Nineteen-year-old Ruth Willet, KM4LAO, of Cana, Virginia, was named as the recipient of the 2018 ARRL Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award by the ARRL Board of Directors at its July 20 – 21 meeting. The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award is given annually by the Board to a radio amateur under the age of 21 whose accomplishments and contributions to both Amateur Radio and the local community are of an exemplary nature.
Willet, who earned her Technician class license in June 2015 and upgraded to Extra in May 2016, was instrumental in re-establishing the Amateur Radio and Electronics Club (K8HPS) at Kettering University in Michigan, where she is a junior pursuing a double major in engineering physics and mechanical engineering while maintaining an A average. She alternates 11-week academic terms with 11-week co-op jobs at Textron Specialized Vehicles in Augusta, Georgia. Willet recently relocated to Virginia from Lawrenceville, Georgia, where she grew up.
Willet is actively involved in recruiting and mentoring new licensees and in community awareness programs, including demonstrations during the August 21, 2017, total solar eclipse. She is on the air daily on HF, using SSB or CW and satellites. In addition to her membership in ARRL, Willet belongs to AMSAT and CWOps, as well as several other clubs. She enjoys HF contesting, participating in local club events, and chasing and roving to grids on Amateur Radio satellites. Willet and her mom Sharon, KM4TVU, participated in ARRL’s highly successful National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) event in 2016.
Willet has written articles for numerous amateur radio news outlets, including QST. She earned the 2017 ARRL August QST Cover plaque for her article “The 2016 Youth DX Adventure to the Caribbean Island of Saba.” The article was based on her experience as a participant in the 2016 Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure trip to Saba.
In May, Willet was presented with the Radio Club of America’s Young Achiever Award. Last spring, she was the keynote speaker at the 32nd annual SWODXA DX Dinner, held in conjunction with Hamvention®, where her topic was “Experiencing the Hobby of a Lifetime.” She also spoke at the 30th Hamvention Youth Forum in 2017 on “Plugging into Your Valuable Club Resources.”
The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award, which includes a cash award of $1,500 and an engraved plaque to the recipient, is intended to provide a tangible reward to those deserving young amateurs who contribute their time, skills, and energies daily through their commitment to Amateur Radio. As models for their peers, and inspirations to us all, these fine young people are highly visible boosters of Amateur Radio awareness. — Thanks to ARRL Communications Manager Dave Isgur, N1RSN
Source:ARRL
Equipment
Alpha 4510A 3KW Wattmeter with 160M to 6M coverage
Alpha 4510A QRP TO QRO. Our Wattmeters can measure from 200 milliwatts to 5 kilowatts, from 160 meters to 6 meters with no slugs! They displa... Read more
Alinco DM-30 Digital Power Supplies
Alinco DM-30 Digital Power Supplies are an affordable switching power supply that packs a lot of features including Anderson Powerpole® connectors. Th... Read more
SDS200 True I/Q™ TrunkTracker X Base/Mobile Scanner
SDS200 True I/Q™ Receiver TrunkTracker X Direct Ethernet Connectivity for Streaming and Control Complete USA/Canada Radio Database Location Con... Read more
AMPLIFIER HF2013DX-A – HF 2KW
The linear amplifier HF2013DX-A is designed for all shortwave bands from 1.8MHz to 29MHz amateur (including WARC) and all operating modes. It is equip... Read more
SMΩRF – RF Vector Power Meter
SMΩRF™ is the most powerful and accurate, in-line RF Vector Signal Meter to date with accuracy rivaling professional instruments. Has tons of features... Read more
VHF
Compact D-Star Transceiver, Icom ID-31 upgraded!
Newly released handy transceiver ID-31PLUS for amateur radio which can enjoy long distance communication with D-STAR ® easily Product name / model nu... Read more
Radioddity GD-55 Plus UHF 400-480MHz Waterproof DMR Digital Radio,10W with 2800mAh Battery Mototrbo Dual Time Slot (Tier I&II)
Brief introduction for Radioddity GD-55 Plus, A Practical DMR GD-55 Plus Differentiating Factors 10W High Power IP-67 Waterproofed Mototrbo Tie... Read more
AnyTone AT-588 VHF
AnyTone AT-588 A really good little 2m mobile at a great price, the AT588 packs a punch too with its adjustable power output up to 60 watts. Output Po... Read more
BCH-270 Handheld Radio VHF and UHF
“BridgeCom Systems, Inc is pleased to announce the availability of BCH-270 Handheld Radio for the amateur radio market. The new BCH-270 Handheld... Read more
QYT KT-780 Plus 100 Watts 2 meter Mobile Radio Review and Demo
The QYT KT-780 Plus is a 100 watt mobile radio on the 2 meter Amateur Radio Band, and works on FM mode. Today we will walk through the menu of the rad... Read more
Antenna
4-Radio 8-Antenna Switch – Array Solutions
This compact system allows you to share up to 8 different antennas with 4 different radios. Perfect for Multi-Single, Multi-2, and some small M... Read more
The Yagi-Uda Antenna
A Yagi-Uda antenna, commonly known simply as a Yagi antenna, is a directional antenna consisting of multiple parallel dipole elements in a line,[1] us... Read more
C31XR-JK Tribander 10/15/20m – Re-Designed, Optimized & Improved
The C31XR-JK (Tribander) has been re-designed, optimized & Improved from the very popular Force 12 Tribander of all times for contesters and Dx... Read more
OB9-2WARC 9 Element Duoband Yagi
OB9-2WARC (new optimized version) 9 Element Duoband Yagi 17-12m Bands 17 / 12 Gain (dbd)* 7,6 / 8,4 Gain (dbi)** 15,1 / 16,1 F/B... Read more
Center Loading the Wolf River Silver Bullet 1000
“Wold River Coils has a new accessory for Silver Bullet 500 & 1000 coils called the UAFI or You Asked For It kit. The UAFI is a pair of exte... Read more
Review
Overview of the Kenwood TH-D74A
Kenwood TH-D74A 144/220/430 MHz TRIBANDER. Triband Amateur radio packed with convenient features and the advantage of a digital transceiver with D-STA... Read more
Make a mains filter for EMC & noise reduction
This video shows how I have made a mains filter that is extremely effective in reducing and in some cases eliminating completely EMC from the electric... Read more
MFJ 4230DMP Power Supply – Review
MFJ 4230DMP – Power Supply “A new digital display power supply from MFJ, the 4230DMP. This 30-amp power supply is perfect for portable ope... Read more