a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:
Congratulations to PART of Westford member Bob, W1IS, who, along with Bob, KC1DSQ, have the lead article in the June 2021 issue of QST! Their article, “A Portable Two-Element 40-Meter Wire Beam,” describes an antenna that PART has used successfully in several Field Days.
ARRL members can cast their vote for the QST Cover Plaque award by visiting this site starting May 10.
New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society Online Meeting: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 7:00 pm – “Contesting” by Marty Sullaway, NN1C
Marty Sullaway is a 19-year-old radio aficionado living in Eastern Massachusetts. A lover of all things technical, his time in amateur radio has been spent designing and selling station automation hardware, teaching licensing classes, and pushing the limits in remote contesting. Marty has been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to pilot many larger contest stations, both as a single operator and as part of multi-operator teams. Marty will be a competitor at the World Radiosport Team Championship in Italy in 2022, and frequently operates from the Cayman Islands where he is a partner in maintaining a contest station there. Marty is a frequent digital content producer in amateur radio, acting as a frequent amateur radio club speaker, podcast guest, and has been published in The National Contest Journal as well as CQ Magazine, and various other media channels. Marty is currently a student at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is pursuing a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and works in mmWave radar systems and image processing.
[For Zoom conference information, email Bob Phinney, K5TEC, at bobphinney -at- nescitech -dot- org or call 508-720-4179.]
The next [Billerica Amateur Radio Society] Zoom Meeting will be Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 7:00 PM.
Our guest speaker will be Terry Stader, KA8SCP. Terry will give a presentation on the D-STAR digital mode which has been, and will be, a popular digital mode. I am sure Terry’s presentation will be interesting and informative, so please join us!
We will announce the link to join the Zoom meeting before the meeting, but it will be posted to the BARS email list . Are you on the email list? If not, please send an email to bars-subscribe@w1hh.org and then simply reply to the robot response from the server and you will be subscribed.
Observing our Zoom meeting requires only a web browser and headphones/speakers. You do not need a webcam or microphone unless you want to speak or be seen.
Before our meeting date, please go to https://zoom.us/test and see if it will function for you. If you have problems, we can try to assist – feel free to ask questions on the BARS email list.
I am looking forward to “seeing” many of you on Wednesday 5/5 here at 1900.
Doug, N1WRN
President, Billerica Amateur Radio Society
Fellow WARS members and friends:
WHO: Anyone interested in Ham Radio. No need to be a licensed ham operator. No need to be a hiker.
One has an obvious name referring to a trail. The other is on a road named after a particularly large State.
Another access point is at the end of a road named after what grapes grow on and a mini river, often thought of as “babbling.”
This entry way is graced with “No Trespassing” and “Private Property” signs, but if you walk to the left of the gate, you will actually be on Town land. Just be sure to park up the street. I mention this alternate entry for those wishing to avoid a long walk.
If you need additional clues, email me at my callsign @arrl.org
The Fox has a new voice message. It contains some unwarranted braggadocio, which I will change next time. Meanwhile, enjoy the area!
Eastern MA Technical Coordinator Dan Brown, W1DAN, will hold another presentation addressing the new FCC RF exposure rules on May 4 at 7:30 PM using the ARRL GoToWebinar platform.
His April 27 talk was a hugely successful–a maximum number of 100 connections for the call was reached just as the discussion started. The GoToWebinar has a much higher limit and should accommodate all who are interested. ARRL Laboratory Manger Ed Hare, W1RFI, will serve as Technical Moderator on the call.
To sign up for the presentation, visit:
Norm Cantin, WA1NLG, writes on the Barnstable ARC mailing list:[For Zoom conference details, contact Rich Cady, N1IXF, at recady -at- att -dot- net.]
The April 27, 2021 RF Exposure Rules Zoom Discussion by Eastern MA Technical Coordinator Dan Brown, W1DAN, has been posted to the Eastern MA ARRL website at: <https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_qIGZhHyMrha-axJt87Dcu0UZuJO0t8F>.
The discussion was a huge hit. The maximum number of 100 connections for the call was reached just as the discussion started; many late arrivals were disappointed to be turned away, but W1DAN plans to hold at least one additional online discussion before the May 3 deadline using a larger “Zoom room.”
Watch this space for details.
Henry Brown K1WCC, Falmouth CERT Communications Officer, writes:
Falmouth (MA) CERT Team has so far assisted Barnstable County with operations at six vaccination clinics set up at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds in East Falmouth.
The clinics usually run from 1000 to 1600 local time, with over 500 people being vaccinated in most cases.
Falmouth CERT Team has been given the use of a retired Town of Falmouth ambulance as a Responder vehicle. The Responder is equipped with Falmouth Fire/Police communications gear as well as a 2 meter amateur transceiver and handheld radios. CERT members supervise incoming and outgoing vaccine patient vehicles, since the clinic is “drive through”, patients getting their shots in their cars.
Having the Responder on-site is a great advantage, as it gives the Team a place to take a quick break as well as holding the necessary comms and safety gear.
In addition to unlicensed CERT members, Falmouth CERT consists of nine licensed hams, including Henry, K1WCC; Mel, KC1ELB; Dan, KC1MUA,;Andy, K7ADA; Bob, K1MJJ; Lauren,W1LKF; Gene, KX1C; George, K1GRH and Jean, KC1JLO. During shelter activations on Cape Cod, Falmouth CERT is responsible for operating the shelter as well as setting up shelter communications with Falmouth ARES.
AK1WI will present “Adventures in Home Brew SDR Design” at the New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society on April 27, 2021 at 7:00 PM.
In this talk, Derek will describe his multi-year project to develop the hardware and software for a stand-alone SDR system using the “Teensy” family of microcontrollers from PJRC. In particular, it uses the Teensy Audio Library structure, hence its name “AudioSDR.” The software is now freely available from GitHub.
Derek will describe the origins of the project from a graduate course he was teaching in 2010, and how it was not initially intended for ham radio, but rather as an exercise in applied DSP (digital signal processing). He will describe in very broad terms the structure and operation of the system. Math will be kept at a minimum.
The talk will also cover the associated hardware for the RF front-end and the LCD display, as well as how the system is controlled, and the software structure for the Teensy Audio Library coding. We will look at (extremely) over-simplified seudo-code to demonstrate concepts of real-time software. We will write such code for an SDR version of the humble crystal-set – the simplest of all radios.
Derek will also discuss current developments and future enhancements for AudioSDR, including the addition of a transmit function to make it a true transceiver.
If feasible we will have a demonstration of the operation, or at a minimum, pre-recorded sound clips of the output.
Eastern MA Technical Coordinator Dan Brown, W1DAN, writes:
QST!
The new FCC RF exposure rules become effective May 3, but do not fret! I will explain what we should do. Please forward this invite to anyone you may think is interested.
Dan
W1DAN
EMA-ARRL Technical Coordinator
—
Dan Brown is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: RF Exposure
Time: Apr 27, 2021 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98941600273?pwd=TDc2Mjd4NldWdjBtdzlwY0JGRjhkZz09
Meeting ID: 989 4160 0273
Passcode: 134832
One tap mobile
+19292056099,,98941600273#,,,,*134832# US (New York)
+13017158592,,98941600273#,,,,*134832# US (Washington DC)
Dial by your location
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 989 4160 0273
Passcode: 134832
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abXuYdDvqm
The Bristol County Repeater Association / Fall River ARC will conduct a tape measure antenna build party on May 1, 2021 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the South Swansea Baptist Church in Swansea. The club asks for $20.00 to cover materials. They will supply the tape measures, 1/2″ PVC pipe and fittings, clamps, and a connection for your radio.
For more information visit the club web site at <https://bcra.club/bcrawprel/2021/04/06/fox-hunting-antenna-build/>.
The Army Military Auxiliary Radio System will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test, scheduled for May 7-8, 2021. This annual event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators, and will not impact any public or private communications. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event, which is only an exercise scenario, designed to include hobbyist and government radio operators alike.Alan Hicks, KD1D, writes on NEMassFoxHunters list on April 23, 2021 at 1:43 PM:
The KD1D Fox is out for its first run of the spring operating on 146.565 MHz (FM) with a 30 second transmission at one-minute intervals.
To find it, try heading out of the Westford Common Area in the direction of the Westford Knight and an educational institution that may remind you of the leader of a monastery. You should start hearing the signal within a 1/4 mile or less.
More clues will be available upon request.
If you find it, be sure to sign the logbook and record the time and date or send a photo to my callsign at arrl.net.
The audio seems to be down a bit and it may transmit a few “clicks” between messages. I hope to iron out these minor problems next time around.
Happy hunting and 73 DE KD1D (Alan)
ARLB013:
On April 20, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued a new Enforcement Advisory, repeating the admonishments contained in a January Advisory that no licensee or user of the Amateur or Personal Radio Services may use any radio equipment in connection with unlawful activities of any nature.
The Enforcement Advisory can be found online in PDF format at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/at
The Commission specifically cautioned that individuals found to have used radios in connection with any illegal activity are “subject to severe penalties, including significant fines, seizure of the offending equipment, and in some cases, criminal prosecution.”
In addition, licensees should be aware that illegal operation in any service or band, including completely outside the amateur allocations, could potentially disqualify a person from holding any FCC license in any service, not just the Amateur Service.
Any amateur observing a suspicious infraction that might be of illegal or criminal nature should report it to their local law enforcement office or the FBI.
George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:The presentation will be “Giant Antennas of the Navy” given by George, K1IG. When you’ve got to maintain continuous world-wide communications with ships and submarines, ordinary antennas just won’t work. The Navy’s antenna dimensions are measured in miles, not meters (this includes the vertical dimension), and handle megawatts of power. You may recognize some of the designs, but they’re bigger, a LOT BIGGER, than any ham has used. Attend our meeting and see what they look like!
The next Barnstable Amateur Radio Club meeting is April 20, 2021 at 7 PM on Zoom.
Following the brief meeting, one of our newest members Don, KC1JPS, will speak about his experience resurrecting a 1990s GE Orion VHF public service radio to operate in the 2-meter amateur bands. The talk includes where they can found, how expensive they are, what is involved in programming them, adjusting them, etc.
For Zoom conference details, contact Rich Cady, N1IXF, at recady -at- att -dot- net.
ARRL Learning Network with Paul Cianciolo, W1VLF, will show how you can deal with Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). Paul is ARRL’s resident expert on eliminating RFI and he will share what he knows about finding and fixing this common problem.
The biggest sources of interference are solar power systems, utility lines and grow lights for indoor gardening. Paul will cover those and a lot more, including LED lights, digital computing devices, and even battery chargers. Technology has enhanced our daily lives, but this comes at a price for hams. Learn how to find and fix RFI in today’s world in this webinar on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 1 pm EDT.
The ARRL RFI Book. The book is written by highly trained experts who have compiled the best advice available on every type of Radio Frequency Interference. Whether it’s cars, television, computers, audio equipment or telephones, you’ll find a solution for eliminating problematic interference. All this information in one handy book! Order your copy now while supplies last.
Don Melanson, W1DM, writes:
Last night’s [April 15, 2021] Quannapowitt Radio Association Zoom meeting featuring the W1AW Video Tour turned into a surprise for a few of our members. As the meeting was about to take place another ham operator signed into the meeting. His name is Skip Y. Sugimoto, JE2HCJ, from Japan.
It’s a funny story, according to Bob Reiser, AA1M, QRA club secretary. It seems when Bob was sorting his personal contacts for one of his upcoming ARRL awards he added Skip’s e-mail to our Zoom meeting invite without really knowing it. So Bob was quite surprised when Skip asked for the login.
Nothing was said to any of the members until Skip signed in. Skip started his day off by watching the video and then answered a few questions from some of the members. It was a very enjoyable evening by all the members and guests who attended. Skip was very impressed with the video and was welcomed by all. Skip promised to keep in touch and possibly attend the next month’s meeting before he had to log out to go to work .
The QRA would like to thank the ARRL, Jeff Fox, K1GF, and W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, for making the video. It makes a W1AW tour possible for those unable to physically visit.
The North Shore Radio Association will hold its next meeting on April 19, 2021 at 7 PM. Steve Schwarm, W3EVE, will present on Public Service opportunities.
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.