South Shore Hospital ARC Requesting Volunteers in Norwell for St. Patricks Day Road Race – Saturday 3/17/12

The South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club has been asked to provide communications support on St. Patricks Day March 17th @ 9:00am. It is a 4 mile race starting at McGreals Tavern in Norwell on March 17th at 9:00 am. The race last for about 2 hours and is lots of fun. All that is required is a 2m radio (preferably handheld with a fully charged battery).  If you are a new ham this is a great opportunity to get some field experience.

They let the runners choose the charities.  They have 3 that we setup:  Kathy Frank Scholarship Fund, The Boys & Girls Club of Plymouth and Friends of South Shore Hospital.  Runners also have the option of setting up their own charity, bringing friends to run for their charity, and then we will make the donations post-race based on the number of runners each charity has run for them.

If you are interested in joining us please write to SSHARC@gmail.com.

Thanks,
John O’Neill
KB1QEM

South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club – W1SSH

55 Fogg Road, Mail Stop #40
South Weymouth, MA 02190

South Shore Hospital ARC Seeks Ham Assistance for St. Patricks Day Race

John O’Neill, KB1QEM writes:

The South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club has been asked to provide communications support on St. Patricks Day March 17th @ 9:00 am. It is a 4 mile race starting at McGreals Tavern in Norwell on March 17th at 9:00 am. The race last for about 2 hours and is lots of fun. All that is required is a 2m radio (preferably handheld with a fully charged battery). If you are a new ham this is a great opportunity to get some field experience.

They let the runners choose the charities. They have 3 that we setup: Kathy Frank Scholarship Fund, The Boys & Girls Club of Plymouth and Friends of South Shore Hospital. Runners also have the option of setting up their own charity, bringing friends to run for their charity, and then we will make the donations post-race based on the number of runners each charity has run for them.

If you are interested in joining us please write to SSHARC@gmail.com.

MS Walk Ham Support Requested, April 1, 2012

Bob Salow, WA1IDA writes:

The Multiple Sclerosis Society has again requested ham support for the 2012 MS Boston Walk on Sunday, 1 April. As it has for the past several years, the walk starts and finishes at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston. The courses are a 3- or 5- mile walk along both sides of the Charles River, ending in mid-afternoon. Our assignments begin at 0900 and should be complete between early and mid-afternoon. An excellent lunch is provided for all walkers and volunteers.

This event has its hazards and quirks, but our communications support will make the day safe and smooth for participants, spectators and staff. For those who are new to ham public service, this event is a good introduction, and we need your help. For those who have done this before, your help is needed more than ever.

A 2-meter, 5 watt hand-held is needed. A dual-band radio is desirable, but not required. An antenna better than the “rubber duck” that came with your radio should be used for all public service Be sure you charge your radio’s battery before the event. An extra battery pack will be most helpful.

Ham public service is interesting and offers fun experiences. The communication load for this event is light, but safety and support for the participants are always our primary concern.

If you can help with the Multiple Sclerosis Boston Walk on Sunday, 1 April 2012, please reply to this email with all of the following information as soon as possible.

Full name
On-air name
Call sign
Postal mailing address (including 9-digit ZIP code)
Evening phone
Day phone
Cell phone
Email address
Does your 2-meter radio have CTCSS (PL)?
Do you have a dual-band radio?
Do you have a magnetic mount antenna?
T-shirt size

Let me know if you have volunteered for this event before and want a similar assignment. While we cannot guarantee requested assignments, we will try our best to meet your preference. Please respond as quickly as you can.

If you know other hams who would like to volunteer, ask them to send in the above information. If you are new and want to get more public service experience, this is an excellent event to get your feet wet. As significant as our communications will be, this event is a low impact opportunity to learn the ropes.

Your assistance is valuable. We will get the assignments and more details to you as soon possible. If you have already volunteered, bear with us and reply to this message.

You might also note that April and May are busy months for public service events requesting ham support. We will also be coordinating hams for the following events:

15 April – BAA 5K and 1 mile Races – Boston
29 April – Run of the Charles Canoe and Kayak Races – Charles River, Needham to Boston
12 May – MS Journey of Hope Walk – Natick
20 May – Brain Tumor Bicycle Rides – Waltham to Concord
…and more in June and October

Your assistance will be valuable for these events also. Notices will be sent closer to the event schedule. Help if you can.

Got questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch!

73, Bob Salow, WA1IDA
wa1ida@arrl.net
508.650.9440 (H)
617.650.0062 (C)

Minuteman Linked 222 MHz Network

MMRA logoThe Minuteman Repater Association (MMRA) has created an exclusively 222 MHz repeater network. All the MMRA 222 MHz repeaters are now full time linked together and to each other only. The network currently consists of: 223.94 Hopkinton, 224.40 Quincy, 224.70 Weston, 224.88 Marlboro. All use a PL of 103.5. 222 MHz has superior propagation to 440 MHz or 900 MHz and is free from the interference on those bands. For more information on the MMRA 222 MHz Repeater Network go to www.mmra.org.

New amateur gear for the 222 MHz band has recently come on the market: Jetstream mobile($230), Alinco mobile($230), Wouxun 144/222 MHz portable($100), Alinco 222 MHz portable($170), Alinco 222/900 portable($350), Kenwood 144/222/440 MHz portable($300), etc.

“Tuesday is 220 Day” similar to “Thursday is 900 Day” is being promoted by Jeff, N1ZZN, and Roger, WA1NVC.

The New England IRLP Reflector has created a New England Amateur Radio 220 MHz Network(Near-220) channel (9124) just like the Near-900 channel (9125).

The MMRA 222 MHz Repeater Network will also be connected to the Near-220 channel on Tuesdays. This will be implemented as soon as the IRLP node at the Weston site is working.

RACES Program Update Meeting – 2/25/12 at 10 AM – Location Changed Due to High Amount of Interest

Hello all stations:

I have an important update to our meeting on the 25th.  Since I made the announcement, over 70 people have confirmed their attendance.  This caused a small crisis with MEMA in that there would not be enough room at the original venue, the SEOC, for all to attend.  MEMA suggested to me that folks be turned away until we got down to the 50 person limit.  Instead, I found another venue so that our people can come together to learn about the changes and talk about it.

I have been fortunate to secure another facility from a generous friend in private industry, which is prepared to welcome as many members as may want to come out.  This development has the added advantage of attracting more of our members from the western part of the state to join us.  Our original attendees should also find that little additional time would have to be built into their trips, except those coming from locations near to Framingham.

No change to the date (2/25) and time (1000).

The new location is Atlas Box and Crating Company, Inc., 223 Worcester Providence Turnpike, Sutton, MA 01590.  The road is also known as MA route 146.  For most folks, I90 (Mass Pike) to Exit 10A (US20/MA 146), then southbound MA 146 to EXIT 7 (Central Turnpike) for a U-Turn to rejoin MA 146 north.  Plant entrance is at bottom of the ramp to the right.  DO NOT REENTER HIGHWAY.  Bear left at the fork in the entrance road to park.

Their website is http://www.atlasbox.net, but no directions.  Use http://maps.google.com instead to plan your trip.

As this is also a secure facility, please be so kind as to RSVP me again at w1mpn@arrl.net so I know you got this change.  Your courtesy in the last round helped avert a major crisis, so my thanks to you again in advance.

I am looking forward to it!

NEW:  Follow me on Twitter @WC1MA, and Facebook handle WC1MA

Regards and 73,

Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
State RACES Officer (Acting);
Member of the MEMT;
Member of the MA State Interoperability Executive Committee (SIEC), and Policies and Programs subcommittee;
Chairperson, Amateur Radio Working Group
New Office Answering Service: 978.293.7858
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Reminder: Monthly Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for February 2012

Hello to all…

A reminder that the monthly ARES Net for February is rapidly approaching. The monthly ARES Net for February is Monday February 6th, 2012, 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 this 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

STM Report EMA January 2012

STM REPORT  JAN. 2012
NET SESSIONS  QTC QNI QTR NM
EM2MN 30 300 209 452 KB1ENV
MARIPN 18 32 40 123 N1LKJ
WARPSN 5 15 93 NA NI1X
HHTN 13 13 33 135 N1LUM
 SAR JAN. ORG REC SENT DEL TOTALS
N1IQI 0 507 1175 0 1682 X
W1GMF 0 240 794 21 1055 X
KW1U 0 184 323 23 530 X
N1TF 0 109 144 4 257
K1YCQ 20 102 110 25 257
N1LKJ 0 110 129 0 239
KD1LE 0 32 37 1 70
W1PLK 0 27 7 23 57
K1YCQ 28 106 107 22 263 Dec 2011
PSHR 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTALS
KW1U 40 40 30 0 0 20 130
W1GMF 40 40 20 0 0 20 120
KD1LE 40 40 20 5 0 10 115
N1IQI 40 40 10 10 0 10 110
N1LKJ 40 40 20 0 0 10 110
K1YCQ 40 40 0 10 0 0 90
N1TF 38 40 0 5 0 0 83
W1PLK 26 40 10 0 0 0 76
K1YCQ 40 40 0 15 0 0 95 Dec 2011
BPL EARNED 500 OR MORE QTC   N1IQI  1216 N1IQI 1682 W1GMF 1055 KW1U 530
MARCIA FORDE STM -MA