Month: April 2003

Hello everyone!

I’m looking for a few volunteers for a public service event in Wellesley on May 18th from 10am to 3pm. It’s the Wellesley Veterans parade. I need operators with 2m or UHF handheld radios to help organize the parade, and to help keep the parade together.

If you can help, drop me a note at n1cpe@amsat.org

Thanks!

-Tom Kinahan N1CPE

N1LOO writes:

“I am looking for a couple of people to help Sunday (April 27, 2003) on the March of Dimes walk. It is in Framingham beginning at 10AM. You will need to be available for about 3 hours and have a walkie. No real experience is necessary. It will be an informal net relaying the status of the walkers on the course.

So far I have:

Nancy KB1HIX
Marc WA1R
Brian N1JFO

One or two more will be great!! In the past the March of Dimes have given us shirts and food.

Please let me know if you are interested in helping on Sunday. Thanks.

I’ve placed photos from today’s Council of Eastern Mass. Amateur Radio Clubs meeting for your viewing pleasure.

Hello to all…

On Monday, April 21st, the Boston Marathon will be held again this year, with the race starting at 1200. Additionally, for the second consecutive year, all public safety efforts will be coordinated by the Unified Command Center (UCC), which will be hosted in the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), Framingham. SEOC operations will be supported by RACES radio operations there, and I will be located there all day as well. My contact information for the day appears at the end of this message.I am requesting that all RACES/ARES nets in the EMa Section be activated on a standby basis fromapproximately 0800 to 1800. The sole purpose of the activation is to provide support communications for any incidents to the community at large (outside of the race course) that may occur during the event day, either as a result of an incident within the race, or independent of it.

1. FOR DEC’s: Please coordinate a sked of net control stations (NCS)’s for the day on RACES sector nets in your districts. This is a great opportunity for those members needing training and experience. Please monitor any SKYWARN mobilization to determine who on your list may also be a SKYWARN NCS.

2. FOR NCS’s: Please assume net control in STANDBY mode. This means that you announce your presence periodically, while allowing normal QSO’s. However, during your announcements, you should remind users to leave gaps between participant transmissions, keep transmissions shorter to allow breaks, and be ready to move to other repeaters as needed. Please also take the opportunity to practice communications with stations in your area, as well as with NCS’s of neighboring RACES repeaters. Obviously, playing out any scenarios during your practice comms would be risking confusion to anyone monitoring our frequencies.

3. Should an incident take place, proceed as we have practiced. Assume positive control of the net. Move QSO traffic to other repeaters. Take in checkins, prioritizing those with traffic. Move traffic stations off to secondary liaison repeaters (or simplex freqs) as needed. It is very important that you relay information to the SEOC RACES desk as it develops in your area.

4. I suggest “watch” periods of about 5 hours for the day.

My contact information (for the day only) on Monday is as follows:

Landline: 508-820-1428
Email: massraces@yahoo.com
Radio: 53.31, 147.15, 146.64, in addition to other liaison frequencies to the race course

Thank you in advance for your participation on Monday. 73,

s/Michael P. Neilsen
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
EMa SEC
978.562.5662 Admin
978.389.0558 FAX/Secondary

The HSAS level has been lowered to Yellow (Elevated). Thanks to all for your added efforts during the Orange period.

N1PMB writes on bcra-club@yahoogroups.com:

“We will be holdin a SSTV-Net on the 145.150 repeater on Sunday evenings @ 7:30pm. Please feel free to join us and have some fun if your not sure how to do SSTV not a problem you can be up and running all you need is a computer and sound card the program a lot of us are using is MMSSTV which can be gotten at http://www.qsl.net/mmhamsoft/ so download the program and join us on Sunday Evening @ 7:30 will be April 20, 2003.

N1VQY writes:

“The April meeting of the Mystic Valley Amateur Radio Group will be held this Sunday, April 13th, at the Tufts University Police Station, 419 Boston Av, Medford, Mass.

“Our speaker will be our own Nick Magliano, KC1MA who will be speaking on “Miracle Whip Applications to Ham Radio”. [He] will also have information on eQSL, the e-mail approach to confirming ham radio contacts. Nick sure has my curiousity peaked as I’m sure yours is also.

“Please park within the posted area of 419 Boston Ave, Police Station. There is a limited amount of inside parking available on prior request to Nick, KC1MA who can be contacted at KC1MA@arrl.net.”

Dates for the two Hosstraders Hamfests in Hopkinton, NH have been confirmed: May 2-3, and October 3-4, 2003.

This, according to the official HossTraders website at http://www.qsl.net/k1rqg/.

The organizers are still seeking any information leading to the resolution/restitution of the
transformers that were taken from the Hopkinton Fairgrounds during the Spring hamfest. If you have such information, you should contact K1RQG or WA1IVB through their website, or you can contact Alan Hardy, General Manager, of the fairground. All sources will be kept in the strictest confidence.

The disappearance of the transformers had threatened the cancellation of future Hosstraders Hamfests.

Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 17:36:01 -0500
From: finberg@mk6vx1.draper.com
Subject: FLEA at MIT  seasons first  Sunday April 20th 2003  Cambridge MA

Dispite today's ice storm... Spring has sprung and the seasons first 
	FLEA at MIT is just a couple weeks away.....

*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************

Summary: Buy Sell SWAP    Ham Radio    Electronics Computers    9AM - 2PM


*** !!!!  In our Traditional GARAGE and lot  !!!!  ****
         so come rain or shine or super heat the Flea is on !!!

*********  $1  buyers discount with hardcopy of this notice ********

COMPUTERS - ELECTRONICS - HAM RADIO - COMPUTERS - ELECTRONICS - HAM RADIO

                    FLEA all SUMMER at MIT
                    Sunday April 20th 2003
                          9AM-2PM

Come to the city for a great flea - plenty of free parking.
        MIT's  electronics and ham radio flea will take 
        place on the third Sunday of each month this summer, 
        April thru October.
       
        There is tailgate space for over 600 sellers and
        free, off-street parking for>2000 cars!

        Buyers admission is $5  (you get $1 off if
        you're lucky enough to have a copy of our ad)
        and sellers spaces are $20 for the first and 
        $15 for each additional at the gate.

        The flea will be held at the corner of Albany and
        Main streets in Cambridge; right in the Kendall
        Square area from 9AM to 2PM, with sellers set-up
        time starting at 7AM.  

        SEASON PASS + Advance Discounts

        A sellers discount season pass is available untill
        April 20th which offers a 33 0iscount.  See the 
        registration form below for full seller info.

        *** Attention Sellers *** 
                Prepaid vendors.. Season Pass or monthly,
                will be admitted FIRST.
                Separate lines will form prior to gate opening
                for prepaid and nonprepaid vendors


        !! RAIN or SHINE !!  Have no fear of rain, a covered 
        well illuminated tailgate area is available for all 
        sellers (6'8" clearance).

        Talk-in: 145.23- (PL 88.5) W1BOS/R  and
                 W1XM/R-449.725/444.725 (PL 114.8/2A).           

        Sponsors: MIT Electronics Research Society
                  MIT UHF Repeater Association (W1XM)
                  MIT Radio Society (W1MX)
                  Harvard Wireless Club (W1AF)

        For more info / advanced reservations 617 253 3776

********** $1  buyers discount with hard copy of this notice ************



Mail the coupon below by the 10th of the month to be a Prepaid Vendor.

           FLEA at MIT     2003 Rates

SELLERS 

This year each vendor must have a Cambridge Vendor License. 
We will do all the paperwork to get the one day Cambridge licenses.
To keep the spaces affordable we are discounting your first space.
To use your spaces the named vendor MUST be present.
Rates include one admission per space.

Season Pass     $99 First Space - includes $70 for Cambridge Vendor Licenses
                  $70 Each additional space

Advance         $17 First space - includes $10 Cambridge Vendor License
                  $12 Additional Spaces
                        Must be received by the 5th of the month.
         
Gate Admission  $20 First Space - includes $10 Cambridge Vendor License
                  $15 Additional Spaces
                      Admission is after the prepaid vendors
  
Early Bird Buyer -Admission after the prepaid vendor line is admitted. ~ 7:15AM
                ** You may not sell. **
                $15 per person at the gate.   
                $70 Season Early Bird Buyer  
             

   cut and return 
**************************************************************************
FLEA at MIT   2003       Advance Space Application

   _____ 1st Season Pass @ $99   _____ Additional Season Spaces @ $70
       
   ____April    ____May    ____June   ____ July  ____Aug   ___Sept   ____Oct
          @ $17  for the first each month  + $12 each additional
            
   _____ Season Early Bird Buyer   @ $70   ** NB You may not sell. **

Name    ________________________     Call  __________        $ Included______

Address ________________________     Phone  __________     Make Check to
                                                         The MIT Radio Society
City  ____________________ State  _______  Zip  _______    PO Box 397082     
                                                           Cambridge MA 02139
E-mail  _____________________________________________        
                                                



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Steve Finberg                       W1GSL                      w1gsl@mit.edu
PO Box 82 MIT Br           Cambridge MA  02139-7082             617 258 3754
*******************************************************************************

Registration opens Monday, April 7, 12:01 AM Eastern Time (0500 UTC), for the on-line Level I Emergency Communications course (EC-001). Registration remains open through the April 12-13 weekend or until all available seats have been filled–whichever comes first. Class begins Tuesday, April 22.

Thanks to the federal homeland security grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, the $45 registration fee paid upon enrollment will be reimbursed after successful completion of the course. During this registration period, approximately 200 seats are being offered to ARRL members on a first-come, first-served basis.

Senior amateurs are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Web page and the C-CE Links found there. For more information, contact Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG, dmiller@arrl.org; 860-594-0340.

Good Morning all…

It appears that the risk of significant damage has passed, and so I am withdrawing the notification for a possible standby activation today. Small pockets of problems are still a possibility, but we should be OK from this point on.

Thank you for your preparation and standing ready to help today. There are still reports of some slick secondary roads in our area.

Thanks again, and have a good weekend.

Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
EMa SEC
978.562.5662 Admin
978.389.0558 FAX/Secondary—– Original Message —–
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2003 1:48 PM
Subject: Fw: Possible Standby Activation for EMa ARES

***** Possible Standby Activation for EMa ARES *****
***** Minor/Moderate Infrastructure Damage May Occur *****

Hello to all…

I am writing this while I look at flowers in my garden…go figure, but yes, a significant freezing rain event may develop for parts of our section roughly north of the 42-00 latitude line (excluding Cape Cod). This includes all of Norfolk county and some the Bristol/South Shore (Plymouth) districts. In view of possible infrastructure damage that could result from this type of weather event, please be ready to mobilize in standby mode starting as early as 0600 EST tomorrow Sat 4/5. DEC’s please ensure that qualified NCS’s are ready to assume that role as needed tomorrow.

ARES Mobilization in standby mode may be needed where damage is expected or where minor damage has already occurred, AND RACES has not been mobilized. During standby mode, the net control station would announce his/her presence on the RACES repeater, while allowing QSO’s to continue as long as stations agree to: leave gaps between transmissions, yield to break traffic, and vacate the frequency when requested by the NCS. Additionally, similar to SKYWARN’s “self-activation” procedure, if the NCS feels that more formal action is warranted, they should proceed without prior request and then report that mobilization to EC/DEC who will in turn relay to the SEC. If events move severely and swiftly, then any ARES team member should assume NCS until relieved by a designated station.

Our initial role will be to provide fill in communications as necessary to support RACES operations (if they are mobilized), or to assume that role ourselves if they are not. Remember, that in accordance with our current doctrine, we will mobilize from home stations first, then respond to local needs as requested by Public Safety or EMa or Service Agencies (Red Cross, etc.) and approved by your EC/DEC. One important collateral role in these trying times will be to insure current/correct information is disseminated, and rumors about anything else not applicable to the storm (war, terrorism, SARS) event are controlled.

Please take time this evening to insure your home stations are ready to operate and that you have emergency power ready. If and when requests are received for any post disaster assistance during the day Saturday, Saturday night, or even Sunday, we will conduct a callout by email, phone, or radio to reach you. Remember, please guard your RACES repeater (or SKYWARN repeater if you can’t raise RACES), but remember to move off to other local frequencies to do follow up communications. Please contact your EC and/or DEC to obtain the latest frequency plan. A directory of RACES repeaters can be viewed by pressing the “Where Am I” button on our website, http://ares.ema.arrl.org .

Since bordering counties of NH will be significantly affected, we will set up the PART (146.955 PL 74.4) and Haverill (146.625 PL 156.8) repeaters for NH ARES to reach us if they need to. Move traffic off to one of their ARES repeaters, such as Manchester etc, and follow NCS instructions there.

Thank you in advance for your preparations and availability for tomorrow.

Think Spring!

s/Michael P. Neilsen
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
EMa SEC
978.562.5662 Admin
978.389.0558 FAX/Secondary

—–Original Message—–
From: William D’Agostino

The K1ARC American Red Cross Emergency Training
Net was held this past Wednesday, April 2nd, at 8 PM (EST) on 3.915 MHz plus/minus 5 kHz LSB Voice. This net is open to everyone who has a sincere interest in Emergency Radio Communications.

In addition, two announcements follows:Announcement #1 — If you haven’t seen the new public safety brochure concerning emergency food and water developed jointly by the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), then I highly recommend that you download this document today from:

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/rrr/fwe-all.pdf

This brochure offers clear guidance on how to prepare and store food and water for emergency use.

Announcement #2 — American Red Cross Emergency
Communications Training Day. The Red Cross is
offering a free Emergency Training Course to be held at the South Central Connecticut (New Haven) Red Cross Chapter on May 10 from 9 AM to 1 PM.

The topic will concern Emergency Communications with a focus on response to Terrorism and/or Weapons of Mass Destruction incidents.

Red Cross Emergency Communications Training Day
South Central Connecticut Red Cross Chapter
703 Whitney Avenue New Haven, CT

Simplex Frequency for those en-route: 147.42 MHz

Space is limited (Around 50 people will be accepted). Breakfast and refreshments will be provided. The Training will be free.

To sign-up for this class, please email or call
Jennifer Winslow at WinslowJ@usa.redcross.org or
860-678-2794

End of Announcements

The SEC’s Power Point presentation to the BostonARC (3/20) and FrARA (4/26) is available for viewing by pressing the button to the left. Please note that it will take about a minute to load with Broadband, and much longer with a dial up connection. To show the presentation properly, please press the scroll down arrow instead of the page arrow on the right side of the window.