Month: February 2011

Attention EMA ARRL Members:

The following is an important message from Dan Henderson, N1ND, Regulatory Information Manager at ARRL Headquarters:

“As you may have read, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has introduced the ‘Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011’ and the bill has been assigned HR 607 as its number. The full story about the Bill’s introduction can be found on the ARRL web at

http://www.arrl.org/news/spectrum-management-bill-threatens-amateur-frequencies

As you will read, while the ARRL supports spectrum for the Public Safety needs, we oppose HR 607 in its current form because of the inclusion of the 420-440 MHz spectrum (most of the Amateur 70-cm UHF allocation) as part of a spectrum swap.

At the request of ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, we are asking ARRL members to contact their local Representative asking them to oppose HR 607 in its current form. Members should be directed to http://www.arrl.org/sample-letters for resources tools to assist them in their letter writing. These include:

• A sample letter opposing HR 607 in its current form
• A link to the ARRL Webpage that gives the ARRL member the contact information for their Members of Congress
• A link to information sending their letters to our Washington lobbyist to hand-deliver to Capitol Hill

A couple of key points to remember when discussing our opposition to HR 607:

• We understand and support the principle that Public Safety and First responders should have the D-Block frequencies.
• Our opposition to the bill stems from the inclusion of the 420-440 MHZ Amateur allocation as part of the proposed “frequency swap”.

Time is of the essence on this request, as the bill is gathering steam in Congress. So please make your membership contacts as soon as possible. Finally, please include my address n1nd@arrl.org in what you distribute to the ARRL membership (for our records here at HQ.)

Thanks for stepping up to the plate to assist with the direct threat to our Amateur Radio spectrum. What you bring to the table helps us keep this ship heading in the right direction. Please contact me if you have any problems or questions with this request.

73

Dan Henderson, N1ND
Regulatory Information Manager
ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm)
860-594-0236
dhenderson@arrl.org

Rob Macedo, KD1CY writes on MRAS list:

We have confirmed a site for an Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Workshop at the Concord Academy in Concord Massachusetts for Saturday March 5th, 2011 from 9 AM to 4 PM. [Full story]

The Genesis Amateur Radio Society and Bourne RACES, in cooperation with the Bourne Emergency Management Agency have announced they will hold an Amateur Radio licensing class for the Technician license in March.

The proposed dates are as follows:

• Friday, March 18, 2011 7PM-9PM 6:30-9:30pm
• Saturday, March 19, 2011 9am-2pm (between a 30min – 1hr break for lunch)
• Saturday, March 26, 2011 9am-1pm (30 min break for lunch)
• Testing, March 26 2pm-4pm for all amateur class licenses

(The location is tentative at this time; the class and testing may be held at the Plymouth Airport.)

The Town of Bourne RACES (the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) is trying to build a team of amateurs to staff EOCs and shelters in the Town during emergencies and to operate stations from their homes for the monthly RACES nets. RACES operators are a vital link between the Massachusetts State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Framingham, the Area EOC in Bridgewater, and the Town of Bourne in relaying vital messages during emergencies.

If you are interested in earning your Amateur Radio license and assisting your town with communications, please join us for these classes. You’ll need to purchase the Technician Q&A manual from the ARRL. The book costs $17.95 plus shipping and handling, but order through Genesis ARS and you can save $0.95 plus shipping and handling. GARS will offer the books for only $17.00; save on shipping and handling.

A second book, “The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual” is also highly recommended. It usually costs $29.95, but you can purchase this book for $29.00 with free shipping. If you order both, you can save an additional $1.00.

If you are interested in attending the course, email the Town of Bourne RACES at bourneraces@gmail.com, then mail your payment to: Genesis Amateur Radio Society, PO Box 230, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532 and mention which books you would like to order.

There is a $15 testing fee due at time of testing. ALL REGISTRATION AND BOOKS MUST BE ORDERED BY MARCH 5, 2011.

–Thanks, Genesis ARS

In an effort to spur growth of ARES activity in and around the metro Boston area, ARRL District Emergency Coordinator Marek Kozubal, KB1NCG has created a new mailing list.