Month: June 2024
Amateur Assistance Requested, Horribles Parade, Gloucester, July 3, 2024
Dean Burgess, KB1PGH, writes:
We are organizing the Gloucester Horribles parade communications on Wednesday July 3rd at 6 PM and we are looking for additional help with communications along the parade route. If anyone would like to help out they can contact me at dburg101@aol.com .
73,
Dean, KB1PGH
dburg101@aol.com
Massachusetts – Rhode Island STM Report for May 2024
The STM report for May is now posted at https://ema.arrl.org/massachusets-rhode-island-stm-report-for-may-2024/ . Take particular note of the Traffic Handlers picnic on Sunday, August 4 from 12:00 Noon on. Hamburgers, hot dogs, Italian sausage and baked beans provided. Bring your beverage of choice and a lawn chair if you have one. A request has been made for good weather, so come join with fellow traffic handlers and would-be traffic handlers for some food and friendly conversation. An RSVP would be most appreciated so I can plan on how much food to have on hand. Also note information about the NTS Treasure Hunt and NE HamXposition forums on NTS.
Updated ARRL Numbered Radiogram Texts
In 2023 the NTS 2.0 team updated the ARRL numbered radiogram texts. While the former text numbers were not changed a number of new texts were added. These have been coordinated with the RRI numbered texts to avoid confusion. The new list can be found at https://ema.arrl.org/arrl-numbered-texts-20230606/ .
Severe Weather & Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend Coordination Message #2, June 21-23, 2024
Hello to all…
..The following is the second in a series of messages on Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend and providing information on the weather during this period. This is a tradition spanning over 20 years for Amateur Radio Operators involved with Field Day and the NWS Boston/Norton SKYWARN Program..
..At this time, not every Field Day site will see a shower, thunderstorm or severe weather and a widespread washout is not expected. Some Field Day sites could be dry all weekend but other Field Day sites could be quite wet depending on where showers and thunderstorms develop. This will be monitored throughout the weekend..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation with Amateur Radio Call-Up Nets are likely Friday Afternoon and Evening in interior Southern New England for the severe weather and flood potential and possible Saturday through this weekend. SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor conditions throughout Field Day weekend and activate as needed to guard Amateur Radio Field Day sites to provide weather information as well as to gather reports meeting SKYWARN reporting criteria throughout this weekend..
Here are some links to information on these Amateur Radio Field Day Sites from across the region.
Amateur Radio Field Day Information: https://www.arrl.org/field-day
Amateur Radio Field Day National Locator: https://www.arrl.org/field-
Eastern Massachusetts Field Day Home Page: https://ema.arrl.org/field-
Eastern Massachusetts Field Day Directory: https://ema.arrl.org/field_
The Severe Thunderstorm potential maybe a bit more isolated, perhaps similar to Wednesday of this week. It will be dependent on the frontal position that will bring cooler air into Northeast Massachusetts and amount of shear that overlaps with greater instability in the marginal risk area. Threat timeframe is 1-8 PM. In addition to the severe weather and lightning potential, flooding from very heavy downpours will bear close watching for flooding issues in areas that get repeated downpours.
This will depend on what occurs Friday and if the front that will be over the region separating warmer and more humid air from somewhat cooler air shifts northeast or holds its current position. If it shifts northeast, much of Southern New England would have thunderstorm and severe weather potential. If it doesn’t shift much, the current area of Marginal Risk denoted by SPC will be the impacted area and this will be updated in future updates. Threat timeframe is 1-8 PM like Friday.
This could be a day where much of Southern New England has severe weather potential but will depend on prior day’s convection, cloud debris, frontal position/triggering mechanism etc. and will be better known as we get to Saturday. Wind shear profiles appear a bit stronger for Sunday. All of Southern New England has a marginal risk for severe weather per SPC. Hazard timing will be better known on Saturday.
https://www.weather.gov/erh/
https://wx1box.org/southern-
https://www.weather.gov/
With the thunderstorm threat for this weekend, now is the time to remind folks that lightning is a threat to any and all Amateur Radio Field Day sites. Remember your lightning safety tips and details on lightning safety can be seen at the following link and we have also added a link from last year’s NWS Boston/Norton Lightning Safety Awareness Week and Public Information Statements on Lightning Safety and will update with this year’s statements in a future coordination message. See links below:
https://www.weather.gov/
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)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
https://ares.ema.arrl.org
https://www.wx1box.org
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Boston Amateur Radio Club Field Day
Field Day Touring Support
Bill Ricker, N1VUX, writes:
Greetings of the season.
I have posted GPS zip, KML, CSV extracts for use by Eastern Mass Field Day tourists. (Download link https://fd.ema.arrl.org/field_
If any Leadership Tourists have specific plans, I’d be happy to post plans ahead of time (including touring elsewhere in NE Div). (As usual I’ll be visiting Scituate Fourth Cliff, not committing to any other visits.)
-73-
Bill n1vux@arrl.net
editor https://ema.arrl.org/field_
Bonus Points For NTS Traffic During Field Day
Peter Doherty, KC1HHO, writes:
As ARRL Field Day approaches please keep in mind that you or your group can earn up to 200 Bonus Points by sending NTS Radiogram traffic from your Field Day site.
Relay stations will be calling out on the local Eastern MA repeaters and simplex calling frequency throughout the event asking for traffic. You can also bring your traffic to a local traffic net, please see link below for net information.
Please review the rules 7.3.5 and 7.3.6, printed below as well as the address information for the Section Manager and Section Emergency Coordinator and links to other vital information and resources
7.3.5. Message Origination to Section Manager: 100 bonus points for origination of a formal message to the ARRL Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator by your group from its site. You should include the club name, number of participants, Field Day location, and number of ARES operators involved with your station. The message must be transmitted during the Field Day period and a copy of it must be included in your submission in either standard NTS or ICS-213 format (or have the equivalent content) or no credit will be given. The message must leave or enter the Field Day operation via amateur radio RF.
The Section Manager message is separate from the messages handled in Rule 7.3.6. and may not be claimed for bonus points under that rule. Available to all Classes.
Use the following address for the Eastern Massachusetts ARRL SECTION MANAGER
JON W MC COMBIE N1ILZ
ARRL SECTION MANAGER EMA
EASTHAM, MA 02642
Email: n1ilz@arrl.net
Use the following address for the Eastern Massachusetts ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator.
ROBERT D MACEDO KD1CY
ARRL SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR EMA
NEW BEDFORD, MA 02740
Email: rmacedo@rcn.com
For messages sent under rule 7.3.6 please ensure your “send to addresses” contain full name, address, telephone and or email including zip code. They can be sent to anyone, not just amateur radio stations.
Below you will also find links to the 2024 ARRL Field Day Rule (complete) ,a link to the NTS Radiogram form and link to EMA traffic Nets.
7.3.6. Message Handling: 10 points for each formal message originated, relayed or received and delivered during the Field Day period, up to a maximum of 100 points (ten messages). Copies of each message must be included with the Field Day report. The message to the ARRL SM or SEC under Rule 7.3.5. does not count towards the total of 10 for this bonus. Messages claimed under this bonus must be in either standard NTS or ICS-213 format (or have the equivalent content). All messages claimed for bonus points must leave or enter the Field Day operation via amateur radio RF. Available to all Classes.
Rules
Radiogram
EMA NTS page (Scroll down to NTS Nets in Massachusetts)
https://ema.arrl.org/national-traffic-system/
We are looking forward to making your field day a full amateur radio experience. Hope to hear from you. 73
Peter KC1HHO
Asst Traffic Manager EMA
Eastern MA 2 Meter Traffic Net Manager
Official Relay Station
Amateur Radio Assistance Requested, Blackburn Challenge, Gloucester Vicinity, July 13, 2024
Eric Horwitz, KA1NCF, writes on the North Shore RA mailing list:American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure charity ride, Lexington, August 18, 2024
My name is Jim Bradley, KB1JKJ, from the North Shore Radio Association. We’ve been asked to assist with the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure charity ride in Lexington, MA on Sunday, August 18th, and we need your help to make it a success!
We’re looking for ham radio operators to fill two important roles:
- SAG (Support and Gear) Drivers: Use your own vehicle to transport cyclists and their bikes if needed, and patrol the route to assist riders with any issues.
- Rest Stop Communications: Help us maintain communication with the Command Center, providing updates on rest stop status and any assistance needed.
The event details are as follows:
- Tour de Cure New England https://tour-diabetes.
donordrive.com/index.cfm? fuseaction=donorDrive.event& eventID=536 - Date: Sunday, August 18th, 2024
- Location: Starting and ending at Lexington Labs, 10 Maguire Road, Lexington, MA 02421
- Routes: There are 5 routes, ranging from 5 to 100 miles. You can find more information here: https://ridewithgps.com/
events/317558-2024-tour-de- cure-new-england
Whether you’re a seasoned public service volunteer or looking to gain experience in this area, we welcome your participation! This is a great opportunity to support a worthy cause and learn more about the public service aspect of ham radio.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please email me with your preferred role (SAG driver or rest stop communications) and sign up on the volunteer website. https://signup.com/
I’ll send out more details and assignments closer to the event date.
Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you there!
73, Jim Bradley, KB1JKJ
Vice President
North Shore Radio Association
NEAR-Fest Moving to Hillsborough County (NH) Fairgrounds
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phil Brooks, KA1PXZ, Chief of NEAR-Fest, is pleased to announce that, effective October 4th, 2024, the New England Amateur Radio Festival, known as NEAR-Fest, will be held at the Hillsborough County Agricultural Society Fairgrounds and Youth Center located at New Boston NH, approximately 15 miles west of Manchester.
The reason for the permanent change in venue is due to ongoing scheduling conflicts with other events at the Deerfield (NH) Fairgrounds, NEAR-Fest’s home for the past eighteen years.
The hard decision to move the popular New England hamfest was taken by a unanimous vote of NEAR-Fest’s Board of Directors on May 17th, 2024.
In endorsing the decision NEAR-Fest’s Benevolent Dictator Emeritus, Michael Crestohl, W1RC, aka “Mister Mike” commented: “This was inevitable. The Deerfield Fairgrounds is becoming more and more popular with exhibitors and, as a designated agricultural fairgrounds, they have to give priority to agricultural events. We had a fabulous eighteen-year run. I am confident that Phil and Kelley, along with their team, will take NEAR-Fest forward at our new location for many years to come.”
Other than the location nothing else will change. It is still the same NEAR-Fest we have all known and loved since 2007!
NEAR-Fest XXXVI will be held Friday October 4th and Saturday October 5th, 2024 at the Hillsborough County Agricultural Society Fairgrounds, located at 17 Hilldale Lane, (Route 13) New Boston NH. GPS Coordinates 42.9842430, -71.6793460.
See you there!
NEAR-Fest (The New England Amateur Radio Festival, Inc.)
PO Box 172, Barton VT 05822 (781) 639-9172
World Wide Web: www.near-fest.com E-mail: ka1pxz@near-fest.com
KD1D Fox Hiding out in LIttleton, June 15, 2024
Alan, KD1D, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on June 15, 2024:
The KD1D Fox is once again at the Prouty Woods conservation area in Littleton, MA. The official entry point to the trail is at the end of Wilderness Road, which starts just past the Police Station Parking lot. Follow the semi-paved road (Speed Limit 10 mph), keeping an eye out for the resident chickens. You can park near the barn and gate.
You probably won’t be able to hear the transmitter until you get behond utility pole # 22, so be patient and enjoy the woods and critters.
I plan to leave the Fox out until noon on Tuesday. If you can’t make it on the weekend, it should still be transmitting after work hours on Monday evening.
When you find it, please enter Callsign, Name, Date and Time in the logbook.
Best of luck! 73 DE KD1D Alan
Nashoba Valley ARC Field Day Press Release
NEWS RELEASERadio Club of America: “A Lifetime of Wireless Propagation Research”
Bruce Tinkler, N9JBT, writes on the stars-radio list:
RCA Interview Tuesday June 11, 9 p.m. ET.
A Lifetime of Wireless Propagation Research: In-Building, Underground, Tropospheric, You Name It!
Featuring Dr. Robert Johnk
Robert (Bob) Johnk (M’91 – SM’07) received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Colorado in 1990, where he specialized in electromagnetics and antennas.
Bob recently retired as research engineer from the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (NTIA/ITS) where he was engaged in advancing the state of the art in radio-channel propagation measurements/analysis and mentoring new engineers in the art of measurement science.
During the development of the FirstNet National Public Safety Radio System, Bob conducted research on in-building wireless propagation and methods for improving in-building public safety communications. Prior to joining NTIA/ITS in 2007, he worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado for 17 years, where he was the leader of the time-domain fields project.
Bob has received best paper awards from the IEEE EMC Society, NTIA, and NIST. In 2011, Bob received the IEEE EMC Society’s Technical Achievement Award for his work “in the development of free-space time-domain measurement techniques”.
Bob has also received a U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal award for his work in Public Safety communications. Bob is a Life Senior member of the IEEE and a member of both Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi.
This interview will be conducted by RCA President-Emeritus, John Facella.
Cape Cod Amateurs Assist With Communications for Dave Birtwell Walk for Alzheimer’s
Cape Ann ARA Tech-In-A-Day Review, Middleton, June 1, 2024
W1HUD Hudson High School Updates
W1HUD Update: April 2024
- The Hudson High School Facilities installed a Diamond Vertical on the roof to complement the 18 ft tall Hy-Gain 5-band vertical antenna. Collectively we now have HF/VHF/UHF coverage. – Thank you to Facilities! A special thanks to W1TF for his generosity for needed parts and N1CNG for testing.
- AARC – Kicked offed the Technician License Prep course. We have have a very excited group taking part and look forward to taking the test at the end of the year.
- Spring – Fox Hunt Equipment – Special thanks to KV1J for organizing the equipment list and Hudson Home and School Association for purchasing the materials.
- Reminder W1HUD is on the Marlborough Repeater 446.675 every Friday 9:40-10:15. We typically discuss weekly topics and jump on around 10am. – Join us!
W1HUD Update: May 2024
- AARC – Is wrapping up the very first Technician License Prep Course. We have three students looking forward to taking their test some time this Summer.
- The First W1HUD Fox Hunt – Special thanks to AARC for organizing a successful Fox Hunt. The students had a great time working with AARC and HHS Volunteers to learn about the technology and techniques needed to find a low frequency transmitter on the HHS campus.
- The club will get together will get together one last time for the 23-24 school year on Friday 6/7 – Reminder W1HUD will likely be on the Marlborough Repeater 446.675 around 10am. – Join us!
Field Day Publicity Suggestions
Bill McIninch, KA1MOM, writes:
This is from the Facebook open group for Field Day, a page read almost entirely by hams:
- What the event is all about (make it understandable for non-hams)
- Why someone might want to visit
- Where the event is (include an address)
- When the event is (use local times), especially when it’s open for public tours
- Who is involved (include point of contact info) and who is invited
- How to get more info (maybe use a QR code that takes people to a website)
Reminder: June 3rd, 2024 MEMA RACES/ACS Communications Test Net
Hello to all,
This email is the typical monthly message to let everyone know that Monday evening, June 3rd, 2024 is our first non-holiday Monday of the month and, as such, will be the next RACES/ACS/Preparedness Net night. I would like to thank the stations that checked into our nets last month as well as those stations that participated in the section emergency exercise that occurred this past weekend. This month kicks off Hurricane Season and we should all be getting on the ball to be able to assist and respond to emergency communication needs in our communities. While the peak timeframe of concern for our part of the country tends to be on the later end of the season, forecasters seem quite concerned that this season may be much more… fruitful… than recent seasons and will bear close watching all season long.
Please note that the 80m HF Voice net will be cancelled this month as there is expected to be no NCO available for the net. More information should be coming out in the near future regarding trying to bolster the NCO capabilities of this important, statewide and region wide net. The 80m NBEMS net is expected to continue as scheduled in its normal monthly fashion.
As always, I am looking for Net Control stations to staff our sector nets for the evening. This month I expect to be able to run the Sector 2A net, however, if anyone would like to act as NCO, for the 2A net please let me know! I have NCS operators for the other remaining nets.
For any operators interested in performing the duties of Net Control Station (NCS), there are materials available to make the task fairly simple and straight forward. The net pre-amble and role call lists are available at http://wc1mab.org/RACES_R2_Interim_Preamble.pdf and http://wc1mab.org/Month.php with the role-call lists on the left column near the bottom. If anyone is worried that they may mess up running a net, please remember that, in many cases, a less than perfect net is WAY better than no net at all! At the conclusion of any net, any operator that acted as Net Control Operator is asked to please send a note to WC1MAB@gmail.com letting me know who ran the net and who checked in so that the proper numbers can be reported to our served agencies. We cannot always count on our normal net control operators to be available in the event of a large scale emergency, so every RACES operator should be prepared to act as NCO if needed when disaster and emergency strikes!
Winlink Net Instructions From Don Rolph:
*Winlink Net*
To participate:
– create a check-in form using the Winlink standard checkin form
– send via Winlink after 6 AM EST Mon. June 4th and before midnight EST June 8th (any mode, but include mode in check-in form) to KF1D
I continue to ask that any operators who have the time, please try to check into sector nets from near-by sections. This will allow our Net Control Operators to practice fielding nets with a strong check-in count and will also serve to help practice with relays or modified sector assignments in the event that a single repeater is out of service.
For those operators who serve as Net Control Operators, please try to remember to send me a list of the stations and communities that check into your nets. The numbers are reported to MEMA to show them our level of participation. I am continuing to work on a graphical map based report to show which parts of our section have strong coverage and which areas may need a more targeted recruitment campaign to improve our ability to provide back-up communications in an emergency.
The Region #2 and State Net Schedule for this evening is as follows:
| Net | Frequency/Offset | Time |
| Sector 2A | 147.00 /+0.60 PL | 19:30 Local |
| Sector 2B | 145.39/-0.60 PL 67.0 | 20:00 Local |
| Sector 2C | Winlink Net Check-In | 6AM-Midnight Local Time |
| Sector 2D | 146.865/-0.60 PL 103.5 | 19:30 Local |
| 6-Meter State Net | 53.31 / -1.0 PL 71.9
Note: Net activity on this repeater has been hit and miss. Please report any activity. |
19:00 Local |
| MA RACES HF Net | 3930 KHz LSB moving up to 3955 KHz until there is a clear frequency | CANCELLED THIS MONTH |
| MA MEMA NBEMS Net | Frequency: 3584.5 MHx, Center Frequency: 1500 Hz, Initial mode: THOR22 | 19:00 Local |
I appreciate you all answering the call to help our communities remain prepared. Thank you all for helping us keep things on track and prove that we remain a consistent source of communication capability to the Commonwealth. This net provides a monthly reminder to our communities and served agencies that we stand ready with a quiet professionalism prepared to serve as a voice to whomever needs one to get help and resources to where they need to be.
If you know someone who would benefit from being on this list, please have them contact me at WC1MAB@gmail.com and I will add them to this distribution. Thank you all!
If anyone has any questions or comments I can be reached by e-mail or cell phone. Thanks for being a part of our team and I look forward to hearing back on who can participate this month.
Sincerely,
Michael Leger (N1YLQ)
MEMA Region #2 RACES Officer
C: 508_995_0203
Reminder: Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday June 3rd, 2024 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater System
Hello to all…
The June Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday June 3rd, 2024 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 for the net and we will continue the NTS practice message that we started doing in these nets in October 2023.
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
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
https://ares.ema.arrl.org
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