Framingham ARA Awards Scholarship to KB1NYI

2008 Framingham ARA Scholarship winner Shaun Smith, KB1NYIThe Framingham Amateur Radio Association announced the winner of its annual scholarship.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that FARA member Shaun Smith, KB1NYI, is the recipient of this year’s FARA scholarship in the amount of $750,” wrote FARA President Gordy Bello, K1GB to the FARA membership.

Smith, a physics major, is entering his sophomore year at the University of Mass. in Lowell.

Bello added, “Please join me in congratulating Shaun. We wish him every success in his academic pursuits.”

Shown here: FARA Vice President Leo Cantin, WA1HAM, awarding the scholarship to Shaun Smith, KB1NYI.

SMHARC Members to Assist North Attleboro EMA in “Kids Day Drill”

Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC logoJohn Benson, N1FLO writes on SMH-list:

[Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC] have been invited by North Attleboro [Emergency Management Agency] this year to participate in a kids day drill. They will be using the Swansea mobile command post and sending message to other agencies using voice digital and video. They are looking for operators in two hour shifts starting at noon and concluding at the end of the fireworks about midnight.

From 20:00 to the end will be live with tactical communications between police fire and EMA on crowd control. If this sounds interesting to any of you and could give a couple of hours on July 12, 2008 please contact N1NVE @ comcast.net for times and further instructions.

73
John C. Benson
N1FLO

Field Day: Have Fun, But… Hey! Let’s Be Careful Out There!

ARRL 2008 Field Day logoAttention all Field Day sites–please be alert to the possibility of severe weather this Field Day weekend, June 28-29, 2008.

We encourage you to take a moment and review this important document on lightning safety outdoors.

Also, we are including the Severe Weather and Amateur Radio Field Day Coordination Message #1, courtesy Rob Macedo, KD1CY below:Hello to all..

..Severe Weather Possible today as the weather pattern gets active once again starting today through early next week. In addition, we have now started the first in a series of weather coordination messages for Amateur Radio Field Day. For Non-Amateurs, a description of Amateur Radio Field Day is in the first paragraph of this coordination message..

..Extent of Thursday Severe Weather Threat will be contingent on area of showers and possibly embedded thunderstorms that will make its way through Southern New England this morning and amount of heating this afternoon into early evening. Damaging winds and large hail would be the primary threats..

..There is a threat of showers and thunderstorms over much of interior Southern New England for the Friday through Sunday timeframe and all thunderstorms will have the threat for heavy rainfall and lightning and the potential for at least isolated to scattered severe thunderstorms as well. It will not be a total washout this weekend and there will likely be some Field Day sites that experience little in the way of weather while others could see one or multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms with the possibility of severe weather..

..All Amateur Radio Field Day sites are strongly encouraged to have a NOAA All-Hazards Alert Radio with them and a Ham Radio monitoring their local Amateur Radio SKYWARN Frequency to be able to monitor the weather as they do their Field Day activities if they do not have Internet access to monitor radar and NWS warnings and statements. Be prepared to take cover even if a “garden-variety” thunderstorm approaches due to the risk of lightning..

..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton is possible Thursday. Ops at NWS Could also be utilized anytime over Field Day weekend if a threat for severe weather develops. Amateur Radio SKYWARN Coordinators will monitor through the weekend to alert Field Day stations of any risk of thunderstorms in their area..

For the non-Amateur Radio Operators on the email list, Amateur Radio Field Day occurs on the 4th weekend of June every year and is a time where local Amateur Radio Clubs and individual Amateurs across the United States set up Amateur Radio stations across the region and work other Amateurs in a 24 hour contest that practices some radio operator skills, practices setup of Amateur Equipment in the field at various locations for the Amateurs who elect to setup equipment versus operating their home or pre-installed club stations and is an overall fun event that Amateurs enjoy. The field stations put on by Amateur Radio Clubs and other groups allows the public to see Amateur Radio Operators perform their duties in a fun atmosphere. Any non-Amateurs in Eastern Massachusetts and Connecticut that are interested in visiting the various Field Day sites can see a map of the sites that are open to the public via the following links:

http://ema.arrl.org/fd/fd_dir.php

http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php

http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/

At this time, I do not have links to Field Day sites in other parts of the NWS Taunton County Warning Area. Those that have links to their Field Day can pass them along to me and I can add them to the next coordination message. Now, we will focus on weather risks for the first 24-48 hours.

For Thursday’s weather, at 725 AM, Doppler radar showed showers and possibly embedded thunderstorms across Eastern Pennsylvania, South-Central and Eastern New York and into Western Connecticut. This activity will make its way through Southern New England this morning into early afternoon. Skies will clear to some extent after this activity moves through New England. If enough heating and destabilization can occur during the afternoon, there would be the threat for isolated to scattered severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and large hail being the primary threats as there would be sufficient winds aloft and if the destabilization is sufficient, severe thunderstorms would be able to organize into short lines or clusters. If there is not enough heating, the severe threat would be muted.

As we get into Friday, this day should be free of shower and thunderstorm activity but this is contingent on impulses that will rotate around an approaching trough. If this approaches the area sooner, there would be some threat for shower and thunderstorm activity. At this time, Friday, where some Amateur Radio groups may be doing Field Day setup should be a decent day but this will be updated in the next coordination message.

As we get into this weekend, this is where the shower and thunderstorm threat with the safety risks of lightning along with the potential for flash flooding, large hail and damaging winds increases. Exact timeframes and threat regions are tough to determine at this time and will be fine-tuned in future coordination messages but anywhere in interior Southern New England could see activity. Again, Field Day weekend is not expected to be a washout at the present time and there is a definite possibility some Field Day sites may see no significant weather activity while other sites have the potential to be significantly impacted. We strongly encourage all Field Day sites to have a NOAA All-Hazards Alert Radio with them and a Ham Radio monitoring their local Amateur Radio SKYWARN frequency to be able to monitor the weather as they do their Field Day activities. This is particularly important if the site does not have Internet access to monitor radar and NWS Warnings and statements.

Remember even non-severe thunderstorms pose a risk for Field Day stations due to lightning. Take cover even if a non-severe thunderstorm approaches your area.

The next several Severe Weather and Field Day Coordination Messages will be issued as a series of messages through Sunday. The next coordination message will be sent by 1130 PM this evening.

Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:

NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook: http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.flus41.KBOX.html

The following is a link to SKYWARN Frequencies that we will be roving at NWS Taunton and formal SKYWARN Nets established where required.

http://www.wx1box.org and click on Southern New England SKYWARN Frequency List.

In addition, the New England Gateway/Reflector system will be utilized so those with Internet access or access to an EchoLink/IRLP node via a repeater or other system may also be able to gain access to NWS Taunton when we are active via this means by connecting to IRLP Reflector 9123/EchoLink Node #:9123 which is the *NEW-ENG* conference server.

As has happened in year’s past, Field Day is occurring near the time of the National Weather Service’s Lightning Safety Awareness Week but this year it falls after Field Day weekend. A link to the NWS web site dedicated to the hazards of lightning as well as links to Lightning Safety Awareness Week Statements issued by NWS Taunton is listed below:

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/

http://www.wx1box.org/local/lgt_safety_part_1_PNS.txt

http://www.wx1box.org/local/lgt_safety_part_2_PNS.txt

http://www.wx1box.org/local/lgt_safety_part_3_PNS.txt

In addition, Eastern Massachusetts ARRL has posted some of the safety messages from Field Day from last year to the web and that information can be seen at the following link and will probably be updated with new information from this email. See link below:

http://ema.arrl.org/fd/safety/Safety.html

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://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org

Kuss Balloon Launch – Success!!

Roland Daignault, N1JOY writes on BCRA mailing list:

The Kuss high altitude balloon launch last Friday was a complete success!!

They launched on time in clam clear blue skies from the large ball fields at the Silvia School on Meridian St. in Fall River. The balloon went in excess of 24,000 feet before it was commanded over New Bedford to release the payload, and it drifted to just North of Cuttyhunk Island!

There were several payloads on the balloon made by the kids such as seeds, an egg to see if it could survive the flight and landing, APRS, and a digital video camera to record the entire flight. I have a copy of the video recovered from the balloon and it is awesome!

At one point I was able to identify my house (and N1OCY’s), U-Mass Dartmouth, a high speed ferry boat, and about 2 minutes before the balloon splashed down, for just a moment, you can see what appears to be the recovery boat on the edge of the screen! The balloon landed and was plucked out of the water about 15 minutes later.

With APRS the students were able to direct the recovery boat to be in place where we expected the payload to touch down. The balloon traveled a total of 22 miles.
As well at things went, there were a few lessons learned:

#1.) You can fit 17 middle school students in the front half of the HAMCOW. They were calling me “Kid #18” when I walked in and took a head count. 🙂

#2.) Fall River has some of the coolest kids around! They were great, well behaved, very helpful, and very interested in the balloon and Ham Radio equipment.

#3.) The recovery boat needs a better APRS & 2 Meter setup. HT’s were just too intermittent at those distances from the mainland.

#4.) The APRS payload (not set up by us I must add), needs to beacon out more frequently than every 2 minutes, which is what we were given.

#5.) The payload box carrying the video camera needs to be stabilized to keep the video from jiggling back and forth and wildly twirling in circles. This is easily accomplished with a couple of balsa sticks with what is essentially rudders placed on the ends.

#6.) Launching tennis balls high in the sky with a bunch of kids with my new “Antenna launcher” (a.k.a. – potato gun) is more fun that playing with my dog! I kept the kids busy while we waited for the recovery team to return from the docks.

The Fall River Herald News did ANOTHER front page story on the Kuss kids! (How many is that now? I’ve lost count!!) The BCRA also received an honorable mention in the article, which is fine because were were only helpers. In the article there is a link to a You-Tube video that clearly shows the HAMCOW in the background.

http://www.heraldnews.com/education/x719314157/Science-experiment-sends-students-soaring

It was also great to see a couple of the Ham Radio kids who are students from past years and are now in High School make the event. Kuss has quite a few current Ham students, and plenty more aspiring to get their license!

[See also: Kuss School – High Altitude Balloon Launch June 13

Zola License-In-A-Weekend: “A Tremendous Success”

Zola Center License in a Weekend classMembers of the Boston Amateur Radio Club facilitated a License In A Weekend session at the Irving K. Zola Center for Persons with Disabilities in Newton on June 13-15.

A dozen Zola Center members, with assistance from volunteers of the Boston club studied and reviewed test material from the ARRL license manual. The sessions were conducted on Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning. On Sunday afternoon, the Boston ARC Volunteer Examiner team administered the Technician and General class elements.

BARC members held a May prequel meeting to the weekend study session to distribute the materials, and to prepare the students for what lay ahead.

“Everyone helped in some way. Some were on the front lines, but it took everyone else’s support to really make it happen,” wrote BARC Vice President Eric Falkof, K1NUN.

“Paul [N1ZKR] and Nora [KB1OHB] called people to encourage or ensure there were no outstanding problems. This was an essential element, because it maintained the club’s contact with the students. We did not leave them adrift. This helped the students to know they were not being abandoned to their own devices entirely. … We showed we were attentive and cared.”

“The 80 percent passing grade of the participants was a testament to your good work,” wrote Donna Suskawicz, the Center’s Director, complementing the Boston ARC crew on their efforts. “All participants enjoyed the weekend and communicated to me they were thankful for the opportunity to study and take the license exam.” She added, “I know this was time consuming for all of you and I am appreciative of the personal dedication from each of you.”

Suskawicz also participated in the course; she successfully passed the Technician exam and is awaiting her license.

Participating Boston ARC members included K1NUN, WA1IDA, KB1OHB, N1ZKR, KB1OKP, N1ICN and K9HI.

Costs for the weekend program were partially offset by the Avon Products company, who awarded Suskawicz a national “Avon Hello Tomorrow” grant to encourage women with disabilities to pursue ham radio.

The Irving K. Zola Center for Persons with Disabilities at Brigham House is a drop-in community center for persons with disabilities. The center is named for Irving Kenneth Zola, a resident of Newton, MA, who was an internationally known sociologist and advocate who specialized in disability studies and medical sociology.

[See also:
K9HI Promotes Handiham System At Zola Center
Zola Center Founder Receives Cash Award to Promote Ham Radio
Boston ARC, Zola Center To Hold License In A Weekend Course]

Cape and Islands Traffic Net Change

EMA NTS logoMike Wilbur, N2JWW writes:

I am glad to announce effective June 11 the Cape and Islands Traffic Net will move to the N1YHS 147.375 repeater, PL 110.9. It is a new machine in Falmouth with excellent coverage both on and off cape and both islands.

I hope this move will enhance the net and allow more folks to get into the net. As always I am looking for anyone who would like to be a net control, just drop me an e-mail at n2jww.at.arrl.net.

Try and stay cool and I look forward to hearing more folks on the net.

73 de Mike N2JWW Net manager CITN 1 1 1

Cape and Islands Traffic Net Change

EMA NTS logoMike Wilbur, N2JWW writes:

I am glad to announce effective June 11 the Cape and Islands Traffic Net will move to the N1YHS 147.375 repeater, PL 110.9. It is a new machine in Falmouth with excellent coverage both on and off cape and both islands.

I hope this move will enhance the net and allow more folks to get into the net. As always I am looking for anyone who would like to be a net control, just drop me an e-mail at n2jww.at.arrl.net.

Try and stay cool and I look forward to hearing more folks on the net.

73 de Mike N2JWW Net manager CITN

Heavy Hitters Traffic Net Special Event for Field Day 2008

Hello to all….

Heavey Hitters Traffic Net Manager, Byron Piette-K1YCQ, will be sponsoring a special edition of the Heavy Hitters Traffic Net to allow clubs and Field Day groups to bring NTS traffic related to Field Day to the net for points on Field Day. Below is information on the net.

Here is the info about the Field Day Net.

Heavy Hitters Traffic Net is sponsoring a Special Events Fielday Traffic Net on 6/28/08 @ 10 pm. on the MMRA and linked System. The purpose of this net is to allow clubs to bring their Fielday generated Traffic for Points to the net .Clubs can earn 100 points for sending an appropriate message to the Section Mgr. and also may receive 10 points for each additional message Originated ,Received,Sent,or Relayed OR ANY combination thereof,up to a Maxium of 10messages.

Messages MUST be in NTS format ONLY Brief and to the point ,ONLY Fielday /Point traffic is allowed on this special net Clubs /Stations are advised to check Frequencies to be used on the MMRA linked system at
http://www.mmra.org

Please have on hand a sufficient supply of ARRL “RADIOGRAM” forms. This will help you a lot.
They may be copied at http://www.ema.arrl.org

WE wish to thank MMRA and its Officers for the use of their great system (they are a super group. WE thank also the operators of the “linked systems” to the mmra

Please join us on our regular nets Mon.-Fri. at 10 pm. Traffic/Rag chew if time permits.

J,Byron Piette

HHTN Net Mgr.

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://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
1

Framingham ARA Scores Newpaper Publicity

Framingham Amateur Radio Association 75th Anniversary logoThe June 3, 2008 issue of MetroWest Daily News carried an excellent article about the Framingham Amateur Radio Association and Amateur Radio. The article features a photo showing Leo Cantin, WA1HAM and quotes Joe Weisse, W1HAI and ARRL’s Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP. It also discusses FARA’s public service activities and Field Day.

The Framingham ARA will celebrate its 75th anniversary at a special banquet on June 14.

New England Public Service List, 6/02/08

PSLIST June 2 2008

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

Jun 8 Boston MA Bikes Not Bombs Bike Ride Bob WA1IDA 508.650.9440
+ suburbs wa1ida@arrl.net
Jun 21 Mt WashngtonNH Mt. Washington Road Race Cliff N1RCQ 603.279.7763
n1rcq@cnharc.org
Jul 4 Chelmsford MA Parade and Road Race Darrel K1EJ 978.251.4805
k1ej@arrl.net
Jul 4 E.Longmeadw MA East Longmeadow Parade Eric N1QKO
n1qko@arrl.net
Jul 4 Princeton MA Longsjo Classic Road Race Ralph KD1SM 978.582.7351
kd1sm@arrl.net
Jul 5 Acushnet MA Patriot Triathlon Tony N1XRS 774.929.7031
Freetown, Lakefille TDDuarte@comcast.net
or Steve K1XTB k1xtb@comcast.net
Jul 5 Fitchburg MA Longsjo Classic Circuit Race Ralph KD1SM 978.582.7351
kd1sm@arrl.net
Jul 6 Fitchburg MA Longsjo Classic Criterium Ralph KD1SM 978.582.7351
kd1sm@arrl.net
Jul 12 Hanover NH Prouty Bike Ride and Walk Rex AA1KL 603.252.7152
and surrounds rexgcarr@wildblue.net
Jul 12 Mt WashngtonNH Newton's Revenge bicycle race Cliff N1RCQ 603.279.7763
n1rcq@amsat.org
Jul 12 Woburn MA New England Classic Tour Mike K1LJN 978.244.0417
see http://www.newenglandclassic.org k1ljn@arrl.net
Jul 13 Durham NH New England Classic Tour Mike K1LJN 978.244.0417
k1ljn@arrl.net
Jul 14 Biddeford ME New England Classic Tour Mike K1LJN 978.244.0417
k1ljn@arrl.net
Jul 15 North ConwayNH New England Classic Tour Mike K1LJN 978.244.0417
k1ljn@arrl.net
Jul 16 Northfield VT New England Classic Tour Mike K1LJN 978.244.0417
k1ljn@arrl.net
Jul 17 Killington VT New England Classic Tour Mike K1LJN 978.244.0417
k1ljn@arrl.net
Jul 18 Rindge NH New England Classic Tour Mike K1LJN 978.244.0417
k1ljn@arrl.net
Jul 26 Devens MA Alzheimer's Assn Memory Ride Ralph KD1SM 978.582.7351
and surrounds kd1sm@arrl.net
Jul 27 Winchendon MA Triathlon John N2YHK
n2yhk@wpi.edu
Aug 16 Mt WashngtonNH Mt. Washington HillClimb Cliff N1RCQ 603.279.7763
n1rcq@amsat.org
Sep 7 Hopkinton MA Triathlon John N2YHK
n2yhk@wpi.edu
Sep 20 WinnipesaukeNH Fred Brown Relay Race Dave KA1VJU 603.398.3667
ka1vju@cnharc.org
Sep 28 Springfield MA American Diabetes Assn Walk Eric N1QKO
n1qko@arrl.net
Oct 4 Bristol NH NH Marathon 10 K road race Dave KA1VJU 603.398.3667
ka1vju@cnharc.org
Oct 12 Boston MA BAA Half Marathon Bob WA1IDA 508.650.9440
wa1ida@arrl.net

This list is published periodically as demand warrants by Stan KD1LE
and Ralph KD1SM. Our usual distribution is 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:

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.

Reminder: Monthly ARES Net for June 2008

Hello to all…

A reminder that the monthly ARES Net for June is rapidly approaching. The monthly ARES Net for June is Monday June 2nd, 2008, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. This is after the RACES Nets earlier in the evening.

Make the first Monday of the month, “Emergency Communications Night” and check into your local RACES Net and then check into the ARES Net on the MMRA Repeater System. We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ares.ema.arrl.org

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

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://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org

1

Kuss School – High Altitude Balloon Launch June 13

Roland Daignault, N1JOY writes on BCRA mailing list:

Kuss Middle School [Fall River, MA] is conducting its 2nd annual High Altitude balloon launch on Friday June 13th. I will be rolling the HAMCOW to the new Silvia Elementary School on Meridian St. so the students can use it as Mission Control. This is an event the students are conducting in conjunction with an outside team who specializes in these events, but it would be great to have a couple of us available to assist with coaching on how to be a Net Control station, and just be available to help with the radio equipment. Is anybody available?

Last year’s launch included an APRS transmitter, and even though the launch and recovery were successful, the planned water landing ended up being in Copicut Reservoir, rather than the planned Buzzards Bay due to a helium leak that developed soon after launch. If you were listening to the students run their operation and recovery communications, you’ll know they did a great job with very little help.

Let us continue to be Elmers to the students and continue supporting and helping them see how useful ham radio can be, and encourage them to stick with the hobby.

[See also: Kuss Middle School High Altitude Balloon Launch Is A “Go”]