AARC History 1981

Officers Installed / DX Contest Commenced
At the Installation Dinner held in January of 1981 at the Bay Ridge Inn in Annapolis, the following persons took office: President Jim Suite/W3AAE, Vice President Jay Davis/W3HGV, Treasurer Jim Bortner/WA3UJE and Secretary Paul Gerhardt/KB3HH (now WG3J).  The year started with Club members engaged in an HF DX contest which ran for the entire month. Bill/K3CN won with 84,284 points.

Shack Opened on Weekends Starts & Ends
In March of 1981, in order to generate more interest among Club members in amateur operations, it was decided to open the Club shack on weekends for the use of any members who might like to come in and use the equipment.  There was not enough response from members to continue the practice, although any members may make arrangements to use the equipment, if they so desire. 

Public Service Events
In April the Club furnished communications for the Roedown Races, after installing the PA system for Cecil/W3IBC who stood by at home because he was too ill to attend.  May brought the annual Ride-a-Bike for the Retarded and the usual communications service by Club members.The Galleon Restaurant (Rt 2 at the South River Bridge) was the scene on May 21, 1981, of AARC's 30th Anniversary Dinner. About 90 persons attended, including many old-time Club members who came to renew old acquaintances.

Club Raft-Up
An unusual program was planned for the June 1981 program meeting. Members gathered on twelve boats of many sizes and shapes and proceeded to marker #4 at the entrance to White Hall Creek where they formed a large raft. 

Field Day 1981
The 1981 Field Day Exercises, with Dick Jessup/N3FN as coordinator, were held on the clubhouse grounds. All four stations used Drake TR-7 transceivers and ran low power from batteries charged by solar panels.  The Club was delighted and very proud to learn from the November QST that AARC came in first in the nation in the 4-A Battery Class with a total of 11,045 points.  Two of the TR-7s were on loan from the Drake Company.Members liked their performance so much that the Club voted to purchase one of them (at a very good price) for use as the centerpiece in the refurbished hamshack planned for the clubhouse. Dick/N3FN conducted a very successful fundraising drive to pay for the TR-7. 

The Ham Shack, Chesapeake Appreciation Days and Cecil/W3IBC
The "new" hamshack received an intense initiation in continuous operation during the 1981 CQ Worldwide DX Contest (phone portion over the weekend of Oct. 23th-25th).  Thanks to Gene/K3AOM the damaged 220-lead into the shack was restrung in time for the start of the contest.Cecil Hunter/W3IBC, a very active Club member, became quite ill with cancer. He for years had handled the PA system for Chesapeake Appreciation Days. So, for CA Days in 1981, Club members put up and manned the PA system for Cecil, in addition to handling the communications. Then on December 1, 1981, Cecil became a silent key.

More Public Service
Additional public service communications furnished in 1981 by AARC members included: the Baltimore Little League Carnival in August on Fort Ave. in South Baltimore, the Anne Arundel Firemen's Convention in August at Blob's Park near Fort Meade and the DFRC Bluegrass Festival in September. On December 15th Club members played Santa Claus on 2-meters for the children at North Arundel Hospital