Section Newsletter — ARRL Santa Clara Valley — April 1, 2025
I’m sorry to relate that our EC and former DEC, Linda Bennett / W6LJB
is a silent key. Linda was a constant during the 2020 firestorms here.
She’s greatly missed — https://www.facebook.com/sc4ares/#***
Extracts from the ARRL website follow —
Five Steps to Get Ready for April’s Ham Radio Open House
We’re only days away from April and ARRL’s month-long Ham Radio Open
House (HROH). Radio clubs, schools, and other groups that operate a
shared ham radio station are urged to join the nationwide event to raise
the visibility of amateur radio and related technology. April is also
Science Citizen Month, and April 18 is World Amateur Radio Day. It’s
also the 100th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union
(IARU), making the month a perfect backdrop for engaging the public in
an introduction to ham radio.You know the experience when a newcomer visits your amateur radio
station: they have a bit of overwhelmed amazement, taken back by all the
new sights and sounds. You explain to them what each component does, but
oftentimes they’re gripped in a wide-eyed wonder about all the
exciting technology in front of them; the gear, displays filled with
radio signal waterfalls and other graphical interfaces, and the variety
of sounds, from Morse code and digital to the voices of faraway people.
Look out the window, and eyes are gazed on antennas of all shapes and
sizes. In the best of situations, that sensory overload turns into
getting on the air, turns into a new member of this hobby-of-hobbies,
turns into a new radio amateur! That’s the energy we are tapping into
for ARRL Ham Radio Open House.Show off all the cool things that can be done in amateur radio —
leading with our technological innovations, how radio works, and what we
can do with our signals. Follow up with getting the visitor hands-on —
let them partici pate in several of the 1 million acts of science that
SciStarter is working to document as part of April being Citizen Science
Month. Get the visitor on the air! Make them feel a part of it, from the
moment they walk in.ARRL wants your club to be successful. Here are the steps to prepare for
your club’s ARRL Ham Radio Open House:1. Pick a date
Select a date (or dates) any time in the month of April to host your
club station’s open house to maximize visitor traffic to your
operation.2. Use the media kit
ARRL has created a comprehensive media kit prepared by veteran PR
professionals on the ARRL Public Relations Committee. These pros want to
help you shine and have given you a turn-key solution. Use as much or as
little of it as you’d like – but it’s all there: Sample press
release, PR tip sheet, media outreach timeline, and more. Find it on
www.arrl.org/world-amateur-radio-day.3. Location, Location, Location!
The ARRL Ham Radio Open House locator tool is available at
www.arrl.org/Open-House. It is a two-way street. Add your club’s
information to the interactive tool or use it to find an activation
already planned in your area. This is the same tool many are accustomed
to using to find ARRL Field Day sites.4. Be a social media superstar
Social media is how many people find activities. Make sure your club is
using the power of this outreach tool to spread the word of your event.
In the HROH media kit, you’ll find a section devoted to social media
best practices.5. Be ready for next steps
You’ve planned for weeks, visitors are showing up in droves, they’re
having a great time getting on the air. Don’t leave them hanging on
what’s next! Have a plan to get back in touch with them and welcome
them to your next club meeting. Prepare a licensing class to enable them
to dive right into becoming a ham. L et them know about your club’s
ARRL Field Day plans and have them be a part of them.The majority of active hams are ARRL members, so let them know the value
you get from an ARRL membership and encourage them to join. Don’t
forget about the free student membership for those aged 21 and under.
www.arrl.org/membership.ARRL thanks HamSCI — Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation — and
SciStarter for help preparing and promoting this event.***
Get ready for 2025 ARRL Field Day, June 28 – 29. This year’s theme is
“Radio Connects.” Get all the resources to start preparing for your
participation at www.arrl.org/FieldDay, and order t-shirts and other
official gear at www.arrl.org/shop/FieldDay. The June issue of QST
magazine will include a special section with additional advice and tips
for Field Day, sponsored this year by LDG Electronics. The digital
edition of June QST will be available on May 2, 2025.***
73 until next month.
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