Programs

The Club presents and promotes amateur radio related educational programs at our monthly meetings and in our community.

Training

The Club promotes training courses and educational programs taught by teams of M&K instructors. These are regularly conducted to instill, expand and improve the skills of novice and licensed amateur radio operators, including courses at all FCC licensing levels.

In 2018, there were 15 classes with 65 teachers giving 1,342 hours and 21 Test Sessions with 132 VEs giving 480 hours. 501 test elements were given to 299 test candidates. The classes passed 190 Technicians, 56 Generals, 31 Extras and created 190 New Hams. Many passed both Technician and General test and three passed all three test at one test session. Several classes passed 100% of the students.

Notes

1. 20 hours per teacher, plus 10 minutes administration time per student
2. 3 hours per VE, plus 4 hours administration time per session
3. 60 plus pages of handouts, plus 2 copies per candidate and one per test

Prepared By
Daniel Stevens, KL7WM
December 15, 2018

FCC Examinations

To encourage and provide the public and amateur radio communities with regular opportunities to obtain and upgrade their FCC amateur radio licenses, trained teams of M&K Volunteer Examiners (VE) conduct monthly examinations for all three classes of FCC amateur radio licenses. In 2017 alone a total of 338 people obtained their initial licenses, and another 83 upgraded their licenses in these sessions. VEs are tested and certified to conduct FCC amateur radio examinations, in lieu of U.S. government staff personnel, thus saving the USG the expenses of conducting such exams.

Library

M&K assembled, maintains and operates a free lending library of targeted educational and scientific books, electronic media and journals covering topics related to amateur radio licensing and operation, communications systems, electronics theory and experimentation, emergency communications, etc. It also loans electronic testing equipment to community amateur radio operators to properly install and operate their stations. The library expands constantly and is open to the entire community.

Disaster Exercises

The Club actively participates in support of government entities, in state, regional and national emergency communications exercises, simulating major disasters. These range from one-day check-in events to major multi-national multi-day exercises which simulate disasters where all traditional communications infrastructure has been destroyed. Amateur operators must set up, operate and maintain complete high frequency (HF), very high frequency (VHF) and even ultra-high frequency (UHF) satellite communications systems, solar and traditional electric power generation, diverse antenna systems, computers, radio transmitters and receivers. In one annual exercise alone Club members volunteer over 1,500 hours.

Swap Meet

Each year, M&K sponsors and conducts a large amateur radio and electronics show and swap meet to provide the public, amateur radio operators, experimenters, and service groups with access to a wide range of components, equipment and educational materials in support of their communications needs, emergency and public service requirements. The meet annually draws hundreds of exhibitors and participants from all west coast and Pacific Northwest states.

Emergency Operators

The Club provides trained and skilled radio operator-members to government emergency services (Police, Fire, and Emergency Management agencies) and public disaster response and support agencies (e.g. hospitals, Red Cross, Salvation Army) for emergency communications and support during actual disasters and regular exercises.

Public Service

M&K members also provide communications support to regional municipalities and public service organizations for community and charitable events, such as Seafair, Veterans and community parades, "special people" and sporting events, etc., assisting with coordination, safety, traffic and crowd control.

Repeaters

M&K created and maintains two VHF radio repeater sites, with emergency power capabilities, allowing general and emergency communications across a large region of Western Washington. The repeaters are open to all amateur radio operators -- the public, emergency communications and public service groups.

Youth

The Club sponsors periodic scholarships to college students, and contributes to the educational programs of the non-profit American Radio Relay League (ARRL). M&K also donates radio equipment to charitable causes and schools. Members help support and train youth and civic groups, such as Boy Scouts and Red Cross, in emergency preparedness and communications.

Publications

The Club publishes a monthly electronic and paper newsletter with educational, technical, and informative articles, distributed to members, other public and emergency service organizations, and interested community. It also publishes an annual public service booklet, listing public service events, emergency preparedness groups, communications networks, radio repeaters, conferences and amateur radio organizations in the Puget Sound region. They distribute over 3,000 copies each year, free of cost to groups, individuals and government entities involved in disaster response, emergency preparedness and management, public service, and amateur radio communications. M&K maintains an Internet website and social media sites to provide educational, informational, and charitable news and material to the amateur radio, disaster response, emergency preparedness, public service communities and the general public.

Leadership

M&K members provide trained and experienced leadership to emergency communications, disaster response, and diverse public service groups around the Puget Sound region.

ARRL Special Service Club

M&K is once again an ARRL Special Service Club. It takes effort by the membership to achieve and maintain this status which must be renewed every two years. The ARRL defines a Special Service Club as follows -- A club that exists to go above and beyond for their communities and for Amateur Radio is what defines a Special Service Club (SSC). They are the leaders in their Amateur Radio communities who provide active training classes, publicity programs and actively pursue technical projects and operating activities.