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 Previous: FCC Back to Five Members, GOP Majority |  Next: The K7RA Solar Update |
By Rob Brownstein, K6RB
k6rb@arrl.net
June 2, 2006
If you are an HF operator who works CW you've probably heard during the first full weekend of February all the CW sub-bands (except 30, 17 and 12 meters) come alive with stations calling "CQ FOC." You might have wondered who these hams are, and what exactly is the FOC.
In 1938, a small group of UK amateurs founded what was then exclusively the UK First-Class Operators Club. The purpose was to mentor fellow UK amateurs toward a higher level of operating proficiency. At the time, though CW was the prevalent mode, the FOC did not rule out hams who operated phone exclusively. It was only important that they demonstrate an ability to operate CW well.
 FOC members gather on the Saturday morning of the Austin dinner at the impressive station of Richard, K5NA. [Thomas Bentley, K2UFT Photo] |
Over time, the FOC's name changed to the First Class C.W. Operator Club, and its emphasis was aimed squarely at CW operation. Like the A-1 Operator Club, the FOC required member sponsorships to be invited to join. In time, the similarities between the two clubs changed. Today, the A-1 Operator Club has nearly 4600 members, and requires only two member nominations. FOC grew slowly to 500 members, and limits its membership to 500 active members; it also has a more lengthy vetting process.
These differences are not about exclusivity, but about practical management limits. Unlike the A-1 Operator Club, the FOC puts out a monthly newsletter, "The News Sheet," a quarterly four-color magazine, FOCUS and an annual Members Call Book. In addition, it sponsors three operating events each year.
Getting Invited to Join
Today's FOC vetting process requires a considerable commitment on the part of any aspirant. In order to be nominated, you must have had a conversational CW contact with an FOC member on at least two different bands, and that same member has to nominate you. Working FOC members is not hard to do, as they are frequently found working CW about 25 kHz above the lower CW band edges (and around 10.120, 18.080, and 24.905 MHz on 30, 17 and 12 meters). If you monitor their conversations, you may hear a reference to "Windles," a point system that encourages activity on all nine HF bands, and a "161" at the end of the contact, the combination of 73 and 88.
If you are interested in joining, call one of them, ask about the club and mention your interest. That member will probably give you some useful advice about going further.
Once you've been nominated, the real fun starts. You receive a letter from the UK telling you that you have been nominated, and your call is reported in the next monthly newsletter. During the next six months, you will need at least five sponsors, including your original nominator. One sponsor must be in the UK, and at least one other has to be from a different continent than yours.
You cannot request a sponsorship -- you cannot even hint around about it. You simply need to operate a lot of CW, make contacts with members on multiple bands and let nature take its course. Members are kept informed about nominees through the monthly newsletter, and those who have worked you on more than two bands and appreciate your operating proficiency may then sponsor you. Once you meet your sponsorship requirements, you are moved to the "starred list," where your call is listed for three months. During that time, though extremely rare, a member who has a provable issue of poor operating can raise an objection. The FOC committee then reviews the information and either rejects the objection or sustains it.
Once your call has been on the starred list for the requisite three months without sustained objection, you are invited to join and given your FOC number if there are fewer than 500 active members at the time. When the club already has 500 active members, you are put on a stand by list. If one of those members passes away, becomes inactive or resigns, it opens a new slot for people on the stand by list, and, in turn, each is invited to join.
Why Bother?
 At the Austin dinner in March 2005, FOC members took a dinner-cruise on the lake in downtown Austin. In the background is the bridge under which thousands of bats roost and fly out around sunset to fill the sky. [Thomas Bentley, K2UFT Photo] |
Why go through all that and risk rejection? That's a great question. The answer is, it's not everyone's cup of tea. Some great CW operators spend 99 percent of their operating time working CW contests with 15 second exchanges. They cannot -- or will not -- have a conversational CW contact; the FOC is not for them. Others are interested in working nothing but DX and get their enjoyment from "599 tu" contacts; the FOC is not for them, either. This is not to disparage their operations of choice; it is simply to say that the FOC would not be a good club for such operators.
What you find in the FOC, as in ham radio in general, is a mixed bag of contesters, DXers and rag chewers. Every one of them can, and does, engages in conversational CW contacts and uses good operating practices, being capable of operating at 25 wpm or higher. You will also find hams who are committed to being active on multiple bands a reasonable amount of time.
There's a heightened sense of camaraderie among FOCers. They call each other "pal," inquire about each other's families and get together at social functions sponsored by the FOC. You read stories in the newsletter and magazine about a US ham visiting New Zealand and being hosted by members in each region of the country, or of a member opening his home to dozens of visiting members attending an FOC dinner near Washington. DC.
Every year in early October there is an FOC dinner in the UK, near London, and in December there is a dinner in Orlando, Florida. In March, members can go to a dinner in either Texas or Louisiana (it alternates each year), and in April, there is a dinner at the Visalia DX Convention, followed by the Washington, DC dinner and Dayton breakfast in May. There are other dinners in other European countries, too. This is a very sociable group.
One member, a well known contester, told me that being invited to join the FOC was, for him, one of his greatest achievements. Another member told me that a year before joining the FOC that he was on the brink of giving up ham radio altogether.
As for me, my two ham passions are CW contesting and CW rag chewing. I joined a contest club about eight years ago, and was invited to join the FOC in July 2004. Being in these two clubs is like having died and gone to ham heaven. I confess I had never worked 17 or 12 meters before joining the FOC. Now, I am often on 30 and 17 meters, and take frequent peeks at 12 meters in search of an opening.
There is definitely something appealing about working dozens of other hams who know my wife's name, what kind of work I do and what I look like. Each new member is profiled in the issue of the quarterly magazine that is published after he receives his number. And, starting in 2006, the latest FOC Call Book has photos along with contact information.
Incentives for Staying Active
 An FOC membership certificate. |
Most FOCers do a lot of CW QSOing. To make it even more interesting, there are several award incentives. For example, there are certificates for working all the active members on at least one band. There are others for working members in all the US states and for working members in all the Canadian provinces. There is still another for working members in all the countries represented by its membership. The annual Windle award is very popular; each member gets a point for working another member on a new band in a new month. Thus, you could accumulate nine points for each member over a 12 month period for a potential total of 4490 points. This gets members to check out 10, 17 and 12 meters, Top Band and even 10 meters during sunspot nulls.
The three annual operating events are very well received. For many years there was just one -- the Marathon. This is the one you hear the first full weekend in February. Like "Lions in the Air," it is a club event. Members attempt to work each other on as many of the six HF bands as possible during a 48 hour period. There are bonuses for five and six-band groupings, for new countries and for each continent. In June and October, there is the new Bill Windle QSO Party (or BWQP). Members work both other members and non-members, while non-members work only members. It is a great way for non-members to get the attention of members, and for members to meet a new group of aspirants.
Getting More Information
You can find out more about FOC by checking out its Web site. You will find information and photos covering the club, its code of conduct and a membership roster. If the FOC sounds like a club for you, check out its CW "neighborhood" and work a few members. Ask questions. Indicate your interest. One of these days, you too may be in the thick of the Marathon, having great CW ragchew contacts and being part of a fun group of CW operators.
Rob Brownstein, K6RB, Amateur Extra, has been licensed
since he was 11; he was first licensed in New York as KN2UMU. An active
contester, CW rag chewer and determined SO2R rookie, his preferred mode is CW
and he operates on all nine HF bands. Invited to join the FOC in July 2004, he has
also been an active member of the Northern California Contest Club since 1997. When
he is not on the air, Rob writes books and articles, taking advantage of his
background in physics, electronics, marketing and journalism; he has had four
books published by McGraw-Hill since 1998. Rob lives in Santa Cruz, California
with his wife, Debra, and their two sons, Liam and Mitchell.
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