15TH ANNUAL      

"Michigan Section Summer Family Outing"

JULY 11, 12, 13, and 14th 2013


will again be held at the

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

NOTE: This years event is being held one week later than usual, to avoid the 4th of July weekend. The decision was made by the attendees last year that it would be best to not impact family plans for the holiday - thus allowing MORE people to make plans to attend the Summer Family Outing.

 

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 try to have events and activities planned 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: "Cowboys"

Dress like a cowboy or cowgirl. Decorate your campsite like a ranch, or a campsite out on the range, or like a wagon. 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 11th 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 12th Schedule of Events
Time Event &
Presenter		 Description
8:00am
to
9:30am 		Breakfast Everyone
@camp		 Breakfast gathering will be BYOB (Bring Your Own Breakfast)
09:30am
to
11:30am
(120mins)		 TBD TBD TBD
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
to
3:30pm
(120mins)		 Fox Hunt!!! Anyone


Fox Hunting at the Outing is becoming a MUST DO activity!! This year we will have 2 or more "Foxes" hidden out in the woods for our die-hard hunters to locate. So, bring your antennas, attenuators, and walking shoes, and have fun!
3:45pm
to
5:00pm
(105mins)		 TBD 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 13th Schedule of Events
Time Event &
Presenter		 Description
8:00am
to
9:30am
(90mins)		 Breakfast Everyone
@camp 		Breakfast gathering will be BYOB (Bring Your Own Breakfast)
we will provide Eggs, Pancakes, and Sausage.
09:30am
to
10:30am
(60mins)		 TBD TBD .......... maybe something on Nuke and Alternative Energy .........
10:30am
to
11:30am
(60mins)		 Computer Interface
Build Session 		Jay WB8TKL So you have wanted to try those Digital Modes (like PSK31, MT63, Olivia, RTTY) but never had a proper interface to connect your rig to your computer sound card. Now is your chance to aquire one on the cheap!! For only $25 dollars we provide you with a kit of parts, tools and help, to build you own simple interface.

We would appreciate folks to pre-order your kits so we have some idea how many will need them. Please email Jay at jjn@nuge.com to express your interest. But if you can't pre-order, just show up and we will have a few extra kits available.
11:30am
to
12:30pm
(60mins)		 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
2:30pm
(90mins)		 TBD TBD ...... maybe a presentation on HSMM-Mesh ........
2:45pm
to
4:15pm
(90mins)		 How to Setup and use JNOS Jay WB8TKL Welcome to the wonderful world of TCP/IP over AX.25 Packet! However, running JNOS can be a monumental undertaking with over 90 commands to work with, several TCP/IP protocols to understand, IP routing tables and firewall settings, plus even more commands and services to wrap your head around when using the built-in BBS.

This presentation will walk you through setting up your own JNOS installation, the fundamental commands you will need to know, and will enlighten you to the less used but most powerful commands most folks never knew existed. This tutorial is aimed at helping you to get started and put your JNOS Packet station or node to good use, whether you run JNOS on DOS or on Linux.
4:30pm
to
5:30pm
(60mins)		 ARRL Forum Division and Section Staff
All Section Staff and Division Leadership and Guests are welcome to participate in an open discussion regarding happenings in Amateur Radio within the Great Lakes Division and the Michigan Section.


Some of the topics of discussion will be:
  • News from HQ
  • Recent Section appointments, changes
  • PRB1 progress
  • Emergency Communications Advisory Committee (ECAC)
  • ARES - NTS integration initatives
  • Net & NTS Traffic stats
  • The new AUXCOMM plan
6:00pm
to
7:30pm
(90mins)		 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!
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 14th Schedule of Events
Time Event &
Who		 Description
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 @Conf Center
Auction off any donated items.

Bring along any items that you would like to pawn off...err.... auction off to your fellow campers. All monies received will go towards covering costs of this years and/or future Outings.
10:30am
'till
Noon		 Cleanup
and
Pack Up		 Everyone Clean up of the area, pack up, and be off the grounds
(oftentimes 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        @ $22.00 per site per day  (improved includes water & electric) 
      Unimproved Campsites      @ $15.00 per site per day  (no electric or water)
      Beds In Lodge (bunk-beds) @ $16.00 per bed per day  (bring your own sheets, blanket & pillow)

      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-2013.pdf (123k)



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