How do YOU answer the question what is amateur radio?  When friends ask me about amateur radio, I’m frequently at a loss as how to explain my hobby.  Is it about public service, electronics, emergency communication, speaking with folks far away, or something else?   That very question is the topic of this week’s email newsletter “On All Bands” published by DX Engineering.  It has some great insight into explaining our hobby.  Here is the link:

‍ https://www.onallbands.com/youth-insights-tips-on-explaining-amateur-radio-to-your-non-ham-friends/

What does it mean to be an amateur radio operator in 2026?  Looking back the history of radio one finds the radio amateur prominent in the development of equipment and operating methods.  In 1939 RCA recruited a few of the then 50,000 plus radio amateurs to build and demonstrate the new technology: Television!  Fast forward to 2017 and WSJTX including FT8 were developed by hams Joe Taylor K1JT and Steve Franke K9AN. 

IWorld Amateur Radio Day, held on April 18th each year, is celebrated worldwide by radio amateurs and their national associations, which are organized as member-societies of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). It was on this day in 1925 that the IARU was formed in Paris. American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Co-Founder Hiram Percy Maxim was its first president. The first Ham Radio Open House event last year was tied to IARU’s centennial celebrations. This year’s activity is part of ARRL’s “Year of the Club” theme. 

I’m hoping everyone stayed warm in January and keeping my fingers crossed for a warmer than usual and snow free February.

Speaking of the weather, I hope some of you enjoyed Winter Field Day.  My plan was to attend but the cruise ship my wife and I were on specifically did not allow ham radios on board.   However, I was thinking of you.

Just a reminder, our February 10^th meeting will be held via Zoom, not at Heller. Our annual dinner get together planned by Rich Davidson will be at Portillos in Deerfield on Tuesday, February 24^th at 7pm.  Portillos has a great menu to choose from and we got great reviews from our participants last year.  We have always had a good turnout at our dinners and are hoping that the same is true for this year.  We will have some saved tables, so get there early, order dinner and enjoy the evening.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. As we head into 2026, I am excited to announce some new leaders of our events and members of our board of directors.

Starting with the board, we have a new Vice President Alwin Bruner W9APB and Treasurer James Janiak NE9JJ. Also joining the board for 2026 will be Matt Hayes KB9ME as net director and John Cankar W9JM as public service director. I would be amiss if I did not take this time to thank the departing 2025 board members Vice President Elliot Goldman K9EHG, Net Director Marty Boroff WD9GYM, Treasure Richard Friedman W9RCF, and Skywarn Liaison Todd Marshall KD9NBB for their service to our club.

Without a doubt our largest club event is Field Day. After several years as directors of Field Day, Don Whiteman KK9H and Marty Boroff WD9GYM have handed the reins to a new team. Thank you, Don and Marty, for making our club’s Field Day a success over the years. I am pleased to announce that Udo Koch, Alwin Brunner, Jay Williams W8JAY, and Brian Nolan KD9RFW will be leading us this year. Please give them your support by volunteering with our Field Day June 27 and 28.

It is December already!  Where has 2025 gone?  Let’s give special thanks and a call out to all of our amazing volunteers who helped planning and executing plans to make these events great.  We couldn’t have done it without you. 

Let’s review all of our activities in the past year.