Month: April 2021

Clubs / Operating / Public Information

Nantucket ARA Members Show Their Appreciation to Sconset Trust for Use of Sankaty Head Lighthouse

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment
The Nantucket Amateur Radio Association membership recently voted to make a donation to the Sconset Trust in a show of appreciation for allowing the use of the Sankaty Head Lighthouse for last year’s International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. [See: International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend on Track for 2020.]
 
In a March 29, 2021 letter, ‘Sconset Trust’s Executive Director, Elizabeth Grubbs, wrote to NARA Treasurer Greg Cokorinos, K1UH, on behalf of the ‘Sconset Board of Trustees, “Thank you for your 2021 membership contribution … we were pleased to collaborate with NARA for the 2020 International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend last August. Apart from our enjoyment of this collaboration, this may have been the most activity Sankaty Head Lighthouse saw last year!”
 
The ‘Sconset Trust has worked since 1984 to preserve historic buildings and lands in the Village of Siasconset.
 
Clubs

N1QD: “DMR Basics” at Boston ARC Meeting Online, April 15, 2021

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Boston ARC logoFrom the Boston ARC website:

The speaker at the April 15 [Boston Amateur Radio Club] general meeting will be Joe Harris, N1QD. Joe will give a presentation on DMR basics, with a focus on how to get set up on the club’s UHF repeater! The meeting will be on the Zoom platform at 7:30 PM EDT.

[For Zoom meeting information, email Doc Kinne, KE1ML at ke1ml -at- arrl -dot- net.]  

Clubs

Barnstable ARC Compiling “Elmer” List

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Barnstable ARC logoThe Barnstable Amateur Radio Club is compiling a list of volunteer “Elmers” to help new amateurs, according to BARC president Norm Cantin, WA1NLG.

“New hams have a number of needs and questions ranging from: what equipment to start with, selecting antenna(s), what bands to operate, operating best practices to a whole host of other topics,” writes Cantin.  “I know we were all new hams at one point and really benefited from our Elmers.  I’m sure each one of us can contribute in some way.”

WA1NLG says that BARC is also putting together a “New Ham Kit” of which the Elmer list will be a part. This effort is being led by board member Rob Leiden, K1UI.

The Barnstable ARC is currently one of four Special Service Clubs in the Eastern Massachusetts section.

Clubs

KM1NDY: “Practical Portable Radio Operation” at Sci-Tech ARS, April 6, 2021

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Mindy Hull, KM1NDYThe Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society will feature a presentation by Mindy Hull, KM1NDY, on “Practical Portable Radio Operation” on April 6, 2021 at 7 PM. 

With the availability of lightweight lithium batteries, portable operations is an increasingly mainstream and accessible pursuit of the amateur radio hobbyist. The excitement of radio field operations no longer needs to be relegated to official Field Days, with structured “On-the-Air” programs such as the Summits-on-the-Air (SOTA) and Parks-on-the-Air (POTA) providing endless and timeless remote communication opportunities. Portable radio is also where the outdoorist meets the amateur operator, requiring a complementary but different skill set from its participants than that acquired in the home station. While amateur radio is often (rightly) showcased for its highly technical foundation, portable operation brings in the interest and skills of hikers, backpackers, campers, survivalists, and preppers. This talk will discuss gear choices (both radio and outdoor), strategies for various types of portable operation, and activities that promote field communications. The goal is to give you the info you need to go do this yourself.

For Zoom conference information, email Bob Phinney, K5TEC, at bobphinney -at- nescitech -dot- org or call 508-720-4179.

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday April 5th, 2021 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater Network

- by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The April Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday April 5th, 2021 at 830 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 this month’s ARES Net, we will have comments regarding upcoming ARES training, virtual SKYWARN training and an exercise coincident with a National Red Cross exercise on Saturday May 8th, 2021.

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

Clubs

W1LEM, WA3SWJ: “Winlink” at Barnstable ARC Meeting Online, April 5, 2021

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment
Barnstable ARC logoNorm Cantin, WA1NLG, writes on the Barnstable ARC list:
 
This month our guest speaker is  Lem, W1LEM.  Lem and Bruce, WA3SWJ, will provide an introduction and live demo of WinLink.
 
 The meeting agenda is attached.  Please note: I plan to kick the meeting off and ask each participant for a brief intro (Name, Call and Current Location).  To help facilitate this and not cause too much cross talk, please mute your audio.  I will call out your call and ask you for your intro.  While muted, press and hold down the “space” bar on your computer to unmute (ie PTT).  Note, unfortunately this feature may not work on a tablet.
 
[Please contact Norm Cantin, WA1NLG, at norman dot cantin at gmail dot com for meeting details.]
 
 
Emergency Communications

MARS / Amateur Interoperability Nets Starting The Week of April 7, 2021

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To: All New England Amateur Radio Operators

Starting this week, on April 7 and for the first week of every month going forward, US Army Auxiliary Radio System members will conduct nets on 60 meters channel 1 (5.3305 MHz) with the goal of exercising the mission of MARS to Amateur interoperation.

These Nets will start at 8pm local time on April 7, for one hour and will repeat on Friday April 9 and be run by MARS Stations in Region One. On April 8 and 10 at 8pm ET the nets will be run by MARS stations in Region 2 and 4, but also encourage Amateur Radio check ins.

In addition, on Thursday April 8, Friday April 9 and Saturday April 10, nets will be conducted at noon ET, with NCS in New England.

All amateur stations with 60 meter capability and the time are asked to check in and participate in these nets. The goal of these nets is to train MARS stations with Amateur Radio stations on 60 meter channels. Initially, these nets will just involve check ins, but over time, we will practice ICS-213 messages on these nets in both voice and digital methods. The nets will last 1 hour.

 

Net Time Wednesday April 7 Thursday April 8 Friday April 9 Saturday April 10
Noon local No Net MARS /Amateur Interop Net MARS /Amateur Interop Net MARS /Amateur Interop Net
8pm Local MARS /Amateur Interop Net NCS Region 2 MARS /Amateur Interop Net NCS Region 2

 

These Nets will repeat in the first week of each month.

If you have questions, please let me know.

Tom Kinahan

U.S. Army Military Auxiliary Radio System
Region One Director
tom.kinahan@verizon.net
 

via nediv.arrl.org

Clubs

NV9L: “Contesting” at Algonquin ARC, April 8, 2021

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Mike Powell, W1KU, writes in the April, 2021 issue of Algonquin ARC’s newsletter, QRZ:

The next [Algonquin Amateur Radio Club] meeting will be held on April 8, 2021 at  7:30 PM online via Zoom. Information on joining this virtual meeting will be sent out in advance via email.

Our guest speaker will be Val Hotzfeld, NV9L, discussing contesting. [Hotzfeld is co-host on the show Ham Nation which can be seen live every Wednesday night in Twit.tv or anytime on YouTube.]

For Zoom conference information, email Mike Powell, W1KU, at <president@n1em.org>.