a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
From the New England Sci-Tech leadership team news, January 26, 2020:
Members of the Natick High School Robotics Team took a crash course at New England Sci-Tech [on January 20, 2020] and we now have eight new youth licensed Technicians! Team members pose with their captain, Nolan, KC1IEO.
The Waltham Amateur Radio Association will hold its monthly meeting at 7 PM on January 29, 2020 at the New York Life building, 201 Jones Road, Waltham, MA.
Directions: From beautiful downtown Waltham, stay on Main St. where it forks right onto Route 117. Jones Rd. is the 2nd left after the bridge over Route 128/95. New York Life is a six story office building at the end of Jones Rd. Turn right immediately before the building into the main parking lot. If nobody is at the door to let you in, knock on the conference room window to the right of the door, or call us on 449.075 MHz. (Google Map)
Talk-in is available on the Waltham 449.075 or 146.640 MHz repeaters.
From the ARRL VE Newsletter, January 2020:
The new Amateur Extra class license examination question pool, effective from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2024, has been released and is available at the National Conference of Volunteer Coordinators (NCVEC) website.
The 2020 – 2024 Extra class pool incorporates significant changes compared to the current 2016 – 2020 question pool, which expires on June 30. The number of questions in the pool was reduced from 712 to 622. The result was 239 modified questions, 49 new questions, and 139 questions removed due to changes in what was felt to be an abundance of outdated questions, while areas of new technology and subjects were added.
In addition, an effort was made to balance the difficulty level, removing or replacing some questions deemed too easy or too difficult compared to the rest of the pool. The 2020 pool has 10 diagrams, which have been renumbered because the new Question Pool has two fewer than the 2016 Question Pool.
The ARRL Board of Directors has elected Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts as First Vice President during its recent meeting January 17-18, 2020 in Connecticut.
According to the League’s web site, “[Mike] was first licensed in 1961 as KN1TWF, becoming K1TWF in 1962, and has held that call ever since. His home club is the Billerica Amateur Radio Club [sic], where he has held various posts. On the air activities include DXing, contesting, and recently, caring for a DMR repeater in the attic. He is a Volunteer Examiner and a Volunteer Counsel.
“Of particular interest to Mike are the social and organizational aspects of the Amateur Radio. For over 20 years he has been serving on the Board for the ARRL New England Division Convention, and he is currently president of that organization, which runs an annual convention and funds a number of scholarships to young hams every year. ”
Raisbeck’s election to his new post leaves the office of New England Vice Director–a position in which he previously served–vacant for the present.
You can read more about K1TWF on the League’s web page at: http://www.arrl.org/first-vice-president.
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal US education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS will open a proposal window February 1, 2020 for ham radio contacts that would be held between January 2021 and June 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations whose proposal features a way to draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The window for accepting proposals closes March 31, 2020.
Proposal information and documents are at www.ariss.org.
The Opportunity
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will support scheduled Amateur Radio contacts for students and their communities. These radio contacts are voice-only, approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts in a question-and-answer session. ARISS radio contacts and plans in submitted proposals can afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts about space research conducted on the ISS and what it is like to live and work in space, and to learn about ham satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of spaceflight and complexity of scheduling on-board ISS activities, education organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of a radio contact. Local ham radio groups volunteer to provide educational radio activities and the equipment and operational support to enable communication between the ISS crew and students using Amateur Radio.
More Information
For proposal information and more details, i.e., expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education@gmail.com .
About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League (ARRL, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the ISS National Lab, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or large public forums. Before, during and after these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.
Have you ever wondered what an antenna actually does? Why all those big pokey things on top of many tall buildings look the way they do? How we’ve engineered the ability to radiate electromagnetic waves across continents and oceans? If so, join us this Friday to hear about:
Antennas for Amateur Radio: Everything is a Dipole
(except when it’s a loop)
Friday, January 24th at 5:00 PM at MIT in room 4-270
Kiersten Kerby-Patel, University of Massachusetts at Boston
Hosted by the MIT Radio Society
Part of the IAP Radio Lecture Series <http://w1mx.mit.edu/iap/2020/
DINNER (Pizza) will be provided
Northeast HamXposition 2019 General Chair Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, writes to convention vendors and exhibitors on January 23, 2020:
To all our vendors, past, present, and (we hope) future:
Northeast HamXposition at Boxboro, the New England ARRL Division Convention, is now four months behind us. The 2019 show went well. The gate remained steady. Attendance at the banquets, forums, and flea market was solid, and there were many smiling faces. We have a formula that works well.
So now it’s time for us to raise the bar. Some big changes are coming to the Northeast HamXposition.
The biggest is a change of date and venue. Going forward, the Northeast HamXposition will be held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center, 181 Boston Post Rd., Marlborough, MA, on the 4th full weekend of July. This year, the dates are July 24, 25, and 26. Reserve that weekend – we have it nailed down for the next 5 years at least.
Why change? There are several reasons:
We’re scrambling to update our forms and procedures. I’ll be sending out another message shortly, as soon as these are all in order.
Please reserve the date, July 24-26. We would love to see you there!
73,
Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF
Northeast HamXposition vendor chair
k1twf@hamxposition.org
—
The Boston University News Service carried this favorable story about Amateur Radio, Alan Lewis, K1ALL, and Whitman Amateur Radio Club members, written by Lillian Eden, published January 22, 2020, entitled, “Ham radio: a hobby still alive and thriving.”
“Alan Lewis pledged to do two things when he retired: learn to weld and get an amateur radio license. He did both, and then took his amateur radio license one step further.
“Almost immediately after getting his license, Lewis said he started getting involved in the public service aspects of amateur radio, including emergency communication.
“Amateur radio, or ham radio, for a very long time was the only federally licensed hobby. The word ham refers to amateur radio operators.
[Full story]
The Norwood Amateur Radio Club will hold its monthly meeting on January 23, 2020 at 7:30 PM in the Norwood Civic Center’s Willett Room, 165 Nahatan Street, Norwood, MA 02062. The Civic Center is handicapped accessible, and ample free parking is available.
All regular club meetings are open to the public, and guests are always welcome. Talk-in to the regular club meetings is available on the W1JLI Club Repeater 147.210 (PL 100.0) up to the start of the meeting.
For junior high and high school students, homeschool students, and adults who already have a Technician level license, this fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the GENERAL license exam. Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent approximately a week before the course.
The GENERAL level course runs Saturday, 8:30 am – 5 pm and Sunday, 8:30 am to noon, followed by the FCC General exam at noon, at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick.
Included with course fee: printed handouts, lecture study guide, license fee if tested at our location, a guest pass to the NEAR/STARS Radio Room and radio club meetings for 2 months, and free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate during the course. Advance registration and payment required.
For more information and to register, visit <https://www.nescitech.org/product/weekend-general-class/>. For questions, e-mail bobphinney at nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179.
From ARRL Web:
The next meeting of the Massasoit Amateur Radio Association is Tuesday, January 21, 2020, at 6:30 PM at the Bridgewater Public Library, 15 South Street, in Bridgewater.
MARA holds monthly meetings each third Tuesday of the month. In addition, members conduct “meetings on the air” each Tuesday at 8 PM on the 147.180 MHz repeater (PL 67.0 Hz).
The next meeting of the Sturdy Memorial Hospital Amateur Radio Club will be held on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 in conference rooms D and E (behind the Emergency Room) at Sturdy Memorial hospital. The ARES EmCom Team will meet at 7:00 PM; the business meeting will start at 8:00 PM.
The Algonquin Amateur Radio Club will hold its Marlborough Flea Market on February 15, 2020 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the 1Lt Charles W. Whitcomb School, 25 Union St., Marlborough, MA. Talk-in is on the MMRA repeater, 147.27+ (PL 146.2).
A VE session will be held beginning at 9:00 AM. General admission is $5. Vendor tables are $15 before February 9, 2018, or $20 at the door if space is available. Each table includes one admission.
For more information, contact Tim Ikeda, KA1OS at 508-919-6136 (before 9:00 PM), email fleamarket@n1em.org or visit https://www.qsl.net/n1em/AARC_flea_2020_flier.pdf.
The Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club will conduct a special events operation on January 18-19, 2020, to commemorate Guglielmo Marconi’s First Wireless Transmission from the United States to the United Kingdom. 
Stu Solomon, W1SHS, writes:
On Sunday, January 12, 2020, ARES/SKYWARN for Eastern Massachusetts and WX1BOX of the National Weather Service Boston/Norton office were represented at the 19th annual Weatherfest component of the 100th annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The Boston Weatherfest event was free to the public and very well attended.
The ARES/SKYWARN group were in good company with approximately 50 other exhibitors including NASA, The Blue Hill Observatory, The Mt. Washington Observatory, NOAA, The National Weather Service, New England Sci-Tech, local news stations, multiple universities as well as industry leaders in climate and environmental research and reporting.
Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY; District Emergency Coordinator Jim Palmer, KB1KQW; Matt Goldstein; and Assistant Section Manager Stu Solomon, W1SHS, manned the ARES/SKYWARN booth and spent the day speaking with weather enthusiasts young and old. Not only were they able to promote the importance of the SKYWARN program and the part it plays in assisting the weather service and emergency services with realtime, on the ground weather and damage reports, but also the important role Amateur Radio and its dedicated volunteer operators also play. On display in the SKYWARN booth were computers with real time displays of current incident reports (it was a day of high winds in the Boston area) as well as videos of past storms and the damage resulting from them. Good questions were asked by the many people that stopped by with numerous folks signing up to receive SKYWARN emails as well as information on upcoming SKYWARN training.
New Affiliated Club Service Offered: Your Club on the Web:
“We understand it’s difficult to recruit and retain a webmaster for your club. In fact, some clubs’ web sites have fallen into disrepair. That’s why we’re excited to offer this new service to ARRL affiliated clubs—a hosted page on the EMA ARRL web site. The address is of the form, https://ema.arrl.org/<Your Club Name>. The pages would be maintained by our webmaster, with input from your club officers.”
We’re pleased to announce the Wellesley Amateur Radio Society has accepted this service for its web presence. To view their new site, visit <https://ema.arrl.org/wars>.
The Whitman Amateur Radio Club will hold its Winterfest on January 18, 2020 from 9 AM until 1 PM at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Route 18, in Whitman. A VE testing session will be conducted at the event. Admission is $5; tables cost $15. Raffle prizes will be drawn at noon. Talk-in will be provided on the Whitman ARC repeater: 147.225Mhz+ PL67. For vendor information, call: 781-523-5010 or visit http://www.wa1npo.org/WF/WinterfestFlyer2020.pdf.
Three Eastern Massachusetts amateurs appeared January 13, 2020, on Bradley Jay’s “Jay Talking” on WBZ-AM (1030 kHz) to discuss Amateur Radio.
Jim Idelson, K1IR, Bruce Tinkler, N9JBT, and Marty Sullaway, NN1C, described the hobby, history, types of equipment, DXing, radiosport, and how to obtain a license. They also described their own experiences getting started in the hobby.
NN1C emphasized the fact that the hobby allows one to make friends with people all over the world. Through Amateur Radio, Marty had the opportunity to meet with a number of other hams on his first trip to Israel.
Bradley took several callers’ questions during the hour-long show, including one from a Michigan caller who was blind.
According to Wikipedia, “WBZ (1030 kHz) is a Class A clear channel AM radio station licensed in Boston, Massachusetts. Formerly owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting and CBS Radio, the station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia… Its signal can be heard at night across most of Eastern North America.”
Left-right: Bradley Jay; Bruce Tinkler & Jim Idelson. Photos courtesy Marty Sullaway.
You can listen to an over-the-air recording of the show on Jim Idelson’s blog, The Driven Element.
Brian McCaffrey, W1BP, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:
Winter Field Day is here! WFD will be held at the Westford Sportsmen’s Club on starting at 2 PM on 25 January and running until 2 PM on Sunday, 26 January. We will begin setup on Friday, 24 January.
We will be operating one station outdoors in a heated tent. We can operate any mode except FT8. It will be operator’s preference the mode and band for the time you operate.
We need volunteers to help with the following:
– Setup on Friday and Saturday
– Operating starting at 2 PM on Saturday
– Westford Sportsmen’s Club members to take shifts as escorts for PART members
– Kitchen crew
– Tear-down starting 2 PM Sunday
Come to the PART meeting on Tuesday, 21 January, to hear all the details and get your questions answered.
Please sign up by email direct to me for anything you’re interested in. If you can only help for a short while, that’s ok too. The more the merrier, we can have shorter shifts in the cold. If you’ve already told me you’re interested in helping, thank you. Please let me know times you could help and what you’re interested in.
I hope to see you there!
73,
Brian
W1BP