On the ARRL PR committe mailing list this morning, Allen G Pitts, W1AGP, the ARRL’s Media & PR Manager reported the following year-end statistics:

• he ARRL grew by 1100 members,
• There was approximately a 1.2% growth in hams in the USA, using stats found at AH0A’s Amateur Radio Education Website, and
• there are 28,066 new US hams in 2008.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but the CIA estimates that the US population will grow by about 0.9% in 2008. If you assume that without any additional effort, the number of licensed hams would also go up by that amount, then the real increase is only about 0.3%. While that’s good, we need to do better.

Also, if the number of ARRL members increased by 1,100, then that is only a 0.7% increase (1100/153535) in the number of members, meaning that ARRL membership decreased as a percentage of licensed amateurs. In December 2007, that figure was 23.4% (153535/655842), while in December 2008 it is now 23.3% (154635/663564).

Finally, it would be interesting to know how many of those 28,066 new hams joined the League.

Here are some more interesting links from my mailing lists:

• On qrp-l.org, there’s been a discussion of regen receivers. I mentioned “A Simple Regen Radio for Beginners” by Charles Kitchin, N1TEV. FAR Circuits has a PCB for this project, and it looks like you could build it for about $15-16. Others like the Desert Ratt. There’s an annotated schematic of a version of this on the Web. You click on the circuit your interested in to get a description of how it works.
• As I mentioned before, BAMA has removed all Heathkit manuals. This led to a discussion of the Rider’s service manuals. At Nostalgia Air, you will find all 23 volumes of Rider’s service manuals scanned into pdf. This looks like a great resource for vintage radio buffs.
• PileUP! is an online newsletter published by Contest Club Finland. The content is in both Finnish and English. The contest news editor is Jamie Dupree, NS3T, who runs radio-sport.net.

I know it’s pretty dopey to do New Year’s resolutions, but I’m going to do it anyway. Maybe if I list them, I’ll actually get some of them done this year.

• Build more. High on my list of things to build is “A Simple Regen for Beginners.” I even have the PC board already. I’d also like to try some of the receivers described by George, G3RJV, at the two Four Days in May that I’ve attended.
• Put up that 80m loop antenna. I’ve been saying that I”m going to do this for a couple of years now.
• Get on 900 MHz. I’m throwing in an easy one. I’ve already sent off the check to get a 900 MHz radio so that I can get on the repeater here in Ann Arbor. Over and above just getting on, though, I want to explore some digital communications possibilities.
• Work on some Mac software projects. It shouldn’t be too hard to come up with some simple ham radio software that will run on the Mac.

Although I really don’t like using straight keys, I break down and use one on Straight Key Night (SKN). This year’s SKN did not start out very auspiciously. After spraying some contact cleaner on the phone plug of my J-45 (which is a J-37 mounted on a leg clamp) and plugging it into my rig, I discovered I had an open circuit.

Fixing it was no piece of cake. First of all, the cable on the key uses crimp-on terminals, so I first had to get that terminal off without destroying it so that I could re-use it. Then, I discovered that the cable used the type of wire that used cotton thread interlaced with the copper wire. So, before I could solder things back together, I had to pick out as much of that thread as I could. Overall, it took me about 45 minutes to get it all back together.

It was worth it, though. The first thing I heard was some guy calling QLF? instead of QRL? QLF?, for those of you not familiar with some of the more exotic Q-signals, means, “Are you sending with your left foot”? Indeed, many of us, me included, sounded like we were sending with our left feet.

My first contact was with WU2D, who was also using a J-37 to key an ARC-5 transmitter. His signal was a bit chirpy, but fun to copy. After making a couple more short contacts, I ran into Paul, N8XMS, who is just down the road in Livonia.

After the QSO with N8XMS, I dialed down to the low end of the band. There, I worked LW3DG. Technically, this wasn’t an SKN QSO, but it was fun to work a little DX. After wishing Edgar a “Prospero Ano Nuevo,” I switched to 80m

There, I contacted W3EEK, who was running only 500 mW. Despite the low power, he was 579 here, with peaks at S9. According to QRZ.Com, he’s 417.4 miles away from me, nearly qualifying for the 1000 miles/W award.

Finally, I worked N8COO. This was a memorable contact for several reasons:

1. he was also using a J-45 key,
2. his callsign spells a word (coo), and I can add this to my collection, and
3. this was QSO #8000 since I got back on the air six years ago.

That did it for me. I couldn’t have ended SKN on a better note.

As the title implies, here are a few more interesting items I’ve gleaned from all the mailling lists I’m on:

• Defense Scrapyard Handbook, DoD 4160.21 H. On the GO-Tech list, Keith Mc. (not a ham….yet) says, “This is a scan of an interesting government document on identifying and processing scrapyard materials and metals. Chapter 4 contains field tests to ID materials (which could be very useful for all of the “material scavengers” among us).”
• A discussion of RFI generated by wireless devices prompted Steve, NN4X, to post these two links:
  • Common-Mode Chokes by W1HIS
  • A Ham’s Guide to RFI, Ferrites, Baluns, and Audio Interfacing

  I believe I’ve written about the second, but the first is a new one on me. Both are interesting reading.

• Tom, K8TB reports, “After seventy years of broadcasting Canada’s official time, NRC’s shortwave station CHU will move the transmission frequency for the 7335 kHz transmitter to 7850 kHz. The change goes into effect on 01 January 2009 at 00:00 UTC. We also have a leap second right then.

I recently blogged about the difference between recruiting new hams and recruiting new ARRL members. I went on to describe the various ways that we could do more to recruit more people into ham radio. Today, I want to discuss how the ARRL might turn more of those hams into ARRL members.

Currently, less than 25% of licensed amateurs are ARRL members. There are probably many reasons for this, but whatever the reason, I think this is something that the ARRL needs to work on. More members would mean more money and more support for all of the good work that the ARRL does. As I said during my recent campaign for Great Lakes Division Vice Director, we need to set a goal of at least 30%, and then develop the programs necessary to get there.

There are probably many reasons why hams aren’t ARRL members. One of them, surprisingly enough, is that there are still a lot of old-timers who are upset that the ARRL supported incentive licensing 40 years ago. They blame the ARRL for their losing priviledges.

I think the biggest reason, though, is that the ARRL has really failed to get amateurs involved in its programs. The ARRL is either doing a poor job of publicizing its programs or doesn’t have the right programs. The result is that many members view the ARRL as a publishing house and their membership dues as simply a subscription fee to get QST.

So, what can the ARRL do to boost membership? Here are some ideas:

• Give ARRL name badges to all new members or returning members. Wouldn’t you think about joining (or re-joining) if a sizable percentage of the hams wandering around a hamfest or other amateur radio activity were wearing these badges?
• Offer a membership discount on ARRL books. This is a no-brainer to me. All of the professional organizations I belong to offer member discounts. Why doesn’t the ARRL?
• Show some member appreciation. I joined the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) a little over a year ago. On my first anniversary, they sent me an ACM coffee cup. I thought that was a nice touch. I can’t recall the last time I got anything from the ARRL saying that they appreciated me being a member. All I seem to get are solicitations for the Spectrum Defense Fund, the W1AW fund, etc., etc. etc.
• Revamp the lifetime membership fee structure. With the current fee structure, it makes sense for young members to sign up, but there’s less incentive for older members to sign up.
• Develop some programs that members really want or need. There has been, for example, talk about the ARRL getting more involved in technical development. As it is now, it seems that the ARRL has ceded this to organizations like AMSAT or TAPR. I think it would be a good idea for the ARRL to get back on this horse.

  Another good idea would be to develop some programs to get new hams involved in the hobby. As far as I can see, the ARRL really has no programs for getting new hams involved and on the air. Something like this would grab new hams just as they’re getting into the hobby and make lifelong members out of them.

If I had the time, I could probably come up with a half dozen more ideas.

Why the ARRL isn’t doing more to recruit new members I don’t know. Perhaps the new membership manager will have more of a chance to do this than the outgoing membership manager did. All I know is that having more members means more funds for programs and more hands willing to work on these programs, and ultimately, ham radio will benefit.

Thanks to Ig, N0EFT, and his crew:

• Tim, WA8VTD, back up radio operator;
• Steve, KB9UPS, ARISS mentor and antenna and az/el rotor operator;
• Olivia, KC8VGH, who handled the microphone and kids; and
• Candy. KD8IPC, who made the initial contact and helped with the kids;

yesterday’s Space Station contact from the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum was a success. Despite the low orbit (21 degrees), the contact lasted nearly nine minutes and they were able to ask 14 questions.

I hope to post video later, but in the meantime, here are a couple of news stories:

• Ann Arbor Chronicle: To Infinity and Beyond: Ann Arbor talks to an astronaut on the International Space Station. This article is the better of the two. It includes a paragraph or two on our station at the museum.
• Kids at Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum talk by radio with astronaut on International Space Station. This story has a little more technical detail on the QSO, but fails to mention our museum station.

Someone recently offered to give our club a 900 MHz repeater. 900 MHz?? Who uses that band Well, apparently, there is a lot of activity up there, and maybe the least of it amateur activity.

I got to thinking about how we might use it. The first thing to cross my mind was digital TV. Other kinds of digital apps, such as some kind of instant messaging, might also be interesting.

Here are some resources:

• Exploring 900 MHz by KB9MWR. Some good basic information on the band and equipment you can use there.
• AR902MHz Yahoo Groups Mailing List. This list has more than 1,400 subscribers and is relatively active.
• San Diego 900 MHz ARC. General info on 900 MHz as well as specific info on what’s going on around San Diego.
• GEMoto.Com. This is a networking group made up of mostly New England hams interested in converting and using GE and Motorola commercial radios. According to Ben, N1WBV, there’s a fair amount of 900 MHz activity around Boston because their use of 440 MHz is fairly restricted.

While I love the Omni VII that we’ve purchased for use at the museum, I’m very disappointed that the rig’s internal keyer has no memories. That seems almost inexcusable in a $3,000 radio.

Since memories make operating CW so much easier, I started scouting around for an external keyer. What I finally purchased was the K1EL WinKeyer USB. This is looking like it’s a good choice.

The kit costs $64, which seem high when you compare it to the $16 PicoKeyer, but the extra features make it worth it. For one thing, the WinKeyer comes with an enclosure. After you’ve completed the kit, you don’t have to mess with Altoid tins or other makeshift enclosures.

The other cool thing is the USB interface. This makes the keyer controllable from a computer. And not only does the USB interface control the keyer, it also supplies the power.

Another big difference between the WinKeyer and the PicoKeyer are the manual controls. The PicoKeyer has a single pushbutton that an operator must use for all programming and operation. This includes setting the keying speed and sending strings from memories.

The WinKeyer has four buttons and a speed control. The speed control pot makes changing speeds much faster than is possible with the PicoKeyer. The four pushbuttons allow quick access to any of the four memories.

It took me about an hour and a half to build the kit. The instructions aren’t all that detailed—one of the instructions reads, “Mount all 18 resistors on the PC board.”—but they’re sufficient. One thing that made building the kit easier than it might have been is that K1EL supplies the PC board with the surface-mount USB interface IC already installed.

Another minor shortcoming is that the instructions assume that you’ll be using Windows software to test the keyer. Since I only have Macs here, that wasn’t an option for me. After a little initial confusion, I got it to work with KB for Mac OSX by W6EET.

Since completing the kit, I’ve made several QSOs with the keyer. It seems to work well with both my Begali Simplex paddle and an old Bencher that I have. I’m taking this one to the museum, but I think I’ll buy one for myself as well.

I got this QSL from Paul, N8XMS a couple of days ago. He says that a lot of hams interpret the XMS suffix as short for “Christmas” so he came up with this special holiday QSL card. Happy holidays, everyone!