Kettering Student's Young Achievers Award

Kettering University student Ruth Willet KM4LAO has received the Radio Club of America’s Young Achievers Award

From her love of Morse code to her passion for Amateur radio, Ruth Willet 19 has been able to learn more about the field of wireless communications from professionals around the country thanks to a scholarship she recently received.

Willet, president of the newly revived Amateur Radio Club on campus, was awarded the Radio Club of America’s Young Achievers Award, which allowed her to attend the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) in Orlando, Fla., 5-9th March 2018.

“I was shocked to have received this award. I never dreamed I would be able to attend such a prestigious wireless event. It was an honor be recognized by the Radio Club of America and to be presented this award. It was an eye-opening experience for me to be exposed to the field of wireless communications and to be introduced to the discussions taking place among first responders and the government regarding emergency situation preparedness,” said Willet, who is double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Physics at Kettering.

“As an amateur radio operator, I’ve mostly only experienced the hobby side of radio. This conference allowed me to see a broad range of applications for radio and technology in a thriving industry that impacts both the workplace and our communities. It was very energizing to attend all sorts of workshops and seminars, and learn how much our daily lives are touched by the field of wireless communications.”

Full Story - https://news.kettering.edu/news/kettering-university-student-receives-radio-club-americas-young-achievers-award

Radio interview - http://michiganradio.org/post/world-skype-and-facetime-kettering-freshman-bringing-back-ham-radio-club

GDPR and Amateur/Ham Radio Clubs

Essex Ham have published information on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679 which takes effect May 25

There is a misconception among some radio amateurs that “not-for-profit groups” are exempt from GDPR, that is not the case.

Essex Ham GDPR Post - https://www.essexham.co.uk/news/gdpr.html

There is a GDPR and Amateur Radio Clubs Discussion Group - https://hamclubs.groups.io/g/GDPR

Radio Ham Operator Achieves Contacts Across All 29 Bands

Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, in Virginia, has completed contacts on all 29 US amateur radio bands

On 11th April 2018 he completed a CW contact on the new 2200-meter band with K3MF in Pennsylvania, wrapping up a sweep of completed contacts on all 29 Amateur Radio bands. Justin is a bit of an old school guy — he worked K3MF on CW, and now he’s awaiting a QSL card. A paper QSL card.

Justin said he started working his way through the bands at the high end of the spectrum, those allocations above 24 GHz. “By the time 2002 came around, I had managed to have built enough millimeter-wave gear to complete formal QSOs, with QSL cards, on all the bands at the time,” he told ARRL. “On the bands above 24 GHz, I had to build two stations and pass one off to K2AD, W4WWQ, or WA4RTS to be on the other ends of these VUCCs and QSOs.”

To consider it a valid contact, Justin said he used the New England Weak Signal Group (NEWS) guideline of at least a 1-kilometer distance on each band. “While at first this seems very easy, very few hams have even had a QSO across a benchtop on bands like 134 GHz, much less over 1 kilometer,” he said.

By 2003, Justin had confirmed contacts (and paper QSLs) on each band from 1.8 MHz to 300 GHz. He submitted his cards to NEWS, which presented him with a framed award and plaque — the very first “Worked All Bands Award.”

Since then, a few ham bands have changed. For example, the 2.5-millimeter band shifted from 120 GHz to 122 GHz, and the 2-millimeter band moved down from 145 GHz to 134 GHz. “In order to stay current with the award, I built gear for those new allocations as well and made QSOs, VUCCs, and more DX,” he said.

Full ARRL Story - http://www.arrl.org/news/virginia-radio-amateur-completes-contacts-on-all-29-ham-bands