ARRL Southwestern Division

Donations to Clubs

From time to time, we become aware of an individual or an estate wishing to donate radio equipment to a qualified charity. While many radio clubs have not-for-profit status with the IRS, relatively few are qualified under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) to receive donations that are tax-deductible for the donor. If your radio club is so qualified and would like to be contacted when donation opportunities arise, please provide Vice-Director Marty Woll N6VI (n6vi@arrl.org) with point-of-contact information and, if not listed below, the date of your determination letter from the IRS.

After a search of the IRS database, we found the following clubs to be eligible to receive tax-deductible donations (ARRL-affiliated clubs are bolded).

California Institute of Technology Amateur Radio Club Pasadena CA

Coachella Valley Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services Indio CA

Coastal Amateur Radio Emergency Services Fountain Valley CA

Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club Westlake Village CA

Korean Amateur Radio Association Los Angeles CA

Paso Robles Amateur Radio Club Atascadero CA

Radio Amateur Disaster Service Inc. (Until Dec. 2008) La Crescenta CA

Radio Club Afterschool Inc. (Until June 2010 ) Los Angeles CA

Ramona Outback Amateur Radio Society Ramona CA

San Diego Amateur Radio Emergency Services Group (Until Dec. 2008) El Cajon CA

Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club Inc. Santa Barbara CA

Santa Maria Amateur Radio Telegraphy and Telephony Assoc Santa Maria CA

Satellite Amateur Radio Club Inc. Vandenberg AFB CA

Ventura County Amateur Radio Club Oxnard CA

Ventura Radio Club (until Dec. 2009) Ventura CA

Amateur Radio Council of Arizona Phoenix AZ

Green Valley Amateur Radio Club Green Valley AZ

Hualapai Amateur Radio Club Inc. Kingman AZ

London Bridge Amateur Radio Association Inc. Lake Havasu City AZ

Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Scottsdale AZ

Superstition Amateur Radio Club Mesa AZ

Tri City Amateur Radio Association (Until Dec. 2009) Goodyear AZ

In addition to separately incorporated clubs, radio clubs that are connected with a church or nonprofit school may also qualify. If you represent such a club, you can request your club to be added to the above list if your sponsoring exempt organization is prepared to issue donation acknowledgement letters as required by the Internal Revenue Code.

Some donations involve the removal of antennas and/or towers. If your club is considering accepting this kind of donation, be sure you can remove the equipment safely. A scoping visit prior to acceptance is advisable in this situation, as would having liability insurance coverage in case the removal results in any property damage or injury.. We have one such opportunity right now in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Contact N6VI for details.

This list will be posted to the Southwestern Division Web site (http://www.kkn.net/n6aa/) and updated as new information is received. You can refer to it when you become aware of gear waiting to be donated.

2008 Calendar of Events

A Calendar of Events has been added to the website. Both 2008 events and recurring events are listed.

Electronic Services

The ARRL Web pages are by far the most popular Amateur Radio Web site since its inception in 1995. Last year there were an estimated eight million hits (page views). The ARRL Web site (http://www.arrl.org/) is the beginning of many sources of ham services. All kinds of information is available: membership recruitment/benefits, leadership, representation, catalog/publications, upcoming events, youth support, PR, government relations, call sign lookup, technical help, clubs, testing, contest/award programs, Field Organization. educational activities. regulations. QSL bureaus. personal/ club insurance, licensing help (here and abroad), band plans, ARRL Foundation, etc. On the home page you will find a weekly survey has been added. Many services can be found via the index or search engine including links to other related sites such as the FCC. For example, forms necessary for many of the various programs can be found this way on the League's Web site.

One of the services on the League's Web site is on-line classified service, "RADIOS On-Line" ( http://www.arrl.org/RadiosOnline/ ). Radios On-Line is a classfied service for ARRL members to buy and sell Amateur Radio equipment. The classified ads are offered as a free service for ARRL members. ARRL membership is required to sell items.

The ARRL Web site has a section just for League members called the ARRL WEB EXTRA ( www.arrl.org/members ). You will need your membership number that you can find on your QST mailing label.

The ARRL Web Extra has news and feature articles that you won't find anywhere else. Also, there is a product review archive where you can obtain QST product reviews from as far back as 1980 as well as a search engine of QST/QEX indexes. There is a special member data page where you can review and update your QST mailing address. This is the place to go to have W1AW bulletins and The ARRL Letter sent to you directly by e-mail. Finally, you can obtain a forwarding e-mail address (<callsign>@ arrl.net). These services are free for League members. Also, members can now vote for their favorite monthly QST article (Cover Plaque Award).

Ham Audio Services

The weekly ARRL Audio News service is available via telephone at (860)594-0384 as well as the ARRL Web site. It is normally updated every Friday by 6 PM (Eastern lime).

Another audio source of ham news is Newsline ( http://www.arnewsline.org ), independently originated locally by producer/editor Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. Their primary feed dial-up number is (661)296-2407.

An interesting weekly audio service is provided by the Radio Amateurs Information Network (RAIN) ( http://www.rainreport.com/ ). The dial-up number is (847)827-RAIN.

Help Protect our Frequencies

Thanks to the efforts of our League's Washington team, the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1999 has been introduced as a bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 783) and now the U.S. Senate (S 2183) -- see page 15 of May QST. For a copy of the bill and a sample letter for asking your Representative/ Senators to become a cosponsor, see the ARRL Web site ( www.arrl.org/govrelations/hr783.html ). The site will show the current list of cosponsors as well as direct you to a link for finding information on all your U.S. congressmen. If you do not have Web access, give your local library a call to find out your congressmen.

Antenna Happenings

Many of the cities in our Division have been busy changing or adding to their antenna regulations to address cellular base towers and small satellite dishes. The impact to existing Amateur Radio antenna regulations varies from none to substantial. Although your ARRL headquarters staff or Division representatives have general information and expertise, it's always best to check with City Hall regarding current antenna regulations in your city. Contact the City Clerk's office, or check your city's Web site. An increasing number of cities (and counties) are posting their zoning codes on the Web in a searchable format.

More help is on the way! At the July Board Meeting, the ARRL directors approved a motion to: 1) improve resources available to Amateurs involved in antenna cases, 2) establish a board of volunteer experts to evaluate antenna cases suitable for ARRL support. Be aware that support means just that -- amateurs will still need to make a vigorous case on their own -- with ARRL support as outlined above.

QSL Bureaus

Sixth District QSL Bureau

Comments or questions on this bureau's operation may be directed to kc6awx@arrl.net

Seventh District QSL Bureau

DX Century Club Card Checking

There is a new enhanced DXCC Card Checker program as of April. As before, this will save you the necessity of mafling QSL cards to ARRL HQ but now only one local checker will be needed. Under the new program, DXCC Card Checkers will be able to check cards for all DXCC awards (except 160 meters), and all QSLs from any current DXCC Entity (for contacts less than ten years old). This will apply to both new awards and endorsements.

ARRL checkers are appointed by the DXCC desk at HQ from nominations by Section Managers and ARRL-affiliated DX specialty clubs with at least 25 members. Currently, only one checker is appointed for each of the above. The current DXCC Card Checkers in or involved with the SW Division are:

For more information on the DXCC program, including forms and rules, see the ARRL Web site (www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc).

Repeater Coordinators

Local areas have long-established coordination bodies that volunteer their time and effort. In Arizona,

The groups listed above are the only ones recognized in the SW Division by the National Frequency Coordinators' Council (NFCC) (http://www.arrl.org/nfcc).

Amateur Radio Councils

Local clubs form councils in order to better coordinate and promote activities important to the ham community. There are councils in all five of the sections within the division. They are:

ARRL Southwestern Division Special Service Clubs (SSC)

These clubs have gone through a screening process above and beyond other ARRL-affiliated clubs. They are expected to provide local public relations, emergency communications, training, technical advancement and other activities that further the goals of the Amateur Radio Service. Many SSCs have Award Managers who can check cards for some of the ARRL operating awards. The following are our Special Service Clubs :

ARRL Southwestern Division

SW Division Convention in Mesa, AZ, 12-14 September 2008, info

Director

Vice Director

Section Managers

Arizona Section

Los Angeles Section

Orange Section

San Diego Section

Santa Barbara Section