OCTOBER 2014 SECTION NEWS – Eastern Massachusetts ARRL

ARRL EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION  

Section Manager (SM) - Phil Temples, K9HI 
Assistant Section Manager (ASM) – Tom Walsh, K1TW
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) – Mike Neilsen, W1MPN 
Section Traffic Manager (STM) – Marcia Forde, KW1U 
Section Youth Coordinator (SYC) – Jeremy Breef-Pilz, KB1REQ 
State Government Liaison (SGL) – Hank Mc Carl, W4RIG 
Technical Coordinator (TC) – Dan Brown, W1DAN


OCTOBER 2014 SECTION NEWS

After serving for nearly four years as your Section Manager, I feel
it's time for me to take a break and step down from my
duties--especially so that others can have some fun!

I'd like to report on the results of the recent call for nominations
for the Section Manager position in our section. As of the September 5
deadline date (announced in QST) ARRL Headquarters received a single
petition nominating Tom Walsh, K1TW. Accordingly, Tom Walsh was
declared elected as the new Eastern Massachusetts Section Manager to
serve a two-year term of office beginning January 1, 2015. 

I am very pleased that someone will serve the section as talented and
enthusiastic as K1TW. A native of the Boston area, Tom was originally
licensed as KN1VGM. He's been involved in various facets of the field
organization, serving for five years as an Assistant SM in the Santa
Clara Valley Section until moving back to Eastern Massachusetts. Over
his long ham career, Tom has enjoyed traffic handling, DXing, and QRP
operation, to name a few activities. He's also been an integral part of
the Boxboro Convention Committee. K1TW currently serves as Vice
President of the Billerica ARS. You can read more about your future
Section Manager by visiting <http://ema.arrl.org/k1tw>.

I won't be "disappearing" completely from the local ARRL field
organization. At Tom's request I've agreed to serve in an advisory
capacity as an Assistant SM.  

I'm happy that K1TW is succeeding me in this endeavor and I'm fully
confident that Tom, along with the support of his cabinet members, will
accomplish great things during his tenure!


Attention, club officers: are you struggling to find interesting
speakers and topics for your club meetings?  The newly updated Eastern
MA Club Presenters List might be just the ticket! It contains
information about recent presenters, along with speakers who are
willing to present at your club. See <http://ema.arrl.org/node/1816>.

NEAR-Fest is coming soon, October 10-11, in Deerfield, NH. Details can
be found at <http://tinyurl.com/NE-Near-Fest-2014>.

N1JOY reports that the Bristol County Repeater Association's 145.450
WA1DGW repeater is finally back at the repeater site and "running well,
RF-wise." Roland adds that the Echolink node is also operational.

The Framingham ARA will hold a Tech-to-General upgrade class in October
& November. Visit <http://ema.arrl.org/node/2077> for details.

KB1LXH will lead a JOTA effort October 18-19 at Camp Norse in Kingston.
His crew hopes to put some 300+ Annawon Council Cub Scouts on the air
from KC1TAC on 2 meters and the low bands. Says Don, "Our goal is to
give the Cub Scouts a taste of Amateur Radio and have each Scout make
at least once contact." Don is especially interested in hearing from
hams willing to help, and from other groups who plan to host a JOTA
station; also, from repeater trustees who will allow the use of their
respective repeaters for on-air contacts.  For the full scoop, visit
<http://ema.arrl.org/node/2078>.

W1VIV is planning to participate in JOTA from the W1FY club shack.
Sumner is asking other Framingham ARA members to join him, and
especially, to invite any scouts they might know.

Additional amateur communications assistance has been requested for the
Cystic Fibrosis' Cycle For Life bicycle ride on October 11. For more
information, visit <http://ema.arrl.org/node/2072>.  

Pilgrim ARC members learned new and interesting ways to test
electrolytic capacitors at a recent club talk entitled, "Got
Capacitors? A Presentation and Demonstration of the Blue ESR Meter" at
the club's September 9 meeting in Truro. 

Minuteman Repeater Association's repeater antennas are back on the
water tank on Sligo Hill in Marlborough, according to MMRA's K1IW. Says
Bob, "We now have mobile coverage throughout most of Worcester County,
all areas east, and into New Hampshire and Rhode Island." Bob suggests
that folks give one or more of the repeaters a try on 53.81, 147.27,
224.88, 449.925, or 927.7 MHz.

Ever wonder what goes on at a "Maker" faire? About 130 Makers and
Makers groups will come together on October 4 at the MIT campus in
Cambridge. They will exhibit a wide variety of projects in the areas of
technology, engineering, art, etc. For more information, visit
<https://makerfaire.mit.edu>. --Thanks, N1ZCE.

PART of Westford members continued the hunt for KB1MGI's elusive fox
this past month. It's been hiding somewhere in a town bordering
Westford. John's fox box operates on 146.565 MHz and activates upon
receiving DTMF tone 2 for two seconds. It then goes quiet after fifteen
minutes.

A recent membership drive conducted by the Wellesley ARS proved quite
successful, according to WARS' Dan Brown, W1DAN. Dan reports that WARS
members sent postcards to area hams inviting them to enjoy a pizza
party and free club membership at a September 16 "kickoff" meeting.

Dartmouth area hams assisted with communications for the Dartmouth
350th Parade on September 7, using both ham and public safety radios.

Congratulations to Vadim Afonkin, KB1RLI, a Newton resident and Team
USA member who participated in the 2014 World Amateur Radio Direction
Finding Championships on September 6-13 in Kazakhstan. Vadim won an
individual silver medal for the men's 40-year-old competition.
According to WM5R: "It was a cold day with temperatures in the mid-40s
to low 50s F. We had a few sprinkles, but serious rain held off.  The
terrain was flat, highly-runnable pine forest with occasional marshy
spots and lots of straight forest trails. Vadim had a fantastic run and
finished in second place on the M40 144 MHz course!"

Members of the Algonquin ARC have something to cheer about: the club's
repeater antenna is back at its original location. Says AARC's KV1J:
"Our 446.675 MHz repeater antenna is back on top of the water tower
[...] at the same height it was when the water tower restoration work
started about two and a half years ago." 

Genesis ARS members operated a special events station at the Plymouth
Municipal Airport's Annual Air Show on September 27. KB1SRO organized
the club activity and provided public information materials.

Whitman ARC members and other area hams mourn the loss of Silent Key
Robert E. Johnson, K1VU, of West Bridgewater.

After serving for four years, W1PL is stepping down as the Harvard
Wireless Club's station manager. 

KA1BTK and others have been busy of late assessing the emergency power
requirements for the Cape Ann ARA's club shack, W1GLO. 

KA8SCP reports that Lowell CERT members (supplemented by PART of
Westford and Northern MA ARES members) will provide communications on
behalf of the Lowell Emergency Management Agency for the Bay State
Marathon on October 19.
 
Barnstable ARC held a "mobile" foxhunt on September 12 in Dennis.

KD1CY and crew conducted a SKYWARN training class in Brockton on
September 27.

PART of Westford will provide communications for the Grace Race in
Chelmsford on October 4.

K1XM of Hudson plans to be QRV for the upcoming CQWW CW contest from
4X-land.

N1RR came across this great web resource for predicting sunrise/sunset
times, at <http://sunrisesunsetmap.com>.

Quannapowitt RA members participated in a show-and-tell at their
September 18 meeting in Reading.

The Southeastern MA ARA will feature a talk on the Military Auxiliary
Radio System (MARS) by AA1VU at its October 2 meeting.

Following his presentation at the October 1 Billerica ARS meeting on
fox hunting, W1FDR plans to hide his fox for club members immediately
following the meeting and throughout the weekend, for those who wish to
try out those newly learned techniques!

The 6th Annual Nashoba Valley ARC Battery Challenge will commence in
October. This unique club event challenges members to compete for
on-air contacts using a battery made of nine lantern cells to power
radios. Contacts must be made from October 5, 2014 until March 3, 2015
on 160- to 6 meters using CW, SSB or digital. Any type of transmitter
may be used, as long as the supplied battery cells power it. The
results will be announced at the April 2015 NVARC meeting.

K1NS recounts the following humorous conversation with a non-ham friend
recently: "I was sitting in my car today when a friend walked by. He
asked me if I was an electrician. Flummoxed by what seemed like a silly
question, I gave him a blank stare and said, 'Huh? No. Of course not.
Why would you ask?' He said, 'I saw the lightening bolt on your license
plate and thought you must be an electrician.'"

Finally, from the "Putting-the-LITTLE-'p'-back-in-QRPp" Department: A
Stanford University engineering team has built a radio the size of an
ant, a device so energy efficient that it gathers all the power it
needs from the same electromagnetic waves that carry signals to its
receiving antenna—no batteries required! It costs only a few dollars.
More info can be had at <http://tinyurl.com/o89cs8y>. --Thanks, W1FDR.

73,

K9HI

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