ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter

April 2019

Ham Radio Friedrichshafen 2018 by Eric Zust – WØTT

Note that Midwest Director, Rod - KØDAS also attended and has provided a write-up in the July

ARRL Midwest Division Newsletter. Rod and I were not aware that the other was attending and

were surprised to meet each other there. And since I traveled separately, on a different itinerary,

Rod asked me to document my impressions in this separate newsletter article.

My XYL Ronni and I have good friends in Germany who we met through Ham Radio and

Exchange Student programs about 20 years ago. And my good friend Jeff - DL5WM has been

inviting me to attend Ham Radio Friedrichshafen ever since. Over the years, I have

procrastinated with work and other activities getting in the way. But I retired in 2012 and my

excuses for not visiting Friedrichshafen were growing thin. Also Jeff traveled here and we met at

Hamvention 2017, so this forged my intent to travel to meet him in Europe in 2018.

Ronni agreed to accompany me to

Europe but she wanted to stay with

friends during the Ham Fair. So we flew

into Prague, Czech Republic about a

week before Ham Fair. And as we

deplaned in Prague I saw Jeff’s friendly

and familiar face, with him holding a

WØTT sign.

Prague is the capital of modern-day

Czech Republic as well as the previous

Czechoslovakia. It is a modern city with

a thriving tourist trade, but with some

remaining historical remnants from the

post WW-II Communist era, and from the

previous Imperial times.

Prague residents speak the Czech

language, with many persons speaking German as a second language. English is also spoken at

the hotels, restaurants and shops. We did have one language issue in taking a cab back to the

airport for our return flight. The cab driver spoke Czech and German, while I speak English and

Spanish. So we let Apple/iOS help, by showing the driver the departure information on my

iPhone, and then he knew to take us to the correct terminal.

Jeff - DL5WM meeting our flight

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 2

The Czech Republic still uses its own currency, the Czech Koruna or crown. They are now a

member of the European Union, but have not yet switched over to the Euro currency to become

common with most Western European countries. This made shopping a bit difficult, by having

pockets full of Czech crowns, Euros and USD coins and bills in various denominations.

Fortunately there were numerous currency exchange offices located throughout the downtown

area.

Prague’s best known tourist attraction is the

Astronomical Clock in the town square. Dating

back to the 1400’s, it has separate dials

representing the date and the movement of the

Moon around the Earth, and it marks every hour

with chimes, and life-sized statues moving across

the face of the clock. Unfortunately, the clock was

inoperative for repairs during our visit, and we

didn’t have an opportunity to see it operate.

We took the opportunity to sample local foods,

and especially the popular desert item Trdelník.

These were made in the street-side shops by

starting with an elongated pastry (like the Spanish

churro) and wrapping it around a rotating

motorized spit. Then deep frying and served filled

with ice cream or fresh fruit.

Prague's favorite treat - the Trdelník

Astronomical Clock in Prague Town Square

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 3

We also routed thru Prague on our return

trip and took a train from Germany to

Prague. I enjoyed being photographed at

the local train station under a sign listing

cities from four different DXCC countries!

DL5WM and his family live near Dresden in

eastern Germany, and Ronni and I stayed

in a hotel near the center of town. Dresden

is most famous historically for the Allied

Firebombing during WW-II where most of

the city was destroyed and many

inhabitants were killed. This was the

subject of the classic novel “Slaughterhouse-

five” by Kurt Vonnegut.

Dresden’s most notable landmark is Frauenkirche Dresden, the Lutheran Church that was

destroyed in the firebombing, but reconstructed in 2005, using some of the fire-damaged stones.

The original stones can be seen as the blackened stones on the exterior surface of the church

building.

WØTT at Prague Train Station

Inside Dresden’s historic Lutheran Church Sabine (daughter of DL5WM) and WØTT

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 4

Being part of the former German

Democratic Republic (East Germany,

deleted-DXCC prefix Y2-9), artifacts of the

old Communist GDR are occasionally seen.

One of the more notable items is the

Trabant automobile which was built in the

GDR from 1957 thru 1990. It was largely

seen as inferior in the Western world, but it

did feature a plastic body, which actually put

it well ahead of its time, since many

automotive parts are now composite or

plastic. It’s also unusual that the Trabant

has established a bit of a cult following

among US collectors. I tried to win one by

buying a $20 raffle ticket at the St. Louis

Museum of Transport, and my East German friends could not understand why I would ever want

one!

In stark contrast to the Trabant,

is the Audi that Jeff currently

drives. Seen here on the

cobblestone streets of Dresden

is his license plate DL CW 599,

and also his callsign decal on

the rear fender. I don’t believe

that Germany allows the actual

callsign as the license plate

number.

The long drive to

Friedrichshafen reminded me of

the yearly trek from St. Louis to

Dayton. Four ham friends,

talking about the treasures and

wonders that they hope to see and find. Only issue was that the other 3 guys were speaking

German most of the time, and I had to “jump-in” to the conversation in English, to get them to

switch languages.

Trabant cars in East German Museum Trabant cars in East German Museum

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 5

Germans are very proud of their high-speed

Autobahn highway network, and Jeff is not an

exception. As I looked at his speedometer I noted

the needle dancing between 170 and 180. Now

keeping in mind that German speedometers are

calibrated in kilometers per hour I wasn’t too

concerned. But when converting units after the fact,

I found that we were traveling 109 mph!

I guess this is consistent with the “Bad bad boy” title

on Jeff’s dashboard mounted playlist display.

We stayed in a local Inn near Friedrichshafen (would be called a Bed and Breakfast in the US),

which is where Jeff and his friends stay every year. And we started the day with a European

style breakfast consisting of fresh breads, deli meats & cheeses, and fresh fruit.

The exhibition hall used for Ham Radio fair has a

large, paved parking lot, and we immediately

noticed the Zeppelin factory co-located with the

Exposition hall. This is the site of the original

factory established by Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the

19th century.

Inn (Bed and Breakfast) at Friedrichshafen

Breakfast at the Inn

DL2UN, DL5WM, DL8SDC and DL5YWM

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 6

Ham radio Friedrichshafen was neat and

clean with well-kept exhibits, and an indoor

flea market area. We first covered some of

the Administrative areas with displays of

participants QSL cards, along with a world

map of where attendees were from.

Jeff’s son Daniel (DL5YWM) and I posted one

of the OA4 QSL cards that we used in our

DXpedition to Lima Peru that we conducted in

2005.

The world map display had push-pins available

for participants to identify our home QTH, and

quite understandably the map of Europe was

heavily weighted by these location pins. There

were a smaller number of pins in the US, with a

smattering on the east and west coasts. There

were fewer in our Midwest area, but one was

identified as my St. Louis colleague Sterling,

NØSSC who I later ran into at the flea market.

DL5YWM and WØTT pointing to their OA4 QSL card

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 7

Also to my surprise was running into

Midwest Director, Rod - KØDAS

and his friend Steve NUØP. It is

always nice to see familiar faces

when halfway around the world!

I found Friedrichshafen, its

exhibitors and other attendees to be

very friendly and cordial.

Oftentimes I was invited to sit down

at their booth, and share stories and

perspectives of ham radio on “the

other side of the QSO”. I was

especially welcomed by the exhibitors from Germany, Japan and Slovakia, since my XYL and I

had hosted exchange students from their countries. We immediately had common-ground to

discuss things that I had already learned about their countries, and what issues were most

important to the exchange students when they lived with us in St. Louis.

NUØP, KØDAS and WØTT

Slovakian Booth OM5RW, OG2M and well-known contester OK2PAY

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 8

WØTT with ARRL reps K5UR and KØQB

The World Radio Team Championship WRTC-2018 was held in Germany a month after

Friedrichshafen, so their organization had a large contingent of representatives. I met here with

the some of the folks from the WRTC group. When planning my European travel, I was hoping

that I could visit Ham Radio Friedrichshafen and WRTC-2018 in a single visit. Unfortunately the

timing did not work out since Friedrichshafen was in early June, and WRTC was in mid-July.

WØTT, DL6JGN, DL5YWM, DL6KVA and DL7VOG at WRTC-2018 booth

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 9

Many of the major manufacturers were present including Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom, Elecraft and

Flex. And their booths were well attended by interested hams.

Well organized indoor flea market area

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 10

One aspect of Friedrichshafen that I really enjoyed was the outdoor Beer garden. Not surprisingly

since Germans have a reputation of loving their brew, the beer garden seemed to be filled with

friends and conversation throughout the exhibition period. Here I sit with a number of German and

Swiss friends met at Friedrichshafen.

WØTT, DF8DX, DL5YWM, DL8RB and HB9SO

DX'ers from 3 different continents

WØTT, SP3HLM and DV8/KH7EA

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 11

One evening we visited the town of Friedrichshafen’s waterfront area, and I was able to take this

sunset photo of Lake Constance. Significant for DX’ers, this photo overlooks three DXCC

countries: Austria (OE), Liechtenstein (HBØ - the mountains in background), and Switzerland

(HB). And of course Germany (DL) in the foreground.

Standing in Germany (DL)

but looking into: Austria (OE), Liechtenstein (HBØ) and Switzerland (HB)

Capping-off our European trip was a side visit to Bolesławiec, Poland. It is a small town 100 miles

east of Dresden, and is most notable for production of Polish Pottery. My XYL Ronni is an

advanced Polish Pottery collector, and this was a golden opportunity for her to add to her

collection. In fact, we bought $200 of pottery and had it shipped back home. And surprisingly it

arrived undamaged a couple of months later!

We really enjoyed the European trip, and my opportunity to participate in Friedrichshafen for the

first time. If any of our readers is contemplating a trip to Europe, I would highly recommend the

Friedrichshafen Ham Radio fair. And I would also suggest scheduling extra days before and after

Ham Radio Fair, to visit the many nearby historical sites.

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 12

We traveled at a time when no visas were required (only a valid US Passport), but make sure to

double-check this before your visit, since many immigration rules are changing after Brexit.

So I now say auf Wiedersehen to all of my German friends, and farewell to the many new friends

that I met in Friedrichshafen. And hopefully will see them again on the air, or better yet, in person!

WØTT XYL Ronni looking at treasures

at Polish Pottery factory in Bolesławiec

ARRL Membership Statistics

by Rod Blocksome, K0DAS

In January I reported on our membership data for the past 4 years. Below are updated

charts reflecting data through the end of February. As you can see we haven’t yet

started to climb out of the decline since the dues increase three years ago. But it would

seem that we are seeing signs of it bottoming out. Invite a new ham to your local club

meetings and invite him/her to membership in ARRL. See you at some of the

spring/summer hamfests.

-10.0

-9.0

-8.0

-7.0

-6.0

-5.0

-4.0

-3.0

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

Jan

-15

Ap

r-1

5

Jul-

15

Oct

-15

Jan

-16

Ap

r-1

6

Jul-

16

Oct

-16

Jan

-17

Ap

r-1

7

Jul-

17

Oct

-17

Jan

-18

Ap

r-1

8

Jul-

18

Oct

-18

Jan

-19

Ap

r-1

9

Per

cen

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Ch

ange

Rel

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Jan

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ARRL Membership Compared to Midwest Division

Midwest

ARRL

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 13

It's LTOTA (Lunch Time On the Air)!

by Bryan Nehl, KØEMT I actually got a contact today! KXØR on 20M operating from a SOTA summit in

Colorado. Super faint. I was a bit nervous, a bit chilled from the wind and not totally

accustomed to the KX1 paddle. Probably a bit of QLF today. But we completed the

contact.

If weather cooperates I’ll try and get on for lunch tomorrow too. Why not join me LTOTA!

72 de Bryan, KØEMT

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 14

Around the Midwest Division

Here are 3 photos from the Lincoln Hamfest and 2 from my visit to Last Man Standing on

March 12th. There is a shot of me at the ham shack that is part of the show and also one

of Jet Jurgensmeyer (he plays “Boyd” on the show) along with his dad, Scott. Both

passed their Tech tests on the last day I was there. I operated FT8 in Fox/Hound mode

from the setup that is part of the show and watched them film an entire episode.

73 de Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 15

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 16

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Apr. 2019 p. 17

Midwest Division ARRL Hamfests & Conventions

04/05/2019 | OzarkCon Location: Branson, MO Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Four State QRP Group Website: http://www.ozarkcon.com/index.php

04/06/2019 | Heartland Hams ARC Hamfest Location: Glenwood, IA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Heartland Hams Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.heartlandhams.org

04/06/2019 | Spring Cleanup 2019 Location: Bellevue, NE Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Bellevue Amateur Radio Club Website: http://bellevuearc.org

04/20/2019 | Ararat Shrine Hambash Location: Kansas City, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Ararat Shrine Radio Club Website: https://www.hambash.com/

04/27/2019 | DMRAA Hamfest Location: Des Moines, IA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Des Moines Radio Amateurs Association Website: http://www.dmraa.com/hamfest

05/31/2019 | 3900 Club Hamboree 2019

Location: Boone, IA

Type: ARRL Hamfest

Sponsor: 3900 Club

Website: http://www.3900club.com

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Mar. 2019 p. 18

06/08/2019 | SWIARA Swap Meet

Location: Creston , IA

Type: ARRL Hamfest

Sponsor: Southwest Iowa Amateur Radio Association

07/21/2019 | Zero Beaters Hamfest

Location: Washington, MO

Type: ARRL Hamfest

Sponsor: Zero Beaters Amateur Radio Club

Website: http://www.zerobeaters.org

07/25/2019 | 53rd Annual Central States VHF Society Conference Location: Lincoln, NE Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Central States VHF Society Website: http://www.csvhfs.org

08/11/2019 | St Charles Amateur Radio Club Hamfest Location: O'Fallon, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: St Charles Amateur Club Website: http://wb0hsi.org

09/21/2019 | Reno County Kansas Amateur Radio Club Hamfest Location: Hutchinson, KS Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Reno County Kansas Amateur Radio Club

10/05/2019 | Annual Southside ARC Hamfest Location: Belton, MO Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Southside ARC Website: http://southsidearc.net/hamfest/

10/06/2019 | Iowa State Convention (Southeast Iowa Hamfest) Location: West Liberty, IA Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Muscatine ARC & Washington Area ARC Website: http://www.MuscatineARC.org/se-ia-hamfest

ARRL Midwest Div. Newsletter — Mar. 2019 p. 19

Midwest Division Special Event Stations

05/04/2019 | Lewis & Clark 1804 Expedition Old Baldy ( AKA) The Tower

May 4-Oct 14, 0500Z-0500Z, N0HWJ, Lynch, NE. N0HWJ. 14.325 14.245 3.970 3.950.

QSL. Don Lallier, N0HWJ , P.O. Box 303, 610 Windom St., Orchard, NE 68764. I ran this

last year from my Cabin about 200 yards from Old Baldy next to the Missouri River in Holt

County. I am usually on during the weekends and some weekdays in the summer months.

Lewis and Clark noted The Tower in their Journal and the finding of the Black Tailed Prairie

dog that they captured and brought back alive to the president of the US.

donaldllallier@gmail.com or www.qrz.com/db/n0hwj

05/18/2019 | 3rd Annual William Becknell Heritage Days Special Event -

Founder of the Santa Fe Trail

May 18-May 19, 1400Z-2200Z, WB0SFT/KC0VYS, Overland Park, KS. William Becknell

Santa Fe Trail Heritage Days. 21.365 14.265 7.265 3.865 1.830 SSB/CW/FT8. Certificate &

QSL. See website for, information on receiving, certificate. See website for information;

certificate and QSL available via website after the event. www.wb0sft.org

07/06/2019 | World War 1 Centennial

Jul 6-Jul 7, 1500Z-2100Z, WW1USA, Kansas City, MO. National World War 1 Museum and

Memorial. SSB: 21.250 14.250 7.200; CW: 21.057 14.057 7.057; FT8: 14.074 7.200 7.074.

Certificate & QSL. WW1USA, National World War 1 Museum and Memorial, 2 Memorial

Drive, Kansas City, MO 64108. We will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of signing

of the peace treaties ending World War 1. Our operation will be on the south lawn of the

Museum. All local and visiting hams are invited to come visit. ww1usa@theworldwar.org or

https://www.theworldwar.org/amateurradio

Midwest Division News and Photos Wanted!

If you have news and photos about events or activities from the Midwest Division, email

them to Director Rod Blocksome K0DAS at rod.blocksome@gmail.com.

ARRL Midwest Division Leadership

Director: Rod Blocksome K0DAS

k0das@arrl.org 319-393-8022

Vice Director: Art Zygielbaum K0AIZ

k0aiz@arrl.org 402-421-0839

Iowa Section Manager: Bob McCaffrey, K 0CY

Kansas Section Manager: Ron Cowan, KB0DTI

Missouri Section Manager: Cecil Higgins, AC0HA

Nebraska Section Manager: Matt Anderson, KA0BOJ

DX Advisory Committee: John Yodis, K2VV (MO)

Contest Advisory Committee: Glenn Johnson, W0GJ (IA)

Midwest Division Volunteer Counsel: Craig Long, K0CSL (IA)

Division Legislative Action Chair: Mike Edwards, WB9M (MO)

Legislative Action Coordinators: Nick Critelli, K 0PCG (IA); Bruce Frahm, K0BJ (KS &

NE); Mike Edwards, WB9M (MO).

Assistant Directors (Missouri): Paul Haefner K 0JPL, Dave Propper K2DP, Kent Trimble K9ZTV, Roger Volk K0GOB, Cecil Higgins AC0HA, John Frederick N8GOU, Eric Zust W0TT, Randy Schulze KD0HKD, and Ron Lowrance, K4SX.

Assistant Directors (Kansas): Mike Albers K 0FJ, Jim Andera K0NK, Bill Henderson K0VBU, Charlie Hett K0THN, Richard Johnson K0RCJ, Rick Tucker W0RT, and Jon Jones N0JK.

Assistant Directors (Iowa): Tim Busch N0CKR, C.W. Pantel K0IIR, and Jim Spencer W0SR

Assistant Directors (Nebraska): Matt Anderson, KA0BOJ, Joe Eisenberg K0NEB, Allen Harpham WD0DXD, and Todd LeMense KK0DX.

Midwest Division Webmaster: Steve Schmitz W0SJS email: w0sjs@arrl.net

Midwest Division’s website: http://www.arrlmidwest.org/