Author: k9hi

Foxhunting / Operating

KB1OIQ 80m Fox Deployed, Westford MA, May 13, 2022

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Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the  NEMassFoxHunters list at 9:27 AM on May 13, 2022:

The fox is on the loose!

I verified that the signal can be (weakly) heard from the Cider Mill Pond parking area.

It will be out all day today (Friday) and Saturday.

If you are in the neighborhood, feel free to visit my home QTH.  I should be there most of the day today.  My info is good on QRZ.com.

I am willing to tweak your R3500D fox receiver for peak performance by adjusting the capacitor and two transformers.  LMK if you are interested.

Have fun(!) and 73,

Andy

[See also: Interest for an 80m Fox?]
Public Service

Public Service Events, Westford, May 14-15, 2022

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TPART of Westford logoerry Stader, KA8SCP, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:

There are two public service events occurring this weekend that 146.955 2m repeater users should be aware of:

Saturday, May 14th – 9:00 AM to about Noon – Apple Blossom Parade operations
Sunday, May 15th – 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM – Groton Road Race

These event users have primary use during these times. Emergency use will take precedence as always.

Terry M Stader – KA8SCP
WB1GOF Repeaters

Foxhunting / Operating

MMRA Fox Box On the Air Near Acton, May 11, 2022

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Bob Evans, N1BE, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on May 11, 2022 at 7:41 PM:

The MMRA Fox Box transmits on 145.63 MHz with a 146.2 Hz PL.

Transmissions repeat approx. every 165 seconds.

The box has been heard in the town of Acton, MA.

I plan to retrieve the Fox on Monday May 16.

Email me directly if you want a hint to help locate the fox.

Happy hunting,
Bob Evans, N1BE

Operating

Rare Grid Square Active in Northern NH, FN45, May 13-14, 2022

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US Grid Square mapEthan Hansen, KC1OIP, writes on the Boston ARC mailing list:

Forwarding this along from the NEDECN group. Might be of interest to those of you chasing grid squares or wanting to test out 6 meters.

For those of you that have VHF or UHF gear on 50/144/432  SSB/CW/Digital (FT8 and MSK144), look for this very rare Grid Square in Northern NH.  Mike (K1MUU) and Matt (KC1OFX) will setup early on FRIDAY and SATURDAY (5/13 and 5/14).

Due to the Weak Signal nature of propagation, they will probably spend most time on WSJT-X mode of FT8, but probably some early morning MSK144 if there are enough rocks falling!
 
MSK144 is on 50.260 and 144.150 MHz
FT8 is on 50.313 and 144.174 MHz
SSB is on 50.130 and 144.200 MHz
 
Some coordination will be available via VHF Slack (Rare Grids) and DMR New England Wide (3181).
 
Beam toward Pittsburg, NH and Listen in!
 
73,
Bill, NE1B
Clubs

KA1HIH: “Antique Radios” at Algonquin ARC Meeting, May 12, 2022

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AARC logoThe next AARC meeting will be held in­ person on May 12 at 7:30 pm in the library of the 1st Lt. Charles W. Whitcomb Middle School, 25 Union Ave, Marlboro, MA. Enter from Agoritsas Drive next to police station and use Door #1 at rear of building.

The speaker this month will be Lou Tramontozzi, KA1HIH, presenting on antique radios. 

Lou will appear on Zoom and will present at the beginning of the meeting shortly after 7:30.   If we are unable to connect to Zoom at the library due to network or equipment challenges,  the presentation will continue on Zoom.

After the presentation we will review the election results and share Lantern Battery Challenge anecdotes.

Foxhunting / Operating

KB1OIQ Fox is On the Loose, Westford, May 8, 2022 (Updated)

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Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on May 10, 2022 at 6:36 AM:

Good morning fox hunters!

I have moved the KB1OIQ 2m fox.  It is still in Cider Mill Pond, but now you should(?) be able to hear the fox from the parking area.  The battery has been replaced and it should be good for the entire day.

Have fun and 73,

Andy

—

Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on May 8, 2022 at 10:02 AM:

146.565 FM is the fox frequency.

Go to the Cider Mill Pond conservation area in Westford.

A fox awaits you.  Have fun and good luck!  Cider Mill Pond is a very large
area (100? acres).

I’ll leave it out there for today and Monday.

73,

Andy

Licensing Education & Training

Four-Week, In-Person Technician Course Offered by Nashoba Valley ARC Beginning May 16, 2022

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Nashoba Valley ARC logoBruce Blain, K1BG, writes:

Please share this with friends and family members who are interested in getting an Amateur Radio License.

The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club (NVARC) is offering a free amateur radio licensing course beginning on May 16th. The eight night course will prepare students for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Technician licensing exam that will be offered at the completion of the course. The Technician level radio operator’s license is the first of three amateur licenses offered by the FCC. Each license has increased levels of operator privileges.

The course consists of twice weekly sessions beginning on Monday, May 16th, and meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays for four weeks (May 16th through June 8th ). The course will be held at the Pepperell Community Center, 4 Hollis Street, Pepperell, MA 01463. Sessions will start at 7 PM and last for 2 hours. An FCC license exam will be scheduled for the end of the sessions. The course is free, but there will be an FCC required $15 testing fee if you take the exam. The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, Level 1, Technician, 4th ed, will be the study guide used for the class. A limited number of study guides may be purchased from the instructor for $20 or online from the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) or Amazon.

This course is open to all, there are no age limits. Pre-registration is required, no walk-ins will be allowed. To register you must contact the instructor, Bruce Blain at (508) 341-5124 or via email at bruce.blain@charter.net.  

Foxhunting / Operating

Interest for an 80-Meter Foxhunt?

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Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on May 8, 2022:

I have a fox for the 80m band, and I’m wondering who has gear to receive the signal.

It is a real CW signal on the color burst frequency, roughly 3.579 MHz.

One possible receiver is shown here: http://crkits.com/r3500d.jpg

The fox has not been deployed.  I’m just assessing the interest level of such a fox hunt.

73,

Andy

Clubs / Emergency Communications

North Attleborough Repeater NA1HS is QRV

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Ray Cord, K2TGX, writes on the Study Memorial Hospital ARC mailing list:

Hello All,

This is to announce that the North Attleborough Emergency Management Agency UHF Repeater NA1HS  is back on the air at full legal strength, 447.975 – Split PL 88.5. We would appreciate your trying it out in your travels and from home, and sending us your signal reports. I know Pierre, N1EZT, and John, KA1EWN, put a lot of hours in getting it back up with the new antenna.

Tnx, 73

Ray K2TGX

Ray Deputy Director Norton EMA-CERT70
East Main St
Norton, Ma. 02766
508-726-1054 cell 

Clubs / Operating

Cape Ann ARA “Meet Up” at Haskins Park, Rockport, May 29, 2022

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CAARA logoCape Ann Amateur Radio Association President Brandon Hockle, NQ1W, writes on the CAARA list:
 
We are going to have a little informal meet up at Hospital Hill aka Haskins Park at the top of Summit Avenue in Rockport, MA during Memorial Day weekend on May 29th. We’ll get up there a little after breakfast and operate until we get bored or the hotdogs are finished. Some hotdogs and burgers will be provided please bring a beverage or water.
 
We hope to use this get together as a bit of a dry run for the upcoming Field Day 2022 event which we hope to have at the same location.
 
There will be radios and grills operating so please join us if you can!
 
Here is the location in Google Maps:
 
Haskins Park
 
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
 
Regards,
Brandon NQ1W
Public Service

YuKanRun Fast Half Marathon Seeks Amateur Volunteers, Hamilton-Wenham, May 7, 2022

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[Cape Cod Amateur Radio Association] has a great public service team. Come out and have some fun with us. We have loaner radios if you need one. Come out and join the event. Just contact us and we will set you up with a radio.

We are looking for operators to staff the YuKanRun Fast Half Marathon, Saturday May 7th, Hamilton-Wenham, MA. Please be on location at your check point by 8:30 AM. Starts At 9:00 AM Hamilton-Wenham, MA. 

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

While CAARA’s repeater performance has greatly improved the northern regions of this course may still experience some difficulty with communications especially with low-powered HTs, so we’ll be looking for higher powered equipment to staff those areas

Please let us know what type of equipment you plan to use (ie: mobile unit best 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!

WA1ESU

Clubs / Operating

Cape Ann ARA to Offer Remote Hams Operating Capabilities

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CAARA logoFrom CAARA News, May 2022:

The [Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association] Equipment Committee is pleased to announce a trial offering of a remote operations station to our members using the Remote Hams https://www.remotehams.com software. Licensed amateur radio operators subscribe to the service, and both individuals and groups provide access at their discretion stations open for either public or private use.

We will be making available a station to club members who have been a member in good standing for the previous 12 months, for what we expect will be a 1-year trial period after which the CAARA Board of Directors will review to make this a permanent offering. It should be noted that the Remote Hams service is globally oriented so licensed amateurs who participate in the Remote Hams service by extension are also free to use any other station participating in the service whose owner is willing to authorize their use.

We are offering the service on an as-is where-is. There is no service level in place regarding uptime, reliability, suitability for use, security, time to repair if there is an equipment failure, or availability. You are responsible for providing your own computer and internet connectivity that meets the Remote Hams requirements to run the client software. No claim is made regarding the peaceful coexistence of the Remote Hams application with other applications on your computer.

[…]
 
Flea markets & Conventions

HamXposition Ticketing is Now Live

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HamXposition logoNortheast HamXposition General Chairman Bob DeMattia, K1IW, writes:

Our electronic ticketing is now live!  Visit our website to purchase general admission, flea, and Friday and Saturday banquet tickets!

Main Webpage:  https://hamxposition.org
 
New for this year, your organization can also purchase ads for our printed program book as well.  To see the ad purchase section, go here:
 
 
 
73,
Bob – K1IW
Chairman
HamXposition 2022
Clubs

BCRA Antenna Build, Swansea, MA, May 14, 2022

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The Bristol County Repeater Association will hold an “Antenna Build” and in-person club meeting on May 14, 2022 from 1:00-3:00 PM at the Swansea Baptist Church, 25 Church Street, Swansea, MA 02777.

“We will meet in the upper parking lot, near the back of the church/hall.  We’ll have tables setup, tools and help in building your dipole antenna.  Details on the build will be discussed during the Tech Talk at the May 2nd monthly meeting.  We are going to have the builders choose their antenna, within reason.  More details will be sent out by email.

Foxhunting / Operating

KB1MGI Fox is Active in Carlisle, April 30-May 4, 2022

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Towle Farm mapJohn 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. 

To activate the Fox transmitter you must press DTMF tone 2 for 2 seconds for a 15 minute of 30 seconds on 30 seconds off. Reactive again by pressing DTMF tone 2
 
I will leave it out until Wednesday
See Attached PDF map.
 
John KB1MGI
 
Foxhunting / Operating

MMRA Fox Box On the Air in Hudson-Stow, MA, Vicinity, April 29-May 2, 2022

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MMRA fox boxBob 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

Clubs

KD0VKB: “The Art of the QSL Card” at Sci-Tech ARS Hybrid Meeting, April 26, 2022

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New England Sci Tech logoThe 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.”  
 
Randy will provide an overview of the variety of QSL cards used throughout the history of the ham radio hobby. This presentation will provide a visual feast ranging from fanciful illustrations, to home-made cards, to imaginative self-portraits of hams in their shacks.  Additionally, given that Randy’s specialty is boat anchors, he will spend a little bit of time at the end of the presentation on boat anchor restoration, perhaps as a preview for a future presentation.
 
Bio: Randy has been fascinated with radio ever since he discovered an outdated copy of The Boy’s First Book of Radio and Electronics when he was in fourth grade.  Perhaps that’s why he’s gravitated towards vintage rigs today.  Life and career as a technical College Instructor and Administrator took priority, but finally that radio passion prevailed.  Randy obtained his Technician license in 2013 and earned his Extra class license in 2016.  Randy’s shack consists of a mixture of vintage Hallicrafters transmitter and receiver pairs and EF Johnson transmitters paired with National & Hammarlund receivers – sharing the shack with some current production equipment.  
 
[For Zoom conference information, email Bob Phinney, K5TEC, at bobphinney -at- nescitech -dot- org or call 508-720-4179.]
Clubs

Josh Landewee: “Bridgecom Systems” Talk at Barnstable ARC Hybrid Meeting, May 2, 2022

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Barnstable ARC logoNorm 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.

This month’s guest speaker is Josh Landewee from Bridgecom Systems who will present an update on the latest updates on their equipment, technical aspects and operation.
 
[Contact Norm Cantin, WA1NLG, at norman.cantin at gmail dot com for Zoom meeting details.]
Operating

W1AA International Marconi Day Operation, Marion, MA, April 23, 2022

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W1AA Marconi Operation, April 23, 2022Henry Brown, K1WCC, posts on Facebook:
 
K1WCC operating as W1AA at the Marconi Transmitter Building in Marion, MA on April 23rd for International Marconi Day.
 
I was able to make 100 QSOs on 40 and 20 meters in short order, using 100 watts and portable antennas.
 
A great operating location, no audible or RF noise issues and a big thank you to Frank, the owner of the building, who kindly allowed me to use the parking area for my operation.
 
 
Public Information / Youth

Project “Big E” Receives Approval for Hosting an ARISS Contact!

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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/>.]