Michigan VHF-UHF Society

(updated 6 Sep 2014)


Greetings!

While looking for a VHF-UHF-Microwave club to join here in west Michigan, I found out that there were no active VHF-UHF weak signal clubs for the entire state of Michigan. Wisconsin has the Badger Contesters.  Illinois-Indiana-Iowa has the Society of Midwest Contesters.  Minnesota has the Northern Lights Radio Society. Ohio (and the SE part of Michigan) has the Mad River Radio Club and Ohio also has the Midwest VHF Society. Actually, the Mad River Radio Club claims to cover Michigan, but only within 175 miles of Findlay, Ohio.  Sorry, Spring Lake, MI isn't included.  Also, the MRRC is primarily an HF contesting club.  VHF-UHF contesting is secondary. When you submit your VHF contest scores, what club do you claim membership in?

While asking around, I found out that there is a club called the Michigan VHF-UHF Society, based in the Detroit area and currently inactive.  Bob Lang, K8ZKJ, is the current president and when I wrote to him, he was looking for someone to take the club over and make it active again.  They even have a club call, AD8U, for use in contests and grid expeditions, etc. I talked to a few of my VHF friends and they told me that they would be interested in joining if the club was re-vitalized. I also talked to Tom, K8TB, and he was willing to create a mailing list to help discuss the formation (or re-activation) of this club.

Basically, we have a club name, "Michigan VHF-UHF Society" and a club call, AD8U. The club is incorporated under Section 505(1) of Michigan statues and needs to be renewed before October.  There is a possibility that we can change this to a 501(c)(3) instead.  More discussion is needed on this topic. The club's call, AD8U, expired on July 24, but Bob has submitted a renewal and is willing to change the trustee.  This is currently in process.  Other than these items, we have a clean slate.  We can define the club's mission statement. We can decide how officers or board members are elected.  We can decide what to put in a club web site or even to have a club web site.  We can decide when and where to have meetings. We can decide when and where to operate the club's call during contests or expeditions.  We can decide whether to have dues or not. We do NOT have club equipment or a permanent club station location.  I have grouped some of these questions together on this page for us to refer to while discussing on the reflector.  If you are interested in bringing this group together, please place your comments on the email reflector (mailing list) for discussion. Would anyone want to have a face-to-face meeting at the GRA Hamfest on Sep. 13?  Perhaps we could just rent a table and have membership forms there to fill out? This is the same day as the September ARRL VHF Contest.

Thank you!

73 Roger Cox W8IO (ex-WB0DGF)
Spring Lake, MI
EN63vc


e-mail Reflector

You can subscribe to the Michigan VHF-UHF Society e-mail reflector by filling out the forms here:  MVHFS Reflector.

This mailing list can be used for club formation discussion as well as VHF-UHF contest operating announcements, VHF-UHF band openings, VHF-UHF equipment construction info, VHF-UHF equipment wanted or for-sale.  Topics should be specifically directed toward Michigan VHF-UHF-microwave operators.


Michigan VHF-UHF Society Mission Statement and club definition

These are my proposals:

Proposed Club Definition 1: The Michigan VHF-UHF Society is an Amateur Radio Club comprised of individuals interested in VHF/UHF/SHF weak signal communications. All Amateur Radio operators living in Michigan or others who have a connection to Michigan are welcome to join.  For contest purposes, members may contribute their scores to our club score if they operated the contest within the boundaries of the ARRL Michigan Section. (it is our intent to become an ARRL affiliated club)  de W8IO

-.-. --.-

Proposed Club Mission Statement 1:  The Michigan VHF-UHF Society promotes amateur radio operations on the VHF/UHF/SHF bands and fosters participation in VHF and UHF contests, participation in and promotion of VHF/UHF expeditions, VHF/UHF beacons, VHF/UHF rover operations, and VHF/UHF SSB, CW or AM nets within Michigan. The Michigan VHF-UHF Society also promotes and encourages experimentation and construction of VHF/UHF/SHF projects.  de W8IO


How do we elect officers and board members?

This is my proposal:

Officers and board members:  There should be a President and Vice-President and 3 board members at a minimum.  All should be elected by the membership. I believe that the board members should be one from each of 3 regions in the state.  The 3 regions should likely be:  SE Michigan, SW Michigan, U.P. + Upper Lower Penn.  This could be done by either counties or grids.  If divided by grids, SW Michigan would possibly include EN61, EN62, EN63, EN72, EN73.  SE Michigan would possibly include EN71, EN81, EN82, EN83.  U.P. + Upper Lower Penn. would possibly include EN64, EN74, EN84, EN65, EN75, EN85, EN46, EN56, EN66, EN76, EN86, EN57.  Some clubs elect their officers and board members at regular meetings.  Since our club consists of the entire state and no regular meetings have been defined yet, I would recommend that elections be held by either email or a web-form once a year in either November or December, with nominations in October.  Board members could serve a 2-year term. de W8IO

Should we have a club web site and what should it contain?

Yes - in process. de W8IO
What should be included in the by-laws or constitution?

I will provide a link here to the old by-laws. de W8IO


Should the club incorporate under 505(1) or 501(c)(3) for non-profit groups?

I have the paperwork to file under 505(1) after we have elected officers.  de W8IO


When and where should we have meetings?

Our first "informal" meeting was the "Spark in the Park" at 4 pm on Saturday, August 30 at Douglas-Walker Park, 1195 84th St. SW, Byron Center, MI. We hope to have other scheduled meetings at various locations in central Michigan. de W8IO



Should our club include or encourage FM and repeater operations?



What area will our club serve?

As an ARRL-affiliated club, we have the choice of either a 175 mile radius circle defined from a central location OR an entire ARRL Section - such as the state of Michigan.  I believe that our club should only serve Michigan residents.  You could still join if you were outside of Michigan, but you could not take advantage of certain aspects of ARRL-affiliation. Being an ARRL-affiliated club allows resident members to submit their VHF/UHF contest scores as part of the club gavel competition.  More info here. de W8IO
Should the club have dues?

Dues: At least for the first year, I do not believe that dues are necessary.   de W8IO

Comments are welcome!

contact Roger: email to 

rgcox2 (at) gmail.com

Roger Cox W8IO - Spring Lake, MI