On April 12, 2023, the Anne Arundel Radio Club (W3VPR) administered the Amateur Radio Exam to thirty-five midshipmen and one military instructor during a special testing session at the United States Naval Academy.  AARC is a member of the Laurel Amateur Radio Club Volunteer Examiner Coordinator, one of fourteen VECs that serve under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  The Laurel VEC was established in 1984.

Attached are the Special Event Stations for May. We start with the ARRL listing and resort by type of eventfor those searching for specific QSL cards or certificates.

Of note this month are three stations commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Radio Communication between the Netherlands and Indonesia, Indianapolis races, and a special event stations for commemorating a silent picture actress.

Good Hunting

Dear ARRL Affiliated Club,

This Monday, May 1, ARRL will launch a survey for members, encouraging their participation as we consider a dues increase.

The survey will include some short questions about raising dues and modifying the way some membership benefits are bundled. The survey will also include an opportunity for members to share their feedback.

The participation of every member is important. Please encourage all the ARRL members in your radio club to complete the survey in May.

The Nashua Area Radio Society's spring 2023 online Ham Bootcamp will be held on Saturday, May 13, from 10 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time. Access to the session will be provided via Zoom.

Ham Bootcamp includes a series of demonstrations and tutorials designed to help newly licensed Technician-, General-, and Extra-class license holders get on the air. Ham Bootcamp is also a great opportunity for hams who are interested in seeing what the hobby has to offer.

Get ready for amateur radio’s largest on-air operating event with official 2023 ARRL Field Day merchandise available for order now. T-shirts, hats, pins, patches, and stickers are a great way to show off your involvement in this annual event. This year’s colorful design features a globe centered on North America and the words “TUNE IN THE WORLD.” The back of the t-shirt includes a check-off list of ARRL and RAC Sections.

The ARRL News will not be on the W3VPR repeaters Friday, April 21 or Saturday, April 22.

Dave Earnest usually assures these announcements are available to the club, but is unable to do so this weekend due to other commitments. 

April 21st for MDC Section EchoLink Net every 3rd Friday of the month @ 8:00 PM ET, *WASH_DC* Node# 6154 and several local Maryland RF repeaters.  Thanks John, WB3GXW, for making available EchoLink server. Download, free-of-charge, http://echolink.org

The US Department of Defense (DoD) will host this year's Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test on May 13, 2023. This annual event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators and will not impact any public or private communications. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event.

The Anne Arundel Radio Club will be holding its annual General Class beginning Sunday, April 23. The Class is free and will be held over Zoom. The class begins at 1 pm and will run for several Sunday afternoons. To register, visit https://www.w3vpr.org/preregister

The only expense would be the ARRL textbook for the General license available from ARRL or Amazon. 

Attached in PDF are the special event stations for April.

We use the ARRL listings as a base, but because people may chase stations by topic, we sort them by topic and date.

Good hunting.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released a final version (March 2023) of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Functional Guidance. The guidance, which provides a framework for communications resources within incident management, officially includes support from amateur radio operators.

CALVERT ON THE AIR

We have linked to a history of amateur radio which is at available here. The articles are from w2pa.net (direct link).

As a note, Daylight Saving Time begins soon. Next week's Open Shack will be DST.

03/25/2023 - Fredfest
Location: Frederick, MD
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Frederick Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://frederickarc.org

04/23/2023 - Maryland Mobileers Spring Hamfest
Location: Odenton, MD
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Maryland Mobileers Amateur Radio Club
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/marylandmobileers/hamfest?authuser=0

Beginning with the March newsletter, we're experimenting with a new humor feature: Teddy's World.

It's an exposition of the life of the club's mascot, Teddy.  All photos are courtesy of Greg Witmyer, KC3SEG, and are from his and Teddy's POTA excursions, or most of them are.

The biggest problem we've found with this is translating Teddy's comments and observations to English.  Unfortunately, the editor is not a Doctor Doolittle and sometimes the woofs get confusing.

Enjoy.

Attached to this post are the special event stations from ARRL. We sort these by type, then date, allowing those looking for specific activities to focus in them.

Good hunting. 

Eric Berman, W3EAB, 2022 President of the AARC presents the winners of the Maryland-DC QSO Party Participation Award, the Potomac Valley Radio Club, Northwest Chapter with the winner's plaque.  This presentation took place at their February 21st, 2023 meeting at Chef Lin's restaurant in Frederick, Maryland.  Their winning effort required 4 operators from 3 locations. 

Two amateur radio events are scheduled in mid-February to celebrate an astronomer who mapped the universe and an astronomer who discovered a planet.

February 11 - Amateur License Testing by the Laurel VE team. Registration starts between 12:00 and 12:15 PM. Testing at 1:00.

February 12 - Open Shack, noon to 4 pm.