a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
Matthew Trott, KB1MLP, writes:
Listen for them on the air and welcome them to ham radio and FARA.
Ray Cord, K2TGX, writes on the SMH ARC mailing list:
This is to announce that due to restrictions imposed on Sturdy Memorial Hospital activities for outside groups because of the coronavirus we will be moving the club meeting scheduled for this coming Tuesday, March 17th. Thanks to Steve, N1LEO, and his brother for offering to host the meeting.
The new location will be Stone-E-Lea Golf Course Club House, 1411 County Street, Attleboro, MA. Times will remain the same: ARES EmComm meeting at 7:00PM, Business meeting at 8:00PM.
Hope to see you all there, bring your N-95 masks and hand sanitizer.
David Robertson, KD1NA, writes on the Pentucket RA mailing list:
Because of the Virus situation I feel we should cancel the coming PRA meeting that was to be held on the 19th of this month. Instead we should hold the next meeting on April 16th. This way we can discuss setting up for NEAR-Fest. I have ordered the early entry tickets.
73,
Dave KD1NA
From the NUWC mailing list, March 12, 2020 at 4:59 PM:
This has been a very busy week for everyone. After the university elected to move classes online and recommended against large gatherings, we consulted with our faculty advisors and CSI to see what the best path moving forward is. Until further notice, we have decided to suspend our general meetings along with our workshop series with IEEE. The lab space will remain open for as long as academic buildings are open, but we discourage against group meetings. This is still a developing situation, and we will notify you as things change.
“We had made the decision [to cancel] last night and then this morning (March 13, 2020) we got notice from our meeting place PMLP cancelled all use of the auditorium until further notice.” -Rick, KB1LYJ
The North Shore Radio Association will hold its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 16, 2020, in the Peabody Municipal Light Plant auditorium, 201 Warren St Extension, in Peabody (talk-in 145.470 repeater).
To All PART of Westford Members,
In light of guidance from the State of Massachusetts regarding older adults having a higher risk related to COVID-19, and avoidance of mass gatherings, the March PART meeting is canceled. This is the only PART activity being canceled at this time; until further notice, the monthly Saturday breakfast (next scheduled for April 4) is still on, and the weekly Owl Diner breakfasts will be held as desired by the attendees.
Items of interest for PART members regarding COVID-19 will be posted on the WB1GOF.org website.
PART is still conducting other activities, and even if there is an epidemic going around, this great hobby of ours provides plenty of ways to interact. Some suggestions include:
1. Monitor the WB1GOF repeater. It’s possible that some of our members will be in quarantine, and they may need help with groceries or other tasks. They may just want to hear a friendly voice. Be sure your HT batteries are charged. If you need help and you can’t reach someone on the phone, get on the air and let someone know.
2. At the ragchew after the Sunday night net, offer suggestions or help in dealing with local issues. Since there’s no club meeting in March, we can hold a “virtual meeting” after the net.
3. I’ve heard rumors that foxes may soon be on the loose. This is ideal fox hunting weather (reasonably warm, and no ticks), and the foxes are eager to be running wild after being cooped up all winter. A walk in the woods is great exercise, and there’s virtually no chance of picking up the Coronavirus. If you’re not a fox hunter, the club’s hunters would be happy to give you a demonstration — join the NE Massachusetts Fox Hunter users group at: https://groups.io/g/
4. The CQ-World Wide WPX (SSB) contest is the weekend of March 28-29. Check out the rules at: https://www.cqwpx.com/rules.
Coping with the epidemic is going to be a challenge for the community and the nation, but challenges like this are what ham radio is for. Let’s do this together.
—
George K1IG
PART President
WB1GOF.org
Gardner H. Winchester II, KA1BTK, writes on the Cape Ann ARA mailing list:
In light of Governor Baker’s Declared State of Emergency to Support the Commonwealth’s Response to the Coronavirus <https://www.mass.gov/news/gov
Christopher Winczewski, K1TAT, writes on the Cape Ann ARA mailing list:
See https://ema.arrl.org/covid19-response/#YuKanRun_Fools_Dual_5K_Half_Marathon_Cape_Ann_ARA_Gloucester
It’s that time of the year again.
Public service 2020 is starting with the Sunday, April 5, YuKanRun Fool’s Dual 5K 9 AM Race Start 10:00 AM Half Marathon, O’Maley Middle School, 32 Cherry Street, Gloucester, MA.
CAARA has a great public service team. Come out and have some fun with us. Why?
You are using amateur radio to provide a needed public service to ensure the safety and smooth running of a public event in local communities.
If you are unable to be there for the whole race, any amount of time you can give would be helpful. If you don’t have a radio, we have loaner radios available with a mag mount that will work in your car just by just plugging it into the cigarette lighter socket. We have loaner hand held radios as well!
Sunday April 5th 9:00 AM YuKanRun Fool’s Dual 5K Race Start 10:00 AM Half Marathon O’Maley Middle School 32 Cherry Street Gloucester, 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.
Please let us know what type of equipment you plan to use ( mobile; HT; ¼-wave mag mount; 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!
Chris K1TAT
| Fool’s Day Communications Team | |||||
| Gloucester, Mass | |||||
| Last Updated: 3/11//2020 9:13 am | |||||
| Event date: April 5, 2020 | |||||
| On Location: 8:30 – 9:00 am | |||||
| Starts: 5K Run = 9 am Half Marathon Run = 10 am | |||||
| Freq: W1GLO Repeaters 145.130 – PL:107.2 Back up: 443.700 + PL:107.2 FM | |||||
Frank Ventura, N1FMV, writes:
Hi all, with the Governor calling a state of emergency I think it is best to hunker down and stay safe. We were supposed to meet at the Zola center this Saturday. I think we should call off our March meeting and wait this thing out. Here are the dates of our upcoming meetings:
April 25
May 23
June 20
From the NVARC March, 2020 Signal:
Once again, Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club members volunteered to judge radio-related entries in the Bromfield School’s (Harvard, MA) annual Science Fair. There were fifty-two entries, five of which were in the areas of NVARC expertise. The students were quite knowledgeable in their subjects, some more than others, but all of them were impressive. The projects NVARC judged were:
1. “Warping WiFi: The Attenuation of WiFi Signals by Different Materials”
2. “Free Space Optical Communications using Lasers”
3. “Making GPS Use Safer”
4. “Simple Aurora Monitor”
5. “The Construction and Research of MagLev Trains”
Of these, NVARC judged numbers 1, 2, & 4 as superior works, and awarded the students with a Certificate of Merit, an RTL-SDR HF/VHF radio dongle, and a private tour of Haystack Observatory.
CAARA President Hank McCarl, W4RIG, writes on March 11, 2020:
With Bill sick and not able to cook the special dinner, the requests from the Governor of the Commonwealth, and advice from several CAARA Board members I believe we should cancel both the Board and Members Meetings on this coming Saturday March 14. Let me know if you have any objections – keep in touch via the repeater.
The next Members Meeting of the Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association will be held at 12 noon at the clubhouse at 6 Stanwood Street, Gloucester, MA. See map and directions to the site.
The Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association is an ARRL-affiliated club whose mission includes: providing health and safety communication services for emergencies and disasters on Cape Ann and in other areas when requested, educate and train new amateur radio operators and to maintain a well-tuned disaster team, conduct FCC testing for new licenses and those wishing to upgrade, provide educational services and demonstrations to local area schools and community organizations such as the Boy Scouts, conduct public demonstrations and educational events, assist public utilities in finding radio frequency interferences that could potentially harm or hinder emergency communication activities, and create a positive, supportive environment for our members that promotes camaraderie and fellowship.
Dan Pedtke, KW2T, writes:
Next Meeting IS CANCELLED. No March 12, 2020 meeting, due to coronavirus.
Sorry, our building hosts have suggested that we cancel our meeting for this month due to this unusual situation with this spreading virus. As I originally suggested, you should stay home out of fear of COVID-19.
—
TechNight is held every 2nd Thursday of the month, from 7-10 PM, at the Grady Research Building in Ayer, MA. It is open to anyone with an interest in radio or electronics, from age 6 to 100. Though it is directed mainly at the Ham Radio enthusiast, it also covers general electronics and computers. Amongst the marvels of radio technology like antennas, impedance matching, and software radio, we will discuss things like the Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ARM Cortex and the like, and even a little about LINUX and PC applications that work with radios. Meetings also include a period where anyone can ask questions about anything, or repair and test stuff people bring in. On occasion, the meeting will involve building a kit of some sort, that the participants have agreed to buy as a group. See the Topics page for more details.
I have decided to cancel the March AARC meeting after consulting with the officers.
Much of our club membership falls into the CDC-identified vulnerable population which has been advised by federal and state agencies to minimize contact to reduce risk of exposure to novel-coronavirus. Gov. Baker declared a state of emergency this afternoon, and many companies and educational institutions are restricting domestic travel, large meetings, and offsite meetings.
There is no reason to make a decision regarding the April meeting at this point. If the situation continues, we have time to investigate streaming or other remote meeting options for April.
I also encourage members to check into the weekly club net, Sundays at 1900 on 446.675, PL 88.5.
Thanks,
Mike, w1ku
AARC acting president
The Algonquin Amateur Radio Club will meet on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Jim Idelson, K1IR, will present on tower safety.
AARC meetings are held at 7:30 PM in the library of the 1st Lt. Charles W. Whitcomb Middle School in Marlborough, 25 Union Avenue. Use Door #1 at rear of building.
Hey Everyone,
I know that in light of the college asking everyone to leave campus by Sunday, a lot of plans are in flux. During these uncertain times our emergency preparedness skills are as important as they ever have been. Given that we expect an attendance of less than 25 people today, our meeting and elections this evening will still take place as planned. I encourage all underclassmen to consider running for a position. Radios have arrived and will be distributed.
Allen Liu, KC1HBB
Allen Liu, KC1HBB, writes on the HWC mailing list:
The wireless club will be meeting at our shack on Linden Street [in Cambridge] at 7 PM on Tuesday, March 10th. We will be having elections for next year’s board and handing out radios to licensed members who have not yet received theirs. There will be food (likely pizza). […]
“We cancelled the next meeting on March 18th. Our first venue cancelled, we got a second venue and was all set but it was SKYWARN training and NWS cancelled…We had arranged an online meeting as a backup, but NWS won’t allow spotter IDs to be issued. We are adding an online option for future meetings, but have not tested that yet.” –David, N1DCH
Please join us on Wednesday, March 18th @ 7pm, for SKYWARN weather spotter training. The training is being presented by Robert Macedo, KD1CY. All attendees will be issued a SKYWARN spotter ID and will be eligible to report severe weather to the National Weather Service.
This presentation will train you how to assist local officials and the NWS with early detection of hazardous weather. This is a public event but registration is required. If you plan on attending, please be sure to register before Friday March 13th to reserve your spot. Registration will be open to the public after the 13th.
More info about SKYWARN can be found at www.weather.gov/box/skywarn
Location: Leominster Office of Emergency Management, 37 Carter Street, Leominster, MA 01453 View Map
Register for this SKYWARN training here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-training-class-mmra-meeting-leominster-oem-tickets-98531617721
Also, please join us for the weekly MMRA TIOS Net every Tuesday at 8pm on the linked repeater network.
73,
Jason, W1HFP
MMRA Secretary
John O’Neill K1JRO, writes:
Net Control for the March 7, 2020 Eastern MA Hospital Net will be W1SSH, South Shore Hospital. The net will commence at the usual time of 10: AM using the following repeaters in the order listed:
1. Plymouth 146.685 tone 131.8
2. Bridgewater 148.18 tone 67.0
3. Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3
4. Simplex 147.42
NET Protocol: Please wait for Net Control to ask for Check-ins. When asked to check in please use the standard net check-in procedure which is: Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your or your facilities call sign, your first name, and your facility’s name.
We extend an invitation to any health care facility or EOC of any city or town that is served by one of the participating hospitals to join the Net. We also extend an invitation to any RACES or ARES member to check in during the NET.
We are always looking for groups or organizations to try their hand at Net Control duties. If you are interested in joining the group please let us know. We can be reached by sending an email to ssharg@outlook.com. The goal is to rotate Net Control practice and the experience among as many individuals and groups as possible.
South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Group seeking licensed Amateur Radio Operators to join their group. For information on joining us please contact Amy Parker in Volunteer Services at AParker@southshorehealth.org
We thank the repeater trustees for their generosity in allowing us to conduct the monthly nets and the use of their systems in an actual event. The following list of repeaters is available for our use. Only a few systems are used each month with the selection of those used made by Net Control for that month. More systems are being added to the list on a regular basis.
Repeaters
Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3 (Sturdy Memorial Hospital)
Belmont 145.430 tone 146.2
Boston 145.230 tone encode 88.5 tone decode 100.0
Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Danvers 145.47 tone 136.5
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0
Fall River 146.805. tone 67.0
Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9
Mansfield EMA 446.925 tone 100.0
Mansfield 147.015 tone 67.0
Marshfield 145.390 tone 67.0
Norwood 147.210 tone 100.00
Plymouth 146.685 tone 131.8
Salem 146.88 tone 118.8
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5
Weymouth 147.345 tone 110.9 (South Shore Hospital)
W. Bridgewater 146.775 dcs 244
Wrentham 147.09 tone 146.2
We look forward to hearing from you all on the Net.
Respectfully,
From ARRL Web:
03/03/2020 — With Dayton Hamvention® 2020 a little more than 10 weeks away, Hamvention officials say they are closely following the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Show organizers will post updates as the May 15 – 17 event nears, but they’re optimistic that coronavirus will not be an issue.
“At this time, the Hamvention Executive Committee has been in contact with the Greene County Public Health Department, and we do not anticipate any impact because of this issue,” a March 3 Hamvention statement said. The Greene County Public Health Department reports that no cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Ohio.
“Greene County Public Health is working closely with the Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and are prepared to respond, should there be a community spread of COVID-19,” the Hamvention statement noted. “The current risk to the general public is very low. Travel advisories are in effect, and can change anytime, so please see the CDC Travel Advisory webpage before traveling.” [full story]
