Honoring Club Workers

I am sure in every ham radio club there are persons who continually work behind the scene to make the club active and prosperous. Possibly it’s the one who gets the monthly newsletter out on time every month. Maybe it is the one who makes sure there is coffee and donuts for each club meeting. Or the one who has organized and run Field Day for the last few years. Our clubs would not operate without these dedicated individuals who we can all depend upon to “deliver the goods” without ever having to be told to do so. They are the unsung heroes of the club.

Your club may also have some “old timers” in it. You know….those guys who have been around since Marconi’s time and have logged more hours on the air that you can imagine. These guys are always around and always can be counted on to pitch in when asked. They can give sage advice from their years of experience and can help us all avoid some of the problems they have seen and solved in the past.

Why not honor the person or persons who work behind the scene and your “old timers”? Ham radio clubs don’t often have a way of honoring their members. Sure, some clubs have a “ham of the year” award , and that is good, but how about honoring several of your members at once. They work for no pay and no recognition…….but honoring them helps keep them going, helps keep the club operating in good fashion and is often an inspiration for other members.

I have found that a simple 8 1/2 by 11 inch framed document makes an excellent and inexpensive award. This award might have the club logo and the ARRL logo on it and should have some wording that explains the reason for the award. It can be signed by the President and Vice President . This could easily be made on a computer by one of several graphics programs. I have successfully used PowerPoint for this application. One can buy rather inexpensive frames for these awards at The Christmas Tree Shop…….although I will never admit I have ever gone into one……ha ha ha !

An ideal situation would be for the club President to make the award presentation at one of your monthly meetings. There would be nothing at all wrong with making a big deal out of the presentation. It would be a good photo opportunity!

So, give it some thought. You can reward hard workers for just a little effort and in so doing make your club a much better club and one that is even more friendly than it is today.

Bo Budinger

WA1QYM

ARRL EMA ACC

Southeastern MA ARA To Share Tower

SEMARA logoThe Southeastern MA Amateur Radio Association has agreed to assist the Dartmouth Police Department by allowing a law enforcement radio receiving antenna to be placed on top of the club’s tower.

The police department requested the antenna placement via a letter which was read at the club’s April meeting. After discussion, a motion was made, seconded, and passed to allow the antenna placed atop the tower with certain stipulations. The SEMARA Board of Directors is expected to approve the final decision.

Thanks, SEMARA “Zero Beat” May, 2010

 

 

 


Beltronics Amateur Equipment Repair Ends

Beltronics logo

Beltronics, in Hollis, NH has announced it is leaving the amateur radio repair business. The company released the following announcement to the amateur community:

 

“As of 4/5/2010, Beltronics regretfully announces we will no longer repair or service any Amateur Radio Equipment. Thank you for your years of patronage! We will complete ALL radio repairs that are currently in house. For future amateur equipment repair/service you may contact the following:

Quimby Mountain Radio
Jim Fowler (KA1SU)
Bow, NH
603-715-1458

North Shore Radio Association Public Service Events

North Shore Radio Association logoThe North Shore Radio Association is seeking assistance from Eastern MA amateurs to help with several upcoming public service events.

“To all those who don’t mind traveling to the North Shore Area, the NSRA would like your help,” writes Eric Horwitz, KA1NCF, NSRA’s Public Service Coordinator. “The NSRA does a long list of events every year. This year we even have a few new ones on the list.”

The list of events can be found on the club’s web site. Go to http://www.nsradio.org, then click on “Public Service” on the left-hand side.

“Ham Radio Cruise Night” And Ice Cream

Gary's Ice Cream adA local Northern MA amateur has hit upon a unique idea to promote his ice cream business–and, ham radio. Gary Frascarelli, W1GFF, proprietor of “Gary’s Home Made Ice Cream” in East Chelmsford has established what he calls “Ham Radio Cruise Night.” Hams are encouraged to visit his store every Saturday night between 5-8 p.m. to show off their mobile rigs, and bring along GOTA rigs. Frascarelli says “on site hook-ups for an HF sloper antenna and 2m/440 antennas are available.”

W1GFF bills the event as an opportunity for current hams, former hams–and anyone interested in ham radio to socialize.

For more information, visit his web site at http://www.garysicecream.com/hamnite.htm.

MWRA Water Emergency ARES/RACES Situation Report #2 – Water Emergency Ends

Hello to all..

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority reported a major water pipe leak in the town of Weston, Massachusetts at approximately 130 PM Saturday May 1st. A boil-water order had been placed into effect for numerous communities in the MWRA coverage area and Governor Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency to enable National Guard troop use for this situation.

At 345 AM Tuesday May 4th, the boil water order was lifted for all 30 affected communities. Repairs were made to the water main pipe coupling that failed and the repair is working well with water now flowing from the main water supply once again. Water tests from all communities have come back positive and that is why the boil water order has been lifted. The MWRA, MEMA and the Governor’s Office has issued post-boil water order instructions for the communities affected by the water main break. Complete details and updates can be seen via the following links:

MWRA Press Release Information:
http://www.mwra.com

MWRA Water Testing Update:
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=alert_landingpage&ID=225&sid=Eeops

Governor Patrick’s Press Release on Boil Water Order Being Lifted:
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3pressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Agov3&b=pressrelease&f=050410_boil_order_lifted&csid=Agov3

MEMA Main Page:
http://www.mass.gov/mema

The Massachusetts State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) will remain at full activation for today. The operation will now switch to recovering all water in staging and establish storage sites at two locations. RACES has not been activated at the region/state level and activation of Eastern Massachusetts ARES is not anticipated as operations begin to wind down.

We will continue to montior this situation but barring an unforeseen escalation of this incident, this will be the last situation report issued as the MWRA Water Emergency has ended. Thanks to all for their support and monitoring of this incident and we hope those that were affected can now get back to normal usage of their water supply!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org

Reminder: Monthly Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for May 2010

Hello to all…

A reminder that the monthly ARES Net for May is rapidly approaching. The monthly ARES Net for May is Monday May 3rd, 2010, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. This is after the RACES Nets earlier in the evening. For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site and the repeaters that will be linked in will be through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/map.html

In addition, if the Echo-IRLP node on the MMRA hub is available, we will likely link that to the New England Reflector system on IRLP 9123/Echolink Conference *NEW-ENG* Node: 9123.

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   
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org

MWRA Water Emergency ARES/RACES Situation Report #1

Hello to all..

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority reported a major water pipe leak in the town of Weston, Massachusetts at approximately 130 PM today. Later today, it was determined that a 120″ diameter pipe that transports water to communities as far north as Wilmington and south to Stoughton was impacted. The leak has been stopped at this pipe in Weston as of an update at 847 PM Saturday Evening May 1st. A boil-water order has been placed into effect for numerous communities in the MWRA coverage area and Governor Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency to enable National Guard troop use for this situation. Complete details and updates on this rapidly developing situation can be seen via the following links:

MWRA Update Page:
http://www.mwra.com/updates/leak.html

MWRA Water Main Break Requires Boil Water Order:
http://www.mwra.com/01news/2010/boilwaterorder1.htm

MWRA Main Page:
http://www.mwra.com/

MEMA Main Page:
http://www.mass.gov/mema

State of Emergency: MWRA Water Main Break Requires Boil Water Order
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=alert_landingpage&ID=226&sid=Eeops

The Massachusetts State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) is at full activation at this time. At the moment, RACES has not been activated at the region/state level. Local communities may activate their local RACES at their local Emergency Management Director’s discretion. At this time, Eastern Massachusetts ARES leadership is monitoring the situation. A stand-by for ARES has not been issued yet but we’ll continue to closely monitor this rapidly changing situation in case Amateur Radio utilization for supplemental communication is needed in any capacity by Non-Governmental Organizations such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army or if requested by RACES personnel to support any operations that may require.

We will continue to montior this situation. Sitreps will be posted as needed on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web site and various email lists. Please monitor your email and the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web site as required over the next several days for updates. Thanks to all for their support!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org