Author: k9hi

Clubs / Youth

Massachusetts Maritime Academy ARC Granted ARRL Affiliation Status

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The Massachusetts Maritime Academy Radio Club has been granted ARRL Affiliation status. 

In a letter dated July 31, 2018  from ARRL’s Norm Fusaro, W3IZ,  Field Services and Radiosport Department Manager to MMAARC club trustee Andrew Perron, AB1YN, Fusaro writes: “It gives me great pleasure to advise you that the ARRL has approved your club’s application for affiliation with the ARRL.  The Massachusetts Maritime Academy Radio Club is hereby declared a duly affiliated society.” 

The League will generate a “handsome” charter and send to the club in the near future. 

Fusaro added, “Your club is now eligible for the benefits of ARRL affiliation; we hope you will make full use of our services. ”

Congratulations to the officers and members of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Amateur Radio Club for this important milestone!

 

Amateur-Auxiliary / Organization

ARRL Board Adopts Volunteer Monitoring Program; Official Observer Program to be Retired

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“The ARRL Board of Directors has adopted the recommendations of the Official Observer Program Study Committee, which would retire the Official Observer (OO) program and institute the Volunteer Monitoring (VM) program. The Board took the action at its July 20 – 21 meeting in Windsor, Connecticut, instructing that the transition “be implemented as soon as practicable.” Under the terms of the new program, current Official Observers will be invited to apply for appointment as Volunteer Monitors (VMs). The Board expressed its appreciation for the OOs and their dedicated volunteer service over the years.”

[Full story, ARRLWeb]
Operating

Titanic Marconi Club to Activate Stage Harbor Light for National Lighthouse Day, August 7, 2018

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Stage Harbor LighthouseThe Titanic Marconi Memorial Radio Association Of Cape Cod (W1MGY) plans to operate from the Stage Harbor Light in Chatham during National Lighthouse Day on August 7, 2018, according to the club’s QRZ page.   “[Stage Harbor Light is] privately owned … we have received permission to operate from.”

International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend, ILLW began  in 1998 as the Scottish Northern Lights Award sponsored by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group. ILLW is a popular Amateur Radio event that takes place on the third full weekend in August each year. It attracts over 500 lighthouse entries in over 40 countries.

Clubs / Field Day / Operating / Technical

Nashoba Valley ARC Members Participate in HamSCI Experiment During Field Day

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Photo of WX1P at the Nashoba Valley ARC Field Day 2018
Bob Reif, W1XP, sends a test transmission to the CASSIOPE satellite. 

The Nashoba Valley ARC participated in a Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSci) experiment with the Canadian CAScade, Smallsat and Ionospheric Polar Explorer (CASSIOPE) spacecraft over Field Day weekend.

Courtesy the HamSci web site:

 “’We’re really happy with our results this year’ remarked Dr. Gareth Perry, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary, CASSIOPE’s home institution. ‘The Radio Receiver Instrument (RRI) recorded plenty of chatter between Field Day participants, especially during our passes over the eastern and central United States on the evening of the 23rd’.

“Members of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) group coordinated with the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club (NVARC, N1NC) and the Hoosier DX And Contest Club (N9NS) and the Indianapolis Radio Club to ‘direct traffic’ – asking their members to stick to pre-selected frequencies during the passes, and to record their transmitting logs.” 

The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation project is a platform for the publicity and promotion of projects that:

  • Advance scientific research and understanding through amateur radio activities
  • Encourage the development of new technologies to support this research
  • Provide educational opportunities for the amateur community and the general public

 

Clubs / Operating

W1 QSL Card Sorting Session at Algonquin ARC, August 9, 2018

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rare dx qsl cardEric Williams, KV1J, writes on the Algonquin ARC mailing list:

The Algonquin Club will be holding a QSL card sorting session on  Thursday August 9th, 7:30 PM at the Marlborough Fire Station.  We will  be in the classroom/EOC where we hold Field Day. 

The Bureau receives QSL cards from DXers all over the world, sort them and then  send them to the New England area hams.  We processed about 100,000 QSL  cards each year.  To do this, we are grateful for the team of over 40  volunteers and several area clubs that help make this happen.  Our  Algonquin club is one of the clubs that helps with the presorting step in our process. 

Our part is easy and fun.  You get to see QSL cards from all around the  globe.  Maybe catch a card that is for you!  We will have boxes of cards  from the country national organizations that are for W1 call area hams.  For our session we will have about 13,000 cards. Our mission is to sort  those cards into stacks for each first letter of the call sign suffix.  So there will be a stack for all the call signs the a suffix the starts  with A and one for those starting with B and so forth.  It goes quick  especially with lots of people doing it on several separate tables. 

When we are done, those stacks will be sent to our individual letter  sorters who will then sort them by the individual recipient hams. 

Our web site is – www.w1qsl.org  If you want to see the details of our processes –  http://www.w1qsl.org/qslsort/docs.htm 

Thank you and hope to see you next month. 

73,

Eric, KV1J
W1 QSL Bureau Co-Manager

Licensing Education & Training

Tech-In-A-Day™ Program At Boxboro Convention, September 8, 2018

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The Boxboro-ARRL New England Division Convention will again feature a Tech-in-a-Day™ program, sponsored by instructors from the   Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association. The day-long technician study course will be held on Saturday, September 8, 2018 from 9 AM to 5 PM. After the end of the class, there will be a special VE Exam for course attendees. There is a small fee to cover course materials, along with an FCC established $15 exam fee.

If you wish to participate, please preregister for the class using this online signup form. For more information about the Tech-in-a-Day™ program visit the CAARA website or contact Stan Stone, W4HIX, if you have any questions.

Licensing Education & Training

New England Amateur Radio Weekend Technician License Class, August 10-11, 2018

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NE1AR logoNew England Amateur Radio, Inc. is offering a two-day Technician license class on August 10-11, 2018 for high school students and adults. “This fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the TECHNICIAN 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 TECHNICIAN level course runs on Friday, August 10 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 11 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by the FCC Technician exam at 3:00 p.m., at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick.

The course fee covers exam fee, drinks and snacks, sandwich lunch, and course materials. Advance registration and payment required.

For questions, e-mail bobphinney at nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179 or visit <https://www.nescitech.org/product/weekend-general-class/>.

Licensing Education & Training

New England Amateur Radio Weekend General License Class, August 24-25

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NE1AR logoNew England Amateur Radio, Inc. is offering a two-day General license class for high school 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 Friday evening, August 24, 2018 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 25, 2018 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by the FCC General exam at 3:00 p.m., at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick. The course fee covers exam fee, drinks and snacks, sandwich lunch, and course materials. Advance registration and payment required.”

For questions, e-mail at info@nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179.

Clubs / Public Information

Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC Public Display at Kapron Park, August 11, 2018

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SMH ARC "Magic Beans" portable tower on a trailerThe Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC  will set up an Amateur Radio display on August 11, 2018 from 9 AM until 1 PM  in Kapron Park, 201 County Street in Attleboro.  Club members will display ‘Magic Beans’ “as well as other radios and modes of communication that an ham radio operator can use.” 

Magic Beans is a homemade, hitch-mounted  extendable tower constructed by club members in 2005. You can see additional photos along with a detailed description of Magic Beans on the club’s web site.

 

Emergency Communications

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Region II Office Closed

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RACES logoRob Macedo, KD1CY writes:
 
MEMA’s Region II office and Regional EOC (REOC) in Bridgewater have closed and have temporarily relocated to other space while a search for a new permanent office and Regional EOC is conducted. The radio tower at the site remains operational. 

For the next several months, MEMA’s Region II staff is working in conference and office space that has been provided by the Plymouth Police Department, and the REOC has been moved to MEMA headquarters in Framingham. Contact information for Region II staff and the REOC remain the same — the phone numbers for the former Bridgewater office and Regional EOC are being forwarded to Headquarters.

 
 
Public Service

Request For Operators: YuKanRun Triple Threat Half Marathon and 5K, August 5, 2018

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Chris Winczewski, K1TAT writes on the Cape Ann ARA mailing list:

We are looking for operators to staff the YuKanRun Triple Threat Half Marathon and 5K on Sunday, August 5, 2018. Please be on location by 8:00; starts at Rockport High School, 24 Jerdens Lane, Rockport, MA 01966.

Please let me know if you can staff a communications check-point for the event by August 3rd so I can plan staffing positions for the event.

While CAARA’s repeater performance has greatly improved with the replacement of our new antennas, 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; 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!

Chris K1TAT

Triple Threat Communications Team.

Rockport, Ma

Last Updated: 7/22//2018 06:00pm

Event date: August 5, 2018

On Location: 8:00 am All Check Points Are For The Half And 5K

Starts: 5K Run = 8 am Half Marathon Run = 9 am

Frq: W1GLO Repeater 145.130 – PL:107.2 Back up:Simplex 146.565

Operating

W1NAS to Host Snow Goose Flight 60th Anniversary Special Event Operation, August 18, 2018

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photo of Snow Goose blilmpThe Shea Naval Air Museum Amateur Radio Club (W1NAS) will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the flight of the blimp Snow Goose with a special event operation on Saturday, August 18, 2018, from 0900-1500 EDT.  They will operate on 14.250 and 7.250, but may change depending on band conditions.  The Snow Goose flew from NAS South Weymouth to Resolute Bay while the submarine USS Nautilus cruised under the polar ice cap. 

The Shea Naval Aviation Museum was formed by veterans who were stationed at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station.  The Shea Naval Aviation Museum Amateur Radio Club was born of out joint participation between the Museum and the K1USN Radio Club.  Its first club license was obtained in March, 2015, and the current call, W1NAS, was assigned on April 10, 2015.  The call sign “represents the use of the facility for more than 55 years as a U.S. Naval Air Station, first as a blimp base, and later as the home of numerous fixed-wing and rotary-wing squadrons.”

[See also: https://ema.arrl.org/2017/08/20/snow-goose-special-event-operation-so-weymouth-august-20-2017/]
All

Boxboro DXCC/Contest Dinner Guest Speaker: Don Greenbaum, N1DG

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Join your fellow hams for a delicious DXCC/Contest dinner on the first night of the [Boxboro New England Division] convention. Accompanying us will be Don Greenbaum, N1DG, telling the story of his upcoming trip to Baker Island, as part of the KH1/KH7Z DXpedition.

Don was a banker on Wall Street, and in the early 1980s, became Treasurer of Commodore International. The job at Commodore took him all over the world and he began operating from exotic DX locations as well. During this time, Don wrote one of the very first ham radio logging programs in BASIC for the Commodore 64 and later ported it to DOS for IBM compatibles.

Adding to his ham radio repertoire, Don has been on several major DXpeditions including VP8ORK, K4M and A52A. He has also operated as A61AD, A51DG, A73A, and /KH9, /VP9, /VS6, /BV2, /4X and /9V, and has been inducted into the CQ DX Hall of Fame by CQ Magazine.

Attendees will have their choice of a chicken, fish, or vegetarian meal.

There will be a door prize (currently TBD).

Tickets are likely to sell quickly, so make sure to get your tickets online when they are available.

Doors will open at 6:30 PM on Friday at the Federal room.

Operating

Wilmington Fox Active, July 19, 2018

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Nick, KC1DKY writes on the fox hunters list:

I’ve put the KC1DKY fox out on conservation land in the town of Wilmington.

Fox frequency is 146.565MHz.  Send a DTMF tone of 2 for a second to activate the fox.  It will cycle through 30 seconds of tones and 30 seconds of silence for 10 minutes.  The fox will need to reactivated after that time.  Sign the book if you find it.  Email me, or find me on the repeaters if you need help.

****SPOILER ALERT****
Reverse the letters for the street name of the trail head
evird htapwot
It’s hidden about a tenth of a mile from the road and it’s about
25feet from the trail.

Good luck!

Nick
KC1DKY

Emergency Communications / Organization

New Section Emergency Coordinator: Rob Macedo, KD1CY

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ARRL flagEastern Massachusetts Section Manager Tom Walsh, K1TW, has announced the appointment of Rob Macedo, KD1CY as Section Emergency Coordinator.

“Greg Bennett, KC1CIC, has found it necessary to step down as the SEC for EMA.  Rob Macedo, KD1CY, has accepted the role of SEC going forward.  Rob, because of his previous SEC experience will be able to step in immediately,” Walsh said. 

KC1CIC will continue in a new role as an ARES District Emergency Coordinator for NTS liaison.  “I extend my since thanks to both Greg and Rob for their ongoing significant contributions as volunteers in the Eastern Massachusetts section,” K1TW added.

All

MMRA Announces Door Prizes at the 2018 Boxboro! Convention

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MMRA logoIn keeping with a 10 year or so tradition, MMRA will be offering Door Prizes at the 2018 MMRA convention.

The prize winners will be announced at approximately noon in the MMRA room at the convention on Sunday September 9th.

All holders of MMRA memberships expiring in August 2020 or later are eligible to win.  Additional opportunities to win are provided for donations as follows:

7 tickets for every $10 donated
3 tickets for every $5 donated
1 ticket for every $2 donated

The prizes for this year are:

1st prize: Icom IC2730A Dual Band Mobile transceiver
2nd prize: Yaesu FT-70DR Dual Band Analog/Digital Handheld
3rd prize: More Arduino Projects for Ham Radio (ARRL Book)

See the MMRA website http://www.mmra.org for details, or visit us at the convention!

Licensing Education & Training / Public Information / Technical

ARRL Represented at IEEE Symposium in Boston

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VE2JBP/W1 operating N1P at IEEE AP-S Symposium in Boston
Robert Paknys, VE2JBP/W1 checks out 20m SSB from special event station N1P at the 2018 IEEE AP-S Symposium in Boston, Massachusetts

07/13/2018

ARRL was on hand in Boston July 8 – 13 for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Antenna and Propagation Society (AP-S) Symposium, held jointly held with the US National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI). The ARRL exhibit included an Amateur Radio special event demonstration station, N1P, and more than a dozen volunteers staffed the ARRL exhibit.

“We had a very attractive booth in a great location,” said ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Assistant Section Manager Phil Temples, K9HI. “Engineers and scientists in the fields of antennas and propagation who attended from all over the world stopped by the ARRL table to see and learn about Amateur Radio.”

Temples said ARRL Headquarters provided supplies for the booth as well as display copies of publications, “which doubled as door prizes for drawings,” he added. Complementing volunteers from the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section were radio amateurs attending the conference who donated their time between talks and seminars to assist with the booth and greet fellow attendees.

“It was clear to me that our presence at the symposium meant a great deal to the IEEE AP-S/URSI leadership,” Temples said. “It’s difficult to have a ‘live’ Amateur Radio station in an exhibit area of a major hotel, so we were indeed fortunate to have access to one of the premiere contesting stations in New England through a remote internet HF setup, courtesy of Yankee Clipper Contest Club member Greg Cronin, W1KM.” Temples said YCCC president Dennis Egan, W1UE, supplied an Elecraft K3 to use on site.

In addition, ARRL Volunteer Examiners conducted separate Amateur Radio licensing exam sessions over two days at the conference thanks to the efforts of the Eastern Massachusetts Amateur Radio Group and Lou Harris, N1UEC. More than a dozen attendees took advantage.

“The IEEE AP-S/URSI hams who will organize next year’s event hope to secure the call sign N4P and recruit local volunteers when the symposium moves to Atlanta, Georgia, in 2019,” Temples said. He expressed gratitude to Dave Michelson, VA7DM, an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of British Columbia and who chaired the IEEE’s AP-S/URSI Joint Meetings Committee, for his help in coordinating the Amateur Radio display. “Thanks also go to San Diego Section Manager Dave Kaltenborn, N8KBC, and Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, who advised us following the 2017 ham radio effort.”

—ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-represented-at-ieee-symposium-in-boston

[Additional photos can be viewed on the Eastern MA ARRL Facebook page, at: https://www.facebook.com/EasternMaARRL/]

 

Clubs / Public Information

North Attleboro Firefighter’s Kid’s Day Amateur Radio Table, July 19-22, 2018

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July 22, 2018: Due to the inclement weather we won’t be operating the demonstration table at kids day today. I would like to thank everyone who came out and assisted over the past few days.

 

73,
N1EZT, Pierre

Pierre Guimond, N1EZT, writes on the Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC mailing list:

Good afternoon Sturdy Radio club members and friends of W1SMH! For those of you who may not be aware,  it’s time again for the annual North Attleboro firefighter’s Kid’s Day Festival . It will be held from July 19 through 22 at the North Attleboro Middle/High School complex, 564 Landry Avenue, North Attleboro.

We are going to have a club-sponsored information/demo table with HF, VHF, DMR, SDR  (and other  modes /information that  anyone might like to suggest) set up at NAFF Kid’s Day to advertise our club’s good work, and generate/spawn interest with the kids (and parents too!) for our hobby .

I’m planning a pop up tent, the club sign , a table, chairs , radios, batteries, computers, and at least two or three different portable expedient antennas.

I’ve had some interest from the membership already but I’m reminding you in case you wish participate and provide a small or large block of your time to staff the station. I’m keeping the scheduling as informal as I can.

I won’t be able to staff the station for the most part but l will be able to set up and take down equipment, and provide verbal support to other staffers as I am committed to other functions during this event.

I would like to have staff at the table on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon from about 1 to 4 p.m. Based on response, we will extend or cut back the time.

This will be good trial run in preparation for the August farmers market in Attleboro, and hopefully a future open house Amateur Radio demo/special event station we are planning in the fall.

Any and all assistance is appreciated but I don’t wish to take staffing away from other activities at the event by radio club members / CERT team members, so I will ask that you keep this in mind if you wish to help out with the information table.

You can respond to me directly by email–until, and even after the event starts–if you can help out. I am grateful for any assistance you might be able to provide for this effort.

Thank you for your consideration. And thank you in advance for your support and expertise!

Sincerely and 73,

N1EZT, Pierre
SMHARC Member since 1986
n1ezt@yahoo.com
n1ezt2@gmail.com
401-230-5437 c