Here's an update on major events taking place in the Southwestern Division...

Right Now: The ARRL is surveying its membership regarding which future on-line ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (C-CE) courses hams would be most likely to take. The list of possibilities ranges from antennas to VHF and UHF operation. The Web-based survey is now open for input. The survey period will end October 27. Log yourself into the members-only web page and visit http://www.arrl.org/members-only/cce/ccesurv.html

Oct 11-13: Western States VHF/UHF and Microwave Conference, held at the Sheraton Cerritos Hotel at Towne Center, 12725 Center Court Drive, Cerritos, CA. Banquet speaker is microwave record-holder Joel Harrison, W5ZN. More details on page 86 of October QST. This conference is hosted by the Western States Weak Signal Society. More info at www.wswss.org See you there!

Oct 12: Huntington Central Park will be the site of Southern California's next international-style on-foot foxhunt on Saturday, October 12. This is a "Welcome Home" event for ARDF Team USA 2002 members, but it is free and open to everyone who wants to see and try the sport. A ham radio license and knowledge of radio equipment is not required. Come out and meet some of the radio-athletes who represented USA at the Eleventh World ARDF Championships in Slovakia during the first week of September. More info at www.homingin.com Get out and practice those radio-orienteering skills!

Oct 17-20: The national Girl Scout Convention will be held in Long Beach from October 17-20 at the Long Beach Convention Center. The convention is aimed at GSA adults - council administrators and leaders, troop leaders, and Senior Scouts. There will be an Amateur Radio exhibit in the foyer that will be visited by 15,000 convention attendees. If you are willing to help staff the Amateur Radio exhibit, please contact Carina Lister, kf6zyy@arrl.net

Oct 19-20: Scouting's annual Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) takes place Saturday October 19 through Sunday October 20 local time. For the first time, ARRL is requesting that any club or individual planning to be active during the 2002 JOTA activity register on the "Youth Skeds" page on the ARRL Web site. The idea is to provide a database of scheduled JOTA activity in advance of the event to help more scouting groups to participate in JOTA 2002. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies and Venture Scouts soon will take to the airwaves in an effort to communicate with each other via Amateur Radio. More info at: http://www2.arrl.org/FandES/ead/jota.html

Oct 19: Tucson Hamfest (ARCA/ARRL) held at the Pima County Fairgrounds, Houghton Rd, Tucson, AZ. For more info visit www.hamsrus.com or call Cliff Hauser, KD6XH at 520-744-9095.

Oct 26: Cochise ARA Fall Swapfest, held at the CARA Club site, 2 miles south of Hwy 90 on Moson Rd in Sierra Vista, AZ. More info: http://www.qsl.net/k7rdg/EVENTS/Upcoming/2002swap.htm

Oct 26: It's baaaaaackkkk, the venerable W6TRW ARC Swapmeet. More info at http://www.w6trw.com/swapmeet/w6trw_arc_swapmeet.htm Don't forget the VE sessions conducted at each TRW Swapmeet, 10AM in the cafe in Bldg S. Scott Swanson, K6PYP, and a dedicated group of volunteers are there every month. More info at http://w6trw.com/ve_testing/ve_testinghtml.htm

That's it for this edition folks. But stay tuned for future updates from your ARRL Southwestern Division Team.

Art, W6XD Tuck, NZ6T Director Vice Director w6xd@arrl.org nz6t@arrl.org