Month: October 2022

Emergency Communications

PL Changes on the Beverly 147.390 Repeater

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Terry Stader, KA8SCP, writes on the mass-races-ares-skywarn-general list:

Repeater OUT 147.390 with a PL of 127.3 Hz
Repeater IN 147.990 with a PL of 162.2 Hz

You WILL NEED to make this change to add PL 162.2 to your transmit frequency to use the repeater.

Please let all your friends know of the addition of the PLs and current situation.

This repeater is used as the MEMA Region 1 Sector 1F RACES repeater.

Terry

Terry M. Stader – KA8SCP
MEMA Region 1 RACES/Communications Officer
ARRL EMA DEC – Region 1 RACES
PART of Westford-WB1GOF, Senior Club Advisor, WB1GOF Repeaters Proprietor
NESMC EMA Director

Foxhunting / Operating

Bristol County Repeater Association Fox Hunt, Dartmouth, November 5, 2022

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Where:
5 mile radius from The intersection of US Route 6 and Reed Road, Dartmouth, MA (823 State Road (41.6384678, -71.0361075)
Organizer: Skip Denault, kb1cnb@bcra.club, 774-644-3469

* Time: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm — check-in starts at 9:45 am on the BCRA repeater, 145.150 MHz PL 123

* Fox1 will activate at 10:00 am on 146.565 MHz FM
* Fox2 will activate at 10:02:30 on 146.430 MHz FM

$10 Dunkies Card to the first team to reach each fox!

Communications with “Fox Control” can all be done over the BCRA repeater, including checking in when you have found the fox. You may also speak with us in the control vehicle using physical distancing if you wish.

There will be TWO foxes – one manned by KB1CNB, Skip, and one by N1KJS, Kevin. When you find one of the foxes, you can get a hint to help you find the second (if you want!).

Check-ins will begin at 9:45 am on the BCRA repeater, 145.150 MHz PL 123. Chat and help on the repeater also.

The Fox1 will activate at 10:00 am on 146.565 MHz FM, and Fox2 at 10:02:30 on 146.430 MHz FM with a 5-watt signal, and both will transmit 1 minute of tone followed by Morse Code ID and 4 minutes of silence. As the hunt progresses we may increase the transmission times – that will be announced on the BCRA repeater. The hunt will last until 2:00 pm or until all checked-in participants have found the transmitters, whichever comes first.

The Fox1 (in Skip’s vehicle, a blue/grey Jeep Commander marked BCRA) will be in a public place and be manned at all times. When you have found the fox, your time and order of arrival will be recorded, and a personalized certificate will be emailed to each participant.

The Fox2 (in Kevin’s vehicle, a blue Toyota Tacoma marked BCRA) will be in a public place and be manned at all times. When you have found the fox, your time and order of arrival will be recorded.

Participants are encouraged to work in teams and are asked to drive carefully and observe all applicable guidelines, both from the FCC and the state & local governments. Since participants are receiving only (except for radio check-ins), an amateur radio license is not required.

Email questions to Skip at kb1cnb@bcra.club or text to 774-644-3469. After the hunt, your comments, impressions, and suggestions will be welcome!

Join us and have some good amateur radio fun!

Foxhunting / Operating

AC1JR First Fox Hunt

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Mike Cormier, K1MJC, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list at 4:41 PM on October 29, 2022:

Congratulations to Jeff AC1JR for his inaugural fox hunt (mobile; he was parked in a secret location) with his homemade fox.

In true ham fashion, he designed and built from scratch this fox, and I’ll let him go further into the further details of it, but I found it to be an impressive feat; some thing that would make my brain hurt pretty bad for sure!

I got wind of the fox being activated on my way home from completing the hunt for the KD1D fox in Littleton, and so I had begun to guess at some possible locations based on knowledge of my hometown and where he may possibly be, suffice it to say…. I was wrong! Lol

After checking out a few locations where I thought he may be, I kept getting indications in one particular area which I spent the majority of my time looking.

After dropping my daughter off, I continue to hunt and was able to find him within five minutes after; I actually had wanted to check the backside of a location that would require me to drive the long way around and, in the process of doing so, I got full quieting without an antenna on a handheld… a ways before I was to reach the destination I was heading for, and so sometimes the old-school methods work the best!

As it turns out, only two of the five or six bearings that I had taken with my app “FoxHunt Pro“ were accurate and actually pinpointed him where they crossed; that’s the problem, sometimes you don’t know which bearings are the accurate ones!

I’ve been working on a fox that I could use for mobile hunts like this, and so I’m inspired to finish it now, and join in the fun!

Public Service

Volunteers Sought for YuKanRun Ocean View 5k and Half Marathon, Ipswich, November 6, 2022

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Fred Beaulieu, WA1ESU, writes on the Cape Ann ARA mailing list:

We are looking for operators to staff the YuKanRun Ocean View 5k and Half Marathon. Sunday, November 6, 2022 Please be on Location at your Check Point by 8:00 a.m. Starts At 8:30 a.m. Ipswich High School 134 High Street Ipswich, MA 01938.

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

We will Be using the Topsfield Repeater N1HYS 147.2850 +0.6 PL 100.0 FM Please program your Radio in Advance of this event.

Please let us know what type of equipment you plan to use (ie: mobile; HT; ¼-Wave mag-mount; OEM 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!

Fred WA1ESU

Clubs / Public Service

Olin Collegiate ARC Members Active at the Head of the Charles

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Olin Satellite + Spectrum Technology & Policy Group writes on LinkedIn:

Thanks to Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) grant, more than thirty students have obtained their amateur license at Olin, and we anticipate that number will grow to more than fifty by the end of this year. Here are a few of them volunteering this past weekend at Head of the Charles! GO Team!

Special shoutouts to Zachary Sherman, Regan Mah, Bob Phinney and Phillip Post for their dedication to the Olin Collegiate Amateur Radio Club (OCARC) and licensing efforts. None of this would be possible without them.

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[Show slideshow]
Clubs

Sci-Tech ARS, Wellesley ARS Members Take a Field Trip to Chatham Marconi Maritime Center, October 22, 2022

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

On October 22, 2022, members of the New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society and the Wellesley Amateur Radio Society went on a field trip to the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center (CMMC). 

According to its website, the “CMMC is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002. The Center occupies two buildings on the 11.3-acre, ten-building campus which comprised the former Marconi-RCA Wireless Receiving Station, once the busiest ship-to-shore station in the United States and a significant military installation during World War II.”

STARS, WARS Field Trip to Chatham Marconi Maritime Center

Clubs

KC1LNQ: “Overview of FT8” at New England Sci-Tech Hybrid Meeting, October 25, 2022

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

New England Sci Tech logoThe New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society (NEST) will meet on-line and in-person on October 25, 2022 at 7 PM and feature: “Overview of FT8” by Yuri Botnar, KC1LNQ. 

Description: This presentation will provide an overview of FT8 with a focus on Yuri’s experience setting it up on a Windows computer with two radios, the IC7300 and the µBITX.  FT8 can be an extremely effective mode for operating for individuals in housing situations with limited options for antennas, such as condominiums, as is the case for Yuri. FT8 is one of eleven different protocols of modes offered by WSJT-X V2.5.  WSJT-X is a popular computer program designed to facilitate basic amateur radio communication using very weak signals. The first four letters in the program name stand for “Weak Signal communication by K1JT,” Joseph H Taylor, Jr. while the suffix “-X” indicates that WSJT-X started as an extended branch of an earlier program, WSJT, first released in 2001. Bill Somerville, G4WJS, Steve Franke, K9AN, and Nico Palermo, IV3NWV, have been major contributors to development of WSJT-X.

Bio: Yuri became interested in radio at age 13 in the city of Orgeev, Moldova.  His interests were in building/repairing receivers and transmitters rather than in QSOs. Yuri graduated with a Master’s in Radio Communication in Odessa, Ukraine. He started his career as an electrical engineer at a power distribution company in Chisinau and worked his way up to senior positions there.  Since 1994 Yuri has worked as an Electrical Design Engineer for a company in Beverly, MA designing power supplies for numerous industrial/scientific applications.  Yuri was granted a patent for developing a “Precision Voltage Regulator for Capacitor-Charging Power Supply.”

Public Service

New England Sci-Tech ARS Members to Participate in Santa Net

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

New England Sci Tech logoRusty Moore, K1FVK, writes on the stars-radio list:

We’re one month away from Thanksgiving, and a month and a day from the start of The 3916 Nets’ annual Santa Net, which year begins Friday evening, November 25th. The net will run every night through December 24th at 8:15 pm EST on 3916 kHz with pre-net check-ins opening at 8:00 both on the air and online at www.CQSanta.com. NESciTech currently has two nights in December slated for net operation: Thursday the 22nd, and Friday the 23rd. Families will register through the NESciTech website and arrive on their scheduled night between 6:45 and 7:00. If there’s enough family interest (and volunteer commitment) I don’t see why we couldn’t add more nights to the schedule.

We’ll need a few volunteers to pull this off:

  • an operator (one per night), General class or higher
  • a back-up operator (one per night) in case the primary can’t make it in
  • a greeter to welcome families in and guide them into the radio room where they’ll meet the operator and get put on the pre-net list
  • helpers to assist parents in keeping their kids entertained down the hall while waiting for their turn on the air

Families that are unable to bring their children to NEST can listen to the Santa Net via live-streaming on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnNhXbexBDlvlnlz9jQkIvA/live or through a Utah-based SDR receiver on WebSDR at http://websdr1.sdrutah.org:8901/index1a.html?tune=3916lsb. There are archived off-air recordings from last year’s sessions on the YouTube channel for anyone curious to hear what the Santa Net sounds like. The Santa Net is also a great opportunity for hams to dip their toes into net operations with a very approachable group (The 3916 Nets bill themselves as “the friendliest nets in all of ham radio”).

Here’s a link to the Santa Net’s “about” page: https://www.cqsanta.com/about. On the home page you’ll find videos of children talking with Santa on-air.

Please let Bob or me know if you’re interested in participating.

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Simulated Emergency Test (SET) – Saturday 11/12/22 – 1000 AM-1200 PM EDT

- by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

Eastern Massachusetts ARES will be doing its Simulated Emergency Test (SET) for Saturday 11/12/22 at 1000 AM-1200 PM coincident with the national Winlink exercise. Our scenario will be customized from the ETO National Winlink exercise and the details including an exercise document will be released between 11/1/22-11/5/22 or earlier if time allows. Some of the items we will be looking to do are as follows:

  • Using Winlink to send a field situation report on HF/VHF to gather reports of damage and damage to infrastructure including items such as NOAA Weather Radio based on the exercise scenario. Details will be released in the exercise document by early November.
  • Voice Activities: When checking into nets, list all NOAA Weather radio stations you can hear. Give Call-Signs and frequencies of the stations heard and your location. List the signal strength of the WX Station and whether you were using indoor or outdoor antennas to monitor – can be done tactically or by NTS – this will be in addition to any other simplex testing that is done as part of the nets
  • HF Nets 75m/60m – normally used HF exercise frequencies (Frequencies to be published in early November)
  • Echolink 9123 node and MMRA RPTR System – use as normally used in exercises
  • Localized 2m repeaters – local call up nets ARES/RACES (Frequencies to be published in early November)
  • Simplex nets – simplex call-up nets or have stations do simplex to simplex on a frequency they choose and come back to the main net  (optional simplex activities)
  • NBEMS activity – Optional
  • NTS Operations – Pass an NTS message by voice and have it sent by digital to KD1CY (or local ARES designee, local NTS person or KW1U-Marcia – Section Traffic Manager)
  • The WC1MA 53.31 PL 71.9 Hz 6-meter Mount Wachusett Repeater is now back up and running and if we have the coverage, we will look at having a 6m component as part of this exercise both on that repeater and via simplex.

Again, we will have the exercise document and further information on the SET exercise released between 11/1/22-11/5/22 or earlier if time allows. We hope many Eastern Massachusetts ARES members can participate in our SET.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
https://ares.ema.arrl.org
https://www.wx1box.org

Foxhunting / Operating

The KD1D Fox Returns, Westford, October 21, 2022

- by k9hi - 1 Comment

Alan Hicks, KD1D, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on October 21, 2022 at 1:09 PM:

The KD1D Fox is on the loose again.  As usual, it transmits on 146.565 MHz FM for about 25 seconds and repeats every 60 seconds.

As of noon on Friday, October 21, the FOX can be found somewhere in the Grassy Pond conservation in Westford.  Parking can be found on the west side of Plain Road between Almeria Circle and Villanova Drive (both of which are on the east side of Plain Road).  Come on out – there are still some fall colors to be seen and ,if you’re so inclined, you can try some of the exercise stations along the trail.

The KD1D FOX will be on the air until about noontime on Monday, 10/24. 

There’s a pleasant farm stand nearby where you can get coffee and other delights to fuel your adventure,

More information is available at
https://westfordconservationtrust.org/tws_holding/grassy-pond-life-course-and-trail/

73 and good hunting from KD1D

Public Service

Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC Halloween Parade, Norton, Call for Volunteers, October 30, 2022

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC logoJust a final note for those who have signed up and for those who want to jump in at the last minute.

The Norton Halloween Parade will start staging at 10:30 AM this coming Sunday Oct 30th on Route 123 at the Attleboro/Norton Line. [Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC] volunteers can park in the Oasis Night Club parking lot against the fence on the east side of the rear lot off Pleasant St. Norton. Not Old Colony Rd (Route 123) We have made position assignments but always have room for more.

Tnx 73,

Ray K2TGX

Clubs / Operating / Youth

New England Sci-Tech ARS (W1STR) QRV for School Club Roundup

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

New England Sci Tech logoW1STR will be open and operating School Club Roundup on Thursday [October 20, 2022] from 7 pm to 9 pm and Friday [October 21, 2022] 6 pm to 8 pm, all are welcome to come and operate.  New hams, youth, and anyone interested in ham radio will be able to operate this event on HF.

Bands:

All amateur bands except 60, 30, 17 and 12 meters are permitted.

Repeaters are not to be used. Only recognized simplex frequencies may be used. U. S. A. examples include 144.90-145.00; 146.49, .55, 58; and 147.42, .45, .48, .51, .54 and .57 MHz. The national calling frequency, 146.52 MHz, may not be used. Similar restrictions apply in other countries.

Suggested HF Frequencies:

Phone (MHz): 1.855-1.865; 3.850-3.880; 7.225-7.255; 14.250-14.280; 21.300-21.330; 28.440-28.460
CW (MHz): 1.800-1.810; 3.530-3.540; 7.030-7.040; 14.030-14,.040; 21.130-21.140; 28.130-28.140

More details at: https://www.arrl.org/school-club-roundup

Youth

JOTA at Camp Sayer a Success!

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Rusty Moore, K1FVK, writes on the stars-radio list:

The Blue Hill Observatory Wireless Society hosted a successful Jamboree On The Air event at Camp Sayer in the Blue Hills Reservation on Saturday. Club President Steve Hillson, Tom Ulrich, Rusty Moore, Joe Fitzgerald, and John, Bree, Rhys and Tate Aldridge were all present to help. Also present were various law enforcement and security agencies (including MEMA) for a Scouting Explorer career day event.

We had full run of the covered pavilion overlooking the parking lot, and operated three stations: Steve and Rusty on SSB phone, and Tate running FT8. Tom handed out information packets and delivered a terrific introduction to the radio hobby to every group of Scouts as they arrived at the pavilion.

One of the most popular activities among the Scouts was our Morse code set-up consisting of a straight key with practice oscillator, and two wire-connected keys separated by 20 feet so that two Scouts could send code back and forth. John Aldridge and Joe Fitzgerald assisted with their code. The kids loved it.

Rusty kept tabs on the International Space Station and used a handheld Yagi to track the Station on three consecutive passes. Tate guided the antenna on the third pass.

The most memorable contact of the day was made between a young girl named Emily, who was visiting with her family, and PE1OAD/MM aboard a Dutch cargo ship out in the Atlantic! 

photo of K1MKD monitoring radio traffic from ISS
Tate K1MKD monitoring radio traffic from the ISS. Photo courtesy Rusty Moore, K1FVK

 

Young man getting response from a CQ
Rhys, Tate’s brother, getting a response to his CQ from a station in Newbern, NC. Photo courtesy Rusty Moore, K1FVK
Operating / Youth

JOTA Activity in Westford

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

JOTA-JOTI logoAndy Stewart, KB1OIQ, is hosting Scouts for Jamboree On The Air on October 15 at his Westford QTH.

“If you are available, please listen on the 955 WB1GOF repeater from noon until 3 p.m. on Saturday.  I will have Scouts making calls around that time.  Also, if you are able to join us on an HF frequency, we can negotiate that on 955,” Andy writes.

Organization

New England Division Town Hall Meeting, October 19, 2022

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

ARRL logoPhil Temples K9HI, our Assistant Directors, and I will hold our next New England Division Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, October 19th, at 7 p.m. ET. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide you with an ARRL update, get your thoughts on what we should be focusing on, and answer any questions you might have about the ARRL and what we are doing on behalf of ARRL members here in New England.

We plan to spend a good deal of our time together answering your questions. If you’d like to send us a question in advance, you can do so via an email to ab1oc@arrl.org, or you can just plan to ask your questions during the Town Hall Meeting.

We will hold our Town Hall Meeting via a Zoom Webinar. You can get your personal link to join the Town Hall Meeting via the following link (paste the link in your browser to register) –

https://bmailer.link/t/c/19a72def-6111-41b9-9f1f-1468ef847d0c/3a78cbaf-3abf-41fa-9c97-1c6ab3785620

We hope to see you on October 19th!

——————————————————————–
ARRL New England Division
Director: Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
ab1oc@arrl.org
——————————————————————–

Clubs

N1NS: “A Little Bit About Forest Fires” at North Shore RA Hybrid Meeting, October 17, 2022

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment
North Shore Radio Association logoThe North Shore Radio Association will meet at the Peabody Municipal Light Plant auditorium, 201 Warren St Extension, in Peabody and online on October 17, 2022 at 7:00 PM.  We are going to try and do both on Zoom in person. This also allows us to have a speaker over Zoom.
 
This month: Barbara Dougan, N1NS, will be giving a talk on “A Little Bit About Forest Fires.” This presentation is a glimpse of the vast knowledge, skills, equipment and technology involved in wild land fire management. She gave this talk at HamXposition.   
 
[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.]
 
Clubs

W2APF: “DXing from the Other Side of the Pile-up” at the Nashoba Valley ARC Meeting, Pepperell, October 20, 2022

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Nashoba Valley ARC logoThe next general meeting [of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club] will be held on October 20, 2022, in person at the Pepperell Community Center, 2 Hollis Street, Pepperell, MA 01463. No Zoom simulcast is scheduled.

The guest speaker will be Thaire Bryant, W2APF. The title of presentation will be “DXing from the Other Side of the Pile-up”. You are cordially invited.