Dear HWC:

Lee & I are pleased to announce the arrival of Junior op. Maria Luisa (AKA Molly) today at Brigham & Women's Hospital, July 16 at 6:47AM. 9 lbs. 5 oz. and 21 inches tall. A perfect baby, as we proud dads say. Mother & baby are doing very well. OM is exhausted but has had extensive contest training :-)

All is FB at the HWC & we anxiously await this coming fall and another big year for W1AF. The special event PR has made the rounds and both CQ and QST intend to give the event major play.

This past Wednesday, I completed a valued inventory of all HWC equipment for insurance purposes. The premium payment is now in the mail to Albert Wohlers & Co. for 1999-2000. We were severely overvalued for recent payments and this new valuation brought us back into line with a premium of $360 per annum, not much different from our first payment of $350 in 1991.

Over the past month, the SS Collegiate Championship has found itself under fire. A consortium of collegiate stations (including the HWC) has lobbied long and hard to re-institute the CC as it was originally designed. I am pleased to report that real progress has been made and I will be very surprised if the ARRL does not come to terms with the collegiate petitioners at the annual Board of Directors meeting this weekend. KYFC for a favorable ruling for collegiate radio.

Now an appeal -- K9HI has come down with a bug and is probably too ill to work the Flea this weekend. Get well soon, Phil! However w/o Phil & myself on board, I believe we'll be shorthanded this month. N1EXQ is always a faithful worker and N2JYQ has promised a good effort. But that still leaves us shorthanded. . . If you are in the area and can work the Flea this Sunday, please do so. It would be a shame to lose our 15+ hours per month average participation over the course of this Flea season.

In contest news, I activated W1AF briefly during FD and for the IARU HF Contest. We're keeping W1AF "out there" in competitive amateur radio.

QSL-wise, W1AF is up-to-date and I have also answered @4,000 bureau requests for 7Z5OO since May. Just as a note of comparison, this is as many QSLS as we have received for contacts with W1AF since 1950. BTW, N1TDI stopped by last week to get a handle on the PJ1A QSL alpha chore. Thanks Mary-Anne!

Mni Tnx to K1VR for donating an Astatic D-104 Silver Eagle to the HWC. We'll get that gem in-line with the Heath Twins before Fall.

I guess we'll consider this to be our July HWC Bulletin. There's more but this OM has to get back to B&W (not Barker & Williamson) to be with the XYL & Jr. (CW) op.

73,
Mike, K3UOC