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 SEPTEMBER, 2011 SECTION NEWS: Just weeks after conducting an extensive "Hurricane Hannah" emergency communications drill, our section -- and much of the region -- experienced the real thing as Tropical Storm Irene crashed into New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and the south coast of Massachusetts, bringing with it high winds and devastating flooding to the region. As I write, many in Eastern Massachusetts are still without power. Eastern MA ARES was well prepared for the task. The ARES leadership held numerous telephone conference calls in advance of the storm to coordinate its activities. And the ARES leadership supplied ARRL Headquarters with information on section activities before, during and after the storm. ARES presence and support included: SKYWARN operators at the National Weather Service in Taunton; operations at the ARES Command Centers in Bridgewater, Acushnet and Brookline; staffing at regional American Red Cross shelters in Salem, Dedham, Attleboro, Weymouth and Bridgewater; and operations at EOCs in Gloucester and Carver. Our section was also on standby to render mutual aid to Western MA ARES in the Town of Greenfield along the Deerfield River in the wake of serious flooding. I want to personally thank all of the amateurs in our section who selflessly volunteered to participate in these crucial operations to help protect property and public safety. August weather tried to put the damper on the Eastern MA NTS Traffic Handlers Picnic in Raynham, but the traffic handlers persevered. STM KW1U reports the picnic was successfully rescheduled to the following weekend. The Eastern MA ARRL staff held its third quarterly meeting on August 24 in Hopkinton. The Pilgrim ARC mourns the loss of Silent Key Earl Chaddock, WA1KZT of Provincetown. Want to know more of the technical details about software-defined radio? KB1LQC recommends this on-line white paper, found at http://tinyurl.com/3aw5d2z. Genesis ARS in Plymouth is starting the new Genesis 75 Meter Rag Chew Net beginning Sept. 7. The net will meet on 3.962 MHz at 6:30 PM on Wednesday nights. KB1KVL invites all who are interested to check in. Cape Ann ARA members held a BBQ cookout at their clubhouse on August 21. The club also provided communications that same day for the "Run Gloucester" event. The K1USN Radio Club was featured in a nice online article at http://tinyurl.com/3uruba4 entitled "Braintree Radio Group offers Window on World". KB1CHU and K1WCC donated a Pentium P4 computer and flat panel screen, respectively, to the K1USN RC to replace the club's existing "dinosaur" computer. After many years of dedicated service to the Framingham ARA, club prez K1GB has decided to step down and pass the gauntlet after this year. PART of Westford members would like to remind everyone about their monthly breakfasts on the first Saturday of every month at the Westford Regency Inn. Both full and lighter, less-expensive fares are available. Email info at wb1gof dot org for details. PART members have also been busy of late following the K2H Thirteen Colonies special event station operation. A group including W1JMA, W1AHM, AB1HD, W1RAG and KB1OIQ gathered recently over pizza to fill out QSL cards for contacts made. Mark your calendars for the Southeastern MA ARA Tailgate Flea on September 11. See http://ema.arrl.org/node/1889. Ham volunteers are needed for the annual Jimmy Fund Walk on September 18. The walk follows the Boston Marathon course from Hopkinton to Boston. See http://ema.arrl.org/node/1892 for more details. Boston ARC was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Arthur Ashley, N1NHZ of Cambridge. This SM was once again honored to serve as a volunteer instructor at the 2011 Courage Center Handiham Radio Camp in Maple Lake, Minnesota on August 7-13. Kudos to Handiham volunteer N1BLF of North Dartmouth for investing hundreds of hours of his time reading and recording Amateur Radio articles and publications for blind and visually impaired members. Barnstable ARC held a cookout and fox hunt at Woodsong Farm in Brewster on August 20. Eastern MA ARRL is offering a new resource: the External Speakers Bureau. The list includes amateurs who have registered to speak at non-amateur organizations about our hobby service. Public Information Coordinator Bob Salow, WA1IDA, maintains the list. If you're the leader of such a group and would like to schedule a presentation on Amateur Radio, check out the link on the left hand column of the section web site, or visit http://ema.arrl.org/node/1893. Cape Ann ARA mourns the loss of Silent Key Larry Sargent, W1ZBE of Gloucester. KB1PGH reports that he will be operating HF portable at the Fuller School in Gloucester on September 3. CAARA operated Field Day at the school this past June for the first time. I'm pleased to announce that our Eastern MA ASM for Youth Activities, Jeremy Breef-Pilz, KB1REQ has been invited by ARRL President Kaye Craigie, N3KN to serve on an Ad Hoc Committee on Youth in the Second Century which will "seek input from youth and also from adult amateurs working with young people." This new committee will report to the ARRL Board of Directors in January 2012. YCCC members turned out in good numbers for the North American QSO Party (NAQP) SSB and CW contests in August. ACC Bo Budinger, WA1QYM dropped in for a visit at the August meeting of the Raymond J. Levesque Memorial ARC in Somerset. North Shore Radio Association is hosting comms for the Marblehead Rotary Great Race Walking & Rowing Event on September 5. The Pilgrim ARC September 13 meeting will feature a talk by DEC WQ1O on go-kits and regional emergency shelters. Framingham ARA has appointed KB1PJN as its new Webmaster. Kudos is in order to the Whitman ARC for again conducting their annual special events station and Amateur Radio exhibit at the Marshfield Fair starting August 19, 2011. It's an incredibly complex logistical operation. And even though event was curtailed on account of Tropical Storm Irene, it was still a great success. NN1MF was QRV on 80-10 meters, 2 meters, Echolink and IRLP. If you worked NN1MF, you can receive a nice certificate and QSL card by sending an SASE to PO Box 48, Whitman MA 02382. From the humorous "Ten Commandments of Electronics": Rule #1 -- Beware of the lightning that lurks in an undischarged capacitor lest it cause thee to be bounced upon thy backside in a most un-gentlemanly manner. (Thanks, Bristol County Repeater Assoc. mailing list) Are you a technically savvy person? Are you the guy or gal that others in your club or community turn to for assistance with antenna questions, help with a homebrew rig, or advice on combatting a stubborn grounding problem? For a section field organization to be effective, there must be a cadre of qualified, competent Technical Specialists. The TS serves as a technical advisor to local hams and clubs, by corresponding by telephone and letter on technical topics, and referring correspondents to other sources if specific topic is outside TS's knowledge. Are you up for the challenge? Want to give back to your community? Contact Eastern MA Technical Coordinator Eric Falkof, K1NUN. His contact information is listed on the Eastern MA web site at http://ema.arrl.org/node/1793. 73, Phil, K9HI -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Section Manager: Phillip Temples, K9HI k9hi@arrl.org --------------------------------------------------------------------
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