Northwestern NewsVolume Two, June 2025
Greetings fellow Northwestern division members.
I see on the calendar that Summer is upon us, however as I check the weather report for the upcoming weekend, it’s calling for snow in the higher elevations. What gives Mother Nature?
SEA-PAC, another successful Convention
It looked like everyone had a great time in Seaside again this year. The weather was great and so was the crowd. The ARRL booth was busy all weekend and we had a good turnout for the forum. ARRL 1st VP McIntyre was our guest, coming up from California, and commented several times about how friendly everyone was at the event. I think she has already made plans to attend again next year. Gordon West had the honor of being the keynote speaker Saturday night and the crowd enjoyed his “tails”. He also spent most of the weekend in the booth along with 2nd VP Ritz, VD Sterba, EWA SM Whitney, Director of Marketing Inderbitzen (from HQ) and yours truly. Oregon SM Rosenfeld, WWA SM Purdom, and AK SM Stevens were also roaming the venue.
Wenatchee Hamfest
VD Sterba and I attended the Wenatchee Hamfest. The weather was a bit warm this year but a good time was had by all. This is always a fun event.
Inland Empire VHF swapmeet
EWA SM Whitney made the trip back up to Spokane to attend this event and reports attendance was good and got to set up her table between the kettle corn folks and the hot dog guy. I wish I had gone along after hearing that. ARRL Teachers Institute (from the ARRL web) ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® welcomed the year’s first cohort of educators to attend a session of the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology (TI) at headquarters this week. The group follows on the success of the Louisiana-based session last week, and one on Staten Island in New York City this past in January.
The educators traveled from all over the country to attend and learn how to take radio and wireless technology back into the classroom as part of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) lessons. Many of the teachers took and passed their amateur radio license exams during the week, including Professor Charnell Long, Ph.D. She is a professor at North Carolina A&T University who works with pre-service educators to become certified teachers. She hopes to be a multiplying force for the information.
(HDX note) The board of directors of the Comm Academy that used to take place each year in the Puget Sound area has donated it’s remaining funds to ARRL in support of a TI to be done in the Seattle area, stand by for details. If you are an educator here in the Northwest it would be a great opportunity to participate. For more information on TI see https://www.arrl.org/teachers-institute-on-wireless-technology
Field Day 2025
FD is coming up fast and with it comes hours of radio fun, bad chili, fun times, and with luck, many contacts in the log. A news story with all the relevant links can be found on the ARRL web at https://www.arrl.org/news/2025-arrl-field-day-are-you-ready
Remember to have fun most of all, be safe, and make every attempt to bring a new ham with you or invite others that may be interested in Amateur Radio. Our ranks are shrinking with respect to “active” hams. After the last two months, I’m spending the weekend on the air handing out Eastern WA. I hope to see you in the log.
ECFSC Committee
ECFSC has been very busy lately working on updating materials for clubs and hamfests. New documents have been posted to the ARRL web. Two in particular, which were years outdated, are the Club Primer and the Rules pertaining to hamfests and conventions. The Primer is here: https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Clubs/ARRL%20Club%20Primer-rev%20March%202025.pdf
and the new Hamfest and Convention document is here: https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Rules%20for%20Hamfests%20Trunkfests%20Conventions.pdf
ARRL Second Board of Directors Meeting: (repeat)
July 18th and 19th will be the second meeting of the board in Ct. VD Sterba and I have our travel plans made and are looking forward to the trip. As some will remember, in January, we postponed the vote on a change to By-Law 46 until July. To date the committee that worked on this document has not received any further input from board members about what was presented so I anticipate it will pass as written. A member bulletin was sent out last year with the proposed change and can be found here: BL 46 proposal (note this bulletin also includes information on BL 18 changes which were already passed in January.
The report from the committee can be found at the following link and I would encourage members to read it for the background on this By-Law proposal. Report to the board
Upcoming ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions through August
Check the always updated webpage of Assistant Director Burlingame at n7cfo.com
July 18-19 and 20 – Glacier Waterton Hamfest in East Glacier (MT)
July 19th – Kenai Peninsula Hamfest in Kenai (AK)
July 19th -Richmond Amateur Radio Club Swap in Richland BC (Canada)
July 26th – Chehalis Vally ARC Swap at the Southwest WA Fairgrounds, Chehalis (WA)
August 9th – Idaho State convention in Post Falls Idaho
August 15-17th Pacific Northwest DX Convention in Clackamas, OR
Mark J. Tharp KB7HDX
ARRL Director
Northwestern Division
kb7hdx@arrl.org
509-952-5764
And now some words of wisdom from Vice Director Sterba:
Hello Northwestern Division!
The past couple of months have been quite a ride! I have some bittersweet news: SteppIR will cease operations on the consumer side on August 31, 2025, and OptiBeam is being acquired by WiMo Antenna, which will integrate their products. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported our ham radio community.
On a positive note, I’ve attended several events recently, each offering unique experiences and valuable connections. A recurring theme is the need to reinvigorate our amateur radio ranks. Director Tharp and I are brainstorming ways to promote amateur radio to a broader audience.
One highlight was the Stanwood Camano Island Electronics Swap-meet, a treasure-filled event hosted by the Stanwood – Camano Amateur Radio Club, which has grown to be the largest swap event north of Seattle., I also enjoyed the ARRL Northwestern Convention at SeaPac, where dedicated volunteers keep the momentum going year after year. Most recently, I attended the Apple City ARC Hamfest in Dryden, WA, a family-friendly event with fun activities, VE testing, and a bonus presentation on the pros and cons of magnetic loop antennas.
Now, onto some business from my first Administration and Finance Committee Meeting in early May. Here are the key points:
Favorable:
· Advertising and other revenues are trending higher.
· Expenses are below plan.
· New book models are receiving great feedback and sales.
· The Teacher’s Institute is progressing, with opportunities at John Hopkins University.
· LoTW is performing better post-cyber event, with a planned downtime for updates.
Less favorable:
· Operations are running at a deficit.
· Products and sales are below plan.
· Dues collected are lower than expected due to reduced membership.
· Awards are also lower than anticipated.
The committee is working on ideas to reinvigorate our community, and we’ll share insights at the next meeting in July.
Field Day is coming up! Let’s connect with our communities, bring your best, engage, stay safe, and have fun!
Looking ahead, I’m excited for the 2nd ARRL Board Meeting in July. The talent and diverse perspectives at the table are inspiring!
Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):
Northwestern Division Membership:
* 10,551 (Decrease from 10,628)
* 181 (New) * 78 (Lapsed that re-joined)
National Membership:
* 134,529 (Decrease from 135,468)
License Counts:
* 71,886 (Division total)
* 8 (New)
* 0 (Upgrades) (Reporting under maintenance)
* 743,006 (National total)
(Broken record warning, but it is true) Director Tharp 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.
Enjoy Amateur Radio… Be Active, Be Positive Be Safe, as your voice carries
Respectfully your servant,
Michael A. Sterba, KG7HQ
ARRL Vice Director Northwestern Division
kg7hq@ARRL.org