MARCH 2014 SECTION NEWS

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


MARCH 2014 SECTION NEWS

The ARRL International DX Contest phone weekend is happening March 1-2.
You can find the contest rules at <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx>.

Southeastern MA ARA Radio Events Chairman K1KVV has this say about the
contest: it offers fun for Tech operators!  "Technician licensees may
want to give the 10-meter band a try this weekend. The exchange is a
signal report and your state. With the solar flux high enough to open
polar paths, this will be a great time to see what you can do with your
HF phone privileges."

The Eastern MA ARRL cabinet met in Hopkinton on February 24. Attending
as special guests were: Stan Stone, W4HIX, of Gloucester, President of
the Cape Ann ARA; and Tom Walsh, K1TW, of Bedford, an Assistant
Director for the New England Division.

Bo Budinger, WA1QYM presented to members of the PART of Westford on
"DXing with a Dipole Antenna" at their January meeting.

Affiliated Club Coordinator WA1QYM would like to remind all Eastern
Massachusetts affiliated clubs to be sure to complete their annual
report. Says Bo, "One of the benefits of being an ARRL Affiliated Club
is that you are listed in the ARRL club search so that new or
prospective hams can find you. It is the club's responsibility to
update your club record at least once a year."

Some clubs aren't content waiting for prospective members to find them.
Pentucket RA's AB1PX recently searched the FCC database looking for hams
in the club's area. "As a first exercise, I searched for licensees in
Haverhill. It turns out that one can download the search results as a
CSV file. The process is clunky, and the file format is arcane, but the
data are useful." Once they've "developed a process" to work with these
leads, John says they intend to "fan out to other area towns."

Looking for speakers for your radio club meetings? Be sure to check out
the newly revised Eastern MA ARRL Club Speakers List, at
<http://ema.arrl.org/node/1816>.

Billerica ARS members and others mourn the loss of Silent Key Michael
W. Bernock, N1IW of Derry, New Hampshire.

A long, cold, "hungry" winter: YCCC member NF1O tells this tale of
feedline sabotage. "I attempted to make a few QSOs on 160 and found my
transmitting antenna had a very bad SWR. So was my 80-meter antenna.
The next day, I found that squirrels had been having fun with the coax.
They were even eating the copper!"

The recent Marlborough spring flea was a great success. "I want to
thank everyone who supported the flea market this year," writes KA1OS.
"We were extremely lucky to miss two storms before and immediately
after the event and we had solid attendance numbers despite the week's
weather."

Be sure to mark your calendars for the annual Framingham ARA flea
market on April 6 from 9 AM to 12 Noon at the Keefe Technical School in
Framingham. More info is at <http://fara.org/flea>.  

Several radio club meetings had to be cancelled on account of the
numerous snowstorms this past month: the Billerica ARS, Algonquin ARC,
and PART of Westford. 

The winter has been very active, which means SKYWARN Nets have been
active across the section as well, providing snowfall and damage
reports to WX1BOX at the Taunton SKYWARN ARC at NWS Taunton. 

A preliminary SKYWARN 2014 Training Schedule is now available for
viewing, at <http://www.wx1box.org/node/36>.  "Additional training
sessions are being planned, and updates will be posted over the next
several weeks," says Section Emergency Coordinator and ARES SKYWARN
Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY.

The Ashland Sporting Association is sponsoring a 13.1 mile race in
preparation for Boston, at Marathon Park in Ashland MA on Sunday, March
16. Ham volunteers are being sought to assist with the event. Visit
<http://ema.arrl.org/node/2042> for details.

Vacationing K1USN RC member AA1V reports he had a great visit with the
gang at the Battleship Missouri ARC, KH6BB. Don hand-delivered a K1USN
QSL card for display in their shack.

Members of the K1USN RC, the Boston ARC, and other amateurs mourn the
loss of Silent Key Edward C. Matteson, KA1KHK, of Johnson, Vermont. Ed
was a former resident of Brookline, MA. 

The Zola Center ARC in Newton has started a new two-meter net, which
meets every Thursday night from 7:00-7:30 PM on the Newton repeater on
147.36 MHz (no PLL). Any and all stations are welcome. "We would love
to have some of our more experienced operators check in to help the
newcomers out," says WA1UIY.

Genesis ARS Vice President KB1SRO reports that she and others will be
at the Halifax Library on March 1 to set up an Amateur Radio Display.

North Shore hams and others mourn the loss of Michael F. Bookman,
KB1OFG, of Beverly.

STM KW1U reports "it was a good month" on the traffic nets. The Eastern
Mass. Two Meter Net led the pack with 31 sessions, 144 check-ins, and a
traffic count of 215. Not far behind EM2MN was the newly resurrected
MARI CW Net with 31 sessions, 105 check-ins, and 140 pieces of traffic.
For a full rundown on the stats, visit <http://nts.ema.arrl.org>.

The Framingham ARA is soliciting applications for this year's FARA
Scholarship. High school seniors who will be attending college the next
academic year, or anyone currently enrolled in a college program are
eligible to apply. The deadline is April 15. Contact Richard Cosma,
AA1VI, at <rcosma@rcn.com> for an application or more information.

Southeastern MA ARA's Tony Souza, NN1D recently conducted a Technician
licensing class that resulted in nine new Tech licensees, including one
who also passed the General!

Boston ARC President NV1W writes in his monthly column: "Ham radio's
‘organization man' is Rod Dinkins, AC6V. His website,
<http://www.ac6v.com/> (archived copy) is the one with about a million links on
everything from ‘Abbreviations, CW' to ‘Zulu Time.' Looking for
Priscilla Presley's call sign? Try ‘Famous Hams.' Want to know what
to do about those mysterious PSK31 messages that say ‘Greetings,
Earthlings'? Go to "SETI".

Liability at public service events: Alan, K1ALL wrote these insightful
comments recently on the PART listserv: "As many of us are asked to
sign liability waivers when we volunteer as ham radio operators in
support of events sponsored or conducted by non-profit organizations,
an understanding of exactly what is being waived is prudent. [...]
Understanding what you are signing prior to volunteering is key. In
some cases you are giving up your right for compensation even if the
non-profit is negligent and in others you are also giving up your right
to be covered by the organization's liability insurance if you are
personally sued by a third party. Many organizations do not require you
sign a waiver, but others, such as the BAA (Boston Marathon) and Head of
the Charles, require extensive and comprehensive waivers. I am not
suggesting that waivers not be signed, but only that you know what
you're signing."

KB1VUA will present on alternative power sources at the March 6 meeting
of the Framingham ARA.

Norwood ARC members and others mourn the loss of Silent Key Joseph S.
Lord, W1PNH, of Walpole. 

Scuttlebutt has it that Cape Ann ARA members may be planning a
pilgrimage this summer to W1AW. There's also talk about visiting the
New England Wireless & Steam Museum in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.

Overheard on one of the listservs re foxhunting nomenclature--KB1GMX
writes about the "other" kind: "Fox hunting is indeed alive in New
England. That is foxes being canids, specifically, Red Fox.  It's an
old tradition and there are registered hunts. There is also a hunting
season for licensed hunters." Allison adds, "While [they] may be
politically incorrect, the hunts are legal in most states when in
season."

Eighteen hams attended the last 900 Night in Plymouth, according to
K1RV. "They had a great time, programming radios, discussing P25 900
repeater linking, even discussing some GMRS topics." Pi adds, "You
never know what will be discussed, but it is always interesting."

The New England Amateur Radio 900 MHz Network (NEAR-900) has a brand
new website: <http://near900.com>. It is a team effort by N1ZZN and
W1RJC.

"...It promises to solve some of humanity's most complex problems. Jeff
Bezos, NASA, and the CIA back it. Each one costs $10 million and
operates at 459 degrees below zero. And nobody knows how it actually
works."  Time Magazine's recent cover story is about the quantum
computer made by a company in British Columbia called D-Wave. D-Wave's
CEO is YCCC's Vern Brownell, W1VB, of North Chatham. --Thanks, K1DG.

73,

K9HI

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