Author: k9hi

Field Day / Operating

International Space Station to be in Cross-Band Repeater Mode for Field Day 2021

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Field Day 2021 logoFrom ARRL Special Bulletin 006:

International Space Station to be in Cross-Band Repeater Mode for Field Day

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) cross-band repeater will be available for ARRL Field Day, June 26 – 27. Contacts will count toward Field Day bonus points as satellite contacts and Field Day contacts.

Field Day rules limit stations to one contact on any single-channel FM satellite. Note that contacts made during Field Day by ISS crew would only count for contact credit, but not for satellite bonus points. ISS cross-band repeater contacts are also valid AMSAT Field Day satellite contacts.

The ARISS cross-band repeater uplink is 145.990 MHz (67 Hz tone), with a downlink of 437.800 MHz.

ARISS suggests that those unfamiliar with the ISS repeater may want to practice with it prior to Field Day. ARISS had planned to switch modes to the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) during the second week of June, but this won’t happen until after the first ARISS school contact following ARRL Field Day.

The ARISS ham station will be off-air during spacewalks on June 16 and June 20.

Licensing Education & Training

KW2T’s Licensing Class a Great Success!

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From Nashoba Valley ARC’s Signal, June 2021:

Dan [Pedtke], KW2T, received an inquiry at work from some young engineers about getting a ham radio license. He got permission from the company to offer a class, and was surprised to get 11 people signed up.

With coaching from Bruce, K1BG, he ran eight 2-hour sessions on-line, using Google Meet, and following the latest Tech license manual. They finished up last Wednesday, June 2. Through arrangement with Dan, MIT offered on-line testing sessions on June 3, 8, and 10 .

Two of his students signed up for June 3, and passed the test with flying colors (34 and 35 out of 35!) Dan informs us that a third has now taken the test and again and aced it–35 out of 35!

So far, there are three new hams in the area from the class: KC1PKB, KC1PKC, and KC1PKJ. Dan is hopeful he will get all eleven through testing over the next couple of weeks. Dan is a W5YI VE himself, and has gotten over 30 new people licensed over the years.

Wouldn’t it be cool if we all did that–the hobby would come alive!

Operating

New England Digital Swap Net, Time Change

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From Algonquin ARC QRZ Newsletter, June 2021:

Please note the time change for the DMR New England Digital Swap Net:

WHEN: MONDAY NIGHTS at 7:30 PM for 1 hour

WHERE: NEDECN “NEW ENGLAND WIDE” 3181 TALK GROUP

NET CONTROLS: K1NR, WA1NVC, N1JAF, NE1B

https://groups.io/g/NewEnglandDigitalSwapNet

You can read the For Sale items and if you join, you can post For Sale items.

Foxhunting / Operating

W1HFN Fox is on the Loose in Westford, June 4, 2021

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Barry Fox, W1HFN, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on June 4, 2021 at 1:11 PM

My father was a 30 year vet of the Army and I (knowing better) joined the Air Force. If that is not enough of a hint, email me for more. Standard 146.565 MHz TX with a voice ID every 40 seconds or so. There is a log to sign nearby. Good luck to all!

73,

Barry, W1HFN

p.s. — I forgot to mention–it’s in the Westford area.

 

Clubs

K8ZT: “Software Defined Radios” at K1USN Radio Club Meeting, June 8, 2021

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k1usn qsl card“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes in the K1USN Happenings, June 3, 2021:

Upcoming K1USN Zoom session on Tuesday, June 8th @ 7:30 PM EDT with Anthony, K8ZT. Anthony will be doing a presentation on Software Defined Radios (SDR). Please spread the word about Anthony’s presentation and encourage people to sign up for a Zoom invitation to the June 8th session.

We have enjoyed previous presentations by Anthony which now reside on our K1USN Radio Club YouTube channel.

As mentioned before, If you have previously been receiving Zoom invitations you are already on our (separate) K1USN Zoom email distribution list so it’s not necessary to submit a new request. We use a separate list to try to maintain better control and discourage potential  “Zoom Bombing”. For that reason, although all are welcome, we ask that you do NOT share the Zoom invitation once you receive it. Please tell any other interested parties to contact me (k1rv@arrl.net) directly to be added to our Zoom list. It’s really that simple.

Clubs / Technical

W1IS & KC1DSQ Write Another Antenna Article

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PART of Westford President George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART mailing list:

The dynamic duo of PART member Bob, W1IS, and Bob, KC1DSQ, have another article published in CQ Magazine. In the May 2021 issue is their article titled “A New Design of a 40-6 Meter Off-Center-Fed Dipole,” that describes a dipole antenna covering the 40, 20, 15, 10, and 6-meter bands. 

Reminder: The two Bobs wrote an antenna article that was published in the June issue of QST, and voting is still open for the cover plaque award. ARRL members can vote for their favorite article.  

Operating

K1USN Radio Club QRV for Museum Ships Weekend, June 5-6, 2021

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NJ2BB Battleship NJ logo“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes in K1USN Happenings, June 3, 2021:

The K1USN club station will be on the air this weekend beginning on Friday [June 5, 2021] @ 8 PM EDT (0000 UTC) @ 85 Quincy Ave, Braintree, MA. We expect to have three HF stations running on SSB/CS as well FT8/4. Operators will be needed to enable us to remain on the air as much as possible during the weekend.

As many of you already know, Museum Ships Weekend was begun by the K1USN Radio Club back in 1997 and has become a very popular annual event. All organizational details are now handled by the NJ2BB crew aboard the Battleship New Jersey and we are pleased to continue to support their efforts by activating K1USN each year.

Activity on the bands has grown over the years and there are many home stations competing to make contacts with as many of the participants as possible during the weekend. Larry, W1VP, has created a cool DX Summit search tool which will go live this weekend.

This search tool will show a real time flow of MSW participant cluster spots to enable you to track them down. The DX Summit filtered feed will be available from www.k1usn.com.

As I said, we will be needing operators so please let me know if you have some available time to either operate or just to drop by to check out K1USN in action during this weekend. […] Please drop me a note to let me know that you plan to operate and what day/hours/modes you wish to operate at pi.k1rv@gmail.com.

Locally, Mike, W1USN, WA1MD & Bob, AA1M plan to activate the USS Cassin Young as WW2DD. [See: USS Cassin Young WW2DD QRV for Museum Ships Weekend, June 5-6, 2021] 

Rick, KB1TEE , WI1G, WA1MAD and crew will be activating the USS Massachusetts from Battleship Cove using the callsign NE1PL. Watch for all of them on the Cluster. 

Operating

USS Cassin Young, WW2DD, QRV for Museum Ships Weekend, June 5-6, 2021

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USS Cassin Young/ WW2DDThe USS Cassin Young, WW2DD, will be among the museum ship stations on the air for Museum Ships Weekend. Volunteers will activate the famous Fletcher-class destroyer, DD-793. Plans are to operate on 20 and 40 meters SSB and some digital modes.

According to Wikipedia, the Cassin Young served as a part of the Fast Carrier Task Force. On April 28, 1944, this force sortied for air attacks on Japanese strongholds at Truk, Woleai, Satawan, and Ponape, during which Cassin Young operated as a picket ship, assigned to warn her group of possible enemy counterattack.

The ship is on permanent loan to the National Park Service. She is berthed at the Boston Navy Yard, part of the Boston National Historical Park in Charlestown.

All

HamXposition 2021 is On!

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Bob DeMattia, K1IW, writes:

HamXposition September 10, 11, and 12, 2021 at the Best Western Royal Plaza in Marlborough, MA

You’ve probably heard by now that all COVID restrictions in Massachusetts are lifted as of May 29, and the state of emergency is lifted as of June 15.

What this means is we are a go for HamXposition 2021!

Phil, K9HI, our forum chair has already begun seeking out guest speakers – You can sign up to be a speaker here: 2021 Early Speaker Signup.

In the coming weeks, we will be enabling volunteer signup, and will begin announcing program details, so come visit this website often.

Online ticket sales will begin on August 1.

Discounted room rates of $99 are available now by calling the hotel directly – (508) 460-0700. Tell them you will be attending the HamXposition. This rate is only available through the local hotel phone number and will not work with their online reservation system or their national reservation number.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Bob DeMattia, K1IW
President, FEMARA

Clubs / Operating

Norfolk County Radio Association Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary With Special Event Operation

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The Norfolk County Radio Association is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with a special event operation from 0000 UTC June 5 to 2359 UTC June 12, 2021 on the suggested frequencies of 3.825, 7.225, 14.235, 21.285, and 28.325 MHz as well as other frequencies at the discretion of club members.  Club members will operate their own stations using the club call W1AGR during this operating event. A special QSL will be available with an SASE to the club station trustee, K1HC, 422 Everett Street, Westwood, MA 02090. 

The club had its beginnings in Norwood, MA in 1921 when a group of young radio amateurs gathered to exchange ideas and help each other build their home-made radio equipment.  It originally became affiliated with the ARRL two years later, in 1923.  The club grew to include hams from local area towns and then re-organized in 1932, calling themselves the Norfolk County Radio Association.  The spirit of those early years continues today; its members are always ready to help others and mentor new hams getting started in amateur radio. NCRA members have made memorable contributions to amateur radio in technology and communications, including support for various public service needs such as municipal events, SKYWARN reporting, Red Cross, and local disaster training. 

Congratulations to the Norfolk County Radio Association for reaching this historic milestone. 

 

Clubs

WB3BKN: “Antennas” at Billerica ARS Meeting Online, June 2, 2021

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Billerica ARS logoDoug Bruce, N1WRN, writes on the Billerica ARS website:

[The next Billerica Amateur Radio Society Zoom Meeting will be Wednesday,  June 2, 2021 at 7:00 PM.]

The feature speaker this month is Terry Snyder, WB3BKN, an expert on a lot of different wire antennas for any application in ham radio that you can think of. Terry will do a presentation centered on a number of different antenna designs, from the vertical, to the loop, to the quad, to the j pole, to the dipole, and beyond. He will discuss the pros and cons of each design, along with the basic design theories of these antennas. Please join us for a very informative and interesting presentation! Hope to see everyone there!

 

Clubs / Technical

Sturdy Repeater Returns to the Air

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Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARCRay Cord, K2TGX, writes on the Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC mailing list:

Just to let you know that the K1SMH 147.195 Sturdy Memorial Hospital repeater has returned to the air as of about 1330 today [March 28, 2021] thanks to the efforts of: Pierre Guimond, N1EZT; John Bellissimo, KA1EWN; Steve, N1LEO and Bill, WB1DJM. Bill rebuilt the Super StationMaster that the repeater is now using while the damaged JAG 4 element folded dipole array was rebuilt from the damage it received in the tower fold-over. We lost about five feet in elevation and we are on a different antenna so you may notice some difference in coverage on the fringes.

It is good to get it back on the air and hope to hear activity soon. If I missed anyone who helped in this endeavor, please accept our thanks.

73,
Ray K2TGX
Secretary/Treasurer
SMHARC

Awards / Operating

K1USN Radio Club Receives “Advancing the Art of CW Award”

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CWops logoFrom the ARRL Letter, May 27, 2021:

CWops has designated the K1USN Radio Club as the 2021 recipient of its Award for Advancing the Art of CW. As CWops noted in making the announcement, the K1USN Radio Club has created and managed the K1USN Weekly Slow Speed Test (SST) that provides a place for new and unpracticed CW operators to gather and operate at relaxed speeds in a friendly and encouraging manner that helps them continue to improve their CW skills.

All

Researcher and Past Arecibo Observatory Director Gordon Pettengill, W1OUN, SK

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photo of Gordon Pettengill, W1OUNFrom the ARRL Letter, May 27, 2021:

Renowned physicist, astronomer, and past Arecibo Observatory Director Gordon Pettengill, W1OUN, of Concord, Massachusetts, died on May 8. An ARRL member, he was 95.

“He was instrumental [as Arecibo Observatory Director] in getting some ‘telescope time’ at that facility for hams to do EME (moonbounce) on 432 MHz, giving a lot of hams with modest stations a shot at making a QSO via moon reflection,” said Chip Taylor, W1AIM. “He was the first person to use that big dish to do radar mapping of the surface of Venus, Mercury, Mars, and various asteroids and comets. And he was a mentor to many of us interested in microwave communication.”

A World War II combat veteran, Pettengill completed his bachelor’s degree at MIT after the war, then received a doctorate in high-energy physics at the University of California-Berkeley. His career in radio astronomy took off when he joined MIT Lincoln Laboratory, using the Millstone Radar in Westford, Massachusetts, for astronomical observations.

In 1963, he moved to the newly opened Arecibo Observatory. He was named its director in 1968. In 1977, he was Principal Investigator of the radar aboard the Pioneer Venus Orbiter that created the first near-global topographic map of any planet, and in the 1990s he was the Principal Investigator of the Magellan mission to Venus.

Pettengill was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1979, and served as Director of MIT’s Center for Space Research from 1984 until 1989. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1980 and spent his sabbatical at the University of Sydney, Australia. He retired in 1995. He was active on the air until recently.

Clubs

KU2Y: “CubeSat Simulator” at New England Sci-Tech ARS Meeting Online, May 25, 2021

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New England Sci Tech logoNew England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society Online Meeting: Tuesday, May 25, 2021 at 7:00 pm: “CubeSatSim: The AMSAT CubeSat Simulator” by Dr. Alan Johnston, KU2Y.

Dr. Johnston, AMSAT VP Educational Relations, will introduce the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator, a low cost functional model of a CubeSat satellite suitable for the classroom or demos. The CubeSatSim is based around a Raspberry Pi Zero W processor, a 3D printed frame, and has rechargeable batteries, solar panels, and transmits housekeeping telemetry on the 70cm ham band. It can emulate satellites that send APRS telemetry, or a Fox-1 CubeSat sending Data Under Voice or BPSK telemetry. In addition, it can send SSTV images. The talk will be interactive, with a live web SDR which can be accessed over the Internet using a phone or computer to listen and decode the signals. For more information on the CubeSatSim, including how to borrow it for your event or classroom visit, see https://cubesatsim.org.
 
[For Zoom conference information, email Bob Phinney, K5TEC, at bobphinney -at- nescitech -dot- org or call 508-720-4179.]
Awards

ARRL Foundation Announces 2021 Scholarship Winners; Many Are From New England

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[Congratulations to Eastern MA scholarship recipients: Catherine Hong, KC1MFU, Cambridge; Julie Knappik, KB1YTT, Raynham; and Martin (“Marty”) S. Sullaway, NN1C, of Waban.]

 
From nediv.arrl.org:
 
The ARRL Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2021 scholarship awards. A number of those recipients are from New England:

The Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) Scholarships, $10,000

  • Catherine Hong, KC1MFU, of Cambridge, Massachusetts 
  • Julie Knappik, KB1YTT, of Raynham, Massachusetts 

The Byron Blanchard, N1EKV, Memorial Scholarship, $500 

  • Allison K. Maurice, KH2AK, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire 

The FEMARA Scholarship, $2,000 each 

  • Michael A. Cullen, K6MAC, of Newport, Rhode Island
  • Samuel E. Gerhard, KC1NWR, of North Providence, Rhode Island
  • Sarah J. Hull, W1SJH, of Hancock, New Hampshire
  • Simon S. Page, KC1FJD, of York, Maine 

The New England Amateur Radio Festival (NEAR-Fest) Scholarship, $1,500 

  • Jacob A. Gionfriddo, KC1LYP, of Newington, Connecticut 

The Yankee Clipper Contest Club, Inc. Youth Scholarship, $2,000 

  • Martin S. Sullaway, NN1C, of Waban, Massachusetts 

 

There were 122 awards this year, totaling $564,250.  The full list of scholarship recipients can be found the ARRL website.

Public Information

“Connecting With Strangers Over Ham Radio Cleared My Family’s Static”

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SU1CR QSL Card imageBoston Globe reporter Gabriella Gage writes this nice human interest story in the May 22, 2012 issue of The Boston Globe:

“On a rainy October night during the pandemic, my husband, David, searches for a faint voice in the distance. He doesn’t know who’s calling, but he knows he wants to speak to them. David adjusts the tuning knob on the decades-old transceiver ever so slightly, as if cracking a safe. Outside, a homemade antenna bobs in the wind. On his computer, pulsating lines tell him the voice is one of hundreds calling out on this busy night. The voice gets clearer: ‘CQ,’ the magic letters he’s been awaiting — the amateur radio operators’ invitation for a response — followed by a call sign. David jumps on his mic, repeating the stranger’s call sign and adds: “This is KB1TOY, Kilo-Bravo-1-Tango-Oscar-Yankee. You’re light but I can hear you!”  [Full story]