From the Desk of AB9ZI - January 2026 Message
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.
Because it is held in June the temperature on Field Day can be swelteringly hot. For those of you who find late June a bit too warm John Cankar W9JM suggests you come to Winter Field Day held by the 415 Amateur Radio Club. Held January 25-25, John guarantees it won’t be too warm. Details at https://the415arc.com/events/
The largest gathering of amateur radio operators in the USA is Hamvention held May 15 thru 17, 2026, at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Zenia Ohio. Is someone trying to tell you that amateur radio is fading away? Nonsense! There were 36,814 of your fellow hams attending in 2025. Our club has a gathering place in the Flea Market where you can rest your weary feet and perhaps sell a piece of equipment. Each year Don Whiteman reserves our spot and then he seeks a volunteer (twists someone’s arm) to transport the club pop up canopy, banner, tables, and chairs. This year someone actually volunteered before Don even asked! Make your hotel reservation soon because when 36,000 people descend on a town with a population of 26,000, rooms sell out fast. Details at https://hamvention.org/ many of our group stay at the Holiday Inn Express Dayton South I-675. Watch for more details about Hamvention and our club’s annual caravan the coming months.
After our auction in October, we offered unsold items for sale on club website. As members offer to make purchases off the website, we need a team to take on the distribution of the items to the buyers. Udo Koch will inform this team of the details and the team will contact the buyer and make arrangements to complete the transaction. Arrangements with the buyers can be made for smaller items to be brought to breakfast at Max’s on Saturday or larger items to be picked up at the storage locker. Payment can be made by cash or check; sorry no PayPal or Zelle.
And last of all remember the January 13 and February 10 club meetings will be on Zoom, not at Heller. The NEW Zoom log-in as well as all club news and information can be found on our website https://ns9rc.org/
Happy New Year!
73, Brian Dubin AB9ZI, President