Eastern Massachusetts ARRL – a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio™

New England Sci-Tech Technician License Course, November 2-3, 2019

October 16, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults interested in wireless communications and electronics, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the Amateur Radio Technician license exam. Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent a few days before the course. The Technician level course runs on Saturday, 9 AM-4 PM and Sunday, 9 AM-1 PM, followed by the FCC Technician exam at 1:00, at New England Sci-Tech, …

Operating / Youth

Several Eastern MA Stations QRV for JOTA, October 18-20, 2019

October 16, 2019October 16, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Several Eastern MA individuals/groups have registered to operate in the Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) festivities October 18-20, 2019: Mark Hofstra, KA1YQC, will conduct operations on behalf of the Mayflower Scout Council from Franklin for the full weekend. The Spirit of Adventure Council will be represented using Ryan Bardsley’s call sign, KC1EIL, from Manchester-by-the-Sea from October 18-20. Don Burke, KB1LXH, will activate KC1TAC on behalf of the Narragansett Council from Taunton on Saturday, October 19, only. We wish the best of luck to these groups (and others who might not have registered)!

Affiliated Clubs

W1BOF: Apollo Spacecraft Communications at Nashoba Valley ARC, October 17, 2019

October 16, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Bruce Blain, K1BG, writes: The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club’s October meeting will be TOMORROW, Thursday, October 17th at 7:30 PM at the Pepperell Community Center (in Pepperell). George Whitehead, W1BOF, will be Ocober’s guest speaker. George worked at North American Aviation in Downey, CA from 1962 to 1967. This was the prime contractor for the Apollo Command and Service module. He worked in the Apollo Communications Subsystem Group mainly on the telemetry part of the radio system, the part that sent spacecraft status and astronaut medical information back to mission command. But sitting next to him was the rest …

Affiliated Clubs / Operating / Youth

Northeastern Wireless Club to Participate in ARRL School Roundup, October 21-25, 2019

October 15, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

“The Northeastern University Wireless Club will be participating in the ARRL School Club Roundup next week. Come by the club space anytime next week to see us make contacts with other amateur radio school organizations around the world! Even if you don’t have a license, you can still participate under the supervision of one of our licensed members.” -via NEU mailing list

Nashoba Valley ARC Members Participate in “Massasoit Fall Camporee,” October 4-5, 2019

October 12, 2019October 13, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Members of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club (NVARC) participated in Eastern Massachusetts Council of the Boy Scouts of America’s “Massasoit Fall Camporee” at Camp Collier, near Gardner on October 4-5, 2019. The camp is situated deep in the woods on a 500-acre tract of land owned by a preservation trust and leased to the Boy Scouts. Participating were: Bruce Blain, K1BG; Stan Pozerski, KD1LE; Jim Wilber, AB1WQ; Owen Salter, KC1KZT; Skip Youngberg, K1NKR; Phil Erikson, W1PJE; Dan Pedtke, KW2T; Dennis Marandos, K1LGQ; and George Kavanagh, KB1HFT. A 130-foot long wire and a vertical were erected for HF contacts, thanks …

All

POPs Local Area Ham Breakfast, Hanson, October 12, 2019

October 11, 2019October 11, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Jack Buckley, W1AKN, writes: The Bridgewater University has changed management for the 2019 / 2020 Academic year. Translation: POPs ARS has lost access to the café in the Tillinghast Hall building of the Bridgewater University campus. We will now resume our monthly Local Area Ham Breakfast (2nd Saturday and last Saturday mornings of each month) POPs ARS [Local Area Ham Breakfast] at the Mo’s in Hanson near the Hanson Commuter Rail Station. The POPs Local Area Ham Breakfast (LAHB) is this Sat. morning 9AM – 8:30 for the early birds. LAHBs are held every 2nd and last Sat of the …

Public Service

Request for Operators, YuKanRun Around Cape Ann Half-Marathon, October 20, 2019

October 11, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Christopher Winczewski, K1TAT, <K1TAT@outlook.com> writes: YuKanRun Around Cape Ann Half Marathon on October 20th. CAARA has a great public service team. We have loaner radios if you need one. Come out and join the event. Just contact us and we will set you up with a radio. Please let me know if you can staff a communications check-point for the event so I can plan staffing positions for the event. While CAARA’s repeater performance has greatly improved the we may still experience some difficulty with communications especially with low-powered HTs, so we’ll be looking for higher powered equipment to staff …

All

New England Area Flea Markets, October 4, 2019

October 11, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

New England Area Ham – Electronic Flea Market *** DATES *** 2019 P 1 of 2 All events are Ham Radio/ Electronic related except “____” ******************************************************************************* 2019 Contact Source ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6 Oct Queens NY HOSARC @HOS Stephen WB2KDG 718 898 5599 11,12 Oct Deerfield NH NEARfest XXVI @FG Mike K1TWF 978 250 …

Affiliated Clubs

K1IR: “Tower Safety” at Billerica ARS, November 6, 2019

October 10, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Jim Idelson, K1IR, will present on “Tower Safety” at the November 6, 2019 meeting of the Billerica Amateur Radio Society at 7 PM at the Chelmsford Bible Church, 128 Gorham Street (Route 3A), Chelmsford, MA 01824. “Recent tragic events including the loss of our local friend, Joe K1JGA, and the serious injuries sustained by K1EEE drove Jim K1IR to do a full investigation of amateur radio tower fatalities in the US over the past 20 years. The results of the research are revealing and disturbing. But, they are also compelling. Come learn about the seriousness of this issue and the …

Licensing Education & Training

“Beyond Tech-In-A-Day” License Prep & Refresher Course, Ipswich, Starts November 5, 2019

October 9, 2019October 9, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Beyond Tech-In-A-Day Amateur Radio Technician (Element 2) License Preparation and Refresher Course Sponsored by: Ipswich Emergency Management. Dates: Five Tuesdays, November 5 / December 3 Times: 18:30 – 20:30 (6:30 – 8:30 PM). Help will be available a half hour before and after each session. Location: Ipswich Town Hall, Downstairs Training Room / EOC. 25 Green Street Ipswich, MA. 01938 Preregistration: Recommended Course Fee: Free Prerequisites: No pre-study is required but we recommend you skim through the material. Morse Code is no longer required for any Amateur Radio license. Required Class Textbook: Gordon West’s 2018-2022 Technician Class Book (see below) Exam sessions: Offered at CAARA, …

Affiliated Clubs / Technical

W1BOF: Apollo Spacecraft Communications at Dan’s Tech Night, October 10, 2019

October 9, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Dan Pedtke, KW2T, writes: TechNight is tomorrow night, Thursday, October 10, at the usual time and place; 7:00PM at the Grady Research Building in Ayer. See www.danstechnight.com for details and directions. We have an unusually interesting program this month, with a rare guest speaker visiting us to discuss the technical aspects of the NASA Apollo spacecraft radio link. George Whitehead, W1BOF, is one of the few remaining radio engineers who worked on the design of the Apollo mission communications radios. This the radio hardware that did the communications between earth and the spacecraft, including the video of man’s first step onto …

All

NEAR-Fest XXVI Schedule of Events, October 11-12, 2019

October 7, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

NEAR-Fest event organizers have posted a schedule of events for NEAR-Fest XXVI, October 11-12, 2019 in Deerfield, New Hampshire. Talk topics include: tower safety, grounding, radio restoration, grounding, to name but a few. For the full schedule, see http://forum.near-fest.com/index.php?topic=1464.

Public Service

Volunteers Needed for Halloween Watch, Marlborough, October 31, 2019

October 6, 2019October 6, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Joe Reynolds, KA1GDQ, writes on the Algonquin ARC list: As you know, Halloween Watch is around the corner. I am going to need 15 volunteers (including a Net Control). School Minimum Hihgh School 4 Middle School 3 Hildreth School * 2 Kane School 1 Richer School 1 Jaworek School 1 Bigalow School 1 Senior Center 1 NET CONTROL 1 MINIMUM NEEDED 15 If you are available, school watch is from 7pm – 11pm. We do this to help the school system out, who donates the cafes at the middle school for the Flea Market and …

Organization

Important Correction to Eastern MA September 2019 Section News

October 5, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Bruce D. Budinger, AB3BB, of Groton MA was incorrectly listed as a silent key in this month’s EMA section news. Apology to Bruce and his family for the error. I am very sad to report that it was Brian Budinger, his brother who passed away. I will shortly distribute a corrected version of the September news. Any club or individual who has posted or distributed the September section news is requested to please post or re-distribute the corrected version in its place. Thank-you. ——————————————————————– ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Section Manager: Thomas D Walsh, K1TW k1tw@arrl.org ——————————————————————–

Affiliated Clubs / Public Information

Barnstable ARC Exhibition at Harwich Cranberry Festival, September 14-15, 2019

October 5, 2019October 6, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

The Barnstable Amateur Radio Club (BARC) conducted a highly successful public information effort at the Harwich Cranberry Festival September 14-15 in Harwich. The annual festival drew 150 exhibitors and over 7,000 participants. It featured crafts, music, and food. BARC set up a special event station K1PBO at the festival entrance to promote Amateur Radio to greet festival attendees. A large-screen television displayed locations contacted around the world. Magazines and other items were handed out to the public. Many BARC members helped to make the event a success. Al Ryan, WW1RF, served as event liaison while Mark Avery, N1ZPO, provided technical …

Marine Lodge Supports Falmouth ARA Communications Trailer Project

October 4, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association has received a generous donation in support of their communications trailer project from Marine Lodge, the town’s Masonic Lodge. On October 3, 2019, Marine Lodge Master Erich F. Horgan and Lodge member Maxwell J. Weinfuss, KC1MAX, presented a $5,000 check to the FARA Board of Directors. The goal of the trailer project is to assemble a professional, self-contained, mobile communications platform that will be used to support emergency, and non-emergency, public safety and public service events. [Full story]

Organization

September 2019 Section News Now Available

October 4, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

The September, 2019, Section Newsletter is now available at https://ema.arrl.org/september-2019-section-news/.

All

Boston Chosen For 2020 USA Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championships

October 2, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

The ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Committee has approved a proposal for the 2020 USA ARDF Championships to be held near Boston on June 9-14, 2020. The actual site selections will be mapped by the New England Orienteering Club. The program will consist of the following activities: * Sprint * Foxoring * Classic-2m * Classic-80m * Two days of practice followed by four days of competition * A Saturday evening banquet According to Charles Scharlau, NZ0I, “We would love to have youth ham-club members attend. […] We might be able to arrange for a youth training session prior …

Affiliated Clubs / Technical

KB1OIQ: Linux In Your Hamshack at Algonquin ARC, October 10, 2019

October 1, 2019 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

The Algonquin Amateur Radio Club meeting on October 10, 2019 features Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, who will present on “Linux In Your Hamshack.” Linux fans will be interested in Andy’s Ham Radio Linux, a popular software collection he created for amateur radio users. The AARC meetings are held at 7:30 PM in the library of the 1st Lt. Charles W. Whitcomb Middle School in Marlborough, 25 Union Avenue. Use Door #1 at rear of building.

Operating

Littleton Fox QRV, October 1, 2019

October 1, 2019 - by k9hi - 1 Comment

John Salmi, KB1MGI, writes on the foxhunting list at 1:30 PM on October 1, 2019: I just placed a Fox out on 2 Meter on 146.565. Press DTMF tone two to activate. I’ll leave it out for a week. See attached link for a map Easy find. Not far from Parking area. John KB1MGI https://littletonconservationtrust.org/tws_holding/nagog-hill-orchard/