Hello fellow Northwestern Division ARRL members.

Vice Director Sterba and I attended the ARRL Board of Directors meeting
in Connecticut a few weeks back. This was another long week of travel,
committee meetings, the Thursday night study session, and of course the
actual Board meeting. Early work by fellow board members allowed the
meeting to roll along at a great pace, and we managed to finish up all
business Friday late afternoon. An occurrence that does not often
happen. As a result, we were able to have some one on one time with each
other discussing ARRL matters and a few of us “asked nice”, which
means we called Steve Ewald, WV1X, to see if he would open up W1AW for
us and went over to HQ to operate a few hours on Saturday. Conditions
were not the best, and it was a bit early for those out here on the West
coast, but I did manage to work a few NW members. Michael and I also
made a visit on Wednesday to HQ for different reasons and both of us had
productive conversation with a few staff members. More on the Board
meeting below.

I would like to re-visit the Email delivery problems that are ongoing
with a few members. Plans are in place to replace the bulk email
provider we are currently using and change it later this fall or the
first of the year. We are under contract with our existing provider
until that time. If you are receiving email news and updates from ARRL,
i.e. this newsletter, please check with your fellow Amateur friends and
bring it up at your local Club meeting. If folks are not receiving
email, and feel they should be, we (ARRL) need to know. Members can call
member services at 860-594-0200 and they will be glad to help. Possible
reasons and solutions I discussed before can be found in the last
newsletter (May) which you can find in the archive at:
http://www.arrl.org/section-division-email-log and select Northwestern
Division from the dropdown.

SEAPAC, the Northwestern Division Convention, was another success thanks
to all the volunteers that worked hard to make it such a great event.
President Rick Roderick, K5UR, 1st VP Kristen McIntyre, K6WX and I,
along with VD Sterba and most of our Division Section managers were on
hand to talk to members about anything Amateur Radio related and a few
things that were not. EWA SM Jo Whitney, KA7LJQ, and ARRL “First
Lady” Holly Roderick along with Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R from HQ staffed
the membership table and set a record for renewals and new members in
the League from this event.

This past weekend, I attended the Chehalis Valley ARS swap meet at the
fairgrounds in Chehalis, WA. This is a great swap meet if you have never
attended. The building was stuffed full of folks with a large selection
of equipment for sale. While I was in Western Wa, I ran up to the
Western Washington DX Club picnic later that afternoon and caught up
with that group. It was a perfect day, weather wise, although there was
a lot of driving.

Highlights from the ARRL Board meeting.

We welcomed new Board members, including Marty Newingham, AG3I, who took
over the Director position of the Atlantic Division in January; Ray
Sokola, K9RS, as the newly appointed Vice Director of the Atlantic
Division; Joshua Long, W9HT, who moved up from the Vice Director
position after past Director Walls stepped down, as Director of the
Central Division; Christian Stallkamp, KI0D as the newly appointed Vice
Director of the Dakota Division; John Mark Robertson, K5JMR, who was
appointed Vice Director of the Delta Division in December 2025, and Rick
Niswander, K7GM, who was elected Second Vice President at the January
2026 Annual Meeting.

The Programs & Services Committee, chaired by Director Bill Lippert,
AC0W, submitted motions to the Board recognizing members for established
ARRL awards, which were unanimously approved. These and other awards
bestowed during the Board meeting will be announced soon after awardees
are contacted.

The Emergency Communications and Field Services Committee (EC FSC),
chaired by Director Scott Yonally, N8SY, proposed motions, all approved
by the Board to:
Create a new ARES Award;
Publish new ARRL members in our online media outlets;
Update the Club Commission program;
Create an incentive program for those sections submitting timely and
consistent ARES reports.

The Administration and Finance committee (A&F) chaired by myself,
Director Mark Tharp, KB7HDX, approved a new program to allow the ARRL
VEC department to offer a reduced-price membership in the ARRL for those
non-members that contact the ARRL for assistance in renewing their FCC
license which would include the 35-dollar FCC fee.

The full board approved a By-Law modification submitted by Director
Tharp, to allow the CEO to offer a reduced-price membership for onetime,
special programs or services approved by the A&F committee.

The full board approved holding the next ARRL National Convention in
conjunction with Pacificon in 2028.

The full board approved a motion brought by Vice Director Milluzzi,
KK4LWR, who sat in for Director Baker who could not attend, to re-align
the Southeastern and Delta Divisions to move the Alabama section into
the Delta Division contingent on a positive outcome from a member survey
to be done in Alabama.

The board received updates and reports from our friends to the North,
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), the IARU, and the ARRL Foundation along
with reports from CFO Middleton, Treasurer Sager, CEO Minster, Counsel
Siddall and the other officers.

Full minutes of the meeting will be available on the ARRL webpage as
soon as they are approved by the Board.

Upcoming ARRL sanctioned events in Division:
Arctic Amateur Radio Club Hamfest September 9th Fairbanks, AK
Kitsap County ARC Hamfest on October 10th in Bremerton, WA

ARRL National Convention: https://hamfest.org/
Our League holds a National Convention every two years and this year it
will be held in conjunction with the Huntsville Hamfest on August 22nd
and 23rd at the Von Braun Center. I might note NASA has a huge presence
in Huntsville so you can check off two bucket list items by attending.
Go to a great Convention and spend an extra day or two and take in all
the NASA offerings. (Yes that was a shameful plug for NASA)
For other events visit http://www.n7cfo.com/amradio/hf/hf.htm

I hope your summer is going well.

Michael and I are always available to talk Amateur Radio and welcome
those conversations. Email is one of the better ways to communicate with
us.

Mark J. Tharp KB7HDX
ARRL Director, Northwestern Division

Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):
Northwestern Division Membership: July 30

• 9,997 (Decrease from 10,101)
• 81 (New)
• 67 (Lapsed that re-joined)
  National Membership:
• 121,310

ARRL Northwestern Division
Director: Mark J. Tharp, KB7HDX
kb7hdx@arrl.org

Hello fellow Northwestern Division ARRL members.

Congratulations to our newest ARRL Affiliated Club:
Sagebrush ARC in Mountain Home, Idaho. Welcome to the ARRL family!

Michael and I attended the A&F meeting last month in CT. Membership
continues to be a major topic at all our meetings. We also discussed a
few new topics to generate members and items focused on promoting some
of our own products and programs. One item was a targeted ad, if you
will, to promote our WAS and DXCC awards. At the VOI meeting one comment
was about the Five Band WAS award and that the person did not know about
it. The ARRL awards program information can be found here:
https://www.arrl.org/awards We have over 100 various operating awards to
be earned. Some are available via LoTW and some are paper only
applications. I would encourage everyone to look at the list and see how
many of these you already have earned, and how many more you can work
on. All of them look good on the wall and are fun to earn, fun because
it’s Amateur Radio!

Email delivery problems continue although progress has been made to
identify the root cause of issues I discussed in the last newsletter. If
you are receiving email news and updates from ARRL, please check with
your fellow Amateur friends and see if they did. If not, the three main
things we have identified are, first, the members have never set an
email address in their member profile
( https://home.arrl.org/action/My-Account ). Second, the member has used
callsign@arrl.net as the primary address for their account on ARRL, and
third, the member has inadvertently hit the “unsubscribe” link at
the top of the GMAIL web interface or another email client rather than
the link contained inside the ARRL email. Every email from the league
has a link at the bottom to unsubscribe and should take you to your
member profile where you can select which emails you want to receive and
which you do not want. The “unsubscribe” link at the top of GMAIL
specifically, will kick you out of ALL emails from ARRL, including
membership renewals notices, FCC license renewal notices from ARRL, and
everything else. As I said, this is being worked on and is a major
concern for HQ and the Board. If you run across another member that is
not receiving these emails, please have them call member services at
860-594-0200 and advise them on the issue. It is just odd that nearly
half our members (consistent across the country) are not getting
communications from the communication organization they belong to. To
put it into context, we had 10,101 members in the Division last month
and the last Division Newsletter went to only 5799 addresses.

Speaking of email, all ARRL affiliated clubs should now be receiving the
ARRL Club News E-letter from HQ. This newsletter goes to the listed
contact person, the club president, and the club newsletter editor on
file in the club record. (along with any other member that has selected
to receive it) If you are one of those listed, and did not see the
letter, you might want to check your club record. Officers Listed at the
time of the last update can edit the settings for the club by going to
https://www.arrl.org/clubs/search , find your club, and you should see a
small edit button on the right hand side where you can view and change
your information. If your club is not showing up, it may have been
placed in an inactive status for not updating information over a few
years. If that is the case, you can contact your Section Manager, or
myself, and we can see about getting it back into active status. This
also applies if the officers have all changed and your current group no
longer has access. Please call or email me or your Section Manager.
(past issues of Club News can be found here:
https://www.arrl.org/club-news )

SEAPAC, the Northwestern Division Convention is right around the corner.
I’m hopeful the price of fuel can be overlooked for this great
opportunity to spend some time at the beach and join in with your fellow
Amateurs for a great time. President Rick Roderick,K5UR, 1st VP Kristen
McIntyre, K6WX and I, along with VD Sterba and most of our Division
Section managers will be in attendance. Rick, Kristen Michael and I will
be at the ARRL booth and others will be out wandering about the venue.
Look for our ARRL Red Badges and say hi.

KARS Hamfest: EWA SM Whitney and I attended the KARS Hamfest in Idaho at
the new facility, and it was great! Indoor and outdoor swap tables,
Hamburgers and Dogs, and regular prize drawings. It was a very well
attended event, and I wish them luck next year. The new facility was a
plus.

July will take Michael and I back to Newington for the Second meeting of
the ARRL Board of Directors. The time between SEAPAC and that meeting
will be busy for both of us preparing for not only the main meeting but
also the committee meetings taking place on Thursday prior.

As Michael mentions below, he and I are always available to talk to
members about anything. Feel free to reach out via email or phone.

Upcoming ARRL sanctioned events in Division:

SEA-PAC, the Northwestern Division Convention will be on June 5-6

IEVHF Swap Meet on June 6th in Spokane Valley, WA

Apple City ARC Swap Meet and Hamfest June 12th and 13th in Dryden, WA

Port Ludlow ARC Tailgater June 13th in Port Ludlow, WA

Glacier Waterton Hamfest and MT. Section convention July 17, 18 and 19
at the Glacier Meadow RV Park, Glacier, MT.

Moosehorn ARC Hamfest July 11th in Kenai, AK

Chehalis Valley ARS Tailgate on July 25th in Chehalis, WA

Kitsap County ARC Hamfest on October 10th in Bremerton, WA

ARRL National Convention: https://hamfest.org/
Our League holds a National Convention every two years and this year it
will be held in conjunction with the Huntsville Hamfest on August 22nd
and 23rd at the Von Braun Center. I might note NASA has a huge presence
in Huntsville so you can check off two bucket list items by attending.
Go to a great Convention and spend an extra day or two and take in all
the NASA offerings. (Yes that was a shameful plug for NASA)
For other events visit http://www.n7cfo.com/amradio/hf/hf.htm

That’s it for now.
Mark, KB7HDX

Mark J. Tharp KB7HDX
ARRL Director, Northwestern Division

And now let’s hear from Vice-Director Sterba.
****************************************************
****************************************************
Hello across the great Northwestern Division!

I hope you are all enjoying the warmth of spring. Over the past month,
I’ve been active locally, starting with an enjoyable visit to the San
Juan ARC monthly meeting. It is a fantastic group representing several
islands in the Salish Sea. During the Q&A session, a question was raised
that I believe will interest everyone reading this publication.
“I was recently asked, ‘What ARRL program would I recommend for a
donation?’ While this question caught me off guard, I replied with the
following:”
“Because every club and individual has unique interests, it would be
inappropriate for me to impose my own passions as a recommendation.
Instead, I suggest you identify your own priority area and contact ARRL
HQ to make a donation based on that focus.”
For more information on donating to the ARRL, please visit:
https://www.arrl.org/donate-to-arrl

Later the same day I attended the RASC general meeting and enjoyed a
presentation on tracking EMI/RFI. This makes for a great topic at any
club meeting and highly recommend having one of your Elmers give an
overview. The ARRL has a great starting reference at:
https://www.arrl.org/radio-frequency-interference-rfi

Oh no…. It’s Ground Hog Day! Well, not really, but close!
Despite a water main break at the venue two days prior—echoing a
similar recent incident in Rickreall, OR, the Stanwood/Camano Island
Electronics Swapmeet proceeded as planned after repairs were completed
late Friday afternoon. Western Washington Section Manager Bob Purdom,
AD7LJ enjoyed a very busy, four-hour session at the ARRL table, largely
driven by a unique display: a fully functional CubeSat Low Earth Orbit
(LEO) simulator. The device, featuring a 3D-printed frame, attracted
visitors of all ages, creating an excellent opportunity for engaging in
dialogue about amateur radio and promoting the ARRL. Thanks to Bob for
this innovative approach to outreach!

Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):
Northwestern Division Membership:
* 10,101 (Decrease from 10,152)
* 59 (New)
* 44 (Lapsed that re-joined)
National Membership:
* 127,577 (Decrease from 128,371)
License Counts:
* 70,950 (Division total)
* 233 (Division New)
* 65 (Division Upgrades)
* 734,325 (National total)

While Director Tharp and I have been busy with tasking, it has been
relatively quiet from the Division membership. We both welcome all
feedback, questions, or suggestions from our members. Please feel free
to reach out via email or phone to discuss anything on your mind.
Additionally, we encourage you to share relevant news or updates with
us, and we would be happy to include them here. We look forward to
hearing from you.
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

——————————————————————–
ARRL Northwestern Division
Director: Mark J. Tharp, KB7HDX
kb7hdx@arrl.org

Hello fellow Northwestern Division ARRL members.
Spring has sprung, and as hard as it is to grasp I’ve had to mow my
crazy lawn five times already this season. Water is flowing in the
canals here in Eastern Washington and the trees are in bloom. The valley
is busy with all things agriculture and along with that comes the busy
season for Hamfests and Swap-meets. Upcoming ARRL sanctioned events in
the Division are listed below and I hope to see many of you at one or
more. Michael or I try to make all of these but sometimes timing is
everything and works against us.

Upcoming ARRL sanctioned events in Division: (see n7cfo.com for more
detail)

N7YRC Tailgate on April 11th in Union Gap, WA
Kootenai ARS Hamfest April 25th in Coeur d’Alene, ID
SCARC Electronic Flea Market and Hamfest on May 9th in Stanwood, WA
SEA-PAC, the Northwestern Division Convention will be on June 5-6
IEVHF Swap Meet on June 6th in Spokane Valley, WA
Apple City ARC Swap Meet and Hamfest June 12th and 13th in Dryden, WA
Glacier Waterton Hamfest and MT. Section convention July 17, 18 and 19
at the Glacier Meadow RV Park, Glacier, MT.
Chehalis Valley ARS Tailgate on July 25th in Chehalis, WA
Kitsap County ARC Hamfest on October 10th in Bremerton, WA

ARRL National Convention: https://hamfest.org/
Our League holds a National Convention every two years and this year it
will be held in conjunction with the Huntsville Hamfest on August 22nd
and 23rd at the Von Braun Center. I might note NASA has a huge presence
in Huntsville so you can check off two bucket list items by attending.
Go to a great Convention and spend an extra day or two and take in all
the NASA offerings. (Yes that was a shameful plug for NASA)

ARRL Foundation update:
The foundation has finished up with the first round of Scholarship
applications and has made award recommendations for the ARDC grants.
This year, thanks to ARDC, we were able to award right at 570,000 in
scholarships. Round two will start soon where we review and award the
ARRL scholarships. The goal is to have this all done and ready for
public announcements by the middle of May.

Field Day is right around the corner. This year it’s the 27th and 28th
of June (always the 4th full weekend) If your group is going out and
setting up a station remember to list it on the ARRL Field Day locator.
https://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator This is a no cost way to
advertise where you will be.
Similar to the Field Day locator, ARRL has developed a Club Finder page:
https://clubs.arrl.org/map/ just enter your zip-code and find clubs near
you, great for new hams.

Also relatively new is an ARES group finder:
http://www.arrl.org/find-an-ares-group

April 17th and 18th Michael and I will be back in Newington for the
Administration and Finance committee meeting. This committee meets in
person at the annual, and second meeting of the full board and two other
times in-between the BOD meetings. We have a large amount to discuss as
well as receiving updates from ARRL staff.

As we move into the summer months I hope you have the chance to get out
and visit with your fellow Amateurs at hamfests, club picnics or club
meetings. As I was told a long time ago, “ham radio should not be done
alone”. Take a new ham to a repeater site for yearly maintenance, Show
a new ham your shack aka professional Amateur Radio Station. Encourage a
new Ham to get on a contest or get involved with a local net. Ask your
fellow club members if they are receiving the weekly or monthly ARRL
bulletins. We have run across an issue about opting in and out of
various newsletters. Some members have reported that they
“unsubscribed” from a specific item, but now are not receiving
anything. You can check your subscriptions by going to your profile
after logging into the ARRL web by clicking your name at the top and
then selecting (E-Newsletters and notifications).

In March I was able to “drop in” via ZOOM and visit with the Voice
of Idaho Club. https://voiceofidaho.org/ They run a fun and informative
meeting on the Second Wednesday of the month and have a great website.
(I hope they have submitted it for the competition this year
https://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-year-of-the-club-website-contest-call-for-submissions
hint hint)

That’s it for now.
Mark, HDX

Mark J. Tharp KB7HDX
ARRL Director, Northwestern Division

And now let’s hear from Vice-Director Sterba.

Greetings Northwestern Division!

Spring greetings across the great Northwestern Division!

This first quarter has flown by quickly with several successful events
happening. Let me start with extending my personal thanks for the
invitation and warm reception at the Clark County ARC Awards Banquet.
This was a fantastic opportunity to witness a member driven service
club. This group emulates best in community engagement practices with a
highly diverse portfolio of engaging interests. If you are looking for
ideas to help engage your local club members or broader community, look
at this group. https://www.w7aia.org/

Speaking of events. I also had the privileged of attending the 43rd
Annual Mike and Key Electronics Show and Swapmeet in Puyallup, WA. and
really had a fantastic time. The attendance was appearing to approach
pre-2019 levels. While fielding questions, I enjoyed observing the
renewed interest in the ARRL. I’m seeing a change in demographic with
younger men and women enjoying the event and taking time to stop by the
ARRL table to join. With this shift in population, you can feel the
sense of community rebuilding.

I have had the privilege of receiving inputs and thoughts from many of
our membership across the division. With these, I have communicated them
openly with Director Tharp to better understand best approaches
collectively. In addition to these, I also have been able to fill open
time with being in-person at some local events and meetings.

As a reminder, the most current list of Hamfests, Conventions, and
other gatherings, can be found at the website maintained by Assistant
Director Lynn Burlingame, N7CFO at:
http://www.n7cfo.com/amradio/hf/hf.htm You may also find this link
available on our division website at: https://arrlnwdiv.org

Spring Safety. We all know better than to do something unsafe when
attending to our stations. Yet, safety incidents such as falls from
towers or electrical shocks happen. While there are no national
statistics measuring these instances, we do hear about them from time to
time. Amateur radio safety focuses on preventing electrical shock, RF
exposure, and physical injury during installation and maintenance. Key
considerations include proper station grounding, using insulated tools,
maintaining distance from transmitting antennas, and utilizing fall
protection (harnesses) when working on towers. Always disconnect power
before adjusting components and be aware of overhead power lines. For
additional information, visit https://www.arrl.org/safety

Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):
Northwestern Division Membership:

• 10,152 (Decrease from 10,185)
• 64 (New)
• 66 (Lapsed that re-joined)
  National Membership:
• 128,371 (Decrease from 128,734)
  License Counts:
• 71,038 (Division total)
• 141 (Division New)
• 70 (Division Upgrades) (Reporting repaired)
• 735,630 (National total)

It has been relatively quiet within the Division that last couple of
months. Director Tharp and I welcome all feedback, questions, or
suggestions from our members. Please feel free to reach out via email or
phone to discuss anything on your mind. Additionally, we encourage you
to share relevant news or updates with us, and we would be happy to
include them here. We look forward to hearing from you.
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

ARRL Northwestern Division
Director: Mark J Tharp, KB7HDX
kb7hdx@arrl.org

Hello fellow Northwestern Division ARRL members.

Safely back home after the board meeting in Newington and I am glad to state that United is my new favorite airline as I have now made two successful trips to 225 Main Street and no time was spent on the floor of an airport sleeping! (Those that know, know)

Basic information on the Board meeting.

We received information and updates from Officers, the Secretary, and our FCC counsel. Overall for the year 2025, maintaining diligence on costs and general spending, the end of the year was better from a finance stand than expected. We still have what we call a revenue problem, not a spending problem. Not much more can be cut without affecting services. We have a new Revenue Sub-committee of the Administration and Finance Committee (A&F) that is looking into “out of the box ways” to increase the income side of the league.

Membership numbers continue to be a topic of discussion and are a concern to all board members. I touched on this last year and will not repeat what was said then. I will say however, gaining new members should be every member’s goal. You joined for a reason, I joined for a reason, and we should share that reason with new licensees.

VD Sterba will have our current numbers and a reflection of previous months below.

This Board meeting included election of ARRL officers. These elections happen every two years normally. President Roderick was re-elected without opposition for another two year term.

First VP McIntyre was elected without opposition.

Secretary Minster was elected without opposition.

International VP Stafford was elected without opposition.

CFO Middleton was elected without opposition.

And treasurer Sager was elected without opposition.

In a slight twist, after 2^nd VP Ritz resigned last December, his name was put forward to run again by now former Atlantic Division Director Famiglio. Former ARRL and current ARRL Foundation Treasure, Rick Niswander was also nominated. Mr. Niswander was declared elected after balloting and counting was completed.

I would like to thank Mr. Ritz for his years of service to not only the ARRL but also the ARRL foundation. It was a pleasure working with him and I hope to see him again this year on the foundation scholarship committee as a reviewer.

Executive Committee:
Elections were also held for the Executive Committee. This group meets in-between the two BOD meetings to address any matters that do not require the full involvement of the board. Such things include approving life member applications and reviewing FCC matters along with our FCC counsel, David Siddall. The Board elected Directors Boehner, Lippert, Wilson, Yonally and Zygielbaum with President Roderick as chair. The committee also includes 2^nd VP McIntyre and CEO Minster.

By-Law changes:
A few minor changes to By-Laws 18, 19, 20 and 42 were discussed and approved. These changes all revolved around election rules and time lines. The Election Review Committee also found a number of references in the Director work-book, and ARRL standing orders which were included and now part of the by-laws, where they belong.

I am hopeful this will be the last meeting for awhile dealing with “governing documents”. Although the league has been in existence for more than 110 years, the documents did need a few updates.

DXCC update:
The DXCC advisory committee worked up a few items that made it to the board room, one of which was to add new Honor Roll awards for individual bands. Watch for this to happen later this year.

Doug DeMaw, W1FB Technical Excellence award:
The editorial staff of QST recommended and the board unanimously approved awarding this prestigious award to our own Robert (Bob) Zavrel, W7SX from Spokane. I have spoken to Bob and have plans to make the presentation this spring. Congratulations Bob.

New Committee Assignments:
Each year President Roderick and the Officers get together and review and update the Board Committees. This year, I retained the Chair position for ARISS (Amateur Radio on the ISS) and have a new role as Chair of the A&F (Administration and Finance) committee. I am also serving a one year term as a member of E&E (Ethics and Elections) I appreciate the opportunity to serve on all.

Upcoming ARRL sanctioned events in Division:
Salem Hamfair This is always a great event. I will be on my way to Idaho for an overdue week of vacation however VD Sterba and others will be on hand at the ARRL table to visit with you.

Mike and Key Electronics swap Perhaps the largest (attendance wise) event in the Division will take place this year on March 7^th. VD Sterba, EWA SM Whitney, WWA SM Purdom, myself and others will be at the ARRL Table again this year. I will be available for DXCC card checking and was informed VUCC card checking will be available at the PNW VHF Society table.

N7YRC Tailgate on April 11^th in Union Gap, WA

SEA-PAC, the Northwestern Division Convention will be on June 5-6

New Affiliated EWA Club:
Lake Chelan Amateur Radio club has met all the requirements and been approved as the newest Affiliated club in the Northwest. Congratulations to the club members and thank you as well for joining the ARRL family of clubs.

ARRL Foundation update:
The foundation held its annual meeting Thursday the 29^th. Officers were elected and information shared on new scholarships. I am happy to have been re-appointed to both the club grant and scholarship committees. Last year the foundation handed out 171 scholarships worth over 800,000 dollars and 35 club grants worth just over 60,500 dollars. The application window is closed now for these years’ scholarships and we have 264 applications to work through this year.

And now let’s hear from Vice-Director Sterba.

Mark KB7HDX

****************************************************
****************************************************

Greetings Northwestern Division!

I hope this finding each doing well as we progress into 2026. I’m taking this opportunity to personally thank retired 2^nd Vice President Ritz for his years of service to the ARRL and broader amateur radio community. Most notably, guided by his inquisitive leadership, the Clean Signal Initiative (CSI) was initiated on his watch. Based on a vision opined in collaboration with Ward Silver, NØAX, he worked with the ARRL Programs and Services Committee to established subcommittee on transmitter cleanliness, identifying how ARRL could help address the sources and root causes of poor-quality signals. Today, this effort is driving meaningful change across the industry, as new standards raise signal quality and enrich the amateur radio experience.

Since the last newsletter it has been busy. Director Tharp and I traveled back to HQ for the 1^st 2026 ARRL Board Meeting which had a lot of actions being worked through.

I attended 2 Administration and Finance Committee meetings held on 12/13/25 and 1/15/26.

Some points of interest are:

Did you know that the ARRL represents 7 generations of hams? This has led towards challenges in how to communicate and interact with each other. This was one of the areas of heavy focus as membership numbers remain challenged. I am seeing a correlation between amateur radio license counts and our membership numbers across the divisions. While this is not a singular causation, it does heavily influence. Also noted is the large population of licenses residing at the Technician Class level. This is a large opportunity for our community engagement going forward.

LOTW is getting better every day. There are several enhancements underway that will positively influence the user interface and overall capability. Restorations from the 2024 data incident had been completed with continuing focus of modernization going forward. It’s no secret that this is the most popular offering for our amateur radio community.

Also reported in our January member bulletin: The Committee discussed and approved the 2026 plan, later approved unanimously by the Board, amending it to include additional funding for advocacy efforts in Washington, DC. These efforts include continuing work to advance the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act (bills H.R.1094 and S.459) through committee and toward final passage. As a reminder, if you haven’t submitted a letter to your representative, please visit the following link to do so. All voices count as we continue our efforts. https://send-a-letter.org/hoa/

Inspire the Next Generation through Wireless Technology

The STEM Training Class on Wireless Technology, funded by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Teachers Institute, invites passionate educators to explore hands-on, real-world applications of wireless communications and STEM learning

(https://www.arrl.org/ti ).

Designed for K–12 classroom teachers, this immersive program provides engaging lesson plans, practical instructional materials, and support for collaboration with experienced volunteer instructors. Participants will gain the knowledge and confidence to bring innovative wireless technology concepts directly into their classrooms.

The class will be held June 22–25, 2026, during summer break, in Auburn, Washington, at: 17432 SE 392nd St, Auburn, WA 98092

Applications are due by April 30, 2026.

Apply here:

Learn more: https://www.arrl.org/teachers-institute-on-wireless-technology

Participants may also earn graduate credit through Fresno Pacific University upon completion of the TI-1 or TI Elective programs. These credits can be applied toward professional growth requirements for maintaining teaching credentials. The program is fully self-contained, allowing educators to complete all coursework during the institute week. Graduate credit details may be requested at the conclusion of the program.

Join a community of educators who are shaping the future of STEM—one signal, one classroom, and one inspired student at a time.

Information provided by: Bill Balzarini, ARRL NW-DIV Assistant Director (STEM-project), KL7BB@ARRL.net (Reply Text Only Please) 206-406-8388 C#

Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):

Northwestern Division Membership:

* 10,237 (Decrease from 10,244)

* 98 (New)

* 134 (Lapsed that re-joined)

National Membership:

* 129,297 (Decrease from 129,455)

License Counts:

* 71,446 (Division total)

* 235 (Division New)

* 738,620 (National total)

Things have been relatively quiet within the Division that last couple of months. Director Tharp and I welcome all feedback, questions, or suggestions from our members. Please feel free to reach out via email or phone to discuss anything on your mind. Additionally, we encourage you to share relevant news or updates with us, and we would be happy to include them here. We look forward to hearing from you.

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

Hello Northwestern Division and welcome to the end of 2025.
This will be the final newsletter of the year and will also serve as our
yearly report.

Division Staff:

Section Managers:
These hard-working folks continue to lead Field Services operations in
our six sections. Section reports, if submitted, are included below.

David Stevens, KL7EB (Alaska)
Kevin Kerr, W1KGK (Montana)
Don Lynn, ND7L (Idaho)
Jo Whitney, KA7LJQ (Eastern WA)
Bob Purdom, AD7LJ (Western WA)
Scott Rosenfeld, N7JI (Oregon)

Assistant Directors:
Daniel Stevens, KL7WM
Delvin Bunton, NS7U
Lynn Burlingame, N7CFO
Dave Cole, NK7Z
Steve Aberle, WA7PTM
Steve McKeen, W7QLO
Bill Balzarini, KL7BB

Advisory committee members:
Jim Cassidy, KI7Y CAC, Contest advisory committee
Dick Swanson, K7BTW DXAC, DX advisory committee

5-9 Hamfest and convention list keeper extraordinaire, Lynn Burlingame,
N7CFO http://www.n7cfo.com/amradio/hf/hf.htm

Member input and communications:
Member input has been, for the most part, positive this year. Member
input on the by-law changes made in July were few and far between. I
feel that was mainly due to the posting of the changes in 2024 and
everyone had already commented. Those changes were needed, and I am glad
that they are now behind us. I am aware of a few minor changes to be
discussed at the upcoming January Annual meeting of the board. One topic
in particular had to do with election material and where it can be
posted. The current wording can be interpreted as too restrictive and
that will be addressed.

With the division email system back in service, Michael and I have been
putting out “regular Division newsletters” albeit not every month. I
do miss the short period when we were able to include photos and other
formatting, however that was a time-consuming matter for HQ staff to do
all the processing. I can assure you Michael and I, along with others,
are pushing for a more robust mail system than what we currently have.

Much of the fall communication pertained to the current HOA bill. If you
have not yet made the 30 second effort to send your letters, please do
so. Visit https://www.arrl.org/current-legislation click the Send your
Letters link, plug in your callsign, hit send and you are done. Even
though we are at the tail end of the year, these letters are still
important and will be hand delivered to your legislators.

Division statistics and some thoughts:
Division statistics at the end of November show a total membership in
Division of 10,244, down from 2024 where we had 10,904. A 6% decrease.
This decline in membership is pretty much the same across all Divisions.
Nationally the decrease shows -5.7% I will not go into the weeds with
each statistic for each section in our Division, but this ongoing
decline in membership is very concerning. I can assure you the ARRL
board discusses this regularly. This trend is not just limited to ARRL.

Other organizations are seeing a similar decline. Information on all
hobbies is readily available via the internet, training classes are
online for free, (i.e. no need to join or even visit a local club) and
what was once a feeling of “belonging” by attending in person
meetings is slowly being replaced by online chat rooms and other social
media platforms. Encouraging new hams to join the hobby should
everyone’s goal, and what I mean by “join the hobby” is to get new
Hams to embrace the culture of Amateur Radio, join a club, and join the
league. When I was licensed as a novice, I joined my local club,
primarily as they put on the license class and ran the testing. No one
ever said, “hey you need to also join the ARRL”, but it was strongly
implied. I joined the league and a few years later I was president of
the club and we had close to 150 members. (not because of me) I seem to
remember we ran close to 75% or better ARRL membership. That trend
continued until just a few short years ago, again, not due to any one
person or action, just a steady decline in both numbers.

Encouraging newly licensed hams to join local clubs and the league
should be top priority for every member. If you are a member of your
local club, you should encourage others to join. If you are a member of
the league, you should do the same. Some of our clubs are doing an
outstanding job of this.

From a national perspective, the Northwestern Division has 71539 total
licensed Amateur Radio operators. Nationally that number is 738701 as of
December 6th , 14,432 of which, nearly 2% , are club callsigns. Our
Division represents 9.6% of the total Amateur population. Looking at
ARRL membership, The October total ARRL membership was 129455 and our
Division represents 7.9% of that total with 10244.

In comparison, the Southeast Division is the largest by population with
10.5% of ARRL membership and 10% of the total number of Amateurs. The SE
Division had 78125 total amateurs and 13020 ARRL members.

The Northwestern Division is currently the fourth largest in ARRL
membership behind Roanoke with 10927, Atlantic with 10455, and as
mentioned the Southeastern with 13020.

Club Updates: (A reminder):
It is getting close to the end of the year, and most clubs are starting
or have finished the election process for officers. Remember to update
your information on the ARRL web for your group. The listed contact
person should have access to edit this information. If you run into
trouble, your club officers can contact your Affiliated Club
Coordinator, Section Manager, or myself and we would be glad to help. A
new page has been created to help clubs at:
https://affiliatedclubs.arrl.org/

Club Milestones:
Congratulations to the following ARRL Affiliated Clubs for reaching the
milestones listed.
Central Washington ARC (Eastern Washington) 50 years
Hellgate Amateur Radio Club (Montana) 75 years

New Affiliated Clubs:
Congratulations to the following clubs for becoming ARRL Affiliated this
year
Salem Amateur Repeater Group, K7ATV – Salem Oregon
Oregon Youth Amateur Radio Club, K7OYA – Albany Oregon
Oregon Coast Emergency Repeater INC, W7FLO – Florence Oregon
Central Oregon Amateur Radio Emcomm Team, K7HWY – La Pine Oregon
Shoreline Auxiliary Communications Service, W7AUX – Shoreline
Washington

Upcoming Board meeting and Division election results:

As of this writing, I am not aware of any controversial motions for the
board to address.

At the January meeting we will elect Officers of the ARRL, the
President, 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents, Treasurer, Secretary, CFO, and
International Affairs VP. We will also elect a new slate for the
Executive committee.
The 2026 financial plan will be reviewed and approved.
Standing committee reports and motions will be addressed.

Elections this year were in the Southeast Division, where Director Baker
will be back after a 4-way race. Director Baker received 1596 of a total
of 3827 cast ballots. In the Southwestern Division, Director Norton
received 1392 of a total of 2780 cast ballots. (yes a difference of 4
votes). In the Pacific Division, Director Litz was held his position
with 1270 votes to his challenger, past Director Bob Vallio who earned
960 votes. We had no other contested elections for Directors this year.
In the Rocky Mountain Division, Director Ryan ran unopposed as well as
Director Stratton in the West Gulf division.

January will bring a few changes to the board room “back row”. In
the Southwestern Division, VD Ned Sterns decided not to run for office
and we will be joined by John Kitchens, NX6S. John is the current Santa
Barbara SM. In the Rocky Mountain Division, Mel Parkes, NM7P who ran
unopposed will be joining us. From the Pacific Division we will be
joined by Carol Milazzo, KP4MD who was appointed early this year and ran
unopposed in the election. The Atlantic Vice Director is now Marty
Newingham, AG3I, after being appointed this year as well.

Attention Montana members, your section, and the ARRL, needs you!
As no nomination petitions were received at HQ for the Section Manager
position, it will be posted again in QST. Kevin, W1KGK decided not to
run for another term. A formal notice will be coming out from ARRL HQ
about this. If you are interested, or if you know someone that might be
interested, let me know and I can help you, or them, through the
process. The Section Manager terms are two years in length and more
information can be found here: Section Manager I would like to thank
Kevin for the years he served and wish him the best.

HAMFESTS and Meetings:
This year I attended;
The Mike and Key swap
N7YRC tailgate
Kamiah Hamfest
Seapac (Division Convention)
Wenatchee Hamfest
Idaho St. Convention
Spokane Hamfest (Washington State Convention)
PNW DX Convention (hosted by the WVDX Club)
And I managed to get into the parking lot for Swaptoberfest only to find
it had been canceled early that morning due to a major water leak. Many
were disappointed about this but nothing could be done.
I look forward to seeing fellow amateurs at most of these events again
in 2026.

I also attended a number of club meetings both in person and virtually.

Presidents Award presented to Tad Cook, K7RA
In March it was my great privilege to present the ARRL Presidents Award
to Tad Cook, K7RA from Seattle. For those who recognize the call, Tad
wrote the ARRL solar reports for QST over the course of 36 continuous
years, never missing a single month. Tad retired from writing the report
due to health issues, and sadly passed away on April 13th. On behalf of
the entire Division, I would like to thank President Roderick, the ARRL
Executive Committee, CEO Minster, and HQ Staff for expediting the
process for this award. It showed on Tads face how much it meant to him.
(See more in December QST, page 63)

As I also serve as a Director of the ARRL Foundation, I am looking
forward to the upcoming Scholarship season. This is one of the most
rewarding aspects of Amateur Radio to me. It is a ton of work, but it is
truly a pleasure to do. If you are looking at additional funding for
college or trade schools, or have Harmonics that are (children) look at
(or have them look) at the scholarships offered by the ARRL and ARDC.
They still have a few days to be in the running for next year’s
awards. http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-program

That’s a wrap
This will be the last newsletter until after the January Board meeting.
Michael and I are always available for questions, comments, or concerns.
I hope this finds you well, and I wish you the best for this holiday
season and a great upcoming 2026. It is a privilege to serve as your
Director.

73..
Mark J. Tharp – KB7HDX
ARRL Director
Northwestern Division
kb7hdx@arrl.org
509-952-5764

A few yearend words from Vice Director Sterba.

Hello Northwestern Division!

Wow, this year has flown by! With the large input from across the
division provided from Director Tharp, I’ll keep this to the point.

There has been an impact to our division wide license counts due to the
shutdown of the FCC offices and website. Our Northwestern Division
membership numbers have had a strong correlation to these suggesting
that we may witness matching reductions. We hope this doesn’t result
in long term impact, but will be closely monitoring as we prepare for
the 2026 Annual Board Meeting. Thankfully, the FCC has announced the
restoration of services and is working through the reestablish full
operations soon. The FCC also has extended the filing deadline to March
5, 2026, for amateur radio licenses that otherwise were due to expire
from October 1, 2025, to March 5, 2026. For more information, please
visit:
https://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-vec-ready-to-file-2-500-ham-radio-license-applications-fcc-extends-renewal-filing-deadline

Annual Activities:
I attended the Administration & Finance Committee Meeting (12/13/25)
where we stepped through the upcoming challenges for the League and
amateur radio. Future decisions needing to be made will not be easy ones
as we balance member needs versus organizational health in reference to
a lowering ham license count. Updates will be provided in the coming
months.

Committee Attendance:
ARRL Annual Board Meeting
ARRL 2nd Board Meeting
Administrative & Finance Committee Meeting (Committee Member)
EC FSC Clubs Subcommittee Meeting (Sub-Committee Member)
Executive Committee Meeting (Visitor)
EC-FSC Clubs Subcommittee (Visitor)
Programs & Services Committee (Visitor)

Event Attendance:
Salem Hamfair
Mike and Key Swapmeet
Stanwood / Camano Island Swapmeet
SEAPAC
Wenatchee Hamfest
MARA Hamfest
Multiple club/organizational member meetings

Effort Summation YTD in hours:
Meeting Hours: 73
Tasking Hours: 178
Public Service Hours: 143

(Canned Reminder) 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.

From my radio shack to yours, I hope you and yours have a wonderful
holiday upcoming. 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

SECTION REPORTS:

Oregon Section, submitted by Scott Rosenfeld N7JI
2025 Oregon (OR) Section Report
Scott Rosenfeld, Section Manager (SM)
December 7, 2025
Overview

In September 2025, the Oregon section had a total of 2,969 ARRL members.
(2,757 Full and 212 Associate members)
This number was 4% below the November, 2024 membership tally. This
continues to be a worrying trend.

Oregon still has over 20,000 ham radio operators, representing nearly
0.5% of the total state population, which ranks in the top 3 in the
nation. However, only 15% of Oregon’s hams are ARRL members.
Oregon’s licensing tallies show that the number of hams is relatively
stable, with about 50 new hams and 50 licenses expiring every month.
Even though we have improved our recruitment efforts as a section, we
are apparently still not doing a good enough job recruiting new
members.

Our field organization continues to work to maximize and expand benefits
provided to the Oregon section. Lane County now has an ARES program. We
have helped clubs rebuild and become newly incorporated. Oregon hosted a
hamfest, a regional DX conference, and a Division convention. We now
have a third Public Information Officer, and continue working to
implement youth development programs by encouraging clubs to identify
club youth coordinators.

We are working to improve participation in Oregon section volunteer
activities by our ARRL members.

In April, we asked for and received a proclamation from Oregon’s
Governor, Tina Kotek, that June would be Amateur Radio MONTH in Oregon.
We plan to do this again in 2026.

It was a very busy year in our section, and I hope to keep the momentum
going into the future.

My term runs until June, 2026, and I am planning on running again this
spring for another term.

Item #1 – Building ARES / EmComm
Our primary goal for 2025 was to continue rebuilding the presence of
Oregon ARES. Oregon’s 36 counties are divided into 6 ARES districts,
and range from urban to suburban to rural to very sparsely populated.
County populations vary from 1,400 to over 800,000, and the number of
licensed amateurs in each varies just as widely.

Bonnie Altus, AB7ZQ, Oregon’s SEC, has done an excellent job in
serving as a liaison between Oregon’s ham radio-based EmComm groups
and Oregon’s Department of Emergency Management. Many ARES and
AUXCOMM units have a SHARES license and participate in the SHARES nets
with FEMA and Oregon Department of Emergency Management (ODEM).

ARES was reintroduced in Lane County in 2025 and is now a functioning
entity, with working agreements with the cities of Eugene and
Springfield as well as Lane County. Lane County ARES now participates
and cooperates with West Lane ARES, which serves the coastal areas of
Lane county. Lane County ARES now serves Lane County east of the Coast
Range, including the Eugene metropolitan area, which is the home of the
University of Oregon. Lane County ARES is led by Kathryn Catherwood,
KI7RNU, with support from local clubs, EmComm groups, and
municipalities. Training classes were held from April through August.
The organization has over 30 members, holds an on-air net every Monday
evening, and holds in-person meetings once a month. A new radio room is
being constructed for use by ARES.

Under the leadership of Joe, AA7JS, Josephine County ARES has
implemented a training program that incorporates a “clubhouse” as
well as training nights where prospective ARES members are invited to do
hands-on activities with more experienced members, resulting in
organizational growth to over 60 members.

Oregon now has four Assistant SECs, and four of our six DEC positions
are filled (districts 2 and 6 are vacant). Bonnie has worked and met
regularly with our ASECs, DECs, and ECs on training, emergency tests,
planning, interoperability, Winlink, and other topics. Our groups.io
mailing list serves to connect hams in charge of EmComm-related units,
including both ARES and non-ARES units. Regular communications with and
between the ARES and non-ARES EMCOMM leadership has been key in
revitalizing the program in Oregon.

Oregon’s traffic nets remain active, although the number of traffic
handlers has been continually declining over the years.

EmComm meetings were held at the Salem Hamfair in February and at the
SeaPac convention, and they were well-attended. HF ARES nets continue to
be very popular and with high levels of attendance. We continue to
update our database of county ECs, and to cancel and make appointments
as necessary.

The following is our list of Oregon district and section level EmComm
appointees as of November, 2024:
SEC – Bonnie Altus, AB7ZQ
ASEC – Mitch Bayersdorfer, W7MDB
ASEC – Thomas Noel, KF7RSF
ASEC – Larry Clark, N7LJC
ASEC – Ed Bodenlos, W7EWB
D1 EC – Pat Roberson, W7PAT
D2 EC – vacant (Bend / Redmond / Prineville)
D3 EC – Stuart Bottom, K7FG
D4 EC – Steve Duck, KW7S
D5 EC – Joe Stodola, AA7JS
D6 EC – vacant (Klamath Falls / Lakeview / Burns / Hines / Ontario)

Item #2 – Affiliated Clubs
Max Sabo, K7MAX, VP of the Portland Amateur Radio Club, continues as our
ACC. We hold quarterly Zoom meetings for officers of affiliated (and yet
to be affiliated) clubs from all over the state. These meetings continue
to be attended by 20-30 people, and have been an excellent venue for
discussion of best practices.

The Oregon section welcomed Salem Area Repeater Group and Oregon Youth
Amateur Radio Club as new affiliated clubs. New clubs are being formed
at Chemeketa Community College, Portland State University, and George
Fox University. We are very, very happy to see new college-level clubs
forming.

In the scouting arena, Michael, N7PEA, has worked to form a
radio-specific, regional, Venturing Crew. This group seeks to become an
ARRL-affiliated club.

We are still working to ensure that the club information database is up
to date. We encourage all clubs to update their information on the ARRL
and their own websites.
We also encourage clubs that have significant community outreach and
wide-ranging programs and activities to apply for the distinction of
becoming a Special Service Club.
Our four Special Service Clubs are:
Radio Amateurs of the Gorge (RAGS)
Valley Radio Club (Eugene)
Oregon-Tualatin Valley Amateur Radio Club (OTVARC)
Hoodview Amateur Radio Club

We continue to encourage Oregon’s affiliated clubs to develop young
hams within the section by working with scouts, schools, and students.

We also promote the idea of incentives for new hams to join our clubs.
As VP of the Willamette Valley DX Club, for example, we have inducted
several new members under the age of 25. We have also implemented a
policy of giving free membership to licensees 25 and under, thereby
removing financial barriers to membership. Similar membership policies
have been rolled out by other clubs, including a free handheld radio and
free membership for any new member 18 years of age and under.

Item #3 – Youth and Educational Activities
Ham radio is a powerful teaching tool for STEM, and is key to developing
young hams in Oregon.

Oregon has two Section Youth Coordinators (SYCs), Frank Gruber, KB7NJV,
and Russ Mickiewicz, N7QR. Frank is focused on introducing ham radio in
schools, while Russ is focused on Scouting. They have proposed that
clubs should have youth coordinators, and we have continually pestered
clubs to do this…but it has been a slow process.

The radio club project within the Ione school system has hit a bit of a
slowdown, but has a promising future.

Russ, N7QR, continues to work with Jamboree on the Air (JOTA)
operations.

New university clubs are being formed, as mentioned in the previous
section.

Existing university clubs within Oregon continue to be active.

Portland State University students presented their RF-focused
engineering projects at Sea-Pac.

Zeke, KJ7NLL, made a presentation at Sea-Pac about the ISS contact
project that he led for his school.

Ethan, KK7UXY, made a presentation at Sea-Pac about OYARC, the
youth-focused radio club he formed.

Several young Oregon hams participated in significant DXpeditions in
2025.

In November, Salem Amateur Radio Club, Chemeketa radio club, and other
groups cooperated to present ham radio to a crowd of 2,000, including
nearly a thousand Girl Scouts, at the STEM fair at Oregon State
Fairgrounds. We had obtained the W7G special event callsign and printed
1,000 W7G cards which could be given to scouts who participated by
making a contact with “the ham on the other end of the radio.” Over
200 Girl Scouts made QSOs with local hams, with each receiving a card.
Hundreds more Girl Scouts learned (some) Morse code and made a LOT of
noise. Others got to learn and practice spelling with the ITU phonetic
alphabet. A large number of various ARRL publicity flyers were handed
out at this event.

Item #4 – Technical Services
Our technical group is stable at eight people with KO7V as the technical
coordinator. We have a groups.io mailing list called the ARRL OREGON
TECHNICAL GROUP. We still have about 90 subscribers, with a wide array
of topics covered.

Amy Haptonstall, AG7GP, joined as an expert in portable and SOTA
operations.

Our technical experts continue to solve problems for hams in Oregon, the
most common of which is RFI.

We look forward to increasing our TS ranks and continuing growth of the
technical mailing list in the coming year.

Item #5 – Volunteer Counsels and Engineers
Oregon now has two VCs, Althea Ender, KE7OOJ, and Russ Garrett, KD7MPK,
who also serves as Oregon ASM.

We are still looking for Oregon Volunteer Engineers.

Item #6 – Traffic Management
Oregon STM David Bogner, W7EES, and NM Carl Clawson, WS7L, are very
involved in Oregon’s traffic handling programs. In general, Oregon’s
CW nets are shrinking in number, participation, and volume of traffic
other than “congrats on passing your exam.” Oregon’s phone- and
CW-based traffic nets still have issues with the willingness of
operators to actually handle traffic, resulting in most traffic being
handled by a very small group.

The Digital Traffic Network handles the majority of Radiogram traffic in
the Oregon Section. We are concentrating on last mile operations by
encouraging the development of local area nets for distribution,
delivery and reply Radiogram services for the civil population.

The impasse regarding routing of inter-sectional traffic at the local
level has not been completely resolved. Oregon Section traffic nets
continue to follow recommended procedures found in the Methods and
Practices Guidelines manual that adhere to Section, Region and Area
Boundaries.

We have also discussed the fact that traffic handling and EmComm
functions may sometimes overlap, although there are significant issues
using Winlink forms to inject messages into the traffic handling system,
leading to friction, confusion, and lost traffic.

We strive to recruit new traffic handling operators and teach new hams
of the uses and functionality of traffic handling. We hope to see
reinvigorated publicity from ARRL increase the number of Net Managers
(NMs) within the section, and see that many issues with NTS are
addressed by NTS 2.0.

Item #7 – Public Outreach
In 2025, we continued to develop our Public Information Outreach. We now
have three PIOs.
Hannah Rosenfeld, W7HER, PIO
Nelson Farrier, NF7Z, Section webmaster
Matt Laubach, K7EPW, PIO

We are looking for a PIC (Public Information Coordinator) to run the
show.

Hannah focuses on social media including our brand-new Instagram feed,
“OregonARRL”.

Our section website is now found at www.oregonarrl.org.
It is updated with section news as it happens.
We hope that it becomes a central location for section information.

In the lead-up for Field Day, after receiving our governor’s
“Amateur Radio MONTH” proclamation, we contacted newspapers, radio
stations, TV stations, and any other media outlets we could think of.
We did several interviews on the radio, including OPB and JPR.
PARC had a booth at the very well-attended Portland Rose Festival and
used the W7R special event call.

Field Day sites all over the state received many, many visitors.

We participated at the Oregon State Fair by presenting ham radio through
a number of exhibits to the public for FIVE days, 10 hours each day.
This was a very well-attended event with many thousands of visitors.
Volunteers came from all over western Oregon and Vancouver, WA to help,
and State Fair management was very happy with the results. We plan on
repeating this effort in 2026.

In conjunction with the State Fair, hams all over the state of Oregon
used the W7O special event callsign to make contacts all over the world
over a period of 10 days.

Section Manager Event Participation
February – ARRL SM presence at Salem Hamfair in Rickreall, OR.
May – ARRL SM presence at Hamvention in Xenia, OH..
June – ARRL SM presence at SeaPac NW Division Convention.
June – Arranged representation for ARRL’s Collegiate Amateur Radio
Project (CARP) at SeaPac.
June – ARRL SM visited Field Day sites in Florence, OR, and Lowell, OR.
August – ARRL SM presence at Pacific Northwest DX Convention in
Portland, OR.
September – ARRL SM presence at ROADS club meeting in Dallas, OR.
September – ARRL SM presence at Peak Radio Association (PRA) picnic &
POTA event in Monmouth, OR.
September – ARRL SM presence at ROADS club meeting in Dallas, OR.
October – ARRL SM participation in PARC club meeting via Zoom.
October – ARRL SM participation in FW5K DXpedition including joining
WVDXC meeting via Zoom..
I continually offer to be able to attend club meetings and events.

Other items
We continue to recommend that people go to www.send-a-letter.org/hoa and
do their legislative part. We also continue to recommend that clubs do
their part, and GMRS users do their part.

I send out “welcome to ham radio” letters to all new hams in the
Oregon section, introducing myself and welcoming them to join ARRL, and
urging them to find and join their local radio clubs.

Every ham in Oregon knows at least one other ham who is not a member of
ARRL. I have minimal ability to make anyone join ARRL through my SM
emails, as everyone on the list is already an ARRL member. However, a
recommendation from an ARRL member who is a personal friend has added
weight. Outreach by ARRL members is the most significant activity needed
for our section to increase its membership. There are many reasons to
join ARRL, and our members need to convey that to non-members.

Nearly 1,300 ARRL Oregon members are not receiving SM emails. I
encourage those who do receive SM emails to ask their friends if they
receive these emails, and encourage them to opt-in.

I plan to continue attending conventions and hamfests, and continue to
contact Oregon’s ARRL-affiliated clubs (as far as email permits) to
offer visits to club meetings and events, either in-person (when
practical) or remotely. I always provide SWAG in the form of pens,
stickers, books, and the like, when visiting clubs, including mailing
books to those who may win raffles when visits are done remotely.

I will encourage other appointees within the section to, when
appropriate, make in-person visits, which can be reimbursed from my SM
budget.

Oregon also has a rapidly growing AREDN presence, linking areas of the
state together with a high-speed, alternate data network. The growth of
this network should continue to be supported, as it can be utilized as a
high-speed information backbone in times of emergency.

Oregon, as a section, is always looking for motivated individuals who
would like to be a part of the field organization to serve the amateur
radio community. I also believe that every appointee needs to work to
identify his or her replacement in the interest of seamless transitions
and continuity within the section’s field organization.

I greatly appreciate your support and faith in my abilities to carry out
the duties of this position. Please let me know if you have any
questions, comments, or complaints.

Scott N7JI, ARRL Oregon SM
541-221-2475
ars.n7ji@gmail.com

2025 Eastern Washington SM report (Jo Whitney, KA7LJQ)

There are 19 affiliated clubs listed in the Big Club list for EWA.
Contact with the clubs was sporadic. When contacting each club to submit
a club letter in support of the HOA bill I found some contact
information was out of date. Approximately 25% of the clubs supplied an
annual report in 2025. I will be seeking invitations to attend club
meetings to spread the word about ARRL and the benefits of joining as an
individual and affiliate as a club. Membership numbers dropped 6.6%
between November 2024 (total; 905) and October 2025 (total; 848).

2026 is the YEAR OF THE CLUB for ARRL. It is the 100th anniversary of
the ARRL Field Organization. Join a club, get involved.

Conventions, Hamfests, and Tailgates. I enjoy the opportunity to meet
and talk with amateurs across the state at a function designed to bring
radio operators together for their hobby and encourage membership in the
ARRL. I was able to participate in the following events in 2025:

-March 8th – 43rd Annual Mike and Key Electronics Show and Swap Meet,
Puyallup
-April 12th – 7th N7YRC Tailgate Swapmeet, Yakima
-April 19th – Kamiah ID Hamfest
-April 26th – 2025 Spokane Hamfest, the Washington State Convention,
Spokane Valley.
-May 10th – Spout Springs Repeater Association Tailgate and Swapmeet,
Kennewick
-May 30-June 1st – SEA-PAC Northwestern Division Convention, Seaside
OR
-June 6-8th – 57th Annual Apple City Amateur Radio Club Hamfest,
Peshastin (Dryden)
-June 14th – Inland Empire VHF Radio Amateurs Tailgate Swap, Spokane
Valley
-August 9th – Idaho State Convention, Post Falls ID
-August 16th – PNWDX Convention, Portland OR

There were last-minute notices of gatherings I could not attend; please
let me know what you are planning and I will make every effort to attend
if asked.

Field Day June 27-28th. Traveling to club field day sites is a highlight
for me. I save the weekend for long hours of travel, 785 miles, to Field
Day set-ups posted on the ARRL locator. Posting your hours of operation
is helpful. I was able to make site visits to:

-Panoramaland Amateur Radio Club K7JAR sets up 4 stations plus a GOTA
station in and around a large field in Colville.

-Spokane County ARES/ACS W7GBU had the communications trailers set up in
a parking lot in Spokane Valley.

-Kamiak Butte Amateur Repeater Association (KBARA) set up 3 stations at
the Valleyford Community Park in Valleyford. They were very pleased to
have their group return to Field Day set-up.

-Central Washington ARC W7TT set-up again at the White Tail Grange in
Ephrata. They modify the building (replace a door) for the coax entry
from their crane suspended antenna.

-Lake Chelan Amateur Radio Club set up several stations on a flat top
high above Chelan. Arriving in the early morning, I was greeted with a
hot breakfast.

The journey was recorded in photos. I will make a point to get help to
upload them onto the EWA Section Facebook page in 2026.

Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC), Frank Hutchinson AG7QP, continues
to encourage local amateur groups and EMCOMM focus groups to support
emergency communications efforts with their local agencies in EWA.
Meeting with Emergency Managers across EWA he is keeping doors open for
amateurs to use their desire to support public service. The 20 counties
of EWA are divided into Districts 7 (Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas,
Okanogan), District 8 (Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, Walla Walla,
Yakima), and District 9 (Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield,
Lincoln, Pend Orielle, Spokane, Steven, Whitman). The SEC has recruited
Emergency Coordinators for all except Garfield and Whitman. The role of
an Emergency Coordinator in the county is to work with the local
jurisdiction for preparedness. The level of preparedness depends on the
county, the number of radio operators in the county and the number of
volunteers willing to serve. Please consider service in your community
bringing your interest, knowledge and experience to an EMCOMM group.

Jo Whitney KA7LJQ
ka7ljq@arrl.org
509-952-5764

Western Washington – Robert Purdom SM (No report submitted)

Idaho – Don Lynn SM (no report submitted)

Alaska – David Stevens SM (no report submitted)

Montana – Kevin Kerr SM (no report submitted)

ARRL Northwestern Division
Director: Mark J Tharp, KB7HDX

kb7hdx@arrl.org

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Greetings fellow Northwestern Division members.
“PASS THE BILL” this campaign is still full steam ahead, even with
the current (as of this writing) Government shutdown. If you have not
done so, please visit the webpage at https://send-a-letter.org/hoa and
take the five seconds to click in the box, enter your call, and hit
“send my letters”. For those with a GMRS license, or those you know
with a GMRS license that are not Amateurs, we have a page for them as
well. https://send-a-letter.org/gmrs . Support is support.
Your club can also help by sending a letter on behalf of it’s members.
That information can be found here:
https://www.arrl.org/current-legislation#clubs .
Please encourage your club to help in this process.

ARRL Foundation Scholarships
The ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program has opened the application
window for 2026 scholarships. Applications will be accepted through
December 30, 2025, at 12 PM EST. Students are encouraged to apply for
more than 170 scholarships ranging from $500 to $25,000. All applicants
must be active, FCC-licensed amateur radio operators.
The scholarships were established by generous donors and are managed by
the ARRL Foundation as a means to inspire youth to explore amateur radio
and to pursue higher education and related career paths — and
especially in wireless communications.
In 2025, the ARRL Foundation awarded 170 awards totaling $800,000. More
information and the online application are available
www.arrl.org/scholarship-program.

ARRL has made 2026 the Year of the Club, a year-long celebration of
ham radio clubs and everything they do for amateur radio. As just one
way of honoring various clubs, QST will feature club photos in every
2026 issue. If your club wants a shot at being highlighted in the pages
of QST, here’s what to do:
Get your club members together, looking their best — if you have a
club t-shirt or ARRL shirts, this is a perfect occasion for wearing
them.
Consider posing with your club’s sign/banner.
Take high-resolution images. If you’re taking photos with a phone
camera, please make sure it’s set for “highest quality.”
Take photos in horizontal and vertical orientations, and please do not
crop or otherwise edit the photos.
Type up the names and call signs of any hams pictured, the name (and
call sign, if applicable) of the person who took the photos, and the
full name and call sign of the club.
Send the information, along with one vertical and one horizontal photo,
to qst@arrl.org.
Read QST each month in 2026 to see if your club has been featured!

Another “Year of the Club” activity, will be a yearlong activation
of W1AW/* similar to the centennial, and VOTA (Volunteers on the Air).
Each state will have two opportunities to host the W1AW/* call and
gather operators. ARRL Section Managers, and section ACCs will be
working out the details for these operations.
http://www.arrl.org/year-of-the-club
We will also have a special WAS (Worked All States) award in 2026. Watch
the ARRL.org web for further information.

Swaptoberfest, that Swapmeet that was,,,,, almost
Unfortunately, at the last minute, Swoptoberfest in Rickreall OR had to
be cancelled due to a major water leak discovered by the night guard
around 2 in the morning, the night before the event. This left little to
no way of effectively notifying attendees. I rolled in the parking lot
to be met by the normal guard only to tell me it had been cancelled. A
number of folks made due by tossing some items out in the lot with a
make shift tailgate, but most folks simply went back home. This is
always a well attended event, and I hope everyone can understand it was
100% out of the group’s control.

FCC licensing and the current Government shutdown… Vice Director
Sterba has addressed this below.

Upcoming Division events: (If your group would like to promote your
upcoming event, please let me know)
Upcoming ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions can be found at the
always updated webpage of Assistant Director Burlingame at n7cfo.com

This list is only inclusive of those events that have applied for ARRL
sanctioning. If you are looking to sanction your event this year, or in
the future, please review the rules HERE.
https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Rules for Hamfests Trunkfests
Conventions.pdf

73..
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!
It’s been quiet here in the division the last couple of months yet
busy behind the scenes.
It’s great to report a surge in community activity surrounding the
Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act. If you haven’t looked into
this please visit https://www.arrl.org/current-legislation and take
advantage of the automated form to send a letter to your
representatives. There is an extra opportunity for clubs to get involved
separately by placing additional weight to our voices. Directions for
club endorsements are available at
https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Clubs/Completing%20the%20Club%20Letters%20for%20Congress.pdf.

As of this writing, we are facing impacts surrounding both initial and
renewal of amateur radio licenses. The online FCC systems have been
suspended until further notice impacting everyone who is trying to
accomplish an update. For additional information, please refer to
https://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-licensing-update-during-us-government-shutdown

Answer the Call — Strengthen Our Clubs, Strengthen Our Community!
As we prepare for the upcoming “ARRL Year of the Club,” Director
Tharp and I invite every amateur radio operator to take part in a
movement that honors the true spirit of our service… connection,
mentorship, and community.

Our local clubs are the heartbeat of amateur radio, where newcomers find
guidance, friendships are fostered, and innovation thrives. Yet many of
these clubs are feeling the strain… stretched thin, struggling to
grow, and fighting to stay strong.

Here in the Northwestern Division, I’ve seen their challenges up
close. Now is the time to rally together. Step forward. Recommit your
time, energy, and passion to the clubs that have given so much to all of
us.
Together, we can restore their strength, renew their purpose, and ensure
that amateur radio continues to inspire and unite generations to come.

Read more about the ARRL Year of the Club at
https://www.arrl.org/year-of-the-club

As I wrap up this writing, I want to take a moment to thank the leaders
and membership for the warm welcome to the 2025 Matanuska Amateur Radio
Association (MARA) Hamfest at Wasilla, AK. This was a fun family style
event which included demonstrations, presentations , VE Testing, and
lunch barbeque.
Special thanks to Scott (KL7SLM), Shelia (KL3SRO) and Don (KL7JFT) for
introductions, history, and tours of the ARES communications trailer.

Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):
Northwestern Division Membership:

• 10,285 (Decrease from 10,345)
• 40 (New)
• 161 (Lapsed that re-joined)
  National Membership:
• 130,357 (Decrease from 130,978)
  License Counts:
• 72,094 (Division total)
• 137(New)
• 743,112 (National total)

As I mentioned in my opening, it’s been quiet in the Division.
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

ARRL Northwestern Division
Director: Mark J Tharp, KB7HDX
kb7hdx@arrl.org

Greetings fellow Northwestern Division members.
It’s been a busy few months both here in the Division and back at ARRL HQ.

Field Day 2025
FD came and went. I have not heard any horror stories so am assuming all went “as planned”, unlike that one year with a plane crash, the tent blowing away and two 80 year olds in a fist fight. (If you know you know, don’t ask)
Oregon SM Scott Rosenfeldt, N7JI reports:
Hannah, W7HER (Oregon PIO, and my daughter) and I headed over the mountains to Florence to visit the W7FLO operation as they were setting up. It was a beautiful day on the coast and the Three Rivers Casino parking lot proved to be a very good location. The COCARC club, newly ARRL affiliated, had a fun, well-run, well-attended Field Day operation.
Hannah and I headed back to the home club’s site (W7PXL at Lowell State Rec Area), arriving in time for lunch.  

I stayed as part of the overnight crew. We had been planning this operation for eight months, and made almost 1,000 QSOs with a 4A, 100% solar battery powered station. I was the primary CW operator, knocking out about 250 QSOs. We made a lot of QSOs on 20m SSB using N7AQ’s restored Hallicrafters SX-150, which sounded great and consumed a LOT of solar power to make 100W of RF. It was amazing getting to use a rig that was built 9 years before I was born.

We did a fox hunt, sent messages via winlink for visitors, held an exam session, and nobody got hurt.

We have already held a “lessons learned” meeting for next year’s operation. We had about 80 people in attendance.

WWA SM Bob Purdom, AD7LJ reports:
I attended the FD site set up by the Radio Club of Tacoma. Had a great time with the club members.

Idaho SM Don Lynn, ND7L reports:
As you know, for Idaho, we were in a transition period during Field Day between outgoing SM Dan Marler, K7REX and myself. I spoke to many of our clubs and individuals who took to the air from a variety of settings whether at home, the great outdoors,or literally a club member’s field. Two of our SSC’s put on a full meal deal with a full assortment of radio activities.
Most impressive was the Magic Valley ARC’s  effort – They had a state representative visit their operation; and a news reporter from KMVT-TV who not only did a great job reporting on amateur radio with a wonderful response from two of their members who were interviewed. The reporter stayed and operated 20m SSB for a few hours. Link to story (HDX note…. Magic Valley ARC has been an ARRL Affiliated Club since 1973! )

EWA SM Jo Whitney, KA7LJQ reports:
“Radio Connects” – Field Day 2025 – EWA Section Manger notes
Field Day sites visited this year in a whirlwind 785 mile loop included:

Panoramaland ARC, K7JAR, in Colville, Stevens County. They successfully set- up 4
stations and a GOTA. We exchanged site photos of the station, and shared the field with a horse and cow for a great story in their newsletter. My first and hopefully not my last to visit into northeast WA.

Spokane County ARES/ACS, W7GBU, in Spokane Valley, Spokane County. They had
two stations set-up in a city parking lot for plenty of public viewing.

KBARA in Valleyford, Spokane County. They were able to set-up in a very
accommodating public park with 3 stations. This was their first field day in several years
– the turnout was awesome!

Central Washington ARC, W7TT, in Ephrata, Grant County. They have a sweet set-up
running 1A at the White Trail Grange. A crane outside suspends their antenna along with with a full kitchen to meet all of their needs for the weekend

Lake Chelan ARC in Chelan. They reached their goal of a hilltop location with a 360-
degree view for their 1A entry and a multi-day campout enjoyed by all.
I look forward to 2026 Field Day visits, meeting new people and being inspired by
amateur radio operators showing their stuff!

ARRL Second Board of Directors Meeting:
July 17th, 18th and 19th VD Sterba and I attended the Second meeting of the ARRL Board in Connecticut. This time around Michael made it on time and I ended up only about 30 minutes late after having to spend the night stuck inside Reagan National Airport. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but flying is not as fun as it used to be. I can report the floor at Reagan is nicer than the one at O’Hare.
Full minutes of the meeting can be found here: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/About%20ARRL/Board%20Meetings/2025/ARRL%20Board%20Minutes%20Minutes%20July%202025.pdf
The board got to work on Thursday morning with meetings of the Administration and Finance (A&F) committee, Emergency Communications and Field Services (ECFSC) committee, and Programs and Services (PSC) committee. These are normally around 6 hour meetings and much work is done in committee to reduce time in the Board room.
A few items worth repeating here from the meeting:
Min. 13 By law 46 passed after a full year and a half of work by the special committee.
Min. 20 The Historical Committee reported that the long awaited ARRL Museum and Research Library of Amateur gear is now live. “Radio Alpha” as it is called can be found HERE.
Min. 30 Many have asked about what the next on-air event will be coming out of HQ. The full text of min. 30 is below and spells out what to look for in 2026.

30. The Programs & Services Committee moved that: WHEREAS, July 4, 2026, is the Semi-quincentennial or 250th anniversary of the United States of America, and WHEREAS, an event of this magnitude should include a special operating event for amateur radio and the ARRL, similar to the ARRL Centennial. THEREFORE, be it resolved that the ARRL Board of Directors hereby authorizes the CEO, requisite staff, and other volunteers, as deemed appropriate, to establish a year-long Semi-quincentennial USA operating event for 2026.
    Min. 31 On the heels of the new DXCC Trident award, which may be applied for after working and confirming DXCC on each mode, SSB, CW, and Digital, PSC has authorized the CEO and staff to create a new 10 band DXCC award.
    Min. 32 ECFSC made a motion to promote 2026 as “The year of the club”. More to follow on the details of what will be happening in 2026.
    Min. 36 Club website “competition”
    THEREFORE, be it resolved that the ARRL Board of Directors requests that the CEO directs staff to create a program to promote and recognize ARRL Affiliated or Special Service club websites. This program would have two aspects. The first aspect is to offer a website “makeover” to a small number chosen clubs to feature in ARRL publications. The second aspect is to seek out and choose exceptional club websites to be featured throughout 2026. Recent Division events:

Idaho State Convention: Saturday August 9th
EWA SM Whitney and I attended the convention held again this year in Post Falls Idaho. Newly appointed Idaho SM Don Lynn along with HVP Fenstermaker were also on hand.
SDXA Summer picnic: Saturday August 9th
The club (Jo and I included) had a great afternoon at the Morrisett home just out of Spokane. For those who did not know, Del, WA7AQH, passed away earlier this year and his wife wanted to still host the event. The club turned out to support Dells wife, and to share stories.

Upcoming Division events: (If your group would like to promote your upcoming event, please let me know)
Chehalis Valley ARS (Washington) is sponsoring a Fox hunt on August 16th, meet at the Law and Justice center 345 W. Main, Chehalis WA.

Upcoming ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions through October
Check the always updated webpage of Assistant Director Burlingame at n7cfo.com
August 15-17th Pacific Northwest DX Convention in Clackamas, OR
September 6th MARA 2025 Hamfest Wasilla AK (New location Wasilla Senior center)
September 13th Zero Retries Digital Conference in Everett.
October 11th ARRC Hamfest in Fairbanks, AK Bently Mall,
October 11th Pacific Northwest VHF Society Conference Wenatchee, WA
October 18th Swaptoberfest in Rickreall, OR
This list is only inclusive of those events that have applied for ARRL sanctioning. The rules for sanctioning have changed this year. If you are looking to sanction your event this year, or in the future, please review the new rules HERE.

73..
Mark J. Tharp KB7HDX
ARRL Director
Northwestern Division
kb7hdx@arrl.org
509-952-5764

And now some words of wisdom from Vice Director Sterba:
As Director Tharp pretty much covered all things from the board meeting, and since then I have not been to any events, I offer the following statistics.
Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):

Northwestern Division Membership:

• 10,391 (Decrease from 10,503)
• 62 (New)
• 42 (Lapsed that re-joined)

National Membership:

• 131,470 (Decrease from 132,533)

License Counts:

• 72,013 (Division total)
• 171 (New)
• 0 (Upgrades) (Reporting under maintenance)
• 744,126 (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

ARRL Northwestern Division
Director: Mark J Tharp, KB7HDX
kb7hdx@arrl.org

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 1^st 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 2^nd 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 18^th and 19^th 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 19^th – Kenai Peninsula Hamfest in Kenai (AK)
July 19^th -Richmond Amateur Radio Club Swap in Richland BC (Canada)
July 26^th – Chehalis Vally ARC Swap at the Southwest WA Fairgrounds, Chehalis (WA)
August 9^th – Idaho State convention in Post Falls Idaho
August 15-17^th 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

Greetings fellow Northwestern division members.
May is almost behind us and with that comes June and the yearly gathering in beautiful Sea-Side Oregon for the ARRL Northwestern Division Convention. This year we are honored to have ARRL 1^st Vice President Kristen McIntyre, K6WX, joining us for the weekend. Along with her, other ARRL officials including, 2^nd VP Ritz, NW VD Sterba, ARRL Director of marketing Bob Inderbitzen and myself will be around to visit with members. The event kicks off Friday morning with day tracks and the main event opens Saturday morning.

Our Keynote speaker for the Saturday night banquet this year is none other than Gordon West, WB6NOA. Gordon will also be around for the full weekend so you can visit with him. Full event information can be found at www.seapac.org I hope to see many of you there.

Scholarships scholarships scholarships.
The ARRL Foundation has been very busy this past month working through this years scholarship applications. As I have mentioned before this is a very rewarding part of the job.

ARRL Renews Defense of the 902-928 MHz Amateur Radio Band
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® in a recent filing encouraged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to listen to industry stakeholders about the detrimental impacts that changes to the 902-928 MHz band would have for current users.

The FCC is considering a petition by NextNav, Inc., a licensee in the 900-MHz Location and Monitoring Service (LMS), to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band to obtain more spectrum for itself and replace the LMS with high-power 5G cellular and related positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services that would supplement GPS. ARRL filed comments opposing NextNav’s proposal in September 2024.

Read more: NextNav’s proposal on ARRL News (8/15/2024)
Read more: ARRL Defends 902-928 Amateur Radio Band (9/12/2024) 

Lewis & Clark Trail On the Air
LCTOTA started in 2022 with a group of us from Clark Co Amateur Radio Club in Vancouver WA. A few of us are very interested in what Lewis & Clark accomplished. With most of us being active contesters we thought it would be fun to start this type of event and tie history and amateur radio together. Once the committee was formed, we were up and running.

LCTOTA has over 30 clubs across 16 states that Lewis & Clark travelled through. They will be activating starting May 31 and going through June 15. If participators can contact one club in each state that state is counted as a contact. Those who want a certificate can purchase one for contacting all 16 states or a certificate for contacting from one to 15 states. To see the certificates go to LCTOTA.org. If for some reason you are not able to contact one state, we have 2 bonus stations set up. You can contact one bonus station and use it place of one state.

We are in the planning stages again for 2025 and things are coming together. We anticipate another good year as we grow each year.

Join us May 31 to June 15 for Lewis & Clark Trail On the Air.

73, Marilyn, AF7MM

LCTOTA.org

N7YRC Group Swapmeet
April 12^th was the Swapmeet in Union Gap. This event has moved around on the calendar over the years but continues to have a decent following. It’s located at the Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management which just so happens to be adjacent to the Yakima Valley Mall. It’s also walking distance to Cabela’s so no matter who the Ham is in the family, there is something for the other to do at the same time. Make a day of it next year and come visit us here in Yakima. EWA SM Whitney and I would love to see you here in our home town. PS we have lunch on site as well.

Kamiah Hamfest
On April 19^th EWA SM Whitney and I made the trip to Kamiah ID and joined in with the Hamfest. This was my third visit to this event and I would encourage anyone in the area to join next year. They put on a really good Hamfest and they made the best Bratwurst for lunch, as well and burgers and dogs. The drive to Kamiah that time of the year is spectacular and you can not beat the hospitality of the local ham community.

Spokane Hamfest and Washington State Convention
April 26 in Spokane was the Wa State Convention. Attendance was great this year given a date change as well as venue. EWA SM Whitney and I were there representing the ARRL. Past Director Fenstermaker was also on hand most of the day. The new location worked fine although it was a bit crowded at times. I saw some chatter about folks not knowing about it however it was posted in our newsletters as well as being on the ARRL website and the “infamous” N7CFO list of events. Now that the new date has been set hopefully next year everyone will know about it.

ARRL Second Board of Directors Meeting:
July 18^th and 19^th 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 Hamfests and Conventions through July, as you can see, it’s a busy two months:
Check the always updated webpage of Assistant Director Burlingame at n7cfo.com
May 30, 31 and June 1^st – SEAPAC, the Northwestern Division Convention (Sea Side OR)
June 6, 7 and 8 – Wenatchee Hamfest in Dryden (WA)
June 14^th – Port Ludlow ARC Tailgate (WA West side)
June 14^th – Inland Empire VHF Swapmeet, Spokane (WA East side)
July 18-19 and 20 – Glacier Waterton Hamfest in East Glacier (MT)
July 19^th – Kenai Peninsula Hamfest in Kenai (AK)
July 19^th -Richmond Amateur Radio Club Swap in Richland BC (Canada)
July 26^th – Chehalis Vally ARC Swap at the Southwest WA Fairgrounds, Chehalis (WA)

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 weather is transitioning through spring and it’s a great time to
inspect and maintain our station for the upcoming seasons. As a
reminder, if you plan on setting up additional antenna systems or
upgrade to new band or power capabilities, don’t forget to resurvey
these for RF safety compliance. The ARRL offers a free RF Calculator for
your convenience at: https://www.arrl.org/rf-exposure-calculator

As always, SAFETY First!

The last few weeks I have been focusing less on official events and more
on localized gatherings. Our grassroots amateur radio community plays a
vital role in shaping the hobby, often driving local exposure through
passionate volunteer efforts. Unlike larger organizational gatherings,
these small, community-based groups thrive on local engagement and can
quickly respond to varying needs. Their strength lies in mobilizing
individuals with shared goals, making them valuable allies in broader
efforts and offering unique, ground-level insights that has a positive
impact.

The mood at each gathering was positive and relaxed. One area of
positivity shared on several occasions was surrounding the 4/14/25
Filing of Comments Responding to FCC Request for Input. If you hadn’t
read through this, it’s worth the look to understand direction being
promoted on behalf of our community. Concerns shared focused mostly on
local activities with the League being the cornerstone how to gain
understanding toward challenges and change. I found the perspectives
refreshing and refocusing emphasizing the importance of representative
roles like Director Tharp’s and I hold. Without the balancing input from
these face-to-face interactions, we take on the chance of missing what
is truly important.

My upcoming tasking, among other things, is to attend the SEA-PAC Hamfest & ARRL
Northwestern Division Convention. My hope is that I get to have a chance
to interact with as many of you as I can. Bring your voice so I can
better represent each of you.

Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):

Northwestern Division Membership:
* 10,628 (Decrease from 10,702)
* 84 (New)
* 63 (Lapsed that re-joined)

National Membership:
* 134,529 (Decrease from 135,468)

License Counts:
* 71,878 (Division total)
* 221 (New)
* 0 (Upgrades) (Reporting under maintenance)
* 742,285 (National total)

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

KB7HDX-Mark J. Tharp

Hello Northwestern Division and welcome to October, almost.

MARA Hamfest: (Matanuska Amateur Radio Association, KL7JFU)

It was a great day in Alaska for the MARA hamfest on September 7th in Wasilla. This was my second time to this event and what a great group of hams they have. I got the full tour of the club’s ARES trailer this time. They have two trailers, a well modified car trailer and a tower trailer. It was good to see some old friends and meet new ones.

ARRL system update:

Work continues restoring systems at ARRL. DXCC, which has many “moving parts” if you will, is one of those. I talked with the DXCC desk this morning and was told the light is now on at the end of the tunnel and that is encouraging. Like with LoTW, the data is secure, but it is the complicated interface between DXCC, LoTW and membership records (so the award system knows who you are) and having all that talk correctly and function under the new protection software. Watch the ARRL web for updates as they are posted.

ARRL Club Grants:

Applications for the 2024 ARRL Club Grants program are now being reviewed (the application period closed July 26, 2024). The application window is normally open from June to July.

ARRL Field Services Manager Mike Walters, W8ZY, said 110 grant applications have been received and the awards will be announced in late November. “Grants are available up to $25,000 and emphasis is given to projects that are transformative in nature,” said Walters.
Examples of projects include but are not limited to getting on the air projects, ham training and skills development through mentoring, STEM and STEAM learning through amateur radio, station resources for use by the ham community, and emergency communications and public service projects that emphasize training.
“Since 2022, $500,000 has been distributed to amateur radio clubs,” said Walters. “With this year’s awards, that total will increase to $1,000,000 awarded. If your club is interested in applying for these grants, check the information page at https://www.arrl.org/club-grant-program. (these grants are administered by the ARRL Foundation.)

ARRL Foundation Scholarships:

Three new scholarships are being added this year. The ARRL Foundation board is finalizing the details and they will be available for the 2025 applicants. The application process will open in October and close in January 2025. You can read more about the program on the ARRL web at http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-descriptions (note, the website will be updated soon to show specific dates)

900 MHz: ARRL files comments

ARRL® The National Association for Amateur Radio® has filed comments [PDF] with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging that the 902 – 928 MHz amateur radio band be protected. ARRL joins hundreds of licensed radio amateurs who utilize the band in opposing a proposal from NextNav Inc., a licensee in the 900-MHz Location and Monitoring Service (LMS), to completely reconfigure the 902 – 928 MHz band and replace the LMS with high-powered 5G cellular and related location services.

Hamfest sanctioning:

Good news! The Hamfest sanctioning page on the ARRL web is back and functioning normally. Staff is once again getting these out of the system, and, they can post the events on the ARRL web again. We are down to only a few left this year here in the Northwestern Division, but if your group has an event next year, do not forget to fill out the paperwork!

Club Updates:

It is getting closer to the end of the year, and most clubs are starting the election process for officers. Remember to update your information on the ARRL web for your group. The listed contact person should have access to edit this information. If you run into trouble, you can contact your Affiliated Club Coordinator, Section Manager, or myself and we would be glad to help.

Washington State QSO Party, AKA “The Salmon Run”: September 21-22

Get ready to hit the airwaves on September 21-22 as participants from across Washington State, the country, and around the world join in the excitement in the Washington State QSO Party – the Salmon Run. From Washington work as many WA stations, US States, Canadian Provinces, and DX entities as possible to peak your score and earn awards. Travel to far off counties and experience the fun of being the big one no one wants to miss! Combine your activities with SOTA and POTA to maximize the fun.
Now’s the perfect time to fill out the County Activation Form. Even if you’re a fixed station operating part-time, letting us know your plans helps mobiles and expeditions target those hard-to-reach counties.
Although this year’s rule changes are minimal—mainly aligning Canadian multipliers with other QSO parties—it’s always smart to update your logging program and give it a test run. Whether you use N1MM, N3FJP, or SkookumLogger, Writelog, or another application, take a few minutes to create a mock Salmon Run log and run through a few QSOs. Familiarize yourself with your exchange and class, especially if you’ll be operating mobile or portable on a less familiar setup.
We’ve got some fantastic awards lined up again this year, including Smoked Salmon (for participants outside of WA), Sweeps Glasses for those earning the elusive clean sweep of all WA counties, and plaques for top finishers.
If you’re planning to operate from multiple counties, drop us a line at salmonrun@wwdxc.org. We can help you streamline the process instead of filling out the form multiple times.
Thanks to Justin, K5EM for this info.

Oregon Section News: Scott Rosenfeld, N7JI

Hi everyone –

I went through Section Manager training at ARRL HQ this weekend. This visit reinforced my understanding of the Section Manager’s role, and my role.

Section Managers, and prior to that term, Section Communication Managers, have existed since 1926. I am here to help ARRL members in Oregon. I am here to build ARRL membership in Oregon. I am here to involve Oregon’s youth in Amateur Radio. I believe that we do this by making ARRL membership more useful and relevant to Oregon’s ham radio community.
We presently have about 21,000 hams in Oregon.
We have only 3,500 ARRL members in Oregon.
That’s only one in six.
I am positive that ARRL membership can be valuable to more than 17% of Oregon’s hams. We as members must explain to non-members why ARRL membership would be beneficial to them.
We are all ARRL’s ambassadors.
I am honored to be able to serve this role, and to do the best job I can to serve all of you and the organization.
I hope to see you all at Rickreall on October 19. I hope to get to visit your club meetings, in person or via electronic means. I hope you will consider participating in the growth of ARRL by volunteering.

The ARRL Oregon section is actively looking for

A Public Information Coordinator.
Multiple Public Information Officers.
Club Youth Development Officers.

PLEASE get in contact with me if you like the idea of working with the media or in teaching ham radio to Oregon’s youth. If you have comments, questions, complaints, or concerns, please let me know. Please let me know how I can help to enhance your experience as an Oregon ham and/or ARRL member.

Scott N7JI
ARRL Oregon SM
n7ji@arrl.org
541-221-2475

Confirmed ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions: (that we know about, see below)
September 21st Kenai Peninsula Moosehorn ARC Hamfest Kenai AK https://al7le.org/hamfest-2024/
October 12th Arctic ARC Hamfest at the Bentley Mall Event Facility, Fairbanks AK. http://www.kl7kc.com
October 19th Swaptoberfest 2024 at Polk Co. Fairgrounds, Rickreall OR. https://swaptoberfest.com (NOTE This is an updated web address)
October 19th Kitsap County ARC Hamfest, Bremerton, WA. https://kcarc.org/hamfest
March 8th 2025 Mike and Key ARC Swapmeet, Pulallup WA http://www.mikeandkey.org/flea.php
April 12th 2025 N7YRC Tailgate, Yakima Office of Emergency Management Union Gap WA

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 Tharp, KB7HDX
Northwestern Division Director
kb7hdx@gmail.com

Northwestern News
Volume one, September 2024

Hello Northwestern Division and welcome to “Almost September”

Idaho State Convention:
August started with a great Hamfest combined with the Idaho State Convention over in Post Falls. The weather turned out to be fantastic with a break in the temperature and the turnout was good, close to 300 participants. ARRL was well represented by (left to right in below photo) Idaho ASM Ailport, Director Tharp, HVP Fenstermaker, VD Sterba, and Idaho Past SM Stuckey who all greeted and engaged members and had a great time. (and they had a “599” pulled pork sandwich available for lunch)

This event had active demonstrations and representations from various emergency communication groups, satellite communications, VNA measuring, and VE testing. We noticed attendees of all age groups with entire families attending. Many thanks to all the individuals for their tireless volunteer hours makings this a fun and interesting event.

PNWDX Convention:
The following weekend, August 9-11 was the PNW DX Convention held in Everett, WA. hosted by the Western Washington DX Club. 130 or so fellow DXers and contesters from in and out of the Northwestern Divison gathered and took in a full day of presentations. A highlight of the day was a live tour via ZOOM of the ship at the N5J, Jarvis Island DX-pedition. Two of the “remote” operators, teenage brothers Angus KJ7KOJ and Ewan, KK7EXT were logged into the station on Jarvis from the back of the convention room. The ZOOM tour included a shot of the computer they were connected to making FT8 contacts from the Island. We believe this was perhaps the first time not only a live tour from a DX-pedition was done at a convention but also a first where a remote operator was also in the room.

Along with all that happened during the weekend, 2^nd VP Ritz and I took the opportunity, on behalf of President Roderick, K5UR, to present Vice Director Sterba with his Certificate and lapel pin which should have happened at the July Board Meeting. If you remember from last month, we had some “travel issues” and Michael was not able to make the meeting. It was a surprise to him and an honor for me to present it.

ARRL system update:
As many of you have read in the last update that went out on Wednesday the 21^st, most of the systems are back up and running, including the contest page. It is up to date and working normally. DXCC is, as of this writing, still having an interface issue with LoTW and the member database. HQ staff has reiterated this is one of the top priorities for the IT folks. An updated notice is on the main LoTW page on the left side and is included below.

Aug 20, 2024: ARRL Service Disruption – Current estimated DXCC System restoration has been extended – more files affected by Cyber Attack require attention! —

The ARRL Awards System has (3) flow processes:  One process is Logbook; one process is Paper Applications by Mail; and the last process bring Logbook and Paper Applications together in a Master DXCC Processing System.  At present, while the Logbook program is now allowing customers to submit/complete Award applications online (this began about July 1st), the Master DXCC Processing System remains offline, therefore we are not yet able to fully complete final processing of any DXCC applications at this time.  As soon as the Master DXCC Processing System is back on line, we can then finish the final processing of Paper or Logbook applications received.

Worked All States (WAS) applications, endorsement stickers and certificates are able to be processed and certificates are able to be printed and mailed, as they do not flow through the Master DXCC Processing System. 

VUCC applications are being processed and completed, certificates and endorsement stickers are being mailed. 

Please also note that as the “Online DXCC” application system is not yet operational – it too is tied to the Master DXCC Processing System currently offline.

Here I come Alaska:
The MARA Hamfest in Big Lake Alaska is on the 7^th of September and I am looking forward to seeing all the Anchorage, Wasilla, and surrounding area Hams again this year.

ARRL Foundation:
The ARRL Foundation has started the review process of the 110 club grant applications received this year. I am on the review committee along with 8 others. We are targeting the end of September to have all our scoring done and then final review will be done by the full committee. The foundation has five-hundred thousand dollars to award this year.

900 MHz:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) accepted for public comment a Petition for Rulemaking filed by NextNav Inc., a licensee in the 900-MHz Location and Monitoring Service (LMS), to completely reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band and replace the LMS with high-powered 5G cellular and related location services.

The FCC Notice requested comment on the effects that NextNav’s proposals would have on amateur radio operations in the band. ARRL® The National Association for Amateur Radio® is preparing comments urging protection of existing and future amateur uses in this band and urges all amateurs to file their own comments describing their activities in this band and the expected effect of the proposed changes. Click here for a guide to filing comments.
The full ARRL news story can be found here: 900 MHz news story

“W1AW QSY”
If you missed the notice, the W1AW CW bulletin transmissions on the 17-meter band will QSY to 18077.5 starting on September 6^th to avoid other activity on the band.

Perseid Meteor Shower:
Vice Director Sterba notes, “I did manage to squeak out a little time for some fun trying my hand at MSK-144 during the Perseid Meteor Shower. While I’m by no means a big gun, I did have success at the 700-800 mile range on 6 Meters. If you have interest in this or other modes used on VHF/UHF, please peek at the web pages for PNW VHF Society  http://pnwvhfs.org/ . This group has a wealth of experience and information.”

That is about it for this month. As always, if you have questions or comments, please feel free to email or call either of us.

***REMINDER*** The system at HQ taking Hamfest sanctioning requests is not functioning and notifying HQ staff. If your club has applied after the attack in May, it has not been seen. The system does email you back a reply with your information. If you have that, but have not heard anything from ARRL HQ, please forward me the email and I will get things back on track for you. Sorry for the inconvenience

Confirmed ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions: (that we know about, see above)

August 24^th Kenai Peninsula HAMFEST, Kenai, AK. https://al7le.org/hamfest-2024

September 7^th, MARA 2024 Hamfest in Bik Lake AK. http://kl7jfu.com

October 19^th, Swaptoberfest 2024 at Polk Co. Fairgrounds, Rickreall OR. https://swaptoberfest.com (NOTE This is an updated web address)

October 19^th, Kitsap County ARC Hamfest, Bremerton, WA. https://kcarc.org/hamfest

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.. from both of us.

Mark J. Tharp – KB7HDX
ARRL Director
Northwestern Division
kb7hdx@arrl.org
509-952-5764

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

***NOTE This letter is being sent direct from ARRL HQ, not out of our normal email system. Michael and I have been posting to the NW Division website during this system disruption and past issues of the newsletter are available there. Or here: https://arrlnwdiv.org/arrl-news/ see links on the right hand side.***

Hello Northwestern Division and welcome to August. Well, it is still July as I write this, but close enough.

Last month (July) was busy and hectic with preparations for the ARRL Board of Directors meeting, committee meetings, and airline travel. Who would have thought a rogue line of code could disrupt almost the entire airline system. Getting to the East coast was easy enough, however coming home was a real mess. We managed to squeeze everything into Friday for the board meeting, mostly due to collaboration in the halls of the hotel, and some preliminary work before the meeting, which made it all flow very smooth. Unfortunately, by the time the closing bell was rung, it was too late to make flight changes and we were too far into the weekend Crowdstrike/Microsoft mess. My return flight Sunday morning was cancelled at 7:30 Saturday night with a next available flight home not showing until Wednesday. Long story short, by booking individual flights on other airlines, I managed to get home at 8 pm Monday night. I went through security in CT Sunday morning about 8 am and aside from three hours at a hotel in Minneapolis it was a 34 hour stay inside the airports. Finally arriving into Pasco at 6 PM for a two-hour drive back to Yakima. Vice Director Sterba unfortunately did not make it as his Thursday flight out of Seattle was scrubbed and the next available option was Friday afternoon. That would have been after most of the board meeting had concluded as Saturday sessions are normally short days. He and I talked about it and decided it was best to just stay home. That turned out to be a good call as he would have been smack dab in the middle of the airline delays on Friday.

A brief member bulletin went out after the meeting with a summary of what took place. For those who may have missed that, the highlights are here:

Strategy

The Board unanimously accepted a report establishing a 3-year strategy for ARRL, and recognized the efforts of the Strategy Working Group. They authorized CEO David A. Minster, NA2AA, to proceed with further planning.

The report included a revised mission statement: ARRL’s mission is to promote and protect the art, science, and enjoyment of amateur radio, and to develop the next generation of radio amateurs.

The strategy articulates continued commitment and enhancements to our existing advocacies:

o Promoting Amateur Radio

o Protecting Amateur Radio

A new advocacy is being created, committing ARRL to develop the next generation of radio amateurs through the expansion of existing programs and the creation of curriculum-based initiatives targeted at middle and high school STEM education programs:

o Inspiring and Educating Youth

The strategy calls for investments in Information Technology to continue along the path of ARRL’s Digital Transformation. This will include evaluating membership models, content delivery methods, and next generation software products along with the infrastructure improvements required to support them:

o Serving Members and Driving Growth Through Technology

In committing to dramatically expanding our capabilities and activities in the STEM education space and investing in upgrades and additions to our Information Technology platform, we recognize that revenue from membership dues is insufficient to fund these initiatives. In fact, dues contribute less than half the revenue required to operate ARRL. Efforts are required to develop new sources of revenue and seek support from donors and grants from both public and private organizations:

o Expanding Our Means and Financial Capability

The Board requested the President establish the ARRL Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC), acknowledging the importance of providing information technology-based services to ARRL members, and to improve and protect ARRL systems. The ITAC will engage experts in the field of IT to help oversee the development, operations, and evolution of the ARRL IT system infrastructure and applications.
The Board reassigned the Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) Maintenance Committee to the newly established Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC). ITAC will support the Maintenance Committee’s responsibilities with LoTW® development, including technical changes and future upgrades to the system.

Advocacy

The Board recommended and authorized the creation of additional publications, including books and online resources, and products, such as antenna kits, to help expand ARRL’s commitment to help hams who are faced with limits on station building capabilities due to space limitations and/or limited resources.

Governance

The Board requested that the President appoint a study group to review the current structure of ARRL governance and the Field Organization and suggest changes that would improve the organization and better support the membership.
The Board requested that the President establish an ad hoc committee to review the ARRL Director’s Workbook and establish an annual review process to keep the document up to date with Board practice and procedure.
The Board approved expanding the policy for recording roll call votes to being required for any pending motions pertaining to ARRL governance documents.

Trademarks

Following recent review of ARRL’s trademarks and the completion of related registrations and trademark renewals, the Board requested the CEO to provide a report at its next meeting consisting of efforts and actions taken during 2024 to identify, remedy, and protect the use of its trademarks by other parties.

Other items were recognition of award recipients, updates from the ARRL Foundation, updates from IARU, and updates from RAC, Radio Amateurs of Canada. We have always welcomed a representative to these meetings from RAC.

The full minutes will be posted after final approval by the board soon.

HAMFEST APPLICATIONS:

As a result of the recent IT system disruption, the process for ARRL sanctioning of a Hamfest or Convention applications is in a state of limbo, meaning, if you apply, it will look like it worked, however, nothing comes back out of the system to HQ staff and they do not have the ability to look inside the program at this time. The MARA hamfest in Big Lake AK on September 7th and Swaptoberfest in Rickreall OR on October 19th were both stuck. They have since been processed and are indeed sanctioned events. The other component here is the online listing of hamfests and convention on the ARRL webpage. It is not currently accessible to be updated. The N7CFO events calendar is up to date and the link is at the bottom of this letter. If your club or group has applied for sanctioning and not seen a reply from HQ, this is why. Have your event coordinator send me an email or call, and we can work around the non-functioning system.

DXCC and LoTW

As noted last month, LoTW is back up and working as it should, DXCC however is still offline. The online application page is still being worked on at HQ and the although the application process within LoTW looks like it’s doing its job, no DXCC applications are able to be processed at HQ. I would encourage anyone with recent matches on LoTW to hold off making an award application until the backlog is worked through and in a normal state. Paper DXCC applications can be checked by a ARRL card checker; however, those paper applications will also go into a growing larger by the day backlog. As of this writing, I do not have a return to service date for DXCC.

We do have DXCC card checking scheduled for the upcoming PNW DXConvention in Everett on the weekend of the 9th and 10th August and would like to ask those who would like to have cards checked, to understand the situation.

Confirmed ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions: (that we know of, see above):

August 3rd KARS, ARRL Idaho State Convention http://k7id.org
August 9 -11th Pacific Northwest DX Convention https://pacificnwdxconvention.com
September 7th, MARA 2024 Hamfest in Bik Lake AK. http://kl7jfu.com
October 19th, Swaptoberfest 2024 at Polk Co. Fairgrounds, Rickreall OR. https://swaptoberfest.org

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

+++++++++

From the shack of Vice Director Sterba:

Hello Northwestern Division and welcome to the month of August!

As of this writing I’m getting prepared to attend the Idaho State Convention in Post Falls and the following weekend at the Pacific Northwest DX Convention. If you are planning on attending either event, please reach out and say hello. These events are excellent opportunities

to meet and gain better understandings.

Due to events that unfolded impacting the airlines, I unfortunately was not able to attend the last board meeting in Newington. This was a great disappointment for me as I was looking forward to working one on one with the greater team. In lieu of my attendance I communicated inputs to various leaders to ensure your voices were heard. Also, a quick shout out to Director Tharp for his guidance on how to best handle situations like this.

In addition to the above, I did have the opportunity to attend the Oregon Section Meeting and it was great seeing many who I known for years. During this, I was reminded of the complexities of providing communication services in the Pacific Northwest with our volatile fire conditions. Over the years each state has faced intensifying challenges thus making our service as communication volunteers increasingly difficult. Please keep yourselves safe while serving and volunteering.

Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):

Northwestern Division Membership:

Reporting paused for system restoration

National Membership:

Reporting paused for system restoration

License Counts:

• 71,981 (Division total)
• 744,685 (National total)

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 Safe, Be Positive, as your voice carries

73,

Michael A. Sterba, KG7HQ
ARRL Vice Director

Mark J. Tharp, KB7HDX
ARRL Director
Northwestern Division
kb7hdx@arrl.org

July is upon us and the second half of 2024 has begun. Many hamfests are now in the books for the year along with Field Day. I hope your group had a good experience this year.
As most are aware, ARRL had a serious disruption to its IT network and as of this writing, several systems are still being worked on. Contrary to “popular belief” the league does not operate on a single instance of Microsoft server 2016. (yes, that was sarcasm) LoTW for example operates on its own server however does have to connect to the member database, so it knows you are a member, and it also must talk to the DXCC system, to make sure all your contacts are credited to your account. All of which are on different servers that are being worked on. We also have the database for clubs and field services which talk back and forth with the member database.
As of this writing, LoTW has been switched back on and is working normally. It did take a few days to catch up on all the uploads but is running at a normal processing time.
The board has been meeting weekly during all this, receiving updates from CEO Minster, CFO Middleton, and others as required.
If you run into any issues with various systems, feel free to email me about it, or call member services and they can help. They can be reached at 860-594-0200.
Members in this Division have been very understanding for the most part during this and that is appreciated.

The ARRL Foundation has finalized the scholarships awards for this season and the recipients should be notified process should be underway anytime. We had a great group of applicants this year.
The ARRL Foundation Club Grant program application deadline is coming up soon. This is a opportunity for clubs to apply for up to 25K in funding for projects. The window for these grants closes on July 26th at 4PM eastern time.

Confirmed ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions:
July 20th Chehalis, WA Valley ARS Tailgate Swap https://cvars.org/Swapmeet_2024.pdf
July 20th Coos County Radio Club hamfest / swap http://www.coosradioclub.net
August 3rd KARS, ARRL Idaho State Convention http://k7id.org
August 9 -11th Pacific Northwest DX Convention 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 shack of Vice Director Sterba

Hello Northwestern Division,

Welcome to the month of July! I’m settling in and unpacking from another
fun ARRL Field Day event with friends. I’m hoping this writing is
greeting each of you with similar happy experiences and memories.

Reflecting across the decades, this annual celebration of technique has
demonstrated our capacity and capability to operate under the demand of
highly variable scenarios. It also fosters good will, enhanced civic
interaction, and public relations. It is this sense of community where
people are inspired to get involve. We publicly demonstrate the art of
amateur radio while enjoying the open learning opportunity to fine tune
our understandings surrounding the art of two-way communication.

I was recently reminded of the importance of our annual ARRL sponsored
event. During a recent swapmeet, a woman approached the ARRL table I was
manning. She was gathering a current band plan and a couple items about
ARES as she was getting ready to take her exam. As we chatted about her
interests in math, science, and being a school teacher, she reached into
her bag and pulled her grandfather’s QST from January 1952 which was the
cost of 40 cents. The Northwestern Division Director back then was R.
Rex Roberts (W7CPY) and Vice Director was Karl W. Weingarten (W7BG). I
apologize in that I digressed. She flipped to the center of the journal
where an old yellowed QSL card sat and pulled it out and asked if I knew
this person. The callsign on the card was N7KWU…

Now before you run off and look that up in the FCC database, it was my
card from the late 1980’s in which I wrote “Eyeball QSL – Thank you for
helping operate the WA7LAW FD Station, Legion Park, Everett, WA –
6/24/1989”. I remember giving this to a curious and very young
bright-eyed girl who was there with her visiting grandfather.

Folks, I’m not a professional writer and honestly have a tough time
articulating experiences that demonstrate how important amateur radio
still is and how much relevancy it can have going into the future.
Inspiring young people into two-way communications starts with kindness,
openness, and yes, sometimes a little pixie dust. We set the tone by how
we openly share, demonstrating the positives publicly while working
forward behind the scenes to open new and exciting opportunities.
Positivity is contagious!

After a wonderful time at SEAPAC, I enjoyed attending the Apple City ARC
Hamfest in Dryden, Washington. This annual camping/tailgate event
continues to offer a relaxed family friendly setting with hidden
transmitter hunts, lectures, VE Testing and of course all those
treasures while all under the open skies of Eastern Washington. The
dialogs and exchanges of ideas were rich and timely as I start
preparations for the upcoming ARRL Board Meeting later this month.

Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):

Northwestern Division Membership:

• Reporting paused for system restoration

National Membership:

• Reporting paused for system restoration

License Counts:

• 72,210 (Division total)
• 747,987 (National total)

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 Safe, Be Positive, as your voice carries

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

Welcome to June Northwestern Division!

Jo and I attended the Spout Springs swap meet in Kennewick (WA) on the
4th. It was a rainy day at times, but overall turned out great. Good
attendance and it was nice to see folks from that area.

Boise Idaho held a Hamfest on the 11th which I was not able to make but
reports are that it was well attended and a good time was had by all.

Northwestern Division Convention
SEA-PAC was another success this year. President Roderick along with
others staffed the ARRL booth and a good time was had by all. At the
forum, among other things, we received an update on CSI (Clean Signal
Initiative) from 2nd VP Ritz and we brought in Director Stratton from
the West Gulf Division via ZOOM for an update on the legislation we have
been working on to allow antennas in HOAs.

The weekend of the 8th of June, was the Wenatchee Hamfest and the
weather was fantastic. Apple Valley ARC did its normal great job and it
is sure nice to go to an event that has food! Hard to beat a BBQ Ribs
and pulled pork and brisket dinner for 10 bucks! N7CFO even made
homemade Raspberry and Strawberry Ice Cream Friday and Saturday nights!

On to serious matters, as most are aware, the ARRL was the unfortunate
target of a cyber attack on or about the 12th of May. Updates are being
posted on the ARRL web as they become available and I have been using
alternate ways to push those out as I can including the use of various
club reflectors and a few Facebook pages as well as our division
webpage. Your patience is appreciated during all this and with time and
lots of continued work by staff we should have everything back to normal
very soon.

The student and youth membership program is fully active now. If you
know a young amateur (under the age of 26) they can join the league for
only 30 dollars per year. Better yet, is a FREE membership for those
still in school and under the age of 21. (this is an associate
membership so not eligible to vote in ARRL elections)

The Life membership option is back with changes. See the ARRL web for
details.

REMINDER
Registration is now open for the PNW DX Convention which will be held on
August 9th 10th and 11th in Everett, WA.
https://pacificnwdxconvention.com/ This is always a great event. For
those new in the group, the convention rotates around the Division.
WWDXC (Seattle) WVDXC (Portland) SDXA (Spokane) and ORCA (Vancouver BC)
are the hosting groups.

This has been a busy month with all that is going on. And we have an
upcoming board meeting in July Michael and I will be attending. I
don’t expect to have another letter out until after that meeting.
I hope everyone has a great month and fun Field Day which is around the
corner.

Confirmed ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions:
July 20th Chehalis, WA Valley ARS Tailgate Swap
https://cvars.org/Swapmeet_2024.pdf
July 20th Coos County Radio Club hamfest / swap
http://www.coosradioclub.net
August 3rd KARS, ARRL Idaho State Convention http://k7id.org
August 9 -11th Pacific Northwest DX Convention
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 shack of Vice Director Sterba

Hello Northwestern Division,

Welcome to the month of June! Time fly’s when we are having so much
enjoyment on the air. On May 10th, we were greeted with a category G5
geomagnetic storm which was noted to be the most extreme in 20 years.
While the lower HF band propagation was decimated, 10 meters and above
came alive with aurora (AU) conditions. It was both amazing and
rewarding to work through the challenges that this propagation type
presents.

I had the privilege of attending the Stanwood / Camano Island Annual
Electronic Flea Market and hamfest and am happy to report a great
turnout with all sellers’ tables filled, high attendance levels and a
highly successful VE session to boot! I had well over a dozen
individuals visit the ARRL table seeking information about amateur radio
and how to proceed forward to achieve licensing. I mention this as the
visitors ranged from teen through retiree aged, balanced between male
and female. Through my decades as Assistant Director manning tables, I
had never experienced this magnitude of interest from such a wide range
which was inspirational. My hope is that the knowledge shared has
planted the seeds encouragement for them to continue forward into the
art and hobby.

As of this writing, I’m attending the ARRL Northwestern Division
Conference at SEAPAC. A heartfelt shoutout for the hosts and all the
volunteers who selflessly make this event possible. Observing all the
efforts reminds me of a choreographed production with each individual
playing a critical supporting role. To each, THANK YOU! An additional
shoutout to our ARRL staff who spent long hours assisting with member
services and fielding challenging questions.

Director Tharp and I received additional support at the ARRL table from
President Rick Roderick, K5UR, 2nd Vice President Mike Ritz, W7VO,
visiting Dakota Director Bill Lippert, AC0W and Section Managers Jo
Whitney KA7LJQ ,& Bob Purdom AD7LJ. The experience they brought greatly
enhanced our abilities to field some of the more challenging thoughts
shared by our members. It is enjoyable to interact and learn from this
team while serving the many attendees who visited.

Speaking of the attendees… please accept a heartfelt thanks to each of
you who stopped by the ARRL table. It was personally enriching to be
able to meet and exchange experiences. I learned about early setups and
rare DX contacts while fielding concerns and questions. One individual
expressed the excitement from communicating with US politicians through
to Royalty from distant lands reminding me that you never know who you
will meet on the air. Each who I interacted with brought forth personal
histories of what amateur radio means with the reminder why it is so
important to support the ARRL’s efforts to advocate on your behalf.
Thank you for your continuing membership!

Populations at the time of this writing (Lagging Indicators):
Northwestern Division Membership:

• 11,545 (Decrease from 11,618)
• 81 (New)
• 53 (Lapsed that re-joined)

National Membership:

• 145,133 (Decrease from 146,265)
  License Counts:
• 72,285 (Division total)
• 230 (New)
• 155 (Upgrades)
• 748,352 (National total)

Reminder – This represents a great opportunity to educate about the ARRL

and member benefits!

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

ARRL Northwestern Division
Director: Mark J Tharp, KB7HDX
kb7hdx@arrl.org

What a busy month it has been. ARRL scholarship reviews, WWDXC meeting,
ARRL Clubs subcommittee meeting, N7YRC tailgate swap meet in Yakima,
Kamiah Hamfest in Idaho, ECFSC committee meeting, Trip to Denver for the
A&F meeting, a partial Solar eclipse, and a flat tire on my little
truck. Not to mention all the phone calls and email to and from members.
It’s great to talk with you all.

Registration is now open for the PNW DX Convention which will be held on
August 9th 10th and 11th in Everett, WA.
https://pacificnwdxconvention.com/ This is always a great event. For
those new in the group, the convention rotates around the Division.
WWDXC (Seattle) WVDXC (Portland) SDXA (Spokane) and ORCA (Vancouver BC)
are the hosting groups. Look below under CLUB news for additional
information from the club.

2024 7th District QSO Party (Thanks to Dink, N7WA, for the reminder and
below information)

I just want to remind you that the 18th Annual 7QP will run on Saturday,
May 4th, 2024. Based on number of logs received last year, 7QP is the
3rd largest QSO party in the United States.

Now is a good time to make plans for this year’s event.
This is a good contest for going out and putting a portable station on
the air, running mobile, or just sitting back in your chair at home.
Park and Summit on the Air (POTA/SOTA) activation’s are great ways to
get on.

It’s expected that 15m and 10m will be hot as we near the peak of the
solar cycle.

At www.7QP.org, you will find information including rules, planned
operations, awards, and history from the past 17 years. We would really
like to hear of any planned operations you may attempt.

If you have specific questions, you can contact Mike, N7WA at
n7wa@arrl.net
We hope you will join us for the 7th District QSO Party.

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

CLUB news (snippets from various club newsletters)

Thanks to Dink, N7WA for catching the latest FCC proposal that for some
reason slipped past the ARRL. I did receive a phone call about it so it
proves some people are reading the news. You can read the K7LED RELAY
here: https://www.mikeandkey.org/newsletter.php (keep in mind it was the
April edition)

The Western Washington DX Club is this year’s DX convention host.
Hosting rotates yearly between the four Pacific Northwest DX clubs. The
convention is August 9-11 at the Marriott Delta Hotel in Everett. One of
the presentations will be a live presentation by Don Greenbaum, N1DG, on
site from Jarvis Island during the DXpedition to Jarvis. When has that
ever happened at a convention? The Saturday Banquet keynote speaker will
be Robert Fanfant, N7QT, sharing the Clipperton TX5S DXpedition story.
An amusing presentation will be How NOT to Get in the Log by Brian
Moran, N9ADG, written in the Honiara airport as we were delayed 6 hours
on departure from H44WA. I will be presenting The Business End of
DXpeditions–It’s Only a Hobby! There will also be SOTA and POTA
presentations, as well as a contesting presentation by local top
contesters and club members, K7RL Mitch Mason and N7DX Tony Garland.
(Some of us finally get to meet them in person!) That is only part of
the line-up, as more will be added over the coming weeks.

Also, there will be evening Attitude Adjustment hours in one of the
hotel suites, as well as a Sunday breakfast with a presentation. Here is
the link to the Convention Registration Page. Staying all weekend for
the full convention is well worth it and highly recommended, though a la
carte options are available. We have a block of rooms reserved at a
special convention pricing. Reserve a room here before the specially
priced rooms are sold out.

EARLY BIRD convention rates through June 30. And a limited supply of
rooms at our convention rate!

73,
Robin, WA7CPA

Clearwater ARC celebrates its 50th year of ARRL affiliation!

They became ARRL affiliated on February 18th 1970. Ok, I get the fact
that math does not work considering its 2024, but just stay with me
here. Back in 2020, when it should have been recognized, it was the end
of February, and as I recall, we were at the beginning of the pandemic
and it seems the Clearwater club fell through the cracks. So,
congratulations are in order even if a few years late. I was able to
visit with several of the club members at the Hamfest on the 20th in
Kamiah Id. Also present were members of the 3 Rivers ARC along with
other amateurs from the area.

Confirmed ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions:
May 4th Spout Springs Repeater Association Swapmeet Richland, WA Flyer
in PDF
May 11th Southwest Idaho ARC Spring Hamfest
http://www.dosomethingradio.com
May 11th Stanwood Camano ARC Electronic Flea Market and Hamfest
https://www.scarcwa.org
May 31 – June 2nd ARRL Northwestern Division Convention “SEA-PAC”
https://www.seapac.org
June 7 – 9 Wenatchee, WA Hamfest https://www.applecityarc.com/events
June 8th Port Ludlow ARC Tailgater http://www.n7pl.org
July 20th Chehalis, WA Valley ARS Tailgate Swap
https://cvars.org/Swapmeet_2024.pdf
July 20th Coos County Radio Club hamfest / swap
http://www.coosradioclub.net
August 3rd KARS, ARRL Idaho State Convention http://k7id.org
August 9 -11th Pacific Northwest DX Convention
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 shack of Vice Director Sterba

Hello Northwestern Division,

Welcome to the month of May! Another month has passed with fun and
excitement both operating and representing. We had a solar eclipse on
April 9th which opened an opportunity to witness propagational effects
as the event cross the country. On the 19th we experienced a G3 (Strong)
Geomagnetic Storm impacting our HF bands and produced the opportunity
for AU conditions. We also had the Lyrids Meteor Shower on the 22nd and
23rd which produced an approximate 20 meteors per hour at its peak. I
mention these events as each represent unique opportunities to
experience amateur radio differently thus gaining additional enjoyment
and understanding how nature influences hobby.

During the course of the last couple of months I have had opportunities
to present at several clubs within the division. The first being the
Snohomish County Hams Club where I witnessed a vibrant group who at
their core were very active promoting amateur radio into their local
community. The second being the Radio Amateurs of Skagit County where I
observed membership spanning across multiple generations from founding
to new members representing five decades of diversity. Both clubs
supported active volunteer examinations, repeater systems, community
involvement, and promoting STEM initiatives in local schools.

In addition to my visits within the division, I have had the opportunity
to start attending several monthly ARRL Committee meetings as an
observer. These committees offer an organizational capability which is a
practical way to give order to the board’s purpose. In addition, they
also offer flexibility allowing the board to adapt to the fluctuating
needs and requirements surrounding ARRL concerns and amateur radio in
general. Having non-committee visitors from across the board allows for
transparency of what topics are being covered and the productively rich
dialogs navigating through the considerations. The best take away is
that each committee member is doing their best to represent their
constituents and the broader membership.

It is that time of year to mark your calendars and plan on attending the
ARRL Northwestern Division Conference hosted at SEAPAC, Seaside, Or.
This year’s event will be from 5/31/24 through 6/2/24 with over 30
different seminars to select from and of course the swap-meet to find
those treasures. There will be exhibitors with plenty of eye candy not
to mention the family friendly location so everyone can have an
enjoyable time. I’m personally looking forward to catching up with
each of you in person with the hopes that you bring your thoughts and
voice to share.

Division stats (Lagging Indicators):

At the time of this writing, the NW Division reported 11,618 members
which is .5% lower from the prior where we had 11,676.
New members joining in April totaled 81.
Members that re-joined after a lapse totaled 53.
Total new hams within the Northwestern Division were reported as 323
(This represents a great opportunity to educate about the ARRL and
member benefits!).
License class upgrades were 163.

National Stats:

At the time of this writing, the ARRL had 146,265 total members.
The number of Amateur licenses in the US was 751,147.

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

ARRL Northwestern Division
Director: Mark J Tharp, KB7HDX
kb7hdx@arrl.org