Month: April 2020

Clubs / Technical / Youth

KC1LOM: “History of Titanic’s Radio” at New England Sci-Tech ARS (Online), April 14, 2020

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Mark Rudd, KC1LOM
Mark Rudd, left, with Wayne Hanson, who will show an antique spark transmitter during the program. Presentation will cover Titanic’s “Marconi Radio” and related radio broadcast history.

Bob Phinney, K5TEC, writes:

 
“The STARS Radio Lecture Series is 7 pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. 
 
4/14/20: Mark A. Rudd KC1LOM: HISTORY OF TITANIC’S RADIO (and Related Broadcast Theory)
 
Guest Speaker:
Mark A. Rudd, KC1LOM,  is a retired Electrical Engineer and enjoys being a Technology Instructor for young and old students alike. Relevant to ham radio clubs, Mr. Rudd served as a radar engineer or “Lab Rad” at the USAF Rome Laboratory between 1985 to 1995.
 
After retiring as a Federal Engineer, Mr. Rudd always wanted to teach. So Mark served as a Sci&Tech Instructor at the King’s Co-Op since 2008, plus has been the Computer Tutor at the Tiverton Senior Center, both in Rhode Island.
 
To join the STARS Meeting at 7:00 pm just link your computer to https://zoom.us/j/231170127 Password: (email info@nescitech.org for password), or phone in: +1 929 205 6099, Meeting ID: 231 170 127, Password: (email info@nescitech.org for password).
Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday 4/6/20 at 830 PM ET – COVID-19 Communications Status Update Main Topic for Tonight’s Net

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Hello to all…

The April ARES net will be Monday April 6, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

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

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For tonight’s ARES Net, we will be providing information on COVID-19, what we are doing to monitor this health emergency from a communications needs perspective and what you can do as ARES volunteers or general Amateur Radio Operators during this health emergency to prepare for any communications issues during this time. A link to a document that we have created for ARES member and general Amateur Radio Operator awareness is available at the following link:
Eastern Massachusetts ARES COVID 19 Update – 4/6/20

Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at <https://ema.arrl.org/ares>. 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
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Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Operating

North American SSB Sprint, April 4, 2020

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Randy Thompson, K5ZD, writes on the YCCC reflector:

The SSB sprint is tonight (April 4 2020).  It is four hours (8-12 PM local) on 20, 40, and 80 M. The easiest way to participate is just to search and pounce to find someone calling CQ.  You’ll copy his number, name and state.

Then you give:

  • His call
  • QSO number
  • Your name
  • Your state
  • *Your call

At the end of the QSO, you may have someone call you.  The exchange is the same but you give your call as the second item rather than the last.

  • His call
  • *Your call
  • QSO number
  • Your state
  • Your call

QSY and find someone else calling CQ. Tips and tricks are here.  https://ssbsprint.com/tips-tricks/

Licensing Education & Training / Organization

ARRL VEC Update

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ARRL VEC logo/bannerFrom ARRL Web:

(04/02/2020) – We know many examiners have canceled amateur radio license exam sessions to meet the requirements and recommendations of national and local government and of health officials. The health and safety of examinees and our Volunteer Examiners (VEs) is first and foremost in any decision-making process. The ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) does not offer video-supervised online amateur radio licensing exams at the present time. We are aware, however, that some VE teams are exploring alternative formats on a local basis. Please use ARRL’s License Exam Search to find scheduled exam sessions in your area and verify with the local exam team that the session is still being held.

The ARRL VEC is continuing to process license examination materials from VEs who have completed exam sessions, although some delays may occur under the circumstances. The ARRL VEC electronically forwards all required data to the FCC for qualified examinees. [Full story]

Clubs

Yankee Clipper Contest Club Meets April 11, 2020

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Dennis Egan, W1UE, writes on the YCCC mailing list:

The April YCCC Meeting will be held via Zoom starting at 1 PM on Saturday, April 11.  This will be my first attempt at running a Zoom meeting, so please bear with me.  I will try and open the meeting room 10 minutes before the start.

In the meantime, if you have not already loaded Zoom into your computer, it would be good to do so.

The April meeting is traditionally our yearly elections; if someone is interested in any of the officer positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer, please let yourself be known.  I’m not sure exactly
how we’re going to vote if we have contested positions, but we’ll figure it out if it’s necessary.

 By Friday, 4/10, we’ll put out the information on the Meeting ID#, and another blurb on the topics of the meeting.

Clubs

W1PJE: “Innovations at the Speed of Radio: A Century+ of Amateur Radio Contributions to the Scientific and Technical Arts ­ and a Bright Future” at Algonquin ARC, April 9, 2020

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The next [Algonquin Amateur Radio Club] meeting will be held on April 9, 2020 at 7:30 PM via conference call. [Contact Mike Powell, W1KU <mdpowell@dmpowell.net> for access information], as well as information provided for connecting to FreeConferenceCall.

The presentation that evening will be “Innovations at the Speed of Radio: A Century+ of Amateur Radio Contributions to the Scientific and Technical Arts ­ and a Bright Future,” P. J. Erickson, W1PJE, MIT Haystack Observatory.

Abstract:

From the earliest discoveries of Edwin Howard Armstrong to 21st century radio science innovations, amateur radio both then and now is intimately connected to scientific and technical achievements at the highest levels, benefitting both our electronically driven life and also advancing public welfare. This presentation will begin by giving an overview of outstanding ham contributions to modern scientific discoveries and inventions. I will then describe a modern effort to forge new discoveries about the natural world through the international HamSCI initiative (https://hamsci.org), connecting professional scientists and advanced amateurs for pioneering studies of our complex upper atmosphere and near­Earth space. Finally, HamSCI is now developing a Personal Space Weather Station for networked, “big data” information at your QTH about the propagation and atmospheric environment affecting RF signals, and I will close by giving a brief overview of that project, its status, and ways the community can participate.

Operating

International Marconi Day 2020 Cancelled

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Marconi photoFrom ARRL Web:

The annual International Marconi Day (IMD) ham radio operating event that was set to take place on April 25 has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 24-hour amateur radio event celebrates the birth of Marconi on April 25, 1874. Sponsored by the Cornish Radio Amateur Club, which operates as GB4IMD, International Marconi Day features participating stations operating at sites having a personal connection to Marconi, including places where he set up transmitting and receiving stations.

Given the fact that the National Seashore is closed to the public, a “Marconi Event” on April  25 had been planned from the home of Barry, KB1TLE, along with several other home stations.   -thanks, Falmouth ARA