Michigan VHF-UHF Society

The Central States VHF Society is proud to sponsor and announce the dates and times for the 2026 running of the VHF and up Spring Sprints!

144 MHz: Monday, 4/13/26 from 2300z (7pm EDT) to 0600z (11pm PDT), operate no more than four hours between your first contact and your last contact, Exchange: 4 char grid

222 MHz: Tuesday, 4/21/26 from 2300z (7pm EDT) to 0600z (11pm PDT), operate no more than four hours between your first contact and your last contact, Exchange: 4 char grid

432 MHz: Wednesday, 4/29/26 from 2300z (7pm EDT) to 0600z (11pm PDT), operate no more than four hours between your first contact and your last contact, Exchange: 4 char grid

Microwave, 902 MHz and up: Saturday, 5/02/26 from 8 AM – 2 PM local, Exchange: 6 char grid

50 MHz: Saturday, 5/09/26 from 2300Z until 0300Z Sunday, 5/10/26, Exchange: 4 char grid

Classes:  Stations will be classified as either Single Op or Rover. A portable or mobile station that operates from only one grid is
considered a Single Op station. A Rover must operate from at least 2 grid squares. All legal modes are welcome!

More information and rules are posted at: https://sites.google.com/site/springvhfupsprints/home/2026-information

73    Kent O’Dell KA2KQM, Mike Metroka WB8BZK & Jon Platt W0ZQ

Central States VHF Society Spring Sprint Organizing Committee

Hey everyone, give a listen to these newly relocated beacons and let me know if you can hear them – signal reports appreciated.  In case you are not aware, NE8I was an inspirational Michigan VHF/UHF/Microwave operator that is now a silent key.  Lloyd taught me how to do VHF roving, among other things.  MIVUS applied for his call, and we are using it as our club call.

The 50.065 six meter beacon has been on the air for years courtesy of Tom Bosscher K8TB.  I have had the 222.058 on the air for years as well.  We’ve decided it makes sense to put them all under the NE8I callsign.

50.065 EN73cc

144.280 EN73cc

This EN73cc site is about 11 miles NW of downtown Grand Rapids in

Conklin, Michigan.

8:30 PM Sunday Nights on 144.155 MHz

Open to all amateurs.

Informal Net.

W8IO (Grand Haven) and KF8QL (Grand Rapids) are net controls.

On May 10, 2019 the FCC granted the MIVUS Lloyd’s call, NE8I.

We could not request the call earlier, as Lloyd was an only child, and never married or had children, so we had to wait for the 2 years to go by, and then we were in competition with others for the call. But the memorial call is now ours.

Saturday, April 8, 2017 the VHF-UHF world lost a true friend of the hobby, Lloyd Ellsworth, NE8I. If you ever met Lloyd, he was a friend for life. And if you ever talked to Lloyd, he would impart his decades of knowledge to you with a smile. He was amazingly tireless in his push to get people on the upper frequencies. Below are some of the pictures of Lloyd, including earlier QSL cards.

Thank you to Dave, KF8QL and Dan, K9EA (formally K9UVJ) for the pictures.

If you would like to join the Michigan VHF-UHF Society email list, please go to:

https://groups.io/g/mivus  and copy  mivus+subscribe@groups.io

and send an email to that address.

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https://groups.io/g/mivus/messages