Email List and Newsletter for northwest Arkansas Hams

Our friends at the ARKAN club have set up an email distribution list for amateur radio operators in and around northwest Arkansas, from Ft. Smith to Joplin to Harrison. In addition, they are expanding their newsletter to cover ham radio events from all over the area, not just their club. Send them your news, event info, hamfest announcements, etc.

We think it's a great idea and an opportunity to "regionalize" (is that a word??) ham radio efforts in the area, regardless of club affiliation.

To sign up for their email list and the newsletter, or to send them your news for inclusion in the newsletter, send an email to NWARKHAMS@Gmail.com or visit their website for more info.

2012: Year In Review

2012 was a big year for The Noise Blankers. What in the past had been an annual gathering of the group for field day, became a full-fledged calendar of ham radio events. Planning for next year is already underway and will include another island activation, field day, Wreaths Across America, tower projects and possibly a summit on the air.

• March 2012: Gary WBØRUR raises his tower. Tower envy spreads throughout northwest Arkansas.
• June 23-24, 2012: Field Day, category 2E using generator power from Andy's shack, callsign K5PO. Read all about it.
• August 2012: Decided we should give ourselves a name, to help brand our activities. Rejected names: The Kerchunkers, The Dirty Harmonics, Loose Wires, Couple Sections Short, Zombie SKs, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo's CW Operators
• September 2012: We made t-shirts! Lookie
• September 30, 2012: Produced the 1st activation of Horseshoe Island, callsign K5H
• November 2012: Advocated for the redesigning the Arkansas amateur radio license plate, in an effort to make them less expensive and get some publicity for the hobby.
• December 2012: Started a conversation on how to fix the LOTW logjam.
• December 15, 2012: Provided radio communications for the Wreaths Across America event at Fayetteville National Cemetery (Arkansas) and put N5W on the air to commemorate the ceremonies. Between parking cars and coordinating shuttle buses, we made a video.

Happy New Year to you! Here's to a great 2013.