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From the Department of New Hams and Upgrades, congratulations to Ellis Fish of Los Lunas for earning his Tech license, to Scott Rankin of Fence Lake for earning his Tech ticket, and to Scott Weltin (WA1FTI) of Albuquerque for upgrading to Extra Class. Testing came courtesy of the W5YI VE Squad ND the Valencia County Amateur Radio Association.

GA from Albuquerque and the ARRL/TAPR DCC (Digital Communications Conference).  The has been great thus far!  I’m looking forward to this afternoon’s and tomorrow’s presentations.  I had the opportunity two weekends ago to visit the Alamogordo Hamfest when I got to meet some of you.  That was a fun event even though I didn’t find any treasures to bring home.  Thanks to Rick, KB7SQF, and his team for their hospitality.

Next Thursday evening, I and others will be setting up for the Duke City Hamfest/Rocky Mountain Division Convention at the Isleta Pueblo Convention Center.  We’ve sold all the hotel rooms and meals for which
we contracted which is a financial relief.  I won’t repeat all the information here; it’s  available at the event web site:

https://www.dukecityhamfest.org

You can still make the early registration deadline (18 Sep) so go there and sign-up now, if you
haven’t already.

Four weeks after the convention at Isleta,  I will host the annual NM Section forum at the ARRL Section Convention at the Socorro Hamfest (Oct. 19-20).  You can register for it at:

 https://www.socorroara.org/socorro-hamfest/

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While time is short, you can still plan to attend the Alamogordo Hamfest this coming Saturday.  You can find all the details at:  http://www.qsl.net/k5lrw/hamfest.htm.  I look forward to seeing many of you from Southern NM there!

I’m am writing this edition from the 2018 Homeland Security and Emergency Management Conference.  I’ve already met a couple of other hams attending the event. I mention this because the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) has significant changes pending in its Strategic Plan.  Our Section Emergency Coordinator, Jay, W5WHN, and I are reviewing the plan, which is available at:  http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Media%20&%20PR/ARES/ARES%20Strategic%20Plan%20-%20final%20-%20PSC.pdf.  Your comments are important to us!  Please send your comments to us no later than Sept. 30.  Thanks!

Don’t forget to register for the Duke City Hamfest and ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention at:  https://www.dukecityhamfest.org/reserveandregister.  This event will have everything you expect from a first class amateur-radio convention. This event runs Sept. 21-23.  I’ll be there, too, and look forward to meeting many of you.

On Oct. 18-19, the Socorro Hamfest will host the ARRL NM Convention.  The event details are found at:  https://www.socorroara.org/socorro-hamfest/.  This will be a busy weekend starting with a tour of the Very Large Array and an evening banquet with a full day Saturday.  BCNU!

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Back in the day, when my family took road trips throughout the Southwest and traveled Route 66, likely as not we’d either eat or stay at a Harvey House when we hit major stops. Founded by Fred Harvey in 1876, his restaurants at stations along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe rail system would blossom into a network of 84 hotels and restaurants.

On Sept. 8, from 1500 to 2300 UTC, the Valencia County Amateur Radio Association will be hosting its annual Harvey Houses on the Air event, with the anchor station operating at the Harvey House Museum in Belen, NM. On First Street. right by the railroad tracks. Where else?

Well done!

Shared with permission: From Dave Finley, N1IRZ, net control, Socorro Chile Harvest Triathlon 2018, Aug. 3-4:

Thank you all for your support of this weekend’s Triathlons. We had another highly successful event, with excellent participation in both the Youth and the Adult races. I received thanks from many of the participants, and I presume some of you did, too. As has always been the case in the 23 years of Socorro’s triathlon, our amateur-radio support is greatly appreciated by both the participants and the organizers.

How did you do during the New Mexico QSO Party back in April? The results are up!
Among the highlights:

• New Mexico Big River Contesters romped in the Club category, garnering 387,572 points.
• Among clubs, the Albuquerque DX Association activated the most counties (13).
• AA5B let the pack among single-op stations with 226,348 points.
• Mesilla Valley Radio Club (N5BL) led the multi-op category with 45,696 points.
• K8TE captured the top spot in the single-op mobile category with 131,272 points.
• NA5M took first place in the QRP category with 3,420 points.

Check out the full results at http://www.newmexicoqsoparty.org/wp/results/results-current/

By Bill Mader, K8TE

For those of you who follow ARRL news, you already know I have been selected to replace my predecessor, Ed James, KA8JMW, as your new Section Manager. I am glad for the opportunity to serve, offering back to the Amateur Radio Service and the ARRL that have given me so much over the last 58 years.

Before going further, I want to thank my friend Ed for his service! He went beyond his two-year term to give us an extra six months through the end of June. It is my honor to serve in his place and those who served before him. I am friends with Bill, W5YEJ, and Don, W5FHA, and knew Joe, W5PDY. It won’t be easy to live up to the standard each of them set.

My primary roles are to represent the ARRL to you and to serve you as your representative to the ARRL. While written last, I view my service to you as first. Continue reading →