Central States VHF Society
E-Newsletter

A varied and interesting family program was made available. Unfortunately, only 28 families took part in the family program.

Unique to this conference were handsome, new polo-shirts with our CSVHFS logo available before, during, and after the conference. 

One of the highlights of the conference was Kent Britain's Proceedings. The book at 358 pages was easily the largest ever. In addition to this year's contributions, highlights from the 1984, 1985 and 1986 conferences were included. Since those years were not previously published outside the society, the book provides a valuable reference.

Another feature was an exhibit area, which operated continuously throughout the conference, plus the traditional Friday night flea market.  Also new this year was a brief, fun, and helpful auction of donated items.  The banquet prize table was well stocked and everybody went home with at least one item and, in many cases, two.

Antenna measurement and noise figure data is published on the web page.
One of the remarkable things about the conference was the size of the committee. The following are in large part responsible for the success of the conference:


Kent Britain, WA5VJB, Vice- President / Technical Chair
Wes Atchison, WA5TKU, Finance Chair
Carolyn Miller, KD5FFW, Registration
Carolyn Smith, Family Program Chair
Tommy Henderson, WD5AGO, Noise Figure Measurement
Kent Britain, WA5VJB, and Marc Thorson, WB0TEM, Antenna Gain

Special thanks are due to the two Carolyns for their non-stop work in registration and the family program and to the staff at the Marriott who spared no effort to make the event a success.

Respectfully submitted,

Lilburn Smith
2001 President and Conference Chair

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Quarter ending Sept 30, 2001

New Newsletter for the Society

Director Bruce Richardson, W9FZ, is the newsletter-editor of a newsletter targeted for the Board of Directors.  The newsletter has traditionally been very simple and promotes discussion on the issues the Board is handling.  To increase communication, to maintain openness, and to promote attendance at coming years conferences, W9FZ has volunteered to craft a quarterly newsletter aimed at the Central States VHF Society membership-at-large.  It is not meant to compete with any existing VHF newsletters.  It will only be distributed electronically--via email and the website--in order to contain costs.  The only costs are the time and effort to craft each issue.

Common topics in each newsletter will be status of the upcoming conference, States Above 50 Mhz Award Program status, other award program statuses, and Treasurer's report (when appropriate).

Near the end of each quarter, W9FZ will request inputs for the newsletter using the email addresses that the society's records indicate for the membership.  Also, a simple prompt to common vhf reflectors will prompt for inputs.  If you have news items that you are willing to share, they will make for a more interesting newsletter.  Consider reporting on band openings, contest activity, new equipment additions, or any other thrills you experience in VHF/UHF and above.

As the issues go along, please send suggestions and inputs to w9fz@ix.netcom.com


Dallas 2001 Conference Report


The 2001 Central States VHF Society conference was held July 26-29 at the DFW Marriott South in Fort Worth, Texas. Attendance was about average, with 157 registering. Although many came for the first time or after a long absence from the Dallas-Fort Worth-Austin area, many of our old faithful were unable to attend for one reason or another.
The wrap-up banquet featured Joel Harrison, ARRL First Vice President with a talk entitled "The Power of Cheese", which made the point that amateur radio must face a changing world and adapt. Attendance was 128 hams and 52 family members.