ARRL NEWS - Continued Timely ARRL news items for all members -  from sources as noted at end of each article,
Page 7 Previous     Return Pg 4                                       ARRL HELPS MFJ CELEBRATE 35 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

MFJ Enterprises observed their 35th anniversary with "A Day in the Park" open house September 7-8 at their Starkville, Mississippi headquarters. ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, was on hand to help MFJ celebrate, as were Mississippi Section Manager Malcolm Keown, W5XX; ARRL Delta Division Director Henry Leggette, WD4Q, and Starkville Mayor R. Dan Camp. This two-day celebration was filled with tours of MFJ's facilities, a Friday evening bar-b-que and a Saturday fried chicken picnic. MFJ makes Amateur Radio equipment such as tuners, SWR wattmeters, antenna analyzers and power supplies. Martin Jue, K5FLU, founded the company in 1972 while he was still attending graduate school at Mississippi State University. A ham since high school, Jue decided to build products for hams -- his first products were active filters for CW and phone, selling for $9.95 and $12.95, respectively. Thirty-five years later, MFJ features more than 1000 products. (Excerpt from the ARRL Letter, Vol. 26, No. 37,  dated September 14, 2007)
                                             GET READY FOR JOTA

The Jamboree on the Air will celebrate its 50th year this year when it gets on the air October 19-21. Normally a 48 hour event, this year's JOTA will be 50 hours long in recognition of the anniversary. The fun begins at 2200 (local time) October 19 and ends at midnight (local time) October 21.  An on-the-air operating event sponsored by the World Scout Bureau, JOTA was founded in 1958 by Les Mitchell, G3BHK. It has grown to become the largest international Scout event. More than half a million Scouts and Guides in more than 100 countries participate in JOTA, involving as many as 10,000 Amateur Radio stations. The event relies on the Amateur Radio community and local hams for its success. Getting Boy and Girl Scouts (including Cubs and Brownies) on the air to talk with other Scouts around the world provides a great opportunity to expose youth to Amateur Radio. (Excerpt from the ARRL Letter, Vol. 26, No. 39,  dated September 28, 2007)
               Mentoring Activity Is Active Mentoring, Club News - August

Ray, AD5ZT, says: I have just finished reading the ARRL club newsletter article on mentoring and I could not agree more. Just for a little background, I am a new ham who walked into the first "no code" test session, took all three elements and walked out an Amateur Extra, [and] had no idea how to properly conduct a QSO. Luckily we have a strong local club, the Shreveport Amateur Radio Association, whose members helped me learn how to conduct myself on the air.  We are stressing micro henrys and smith charts and schematics only to licensed hams who do not know how to make a contact.  l am living proof of this.  We [new hams] must rely on mentors to teach what the exams ig nore. I have become active in a local emergency communication organization; I am making friends and contacts all over the world via PSK. That probably would not have happened without a local group of hams helping hams. Continue to stress mentoring and perhaps think about stressing operating skills and not schematic drawings on the exams. Hams do not build their own rigs anymore.     (Excerpt from the ARRL Club News for September 2007).
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