a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
John Salmi, KB1MGI, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on April 30, 2022 at 1:46 PM:I placed my 146.565 DTMF TONE 2 Activated Fox Box in Carlisle at the Towle Land off Rt 225.
Bob Evans, N1BE, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on April 29, 2022 at 6:55 PM:The [Minuteman Repeater Association] Fox Box transmits on 145.63 MHz with a 146.2 Hz PL. Transmissions repeat approx. every 165 seconds. The box has been hidden where it can be heard in the towns of Hudson and Stow MA. I plan to retrieve the Fox on Monday May 2.
MMRA uses the fox box to train for locating repeater interference. This is a longer distance hunt than ARDF. Therefore the transmitter power is higher and search area is larger. (Fox is on low power ~150mW this weekend — future hunts may use 2.3W.)
Leave a note in the “mailbox” at the left end of the box to report your success.
Email me directly if you want a hint to help locate the fox.
Happy hunting,
Bob Evans, N1BE
Per Net Manager Tim Doyle W1TCD, effective May 1 the Cape and Islands Traffic Net (CITN) will no longer meet on Mondays, but will meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM on the Falmouth repeater 147.375 Mhz PL 110.9. The new Saturday time will then allow for off-Cape hams visiting over the weekend when warmer weather arrives to participate on the net.
The New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society (NEST) will meet on-line and in-person on April 26, 2022 at 7 PM and feature Randy Olson, KD0VKB, who will present: “The Art of the QSL Card.” Barry Rector-KB1VBE from Nantucket Mass was featured in his local newspaper, the Inquirer and Mirror as an Amateur Radio Volunteer from the 2022 Boston Marathon. He shared his experiences with the newspaper and Amateur Radio was highlighted for providing communications during one of the blizzards that affected the island and was the only path to communication off island for a time when this occurred. The article can be seen here:
Norm Cantin, WA1LNG, writes on the Barnstable ARC mailing list:
We will be meeting in-person [on May 2, 2022 at 07:00 PM] at the Brewster Police Department – Community Room, 631 Harwich Road (Rt 124), Brewster, MA 02631. In addition we will provide a Zoom link to the meeting.
Henry Brown, K1WCC, posts on Facebook:Larry Krainson, W1AST, writes on the Project Big E list:
I just received word that the Big E Booth’s application for an ARISS [Amateur Radio on the International Space Station] contact has been APPROVED!
We’re working closely with New England Sci-Tech President Bob Phinney, K5TEC, and our New England Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, to make this happen.
We’re very excited as you all should be too!
There is still much to plan and put in place.
But a great way to start your Sunday!
[For more information about the Amateur Radio presence at the Big E, and to get involved, see <https://nediv.arrl.org/2021/01/10/amateur-radio-booth-proposed-for-the-big-e-in-2022/>.]The Zola Center ARC meets on April 23, 2022 at 11:00 AM. Following introductions, Tim Duffy, K3LR, of DX Engineering will speak about the history of DX Engineering and what it is today. The talk will be followed by a “virtual” pizza party, a wrap-up of Boston Marathon activities, and a repeater update.
[Contact Frank Ventura, N1FMV, at frank -at- littlebreezes -dot- com for Zoom conference details.]
“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes in K1USN Happenings:
The USS Salem Heavy Cruiser museum ship is returning to the airwaves.
Hank, KQ1V, and Ron, W1OF, wish to announce the recently formed USS Salem Radio Club, N1SLM. They have forged an agreement with the new director and have plans for the USS Salem to be quite active over the next few months. Lots of work needs to be done preparing Radio Room #5. Hank and Ron are hoping that some volunteers will come forward.
If you would like more information, please contact either Hank <hwpiel@yahoo.com> or Ron <w1of@nsradio.org> directly.
I placed the KD1D Fox in a Westford location. It is operating on 146.565 MHz with an output of 50 mW and the same 30 second message as last year, repeating every 60 seconds. I expect to retrieve the fox around noon on Monday.
It should be a relatively easy find if you start from the Norman E. Day School on East Prescott Street (near the intersection of East Prescott and Town Farm Road). If you’re not a local, be advised that East Prescott turns into North Main Street without warning a few hundred feet down the road. North Main is not anywhere near Main Street, by the way. If you choose this starting point, you will see a separate parking area for the John Gagnon Trail.
An alternate starting place is from the Blanchard School parking lot off of West Street.
A map of the area can be found at:
https://
Happy hunting and 73 de KD1D, Alan!
The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club’s April meeting is Thursday, April 21st at 7:30 PM at the Pepperell Community Center (in Pepperell). Doors will open at 7:10 PM.
We will also “simulcast” this meeting via Zoom (contact K1BG for details), giving people who live outside the local area or who have concerns about meeting in person an opportunity to participate.
This month’s guest speaker will be Mike Murphy, WU2D, who will walk us through “Shortwave Dream Receivers of the 60s.”
For many of us, ham radio was an offshoot of an earlier budding radio hobby, specifically shortwave listening in the 1960s. It was the middle of the Cold War, and the bands were full of exciting signals. Even the marine frequencies between 2 and 3 MHz were busy back then. So as a kid, you no doubt had your eye on what would be called your Dream Receiver.
The hobby magazines were full of these shortwave sets, adorned with many shiny knobs and big slide rule dials. Of course obtaining such would cost many hours of mowing lawns, delivering papers and even pumping gas. And yes – begging, trading, threatening and pestering your parents were all part of the game.
Mike will walk us though those golden years by showing off some popular shortwave dream receivers of the late 50’s through about 1972. Don’t be surprised if you see your old Hallicrafters or Lafayette, or Heathkit receiver in this presentation.
Need directions? Click here and put your own address in box “A.”
Thanks and 73. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Bruce, K1BG
978-772-2773 or bruce.blain@charter.net
PS. Thanks to the Pepperell Community Center for the use of the building, and thanks to Jim Hein, N8VIM, and his employer, Medtronics, for the use of the Zoom account.
Henry Christle, WA1VAB, writes:
Bletchley Park Zoom presentation for 4/20. Sign up at FREE: https://bletchleypark.org.uk/
Below Zoom event is opening day for revealing information, classified until recently, about Bletchley Park global wireless radio encrypted communications. I spent over 100 hours researching wireless communications during WW2, which is how I found this presentation for tomorrow, 4/20.
Bletchley was hugely successful and never bombed, which shows just how well they maintained secrecy.
The “Y” Stations were equally important. Y is short hand for “wireless” sound being the same. Some of these stations had 1,000 foot wire antennas, and large arrays.
My misunderstanding that Bletchley employed 90 was smashed two weeks ago upon learning it was near 10,000 and still secret.
Y stations fed intercepted messages to Bletchley on foot, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.
The Y Stations used HRO and Hammarlund receivers mostly. I’m looking for more sites showing Y Stations. The most interesting knowledge was the evolution of mechanical computers to digital electronic computers prior to 1945 within the walls at Bletchley in 1947 all the hardware and message were destroyed, and Enigma and Colossus machines have been built in the last 10 years. It appears that the Allies wanted the intelligence destroyed, since every wireless message in the world had been copied.
73/88,
Henry WA1VAB
George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:
The March PART meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 19, 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 speaker for the April meeting is Mindy, KM1NDY, who will give a presentation on SOTA and POTA operating. Portable operation can inspire amateur radio operators to get outside and play radio. While structured programs such as Parks-On-The-Air (POTA) and Summits-On-The-Air (SOTA) provide ready made opportunities for portable radio pursuits, the actual number of ways a ham can enjoy operating in the field is limited only by imagination. One bonus of portable radio is its ability to draw people together and promote the amateur radio hobby to the public at large. This talk will discuss gear choices, operating strategies for both individual and group events, and other factors that can help lead to a successful outdoor radio experience.
Mindy was licensed in February 2019, and holds an extra class radio license. She has activated 57 peaks for SOTA, now 21st in the W1 (New England) Association, and is an active POTA participant.
Attendees are reminded to bring donations for the Westford Food Panty. Items such as canned soups and Dinty Moore beef stew are always appreciated.
I’ve heard a rumor from a reliable source that there will be free stuff at the meeting!
73,
George K1IG
Tom Frenaye, K1KI, writes:
The New England QSO Party on May 7th and 8th is a great time to check out antenna systems and offers a moderately paced opportunity to work new states and countries. You’ll find a wide variety of participants, from newcomers to experienced contesters, all interested in making contacts with New England stations.
Our goal is to get every one of the 67 counties in New England on the air so we hope you will encourage your friends to join in the fun! Even if you can join the fun for a couple of hours, we’d appreciate it! Will you be QRV? Let us know with a message to info@neqp.orgNew England QSO Party on May 7th.
Last year we had logs from 947 stations from around the country and world.
The full rules are here -> https://neqp.org/rules/
The full 2021 results were posted last month – https://neqp.org/2021-new-
It’s just three weeks until the 2022 NEQP. Please get on and make some QSOs even if you don’t want to send in a log!
Thanks!
73 Tom/K1KI
Joe Harris, N1QD, writes on the Boston ARC list:
Ralph Swick, KD1SM, writes:
** Groton Road Race scheduled for Sunday May 15, 2022 **
The Groton Road Race (Groton MA) is back! May 15 will be the 29th running of this event. The Groton Police Department and the Race Director have again requested our Amateur Radio communication support this year.
We will be supporting the two main races in this event; the 5k and 10k. The communications support that we provide starts around 9am and we should be done shortly after 1pm.
The event committee is not requiring volunteers to be vaccinated or to wear masks. You are certainly welcome to wear a mask and/or maintain distancing if you wish.
The Groton Road Race continues to be a major event for Amateur Radio in North Central Massachusetts. Those of you who have joined us in previous years know that the runners sincerely appreciate our presence. Many say so as they run past. This event is so large that Police Departments and other public safety organizations from several communities come to assist the Groton PD. Part of our role is to provide the communications from the Groton Police to these out-of-town officers who come to help with this event.
Contributing to the public good is one of the reasons Amateur Radio exists. Our public service events are a key opportunity for us to show our colors, volunteer our skills and equipment, and demonstrate why it is in the public’s interest to continue to allocate precious RF spectrum to our the Amateur Radio Service. The Groton Road Race is a low-stress event and a great way to gain more experience with the public service aspect of amateur radio. Please consider joining us on the 15th.
If you are a new Ham or know of another Ham who is interested in helping at these events but unsure of what is expected or what equipment may be needed, please do not hesitate to introduce the to me.
The Race Committee and the Groton Police Department repeatedly praise and express their appreciation for our assistance in providing communications for this event for many years. if you are interested in joining the communication crew this year, please let me know.
Thanks and 73,
-Ralph kd1sm@arrl.net
The April, 2022 Section Newsletter is now available at https://ema.arrl.org/april-2022-section-news/.
From ARRL News: