Please mark your calendars now and pass the word for the Midwest Section ARMS gathering to be held on Saturday, August 16, 2008, in Waseca, Minnesota at the QTH of Keith, WAØJQT, and Beth Sykora, 2008 Sixth Street N.E., Waseca, MN 56093. Their phone number is 507-833-2304.

Talk-in on two meters will be 146.940; talk-in on 75 meters will be 3.900 to 3.905 MHz at approximately 8:15 a.m. CST until the ARMS net signs. After the ARMS net clears, check into the Pico met on 3.925 MHz and ask for KA2RMS, the ARMS club station. The Pico net meets everyday except Sunday from 9 to 11 a.m. If you bring a nice steak along with you, Keith will grill it to your liking. If you're not a coffee drinker, I suggest you bring your own drink. Please RSVP to Keith by August 1, 2008. After our lunch a very, very short business meeting will be conducted. Please be thinking of any officer changes, and date and place for the gathering in 2009. The committee is working on a program to be announced at the meeting. If you miss this gathering, you will be thinking, "Oh, I wish I would have been there!"

The officers of the Midwest Section ARMS net are as follows: President, Arnie, WAØDFT; Vice President, Keith, WAØJQT; Secretary/Treasurer, Fran, KCØCSU; Chaplain, Neale, KØLHJ; Net Manager, Frank, AGØM; Mideast Correspondent, Jerry WØQPX; Missions Advisor, Russ, WAØNPH, and Honorary Secretary/Treasurer (no duties), Elaine, WBØEJA.

On our Saturday 8:30 a.m. CST Midwest Section Net, we have around ten check-ins a session and we are glad for those from the Central Section that check in as well. So you all keep it up!

I'm so excited about going to the gathering in August that the other day I overhauled the motor in my homebrewed automatic antenna tuner for the car. Then I tested it by going up to 3.940 MHz and put a bit of carrier in it and watched the SWR meter be very high and then saw the meter reading drop to a no SWR reading. Then I tuned to 3.900 MHz and did the same thing. So whatever frequency I operate on 75 meters there is no SWR. I got into Wisconsin and South Dakota, so the big bug catcher on the car trunk not only is a catcher of bugs, but it gets some RF as well! As we grow older, some of us move to a new home where we cannot have an antenna. If that's your case and you still want to ham, please feel free to contact me.

There's a saying, "Where there's a will there's relatives!!"

73,

Arnie, WAØDFT
507-625-8083