IA Section News From Iowa Section Manager Tom Brehmer, N0LOH:

The Washington Area Amateur Radio Club (WAARC) has been asked to organize communication checkpoints for the first ever "Y to Y Washington to Wellman Bike Ride" event on Saturday, June 9th. They need as many volunteers as they can get to cover the 56 mile course. Volunteers are asked to gather at the YMCA at 121 E. Main St. Washington at 7AM. The event will conclude at around 2PM. Please bring a handheld and/or a mobile 2 meter radio. For more information and to volunteer, please contact Mark Lukins, AB0DX, by e-mail (ab0dx@arrl.net) or by phone (319-653-1501).

Iowa Section Emergency Coordinator Dan Miller, AC0OF needs assistance with the Iowa Traffic & Emergency Net. Due to unforeseen family and employment situations, he needs someone that can back him up on short notice as Net Control. You may have a days notice, or just a few minutes or none at all. It would be nice to have someone that could be able to be back up NCS in the event he isn't able to make it. If you can help, please contact AC0OF@arrl.net.

The Tall Corn Amateur Radio Club hosted the "Frost Buster Race" (K0R) special event this past month. Their members enjoy portable operation and that is what they usually try to focus on when they operate as a club. They are located in Boone, Iowa which is also where the race track (Boone Speedway) is. The race is the first of the season race and is a not for points race. The name of the race comes from the time of year that the frost normally leaves the ground (which wasn't the case this year). The "Frost Buster" event ran from 0000 UTC April 2nd thru 2400 UTC April 7th. April 7th being the day of the race. This is the second year they have hosted the event. Each year the plan is to operate portable at or near the track the day of the race. Last year it was too cold to set up outside and this year it was raining Saturday morning : - ( So for 2 years in a row they have set stations up at the local airport in the meeting room. The airport is a short distance from the race track. During the week they were on the air using their home stations. They operated using SSB, CW, PSK & RTTY. The abnormally warm weather this spring allowed them to get out during the week and operate a portable station from Ledges State Park which is just south of Boone. They made contacts in all 50 states and with many DX stations. They were very happy with the number of contacts they had during the week. At times they all experienced "pile-ups" which were fun for them and their contacts! It is obvious that many amateur operators enjoy racing!! Club members that participated this year were: KN0R, N0NEU, KB0SL, KD0PIE, W0MYE, K0CY and W0BNW. They have sent a couple of images. One is of Jim Moreland W0BNW operating portable at the state park and the other is the QSL card Jim designed using an image he took from the airplane for the race track last fall during the "Super National" races which are held each year at Boone. As you can tell from the image the races are a HUGE draw to their community. - Thanks to Jim Moreland, W0BNW, for the report. See photos below.

On Saturday, April 14 at night an EF2 tornado struck the northwestern corner of the town of Creston, Iowa. The result of the storm was severe damage to the Greater Regional Medical Center and the Southwestern Community College campus. There were 10 injuries. The amateur radio operators in Creston validated the service aspect of ARES. They were reporting storm observations directly to the National Weather Service thru the amateur radio Skywarn station prior to the tornado and the went into disaster mode after the storm forced the evacuation of the hospital and required a temporary triage site. Because most of the communication lines had been compromised they were able to provide assistance to local authorities as well as information back to the National Weather Service that was not available thru normal methods. Jeff Johnson, Warning Coordination Meteorologist writes “The information provided about Creston was very valuable, as were all of the reports sent in. Thank you very much for your service”. Tom Reis NØVPR, NWS Des Moines Skywarn coordinator says “The efforts of the Creston hams once again proved the value of amateur radio in critical situations”. The day following the storm it was discovered that the local school district lost the 80 foot tower that is used for the school bus repeater. The Creston Amateur Club offered up their antenna, coax and 200’ tower space to the school. On Tuesday they installed the school’s repeater at their site and moved the Creston repeater to a temporary 60’ site. The school district commented that the school bus repeater works better than ever! This selfless act exemplifies amateur radio’s commitment to community service. - Thanks to Tom Reis, N0VPR, for the report.

The 2012 Iowa Ham of the Year Award is intended to recognize an Iowa ham who has demonstrated his or her tremendous dedication to Amateur Radio through his or her activities. The award was presented at the Des Moines Hamfest on Saturday, April 21, 2012. Our two runner-ups, Wyatt Dirks, AC0RA and Thomas Reis, N0VPR each received a certificate and an ARRL Repeater Directory. The winner, Richard Nelson, W0HHF, received a trophy, a certificate and an ARRL Handbook. See photo below.

On Sunday, August 5, 2012, the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club with be hosting a ARRL Sanctioned Hamfest in Cedar Rapids, IA. They call it their Summerfest. A flyer with the details on the Hamfest is available below. It would be greatly appreciated if you would circulate the flyer electronically to your Amateur Radio Club, Association, or Organization. If your group publishes a periodic Newsletter, it would be great if you could include the flyer in your next issue. - Thank you! - Dave Wilson, KB0DW. 

Congratulations to Richard Bingham, WW0Q and the Johnson County ARES/RACES Unit! They are going to receive a 2012 Governor's Volunteer Award by Johnson County Emergency Management Agency for outstanding commitment and service. See the letter they received below.

Colin Wheatley, W9UPK has announced that he is stepping down as the President of the ARRL Affiliated, Great River Amateur Radio Club, in Dubuque. He and his wife will be leaving in July or August to serve a mission for their church. Colin has been an asset to our club and his leadership will be missed. Not only for what he did as our club President, but also for the bright personality and sincere attitude toward our hobby. Personally, Colin has been more than an inspiration to me, I am honored to know Colin and to be able to call him a friend. He was my biggest cheerleader in my quest to attain my Extra Class license - even though he, himself has not earned that class of license. Colin is always there to help when needed, whether it be to serve as a liaison with the Local Boy Scout council, his work as our ARES Emergency Coordinator, or getting the word out to those that are interested in ham radio, Colin is always there. Colin's passion for this club does not only entail amateur radio, but he cares about each member on a personal level. Colin is there when I need someone to talk to and, at times, he has just called me to come to his home for Thanksgiving dinner or an ice cream - just to talk and let me know that he really does care. As hams, we are supposed to be ambassadors of good will and I have met no one that epitomizes that more than Colin Wheatley. - 73 de Mike Burns, KDØMCV. SM note - Colin will be receiving a certificate of appreciation at the June 4^th GRARC meeting from me on behalf of the Iowa Section.

Congratulations to Drue Powers, NØOSC, Emergency Coordinator for ARES/ARRL in Montgomery County, IA on successfully completing the EC-016 course!

The next regularly scheduled DRAC exam session will be Sunday, May 27th, beginning at 1300 hours. Testing details are provided below. One can get a copy of the question pools from the following WWW site: www.arrl.org/arrlvec/pools.html. The Davenport Radio Amateur Club (DRAC) conducts exams on a regular schedule in the odd numbered months of the year (1,3,5... Jan, Mar, May...) on the fourth Sunday beginning at 1300 hours local time. The exams are conducted under the ARRL VEC and all exam elements are administered. Preregistration is required and should be done prior to 1800 hours on Friday prior to the exam. Candidates are scheduled for time slots at that time and are notified of the scheduling thereafter (normally via e-mail, if available). Preregistration may be done up to 1800 hours on the night preceding the exam. Preregistration is used to provide a efficient scheduling. Waiting time is minimized along with distractions to candidates actually being tested. The exam fee for CY 2012 is $15.00 and covers one administration of each element (2,3,4). Retests of an element require an additional fee. You can preregister for any session by sending an e-mail to K9AYK@arrl.net. Alternatively, you can call Roger, K9AYK, during the 10 days that precede any session at (563) 355-5517. For your preregistration, please ensure you provide your name, call sign, and current license class along with both a contact phone number and e-mail address. The phone should be one that useable in the evening and on the weekend. Identify which license elements you have an interest in taking. Candidates with special or accommodative testing requirements should also make those needs known at the time of preregistration. Additional testing details are provided by e-mail to candidates about one day prior to the exam session. Candidates should bring two forms of ID (one with a photo), the exam fee, the original and one copy of any existing amateur radio license and the original and one copy of any other qualifying materials such as CSCE or grandfather credit. Previous license holders and long-time license holders may be eligible for grandfather credit of elements 1 and/or 3. Please check www.arrl.org/arrlvec/grandfather.html for details on grandfather credits. The exam site is subject to change for each session. At the current time, the site will be in McMullen Hall, Room 201. McMullen is located on the NE corner of Locust and Gaines Streets. Parking is available to the north (small lot) and west (larger lot) of the building. Entrance to these lots are off of Gaines Street. Handicapped parking is available in the small lot east of the building and is accessed via Locust Street. Enter building on east side (handicapped entrance with ramp). Stairs to second floor are inside lobby, as is an elevator. Follow the "ICN" signs to exam classroom. The DRAC exam team does conduct special examinations upon request. Requests should be made at least two weeks prior to the desired date and may be directed to K9AYK. This period provides the time to assemble a test team, arrange for a site and provide the necessary public notifications. Unless special needs dictate, special exam sessions are also open to other candidates.

The 2013 Iowa Ham of the Year Award recognizes an Iowa ham who has demonstrated an outstanding dedication to Amateur Radio through activities between March 15, 2012 and March 14, 2013. ARRL membership is required to qualify.  For more information contact N0LOH. Click below for the nomination form in Adobe pdf format.