Month: February 2007

PSLIST February 27, 2007

Public Service Volunteer Opportunities in the New England Division

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

Mar 2-4 Laconia    NH Laconia Sled Dog Races       Cliff N1RCQ
                             n1rcq@amsat.org or Dave KA1VJU ka1vju@cnharc.org
Apr 16  Hopkinton  MA Boston Marathon              Steve W3EVE   508.922.9688
         to Boston MA                                          w3eve@arrl.net
         please register via http://www.amateur-radio.net/marca
Apr 29  Groton     MA Groton Road Race             Ralph KD1SM   978.582.7351
                                                               kd1sm@arrl.net
May  6  Portsmouth NH Am Diabetes Tour de Cure     Joel KB1KBD
                                                              kb1kbd@arrl.net
May 19  Portsmouth NH NH Lung Clean Air Challenge  Dave KA1VJU
     to 20                                                  ka1vju@cnharc.org
Jun 16  Mt WashngtnNH Mt Washington Road Race      Cliff N1RCQ
                             n1rcq@amsat.org or Dave KA1VJU ka1vju@cnharc.org
Jul  7  Mt WashngtnNH Newton's Revenge cycle race  Cliff N1RCQ
                             n1rcq@amsat.org or Dave KA1VJU ka1vju@cnharc.org
Aug 18  Mt WashngtnNH Mt. Wash. Bicycle Hill Climb Cliff N1RCQ
                             n1rcq@amsat.org or Dave KA1VJU ka1vju@cnharc.org
Aug 19  Mt WashngtnNH Mt. Washington Century Ride  Cliff N1RCQ
                             n1rcq@amsat.org or Dave KA1VJU ka1vju@cnharc.org
Sep 29  Bristol    NH NH Marathon                  Cliff N1RCQ
                             n1rcq@amsat.org or Dave KA1VJU ka1vju@cnharc.org

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 (see address above). 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 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.

Members of the Whitman Amateur Radio Club presented on ham radio to scouts in Whitman January 25.

Paul Moss, KB1MTW, attended the Scout den meeting at the Cardinal Spellman Center in Whitman, while Bill Hayden, N1FRE participated while mobile from another location in Whitman.

The scouts were “delighted to be able to participate with on-the-air experience.” Some brief ham radio information was exchanged during their contact over the Whitman two-meter repeater.

A “surprise message” welcoming the group was sent in Morse code and was later interpreted.

Special QSL cards were sent to each scout.

Shown here (l-r): Paul Moss, KB1MTW; Scouts of Den 12; (top): Bill Hayden, N1FRE

Thanks, Whitman ARC Spectrum, February 2007

Date and Timeframe of Exercise

Saturday February 24th, 2006
Start Time 10 AM
End Time: 12 PM
Duration: 2 Hours
-Please allow time for setup/take down of any equipment during this exercise.

Purpose

Eastern Massachusetts ARES will participate in the Operation Communications Pathways exercise. This exercise will be more simplistic than previous Eastern Massachusetts ARES exercises. The goal of this exercise will be to test out pathways to a handful of major repeaters and also via simplex. The intent is to involve new ARES personnel who may be insecure in participating in a full blown exercise and to also concentrate on some deficiencies exposed in the last exercise particularly around simplex connectivity across the section. Message traffic will not be emphasized in this exercise but if time allows, Hams are encouraged to pass message traffic especially via simplex. The message could be sent tactically or formally giving the signal report of the main control point or secondary control point as required.
Concept of Operations

The concept of operations for this exercise will be to have Amateurs start on one 2 meter repeater frequency and then move on to other repeater frequencies to see if they can reach them following a specific schedule. The operations will end with an attempt to reach all stations participating on Simplex using a series of relays where appropriate. Below is a rough schedule of repeaters and simplex frequencies to be tested:

1000-1020 AM: 145.23-Boston Repeater (PL: 88.5 Hz)
1020-1040 AM: 146.64-Waltham Repeater (No PL)
1040-1100 AM: 145.47-Danvers Repeater (PL: 136.5 Hz)
1100-1120 AM: 145.49-Fairhaven Repeater (PL: 67.0 Hz)
1120 AM-Noon: 147.42-Simplex*

*–KD1CY @ W1AEC which is the SEMARA Club will act as the main control point on Simplex and will hand the control point off to other main stations as they come on the frequency. If you are a participating station and do not hear any traffic on simplex, be patient, and listen carefully to see if one of the other control points that will be established live during the exercise can hear you.

The HF Net will be active on either 3943 KHz or 7245 KHz depending on propagation and serve as a command/control point for those that cannot make contact on a designated repeater to fall back to until they move on to the next frequency and to let stations know what repeater the net is on or what repeater the net has moved to if in transition. In addition, the EchoLink/IRLP New England

Reflector (EchoLink Conference Server Node: 9123/IRLP reflector #9123) will also serve as a command/control point similar to what will be done on HF. We also will attempt to get information on where we move the body of stations passed via WinLink and Packet as another means to track where all the stations are active.

We ask all participating stations to try all 5 frequencies even if they feel they cannot reach a specific repeater or don’t have reasonable simplex coverage. It will be a good way to determine the range of your station and holes in coverage when using this specific set of repeaters or Simplex. Use HF, VoIP and Digital modes as control points.

If you are participating and cannot or do not feel you can hit any of the slated repeaters, simplex or control points on HF, VoIP or digital modes, please contact your local ARES EC/DEC or SEC so we can assist you in some way to participate in this exercise.

The following are important Packet Frequencies on VHF/UHF and HF for this drill where message traffic on what frequency is currently active will be passed to with enough participating stations:

WinLink Frequencies:
145.75: Main WinLink Frequency for Mass. State EOC and MEMA Region I
3.591 USB: Main HF WinLink Frequency for Mass. State EOC and MEMA
Region I. Region I setup currently down due to interference issues.

Packet Frequencies:
145.01: Packet Frequency supporting MEMA Regions and State EOC
145.09: BBS infrastructure supporting MEMA and NWS main Packet Freq.

There are additional local frequencies that maybe utilized in this drill at your local town/city level or at a regional level as another means to follow where the net goes for stations who may not hit the selected repeaters. Please contact your ARES DEC or EC for further information on additional frequencies that maybe utilized in your specific area during the drill.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
1 1

KB1CNB writes on the BCRA mailing list:

In addition to the regular monthly VE session to be held at Third Baptist Church in Fall River, Monday February 19, at 7:00 P.M. [the Bristol County Repeater Association] will be holding an additional upgrade/test session on Monday, February 26 at 7:00 P.M. Come and upgrade to General (or Extra) with no Morse code test. We will also be processing “paper upgrades” for those who have passed the general written test in the last year. Bring your CSCE, a copy of your license, two forms of ID and $14.

Questions? Call Skip at 774-644-3469. See you there!
73’s de KB1CNB for the BCRA VE Team

[See also: Addtional VE Sessions Planned In Response to No-code]

The Southeastern MA Amateur Radio Association will conduct a “fox hunt” in lieu of its regularly scheduled “Tech Talk” this evening. Those interested are requested to meet at the club hall (54 Donald Street, Dartmouth) at 7:00 PM for a brief meeting and rule review. Afterwards, they will “send the fox on his way to hide” as participants discuss direction-finding techniques. No experience or special equipment is required.

Boston television station WCVB will air the program Happy Birthday Radio on Friday, February 23, 2007 from 7:30 to 8:00 PM ET., simulcast in 720P HD on WCVB-DT5.1 Boston, according to Art Donahue, KA1GGG. Donahue is the producer of the Happy Birthday Radio program.

The show is based on the 100-year celebration of the first voice radio transmission at Brant Rock, MA.
Included in the show are:

* The Fessenden Amateur Radio Special Event Station W1F set up at Brant Rock with Steve Barreres, K2CX

* Bob Merriam, W1NTE (shown in photo) operating the Massie spark gap transmitter at the oldest surviving radio station in the world, Massie station “PJ” now at the New England Wireless and Steam Museum in East Greenwich, RI

* Major Edwin Armstrong’s 1939 pioneer FM relay stations at Meriden, CT, Paxton, MA and Mount Washington, NH

* The “Hello Radio” event celebrating 100 years of voice transmission at ARRL headquarters in Newington, CT

Interviews (in order of appearance) include:

* Bob Merriam, W1NTE, Founder, New England Wireless and Steam Museum East Greenwich, RI

* Scott Wheeler, Fessenden Celebration Committee, Marshfield, MA

* Steve Barreres, K2CX, amateur radio operator,
Fessenden Special Event Station, Marshfield, MA.

* Donna Halper, Media Historian, Emerson College, Boston

* Arnold Dean, WTIC Hartford, CT broadcaster since 1965

* Ken Squier, WDEV Waterbury, VT owner

* Sophie Zembruski, WATR Watebury, CT program host “Polish Eagles Radio Show”, one of the longest running radio shows in America, on the air continuously since 1934.

* Ed Brouder, WZID, WMLL, WFEA Manchester, NH newscaster and owner of “Man from Mars Productions” collector of rare aircheck recordings

* Arnie “Woo-Woo” Ginsburg, WMEX DJ 50’s-60’s

* Dale Dorman, WOLF, WRKO, WXKS, WODS Rock and Roll DJ since 1965

* Scott Fybush, WXXI newscaster and owner “Northeast Radio Watch”

* Gary LaPierre, WBZ Boston newscaster since 1964

* Ed Perry, WATD Marshfield, MA owner

* Allen Pitts, W1AGP American Radio Relay League, Newington, CT

Chronicle is WCVB’s nightly news magazine, one of the longest running local magazine shows in the country, now in its 25th year.

—Thanks, KA1GGG, W1AGP

Tom Kinahan, N1CPE writes on MRAS-Leaders list:

The following new courses have been added to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s training calendar:

Incident Command System 200 at Oakham Fire Department on February 13, 2007

Incident Command System 200 at Berlin Fire Station on March 28, 2007

Incident Command System 200 at Waltham Police Academy on March 31, 2007

Incident Command System 300 at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital/ second floor on March 12, 2007

Incident Command System 300 at Warren Conference Center – Reservoir Room A on May 1, 2007

NIMS-700/ICS-100 at State Emergency Telecommunications Board/Public Safety Academy on February 22, 2007

NIMS-700/ICS-100 at Waltham Police Academy on March 3, 2007

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Standardized Awareness Course at Country Club Heights Great Room on March 16, 2007

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Standardized Awareness Course at Country Club Heights Great Room on March 21, 2007

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Standardized Awareness Course at Country Club Heights Great Room on April 4, 2007

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Standardized Awareness Course at Country Club Heights Great Room on April 13, 2007

Visit our web site for more details.

Joseph DeMaso, K1RQG writes on the “Official” Hosstraders web site:

“The October 2006 event was the last Hosstraders. After careful consideration, we have decided to discontinue hosting the event. A combination of factors have led to this difficult decision. We’ve been running Hosstraders for a third of a century, but we’ve always done it ‘our way’ and we feel that the result has been an event unique in the Amateur Radio world, certainly in New England. A number of things have been taken into account, but foremost in our mind is that we want Hosstraders to be a quality experience in every way, and not to slowly run it into the ground just for the ride. We want to take things out on a high note, while we can still be proud of our efforts.” [Full story]

Two Eastern MA clubs have announced that they will hold additional Volunteer Examination sessions to help accommodate the increased demand for upgrades following the elimination of the 5 WPM code element on February 23.

The Norwood Amateur Radio Club VE team will hold an extra session on February 23, 2007, according to NARC’s Lou Harris, N1UEC.

“The session will be held in our regular testing location, the Canton Emergency Operations Center training room in the Canton Fire House, 99 Revere Street, in Canton.”

Interested persons may contact Harris at n1uec at n1uec dot org, or by calling (508) 333-5714.

The Billerica Amateur Radio Society is holding a special VE session on February 25, 2007 at the Murdoch Middle School on 42 Brick Klin Road in Chelmsford at 12 o’clock noon. Directions are listed on the club’s VE sessions page. Contact Bruce Anderson, W1LUS at w1lus at arrl dot net or call (978) 851-2886 for additional information.

The Police Amateur Radio Team of Westford is sponsoring two unique “contests” for the benefit of its members.

According to PART’s Terry Stader, KA8SCP, “In the first part–the radio contest–you must provide an exact location of the furthest point you’ve been able to use the 146.955 or 442.450 repeater.” Stader adds that one must “either have a verified conversation with someone” or generate a touch tone response on the repeater that returns the time and date. Your location should be measured by GPS coordinates, or nearest street address/intersection.

The second contest, involving photography, will be won by the person who is “furthest geographically” from the repeater site and can physically see it “without the aid of visual enhancement” and take a photo to prove it. Stader writes that “recording it with a zoom lens is acceptable.”

“Using Google Earth or other satellite/aerial views from a website are not allowed,” adds KA8SCP. “[Traveling to] mountain top locations is acceptable.”

“The contest ends when the first leaves start appearing on the trees. That should give us plenty of time to wander the country-side to make your observations. The observations must occur during the contest period.”

Contest entry deadlines will be announced when the contest period is closed and announced via e-mail and on the club’s website. The winners will be awarded PART gear decorated with the club’s new logo design.