Month: July 2007

K1VV and N1DT plan again to activate Dumpling Rocks (USA 1321) and Historic (USA 247) Lighthouses in Buzzard’s Bay on Saturday, August 18, 2007, 2007 from 7:00 AM EDT (1100 UTC) until about 2:00 PM EDT (1800 UTC).

The two were to originally activate Dumpling Rocks and Historic Lighthouses on July 7, 2007 but a family illness caused a last-minute cancellation.

The W1AA operation coincides with the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society‘s (ARLHS) National Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend, August 18-19, 2007. According to the ARLHS web site, the event is “to promote public awareness of ham radio and lighthouses; to contribute to the recognition that lighthouses, lightships, and their keepers deserve; to foster camaraderie within the ham fraternity; and to provide fellowship amongst the members of the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society.”

Guidelines for the event can be found on-line.

Briggs Longbothum, AB2NJ writes on the CAARA mailing list:

Just an FYI to give you the “heads up” on an interesting night of radio coming up this Thursday, August 2, 2007. The “BAD GUYS” of the Boston Area DXers (BADX) club will be convening at Woodmans in Essex for their annual DX Clams dinner at 5pm. Following that, the gang will repair to Granite Pier in Rockport for an evening of MW DXing. This you gotta see! These guys are very accomplished and sophisticated SWLers (most are also hams) and they really know how to deploy and use antennas to haul in and log the far away AM broadcast band stations from all over. With their high-end Drake receivers (and a new SDR-1Q black box radio will be there too) and Beverages (antennas, of course), loops, and whips along with phase controllers and preamps, they’ll be logging TAs (Trans-Atlantics) from Europe to Africa as well as Carribbeans and SAs (South American stations). And you thought WLS in Chicago was a good MW catch?

Anyway, you’re all welcomed to stop by and look in and listen in on the action. If you can’t catch up with us at Woodmans, we’ll be the gang under that cobweb of whips and wires out on the pier after 7pm. Remember, you can’t work ’em if you can’t hear ’em and this crowd really has the “hearing ’em” part down pat. Hope to see some of you there Thursday night on the pier.

The Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR) has announced the 2007 winners of 56 scholarships it administers. Two of the recipients hail from Eastern Massachusetts.

Bryce Salmi, KB1LQC, of Chelmsford, MA was the winner of the QCWA’s Donald and Phyllis Doughty Family Scholarship.

Brenton Salmi, KB1LQD, Chelmsford, MA was the recipient of the QCWA’s Edwin P. Woodruff, W3SX, Memorial Scholarship. Both prizes are $1000.

Congratulations to all the scholarship recipients, and especially to the Eastern Massachusetts student winners.

Members of the Whitman Amateur Radio Club along with area amateurs are invited to visit the Museum of Antiquated Technology on August 4, 2007 at 10:00 a.m., with a rain date of August 11.

The proprietors, Mark and Helen Vess, house this private museum in a 19th century barn at 303 High Street in Hanson, MA. The museum features old radios, phonographs, Victrolas, televisions, cameras, model planes, and much more on display. Outside the barn, the couple also have on display old engines that are in working condition.

Additionally, N1PXX and KB1KVL will operate a club special event station, WA1NPO, on the Whitman ARC repeater on 147.225, MHz (PL 67) which will also serve as the talk-in frequency. WA1NPO will check-in on other local repeaters to give out contacts commemorating the special event.

According to the Vess’, the Museum of Antiquated Technology’s mission is “to educate today’s kids about America’s technological past.” The couple give a few select tours of the collection every year to school groups. This amateur radio tour is being dedicated in the memory of “Silent Key” Glenn Howard, K1GVM.

–Thanks, Whitman ARC Spectrum, July 2007

The Sturdy Memorial Hospital Amateur Radio Club has been busy revamping its communications capabilities, writes SMHARC member John Benson, N1FLO. Benson reports that club members have upgraded some of the radios in the radio room, installed new antennas, and added an uninterruptible power supply to the APRS digipeater. “The HF radio is next,” Benson adds.

The club just completed an “Airmail” project which allows SMHARC to send electronic mail via radio. Experiments with the Airmail system have begun. “[For] those of you with working TNCs and laptops, it makes a great shelter item to bring along; the program is easy to use.”

Benson acknowledged the valuable assistance rendered on the project by KA1EWN, W1TW, N1DPY and KB1KA.

“We now have a full-fledged emergency communications room in the hospital.”

RACES operators provided communications for the Town of Carver during a Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station drill on July 14, 2007. The drill is mandated and graded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As outlined in official emergency plans, Town of Carver officials will operate a transportation staging area, utilizing buses and vans, to evacuate the population near the nuclear plant in the event of an actual emergency.

The drill participants and observers included the Town of Carver Emergency Manager and staff, the Civil Air Patrol, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, and observers from the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department.

Hams participating in the drill in Carver included: W1SM, N1IQI, and N1XTB; N1NJE operated at the Plymouth Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Shown here: W1SM, N1IQI at Carver EOC. Photo courtesy N1XTB

Members of the Whitman Amateur Radio Club and the Massasoit Amateur Radio Association supported the Town of Bridgewater for their annual Fourth of July Parade.

Amateurs were stationed along the length of the parade route, which started at Bridgewater State College and lasted for forty minutes.

“The event was quite a production,” writes volunteer Phil McNamara, N1XTB.

Fire apparatus from four towns, along with a marching band from New Bedford were featured in the parade. The event was televised on the local community cable channel.

Shown: N1FY, second from right, giving out assignments to: KB1MOC, W1GMF, and KB1CYV. Photo courtesy N1XTB.

If you or your club would like to recognize someone for their mentoring accomplishments send your request for an Elmer Award to clubs@arrl.org. Please include:

* The name and call of the person who will receive the award
* The name and call of person or club presenting the award
* The address where the award is to be sent.

ARRL offers the Elmer Award mounted on a beautiful walnut plaque.

Please call 860-594-0230 for details and cost of this service.

Amateur volunteers from across New England are once again providing a valuable public service by giving their time and energy in assisting in the seven-day New England Classic on July 14-20, 2007. The bicycle ride raises approximately $250,000 each year for the American Diabetes Association.

“On this 550-mile ride I put on between 1500 to 2000 miles for the week,” writes one Eastern MA volunteer, Mike Goldberg, K1LJN. “We usually have eight vehicles all with hams aboard. All riders have numbers and are checked in at each rest stop and finish.” The ride covers portions of MA, NH, ME and VT.

“We’re out six nights staying at four college dorms and two motels. And we are on duty as long as riders are out each day.” Adds K1LJN, “It’s a well-supported ride.”

ARRL section and division appointees and affiliated club leaders attended the summer New England Division Cabinet Meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire on July 7, 2007. The cabinet meetings precede ARRL Board of Directors meetings by 1-2 weeks.

Approximately 32 people from six of the New England Division ARRL sections attended the day-long meeting, co-chaired by Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI and Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF. The meeting encompassed a wide-ranging discussion covering numerous issues, including the impact of recent FCC rule changes, publicity and new ham recruitment.

Frenaye and Raisbeck took the opportunity to brief those assembled on the status of the PAVE PAWS situation, as well as an update on NEARFest and Boxboro, and legislative and League actions.

Numerous items were auctioned at the conclusion of the meeting; $150 was raised for donation to the ARRL Education Project.

Minutes of the meeting are available for viewing. Photo courtesy KD1SM

K1VV and N1DT plan to activate Dumpling Rocks (USA 1321) and Historic (USA 247) Lighthouses on Saturday July 7, 2007 from 7:00 AM EDT (1100 UTC) until about 2:00 PM EDT (1800 UTC).

Whitey, K1VV notes that he and Don, N1DT will begin operations on 75 meters around 3996 kHz plus/minus 5 kHz. “We will go to 40 phone after we run 75 phone dry,” he writes. On 40 phone, look for W1AA between the nets. “Tune for us around 7234,” adds K1VV.

They’ll be on 20 phone later in the morning above 14270. “If we experience QRM, we will QSY above 14310.” If band conditions allow, Don and Whitey will also try 17 meters, around 18150, then they’ll return to 40 phone about 1500 to 1600 UTC, again, around 7234 kHz.

Morse code operation will be conducted roughly on the half hour, on 7035, 10116, 14035 and 18080 kHz, plus or minus QRM.
“We should be able to access the RF packet node so we will be posting our spots on the DX Summit. But we would appreciate any spots,” Whitey adds. See http://oh2aq.kolumbus.com/dxs/hfdx25.html .

DX QSLs are via the W1 Bureau and stateside are via W1AA please with an SASE. A photo of the Dumpling Rock lighthouse will be furnished. “Remember that the postal rates changed on May 14, 2007, so make sure you have enough postage on your SASE,” writes K1VV.

A two-story, stone dwelling was erected on Dumpling Rock at the west side of the entrance to Buzzards Bay. It held a lantern on its roof and was first lighted on October 19, 1828. In 1888, the Lighthouse Board announced that the structure was in such bad condition that it would have been a “waste of money to give it further repair.” Instead, a new wood-frame dwelling, 26 by 34 feet, was built on the old foundation in 1890. A square wooden tower was attached to the house, with a lantern containing a fourth-order lens. A terrible hurricane in 1938 destroyed the house. In 1942, the remains of the lighthouse were removed and a skeleton tower was erected in its place, exhibiting a flashing green light. The automatic light at Dumpling Rock remains an active aid to navigation.

–Thanks, K1VV and Lighthouse.cc