14TH ANNUAL      

"Michigan Summer Family Outing"

JULY 5, 6, 7 and 8th 2012


will again be held at the

WOODLANDS CONFERENCE CENTER AND CAMPGROUNDS
318 S. Sage Lake Road, Hale, MI 48739

 

What is the Michigan Summer Family Outing?
    The Michigan Summer Family Outing is a 4-day fun-filled event hosted by your ARRL Michigan Section Staff and paid for totally from donations, involving fun events for the whole family! Camping, RVing, Canoeing, Horseshoes, Water Slide, Rock Climbing Wall, Hiking, Volleyball, Softball, Boating, Swimming facilities are available all day every day of the outing for your pleasure (canoeing, swimming and boating involve safety issues that will be addressed at the outing). Hayrides around the 420 beautiful acres will be arranged and announced. There will be games, campfires, and sing-a-longs for all to enjoy. And of course, there will be ARPSC training and other informative seminars available on both Friday and Saturday for any who wish to participate.

    Seminars cover BOTH Friday and Saturday. We have an experienced event coordinator who will be planning activities for the non-Hams in attendance. So the wives/kids/significant-others will have a number of activities available to keep them busy. So stay tuned to this website for frequent updates as plans are solidified.

    Bring along your HF stations and antennas - the park DOES allow us to string up antennas!!! It's just us Hams, afterall. And don't forget to bring any musical instruments and join in the musical entertainment each evening around the campfire. We're not professionals - but we have a LOT of fun.

    So come join your fellow Hams and their families for one, two, three, or all four days!

Contests:

This year's "theme" will be: "Hollywood"

Dress like your favorite star or character. Decorate your campsite like a Hollywood home or a set or scene from your favorite TV show or movie. The possibilities are endless! Be creative!

Prizes will be awarded at the group campfire Saturday evening for the following:

1) Best dressed couple or individual
2) Best decorated campsite
3) Best decorated vehicle




Please check back on this website as the schedule of events develop

Thursday July 5th Schedule of Events
Time Event &
Who		 Description
2:00pm Begin Check-In Everyone check-in starts
6:00pm Social Everyone Social gathering, Pot Luck Dinner, and fun
9:00pm Campfire Everyone Campfire and social gathering


Friday July 6th Schedule of Events
Time Event &
Presenter		 Description
8:00am
to
9:30am 		Breakfast Everyone
@camp		 Breakfast gathering will be BYOB (Bring Your Own Breakfast)
9:30am Chicks and Chat! Anyone Chicks and Chat! Coffee and visiting with the ladies. Get to know each other and find a new friend.
(To be held at Group Picnic Table, if raining to be held in Living Room of Conference Center)
09:30am
to
11:30am 		Tape-Measure YAGI
(build session) 		Jay WB8TKL
and
Mary Anne W8VWY
Tomorrow is the BIG "Fox Hunt with FOUR targets to find! You're going to need the best gear possible. So now is your chance to construct your very own
Tape Measure YAGI.

We will provide all the materials to build a Tape Measure YAGI (nominal cost for materials - $15 expected). Mary Anne W8VWY and Jay WB8TKL will show you how to built this simple antenna and will assist you in its construction.
NOONISH LUNCH!!! Everyone
@Conf Center		 Lunch (free/donation) - Lunch meats, bread, and fixin's will be provided -or- bring your own -and- feel free to bring a dish to pass or supplies to share.
1:30pm Shopping Anyone Day trip to Tanger Outlet Mall for an afternoon of shopping.
1:30pm
to
3:30pm 		Active Attenuator
(build session) 		Stan Briggs K8SB
Now that you have a flexible and portable Yagi, you will need a way to attenuate the Fox's signal as you get closer. Stan Briggs K8SB will be with us to walk you through the construction of an Active Attenuator. This device is simple, yet effective! With a 1 MHz oscillator and a diode mixer, this little gem allows you to set your receiver 1 Mhz away from the Fox and adjust how much of the signal gets through to your receiver. This enables you to get right up on top of a hidden Fox!!

Stan will need to know if you would like to build one of these beauties so he can prepare enough kits for everyone. Kits will be $20. Please place your order sooner rather than later by clicking on the following order form. A few kits will be available for purchase the day of the build session. But please place your order in advance if at all possible to assure that you will get one. The deadline for ordering is: June 15th, 2012.

Bring along your favorite soldering pencil, wire cutters, knife, needle nose, and a small flat-blade screwdriver. Additional tools will be available for loan as needed.
3:00pm
to
5:00pm 		Designer Coffee Cups Anyone Bring your own cup to design as Putt'in on the Ritz!
3:45pm
to
5:00pm 		TBD TBD ...

6:00pm
to
7:30pm 		DINNER!!! Everyone
@camp		 Community Pot-Luck Dinner - just bring a dish to pass
7:30pm HAY RIDE Anyone A Hay Ride taking you all around the beautiful 420-acre park. Relaxing and fun for both young and old. Come join us!
9:00pm Campfire Everyone Campfire complete with entertainment
Bring your instruments and play/sing along


Saturday July 7th Schedule of Events
Time Event &
Presenter		 Description
8:00am
to
9:30am 		Breakfast Everyone
@camp 		Breakfast gathering will be BYOB (Bring Your Own Breakfast)
with Eggs, Pancakes, and Sausage.
9:30am Chicks and Chat! Anyone Chicks and Chat! Coffee (with your NEW Ritz-ee Coffee Cup!) and visiting with the ladies. Get to know each other and find a new friend.
(To be held at Group Picnic Table, if raining to be held in Living Room of Conference Center)
09:30am
to
10:30am 		NTS Traffic
&
Working with the ARES 		Jeff Miller WB8WKQ
Jeff is the Net Manager for the Southeast Michigan Traffic Net (SEMTN). He will be discussing the typical "How to send and receive NTS traffic", but with a slight twist. He will go into more detail about those SENT and REC'D fields we all see on the bottom of the NTS form, and how those are used to track messages through the network. This is important when bottlenecks or breakdowns in communications occur and the last good hop of a message needs to be determined - and possibly re-routed.

The discussion will also cover how to better integrate the NTS with the ARES, as these two organizations should be working much more closely than they typically do. There will be tips on better training and awareness, within both organizations.
10:30am All That Glitters Anyone Jewelry making at it's finest! Bring beads and bobbles to learn to make a bracelet or necklace. Jewels will be on hand to make sure you glitter!
10:30am
to
11:30am 		Fox Hunting Techniques Tom Boscher K8TB
Michigan Fox Hunter is a loosely knit group of amateur radio operators who enjoy the extremely challenging and fun segment of our hobby called "hidden transmitter hunting", "fox hunting", "amateur radio direction finding (ARDF)", "bunny hunting" or just "radio direction finding (RDF). Tom K8TB will be promoting hidden transmitter hunting activities. Sharing with us his expertise, his tricks, his methods, and challenging any individual or group to find the multiple Foxes that will be planted throughout the park! Get your club or your team together and come join us for a little training followed by an awsome Fox Hunt!
11:30am
to
12:30pm 		LUNCH!!! Everyone
@Conf Center		 Lunch (donation) - Lunch meats, bread, and fixin's will be provided -or- bring your own -and- feel free to bring a dish to pass or supplies to share.
1:00pm
to
3:00pm 		Fox Hunt Anyone
No less than FOUR hidden transmitters (the "Fox") will be mysteriously placed somewhere within the 420 acres of the Woodlands Campground. They will be on the 2-meter band and most likely will be FM, and will each be on a different frequency. They will send a long CW ID periodically and then go silent for a few minutes. Your mission, Mr. Phelps, should you decide to accept it, is to find the "Fox" more quickly than your opponent does. One Fox will be relatively easy, but the remaining Foxes will be progressively harder to find - further testing your hunting skills and abilities. So bring your HT, bring your Direction Finding antenna, bring your attenuator, and bring your friends and work as a team or work individually to locate the Fox! Now is the time to try out the Tape Measure YAGI and/or the Active Attenuator you built here during Friday's build sessions!

Getting the best score will earn you the "Foxey" award to be presented at the Saturday evening campfire.
1:30pm Treasure Hunt! Anyone Get back to nature! Enjoy a walk and scavanger hunt at the Outing! A GREAT day outdoors, with treasures to be found. Not your normal Hunt!
3:15pm
to
4:15pm 		-TBD- -TBD- - to be determined -
3:00pm Bingo! Bingo! Bingo! Anyone Play BINGO and win some cool prizes!
4:30pm
to
5:30pm 		ARRL Forum Section Staff
All Section Staff and Division Leadership and Guests are welcome to participate in an open discussion regarding happenings in Amateur Radio and within the Great Lakes and Michigan Section.

            HR-607 420-440MHz
6:00pm
to
7:30pm 		DINNER!!! Everyone @Conf Center Spaghetti Dinner - Please feel free to bring a dish to pass, and/or provide a donation to the collection can
7:30pm HAY RIDE Anyone A Hay Ride taking you all around the beautiful 420-acre park. Relaxing and fun for both young and old. Come join us!
7:30pm More Shopping Anyone Trip to Tanger Outlet Mall for an evening of shopping.
8:00pm
'till
late		 Campfire
and
Musical Entertainmet		 Everyone Campfire, Entertainment, Prizes, and more!!!!
Bring out your musical instruments and join in! If you can carry a tune, or only a bucket, join in and have fun!


Sunday July 8th Schedule of Events
Time Event &
Who		 Description
8:00am
to
9:00am 		Sunday Service Anyone Interdenominational Service
9:00am
to
10:00am 		Breakfast Everyone
@Conf Center		 Breakfast gathering will be BYOB (Bring Your Own Breakfast)
with Eggs, Pancakes, and Sausage.
09:15am
to
10:00am 		Auction Everyone Auction of any donated items.
Monies will go towards covering costs of this years and/or future years Outings.
(Held in the Program Center)
10:30am
'till
Noon		 Cleanup
and
Pack Up		 Everyone Clean up of area, pack up and off grounds
(as another group comes in at Noon to use the park)


Notes:

  1. All parties, whether preregistered or not are required to stop at the registration site at the campgrounds upon arrival before setting up your site
  2. If you are staying in the Lodge, you will need to bring your own bedding, pillow(s) and personal care items such as towels
  3. There will be hot dogs, drinks, and snacks available on Friday evening and Saturday lunch for those wishing to purchase. If you prefer to provide your own food, please plan on providing your own food and meals for Thursday evening, Friday morning, Friday evening, Saturday lunch and Sunday breakfast (remember to come share at the pot luck meal) .
  4. If you are coming for just the day Friday or Saturday, please let Jay WB8TKL (Registration and Finances) know if you will needing lunch. Also let him know if you would like to have a meal provided on Friday evening.
  5. It is requested that at least the main member of your party attend the orientation on Friday evening. Rules and guidelines will be covered at Orientation.
  6. As we get larger every year it becomes necessary for us to ask for volunteers to help out. Please volunteer to help with bathroom cleanup, lodge/kitchen cleanup on closing day.


Meals, Room & Campsite Reservations: 
      Improved Campsites        @ $19.00 per site per day  ($22)
      Unimproved Campsites      @ $13.00 per site per day  ($15) (suggested prices for 2012)
      Beds In Lodge (bunk-beds) @ $16.00 per bed per day   ($15)

      NOTE: For those wishing to stay in West Branch, there are several
            motels available to choose from.


      Meals are all Pot-Luck, so there is no charge.  But a Donation jar will
      be set out for anyone wishing to help offset the cost of the main course 
      as well as other operating expenses.  We Thank You!
Please fill out the RESERVATIONS form for campsites, or for beds in the lodge, as early as possible. They are first-come, first served. Also let us know how many in your party will be needing meals so that we may be better prepared.

Some scenes from around the grounds (Click on them to enlarge):






Presentations and pictures from 2011:
Presentations and pictures from 2010:
Presentations and pictures from 2009:
Presentations and pictures from 2008:


Nearby Attractions - Something for Everybody!:



How to get there:

WOODLANDS CONFERENCE CENTER AND CAMPGROUNDS
318 S. Sage Lake Road
Hale, MI 48739

(in Ogemaw County near the Iosco County line)



Directions: Take I-75 (North or South depending on where you are coming from) to M-55 exit #215 (to West Branch). Go East on M-55 (thru downtown West Branch) 17 miles to F-19/Sage Lake Road (CITGO Gas Station on the corner). Go North about 4 miles until you see an archway over a driveway on the West side of the road that says: "THE WOODLANDS"




The GPS coordinates of the campgrounds are:
            N 44-19.503
            W 83-55.865

And the GridSquare is: EN84ah

Talkin: We will make every attempt to have a talk-in station listening on the 146.94 (103.5 PL) West Branch repeater. Please put out a call if you need assistance/directions. But with such a long event and no idea when people will be arriving, it would be impractical to make someone sit at a talk-in station when there are so many things they could be doing. But we will do our best to have someone on an HT or within earshot of a rig in case you need assistance.



Contact Information & Event Flyer
Contact for more information: Event Flyer (PDF) 
      Jay Nugent  WB8TKL 
      1316 Oak Street, Ypsilanti, MI  48198 
      wb8tkl@arrl.net 
      (734)484-5105 (noon until 4am - Yes, AM!)
Consider downloading and printing a dozen or two copies of the following Event Flyer. Hand it out at your next few club meetings, ARES/RACES/ARPSC training sessions, or at any Swap-n-Shops in your area.

And don't forget to talk it up on your local Net! Help us get the word out!

ARRL-Michigan-Section-Outing-2012-2.pdf (116k)



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