Month: November 2006

The Boston Amateur Radio Club has been officially renewed as a Special Service Club by ARRL Headquarters.

“Through the work of its members, [Boston ARC] is recognized for its continued efforts on behalf of Amateur Radio and services to its community.” wrote ARRL Club Assistant Rose-Anne Lawrence, KB1DMW in a November 29, 2006 letter to BARC’s Blake Haskell, K1BTH, Eastern MA Affiliated Club Coordinator Phil Temples, K9HI, Section Manager Mike Neilsen, W1MPN, and New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI.

“Extraordinary clubs like BARC actively pursue all aspects of Amateur Radio: new ham development and training, public relations, emergency communications, school club support, technical advancement and operating activities,” commented K9HI.

More information about Special Service Clubs can be found at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/#ssc_program

The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association sponsored a license class recently at the Edgartown Elementary School on Martha’s Vineyard. N1WAT and KB1QL were the course instructors. Five students participated.

“The sudents are involved in the radio program offered at the school by Bob Yapp, N1VTB a teacher at [Edgartown Elementary],” writes Bob Courtemanch, N1WAT, of Mashpee.

KB1QSL, K1IOC and N1WAT acted as Volunteer Examiners at the conclusion of the class.

–Thanks, N1WAT

Emergency management agencies and area amateur radio club members participated in a recent Federal Emergency Management Agency-graded exercise to test the Plymouth Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant evacuation plans for the host communities of Taunton, Bridgewater and Braintree.

The exercise called for conditions at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant to “deteriorate” triggering the simulated evacuation of Plymouth school children to Braintree, Bridgewater and Taunton. This was followed by the simulated evacuation of some of the residents in the immediate area around the plant.

In an actual emergency scenario, the City of Taunton would see 110 school buses and about 10,000 extra people evacuated into the city. The American Red Cross would plan to set up shelters if people were still housed in the host schools after 8 p.m. And some of the mass care shelters would be set up in neighboring cities and towns.

Each city and town has a core group of Amateur Radio RACES operators on call. The plan is to staff each host school with an amateur radio operator equipped with a 2-meter/440 MHz transceiver “go-kit” providing backup communication between the host school and the Emergency Operations Center.

“The likelihood of anything happening at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant is very unlikely,” stresses Herb Lemon, KC1ZW, who serves as the Emergency Management Agency Director for the Town of Bridgewater. “There are all kinds of safeguards in place.”

Even so, the drills pay off in other ways, according to Whitman ARC President Bruce Hayden, NI1X. “The training and equipment in place enables the cities and towns to be ready to respond to any emergency, not necessarily related to the nuclear plant.” Hayden sites last year’s Dam crisis in Taunton as a case in point.

photo, left: Taunton EOC participants: N1UMJ, NI1X, KB1LXI; right: Bridgewater EOC staffed by: W1JOE, KB1CYV, K1VQ, N1EDM

–Whitman ARC Spectrum, November 2006

Members of the Algonquin Amateur Radio Club provided communication and coordination for the Town of Marlborough’s hazardous waste collection day. The event went smoothly, with more residents using the service than the previous year.

–Thanks, Algonquin ARC QRZ, November, 2006

Listing public events at which Amateur Radio communications is providing a public service and for which additional volunteers from the Amateur Community are needed and welcome. Please contact the person listed to identify how you may serve and what equipment you may need to bring.

The most up-to-date copy of this list is maintained as http://purl.org/hamradio/publicservice/nediv.

**** Every event listed is looking for communications volunteers ****

Date      Location     Event                       Contact        Tel/Email

Dec  2  Sutton     MA Chain of Lights              Bob KA1OTQ    
                                                              ka1otq@arrl.net

This list is published periodically as demand warrants by Stan KD1LE and Ralph KD1SM. Our usual distribution is via packet to NEBBS, via Internet mail to the arrl-nediv-list and ema-arrl distribution lists, and on the World Wide Web. If other mailing list owners wish us to distribute via their lists we will be happy to oblige. Permission is herewith granted to republish this list in its entirety provided credit is given to the authors and the Web address below is included. Send comments, corrections, and updates to:

(via packet) KD1SM@K1UGM.#EMA.MA.USA,
(via Internet) KD1SM@ARRL.NET.

We make an attempt to confirm entries with the coordinator unless the information is from another published source. We very much appreciate the assistance we have been receiving from our ‘scouts’; everyone is welcome to send us postings.

Refer to http://purl.org/hamradio/publicservice/nediv for the most recent version of the PSLIST.

Chris J. Smith, K1CJS writes on the SEMARA discussion list:

2182 KHz International Calling and Distress frequency has had interference since 1800 EST 21 NOV06.

FCC investigated last night and narrowed the source to possibly be on the island of Nantucket, MA.

FCC investigation continues tonight and has asked the USCG for assistance in isolating the cause of the interference, which sounds like a walking or trotting horse.

Canadian Coast Guard has also alerted the FCC and the interference is affecting their operations as well.

Several members of the Wellesley Amateur Radio Society have been active of late in the printed Amateur Radio media, according to WARS President Dan Brown, W1DAN. “Jim [Kile], WB2PID had a small submission in an article printed in the September, 2006 QST talking about an antenna he built while in college. And Larry Coyle [K1QW] will have a construction project put in the upcoming Handbook.”

In addition, the September, 2006 QST featured Brown’s cover article entitled “Mississippi Mud” about WD5BJT’s Hurricane Katrina experience. W1DAN may also have an article published in a future issue of Popular Communications about WRNO Worldwide returning to the airwaves.

The Wellesley ARS meets the third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Wellesley Police Station.

Henry Brown, K1WCC will operate special event station W1P on November 24, 2006 commemorating the sinking of the Steamship Portland on November 27, 1898.

Brown writes, “This time, I will be running a small portable operation from my truck at the Province Lands Visitors Center in Provincetown.”

Operations will start at 1330 GMT and will be on 3.997, 7.260 and 14.260 SSB. Check DX Summit for spots.

–Thanks Falmouth ARA newsletter, November 2006

Eighth Annual FARAFEST
Featuring Ham, Computer,
Electronics Equipment, and
VE Testing Session

Date: Saturday, November 11, 2006
Time: 9AM to 1PM, vendor setup starting at 7AM
Place: Falmouth Knights of Columbus Hall INDOOR AND OUTDOOR (weather permitting) spaces
Brick Kiln Road
Buyers $5.00, plenty of FREE Parking.
Sellers: 8 foot spaces, $10.00 per space (bring your own tables for outdoor space).
Indoor spaces, we supply tables. Advanced registrations if mailed by Nov.1st (PayPal accepted), $9.00/space.

Space available on a first come, first served basis
Talk-in: 146.655 MHz (-600 KHz) PL 88.5

ARRL VE Exam Session on Site: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Registration for VE session accepted at the door by 9:00 AM:

Requirements for Exam Registration Upgrades
a. 2 proofs of ID (credit card, driver’s license, etc.)
b. original and photocopy of your current license
c. original and photocopy of any current CSCEE’s held
d. $14.00 exam fee, cash or check made out to F.A.R.A.
No current license a. 2 proofs of ID (credit card, driver’s license, etc.)
b. $14.00 exam fee, cash or check made out to F.A.R.A.

Raffle Tickets for sale on site
door prize drawings every 1/2 hour.Note that one of our door prizes is a $300 gift certificate good at the Shoreway Acres Resort in Falmouth

Food Service On Site

Contacts: Exhibit space: Ralph, N1YHS (508) 548-6405
VE session: Ben, K2LYE (508) 540-2583
FARA Volunteers: Ralph, N1YHS (508) 548-6405
WWW.FALARA.ORG

The Whitman Amateur Radio Club will again be operating a special event station under the call sign WA1NPO from the historic Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth on November 25-26, 2006 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Area hams are invited to stop by and operate.

Shown here: last year’s summary certificate for the Plimoth Plantation Special Event

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is offering Incident Command System (ICS) training classes this month in Harwich, Norwood, Framingham, and other cities and towns. [Full story]

The Minuteman Repeater Association’s 146.820 repeater in Brookline has been taken off the air, reports MMRA President Bob Dematia, K1IW.

“Ongoing problems with intermod has forced us to remove this repeater from service and bring it back to the shop for additional work.” As part of the refurbishment “the system will be getting a new link radio and will have the various cavities and filters in the transmission system re-tuned and/or replaced.”

Dematia adds, “to increase accessibility, the ’82 machine will soon be placed back in service at the old Marlborough East site. We will give it a good work out here before putting it back in Brookline.”

—The Minuteman, Volume 36, Number 2, November 2006

A Boston.com story reports that the Town of Chatham is mulling over three proposed bids “to renovate the historic buildings built by inventor Guglielmo Marconi — turning what was created for a global wireless communication network into affordable housing, a fishing association headquarters or a museum.” [Full story]

The Taunton Area Communications Group (TACGroup) held the first of several special events and activities, demonstrating Amateur Radio to scouts in Plymouth on November 4.

The Tulpe Lodge 245 of the Order of the Arrow invited the TACGroup to its fellowship weekend at Camp Norse BSA. The club members “showed their wares” to approximately 40 scouts who visited the TACGroup’s station.

John Miller, N1UMJ operated HF on 20 and 40 meters, while Greg Glynn, KB1NLX manned a 2-meter station. Despite a “finicky” HF radio, several contacts were made nationally, complementing local QSOs via the Bridgewater W1MV repeater. An amateur from Taunton, England checked in via Echolink, much to the delight of the scouts.

Other operators at the event were: Neal Harrington, KB1LXL, Rudy Burer, KB1LXI, Dave Souza (Assistant Scout Master, Troop 61, Norton, MA), W1DFS, and TACGroup President Don Burke, KB1LXH.

Several scouts who stopped by expressed an interest in becoming Amateur Radio operators. The TACGroup hopes that their efforts may have “lit the spark” that will begin a new Technician class in the spring!

The Order of the Arrow is an Honor Camper Society within scouting whose members must prove themselves in “brotherhood, cheerfulness and service.” Membership in the Order of the Arrow is considered a high honor.