Club News
The recently discussed patches and decals have arrived.
Current members can get their free patch by picking it up at the August (or any upcoming) meeting.
Additional Patches are $3.00 each and the decals are $2.00 each
If you can't make a meeting and you'd like one of these limited edition decals,
Please send payment along with your Name, Address and how many Decals you want at $2.00 each to
AARC Treasurer
PO BOX 24551
Omaha, NE 68124
Delivery method and potential mailing costs for the patches is still being determined.
Field day this year is on June 26-27. This year’s rules can be found at http://www.arrl.org/field-day#
https://tinyurl.com/dva2jrn8 Both of these links will provide everything you need to know about Field Day 2021.
What is Field Day you say?
Field Day is: "The single most popular on-the-air event". Approximately 35,000 hams across the US and Canada partipicpate. It is held annually on the 4th Weekend in June. For 2021 that will be June 26th and 27th. The event starts at 1:00pm CDT on Saturday afternoon and runs until 1:00pm CDT on Sunday afternoon. It can be a lot of different things depending on the groups and individuals who are particpiating. But the original idea (and its still part of the spirit of the event) is to set up your equipment away from your comfortable home station and already installed antennas, and set up a station or many stations in the field. This would demonstrate our ability to communication in an emergency. Over the years it has become a social event, contest, picnic, and a public relations affair.
Clubs, like the Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club, often have equipment like beam antennas, dipoles, towers, generators and lots that they use to set up a multi band multi operate event in a park. Everyone would be invited to stop by, get on the air for a while, learn about amateur radio, eat, socialize and generally just have fun. This type of operation (3 or more hams setting up away from home) was given a designation of "A" or Alpha. Usually AARC would put 5 to 8 stations on the air at the same time. Meaning that K0USA had a Designator of 5A or 8A - the number being the number of stations that could get on the air simultaneously. Every station on site using the same callsign. With the late removal of the 2021 masking and gathering restrictions within Omaha, the AARC was not able to obtain permission to use one of the many parks as we have done in the past.
The contest aspect is a bit more than just how many stations you work, but bonus points are given for using emergency power, setting up in public locations, making a contact through a satellite, copying a special message, sending messages from your field day site to the ARRL Section Manager.
Since Field Day was always about being away from home, stations working from home could participate but were restricted to not being able to work each other for "points". But the ARRL has changed those rules for this year. Hams working from home using commercial power sources are given the designator "D" Usually its a single station so 1D. Again in 2021 "Deltas" can work "Deltas" for points![For 2021 they are limited on power however.] Use your home station, or setup in the back yard even call call CQ Field Day on 2m FM simplex! You might find a LOT of those out there this year. Or if you have a generator or battery capacity, you can still work from home and be an"E" or "Echo" Station.
The ARRL has also recognized that Field Day is in a club's blood. Normally club names are only published for class A and Class F entries - but again in 2021 participants in ANY class can submit their results for the club.. So if DogPatch ARc members Daisy May KZ0XYL and KZ0LIL Abner both participate in Field Day 2021 - Abner from his Class D home station and Daisy May from her car as a Class C Mobile station, When they upload their logs, they can both include their radio radio club name. Their scores will be included in the in the combined score for Dogpatch ARC.
The League has made it easy to do. You upload your log here: https://field-day.arrl.org/fdentry.php and chose "Ak Sar Ben ARC" from the drop down.
There are plans underway [again] for KØUSA to be operated as a 2E or 3E. So KØUSA will still be a presense during Field Day! But YOU can still do field day.
Also email or mail your log to our club secretary Brian Sohl KE0GKB at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We plan on having certificates and awards for club members who upload or submit their log with the club designation as Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club. This year only we will also have certficiates and maybe some prizes and your accomplishments will be recognized in a future issue of HamHum!!
June’s AARC Club presentation is a three member panel presentation on “Valuable and Informative Websites to Improve your Ham Radio Experiences”. The panel will be led by Brian Sohl KEØGKB, Terry BegleyKEØOPB and Pat Connell WØOJU. This online zoom demonstration will highlight the merits of these websites as well as a brief demonstrations of each website.
- de WØOJU President AARC
The meetings of the AARC are currently being held via Zoom, on the 2nd Friday of each month at 7:00 pm.
If you are not a club member and would like an inviation to attend the Zoom Program - send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.and we will send you an email after 4:00pm on Friday June 11th.
The monthly meeting of the Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club will be held on Friday March 12, 2021 at 7:00 pm. Due to building access restrictions at the Red Cross, the meeting will be held via Zoom. Members should watch their email for the link to join the meeting. Our meeting are open to everyone, so if you are not an AARC member and would like to attend you can sign up at this link. <Signup for AARC Meeting>
The program for the evening will be ARRL Midwest Division Director Art Zygielbaum, KØAIZ. Art will us up to date with all the happenings at the League and will do his best to answer our questions.
Amateur radio is all about community. Icom knows that ham clubs play a big role in bringing hams together to network and learn from one another on an ongoing basis. As a way of giving back, Icom has launched a promotion exclusively for ham clubs and the Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club has been chosen as one of those clubs!
The February 12 Ak-Sar-Ben ARC meeting will once again be held on ZOOM and starts at 7:00 pm (club members will be getting an email with the Zoom information) 
The program will start at 7:30pm. The program will be presented by Will Jourdain AA4WJ of ICOM America. One of Will's topics will be the new IC-705 QRP Portable Radio. He will discuss some of the unique technical aspects of the 705's interface and I/O and also on many of the features of the radio, which include DSTAR and WLAN/Bluetooth. There will be time for questions and answers
Club members will get the link to the Zoom meeting via the email that they have on file with the membership secretary. If you aren't getting those emails.. reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to ensure you have provided them with your latest email address.
Non-club members are welcome to attend the program and can sign up here https://tinyurl.com/AARCFeb2021 to be sent the link to the meeting. The invitation to non-members will be sent out after 4:00pm on 02/12/2021
What a great program! EME 6M DX -
You can learn more about this interesting aspect of ham radio at Lance's Site "https://bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/Welcome_to_6m_EME.htm"
The recording of the presentation will be available soon for those that missed out!
The January meeting which will be held via Zoom, The Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club is pleased to bring you "The Trials and Tribulations of 6 Meter DX" by Lance Collister, W7GJ the world renowned 6 meter EME (earth Moon Earth) DXer. During the program, he will share many aspects of 6 Meter EME DXing: from equipment, antennas to modes and operating techniques. to his own special moon tracking software (GJTRACKER) to software and DXPeditions Lance promises to share his expertise and experiences with this interesting aspect of Amateur Radio.
Lance was first licensed in 1965 and became hooked on 2m DX early on. His interest in that led him to 2 meter EME and he placed first world wide on 2 meters in the ARRL EME Competition in 1983. Later that same year he became the first civilian to contact space when he talked to Owen Garriot W5LFL aboard the STS-9 mission. He helped develop the Maidenhead Grid Awards, which later became the ARRL's VUCC(VHF/UHF Century Club). He has earn his DXCC on 2m EME and is credited by the ARRL with completing fourteen "firsts" from the USA to a new DXCC country. In the Mid 1990s he moved He has made EME DX-peditions to numerous locations around the world and in 2021 he is planning to activate the Austral Islands and Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.
Please join us for an informative and entertaining evening as Lance takes us to the moon and back.
Club members will receive the invitation link via the email provided for HamClubOnline. The meeting will start at 7:00. With the program starting about 7:30.
If you are not a club member but your like an invitation to the meeting please click here to fill out this form and the Zoom link will be sent to you
One major impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the resulting COVID-19 - has been on large gatherings. That is frustrating to say the least. But at least we live in a time where technolgy can allow us to get together and conduct club business. The club has been using the video conferencing platform Zoom for many months, and all in all it has been a great tool and keeps us moving forward during these last few months.. And it looks like at least through the winter the gathering restrictions will continue.
Thanks to Zoom, not only have we been able to continue to meet safely, we have had club members who have moved away from Omaha log on and attend meeings. Its allowed those who don't have transportation to attend and be involved again, and it has allowed some fantastic programs, including a great presentation by the one and only Bob Heil of Heil Sound. (Video coming soon!)
We understand that not everyone has internet to be able to attend meetings held on Zoom, but as mentioned it has allowed people who would not otherwise be able to attend to a meeting. There is no one way to meet that will meet everyone's needs. And maybe you think you need a whiz bang computer and all sorts of equipment. So here are some common misconceptions
1) You don't need a web camera - if you are logging in on a computer, you can see and hear the presenation, and those in the meeting will see a block with your name - oh.. and Zoom works on tables and smart phones too! Many people turn off the camera an just have a blank box or a photo instead.
2) You don't need a ton of bandwidth for video. - If you have a slow connection - Zoom will decrease the image quality to keep you with the group
3) You don't even need a computer- if you have a free long distance (most phones do) you can call into the meetings and hear what is going on
4) Video conferencing is expensive - Zoom is free for the attendees - you can even host meetings (with some restrictions) for free -
a Paid subscription if you are hosting a lot of meetings is available and is just over $10 a month - the club had been using a member's account, but voted at the December meeting to obtain one for club use.
5) Video conferencing is complicated - but it can be intimidating and we also understand that some of you might be uncomfortable learning Zoom in with "the crowd". Its okay.. lots of people forget to mute their microphone or they forget to unmute their microphone. Its just like learning a new mode.
But, to help out our club members.. if you would like to learn more about Zoom.. maybe join a training meeting.. or just try it out without a bunch of people.. we have your back. Send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will work with you to set up a meeting where you can come in and learn to navigate with one of the club's Zoom "experts".
Current Ak-Sar-Ben ARC members only --- If you haven't been getting the invitations with the log in instructions please check with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to ensure we have your current email address.
Non-AARC members can check the latest meeting info to see how to join our meetings.
The ballots were mailed - and counted and the results were announced at the December 11th Meeting...
Please give you support to the following people for 2021. They stepped up to serve the club.
| President | Pat Connell WØOJU |
| Vice President | Howard Parks AEØZ |
| Board Member | Dave Rice NØJSB |
| Board Member | Dan Buchholz NØPOT |
Contacts for the officers can be found under Club Contacts from the menu on the left. Or those who have signed on to Ham Club online - you can find each officer's FCC information as well as emails and phone numbers that were provided when they joined. They welcome your constructive comments and will gladly listen to all suggestions.