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).
Amateur
Radio Council of Arizona Phoenix AZ
Arizona Repeater Association, Inc.
Phoenix AZ
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
Green
Valley Amateur Radio Club Green
Valley AZ
Hualapai
Amateur Radio Club Inc. Kingman AZ
Korean
Amateur Radio
Association Los
Angeles CA
Golden Triangle Amateur Radio Club
Wildomar CA
London
Bridge Amateur Radio Association Inc. Lake
Havasu City AZ
Long Beach Repeater Associates, Inc.
Long Beach 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
Radio Society of Tucson
Tucson AZ
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
SATERN, Riverside & San Bernardino
Counties Section Riverside CA
Scottsdale
Amateur Radio Club Scottsdale AZ
SMRA - Emergency Repeater Network Camarillo CA
Superstition
Amateur Radio Club Mesa AZ
Tri
City Amateur Radio Association (Until Dec. 2009) Goodyear AZ
Ventura
County Amateur Radio Club Oxnard CA
Ventura
Radio Club (until Dec. 2009) Ventura CA
West Valley Amateur Radio Club
Sun City AZ
Wrightwood Communications Group
Wrightwood CA
Yuma Amateur Radio Hamfest Organization
Yuma 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.
Legislative Action Program
The ARRL maintains a Legislative Action Program for ARRL members topromote and protect Amateur Radio through coordinated, legitimate
political action at the Federal government level.
- Mel Hughes K6SY - Legislative Action Coordinator
- Dick Zalewsk W7ZR - Legislative Action Coordinator
Calendar of Events
A Calendar of Events is available on the website. Both current 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.
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
P.O. Box 970
Fairfax, CA., 94978-0970
Comments or questions on this bureau's operation
may be directed to kc6awx@arrl.net
See the W6 Bureau home page http://www.qslbureau.org
Willamette Valley DX Club Inc.
POB 555
Portland, OR 97207-0555
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,
In Southern California, there are three groups:
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 :
Arizona Section
Los Angeles Section
Orange Section
San Diego Section
Santa Barbara Section
Helpful
Toll-Free Numbers
- To renew ARRL membership and order ARRL
publications or find a dealer near you, call ARRL HQ at (888)277-5289.
- To find a ham club, classes or testing, in your
local area call (800)32NEWHAM.
- After you upgrade, consider becoming an ARRL
Volunteer Examiner. For information on VE certification, call
(800)9ARRLVEC.
- To get information on the ARRL Insurance Plans
(personal equipment or club liability), call Seabury & Smith at
(800)503-9230. Note, their name has changed from Albert H. Wohlers
& Co.
- For information directly from the FCC regarding
licensing, call the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Consumer
Assistance staff at (888)CALLFCC.
Page maintained by N6TW
n6tw@arrl.net
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