making contact with WW1USA during the Special Event can request a Contact Certificate
through the ww1usa.org website, December 27, 2014, through January 30, 2015. A QSL Card can be
obtained via mail by sending SASE or by providing other return postage. You can also obtain an Electronic QSL Card via eQSL. For more details, please visit http://ww1usa.org.
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— Dec. 2014 p. 5
New Antenna Installation at The Radio Farm - N0MA
by Rod Blocksome, K0DAS
One of my interests in amateur radio has always been antenna design and performance. A
group of Cedar Rapids, Iowa area ham friends, in a
loosely organized group called The Radio Farm,
built a club station and operate the major contests.
Our contest results from year to year are one way
to gauge antenna improvements we incrementally
make - usually in less than ideal weather conditions.
Last October, we installed a Cushcraft ASL2010
Log Periodic Antenna atop our 65-foot tower near
the farm house. The ASL2010 has a nominal gain
of 6 dBd between 13.5 and 32 MHz. The lower
photo shows the antenna being hoisted up to the
top of the tower using a tram line. Brian, KA0YSQ,
worked atop the tower.
One reason for mounting the ASL2010 on the
shorter of the three towers at N0MA was to
achieve a moderate take-off angle and thus be
more effective in the ARRL Sweepstakes Contests. And this seems to be the case by one
measure. In 2013, N0MA achieved a clean
sweep by 0337 UTC - only 6 hours 37 minutes
into the contest. This year, we achieved the
sweep at 0322 UTC - a few minutes earlier. Of
course many other factors affect these results
but the main thing is we all work hard at having
fun operating in the ARRL contests and HF antenna farming.
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— Dec. 2014 p. 6
Around the Midwest Division
The Polk County ARES trailer deployed
at the Patient Reception site for the National Disaster Medical System exercise
in Des Moines, Iowa on September 4.
(Photo courtesy of Des Moines RAA
“Static Sheet” newsletter, October
2014).
ARRL Honorary Vice-President
Bruce Frahm K0BJ enjoyed visiting
with hams at the SEAnet Convention
in Bali, Indonesia. Bruce is on a seven-week trip to Thailand visiting his
son Jon, KB0MBS and family. (Photo
K0BJ)
Famous DXer Champ E21EIC and
Bruce HS0ZLB, K0BJ enjoy an eyeball
QSO at the monthly meeting of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand
(RAST) social time. (Photo K0BJ)
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— Dec. 2014 p. 7
Around the Midwest Division
Dennis Mason K0BYK, of Marysville,
Kansas, demonstrated CW using a bug
at the Onaga, KS festival of Lost Arts
and Havensville’s Living History. Dennis’s interest in Morse Code spans 63
years as a ham, and his careers in the
U.S. Air Force, and the Union Pacific
Railroad. (Photo—The Marysville Advocate, November 6, 2014).
Sam Burrell K0AFN, of Burlington, Iowa was featured in an excellent article “Wireless since
before wifi” in the Lifestyles section of the November 23, 2014,
The Hawk Eye newspaper. Sam
has been licensed for almost 60
years. (Photo—
www.thehawkeye.com/lifestyles)
Mike Rosenblatt K0BMW, of Burlington, Iowa was also featured
in the “Wireless since before wifi”
Lifestyles section of the November 23, 2014, The Hawk Eye
newspaper. Mike was first licensed when he was 12 years
old.
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter— Dec. 2014 p. 8
Cliff’s Notes

ARRL hit the milestone of 165,000 members at the end of October – the highest that
membership has been since 1998! Thanks to each of you for supporting our National Association for Amateur Radio!

Ham radio received good publicity during the annual ARRL Davenport Radio Amateur
Club hamfest in a newspaper article “Hams share love of amateur radio” in the Quad City
Times. http://qctimes.com/news/local/hams-share-love-of-amateur-radio/
article_a9413c1d-70df-5a08-a4c2-d81bde925865.html.

Kudos to Larry Staples W0AIB, who donated his grand prize $300 Associated Radio gift
certificate received at the Raytown, MO ARC Hamfest to be divided into three $100 gifts
to hams licensed less than six months and are less than 15 years of age. Donation of
$100 by another ham allowed all four of the applicants to receive a gift certificate.

I have approved the application of the Iowa Wireless Amateur Radio Network of
Parkersburg, IA (IWARN) to become an ARRL Affiliated Club. The application is pending
before the ARRL Executive Committee.

As I announced earlier, I will be retiring as your Midwest Division Director on January 1,
2015. This will be my last monthly Midwest Division Newsletter and “Cliff’s Notes.” The
Midwest Division is fortunate to have Rod Blocksome K0DAS as our new Director. Rod
has done a tremendous job as Vice Director the past four years, and is well-prepared to
take over leadership of the Midwest Division.
It’s been a privilege and honor to work with radio amateurs throughout the Midwest
Division to promote initiatives in public service and emergency communications, advocacy
at the federal, state, and local levels, and education and new technologies. I would like to
particularly thank the Midwest Division Assistant Directors, Section Managers, Advisory
Committee Members, Legislative Action Chairs and Coordinators, and our Midwest Division Webmaster. The names and calls of all these members are on the last page of this
newsletter. And kudos to all the clubs and hams who worked so hard on the Division
ARRL conventions in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Lebanon, Missouri, the W0DXCC convention in Kansas City, Kansas, and all the state and section conventions and hamfests
throughout the Division. And in addition, a special thanks to everyone who sent me information and photos to share with ARRL members in the 56 issues of Midwest Division
News which I have published.
The Amateur Radio Service continues to face a number of challenges. Three issues
that I am particularly concerned about are spectrum threats, getting more young people
into ham radio, and private land use restrictions which prohibit antennas and towers.
ARRL continues to work diligently to address these concerns. I urge each of you to support ARRL’s efforts in these issues which are vital to the future of Amateur Radio.
Thanks for your friendship and support during the past eight years. I look forward to
keeping in touch on the air and at upcoming hamfests and conventions. May the blessings and joys of this holiday season be with you and your families.
73, Cliff K0CA
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter– Dec. 2014 p. 9
Midwest Division Special Events
01/03/2015 | Lake of the Ozarks Eagle Days
Jan 3-Jan 5, 1400Z-0200Z, N0J, Lake Ozark, MO. Lake of the Ozarks Amateur Radio Club.
21.300 14.320 7.240. Certificate. Glenn Commons, 103 Helinda Ln, Lake Ozark, MO 65049.
Please send SAE with $1.00 for 8.5" x 11" certificate.
01/10/2015 | Eagle Watch On The Mississippi River
Jan 10, 1600Z-2000Z, W0CS, Clinton, IA. Clinton Amateur Radio Club. 14.255 7.255 7.045
145.430 - 100Hz PL. QSL. Clinton Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 1501, Clinton, IA 52733.
www.qrz.com/db/w0cs
01/24/2015 | Kansas Day
Jan 24, 1600Z-2100Z, KS0KS, Olathe, KS. Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club. 28.320
21.320 14.250 10.115. QSL. Santa Fe Trail ARC, KS0KS, PO Box 3144, Olathe, KS 66063.
Mahaffie Heritage Center, Olathe, Kansas. Kansas joined the Union Jan. 29, 1861.
www.sftarc.org
02/21/2015 | 11th Annual "Freeze Your Keys"
Feb 21, 1400Z-2200Z, W0EBB, Leavenworth, KS. Kickapoo QRP Amateur Radio Club. CW
14.058 7.035; SSB 14.325 7.240. QSL. Gary Auchard, 34058 167th St, Leavenworth, KS
66048. [email protected]
04/01/2015 | Lunar Eclipse
Apr 1-Apr 4, 0001Z-1200Z, K0L, Emporia, KS. Emporia State University Amateur Radio Club.
14.270 21.310 7.230. QSL. Dwight Moore, Campus Box 4050, 1 Kellog Circle, Emporia, KS
66801.
For updated Special Event listings, see:
www.arrl.org/special-event-stations
Upcoming W1AW/0 Operations from Midwest Division
Iowa—December 24 to December 30
ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter– Dec. 2014 p 10
Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests, Conventions & Events
01/03/2015 | Ozark Mountain Hamfest
Location: Brighton, MO
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Ozark Mountain Amateur Radio Group
Website: http://w0omd.org
01/24/2015 | Winterfest 2015
Location: Collinsville, IL
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: The St. Louis & Suburban Radio Club
Website: http://SLSRC.ORG
02/07/2015 | Mine Creek Winterfest
Location: LaCygne, KS
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Mine Creek ARC
03/07/2015 | SWIARC Hamfest
Location: McClelland, IA
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: SouthWest Iowa Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://SWIradio.org
03/21/2015 | Nebraska State Convention
Location: Lincoln, NE
Type: ARRL Convention pending Executive Committee approval
Sponsor: Lincoln Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://lincolnhamfest.org/
04/11/2015 | Hamboree 2015
Location: Boone, IA
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: 3900 Club
Website: http://www.3900club.com
For updated Hamfests and Conventions Calendar, go to:
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar
Midwest Division Leadership
Director: Cliff Ahrens K0CA
Vice Director: Rod Blocksome K0DAS
[email protected] 573-221-8618
[email protected] 319-393-8022
Iowa Section Manager: Bob McCaffrey K0CY
Kansas Section Manager: Ron Cowan KB0DTI
Missouri Section Manager: Dale Bagley K0KY
Nebraska Section Manager: Matt Anderson KA0BOJ
DX Advisory Committee: Bill Morgan K0DEQ (MO)
Emergency Communications Advisory Committee: Reynolds Davis K0GND (NE)
Contest Advisory Committee: Jim Cochran K0RH (KS)
Division Legislative Action Chair: Mike Edwards WB9M (MO)
Legislative Action Coordinators: Nick Critelli K0PCG (IA); Bruce Frahm K0BJ (KS & NE);
Mike Edwards WB9M (MO).
Assistant Directors (Missouri): Paul Haefner K0JPL, Ron Lowrance K4SX, Fred Miller
KB0WIL, Dave Propper K2DP, Barbara Rich KG0UT, John Rogers W0WC, Scott Schultz
N0IU, Kent Trimble K9ZTV, Roger Volk K0GOB, Bill Wheeler K0DEW, and Eric Zust
W0TT.
Assistant Directors (Kansas): Mike Albers K0FJ, Jim Andera K0NK, Andy Anderson
W0AFQ, Bill Henderson K0VBU, Charlie Hett K0THN, Jon Jones N0JK, Brian Short
KC0BS, Bob Summers K0BXF, and Rick Tucker W0RT.
Assistant Directors (Iowa): Don Boyvey AK0BG, Dennis O’Brien KA0DOS, C.W. Pantel
K0IIR, Jim Spencer W0SR, and Jim Lasley N0JL.
Assistant Directors (Nebraska): Frank Cahoy K0BLT, Stan Coleman N0YXV, Reynolds
Davis K0GND, Bill Duffy KA0VXK, Joe Eisenberg K0NEB, Allen Harpham KB0ASQ, Todd
LeMense KK0DX, Mike Nickolaus NF0N, and Art Zygielbaum K0AIZ.
Midwest Division Webmaster: Steve Schmitz W0SJS
Midwest Division News and Photos Wanted!
If you have news and photos about events or activities from the Midwest Division, email them to Director-Elect Rod Blocksome K0DAS at [email protected]. We will try to include as many
as possible in upcoming editions of the Midwest Division News. Thanks and 73, Cliff K 0CA