Northwestern News Volume one, April 2024

Mike and Key Swap was a great success. We had nonstop traffic and conversation at the ARRL table. Myself, VD Sterba, SM Simpson, SM Whitney, 2nd VP Ritz and a new face to some, Bob Purdom, AD7LJ were in and around the booth talking with members. Attendance looked to be up from previous years and that is a good thing. The Mike and Key club members continue year after year in putting on a top-notch event.
New Section Manager in Western Washington:
A formal announcement may have gone out by the time this hits your inbox but if not, I am pleased to announce the Western Washington Section will have, or already has a new Section Manager.

Monte Simpson, W7FF is stepping down on March 31st and Bob Purdom, AD7LJ will be finishing out Monte’s term of office. Monte has served as SM since December 31st, 2012. Bob, AD7LJ has been an assistant SM since 2009, working with not only Monte, but also former Director Pace, K7CEX when he was SM.
Monte has been a great colleague and friend over the years and I wish him all the best in the future. Monte will be serving as an assistant SM during the transition.
Good luck Monte and welcome Bob!
Oregon SM news:
As incumbent SM Scott Rosenfeld, N7JI, was the only person to submit a nomination petition by the deadline, he has been declared elected for a full two-year term starting on July 1st. Scott has been non-stop in his activities and it is great to have him as part of the Division team. Congratulations Scott.
Field Day 2024:
This year looks to be another great event as far as propagation goes. The 2024 rules have been posted and after some further discussion after the PSC meeting in January, no changes are being made this year. Information about the event can be found here: http://www.arrl.org/field-day
FCC requiring Two Factor Authentication for users:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced an upcoming change to the Commission Registration System (CORES) that licensees use to pay any application or regulatory fees, manage or reset a password on an existing FRN, or request a new FRN. Beginning March 29, 2024, multifactor authentication will be implemented. Users will be prompted to request a six-digit secondary verification code, which will be sent to the email address(es) associated with each username. The user will then need to enter the code into CORES before they can continue.
In a public notice, the FCC said this change will make the system more secure. “This additional layer of security will further safeguard against unauthorized access, thereby enhancing the overall integrity of information contained within the CORES system and improving the security of user data,” it read.  
The FCC recommends that users confirm they have access to their username account email and to add a secondary email address, if need be.  
Resources are available for those who need assistance with the system. For inquiries or assistance regarding the implementation of multifactor authentication on CORES, submit a help request at https://www.fcc.gov/wtbhelp, or call the FCC at 877-480-3201 (Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM ET).
Club News:
Idaho has a new ARRL affiliated club!
The “All Idaho Contest Club” from Nampa Idaho has been approved as an ARRL affiliated club.
TQSL Backup, SAVE YOURSELF A HEADACHE (if you do not use TQSL and LoTW, skip ahead)
Two members in the last month have asked about how to restore station information after a computer crash or getting a new computer. As I investigated this, I found I am as guilty as most in that I had never backed up the station location and other details out of TQSL. One member had twenty plus location files as they were all from VHF roving operations. His computer crashed, and he was able to salvage most of his files; however, not making a backup of the TQSL data he had no file to restore. On the help page inside LoTW you can find the detailed instructions on how to save your data. It was the first thing I did when I got home that night. https://lotw.arrl.org/lotw-help/backuprestore/
ARRL Foundation news: (ongoing reminder)
The next window for clubs is open from June 1st through June 30th. https://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-grants

Confirmed ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions:
April 13th N7YRC Tailgate Swapmeet Union Gap, WA (Near Yakima, WA)
April 20th Kamiah Ham Fest (Idaho) Website: https://www.3riversarc.club
May 4th Spout Springs Repeater Association Swapmeet Richland, WA Flyer in PDF
May 11th Southwest Idaho ARC Spring Hamfest Website: http://www.dosomethingradio.com
May 11th Stanwood Camano ARC Electronic Flea Market and Hamfest Website: https://www.scarcwa.org
May 31 – June 2nd ARRL Northwestern Division Convention “SEA-PAC” Website: https://www.seapac.org
June 7 – 9 Wenatchee, WA Hamfest Website: https://www.applecityarc.com/events
July 20th Chehalis, WA Valley ARS Tailgate Swap https://cvars.org/Swapmeet_2024.pdf
August 3rd KARS, ARRL Idaho State Convention Website: http://k7id.org
August 9 -11th Pacific Northwest DX Convention Website: https://pacificnwdxconvention.com
Check the N7CFO Pacific Northwest Hamfairs & Events webpage often for the most up to date information. http://www.n7cfo.com/amradio/hf/hf.htm or https://arrlnwdiv.org/ and click “PNW Events”
73..
Mark J. Tharp – KB7HDX
Director, NW Division

+++++++++
From the desk of Vice Director Sterba

Hello Northwestern Division,

I hope this is finding everyone well and enjoying the great band conditions of our current solar cycle. Last month I made a slight error in my report that many of you caught as I miss transposed the division membership number changes from the prior month. Further down, I have posted a correction. The feedback received was important as is not only demonstrates readership, but also attention to detail with the willingness to share. Your comments help complete the communications loop, and for that, thank you!

I have started attending various committee meetings to better understand the decision-making approach and processes. This is part of my new responsibilities serving as Vice Director and is in part how we govern in reference to our by-laws. I have been enriched with operational
knowledge shared thus far and am looking forward to my continuous learning.

In Early March I had an enjoyable time meeting many of our members at the Mike & Key Electronics Show & Swapmeet. It was amazing to converse with individuals from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State. I cannot overstate my sincere thanks for each who shared perspectives that were educational, reflective, and thought provoking. I took the
opportunity to step through these with Director Tharp to best understand our opportunities representing you going forward.

Changing topics, if you recall I shared last month I was replacing one of my multiband dipoles with the added reminder of the importance of safety. An extension to that is the requirement to complete an RF exposure evaluation as detailed in the May 2023 QST article by Greg Lapin, N9GL. The rules surrounding RF exposure had been updated with changes starting on May 3, 2021 so this would be a good time to refresh ourselves with them. A good starting point is
https://www.arrl.org/rf-exposure.

Division stats:
Correction Note for March 2024 Division Newsletter: At the end of February, the NW Division had 11,793 members which is down 3.5% from January where we had 12,100.
** April numbers were not available at the time of this writing **

Mark and I are always open to input, good and bad, (we prefer good) from members. If you have anything you would like to talk about, shoot us an email or call on the phone. In addition, we are always looking for information to share with the Division. If you have a news item you
would like to offer, please send us a note and we would be glad to include it here. It is always great to hear from members.

73,
Michael A. Sterba, KG7HQ
ARRL Vice Director
Northwestern Division
kg7hq@arrl.org