September 2024 President’s message
Welcome to September – we’re in the last 1/3rd of the year. Kids are back in school, which should make my commute to work easier, and soon we’ll be seeing pumpkin drinks sold everywhere. There are only 3 more club meetings before Decemberfest and our last picnic for the year is less than 2 weeks away. Fall equinox comes just days afterwards, and our days will be shorter than the night for 6 months.
If you’re wondering if you missed reading the August 2024 Prez Says post, you most certainly did. Of course I helped by not writing one. I tried no fewer than 3 times but could not muster enough energy or words to complete any of them. Have you ever had that one project that you just can’t get around to completing? No? Just me?
I am writing this message two days after The Bored Net’s MicroExpo at CSUCI. I’d like to give a big thank you to all the club members that helped set up and man our booths, volunteered to serve as VE’s at the testing session, and showed up to say hi and support our community. It was great to hang out with you all. It was also cool to see other club’s booths and see what areas of the hobby they are passionate about. Also big thanks to Keith W6KME for having the vision to have the Micro Expo. “If you build it, they will come” can be seen in everything he does.
Supporting our ham hobby and community is important, especially today where communication is too easy. Folks have forgotten, or never knew, that it used to be difficult. In 1978 I talked to my dad stationed in Antarctica over the ‘phone’ via ham radio. Checking Google, I see today they have internet service via Starlink and other satellite services. I’ll bet folks there now communicate with their families over Zoom with full duplex audio and video. That said, I sure hope they kept their HF rigs and antennas for backup because technology can fail.
What can you do to support ham radio? Simple – get involved. Getting involved can be as easy as joining in on nets and participating. What better way to know what your radio can do than to use it. Doing so also lets the net control operators know that their efforts are being valued. It is discouraging to run a net and have nobody show up, or have most folks check in as ‘in and out’. Support the hobby, and the people that are donating their time, by checking into nets and sticking around for the conversation.
Support your local club by joining and attending as many of their meetings and events as possible. Like the net control example above, participation shows you value their work. Certainly not participating sends the message that you don’t. Volunteer with event planning, membership outreach, public outreach, or just help with snacks and refreshments. Help distribute the load.
Volunteer/show up for public events that get us in front of the public. Marathons, air shows, ham radio proclamations by the city, etc. Even the Micro Expo this past weekend – show up, let folks know that we’re still here for them.
Lastly, make sure you voice your concerns when our ham rights are being given away. Our radio ‘space’ is valuable to companies that want to profit from their use. When you get an alert from the ARRL that the FCC is considering giving away portions of our bands, act. Let them know that we are here. Still present. Still active. Still relevant.
Dave AI6VX
