ARRL EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION
Section Manager (SM) – Phil Temples, K9HI
Assistant Section Manager (ASM) – Jeremy Breef-Pilz, KB1REQ
Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC) – “Bo” Budinger, WA1QYM
Official Observer Coordinator (OOC) – Ed Parish, K1EP
Public Information Coordinator (PIC) – Bob Salow, WA1IDA
Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) – Rob Macedo, KD1CY
Section Traffic Manager (STM) – Marcia Forde, KW1U
State Government Liaison (SGL) – Shawn O’Donnell, K3HI
Technical Coordinator (TC) – Eric Falkof, K1NUN
DECEMBER, 2011 SECTION NEWS
Winter is just around the corner and for many of us that means an
increase in contesting and on-air activities. Also, it’s the time for
holiday cheer and club-sponsored holiday activities. The latter affords
some great opportunities for clubs to involve less-active members and
their families in a fun, social settings. “Low-intensity” contest
operations are also catching on with many area clubs as they organize
around their club shacks and members’ home stations to mentor newcomers
and teach new skills. These are great ways to build interest and
camaraderie in your local club.
Be sure to check out the 2011 SKYWARN Recognition Day activities that
run for 24 hours beginning at 7 PM on Dec. 2. Two local groups in our
section will be soliciting contacts: the Taunton SKYWARN ARC, WX1BOX
from the National Weather Service, and the Boston Amateur Radio Club,
operating as W1BOS/MQE from the Blue Hill Observatory. More details can
be found at <http://ema.arrl.org/node/1913>.
Area amateurs participated in a SKYWARN training session at the Ipswich
Town Hall on Nov. 19.
Yankee Clipper Contest Club conducted its popular “Contest University”
hosted by the Marlborough Emergency Management Agency on Nov. 21.
K3KQ posts on the MITRE mailing list about a unique, backpack-sized
portable “tower” that inflates to a full 25 feet tall in under 30
seconds. See <http://tinyurl.com/cgcfd93> <http://ltaprojects.com/>.
The Falmouth ARA held a successful 13th annual FARA Fest at the Cape
Cod Vo-Tech School in Bourne on Nov. 12.
The Whitman ARC held a club auction on Nov. 2. Bob Azanow, KA1KIJ was
the lucky winner of a Kenwood TS-940!
KB1CYV and KB1OEQ got to be “the fox” at the Whitman ARC foxhunt on
Nov. 5. Hunters included NI1X, KA1JBE, KB1RXQ, KB1ODS and KB1TEH.
KB1OIQ presented to members of the Quannapowitt ARA in Reading on Linux
Software for Ham Radio.
YCCC’s Doug Grant, K1DG authored an excellent write up in the latest
issue of EDN Magazine entitled, “Ham Radio in the 21st Century”. See
<http://tinyurl.com/4x45ev5> <https://www.edn.com/design/communications-networking/4368553/Ham-radio-in-the-21st-century-4368553>.
Pilgrim ARC in Provincetown is considering moving its regular meeting
QTH to the Truro Police Department Headquarters.
N1JOY reports that the Kuss Middle School ARC in Fall River is once
again active from its new school building. The classroom station was
silenced for a couple of years due to the move, but coax and antennas
are now installed. The station is QRV on 2m and 440 MHz right now, with
more bands coming soon.
Members of the Framingham ARA will hold their holiday party at the
Marlborough Super Buffet on Dec. 3 at 7:00 PM.
The Cape Ann ARA (CAARA) will hold its annual holiday party on Dec. 3
at 6 PM at St John’s Episcopal Church, 48 Middle Street, Gloucester.
The evening festivities include a potluck dinner, Yankee Swap and a
door prize raffle.
CAARA will conduct Morse code training classes sometime in January,
according to club member Rick Maybury, WZ1B. The club will use newly
purchased equipment funded from an ARRL Foundation grant. Email WZ1B at
<rmaybury@ppg-i.com> for more info.
PART of Westford plans to conduct a kit-building event during the first
few months of 2012. Club members will order two selected kits from
Hendricks QRP Kits through the club: the Deluxe Tenna Dipper or the
SLT+ tuner.
Members of the Wellesley ARS met for an informal dinner and “eyeball
QSOs” in lieu of their regular Nov. 15 meeting at Agostono’s Restaurant
in Natick.
Minuteman Repeater Association president K1IW writes in the club’s
newsletter: “If the 1.25cm band interests you, we’ve got three
repeaters on this band: 224.7 in Weston, 223.94 in Hopkinton, and
224.88 in Marlborough. The first two are normally linked to our HUB, so
there’s usually someone to talk to. 224.88 is col-located with 449.925,
but is normally linked to HUB2. A fourth 222 machine is in the works
for our Quincy site and will operate on 224.4.”
The Genesis ARS (GARS) held a recent General licensing class at Jordon
Hospital in Plymouth.
GARS will hold its annual holiday party on Dec. 18 at Isaac’s, 114
Water Street, Plymouth beginning at 6:30 PM.
The WCC Radio Association (WA1WCC) in Chatham is teaming up with the
Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club (KM1CC) to conduct a “Titanic 100 Years”
special event operation April 12-15, 2012 at the Cape Cod National
Seashore site. All area hams are invited to sign up and operate for the
event. Contact Barbara Dugan, N1NS at <km1cc.capecod@gmail.com> with
your name, call sign, license class, phone number and preferred mode of
operation.
The Eastern MA ARRL staff held a quarterly meeting on Nov. 14 in
Hopkinton. The group was privileged to have as its special guest Jack
Bowles N1OTC, of S. Carver. Jack is an active NTS traffic handler in
the section.
According to Space Weather News, our sun put on one of its best
displays of the new solar cycle this past month–not with sunspots and
flares, but rather with “towering walls of plasma and filaments of
magnetism.” One dark filament was reported to have stretched “more than
a million kilometers across the face of the sun.” That’s about three
times the distance between Earth and the Moon!
K1NUN reports that hams at the Zola Center for Persons With
Disabilities in Newton Highlands will participate in the ARRL 10-Meter
Contest on Dec. 10 from 1:30 PM-4:00 PM. The group intends to pair up
new hams with an experienced member to coach them on station operation
and procedures.
KA1IG reports that members of the Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC teamed
up to provide communications support for the annual Attleboro Santa
Parade on Nov. 27.
PART of Westford members WA1KBE, AB1HD, KB1GMX, and KB1OIQ have been
helping Geoffrey, KB1USE set up his new shack. Geoffrey recently
upgraded to General class. Congrats!
PART will hold its annual holiday dinner on Dec. 20 at the Yangtze
River Restaurant, 584 King Street, in Littleton.
Cape Ann ARA members operated in the ARRL Sweepstakes from the club
shack on the weekend of Nov 19.
The Pentucket RA tech committee had a very successful work party on
November 12. The club is interested in hearing signal reports from area
hams operating on its 146.625 repeater (PL change: 131.8 Hz).
The Nashoba Valley ARC held its final Adopt-A-Highway road cleanup of
the year on Nov. 20.
KB1JYD shared this link on the Algonquin ARC reflector to a very
informative traffic handling guide by KV5R:
<http://tinyurl.com/79vc2sn>.
Kudos to Billerica ARS members who are collecting food at their
December meeting for donation to the Billerica Food Pantry.
The Norwood ARC holds its weekly net each Tuesday evening from
8:00-9:30 PM on the W1JLI 147.21 repeater.
Attention ARRL Affiliated Clubs: have you filled out your club’s annual
renewal with League Headquarters? It’s relatively painless! For
information on how to do so, download the simple instructions found at
<http://www.arrl.org/club-update>. If you still require assistance,
contact our Affiliated Club Coordinator, Bo Budinger, WA1QYM at arrl
dot net.
In case you missed it, FOX News carried this recent story entitled
“Radio Days Are Back: Ham Radio Licenses at an All-Time High” at
<http://tinyurl.com/bsnh6qh>.
I, and my staff of dedicated Eastern MA ARRL section leaders would like
to wish everyone a joyous and safe holiday. Drive safely!
73, K9HI
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ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section
Section Manager: Phillip Temples, K9HI
k9hi@arrl.org
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