Month: August 2021

Clubs

KB1OIQ: “GridTracker” at PART of Westford Meeting Online, August 17, 2021

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PART of Westford logoGeorge Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:

The August PART meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, beginning at 7:30 PM via Webex video conference.  […]  You can join the conference any time after 7:00 PM to check out your gear or just rag chew until the meeting starts. We will NOT be meeting in person at the Senior Center until further notice.

This should be an interesting meeting. After the usual club business, the two Bobs (W1IS and KC1DSQ) will receive the QST Cover Plaque Award for their article in June QST. Presenting the award will be New England Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, and Eastern MA Section Manager Tom Walsh, K1TW. After the award presentation, Andy, KB1OIQ, will give a presentation on GridTracker, an adjunct program for WSJT-X that maps current and historical contact info, keeps track of operating awards, weather, solar conditions, and a lot more.

See you Tuesday!

[To request conference login information, contact George Allison, K1IG, at k1ig -at- arrl -dot- net]
Emergency Communications

Following Earthquake in Haiti, Radio Amateurs Asked to Keep Frequencies Clear

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From ARRL Web:

08/14/2021 – In a statement received by ARRL on August 14, 2021, Region 2 of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU-R2) has requested that radio amateurs in the Americas keep the following frequencies clear to support emergency communications in Haiti following an earthquake this morning: 3750 kHz, 7150 kHz and 14330 kHz. The statement came from IARU-R2 Emergency Coordinator (EMCOR) Carlos Alberto Santamaría González, CO2JC.

According to preliminary information from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on August 14, 2021 at 1229 UTC, about 12 kilometers northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud and 33 kilometers to the east-northeast of Les Cayes, Haiti; 18.352 degrees north and 73.4801 degrees west at a depth of 10 km.

Mr. Jean-Robert Gaillard, HH2JR, President of the Radio Club of Haiti, reported significant structural damage.

International news reports fear high casualties.

Clubs

W1IS, KC1DSQ Guest Columnists in August 2021 CQ Magazine

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George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:

PART member Bob, W1IS, along with Bob, KC1DSQ, are guest columnists in the August 2021 issue of CQ magazine, with an article titled “My Antenna Has Gain!” PART members will recall that they presented this topic at the January 2021 club meeting, and a video is available on the WB1GOF.org website.

The two Bobs will also be making a presentation on “Multiband Wire Antennas Using Capacitive Loading for Lower SWR” at the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo this Sunday, August 15, at noon Eastern time, followed by a live Q&A.
—

George  K1IG
PART President
WB1GOF.org

Clubs

WQ1O: “Go Kits” at North Shore RA Meeting Online, August 16 2021

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North Shore Radio Association logoEric Horwitz, KA1NCF, writes:
 
The August 16, 2021 North Shore Radio Association meeting will feature ARRL Eastern MA District Emergency Coordinator Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O, presenting on “Go-Kits”
 
Note: NEXT MONTH we are in person at last.
 
PUBLIC SERVICE IS BACK.  Check the website to sign up.  www.nsradio.org
 
[Zoom conference information will be sent via the NSRA groups.io mailing list.  Contact Eric, KA1NCF, at ka1ncf -at- nsradio -dot- org to be added to the groups.io list.]
 
Flea markets & Conventions

HamXposition 2021 – Online Ticketing Available

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Northeast HamXposition logo

Come join us at our new venue–the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Friday, September 10 through Sunday, September 12

Flea Market:  Friday 12-5, Saturday 9-5, Sunday 9-1
Exhibition Hall: Saturday 9-5, Sunday 9-1
Forums & Seminars: See our schedule
 
Online ticketing for Northeast HamXposition 2021 is available Wednesday, August 11.  You can order General Admission, Flea Spaces, and tickets for the Friday and Saturday dinner events. 

http://hamxposition.org/tickets

* Tech in a Day * VE Exams * W1A Special Event * W1B Special Event * Nashua Area Radio Club’s Ham Bootcamp * NEQRP Symposium * New England ARES Academy *

FRIDAY and SATURDAY night movie:  “Contact” at 9 PM

All convention attendees are eligible to win at our grand prize drawing on Sunday.

Grand prize: Yaesu FTDX-10
First prize: RFinder B1
Second prize: Icom IC-7300
Third prize: Yaesu FTM-300
 

FRIDAY DXCC Dinner

KO8SCAJoin your fellow hams for a delicious DXCC/Contest dinner on the first night of the convention!   Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA, will recap his recent DXPedition and IARU Contest activities/activations from the Market Reef, Aland and Brando Islands.

Adrian is a keen DXer with DXCC 317, 9BDXCC, IOTA and a passionate contester who competed in WRTC 2018 in Wittenberg, Germany. 

All dinner attendees are eligible to win a Yaesu FTM-300 door prize.

 

 

 

Dr. Philip J. Erickson, W1PJESATURDAY GRAND Banquet

Enjoy dinner as our guest speaker, Dr. Philip J. Erickson, W1PJE, discusses his group’s latest HamSCI’s latest ionospheric science investigations Haystack Observatory, a radio observatory operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a member of ARRL, RSGB, and TAPR, vice president of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club.

All dinner attendees are eligible to win a Yaesu FTM-300 door prize.

All

ARRL Honors NCRA on 100th Anniversary

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The Norfolk County Radio Association (W1AGR) was founded in 1921, and has been continuously active since then. It is an ARRL-affiliated club. At the suggestion of New England Division Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, at this week’s ARRL Board of Directors meeting Director Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, will present a motion to recognize NCRA’s 100th anniversary.

Congratulations to NCRA!

Public Information

Cape Cod ARES District Exercise Receives PR from Barnstable County Government Web Site Article

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Frank O’Laughlin-WQ1O writes:

Our Cape Cod ARES district exercise “Operation Big Blow” made the Barnstable County web site news page. Thanks to Chip Reilly who is the Barnstable County Emergency preparedness and sheltering lead for being at our exercise. Article link below:

https://www.barnstablecounty.org/2021/08/10/local-volunteer-ham-operators-integral-part-of-regions-emergency-response-complete-summer-field-exercise/

 

Licensing Education & Training

Whitman ARC Technician Class Online, Starting September 2, 2021

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photo of multiple choice examThe Whitman Amateur Radio club will conduct a Technician class via Zoom beginning on September 2, 2021 on Tuesdays and Thursdays for approximately four weeks.

Please email Ross, W1EKG,  at bavarianradio@comcast.net or warc.training@gmail.com or call 781-447-9104 to be put on the email list for the Zoom class.

You should have the ARRL technician class license manual for home studying. The class will also use www.hamstudy.org.

Flea markets & Conventions

2021 Northeast HamXposition Program Schedule Posted

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Screenshot of HamXposition forum schedule pageFrom nediv.arrl.org:

The program schedule of forums and presentations for the 2021 Northeast HamXposition (a.k.a. “ARRL New England Division Convention”) has been posted online at: <https://hamxposition.org/forums-and-classes/forum-schedule>.

Some 68 events and talks are scheduled for the three-day event which takes place at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts on September 10-12, 2021.

For more information, visit: <https://hamxposition.org>.

Emergency Communications

Cape Cod & Islands ARES Summer Field Exercise Results, August 7, 2021

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Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O, writes on Facebook:
 
Cape Cod and Islands ARES district held its summer field exercise on Saturday August 7th. We had field sites in Falmouth, Sandwich, Brewster and Chatham with additional participation from home station in other parts of MA. We were on VHF, UHF, 6m, HF (60 and 75m) and digital Winlink/NBEMS. A MESHnet test was also performed. Our thanks to all of our net control stations on VHF/HF and Digital. It was good to have our SEC Rob Macedo, KD1CY, doing the 75m net. It sure was a hot and humid one today. Thanks to Sandwich EMA (Brian and Heather Gallant with Bill LaPine) for coming. Thanks to Barnstable County Emergency lead Chip Reilly for also coming down to see us. Special thanks to all of the operators who participated. Pics are from Sandwich. Other site pics will be posted soon.
 
 
Public Information

“Peabody Historical Society Scores a Ham Run”

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K1III QSL cardFrom Southgate Amateur Radio Society News:

The Daily Item reports on a collect of QSL cards going back to the late 1950’s that was donated to the Peabody Historical Society in Massachusetts.

The newspaper says:

Ham radio operation might seem like a blast from the past but, according to the Peabody Historical Society, the pastime is actually still quite popular.

In fact, according to the Historical Society’s Associate Curator, Nora Bigelow, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided people with a perfect opportunity to kindle — or rekindle — their fascinations with it.

To get started with this hobby, one simply has to be a non-professional radio operator. Still, these radio enthusiasts still need to pass an FCC test to become licensed. After that, they are assigned a call sign — in other words, a group of identifying letters and numbers that serves as an address for the radio station’s transmission signal.

Operators also need to have a radio, transmitter and receiver in order to get started. If you were to balk at the price tag of such an endeavor, never fear — some beginners even start by building their own equipment.

The Peabody Historical Society recently received a donation from the estate of longtime resident Michael Schulze, which included a collection of call-sign cards from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Of the peculiar properties of the ham radio, Bigelow noted that it’s interesting that people from bygone eras were able to communicate with both locals and those from farther afield depending on the range of their radios.

“So it’s sort of like Facebook,” she said. “I mean it’s a connection between two people.”

Bigelow said that while people usually conjure up images of the American Revolution when they imagine our country’s history, the call-sign cards offer a more intimate look into Peabody’s own past. She added that by studying ham radio use, we can begin to understand more of how people choose to communicate.

Read the full story at:
<https://www.itemlive.com/2021/08/02/peabody-historical-society-scores-a-ham-run/>.

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Cape Cod ARES District Exercise “Operation Big Blow” – Saturday 8/7/21 – 1000 AM-1200 PM

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Hello to all…

Cape Cod ARES will conduct a district exercise “Operation Big Blow” as an advanced level exercise. Given the significant push for Amateur Radio volunteers for the 2021 Boston Marathon, several ARES District Emergency Coordinators who are either out of area or dealing with significant professional/personal workload and the high level of SKYWARN Activations during the month of July, formal section participation from the exercise has been dropped but anyone wishing to participate from outside of the Cape Cod district is more than welcome to do so and can reach the Cape Cod ARES district via 2m simplex, HF and digital modes such as Winlink and NBEMS.  This is the exercise plan: Cape Cod ARES District “Operation Big Blow” Exercise.

In mid-November, we will plan another section wide exercise. This will allow for large events such as support for Northeast HamXposition and the Boston Marathon to complete as well as support for Amateur Radio hurricane nets for the upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season which is expected to ramp up and become more active as we head into mid-August. Amateur Radio Operators in the Eastern Massachusetts section should think about and prepare for what they would do if a landfalling hurricane were to strike Southern New England. The last direct landfalling hurricane to affect Southern New England was Hurricane Bob in August 1991, 30 years ago. The last major hurricane strike (Cat-3 or higher) to affect the region was Hurricane Carol in 1954. Now is a great time to prepare for the “what if” of a landfalling hurricane by preparing your station and augmenting its capabilities participating in SKYWARN Net Activations for localized severe weather events and participating in public service events where available. If a hurricane landfall does not occur this season, you will be more prepared for a major incident, weather related or otherwise, that could require Amateur Radio and ARES support.

Thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES and SKYWARN!

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
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Clubs

AB1OC: “Programs Helping Hams and Young People to Develop New Skills and Get on The Air” at K1USN Radio Club Meeting Online, August 24, 2021

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“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes in K1USN Happenings, August 5, 2021:

We have lined up a presentation for our next K1USN Zoom session on Tuesday, August 24th @ 7:30 PM.

Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, from the N1FD Nashua Area Radio Society, will do a presentation entitled “Programs Helping Hams and Young People to Develop New Skills and Get on The Air”.

Please spread the word about this upcoming presentation!

I should also mention that the Nashua ARS will be offering online classes for Technician, General and Extra licenses and will offer online exam sessions for all attendees! Take a look here for further details – https://www.n1fd.org/amateur-radio-license-class-registration/

Visit Nashua ARS Website: https://www.n1fd.org and their blog: https://stationproject.blog.

Licensing Education & Training

KJ8U: Intro to DMR and Digital Voice, ARRL Learning Network, September 9, 2021

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ARRL Learning Network logo“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes in K1USN Happenings, August 5, 2021:

Visit the ARRL Learning Network (a members-only benefit) to register, check on upcoming webinars, and to view previously recorded sessions.

Introduction to DMR and Digital Voice — Tim Deagan, KJ8U / Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 3:30 PM EDT (1930 UTC)

An introductory overview of digital voice (DV) technologies for ham radio. This presentation will focus on DMR with notes on System Fusion, D-STAR, and more. Included will be a description of DV architecture and components, and the interesting opportunities and challenges that DV presents.

ARRL members may register for upcoming presentations and view previously recorded Learning Network webinars. ARRL-affiliated radio clubs may also use the recordings as presentations for club meetings, mentoring new and current hams, and discussing amateur radio topics.

The ARRL Learning Network schedule is subject to change.

Public Service

2021 Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Volunteer Registration, Final Extension

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Amateur Radio volunteer registration has been extended for a final time and closes on Friday August 6th, 2021 at 500 PM EDT for the 125th anniversary of the Boston Marathon. Registration information is below:

On behalf of the BAA Amateur Radio Communications Committee, we hope everyone has stayed safe and healthy through the COVID-19 pandemic. After last year’s race was moved to a virtual only event, we are now approaching the 125th live running of the Boston Marathon.

Volunteer registration has been open for the Marathon since Wednesday June 16, 2021 at 10:00 AM and the Amateur Radio volunteer registration deadline has been extended one final time to Friday August 6th, 2021 at 500 PM EDT.  The race itself is taking place on Monday, October 11, 2021.

For Returning Volunteers:
The BAA sends out an email which provides you with a direct link once registration is open. This email will also include your loyalty number, which is required for sign up. New for this year is that returning volunteers will need to setup an account via the BAA Athlete’s Village.

For New Volunteers:
If you haven’t previously volunteered, or have a friend who would like to volunteer, please go directly to the Volunteer Registration page and follow the instructions for new volunteers which will include setup of an account via the BAA Athlete’s Village.

Volunteer registration link can be seen at the following link:
https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/volunteer/volunteer-registration

Don’t delay! Volunteer registration has been extended for a final time and closes on Friday August 6th, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. Help us get the word out by forwarding this message to your club and other amateur radio operators who wish to volunteer. Most volunteers first learn about the event through word of mouth. If you know new licensees who might like to join us, please make sure to let them know about it. Even just a quick mention at your club meeting can be a big help.

We understand that with the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing and the continued fluid situation on how it will affect the 2021 Boston Marathon, you may have questions about requirements and what COVID mitigations will be required for volunteers. If you have any questions regarding COVID mitigations, about the upcoming volunteer registration period, or the 2021 Marathon generally, please get in touch anytime. Volunteering at the Marathon is a big job and we appreciate the time and effort everyone puts into it. We’re happy to do what we can to make your work fun, comfortable, and effective. With respect to COVID-19 mitigations, we will do our best to answer questions but appreciate everyone’s patience, flexibility, and understanding that mitigation efforts and plans remain very fluid and could change based on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic as we get closer to the fall.

We look forward to seeing everyone again soon.

Thank you, and 73,
Boston Marathon Communications Committee
contact@hamradioboston.org

 

Public Service

Volunteers Sought for Cape Cod MS Challenge September 10-12, 2021

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MS Challenge Walk logoNorm Cantin, WA1NLG, writes:

The Cape Cod MS Challenge walk is looking for Amateur radio operator volunteers.  The event is September 10-12, 2021   This event is unique in that we welcome day volunteers or entire weekend volunteers (we call this group our “Crew”). Information about the event is in the link below.

https://mssociety.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=521

 Matoaka Kipp is the the Volunteer Engagement Specialist at the National MS Society who coordinates the Amateur radio operators.

 If available, please register using the link above.  Thanks in advance.

73, Norm