Girl Scout STEM Festival, Waltham, May 3, 2025

Jessie Kneeland, KC1SLQ, writes:
 
Call for Volunteers! The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts is hosting a STEM Festival on Saturday May 3rd from 9 am – 1 pm at Camp Cedar Hill in Waltham MA, and local hams will be hosting an amateur radio themed event station. We are looking for more on-site volunteers to answer questions about amateur radio and help event participants format and send radiogram messages to their family members. No prior experience in traffic handling is needed, just your presence and enthusiasm. We expect more than 300 Scouts to participate and would love more volunteers to represent the hobby. Contact me (Jessie KC1SLQ at kc1slq@gmail.com ) for more information or to volunteer!

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday April 7th, 2025 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater System

Hello to all…

The April Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday April 7th, 2025 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.

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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Reminder: April 7th, 2025 MEMA RACES/ACS Communications Test Net

Mike “Sparky” Leger, N1YLQ, ARES DEC – MEMA Region 2 RACES Radio Officer writes:
 
Hello to all,
 
This email is the typical monthly message to let everyone know that Monday evening, April 7th, 2025 is our first non-holiday Monday of the month and, as such, will be the next RACES/ACS/Preparedness Net night. 

For those who participate in the WinLink net, please note that there is a different NCO noted for the WinLink net this month with messages being routed to KF1D with a copy to AB1PH. 

 
Due to family constraints, I may not be able to reliably act as NCO for Sector 2A and I will be looking for someone to fill this role. 
 
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 <mailto: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!

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 – 

NCO: KF1D with copy to AB1PH

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 18:45 Local
MA MEMA NBEMS Net Frequency:  3584.5 MHx, Center Frequency: 1500 Hz, Initial mode: THOR22 19:00 Local
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. March 7th and before midnight EST April 8th
  (any mode, but include mode in check-in form) to KF1D with a copy to AB1PH.
 
I continue to ask that any operators who have the time, please try to
check into sector nets from near-by sectors. 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.
 
I appreciate you all answering the call to help our communities remain
prepared as we close out the year for RACES/ARES operations. 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   <mailto:WC1MAB@gmail.comWC1MAB@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 

Massachusetts RACES Nets – Monday 4/7/25 for HF, Region 2D VHF, NBEMS & Winlink – Times and Details Below

Don Rolph, AB1PH, Walpole area ARES Emergency Coordinator writes:

The MEMA RACES nets are held on the first Monday of the month, unless the first Monday is a holiday, when it is delayed one week. For Apr 2025, the MEMA RACES nets will be held on Mon Apr 7 at:

********************************************************************************
80 meter Voice net
6:45 PM
Frequency: 3930 KHz working up until the first free frequency
Matt KC1PFA will be net control

*********************************************************************************
Region 2D VHF net:
7:30 PM ET VHF net on 146.865 MHz PL 103.5 (Sharon Repeater)
We will have a general call up of any RACES, ARES, or other interested stations. If there is time, we will have a simplex test.
Jeff N1JCM will be net control.

********************************************************************************
HF 80 meters NBEMS net:
7:00 PM ET
Dial Frequency: 3584.5 MHx
Center Frequency: 1500 Hz
Initial mode: THOR22

We will have checkins, followed by an ICS-213 format message using FLMSG.
Alan WA1AR will be net control

*********************************************************************************
Winlink Net:
Bryan KF1D will be net control.
Send a winlink checkin form to KF1D , copy AB1PH, between 0600 Monday Apr 7 and 2400 Monday Apr 7.

We look forward to you checking in!

73,
AB1PH
Don Rolph

Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net (EMHN) – Saturday 4/5/25 – 1000 AM ET

Jeff-N1SOM and the South Shore Hospital Group W1SSH writes:

Good Evening,

On Saturday April 5, 2025 the South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Group will hold an Eastern MA Hospital Net commencing at 10:00AM.

We realize that some locations, individuals, and groups may be subject to COVID restrictions. We encourage everyone who is affected by these restrictions to utilize their home or mobile stations to check into the net if possible. Even if you cannot reach all the systems being used, please check-in on those you can.

We will use the following repeaters in the order listed.

1. West Bridgewater repeater 146.775 dcs 244
2. Plymouth Repeater 146.685 tone 131.8
3. DMR -Talkgroup 8851 Time Slot :1 on the following NEDECN repeaters: Boston 449.175 -5.M CC:1, Hingham 146.430 -1.5M CC:1, Sagamore 145.200 – 0.6M CC:10, Dennis 146.470 -1.5M CC:11, East Falmouth 145.210 -0.600 CC:9, Martha’s Vineyard145.180 -0.600 CC:10, and Walpole 145.380 -0.600 CC:12.
4. Sharon Repeater 146.865 tone 103.5
5. Simplex 147.420

We will then return to the West Bridgewater Repeater for 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, EOC of any city or town as well as RACES or ARES members 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 trying your hand at Net Control please let us know. We can be reached by sending an email to ssharg@outlook.com or replying to this message. 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 Saturday.

73,

Jeff N1SOM and the South Shore Hospital Group W1SSH

Algonquin ARC Winlink Node On The Air

AARC logoFrom Algonquin ARC QRZ Newsletter, April 2025:

The project to deploy a Winlink node at our Marlborough repeater site was completed this past month. George, N1ABC, led the project that was sponsored jointly by the Algonquin Amateur Radio Club and the Marlborough Emergency Management Agency. The Winlink system provides message forwarding communications via radio worldwide. It is an integral part of our amateur radio traffic system that supports our regional Emergency Management services. This new node provides coverage to the western Middlesex county and eastern Worcester county areas.

The node is located at our N1EM/R repeater location on the Sligo Hill water tower.
Frequency: 145.090 MHz
Call: N1ABC­10

The AARC provided the funding for the Motorola radio, modem and internet hardware. Marlborough Emergency Management provided the antenna, feedline and their installation. Thanks to the Minuteman Repeater Association for providing the internet access. Also thanks to Stu, W1SHS, for his help understanding the software, Roger, WA1NVC, for the help with the radio programming, and Ron, N1CNG, for help with the equipment installation.

73, Eric KV1J
Marlborough Emergency Management