Club History

  
     
  Although regular but informal meetings were held beginning in 1924, 32 local amateurs met to formally organize the Kalamazoo Radio Club in March of 1932. Early meetings were held at the local YMCA, moving to Western Normal College in 1926. Coincidentally, in 1927 with the added country prefix which changed one of our founder's call from 8VY to W8VY, the college name changed to Western State Training College, subsequently to Western Michigan College, and eventually to Western Michigan University. A close alliance with the school through the 1960's benefited both entities.  The KARC became an Affiliated Public Service Club of the ARRL November 11, 1937.  Beginning with a series of annual Radio Conferences in 1933, drawing as many as 200 attendees from around the Great Lakes area to presentations, demonstrations and technical discussions, the KARC still sponsors an annual hamfest. Providing National Weather Service NOAA weather information to a three county area, an emergency response communications vehicle, public service support and communication for dozens of events each year and RACES activities, the KARC is a vibrant and important part of our community.  
     
Jim Keesler (K8EFX) interviewed Maury Hope W8EMD (SK)  and taped the interview before Maury passed on.  Jim has transcribed the interview and it is included as an oral history as Maury Remembered it.
   
“One thing led to another in high school and we formed the State High Radio Club.  One of our projects was to build a receiver--there were seven or eight of us and we all did.  Walter Marburger, W8CVQ was the faculty advisor and Ollie Woods, W8MP was a student teacher. 
Several of us got ham licenses--I got mine August 25, 1931 at age 17 while a senior in high school.

The hams in the State High Radio Club put on sort of a hamfest at the old YMCA on Rose Street and 30 to 40 fellows came.  However, when we graduated, there was no more SHRC! 

Several of us decided Kalamazoo needed a radio club and Dr. Marburger from Western State Teachers College agreed to sponsor it.
Starting in 1932 we had several meetings in the Physics Lecture Room in the Science Building and that was the club's home till about 1938.
We had tremendous success, there was no other club in the area and by 1937 the lecture room wouldn't hold everyone. 
At that time Western had just built a new east campus building (Spindler Hall) and we moved there.
Meetings were held there till amateur radio was shut down December 7, 1941.”		    
     
w8vy  The W8VY Call Sign
  The W8VY call was initially issued to Frank Lauwert and in fact he was the holder of it when it was 8VY.  Amateur calls signs did not have a W or K prefix until 1927. Beginning in 1912,  amateur call signs were set up according to nine numbered call districts.      
                    (Do you know when the 10th call district was added?) 
 Amateur operators were to use the call district and two letters assigned by the Bureau of Navigation.  This provided 598 possible license holders in each district and was thought to be more than enough at the time.
 
In 1927 W and K prefixes were added to amateur calls and 8VY became W8VY.  
The Federal Radio Commission was established and was changed to the FCC in what year?  		  
     
   

Maury continues:

   "Frank Louwaert was a strange individual. He was a politician- Kalamazoo city manager around 1923-24.  I liked Frank and had no trouble with him at all but a lot of fellows did.  He seemed reasonable to me--I understood that he was running a business there (ACME Radio Repair) and his ideas were the only right ideas.

He operated mostly 20M phone and some 10M--he didn't work a lot of CW but I have worked him several times on CW. I have been at his place numerous times and could always walk in and talk with him.  I couldn't understand why so many of the fellows questioned the man because he seemed reasonable to me.  I was always welcome to sit down and talk.  We didn't always agree but that was his business and my business.

Very often I could get Frank to let the club use his W8VY call for Field Day even after the club got its first club call W8RYI in about '47 or '48. A two-letter call was more fun!  After Frank died, I wondered to myself if there was any chance of getting the call for the club and figured I should approach his family. 
It happened that a fellow named Kent Tozer (who had bought 110 acres from us when we were getting out of farming) had Frank's daughter as his wife, so she set everything up with the family.  I had two or three meetings with the family and they all agreed that, if possible, we should get the call W8VY for the club.  We applied to the FCC and got it!  I don't think any other hams were involved.
I was already the trustee for the club's W8RYI call, so I just went ahead. 
We got the W8VY call in the '60s."

    
     
  By the way, it was in 1946 when the 10th call district was added and call districts realigned.  The Federal Radio Commission was changed to the Federal Communication Commission in 1934.