Month: March 2022

Operating

KA1ULN 10-Meter Beacon QRV

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Niece Haynes, KA1ULN, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:

Happy PI day.

My  10m  beacon is  up and  running.   28.2235 MHz. If you can   copy/spot it  please  let me know.

This is a  two-year  project  I have been trying  to get together and it is  finally working.

10w  28.2235     Cushcraft  AR10  vertical    15wpm  KA1ULN/B

33/73,

Niece

NTS

Time Change for Daytime First Region Net

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Betsey K1EIC, net manager of FRN (First Region Net daytime) has announced that with the time change to Daylight Savings Time, the net will meet daily on 3950 kHz at 1445 and 1630 local time.  The reason for this change is to accommodate the Eastern Area Net which will be meeting at 1515 local on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and at 1530 on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  The time change for EAN is allow for better propagation on 40 meters when more participants can hear one another to pass traffic.

Operating

The Great Hill Gang “Still Going Strong”

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Established in June, 2020, the Great Hill Gang meets monthly at the summit of Great Hill in North Weymouth for a “Day of Radio.” It was started by a handful of local amateurs who were active on the Quincy 146.670 repeater. They decided to meet for coffee at the summit of Great Hill, which overlooks the Boston Harbor Islands. The group continued to meet once a month–even during the COVID pandemic. They adhered to official Massachusetts guidelines; they kept proper social distancing, wore masks, and maintained records of all participants.

“The group has grown over time,” says Mike Antoine, K1UVH.  “We started to set up tables, chairs and canopies, and offered a fellowship to other amateurs and guests.”
 
The “gang” celebrated its first anniversary at Field Day in 2021 by holding a cookout.  
 
An important goal of the group has been to provide assistance and mentor others on topics like: antennas, portable power, the use multimeters, antenna analyzers, SWR/ power meters, and just sharing ideas. Mike is proud of the fact that the group has welcomed not only brand new Technician licensees, but also “Amateur Extra class hams who haven’t been on the air in years.”  
 
The group’s QTH–the summit of Great Hill–affords an excellent view of Boston Harbor, and north as far as Cape Ann and beyond.  “We’ve made contacts all over the world, as well as just down the street–and on all bands,” K1UVH says.
 
Mike is known by many as the group’s official greeter and “welcome wagon” to ham radio.
 
“What a privilege it’s been.  I could not have pulled this off without the help of a close core group,” says Mike. He gives credit to: Mike, NA1XX; Steve, K1SEH; Scott, N1KMX; and Joe, WB1EMS. 
 
The Great Hill Gang will hold its next gathering on Saturday, March 19.
 
 
Clubs

W1IS, KC1DSQ: “20-Meter Phased Dipole Beam” at PART of Westford Hybrid Meeting, March 15, 2022

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

The March [PART of Westford] meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, beginning at 7:30 PM at the Cameron Senior Center, 20 Pleasant Street, Westford, MA, and via Webex video conference.  For those attending via video conference, a meeting link is below; just click on the green button to join in.  You can join the conference any time after 7:00 PM to check out your gear or just rag chew until the meeting starts. Bear in mind that internet connectivity from the senior center may be unreliable.

Our speakers for the March meeting are the two Bobs: W1IS and KC1DSQ, who will give a presentation on their design for a 20-meter phased dipole beam. This antenna is described in the March 2022 issue of QST (you have voted for the cover plaque award, right?).  This is the first in-person meeting we’ve had in almost a year, so bring the items in your junk box that you want to give away.

Current mask guidance from the Westford Board of Health is: “A fully vaccinated individual should wear a mask indoors if you have a weakened immune system, or if you are at increased risk for severe disease because of your age or an underlying medical condition, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease or is unvaccinated.”

See you Tuesday!

Operating / Youth

Boy Scouts Klondike Derby Ham Radio Demo, Milton, March 12, 2022

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UPDATE:
 

Thank you to everyone who expressed interest in participating in this weekend’s radio demo at the Milton Klondike Derby. Because of the forecast, I’ve pulled the plug (word choice intended) on the demo. It’s supposed to rain all day, which 1) won’t be fun for the operators, and 2) means that there will be a lot of cold, wet Scouts who will likely be more interested in getting warm and dry than in engaging with us.

I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for other opportunities to hold similar demo events for Scouts in the future.

73,
Tom KC1OCY

 
Tom Ulrich, KC1OCY, writes:
 

The Scouts BSA Great Blue Hill district has expressed interest in having a few hams on hand to provide a demonstration of amateur radio during their Klondike Derby event at New England Base Camp in Milton on March 12, 2022.

We will be operating under the special event callsign W1BSA. (Thank you to Pi K1RV for use of the callsign.)

The base camp is in the Blue Hills State Reserve (K-8402); as such this event could count as a POTA activation.

If you’re interested in participating, please fill out this sign up sheet, including whether you’d like to attend and operate in person or monitor the airwaves for calls from the event. Details are still being worked out with the derby organizers, including the number of operators that they’d like to have attend; please don’t be offended if in the end we have more hams interested than can be hosted.

If you have questions, send them my way.

73,
Tom, KC1OCY
===
Thomas R.M. Ulrich
thomas.rm.ulrich@gmail.com
+1 (617) 571-8650
KC1OCY / WRCU734
Licensing Education & Training / Youth

Amateur Extra “Continuous” License Classes Online, March-November, 2022 at New England Sci-Tech in Natick

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From nescitech.org:New England Sci Tech logo

ONLINE COURSE – ADVANCED LEVEL – AE LICENSE

This ONLINE ham radio license course will get you ready to take the Ham Radio AMATEUR EXTRA license exam, the THIRD of three certification levels. Geared toward adults, as well as junior high, high school, and home-school students. Yes, we give online ham radio exams, too! (See below)

This is a FULL course taught by a 40-yr veteran teacher, not a discussion group or video service. You will learn much more than just watching a video or buying a book. You get a full 24 hours of instruction over eight 3-hour classes. Take the course from anywhere – it’s ONLINE!

Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Recommended text: ARRL Extra Class License Manual, 12th edition, for exams through June 30, 2024, (purchase on ARRL website). Regular practice and study is necessary to get the best results from this course.

NOTE: You MUST have a thorough understanding of the Technician and General level material before taking this course.  If you are already a licensed General but have been away from radio for a while, you may request to audit (at half price) one of our Tech and General courses to catch up.

Amateur radio (or “ham radio”) is used by people all over the world to communicate over radio waves. Some people use ham radio for emergency preparedness, to provide communications support for community events, to report on severe weather and natural disasters, as a social activity, and even occasionally to contact crew members on the International Space Station!

2022 ONLINE HAM RADIO COURSE FOR AMATEUR EXTRA LICENSE

Class Rotation: Classes are taught almost every Sunday evening and repeat every 8 weeks.

Because the order of topics is less important at the Extra level, you may jump into the sequence at certain start points* and take 8 classes to cover all 10 of the question pool topics.

*Starting Sun Mar 13, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Continuing Sun Mar 20, 7-10pm Eastern – class 2
Continuing Sun Mar 27, 7-10pm Eastern – class 3
*Starting Sun Apr 3, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 4,5,6,7,8,1,2,3
Continuing Sun Apr 10, 7-10pm Eastern – classes 5
*Starting Sun Apr 17, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 6,7,8,1,2,3,4,5
Continuing Sun Apr 24, 7-10pm Eastern – classes 7
Continuing Sun May 1, 7-10pm Eastern – classes 8

*Starting Sun May 15, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Continuing Sun May 22, 7-10pm Eastern – class 2
Continuing Sun May 29, 7-10pm Eastern – class 3
*Starting Sun June 5, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 4,5,6,7,8,1,2,3
Continuing Sun June 12, 7-10pm Eastern – classes 5
*Starting Sun June 19, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 6,7,8,1,2,3,4,5
Continuing Sun June 26, 7-10pm Eastern – classes 7
Continuing Sun July 3, 7-10pm Eastern – classes 8

*Starting Sun July 24, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Continuing Sun July 31, 7-10pm Eastern – class 2
Continuing Sun Aug 7, 7-10pm Eastern – class 3
*Starting Sun Aug 14, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 4,5,6,7,8,1,2,3
Continuing Sun Aug 21, 7-10pm Eastern – class 5
*Starting Sun Aug 28, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 6,7,8,1,2,3,4,5
Continuing Sun Sep 4, 7-10pm Eastern – class 7
Continuing Sun Sep 11, 7-10pm Eastern – class 8

*Starting Sun Oct 2, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Continuing Sun Oct 9, 7-10pm Eastern – class 2
Continuing Sun Oct 16, 7-10pm Eastern – class 3
*Starting Sun Oct 23, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 4,5,6,7,8,1,2,3
Continuing Sun Oct 30, 7-10pm Eastern – class 5
*Starting Sun Nov 6, 7-10pm Eastern – 8 classes 6,7,8,1,2,3,4,5
Continuing Sun Nov 13, 7-10pm Eastern – class 7
Continuing Sun Nov 20, 7-10pm Eastern – class 8

etc.

Included with course: You will get downloadable lecture study guides and charts, FREE access to our weekly Online Radio Shop Talk sessions, FREE enrollment in any of our Morse Code classes, and a guest pass to the Sci-Tech Radio Rooms and online radio club meetings for 3 months.

Family Free: Additional members of the same family may join this course at no extra charge, if sharing one computer and zoom screen.

System Requirements: Computer or Chromebook capable of running ZOOM Meeting, either by Zoom app or through a web browser, a web camera/mic, and a printer.

Zoom Link: Approximately 2 days before the session begins you will receive an email with instructions to access the course details, documents, and Zoom link. If you don’t see the email, check your spam filter. If you still don’t see it, call or email us.

Please be aware of our Cancellation and Refund Policies. For questions, e-mail info@nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179.

LICENSE EXAMS

YES, our exam team is authorized to give ONLINE exams, so you can schedule your FCC AMATEUR EXTRA exam within a few days of finishing the course. Note that we must collect the standard $15 exam fee for the ARRL VEC separately. (Fee is $15 across the country.)

We administer ham radio exams both online and in-person, having proctored nearly 2,000 exams over the past decade. We’ve taught amateur radio classes for over 15 years with tremendous success. Hundreds of people have taken our classes with 99% having passed the exam to become licensed operators. We offer classes for all three levels of ham radio licenses: Technician, General, Amateur Extra, as well as Morse Code.

[To register: <https://nescitech.org/shop/online-license-course-extra/>]
Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday March 7th, 2022 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater System

- by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The March Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday March 7th, 2022 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:
https://mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_linking.html (Click the ARES box to see the repeaters and other systems linked)

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. We will have several announcements on upcoming events and also update the strong wind and possible severe weather potential for tonight in our area.

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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net (EMHN) – Saturday 3/5/22 at 1000 AM

- by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

John O’Neill-K1JRO writes:

Good evening,

Tomorrow South Shore Health Amateur Radio Group will hold an Eastern MA Hospital Net commencing at 10AM. We realize that the regular locations for some groups are still unavailable due to ongoing COVID restrictions.

We encourage those effected to use their home stations to check into the net.

We will use the following repeaters and systems in the order listed.

1. W.Bridgewater Repeater 146.775 dcs 244
2. DMR – EMHN Talkgroup 8851 Time Slot 1 on select NEDECN repeaters:
NEDECN – Boston, Hingham, Bourne, Dennis, and Martha’s Vineyard repeaters
(The MV repeater is currently down).
3. Attleboro Repeater 147.195 tone 127.3
4. Dartmouth Repeater 147.000 tone 67.0
5. Falmouth Repeater 147.375 tone 110.9
6. Simplex Test on 147.420
7. Return to W. Bridgewater Repeater for Comments and Net Closing.

NET Protocol: Please wait for Net Control to ask for Check-ins. When asked to check in please use the standard net check-in procedure which is: Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your or your facilities call sign, your first name, and your facility’s name.

We extend an invitation to any health care facility or EOC of any city or town that is served by one of the participating hospitals to join the Net. We also extend an invitation to any RACES or ARES member to check in during the NET.

We are always looking for groups or organizations to try their hand at Net Control duties. If you are interested in joining the group please let us know. We can be reached by sending an email to ssharg@outlook.com. The goal is to rotate Net Control practice and the experience among as many individuals and groups as possible.

We thank the repeater trustees for their generosity in allowing us to conduct these monthly nets and the use of their systems in an actual event.

We hope to hear you tomorrow.

John O’ and the SSH group
K1JRO – W1SSH

Public Service

Amateurs Sought for YuKanRun Fool’s Dual 5K, Half-Marathon Race, Gloucester, April 3, 2022

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Christopher Winczewski, K1TAT, writes on the CAARA list:

It’s that time of the year again.

Public Service 2022 is starting with the Sunday, April 3rd 9:00 am YuKanRun Fool’s Dual 5K Race Start 10:00 am Half Marathon O’Maley Middle School, 32 Cherry Street, Gloucester, MA.

CAARA Has A Great Public Service Team. Come Out And Have Some Fun With Us Why?

You are using amateur radio to provide a needed public service to ensure the safety and smooth running of a public event in local communities.

If you are unable to be there for the whole race, any amount of time you can give would be helpful. If you don’t have a radio, we have loaner radio’s available with a mag mount that will work in your car by just plugging it into the cigarette lighter socket. We have loaner hand held radios as well!

Sunday April 5th 9:00 am YuKanRun Fool’s Dual 5K Race. Start 10:00 am. Half Marathon, O’Maley Middle School, 32 Cherry Street, Gloucester, MA.

Please let me know if you can staff a communications check-point for the event so I can plan staffing positions.

Please let us know what type of equipment you plan to use ( Mobile; HT; ¼-Wave Mag-Mount; Rubber-Duck; etc.) so we have a better idea of where to locate you along the event course per the potential of your equipment.

The course will be open and supported By CAARA. For Four hours Runner safety is everyone’s top priority. Local EMT crews and ambulances will be available for three hours to help.

Thank you in advance for your participation!

YKR FOOL’s DUAL, O’MALEY MIDDLE SCHOOL, GLOUCESTER

Event Type: 5K & 1/2 -MARATHON

Start/Finish Location: 32 Cherry Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

Event Start: Sunday April 3rd , 2022, 5K Start: 09:00, ½M Start: 10:00

Event End of Support: 13:00 (4 Hrs.)

CAARA Coordinator: board@caara.net

Event Admin: Rich Morrell, rmorrell@yukanrun.com, (978) 879-9007

ES & EMS Support: Gloucester/Rockport EMS

Event Safety: Phil Whitley, pwhitley78@gmail.com (978) 578-3649

COURSE DETAILS: 5K-Loop around Riverdale Area, 1/2-Washington St, into Rockport and return.

Awards

SourceForge Open Source Excellence Awarded to “Andy’s Ham Radio Linux” Collection

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Open Source Excellence iconAndy Stewart, KB1OIQ, recently received an award from the SourceForge website for his work on the “Andy’s Ham Radio Linux” software collection. Andy has created and maintained the collection for the past ten years. In that time, it has been downloaded 100,000 times.

SourceForge recognized the project for:

* Community Leader
* Community Choice
* Open Source Excellence
* SourceForge Favorite

PART of Westford President George Allison, K1IG, wrote, “Congratulations on the award from SourceForge! I know that your software collection has significantly influenced the adoption and use of Linux by ham radio operators worldwide.”

“This was quite unexpected,” said KB1OIQ. “I am very pleased that the project has been so well accepted by our ham radio community.  Both the Linux and ham radio communities have a tradition of helping others, and I have benefited greatly from their combined patience and tutelage.  This is my way of saying ‘thank you’ to those communities.”