February 2020 Section News Now Available
The February, 2020, Section Newsletter is now available at https://ema.arrl.org/february-2020-section-news/.
Month: February 2020
Norwood ARC Honors N1UEC With W1JLI Memorial Award
Lou Harris, N1UEC, was awarded the first Louis H. Schall, W1JLI, Memorial Award at the Norwood Amateur Radio Club Dinner on February 27, 2020. The Walpole resident was “recognized for his tireless efforts on behalf of the Norwood Amateur Radio Club exemplifying the best spirit of Amateur Radio.”
Schall became a Silent Key in 2006. A longtime member of the Norwood Amateur Radio Club, W1JLI was also a founding member of the 19/79 Amateur Radio Association (K1VTE) in Malden, and a pioneer in New England Amateur Television.
Kudos to Lou Harris, N1UEC!
(via Facebook)
Maine Bicentennial Special Event Operation Pays Homage to the Original Nine Counties–and Boston, Massachusetts
The Maine Bicentennial Special Event, March 16-22, 2020, recognizes Maine’s original nine counties from when the state was chartered in 1820. There will also be three other special event stations operating from Jameson Tavern in Freeport, Portland, and Boston in recognition of their contributions to Maine’s Statehood. Boston is the “longest continuously serving capital” in the United States, and served as capital for the District of Maine until 1820.
The Maine Bicentennial Special Event committee was formed from members of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine, along with members from the PenBay ARC.
According to the Committee, “We suspect most participants will be operating from their QTH. We are asking those interested in participating in this event to discern where their QTH would have been in 1820 relative to that town, and county in 1820, and to participate in this event in that original county. The webpage will have a map as an aid for that amateur operator; e.g., if you are now in Knox County, in 1820 you were likely in Lincoln or Hancock counties and would participate as a station in that county.” The Committee has created an online spreadsheet listing as many towns as possible related to the nine original counties.
The Maine Bicentennial Special Event committee was formed from members of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine, along with members from the PenBay ARC.
According to the Committee, “We suspect most participants will be operating from their QTH. We are asking those interested in participating in this event to discern where their QTH would have been in 1820 relative to that town, and county in 1820, and to participate in this event in that original county. The webpage will have a map as an aid for that amateur operator; e.g., if you are now in Knox County, in 1820 you were likely in Lincoln or Hancock counties and would participate as a station in that county.” The Committee has created an online spreadsheet listing as many towns as possible related to the nine original counties.
Operations will take place on HF, 6, and 2 meters (no repeaters). Modes are CW, phone, and digital. This allows all Maine Amateur Radio operators to participate in some form.
“There will be Certificates available once we receive logs from the various stations that contacted the special event operators. We’ll also need logs from participating operators to corroborate what is sent in. It is recommended that your log is sent in ADIF format. We’ll need the logs ASAP after the event. More details on that will be available on the special event website.”
Please send an email to: ws1sm@yahoo.com if you are interested in operating, or if you have any questions. Be sure to title your message as: Maine 200 Special Event.
The Maine Bicentennial Special Event Stations are:
Cumberland: W1C
Hancock: W1H
Kennebec: W1K
Lincoln: W1L
Oxford: W1O
Penobscot: W1P
Somerset: W1S
Washington: W1W
York: W1Y
Jameson Tavern (Freeport): K1J
Town of Portland: K1P
City of Boston: K1B
According to the Executive Board member Tim Watson, KB1HNZ, there is still a need for individuals to operate the Boston special events station, K1B. “We have at least one ham who may be able to make it down [to Boston] for a portable operation, but it would be great to have a few more operators. The more, the better! Please help spread the word.”
ARRL Seeks a New Chief Executive Officer
From ARRL Web:
02/27/2020 – ARRL is seeking an experienced radio amateur to be Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at its headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. The CEO is the top compensated employee in ARRL’s management structure and oversees all operations in collaboration with the President and the Board of Directors, in accordance with ARRL’s Articles of Association, Bylaws, and Board policies. The successful candidate will ensure day-to-day management of ARRL, including fiscal operations and will oversee and make certain that its fund-raising, marketing, human resources, technology, advocacy, and governance strategies are effectively implemented.
Essential CEO functions include:
- Leading the headquarters staff and field volunteers, in response to Board policy, in the development and implementation of effective programs for the promotion and growth of amateur radio and the provision of services to members.
- Planning, developing, organizing, implementing, directing, and evaluating ARRL’s operational and fiscal performance.
- Providing leadership, directing headquarters staff, and maintaining performance standards in headquarters operations.
- Participating, in collaboration with officers, Directors, and staff, in developing ARRL’s plans and programs.
The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker with a record of significant amateur radio experience and a broad understanding of its operational, technical, regulatory, and social facets. The CEO will be responsible for effective financial and operational management and oversight.
CEO candidates should possess a bachelor’s degree or equivalent (master’s degree preferred), be an active radio amateur who has initiated or led a significant amateur radio activity within the past 10 years, and have 10 years of management and supervisory experience. Candidates should be able to demonstrate ability in providing effective leadership and management of business operations.
The position is located at ARRL Headquarters, and the successful candidate will be required to establish a residence in the Hartford, Connecticut, area.
The CEO Position Announcement includes details. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume via e-mail to ARRL Human Resources Assistant Monique Levesque.
Barnstable ARC Meets March 2, 2020
The Barnstable Amateur Radio Club will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, March 2, 2020 at 7:00 PM in the Dennis Police Department conference room in Dennis, MA. Entrance to the meeting area is to your right after entering through the main entrance.
It meets on the first Monday of each month unless otherwise noted.
All radio amateurs and people interested in Amateur Radio are welcome to attend. BARC members will receive a written call to meeting with more detail and a meeting agenda.
ARRL Website, Other Services to be Offline on February 28
From ARRL Web:
02/23/2020 – The ARRL website and other online services will be offline on Friday, February 28, for up to 8 hours in order to conduct necessary maintenance. The outage will begin at 0500 UTC and should end by 1300 UTC. Affected will be the main ARRL website, the ARRL Store, and the ARRL contesting-related pages, including the log submission page. Logbook of The World (LoTW), email, and all ARRL Headquarters systems will not be affected. We apologize for any inconvenience.
FEMA Online Training Materials Currently Offline
FEMA is reporting its Independent Study Exam web materials are currently unavailable. This may impact amateurs who are in the process of taking online training for ARES membership and certification.
Per https://training.fema.gov/is/crslist.aspx: “The Independent Study Exams are currently unavailable. EMI is working to determine the cause. Currently, there is not an estimated time of recovery.”
Whitman ARC Amateur Extra Class Begins February 25, 2020
The Whitman Amateur Radio Club will hold a bi-weekly Amateur Extra license classes for eight sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning on February 25, 2020. Some classes will be held at the Whitman Police Station; others will be conducted at the Whitman United Methodist Church. The course will wrap up with a volunteer exam session on March 19. Material will be based on the ARRL Amateur Extra Class License Manual.
The course is offered free of charge; however students are responsible for acquiring their own textbooks. Interested parties are asked to contact the course instructor, Ross Hochstrasser, W1EKG via email at bavarianradio@comcast.net or by phone at 781-447-9104 or visit http://www.wa1npo.org/training/training.htm for additional information.
BCRA Meeting, March 2, 2020
The Bristol County Repeater Association and Fall River Amateur Radio Club will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, March 2, 2020 from 7 to 9 PM at the Stop and Shop, 816 Grand Army Highway, Somerset, MA in the Community Room (2nd floor).
(Enter on the Fall River side near the Dunkin Donuts in the store. The stairs and elevator will be on the right. Go left on second floor.)
Plans Underway to Celebrate NCRA’s 100th Anniversary
At their February meeting, members of the Norfolk County Radio Association plan to discuss ideas for celebrating the club’s 100th anniversary in 2021. According to NCRA president Dick Bean, K1HC, two ideas suggested are: a special event station, and a commemorative QSL card. The February NCRA meeting will be hosted by Jonathan, KC1FOR, on Wednesday, February 26 at 8 PM . The meeting is for all NCRA members.
2020 Handiham Radio Camp Now Accepting Applications
Applications packages are now available for the Courage Kenny Handiham Radio Camp to be held July 21 – 28, 2020, at True Friends Camp Courage North in Lake George, Minnesota.
Enjoy a week of ham radio fun and learning. Make new friends while building an on-air community that continues after you leave Radio Camp. Get a first ham radio license or learn new operating skills. Keep abreast of the latest radio and assistive technology. Wireless internet access is available. Instructors are experienced amateur radio operators from throughout the nation and sometimes other countries as well. Trained camp staff members provide basic personal care assistance. Campers requiring more advanced personal care assistance will bring their own caregivers. And, we leave plenty of time to take a break from studying and enjoy traditional camp activities for both campers and caregivers.
For more information or to get added to the list for an application, please call Pemdy at 612-775-2291 or email her at: handiham@allina.com.
April 15, 2020: Due to COVID-19, Radio Camp 2020 has been cancelled. Refunds are being processed for all applicants.
K1BG: “ARRL Affiliated Clubs” at Billerica ARS, March 4, 2020
Andy Wallace, KA1GTT, writes on the Billerica ARS mailing list:
Please join me in welcoming back Bruce Blain, K1BG, who is the newly appointed Eastern Massachusetts Affiliated Club Coordinator for the ARRL.
Bruce has been a popular speaker at BARS and other events and is well known for his ability to deep-dive into cause and effect – witness his recent work on the history of Incentive Licensing. As Club Coordinator, it will be very interesting to hear what Bruce plans to do to strengthen the clubs that exist in EMA. We are blessed to have 35 clubs to choose from here! As you can expect, they all bring unique politics, technical focus, membership interests, meeting facilities, etc. Bruce has his work cut out for him in herding these cats.
This will be an interesting presentation and I am sure you will have questions for Bruce about the club world surrounding BARS. See you there!
—
Meetings begin promptly at 7:00 PM, first Wednesday of the month. Our meeting location in Chelmsford is at:
Chelmsford Bible Church
128 Gorham St. (Route 3A)
Chelmsford, MA 01824
Please park in back and enter by the rear door. A map can be accessed by the “Club Meetings” notice on the right side of the website.
You-Do-It Arduino Day 2020, Needham, March 21
You-Do-It Electronics is sponsoring Arduino Day 2020 on March 21, 2020 from 11 AM-4 PM at its store at 40 Franklin Street, off Route 128 Exit 19B, in Needham.
“Join us in celebrating Arduino Day a world wide birthday celebration of all things arduino. Here at “You-do-it” Electronics Center we want to bring people together to share their experiences and learn more about the open-source platform. Various exhibitors will share their knowledge and resources of arduino- what it is and what you can do. We will also have product related specials, raffles and more! If you were ever wondering what this open-platform micro controller is or network with like minded individuals, you don’t want to miss this event
“If you have an arduino project you would like to showcase or are a STEAM related organization interested in being an exhibitor at our event email events@youdoitelectronics.com to reserve a table.”
Cincinnati Youth on the Air Camp Application Deadline is March 15, 2020
UPDATE: 2020 Youth on the Air in the Americas Camp is Cancelled. The inaugural camp for radio amateurs in the Americas aged 15 through 25 has been put off until next year. It was set to take place June 21 – 26 at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester Township (North Cincinnati, Ohio). It has been rescheduled for July 2021. [full story]
Youth on the Air Camp held June 21-26, 2020 in Cincinnati is for already licensed amateur radio operators between the ages of 15 to 25. Have a license, but you don’t know what to do next? Come to YOTA camp, and we’ll teach you all kinds of cutting edge technology that can be used with amateur radio and connect you to other young hams and mentors in North, Central, and South America. Already an expert? We’re looking for young hams to take their knowledge to the next level and share their previous knowledge with other young hams.
The camp will focus on building strong relationships with peers and mentors, and developing new radio skills. The camp is being modeled closely after the popular Youngsters on the Air camps in IARU Region 1 (Europe/Africa/Middle East).
Some of the activities that are planned include workshops and hands on activities about:
- Contesting – Learn how to operate from some of the top young contesters in the country, participate in an FM contest at an amusement park, and ways to practice with local contests
- Digital VHF/UHF Modes – D-STAR: Get a D-STAR radio to use for the week, plus insight into how it works – APRS: Learn how to track stations and gather data using APRS
- Kit building – Learn from world renowned builders by making your own receiver
- Direction finding and orienteering – Learn how to track down signals
- Antenna building – Learn how to make antennas from common household items
- Satellite operations – Learn how to chase the birds with some of the best youth satellite operators
- …and more!
New England Sci-Tech: “Building Electronic Gadgets: Beginning Soldering” at Girl Scout STEM Conference Workshop, March 14, 2020
New England Sci-Tech members will participate in the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts 2020 STEM Conference Workshop on Saturday, March 14, 2020, from 9 AM to 5 PM on the campus of Framingham State College.
New England Sci-Tech will present “Building Electronic Gadgets: Beginner Soldering.” The workshop will teach girl scouts how to solder electronic parts together to make their own blinking gadget to wear and impress friends.
According to the Conference organizers, “Our dynamic workshop presenters, leaders in their STEM fields, are excited to share their knowledge with you! Workshops may include coding, toxicology, space science, wildlife conservation, biochemistry and much more. During the Expo, you’ll network with STEM professionals from local businesses and universities. It’s a fun, lively atmosphere where you’ll observe live demonstrations, participate in experiments, and collect free materials.”
Pilgrim Amateur Wireless Association Meets February 21, 2020
The Pilgrim Amateur Wireless Association will hold its next business meeting on February 21, 2020 at 7:00 PM in the Margaret Stone Conference Room, Morton Hospital, 88 Washington Street, Taunton. Raffle tickets go on sale at 6:30 PM.
We will have discussions on new events, activities, and new ideas you may have along with items for sale by club members and new radio gear you may have.
Stop by to see what we have planned for the new year. New members are always welcome. Check in for talk-ins along the way. You can find us on our club repeaters:
- 147.135 MHz – KA1GG
- 145.280.00 MHz – WG1U – Nxdn
- 145.320.00 – KC1JET – Nxdn
Have a safe week everyone, talk to you soon. Be safe in your travels.
73 de
P.A.W.A
Down Under Special Event Will Use Former Radio Australia Antennas
From ARRL Web:
Over the March 14 – 15 weekend, members of the Shepparton and District Amateur Radio Club (SADARC) in Australia will be on the air as VI3RA (Radio Australia), connecting their transceivers to the curtain array and rhombic antennas at the former Radio Australia site in Shepparton. Radio Australia ceased transmitting from the site in 2017. VI3RA will operate on 40, 30, 20, 17, and 15 meters. [Full story]
Nashoba Valley ARC “Tech Morning” Participants Engage in Interesting and Varying Discussions
Stan Pozerski, KD1LE, writes in the February, 2020 issue of The Signal:
“Tech Morning continues to meet every week at 10:15 AM, Mondays at the Pepperell Community Center.
“From week to week we engage in widely (and wildly) varying, ad hoc, discussions on topics of current interest. At times we have a major common project focus, as we had for many months with the Arduino Antenna Analyzer. Mostly though, we just ragchew on our radio interests and issues of the week.
“In a recent session we discussed a kit Peter, N1ZRG, found for building a nixie tube digital clock for those with a big time hankering to solder. It is made up of only discreet resistor-transistor and diode logic! Over 1,200 through-hole parts, with no IC’s.
“Another discussion we recently had was on propagation issues that are impacting our morning 40m CW nets. Since we are in relatively close proximity to each other (max ~17 miles), NVIS propagation is expected to be a determining factor in signal quality. As it is, George, KB1HFT, in North Chelmsford is barely heard by Peter, N1ZRG, in Pepperell, even though George is pumping 50 watts into a resonant Inverted V. George reports that on the same antenna his 1 watt 40 M WSPR signal has been heard in Antarctica by DP0GVN. Hmmm. No NVIS? We set out to investigate.”
Waltham ARA Meets February 26, 2020
The Waltham Amateur Radio Association will hold its monthly meeting at 7 PM on February 26, 2020 at the New York Life building, 201 Jones Road, Waltham, MA.
Directions: From beautiful downtown Waltham, stay on Main St. where it forks right onto Route 117. Jones Rd. is the 2nd left after the bridge over Route 128/95. New York Life is a six story office building at the end of Jones Rd. Turn right immediately before the building into the main parking lot. If nobody is at the door to let you in, knock on the conference room window to the right of the door, or call us on 449.075 MHz. (Google Map)
Talk-in is available on the Waltham 449.075 or 146.640 MHz repeaters.
New England Sci-Tech Technician License in a Weekend, March 7-8, 2020
For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults interested in wireless communications and electronics, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the Amateur Radio Technician license exam.
Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent a few days before the course.
The Technician level course runs on Saturday, 8:30 AM-5 PM and Sunday, 8:30 AM-1 PM, followed by the FCC Technician exam at 1:00, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick. [Full description]