December 2015 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:24913] Formal call for ARRL 2016 Annual Board Meeting
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 15 Dec '15

15 Dec '15

December 15, 2015 NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING ALL DIRECTORS: In compliance with the requirements of the Articles of Association and the relevant provisions of the Bylaws, the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors of The American Radio Relay League, Incorporated, is hereby called for 9:00 A.M., Friday, January 15, 2016, at the Hartford/Windsor Airport Marriott at 88 Day Hill Rd., Windsor, Connecticut. Arrangements have been made for a group dinner on the Thursday evening preceding: attitude adjustment at 5:00 P.M. and dinner at 6:00 P.M. Other group meals are Friday and Saturday breakfast and lunch, and Friday dinner. Accompanying spouses are invited to attend breakfast and dinner with the Board family. Note that there will be a cash bar, not an open bar, prior to the dinners. Purchases from the cash bar are not reimbursable. We expect the meeting will conclude by 5:00 P.M. on Saturday. A group photograph will be taken on Friday after the luncheon break; the dress code for that occasion is business attire (for men, jackets and ties). Honorary vice presidents, directors emeritus, past presidents, and past directors are invited to attend in observer status at personal expense. Vice directors are authorized to attend with expenses charged to the Board Meeting account. Cash advances are available upon request for those traveling at League expense. Transportation from and to Bradley International Airport will be provided by Marriott. There is a Marriott courtesy phone located in the baggage claim area. An accommodation form was sent with the preliminary Call; if you have not already done so, please return the form or respond by email as soon as possible to Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ, at HQ: lkustosik(a)arrl.org. The tentative agenda for the meeting will be circulated separately by email. It is requested that insofar as possible, motions to be submitted at the meeting be prepared in advance in writing so that a copy can be handed to the Secretary at the time of presentation. It is important that the motion as handed to the Secretary be the same as that submitted for Board consideration. While we will have word-processing and duplicating capability at the meeting site, this should not replace advance preparation. If you wish to have a proposed motion circulated in advance, either send it to me as soon as possible or post it on the Board's electronic remailer. The Secretary is not aware of any proposals for amendments to the Articles of Association or Bylaws. Please note Standing Order 30: "Each Director offering a motion requiring the expenditure of funds for implementation shall include with the motion his [or her] estimate of the costs involved and the suggested method of funding those costs." Also note Minute 42 of the 2004 Annual Meeting: "Any motion to create or substantially modify a program or activity shall include documentation of the expected revenue and expense generated by the proposed program or activity." Finally, meeting attendees are advised that the proceedings will be recorded electronically. Sincerely, David Sumner, K1ZZ Secretary

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[arrl-odv:24912] Messages to selected Congressional districts
by Kay Craigie 15 Dec '15

15 Dec '15

Because we believe that H.R. 1301 will be considered by the House Energy & Commerce Committee in the near future, it is essential for members who are constituents of the Congressmen/women on the committee to contact their Representatives now to either say thanks for being co-sponsors or to urge support for the bill. An e-mail message will go out today to ARRL members in the relevant House districts asking them to e-mail and/or phone their Representatives now. A list of districts and their Representatives, sorted by state, is attached to this message. Members will be given a link to the RallyCongress service we recently engaged. This link makes it very easy for members to respond to our request. The suggested e-mail text is already filled in for them: a thank-you for existing co-sponsors and a "please support" for the others. The letter text can be edited by the member if he or she wants to personalize it. The message will go out in my name as President, hoping this will grab members' attention and promote action. A copy of the cover message is attached. I would like to extend special thanks to Mike Lisenco for refining the messaging. 73, Kay N3KN

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[arrl-odv:24911] Fall Issue of Radio Waves Newsletter Now in Print Format
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 14 Dec '15

14 Dec '15

Hi, A few weeks ago, Director Norton suggested that we publish a printed version of the latest edition of the Radio Waves newsletter. After due consideration, we have slightly re-formatted the e-newsletter and published it as a full color printed version. This printed piece highlights our commitment to provide relevant, timely and useful information about Amateur Radio to instructors and teachers. These pieces should be useful as handouts to legislators, educators, stakeholders, and members. Dan Henderson has already sent some of them to Keelen for this purpose. They are bundled in wrapped packages of 10 per pack. If you would like us to send you some packages, just let Debra or me know how many you need. For your information, I have pasted below Debra's original email that was sent to the Board when the electronic version of the newsletter was first issued. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B ARRL Chief Operating Officer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Johnson, Debra K1DMJ Here's a description of the newsletter: The purpose of ARRL's e-newsletter for Instructors and Teachers is to provide information that will help you with your licensing or classroom instruction and to share experiences and stories of other instructors and teachers that may offer ideas for you to incorporate in your activities. We provide the information in newsletter format direct to your mailbox as a convenience for you. We've just published our Fall 2015 issue of Radio Waves. Click here<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Radio%20Waves%20Newsletter/Fall%202015%20Rad…> for direct access to the new issue. Inside This Issue Feature Stories: Using Sensors to Explore Terraforming......1 STEM School and Academy ARC Builds Repeater..... 2 Community College's DIY Spirit Shines for ARISS Contact...... 3 Outreach: Amateur Radio Club Helps Boy Scouts Earn Radio Merit Badge..... 4 Education & Technology Program News....... 5 Instructor Corner - News, Ideas, Support: Getting New Hams on the Air: The Evolution of a Licensing Class.....5 Ham Radio Instruction for People with Disabilities....... 6 Licensing Updates: Amateur Extra Question Pool Being Revised for 2016..... 7 Licensing Statistics..... 7 Upcoming Events, Opportunities, and Deadlines ..... 8 Debra Johnson, K1DMJ Education Services Manager ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(r) 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111-1494 Office:(860) 594-0296 Fax: (860) 594-0259 djohnson(a)arrl.org<mailto:djohnson@arrl.org>

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[arrl-odv:24910] Strategic Plan
by k9jf＠arrl.org 11 Dec '15

11 Dec '15

All: Thanks to Harold for consolidating and sending the Plan and Supplements to ODV. Please review our recommendations and comment as appropriate. We appreciate the Board's confidence for allowing the Working Group to pool our experiences and create this Plan. Seasons Greetings to all. 73 Jim K9JF/KH6 James E. Fenstermaker K9JF 2nd Vice President American Radio Relay League (206) 930-9372

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[arrl-odv:24908] Wouff Hong at the National
by Doug Rehman 10 Dec '15

10 Dec '15

I'm looking to put together a Wouff Hong at the National; are there any members of ODV that would like to participate? Thanks, Doug K4AC

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[arrl-odv:24907] National Convention Registration Reminder
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 10 Dec '15

10 Dec '15

>From Bob Inderbitzen Harold Kramer, WJ1B ARRL Chief Operating Officer From: Inderbitzen, Bob, NQ1R Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2015 1:43 PM The following is a list for the ARRL Team attending the 2016 National Convention at Orlando HamCation, February 12-14. If you are not included on this list, but should be, please complete this online registration form by December 18: http://www.arrl.org/2016-national-convention-arrl-team-registration Last Name, First Name (to appear on exhibit badge), Call Sign, ARRL Position Abernethy, Debbie ARRL Volunteer / Spouse Abernethy, Tom, W3TOM, ARRL Director Allison, Bob, WB1GCM, ARRL Staff Bigley, John, N7UR, ARRL Section Manager Boehner, Jim, N2ZZ, ARRL Director Bourgoin, Dave, KB1ETN, Spouse Bourgoin, Margie, KB1DCO, ARRL Staff Butler, Frank, W4RH, ARRL Honorary Official Clarke, Lauren, KB1YDD, ARRL Staff Corey, Mike, KI1U, ARRL Staff Crowley, Bill, K1NIT, ARRL Section Manager Davis, Darrell, KT4WX, ARRL Section Manager Ellam, Tim, VE6SH, IARU Fenstermaker, Jim, K9JF, ARRL Officer Fenstermaker, Shirley ARRL Volunteer / Spouse Fusaro, Norm, W3IZ, ARRL Staff Gruber, Mike, W1MG, ARRL Staff Henderson, Dan, N1ND, ARRL Staff Hudgens, Ed, WB4RHQ, ARRL Vice Director Inderbitzen, Bob, NQ1R, ARRL Staff Johnson, Debra, K1DMJ, ARRL Staff Kendall, Larry, K6NDL, ARRL Staff Kramer, Harold, WJ1B, ARRL Staff Kutzko, Sean, KX9X, ARRL Staff Lee, Mike, AA6ML, ARRL Vice Director Lindquist, Rick, WW1ME, ARRL Staff Lisenco, Mike, N2YBB, ARRL Director McNeill, Kim, KB1WUX, ARRL Staff Mezey, Jim, W2KFV, ARRL Section Manager Mileshosky, Brian, N5ZGT, ARRL Director Morgan, Alan D., KY1O, ARRL Section Manager Pace, Jim, K7CEX, ARRL Director Petrilli, Diane, KB1RNF, ARRL Staff Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ, ARRL Staff Szabo, Steve, WB4OMM, ARRL Section Manager Vinci, Yvette, KC1AIM, ARRL Staff Widin, Greg, K0GW, ARRL Director ________________________________ BACKGROUND (updated 12/10/2015) The 2016 ARRL National Convention, hosted by Orlando HamCation, is February 12-14, 2016. ARRL Board officials may volunteer as part of the ARRL exhibit team. Volunteers will each receive an ARRL exhibitor's badge (in lieu of purchasing a HamCation ticket), and ARRL team shirts. Important Notes: * TRAVEL EXPENSES: ARRL Officers, Directors, and the Southeastern Division Vice Director may seek travel expense reimbursement, expensed to their respective ARRL budgets. * BANQUET: ARRL will host a National Convention Banquet on Saturday, February 13, 2016 from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM at the nearby Highland Manor in Apopka, Florida (transportation will be provided). Officers, Directors, and the Southeastern Division Vice Director will each receive 1 banquet reservation (expensed to their respective budget). Vice Directors interested in attending the banquet should purchase banquet tickets at www.arrl.org/expo<http://www.arrl.org/expo>. If you are interested in volunteering, please complete and submit the following online registration form by December 18: ARRL Team Registration Form - http://www.arrl.org/2016-national-convention-arrl-team-registration The online registration form will help us organize room reservations, badges, apparel and staffing for the event. Even if your plans are not entirely committed, please complete the form with your tentative information so we can develop counts for hotel bookings. The registration form should not be shared with anyone else. If you have a spouse, companion, or other family member accompanying you-and they're interested in volunteering with you-please have them complete a registration form, too (be sure they mention your participation, so we can associate their registration with your own). ARRL's hotel room block is at the Hyatt Place Orlando/Universal - 5895 Caravan Ct, Orlando, FL 32819. Both Single (King) and Double Rooms are $136 plus taxes (currently at 12.5%). Includes 1 hot breakfast per room and wireless internet. ARRL STAFF TEAM Allison, Bob, WB1GCM Bourgoin,Marjorie, KB1DCO Clarke, Lauren, KB1YDD Corey, Michael, KI1U Fusaro, Norm, W3IZ Gruber, Mike, W1MG Henderson, Dan, N1ND Inderbitzen, Bob, NQ1R Johnson, Debra, K1DMJ Kramer, Harold, WJ1B Kutzko, Sean, KX9X Lindquist, Rick, WW1ME McNeill, Kim, KB1WUX Petrilli, Diane, KB1RNF Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Vinci, Yvette, KC1AIM And, Education & Technology Program representative Larry Kendall, K6NDL. Exhibits/Booths and Activities * ARRL Store & Membership - Diane Petrilli, Yvette Vinci, Kim McNeill, Margie Bourgoin, Bob Inderbitzen * ARRL Radiosport (double-wide booth): Awards/DXCC/LoTW/Contests/National Parks on the Air - Norm Fusaro and Sean Kutzko * ARRL Public Service: Mike Corey * ARRL Laboratory Booth: Bob Allison, Mike Gruber * ARRL Education & Technology Program: Larry Kendall, Debra Johnson * ARRL Development and ARRL Foundation: Lauren Clarke * ARRL Legislative/Amateur Radio Parity Act: Dan Henderson * ARRL Southeastern Division * ARRL meet & greet area: Harold Kramer, Dave Sumner * ARRL News/event photography: Rick Lindquist --end--

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[arrl-odv:24906] In-Newsletter 12/9/15 Vol 40 No. 44
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 10 Dec '15

10 Dec '15

IN-Newsletter Vol. 40, No. 44 December 9, 2015 - Covers the period November 29-December 5. Upcoming In-Person Meetings and Events LoTW Study Committee January 13 @ 9:00am in Newington, CT Administration & Finance Committee January 14 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT Programs & Services Committee January 14 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT Annual Board Meeting January 15-16 @ 9:00am in Windsor, CT Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND The last few weeks have been quite busy. Since the Amateur Radio Parity Act was introduced into the House in March, a total of 15,792 letters have been collected, sorted, counted and shipped to TKG in DC for delivery. To supplement that, we have begun learning and utilizing the new service provided by RallyCongress, which should help generate more contacts from ARRL members to their elected officials on Capitol Hill. In the first 48 hours since a concentrated effort was emailed to our membership, focusing on 14 specific districts in the House that had recently been visited by ARRL representatives: a total of 324 persons visited the website, generating 317 email / web form contacts with their members of Congress. This site will be utilized in the future to help generate more contacts with both the House and the Senate. At the invitation of the Commanding Officer of the PAVE PAWS radar at Cape Cod Air Force Station, I met with their staff to discuss the upgrade to the facility that is currently underway and how we can continue to partner with the Air Force to keep the Amateur Community in the region informed of changes being made. Many thanks to New England Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, who accompanied me on the site visit. We look forward to continuing the good working relationship that we have built with them on this project. We are at the time of year when most state legislatures have finished their 2015 dockets so there is little action on the state front. Several states do allow their legislators to pre-file bills for the upcoming session. We continue to monitor these, forwarding any that may be of concern to Amateurs to the appropriate Director and Section Manager. Many thanks to General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, for providing a letter addressing concerns of a new tower ordinance in Brookings, OR. We worked with the Oregon SM and amateurs in the community. The new proposed ordinance is on hold for several reasons, including apparently trying to address the issues raised by Mr. Imlay. (Thanks to all involved in this project). The various, assorted reciprocal license questions continue to come in and are handled. A query from a club in Oregon wishing to change trustees on its 22 club call signs (9 vanity, 13 sequential) was received and the Regulatory Office is working with the VEC to address their questions. We have also been in-the-loop with Mike Gruber, W1MG, in the ARRL lab (and his efforts working with an ongoing interference issue in Woodinville, WA. Kudos to the lab staff who has been working hard on resolving that issue. Since mid-September, I have also been filling in as the Acting Contest Manager. The past few weeks have seen QST-related work progressing on schedule. Several sets of contest certificates, plaques and club competition gavels have been processed. There was a problem with data received from the log checker affecting about one-third of the mailing addresses for participants in the 2014 Ten-Meter contest. Unfortunately this did affect several hundred certificates. We are in the process of correcting this problem and will be re-printing and mailing certificates to those affected as soon as replacement certificate stock arrives. Many thanks to the staff of the Awards area who have stepped in to help package and mail about 3000 certificates in the last month. Production/Editorial Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY No report. Development Reported by Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD No report. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI Product Review Bob Allison completed testing of an SDR HF/VHF software defined transceiver. Bob is currently compiling the data in preparation to sending it to the manufacturer. Bob tested W1AW's Kenwood TS-590S after Kenwood made repairs that corrected an ALC overshoot issue. This issue was a common problem for the early production runs of this model and was first discovered by Bob in the Lab. W1AW's unit now has a clean bill of health. Bob continues to work with a major manufacturer regarding issues of one of their transceivers. QST Zack Lau reviewed the page layout for his March 2016 Antenna. Operating Zack Lau's LoTW account reached the 25,000 QSL milestone with a 70% confirmation rate. Industry Contact Ed Hare attended the IEEE EMC Society Standards Development and Education Committee and Board of Directors meetings in Orlando. No significant action was taken by the Board that could impact Amateur Radio. The first meeting of the IEEE power-line-noise working group is expected to take place by telecom on Thursday, December 10. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R No report. Field Services & Radiosport Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 2 Weeks Logbook Processing Time 2-4 Business Days Number of Centennial applications processed: Centennial Challenge QSO 2772 W1AW/WAS 1974 W1AW Report for the week ending November 28, 2015: Joe Carcia updated the web code practice files and their archives. He also updated the December Qualifying Run schedule and the weekly code practice QST source web pages. Scott processed some VUCC applications and certificates. He also worked on fast and slow code practice runs texts for the week. Education Services Reported by Debra Johnson, K1DMJ During October and November we recorded 103 instructor registrations, 30 teacher registrations, and 79 ham radio license class listings. We published the fall issue of Radio Waves<http://www.arrl.org/radio-waves>, sending it to 11,829 subscribers. Per Board request, we are developing a printed version to be distributed as part of information hand-outs in Washington and for other public relations purposes. Education & Technology Program. We received 11 applications for grants for this school year. The applications have been reviewed and recommendations sent to the Board's Executive Committee for approval. I am working with the ETP instructors on plans for 2016 sessions of the Teachers Institute. Changes in the TI application are being considered as well as a possible extension of the introductory TI to 5 days. The topic for a TI-2 is also under discussion. ARISS. Scheduled ARISS contacts with six US schools/organizations during October and November included: * Corpus Christi Catholic School, Chambersburg, PA, October 6 direct contact with astronaut Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS. Read a local news story<http://archive.publicopiniononline.com/local/ci_28933696/corpus-christi-stu…> about the event. * Bay View Elementary School in Burlington, Washington, October 14, a telebridge contact with Lindgren. The contact was the front page headline story<http://www.goskagit.com/all_access/skagit-students-connect-with-space-stati…> in a morning edition local newspaper. Watch a video<http://kafe.com/kafe-mornings/watch-bay-view-kids-talk-to-the-iss/> of the interview. * West Michigan Aviation Academy, Grand Rapids, MI, a direct contact October 23 with astronaut Kimiya Yui, KG5BPH. A local news station produced a documentary<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkOvN9CKB9M> about the event. * Dearborn Public Schools, Dearborn, Michigan, direct contact October 27 with astronaut Lindgren. Read an advance story<http://patch.com/michigan/dearborn/ground-control-major-tom-dearborn-studen…> about the contact. * Daggett Montessori School, Fort Worth, Texas, a direct contact October 29 with Lindgren. Read a local news story<http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article4183705…> about the contact. * Ste. Genevieve du Bois Catholic Elementary School, Warson Woods, Missouri, a direct contact November 12 with astronaut Lindgren. A local newspaper posted a story<http://stlouisreview.com/article/2015-11-12/catholic-school> about the event. On November 3 there was a special ARISS contact event between crew members on the ISS, students from the Institut Florimont in Lancy, Switzerland, and attendees and dignitaries attending the World Radio Conference 2015 meeting at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland. This was a direct contact between ISS crew members Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS, and Kimiya Yui, KG5BPH and the ITU Headquarters' Amateur Radio station. Watch a video<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahdDiuFk2-Y&feature=youtu.be> capturing the event. Nine international contacts were also completed during the period with students in Japan, Malaysia, Russia, United Kingdom, Austria, Canada and Italy. We received 20 educational proposals from schools/organizations desiring to host an ARISS contact during the July-December 2016 time period. The review committee will announce the list of schools/organizations to move to the next stage of preparation to host a contact on December 15. Sincerely Compiled by, Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB (for Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ) Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations All Staff 12/25 Holiday Lauren Clarke 12/24 PTO Jackie Ferreira 12/24 PTO Steve Ford 12/4 PTO " 12/11 PTO " 12/21-12/31 PTO Dan Henderson 12/17-1/5 PTO Bob Inderbitzen 12/24-12/31 PTO Debra Johnson 12/23-24 PTO " 12/30-31 PTO Harold Kramer 12/21-24 PTO Lisa Kustosik 12/1-12/22 PTO Diane Petrilli 12/21-12/24 PTO Sincerely, Maty Weinberg, for Lisa Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO / Meeting Planner ARRL--The National Association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 Tel: 860-594-0245 --- Fax: 860-594-0259 email: lkustosik(a)arrl.org

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[arrl-odv:24903] Grow Lights
by Northwestern Division Director - Jim K7CEX 09 Dec '15

09 Dec '15

The Washington State Legislature is considering a Bill to allow up to six marijuana plants to be grown in a private residence. This coupled with the already blossoming (pun intended) industry in Washington, Oregon and Colorado, will bring about more 'grow light' interference to Ham Radio. Are we (ARRL) pursuing this interference issue, and is the FCC at all receptive of the Ham Radio Community complaints? I will be speaking against this legislation at the Science and Technology Committee, just after the first of the year. 73 and good Hamming Jim Pace, K7CEX ARRL the National Association for Amateur Radio Northwestern Division Director

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[arrl-odv:24900] Candidate Interviews
by Northwestern Division Director - Jim K7CEX 08 Dec '15

08 Dec '15

Good Morning all: I am pleased to announce that the CEOSC has identified the candidates who will undergo final interviews. We are in the process of setting up those interviews to take place prior to the January Board meeting; we anticipate reporting our findings and recommendations at that meeting. Our sincere thanks to Mr. Niswander and Mr. Widin, who were able to rearrange their personal and business schedules, in order to accommodate the interviews prior to the January meeting; their sacrifice is noted and truly appreciated. I would also like to thank those on the ARRL Staff who worked with the committee in preparing advertising, developing reflectors, contacting various candidates and generally maintaining the flow of resumes and letters. Without their teamwork, the task would have been quite overwhelming. Finally, I want to thank the members of the CEOSC (Mrs. Craigie, Mr. Widin, Mr. Norris, Dr. Woolweaver and Mr. Isley) and the consultants that they engaged (Mr. Niswander, Mr. Woll, Mr. Roderick and Buxton and Associates - Gary Buxton and Stacia Walter). Although the process of seeking a new CEO was not complicated, it was a composite procedure of searching for appropriate candidates, resume analysis, discussion meetings, debates and consensus building. It was an honor for me to chair such a qualified and hard working committee. In nautical terms we would signal Bravo Zulu to all. See you in Hartford 73 and good Hamming Jim Pace, K7CEX ARRL the National Association for Amateur Radio Northwestern Division Director

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[arrl-odv:24899] W6RJ SK
by Kay Craigie 06 Dec '15

06 Dec '15

Chip Margelli posted this on Facebook. 73, Kay N3KN Very deeply saddened to observe the passing of a decades-long friend, business associate, and giant in the world of amateur radio: Bob Ferrero, W6RJ (formerly K6AHV), who departed yesterday, December 4th. Bob, a CHP officer and Navy veteran, acquired Ham Radio Outlet in Burlingame, California in 1971 and through decades of hard work and commitment to his customers turned it into the largest amateur radio retail chain in the world, with 14 stores now throughout the United States. Bob loved his family and loved amateur radio, and he was the walking definition of a hale fellow, well met. We'll miss you, Bob. 73 for now. Sent from my iPhone

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