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
SEPTEMBER 2014 SECTION NEWS
The Eastern MA section has bid bon voyage to a friend and a valuable
field organization volunteer: Carl Aveni, N1FY, has moved from the
area. He and his wife are planning a lot of exciting worldwide travel
in the months and years ahead.
According to Assistant SEC and SKYWARN Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY,
“Carl’s efforts over these eighteen years have been extraordinary. The
NWS Taunton SKYWARN program would not be where it is today without his
efforts . . . Carl has probably logged as much, if not more time at the
National Weather Service Taunton since his retirement in 2008 than I
have. He also assisted at countless SKYWARN Training sessions, both
teaching and setting up sessions, as well as many SKYWARN presentations
at Amateur Radio club meetings and other groups.”
Rob adds, “Carl has made so many other contributions to Amateur Radio
and ARES, including support of the hospital network in Eastern
Massachusetts, work with his local town EOC in Bridgewater, and the
FEMA-graded Nuclear Power Plant exercises.”
Thank you for your service, Carl. Enjoy your travels!
Assistant SEC Rob Macedo, KD1CY, reports that NWS Taunton storm survey
and Amateur Radio/SKYWARN spotter confirmed that an EF0 tornado touched
down in Worcester on August 31. The warning area also included portions
of western Middlesex County in Eastern Massachusetts. Rob sends a
special thanks to all SKYWARN spotters who reported damage and flash
flooding during this severe weather and flash flood event.
The Southern New England Weather Conference will take place at Meditech
in Canton on October 25. Topics include: Two frigid snowstorms that
impacted Southern New England during the winter of 2013-14; The 60th
anniversary of the Hurricanes Carol and Edna; The History and Mystery
of the Old Farmer’s Almanac. For more information, visit
<http://www.sneweatherconf.org>.
Barnstable ARC members helped to install cabling for HF and VHF
antennas at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School on August 30.
The Billerica ARS kicks off its fall season on September 3 with a talk
by Tom Walsh, K1TW, on the history of one of the world’s most famous
amateur radio stations: 4U1ITU. Located within the Geneva Headquarters
of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 4U1ITU counts as a
separate DXCC entity. 4U1ITU celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012.
Over a dozen Eastern MA traffic handlers, along with spouses and
harmonics, attended the annual traffic handlers’ picnic in Raynham on
August 3. This SM was pleased to attend, and enjoyed some of N1OTC’s
“handiwork” from the grill. Two ARRL books were given away to lucky
winners. See <http://tinyurl.com/npee7wn>.
NTS traffic handlers and Eastern MA amateurs join in mourning the loss
of Silent Key Byron J. Piette, K1YCQ, of Somerset.
MARI had 93% and 100% representation to/from 1RN early and late nets,
respectively, according to 1RN net manager W1KX. Those are great
numbers!
The New England Spectrum Management Council will hold its annual
meeting on September 6 at 1 PM at the Holiday Inn, Boxborough Woods, in
Boxborough. NESMC is the FCC certified frequency coordination body for
amateur operations on 29 MHz and above, in the states of Maine, New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. NESMC is also the exclusive
provider of data to the ARRL repeater directory for these four states.
Barnstable ARC members enjoyed their annual picnic and foxhunt in
Brewster on August 24.
The Whitman ARC has combined its Memorial and Labor Day flea markets
into a single flea to be known as the “Bruce Hayden NI1X Memorial Flea
Market.” The flea market will be held on September 13-14. Details can
be found at <http://tinyurl.com/nxcng9n>.
NEAR-fest matched members’ donations to the Cape Ann ARA Scholarship
Fund with a $100 donation, according to NEAR-fest’s Mike Crestohl,
W1RC. The club hopes to raise a total of $1200 for the fund this year.
It should be noted that NEAR-fest also agreed to match a donation by
the Nashoba Valley ARC to the ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund.
Amateur assistance is sought for the BAA Half-Marathon on October 12.
The course follows Boston’s scenic Emerald Necklace. If you can help,
contact AB1RL at his arrl.net email address.
The Whitman ARC operated special event station NN1MF from August 15-24
at Marshfield Fair. They demonstrated various aspects of Amateur Radio
to the public, including operational stations. The members overcame
several obstacles in the process, including “extreme QRM” from the
go-karts racing near their operating position! If you had a QSO with
NN1MF, you can receive a nice QSL and certificate by sending an SASE to
the WA1NPO address.
The Wellesley ARS will offer free membership to new members only for
the upcoming season. “New members will receive our newsletter in PDF
form,” according to WARS’ Dan Brown, W1DAN. Dan adds that the club will
open its season with a pizza party at the Wellesley Community Center,
219 Washington Street, Wellesley, on September 16 from 7:00 to 8:30
PM.
The South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club is providing communications
for the Run To The Rock Road Race in Plymouth on September 6. They’re
still in need of a few more volunteers. Email <ssharc@gmail.com>.
K1KVV is stepping down as editor of the Southeastern MA ARA newsletter
“Zero Beat.” Bob has published a whopping 135 issues since assuming
editor duties in August 2003!
Members of the Nashoba Valley ARC enjoyed their annual picnic on August
17.
KB1OIQ announces the release of version 16 of “Andy’s Ham Radio Linux.”
Says Andy, “This version is a remix of Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS. There are
versions for the older 32-bit computers as well as the more recent
64-bit computers.” <http://tinyurl.com/qgh5esw> points to more
information and download links.
The Cape Ann ARA has announced two upcoming educational offerings: 1)
“Beyond Tech-in-a-Day” on September 16-October 7. This course is
intended to help new Technician class operators understand the
privileges of their licenses. Segments will include: Simplex/Duplex;
VFO/Memory Channels; How Repeaters Work; Programming U/VHF radios;
Antenna Selection; Communication Techniques; Importance of Emergency
Communications. 2) “General Study Group” on October 21-January 6. For
more information, email <events@caare.net>.
KB1JKJ and his wife, Donna, of Billerica, were mentioned in a recent
issue of QST for their work with a Multiple Sclerosis fundraiser.
Amateur volunteers are requested to assist with bus and first aid
station communications for the Jimmy Fund Walk on September 21. Contact
Steve, W3EVE at his arrl.net address.
The Framingham Amateur Radio Association kicks off its new season with
a special presentation by K1KP and W1UC on Amateur Radio contesting.
They will give the presentation on September 4 at 7:30 pm in the
Framingham Police Station Training Room (1st floor), One William Welch
Way, in Framingham.
Amateur Radio and WRTC2014 received great national publicity on the NPR
show Only A Game. You can listen, read the transcript and view photos at
Making Contact In The ‘Olympics’ Of Ham Radio, at
<http://tinyurl.com/nw2cfac>. According to WRTC2014’s K5ZD, “The story
does a great job of explaining ham radio and contesting as well as
capturing the spirit of the competitors.” Randy adds, “One of the goals
of WRTC2014 was to use the competition as a platform to promote Amateur
Radio and Radiosport.” You can see all of the media coverage at
<http://tinyurl.com/kyy938x>.
KB1MGI and other amateurs in the Westford area have been commenting
about an Information Radio Station, WQSS938, transmitting on 1630 kHz
AM and licensed to the Westford Fire Department. Says Terry, KA8SCP:
“When these stations first came on the air it used to be a popular “ut”
(pronounced yoot, as in Utility) search for AM DXers. Growing up in the
Midwest, it was always fun because we could hear the east coast without
too much of a problem, but those west coast stations were tough!”
On a personal note: on August 16-23, I made my annual trek to the
Courage Kenny Handiham Radio Camp in Maple Lake, Minnesota, to help
individuals with disabilities to learn and enjoy this wonderful hobby
that binds us in fellowship. Campers ranged in age from teens to
octogenarians. They’re all wonderful, brave men and women. For me, it’s
an honor to have them as my friends and my ham radio family. There’s a
nice article about Radio Camp in the August 27 issue of the Handiham
World Weekly E-letter, at <http://handiham.org/drupal2/node/351> <http://turing.avenirtech.net/post/handiham-world/Courage-Kenny-Rehabilitation-Institute-Handiham-World-Weekly-ELetter-for-the-week-of-Wednesday-27-August-2014>.
I want to acknowledge the Eastern MA amateurs at the Marshfield Fair
NN1MF operation. For two afternoons, they made contacts with numerous
Handiham campers on the WA1NPO repeater via EchoLink. For several
campers, it was one of their first QSOs. For most, it was their first
contact with a special event station. Thank you very much for such a
warm welcome!
73,
K9HI
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ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section
Section Manager: Phillip Temples, K9HI
k9hi@arrl.org
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