JANUARY 2014 SECTION NEWS – Eastern Massachusetts ARRL

ARRL EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION

Section Manager (SM) - Phil Temples, K9HI
Assistant Section Manager (ASM) – Jeremy Breef-Pilz, KB1REQ
Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC) – Arthur "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) – Dan Brown, W1DAN

JANUARY 2014 SECTION NEWS

I'm pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Brown, W1DAN, as the
section's new Technical Coordinator. A licensed amateur for 37 years,
W1DAN currently serves as president of the Wellesley Amateur radio
Society. He is employed as a broadcast engineer in Boston and lives in
Natick, MA. Dan replaces Eric Falkof, K1NUN, who tragically passed away
last month.

Dan is an excellent leader and possesses exceptional technical skills.
He'll be a valuable resource and a mentor to amateurs in the section.
He looks forward to serving as a point-of-contact for those who are
looking for additional resources or assistance with challenging
technical problems.

More information about W1DAN and a photo can be viewed by visiting
<http://ema.arrl.org/dan-brown-w1dan>.

As I write this column, Eastern MA ARES and Southern New England
SKYWARN personnel are preparing for a potentially major coastal storm
to hit our area in the next 24-48 hours.

Last month, I was privileged to present a cash award in memory of Eric
Falkof, K1NUN (SK) to representatives of the Irving K. Zola Center for
Persons With Disabilities. This occurred at a special meeting on
December 14 at the Brigham House in Newton Highlands. NEAR-Fest General
Chairman W1RC was also on hand to present a D-STAR radio to the
organization. Details and photo can be found at
<http://ema.arrl.org/node/2031>.

The Southeastern MA ARA will conduct a Technician licensing class in
Dartmouth for four consecutive Wednesdays beginning January 8. More
details can be found at <http://ema.arrl.org/node/2035>. <http://semara.org/technician-class-starts-january-8th>.

The New England Division Cabinet meets on January 4 in Springfield.
ARRL affiliated club presidents and representatives are invited to
attend. RSVP to Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI.

The Wellesley ARS meeting on January 21 will feature a presentation on
the E51DXX Rarotonga, Cook Islands DXpedition.

Cape Ann ARA is making good progress in establishing remote HF station
capability for its members. According to club prez W4HIX: "I have a
link to the Icom IC-7000 working over the Internet using the RS-BA1
Icom software. This software seems to work well; I'll let you know as
soon as I get the antenna hooked up to the IC-7000. Sound and control
are both operational."

The amateur radio manufacturer Toyko Hy-Power has filed for bankruptcy,
according to HRO.

CQ Communications, Inc. announced it has realigned its roster of
publications and is launching a new online supplement to its flagship
magazine, CQ Amateur Radio.

PART of Westford holds its monthly breakfast each Saturday at 8 AM at
the Westford Regency Inn. Full hot and cold buffet breakfasts are
available. More info from <ka8scp@wb1gof.org>.

Nashoba Valley ARC featured W3EVE at a recent meeting where he gave a
presentation on Boston Marathon communications.

The Cape Ann ARA is embarking upon an interesting "oral history" video
production project.

K1NR reports that Dennis, W1UE, is prominently featured in the latest
contest update from the ARRL. Says Gene, "There is a great photo of
Dennis working CQWW CW at PJ4A."

The Southeastern MA ARA will feature a presentation by Steven Belcher,
W1TAV, from FM Generator at its monthly Tech Talk session. See
<http://semara.org/node/323> <http://semara.org/tech-talk-generators-by-w1tav-january-16th/>.

Claimed scores from the October ARRL School Club Roundup are available
at <http://tinyurl.com/m7ozwdx>, according to Eastern MA Assistant SM
for Youth Activities KB1REQ. Two EMA clubs, the Clay Center ARC and the
Northeastern Wireless Club, submitted entries.

The MARI CW Net is expanding operation to seven evenings a week
effective January 6. According to MA STM KW1U, "We will continue to
operate at a slower speed to encourage new CW operators to learn about
message handling on CW nets." MARI meets at 7 PM on 3565 kHz.

Did anyone receive the WG2XFQ transmissions on 486 kHz on Christmas and
New Year's Eve? The experimental station, operated by WA1ZMS/4, used "an
AM audio loop modulating [a] vintage-style, homebrew transmitter to
honor Reginald Fessenden's Christmas Eve 1906 AM voice transmission."

Cape Ann area amateurs mourn the loss of Silent Key Ralph E. Karcher,
Jr., W1RK, of Gloucester.

The Falmouth Hospital ARES will act as NCS of the Eastern Mass Hospital
Net on January 4 at 10 AM. The net will use the following repeaters/PL
tones in the order listed: Plymouth 146.685, 82.5; Salem 146.88, 118.8;
Fall River 146.805, 67.0; Sharon 146.865, 103.5; 147.42 simplex. The net
will then return to the Plymouth Repeater for final comments and net
closing.

KB1MGI and company has let the fox out of its den once again to play
outdoors. This time, it will transmit on 432.300 MHz (30 seconds on, 30
seconds off). Says John, "The area (Chelmsford vicinity) is flat. No
slippery hills to walk up or down if you find the right location. But
the ground is frozen."

Amateurs generally receive hassles, or even blank stares when they
attempt to redeem International Reply Coupons (IRCs) at local post
offices. However, Lee, K1NU, reports that word is spreading about an
employee at the Carlisle Post Office named Kevin who is a "whiz" at
redeeming them.

Minuteman Repeater Assoc. President KI1W reports four of the MMRA
systems at the Marlborough West location are back on the air. 53.81,
147.27, 449.925 and APRS are operating from antennas about 30 feet off
the ground. The 224.88 and 927.7 machines will remain off the air until
antenna work can be completed. IRLP service will be restored once the
phone line is relocated into the shelter.

The Boston ARC 145.23 repeater antenna was badly damaged last winter in
an ice storm, but its temporary antenna has now been replaced with a
brand new Laird FG1443 antenna, thanks to N1QD and crew. The club
welcomes signal reports at <n1qd@n1qd.org>.

The NASA JPL experiment last month, in which amateurs from around the
world said "HI" to the Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft, was a great
success. Be sure and check out <http://tinyurl.com/nqpgudf>. (This
5-minute video would be great to play at your next radio club
meeting!)

Here's a New Year's resolution for you: I challenge each of you to
bring up the subject of ham radio to at least ten non-hams over the
course of the year. Be ready to answer (and explain) these fundamental
questions that will be answered with a definitive "NO":

1) "No. Amateur Radio is not dead. It's alive and thriving. Hams are
involved with every sort of communications technology one can imagine,
from digital signal processing to satellites."

2) "No. You no longer have to pass a Morse code exam to receive your
license and get on the air."

3) "No. The Internet has not killed off Amateur Radio. In fact, hams
are using the Internet to expand their existing radio networks and
emergency communications capabilities.

Ask him or her if they liked the movie "Gravity," and be sure to tell
them that every astronaut and cosmonaut in space nowadays is a licensed
radio amateur.

I want each of you to play your part as Amateur Radio's goodwill
ambassadors in 2014!

Finally, from the "You-Should-Be-In-Hollywood-Darling" Department:
Morse code has been prominently featured in movies, sound tracks, and
television scripts. It's literally saved the earth from alien invaders,
and has set the mood for numerous action-adventure shows (even
romance!). If you live in Los Angeles, you need only look up at the
skyline to take in dots and dashes, as described at
<http://tinyurl.com/o3ordvq>.

73,

K9HI

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ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section
Section Manager: Phillip Temples, K9HI
k9hi@arrl.org
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