Author: k9hi

A new Amateur Radio Club has been established at the South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. A driving force behind the club’s formation was employee John O’Neill, KB1QEM. O’Neill helped the hospital specify what equipment to purchase and include in a hospital “Go Kit”, funded from a homeland security grant. The grant was secured thanks to the efforts of Joan Cooper-Zack, R.N., KB1UBZ, who serves as the hospital’s Emergency Preparedness Manager. ARES District Emergency Coordinator Carl Aveni, N1FY also assisted in educating the group about the various services available through Amateur Radio and ARES.

Employees, volunteers, and friends of the hospital met for the first meeting of the South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club (W1SSH) on December 11, 2010. Eighteen people were present. Photo ID badges were issued, and a presentation was given by Jim Tovet, W1JT on packet radio. Tovet demonstrated how amateurs at the hospital could send and receive text messages with other packet terminals and PBBSes outside of the area. Tovel also demonstrated Winlink. A test message goint to one of the hospital officials was received in the form of an email that originated as an amateur radio packet message.

A January meeting is planned that will feature a talk about the National Traffic System and NTS radiograms as a part of an ongoing training program. Already, an area-wide simplex test was conducted to test radio coverage. Interestingly, the test revealed de-sensitization problems caused by the hospital’s paging transmitter.

The formation of the club, and implementation of the training program at South Shore Hospital has been such a success that KB1UBZ and KB1QEM have been approached by other local health care institutions who are also interested in developing similar programs.

KB1QEM says there are several parts of the country where hams have joined their resources together to form radio networks for area hospitals. “It would be a tremendous asset for area institutions to be able to communicate with each other on a predefined network of simplex frequencies and repeaters. I have my sites set for the creation of a system along those lines as we and other hospitals in the area get our groups established.”

Also attributing to the success of the club’s formation was an Amateur Radio Technician Class sponsored by both the South Shore Hospital and the Whitman Amateur Radio Club. Sessions were held on two Saturdays, using classroom facilities at South Shore Hospital. The class resulted in six hospital employees receiving their licenses, which brought the total of licensed employees to eight. Additionally, several orientation sessions were held to educate area ham volunteers with the South Shore Hospital volunteer program, policies, and culture.

Radio equipment purchased includes a Yaesu FT-8800 VHF/UHF transceiver, a Yaesu FT-450 AT HF transceiver, a Kantronics KAM XL TNC, a 35-amp Samlex power supply, and a Yaesu FT-60R handheld. The items are housed in a case with a removable platform, ready to be used as a base station. A dual-band 2-Meter/70 cm antenna and HF antenna for base station use was also purchased. The antennas have been installed on the hospital roof, and coax lines routed inside the hospital.

Photo: Jim Tovet, W1JT giving a packet radio presentation at SSHARC’s first meeting on December 11, 2010

–Thanks, Bruce Hayden, NI1X

“The non-profit Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR) is now accepting applications for 48 scholarships for the academic year 2011-2012 to assist radio amateurs pursuing higher education. FAR fully funds two of scholarships and administers 46 others without cost on behalf of various club and individual donors. Amateur Radio licensees pursuing a full-time course of study beyond high school and accepted by or enrolled in an accredited university, college or technical school are eligible to apply. Scholarship grants range from $500 to $5000, and preference in some cases goes to applicants living in particular geographical areas or pursuing certain studies. Non-US residents are eligible to apply for some of the scholarships.”

Meeting notes from the January 15, 2011 New England Division Cabinet Meeting in Springfield, Massachusetts have been posted on-line for your reading pleasure. The bi-annual Cabinet meetings are held approximately one week before regular ARRL Board of Director meetings to allow Section Managers, Assistant Directors, Advisory Committee members and Affiliated Club Presidents the opportunity to voice their opinions and provide feedback to the Director and Vice Director.

The Framingham Amateur Radio Association announces its License In A Weekend on March 19-20, 2011 in the Danforth Museum, Lexington Street, in Framingham, MA. The $42 fee includes lunch on Saturday and Sunday, a textbook and the FCC exam fee.

The class schedule is as follows:

– Saturday 9 am to 5 pm

– Sunday 9 am to 4 pm

– FCC Technician license exam on Sunday 2 pm

To reserve a seat, contact Ed Weiss (W1NXC) at 508-881-2301 or email W1NXC@arrl.net. Pre-registration is required, and applications must be received no later than Feb. 21, 2011. (NOTE: there are limited FREE openings for Boy and Girl Scouts.)

Youths on Cape Cod are being given the opportunity to become modern-day “explorers” of Amateur Radio and communications–in a non-traditional Scouting environment.

According to Post 73‘s Committee Chair Tam Garran, K1TAG, “If you aren’t familiar with today’s Explorer program, it is a part of the Learning for Life program, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America. There are no ranks or badges to be earned or uniform to wear, and it’s open for both boys and girls from 14 to 20 years of age.” Garran says the Post has been operational now for about a year. All of its members hold Technician class licenses. The Post is sponsored by the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club.

The Post, which meets at the police station in South Dennis, is governed by “lead advisors and advisors” as well as a “Post Committee.” Garran adds, “To date we have three very faithful members and one waiting to hit his 14th birthday and who regularly attends as a guest.”

According to Garran, there is keen interest in the members working to upgrade to General Class. Many of their bi-monthly meetings focus on General class instruction.

“We have just voted to participate in what we call Joint Venture Training. JVT is where we invite other Hams to join with our Post for training. We have the backing and support of the local Scout Council who administer the Learning for life program and hope to start classes in the next few weeks,” remarks Garran.

The safety of the youths is closely adhered to. Says K1TAG, “Because of the Youth Protection Program, we have to make sure that our youths are never in a one-on-one situation with non-Explorer folks, youth or adult, and for that matter we have to always have not less than two leaders with one member or two members with one adult. Since we have nine active adults, most of which belong to the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club, this is not a problem.”

Several of the Post 73 youths are also members of the sponsoring Barnstable ARC and active in BARC’s events. In fact, says, Garran, “One of the boys won the BARC fox gunt that we had back in October, 2010. And all of them were an active part of Field Day this past June.” Garran goes on to explain that the Post 73 crew were “key operators during the 2010 Jamboree on the Air event” held this past fall, as well as a Cape Cod Council Camporee in May, 2010. That event featured an impressive demonstration of Amateur Radio sponsored by the Barnstable club.

K1TAG and the other committee members and advisors are actively seeking youth participation at several different levels. “I think the biggest hurtle we have to overcome is the mentality of, ‘I can talk anywhere you can talk to on my cell phone.’ At each meeting,” he explains, “we try to have a program which presents different topics and interactive activities to prove that mentality isn’t quite correct.”

Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association members, along with Gloucester Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members staffed the Gloucester Emergency Operations Center Dec. 26-27 during the recent blizzard that struck New England over the holidays.

According to CAARA president Stan Stone, W4HIX, “This was the first time that EOC has been activated, so there was a lot to do in getting set up. The CERT members went to work on a work/sleep schedule, scrounged furniture and supplies from around the Fuller School, made coffee, and generally got the facility operational.”

The operation had to overcome several obstacles along the way. “The EOC suffered a power failure and the generator worked for a couple of hours until it failed. The Internet service was routed through the school system, so it had many restrictions, and ultimately failed because the backup generator at Gloucester High School failed.”

The CERT operation lasted approximately 15 hours.

“I will say [the operation center] was quite successful for the first time,” remarked Gloucester’s Emergency Management Director Miles Schlichte.

“It was quite an experience, and a great shakedown exercise,” said Stan Stone. Stone has had subsequent meetings with Gloucester IT managers to make the Internet connection more robust, and he also plans to meet with city professionals to discuss radio improvements for the Gloucester Fire Department, and data communications for the Department of Public Works.

Said Stone: “The key lesson was that you have to test every system and learn their failure modes.”

Photo: Ruth E. Hodsdon, WW1N  (standing) in the Gloucester EOC

–Thanks, CAARA Newsletter, January, 2011

Rick Cabral, W1RJC writes on SEMARA Discussion list:

Southeastern MA Amateur Radio Association and South Coast MA Amateur Radio Group members:

Once again this year, the Crossroads IRLP Reflector is sponsoring its annual New Year Around The World QSO Party. Locally, it will be carried on the 145.490 Fairhaven repeater from about 6:00 AM on New Year’s Eve until about 3:00 AM on New Year’s Day. At its peak, there are normally around 100 repeaters worldwide that are linked together. So come join the fun on the ’49 repeater!

More information: http://scmarg.org/events.htm#newyear

Note: As in prior years, local SKYWARN activity will pre-empt the net. If this occurs, the net may be temporarily heard on the 147.000 Dartmouth repeater as a backup.

Members of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club conducted a road cleanup on November 21, 2010 as part of their ongoing “Adopt-a-Highway” program. The group picked up nine bags of trash. This was the last cleanup for 2010. The group plans to hold another cleanup in April, 2011.

Shown in photo, courtesy KD1SM, (L-R): Rod, WA1TAC; Stan, KD1LE; Nancy, KB1KEF; Gary, K1YTS. Not shown: Ralph, KD1SM.

–Thanks, Nashoba Valley ARC Signal, December 2010 Volume 19, Number 12

The Whitman Amateur Radio Club has produced a special edition of its newsletter, The Spectrum, highlighting the club’s special event operation from the Plimoth Plantation November 27-28, 2010.

According to WARC President Paul Burbine, N1VTI, 33 WARC members — along with one area ham — helped set up and operate HF and 2-meter stations using portable antennas at the famous re-creation of the 17th century Pilgrim settlement and Wampanoag Indian homesite. “The crew exchanged contacts with 316 other amateur radio operators in 35 states, 16 foreign countries and 6 Canadian provinces,” Burbine reports.

Tom Kinahan, N1CPE writes on MRAS-general list:

The following new courses have been added to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s training calendar:

* Incident Command System 300 at Wellesley National Guard on December 13, 2010

* Incident Command System 300 at So. Attleboro Fire Station on January 4, 2011

* Incident Command System 300 at MEMA Headquarters-Operations Room on January 5, 2011

* Incident Command System 400 at Wellesley National Guard on December 16, 2010

* Incident Command System 400 at DelValle Institute – O’Neill Room on January 13, 2011

Visit our web site at http://tinyurl.com/36tcp6a for more details.

Members of the Taunton Area Communication Group provided communication support for the Taunton-Silver City Christmas Parade on Sunday, December 5, 2010.

The operation was uneventful, according to TACG’s Greg Glynn, W1VFB. Seven amateurs participated in the event.

–Thanks, Whitman ARC Spectrum, December, 2010

The Whitman Amateur Radio Club was featured prominently in a December 9, 2010 article in the Whitman Express entitled, Whitman Amateur Radio Club Visits Plimouth Plantation. The article, written by WARC’s Bruce Hayden, NI1X, described the club’s efforts in promoting to hams worldwide about the famous re-creation of the 17th century Pilgrim settlement and Indian homesite.

According to Hayden, 34 area hams operated five stations and made 316 contacts with 35 states and 16 foreign countries over the two-day operation. The WA1NPO special events station also made contact with M0VRT in Plymouth, England during the event.

The Whitman ARC has conducted the Plimoth Plantation operation annually at Thanksgiving for several years.

–Thanks, NI1X and Whitman ARC

The Boston Amateur Radio Club has been assigned a new frequency pair for its 70 cm repeater by the New England Spectrum Management Council, according to BARC’s Bob Salow, WA1IDA.

“Your help is needed to verify the coverage and signal quality. At several times of the day, please try to make contacts and get signal reports. Make notes of your location, the type of radio, the power used, and the reported signal quality. Send this information to Tom Bertolino, KB1P at his arrl.net alias, or call him at 781.608.6186.”

The new frequency is: 443.550 MHz (+), PL 110.9 Hz.

–Thanks, The SPARC, December 2010

The Genesis Amateur Radio Society is moving to establish a scholarship fund to honor the memory of Silent Key George Manning, K1CG.

Manning, a Genesis ARS Executive Committee member and the club’s Public Information Officer, left a large quantity of ham radio equipment to the club. According to GARS President John Williams, KB1EVY, GARS is initially conducting a silent auction so that club members will have an opportunity to first purchase any items of interest. Remaining items will then be sold to the ham public.

“Proceeds from sales will be held by the trustee in a separate interest account until such time that the scholarhip fund is established, and then handed over to the scholarship trustee for their care,” says Williams.