ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, reports that plans for a plethora of DX activities at the ARRL EXPO -- part of the 2011 Dayton Hamvention® -- are wrapping up. “We are excited about the activities that will be taking place,” he said. “Visitors to the EXPO will see a lot of activities relating to DX, including DXCC card checking, a chance to drop off QSL cards for the ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau and even an expanded International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) area.” The Dayton Hamvention will take place May 20-22 at Hara Arena, located near Dayton, Ohio.

Global Friendship in the ARRL EXPO

The IARU area -- led by IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, and IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD -- will feature various IARU Member-Societies. The Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC), the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL), the Qatar Amateur Radio Society (QARS), the Radio Association of China, the Chinese Radio Amateur Club and the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) will be on hand within the ARRL EXPO. “The impetus for hosting the international exhibits was the 2011 Hamvention theme of Global Friendship,” explained ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. “Representatives from the IARU will also be on hand to greet visitors. The IARU works with its Member-Societies throughout the world -- important work that further underscores international goodwill as a fundamental principle of the Amateur Radio Service.”

Representatives from JARL will be accepting applications for certain JARL awards (AJD, WAJA, JCC, ADXA, ADXA-Half and Fuji), as well as the IARU’s Worked All Continent (WAC) and 5-Band WAC awards at the JARL table within the ARRL EXPO. Amateurs who qualify for these JARL and IARU awards will be issued the certificates right on the spot. JARL staff member Masa Ebisawa, JA1DM, will also be checking applications for other JARL awards; certificates for these awards will be mailed from JARL Headquarters after Hamvention.

Applicants for JARL awards do not need to have the QSL cards with them; a list showing the call signs of stations worked, date, band and mode (or other data required by each award) of the contacts is sufficient. Applicants will need to sign and attach to the application a statement that the QSL cards of the contacts listed are in their possession and that the items are correctly listed. Applicants may use a DXCC Record Sheet for their QSL card list. The JARL award fee is $16.

JARL will also be accepting applications for the IARU Region 3 Operating Award. JARL will forward these applications to the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART), which administers the award. NZART will then send applicants their award certificate with any endorsements after Hamvention.

To be eligible for the IARU Region 3 Operating Award, hams must present the completed application, listing at least seven contacts from entities in IARU Region 3 whose amateur societies are Member-Societies of the IARU. These countries include Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, China (PRC), Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Fiji, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn Island, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu and Vietnam. Applicants must also have at least one QSO with one of the following: the US Territories in the Pacific from Guam, Northern Marianas, American Samoa, Wake Island, Baker Howland Group, as represented by ARRL, or the Chago Archipelago (VQ9), represented by RSGB. No QSL cards are necessary, but only contacts made after April 5, 1982 are eligible.

There are 35 available entities for the IARU Region 3 Award. Hams who present seven QSOs will be awarded the Basic Award. Hams who present 15 QSOs will be achieve the Silver Endorsement, while those who present 20 QSOs will receive the Gold Endorsement. The award fee is US $4 or four IRCs.

Ebisawa will be glad to answer questions about JARL activities, including reciprocal licensing procedures. Check out the JARL website for more information about JARL awards.

ARRL Card Checking and Outgoing QSL Bureau Services

A new feature to ARRL EXPO this year -- a large QSL Card Wall -- will be located near the international exhibits. “We’re encouraging all attendees to bring a QSL card to affix to the wall,” Inderbitzen said. “If you don’t have QSL cards, please bring a postcard from your hometown. Together, we’ll have fun eye-balling QSLs from around the country -- and around the world!”

ARRL staff and DXCC Card Checkers will once again offer full DXCC card checking and award applications this year at the ARRL EXPO. They will also be able to check applications and QSLs for the Worked All States (WAS) and the VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) awards. Applications will be limited to 120 cards (more cards will be checked as time -- and volunteer Card Checkers -- becomes available).

ARRL members will be able to drop off their QSL cards to be sent through the ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau. If you have QSLs that you would like to send through the ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau (your QSLs going to foreign stations -- no US-to-US QSLs, please), you can save the shipping cost to ARRL by bringing them to Dayton and the League will transport your cards to the Bureau in Newington.

In order to take advantage of this exciting benefit, all of the standard QSL Bureau rules must be followed: Cards must be sorted by DXCC country, they must go to countries where a bureau exists and you must be an ARRL member to use the Outgoing QSL Bureau. Patton said that hams utilizing this service do not need to box the cards, but they should be wrapped with rubber bands; ARRL will weigh the cards on-site in the ARRL EXPO area.

The rates are $6 for the first .5 pounds of cards or portion thereof. Keep in mind that approximately 75 cards weigh .5 pounds. The rates increase to $12 for one pound, and then $6 for each additional half-pound. For example, a package containing 1.5 pounds of cards should include the fee of $18. A package of only 10 cards or fewer costs just $2 and 11-20 cards are $3. Members can pay for this service via check, cash or credit card.