kd1cy – Page 9 – Eastern Massachusetts ARRL

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for January – Monday January 4th, 2021 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater System

January 2, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

Happy New Year to all! The January Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday January 4th, 2021 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For this month’s ARES Net, we will review events of the past month and talk a bit on ARES plans for 2021.

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net – Saturday 1/2/2021 at 1000 AM EST

January 1, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Good afternoon Everyone,

On behalf of the entire South Shore Health Radio Group we wish you all a Happy New Year.

We would like to thank all those that participated in the monthly nets last year. It put us all to the test and I’m sure 2020 will not soon be forgotten.

We also wish to thank our repeater owners and trustees. Without your continued support none of this would be possible.

With the vaccine being distributed to our front line workers and I’m sure to the rest of the population shortly, 2021 will be brighter. I can’t wait to get back into our radio shack at SSH and some normalcy.

Once again the group at Mansfield EMA has stepped up to the plate and will be running the January Net. I ask that if at all possible you join us tomorrow morning at 10am to show your support and appreciation.

The following repeaters will be used in the order listed.
1. Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
2. Norwood 147.210 tone 100
3. Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9
Return to the Bridgewater for any final comments and Net closing.

Regards,
John O’Neill
K1JRO

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday December 7th, 2020 – 830 PM EDT

December 7, 2020December 7, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The December Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday December 7th, 2020 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For tonight’s ARES Net, we will review events of the past month and talk a bit on ARES plans for 2021.

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Does Virtual Meet & Greet with Massachusetts VOAD Via Zoom – Tuesday 11/3/20

November 11, 2020November 11, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

On Tuesday Morning, 11/3/20, Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator, KD1CY-Rob Macedo, did a virtual Meet & Greet with Massachusetts VOAD to explain ARES role and how ARES can support Non-Governmental Organizations. The 30 minute meeting was well received by the VOAD leadership that participated. ARES has been a member within the VOAD organization since 2012.

VOAD stands for Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster. The ARRL has a national level Memorandum of Understanding with VOAD and encourages section ARES programs to work with state VOADs. Examples of organizations that are part of VOAD include ARES traditional partners such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army as well as Team Rubicon, various church groups that support disaster relief for individuals and families and many other organizations.

“We got to explain ARES role and what we can provide to Non-Government Organizations in both auxiliary communications, additional resources supporting communications and situational awareness information when normal communications means are up as well as what we can provide to them when other forms of communication fails. We also encouraged VOAD to look at ways we can help their organization based on their communications and technical needs after giving them some understanding of what we traditionally provide and explained to them all the MOUs ARES through the ARRL has with various organizations within VOAD and National VOAD” Macedo said.

Macedo reported that the members on the call understood how Amateur Radio plays a role and is often in the background performing important tasks that help their teams and other agencies. They were impressed with the presentation and look forward to future engagement both with Eastern Massachusetts ARES and Western Massachusetts ARES. “They asked for the Western Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator contact info which we provided to them along with a short presentation that we reviewed on the call and we look forward to a continued and stronger relationship with Massachusetts VOAD and the member agencies within VOAD going forward” Macedo said.

Emergency Communications / NTS / Public Service

SEMARA ARES Activates Net Sunday Morning 11/8/20 for Situational Awareness After Earthquake 3.6 on Richter Scale Occurs Southeast of the New Bedford Area

November 10, 2020November 11, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

SEMARA ARES activated an ARES Net at 950 AM Sunday for a little over 2 hours on the 147.000-Dartmouth Repeater, approximately 40 minutes after an earthquake, originally registered 4.2 on the Richter scale and revised down to 3.6 on the Richter scale occurred several miles offshore of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The earthquake was felt as far north as Southern New Hampshire and through much of Rhode Island through parts of Western and Central Massachusetts and Connecticut and the Long Island New York area.

Rob Macedo-KD1CY felt the earthquake at his home in New Bedford while checked into the New England Phone Net on HF on 3945 KHz. “I was checked in and monitoring the New England Phone Net where I heard 2 loud bangs as if someone was in my garage and had opened the garage doors and then had rattling and shaking that was fairly violent from what I’m used to in quakes I’ve felt in the past. After about 15-20 seconds total, it was over and after checking with an Amateur Radio SKYWARN Coordinator and friend from Rhode Island, N1EGS-John Buco, it was clear that we had an earthquake with information posted on the USGS web site. I immediately informed the New England Phone Net of what I experienced and ask for reports on who felt the quake.”

Very quickly things ramped up for a time from a public safety response perspective. Fire departments in New Bedford, Westport, Dartmouth and Fairhaven responded to possible gas leak issues at numerous homes in these communities. Information on posting what you felt during the earthquake was posted on the WX1BOX Facebook and Twitter feeds.

“We informed the National Weather Service within about 5 minutes of the incident that an earthquake had occurred and we were checking on damage reports and sent a report to the USGS via their form for the quake in question” Macedo said. Numerous reports on feeling the quake were fielded from the WX1BOX social media feeds. The Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association has a USGS seismograph and it measured this quake as well – see Cape Ann ARA Seismograph Detected Sunday’s Earthquake

At the suggestion of Mike “Sparky’ Leger-N1YLQ ARES DEC and Region 2 RACES Radio Officer, it was agreed to put up a formal ARES Net on the 147.000-Dartmouth Repeater for situational awareness and in case any needs arrived from partner agencies. From Sparky’s logs, 11 stations checked into the net which ran for a little over 2 hours. The net report is listed below:

N1YLQ-Sparky-Acushnet, MA (NCO)
KA1RSY-Ed-New Bedford, MA
KD1CY-Rob-New Bedford, MA
KC0AEO-South Dartmouth, MA
KC1FOZ-Al-South Westport, MA
KC1ISZ-New Bedford, MA
KC1CBR-Berkley, MA
N1IXC-Joe-South Dartmouth, MA
W1AEC-SEMARA Clubhouse
W1EAV-Chris-Marion, MA
KB1UAM-Anthony-New Bedford, MA

Three confirmed damage reports were received on Crapo Street in the city of New Bedford as relayed by Acushnet Emergency Management Deputy Director, KA1RSY-Ed Caron and KD1CY-Rob Macedo. Three homes sustained damage to the chimney smokestack area near gas mains inside of the residences and were evacuated with 20 people being temporarily displaced. Red Cross was involved in caring for these residents. This information was relayed to the National Weather Service and the minor damage reports were include in the NWS Boston/Norton Earthquake Report. Joe Krisnosky-N1IXC, who is part of New Bedford EMA, forwarded pictures of the damage from New Bedford EMA Director, Brian Nobrega.

“This is an example of ARES in action to provide rapid and precise situational awareness for use by other agencies. In this case, it was the USGS and the National Weather Service” Macedo said.

Emergency Communications / NTS

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Simulated Emergency Test (SET) – Saturday 11/14/20 1000 AM-1200 PM

November 9, 2020November 9, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

The Eastern MA Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) will conduct a Simulated Emergency Test on November 14, 2020 from 10 AM to 12 Noon (setup to start at 9 AM where needed) to test its capability in establishing communications with stations inside and outside of the section. Operation “Fall Fury” will attempt to build upon the lessons learned from past operational exercises. This SET is being done in coordination with a Red Cross national exercise also being held on Saturday 11/14/20.

The exercise scenario involves a fictional Category 1 hurricane which strikes MA/CT/RI as a hybrid coastal storm, battering Cape Cod and the Islands with winds ranging from 90-100 MPH. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of people in Eastern Massachusetts are left without power as the rain rapidly changes to heavy, wet snow.

“This exercise guideline is deliberately broad and generic in nature. ARES groups are free to adapt this scenario and conduct their exercise as needed for their group,” writes District Emergency Coordinator Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O.

“This is also a great opportunity for new Amateur Radio Operators, whether they are involved in ARES or not, to check into nets, provide simulated information and exercise traffic, or just check in and learn how nets work and what ARES can do during an actual event. This includes the National Weather Service SKYWARN component of ARES” writes Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator.

With the ongoing COVID-19 situation in MA, it will be unlikely that groups will be able to operate at EOCs and other municipal locations. Therefore any activation of shelters will be simulated by role play. It is likely that most of the operations involved in this exercise will utilize home stations.

Some exercise objectives include:
• Simulate the activation of shelters in your area;
• Simulate the activation of EOC stations in your area;
• Establish and conduct a tactical net on simplex 2m FM/ repeater for your group;
• Simulate contact with any Town EOC RACES stations;
• Establish contact with other ARES districts where possible;
• Establish an HF 75 meter voice net for all of MA (and potentially other areas);
• Pass an NTS type message on 2 meters VHF and/or 440 MHz;
• Pass a SKYWARN and/or tactical message on voice 2 meters and on the HF net;
• Optional components of the exercise to pass information digitally via Winlink and NBEMS (Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System)

For full details, see the “Eastern MA Simulated Emergency Test 2020 Scenario and Guidelines” document at https://ema.arrl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/EasternMA-ARES-SET-11-14-20.pdf.

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday November 2nd, 2020 – 830 PM EDT

November 2, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The November Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday November 2nd, 2020 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For tonight’s ARES Net, the focus will be on participation in the Eastern Mass ARES SET for Saturday 11/14/20 timed with a national Red Cross exercise. We’ll also do a quick review of past events in the month of October and preview the 2020 SKYWARN Recognition Day event for Saturday December 5th, 2020 from 0000-2400 UTC.

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday October 5th, 2020 – 830 PM EDT

October 5, 2020October 5, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The October Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday October 5th, 2020 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For tonight’s ARES Net, the focus will be on participation in a MARS exercise taking place through October 24th, the Eastern Mass ARES SET for Saturday 11/14/20 timed with a national Red Cross exercise, the New England ARES Academy scheduled throughout the month of October and the release of the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Plan as of last week.

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday 9/14/2020 at 830 PM EDT

September 14, 2020September 14, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The September Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday September 14th, 2020 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For tonight’s ARES Net, the focus will be on several announcements on upcoming events and documentation forthcoming along with the posting of exercise reports via email and the Eastern Mass ARRL/ARES section web site which were delayed due to numerous ARES-SKYWARN activations during August. We will also give a brief COVID-19 update.

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

All

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday 8/3/2020 at 830 PM EDT

August 3, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The August Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday August 3rd, 2020 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For tonight’s ARES Net, the focus will be on the ARES-SKYWARN response to Tropical Storm Isaias with Tropical Storm Warnings up for all of Southern New England. We will also discuss the Cape Cod ARES District Exercise for Saturday August 8th from 1000 AM-1200 PM if it is not cancelled due to impacts from Isaias and give a brief COVID-19 update.

Due to numerous SKYWARN Activations in the month of July, the Eastern Massachusetts ARES/National Red Cross Exercise report is delayed and will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at https://ema.arrl.org/ares by Monday 8/10/20. Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday July 6th 2020 at 830 PM EDT

July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The July Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday July 6th, 2020 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For tonight’s ARES Net, we will do a brief review of severe weather events that have affected the section particularly in the last week and provide a brief COVID-19-Update as we continue to monitor this health emergency from a communications needs perspective and what you can do as ARES volunteers or general Amateur Radio Operators during this health emergency to prepare for any communications issues during this time. A link to a document that we had created for ARES awareness in April 2020 is available at the following link:

https://ema.arrl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Eastern-Massachusetts-ARES-COVID-19-Update.pdf

A reminder that a report on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES exercise will be available by Monday July 13th 2020 and will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at https://ema.arrl.org/ares. Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / Operating / Public Service

July Eastern MA Hospital Net Cancelled Due to Independence Day Holiday

July 3, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

John O’Neill-K1JRO writes:

Good Evening Everyone,

My apologies for the very late note.

Where the first Saturday of July is holiday, we will not have a Net this month. We will have a Net in August. A notice will be sent out about the August Net well in advance.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th.

Regards,

John O’ – K1JRO

South Shore Health Amateur Radio Group – W1SSH
55 Fogg Road, Box 42
South Weymouth, MA 02190

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

June Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net Canceled

June 5, 2020June 5, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

John O’Neill – K1JRO writes:

Good Evening Everyone,

My apologies for the late notice. I was hoping that one of the members from the SSHARG would be able to take the net this month. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Therefore, the June 6 EMHN is cancelled.

I believe that with the next phased re-opening on June 8th, Massachusetts health care facilities will be asking their locked-out volunteers to return. Once this happens, we can all get back into our shacks. If all goes well, SSHARG will be able to include Winlink and DMR testing in the monthly net soon.

73’s Stay Safe,
John O’Neill – K1JRO

South Shore Health Amateur Radio Group – W1SSH
55 Fogg Road, Box 42
South Weymouth, MA 02190

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday 6/1/2020 at 830 PM EDT

June 1, 2020June 1, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The June Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday June 1st, 2020 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For tonight’s ARES Net, we will discuss the start of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season and provide a brief COVID-19-Update as we continue to monitor this health emergency from a communications needs perspective and what you can do as ARES volunteers or general Amateur Radio Operators during this health emergency to prepare for any communications issues during this time. A link to a document that we had created for ARES awareness in April 2020 is available at the following link:

https://ema.arrl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Eastern-Massachusetts-ARES-COVID-19-Update.pdf

We will also review the recent training and exercise activities during the month of May. Reports on those events will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at https://ema.arrl.org/ares. Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

UPDATED: Eastern Massachusetts ARES to Participate in National Red Cross Exercise and WX4NHC On-Air Test – Saturday May 30th 2020

May 29, 2020May 29, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

**SECTION EXERCISE PLAN UPDATED WITH ADDITIONAL FREQUENCY INFORMATION – REMAINDER BELOW IS UNCHANGED**

Eastern Massachusetts ARES will participate in a National Red Cross exercise on Saturday May 30th, 2020 from 1000 AM-1200 PM (setup time starting as early as 900 AM). The exercise is split into two parts with Part A being the ARES component and Part B being handled by a small number of ARES members who are also part of Red Cross.

The exercise has been adapted to allow for a partial weather scenario to encourage Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters to participate and to allow participation in other modes used traditionally in the section including Echolink and IRLP. A high-level Eastern Massachusetts section plan has been generated and is available here:

RedCross-Eastern MA-ARES Exercise 1.7 05-28-20

Section wide frequency and Echolink/IRLP plans are in the section plan. For local frequency information, please reach out to your ARES DEC/ADEC or EC for this info and their contact info is available at the following link:

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Page

As Eastern Massachusetts ARES SEC, I can also be reached for questions as well as needed but we would like to drive interaction with other ARES leadership as part of exercise preparation.

We realize we have posted this exercise information on fairly short notice. Part of that is intentional to simulate a scenario where a potential ARES activation could occur with just a few days notice. We have also built the preparation process for the exercise in a way to push ARES member to ARES EC/ADEC/DEC leader interaction ahead of the exercise.

Also occurring on Saturday May 30th is the WX4NHC On-Air Communications Test done annually prior to each Atlantic hurricane season. We encourage all Amateurs to participate in this test as well and we may get WX4NHC operators to participate briefly in our exercise as well. Details on the WX4NHC On-Air Test can be seen at the following link:

WX4NHC On-Air Test – Saturday May 30th 2020 9 AM-5 PM EDT Information

Many thanks to folks that can participate and thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES to Participate in National Red Cross Exercise and WX4NHC On-Air Test – Saturday May 30th 2020

May 25, 2020May 25, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

Eastern Massachusetts ARES will participate in a National Red Cross exercise on Saturday May 30th, 2020 from 1000 AM-1200 PM (setup time starting as early as 900 AM). The exercise is split into two parts with Part A being the ARES component and Part B being handled by a small number of ARES members who are also part of Red Cross.

The exercise has been adapted to allow for a partial weather scenario to encourage Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters to participate and to allow participation in other modes used traditionally in the section including Echolink and IRLP. A high-level Eastern Massachusetts section plan has been generated and is available here:

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Exercise Plan for National Red Cross Exercise

Local frequency plans are not in the current section plan though we are building a list and will update the plan one last time on Friday 5/29/20. Section wide frequency and Echolink/IRLP plans are in the section plan. For local frequency information, please reach out to your ARES DEC/ADEC or EC for this info and their contact info is available at the following link:

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Page

As Eastern Massachusetts ARES SEC, I can also be reached for questions as well as needed but we would like to drive interaction with other ARES leadership as part of exercise preparation.

We realize we have posted this exercise information on fairly short notice. Part of that is intentional to simulate a scenario where a potential ARES activation could occur with just a few days notice. We have also built the preparation process for the exercise in a way to push ARES member to ARES EC/ADEC/DEC leader interaction ahead of the exercise.

Also occurring on Saturday May 30th is the WX4NHC On-Air Communications Test done annually prior to each Atlantic hurricane season. We encourage all Amateurs to participate in this test as well and we may get WX4NHC operators to participate briefly in our exercise as well. Details on the WX4NHC On-Air Test can be seen at the following link:

WX4NHC On-Air Test – Saturday May 30th 2020 9 AM-5 PM EDT Information

The Eastern Mass ARES section plan for the ARES/Red Cross national exercise will be updated again on Friday 5/29/20. Many thanks to folks that can participate and thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Monthly Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net Reports for April and May 2020

May 5, 2020May 5, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

Here are net reports for the monthly Eastern Massachusetts ARES Nets for April and May 2020:

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for April 6th, 2020:

KD1CY-Rob-New Bedford, MA (Net Control Station)
WA1OEZ-Bob-Taunton, MA- Army MARS Liaison
W1SHS-Stu-Franklin, MA
KB1OQA-Tom-Wayland, MA
K1LXV-John-Mendon, MA
KA1NMA-Bob-Plymouth, MA
W1HAI-Joe-Natick, MA
W1RVY-Eric-Southbridge, MA
WB1EMS-Joe-Milton, MA
N8TFD-Steve-Cincinnati, OH, ARES DEC For District 4 Ohio
KC1FUH-Patrick-Arlington, MA
KI4SZF-Chris-Sarasota FL
N1YLQ-Sparky-Burlington, MA
KB1NZZ-Chet-Quincy, MA
N1JCM-Jeff-Walpole, MA
N1UMJ-John-Taunton, MA
W1HFP-Jason-Hudson, MA
KC1MCW-Wayne-Milford, MA
AE1EI-Kevin-Bellingham, MA
W3EVE-Steve-Wrentham, MA
KC1FUN-Joe-Arlington, MA
KC1MSN-Bernie-Milton, MA

Including NCS 22 stations in 46 minutes.

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net May 4th, 2020 Net Report

W1HAI-Joe-Natick, MA -Net Control Statation
KD1CY-Rob-New Bedford, MA
KB1OQA-Tom-Wayland, MA
N1OSG-Andy-Quincy, MA
AC2IR-Ted-Lincoln, MA
KC1BOO-Ernie-Norton, MA
W1SHS-Stuart-Franklin, MA
W3EVE-Steve-Wrentham, MA
KV1J-Eric-Marlboro, MA
KB1OKU-Gabriel-Haverhill, MA
N1XTB-Phil-Middleboro, MA
KC1MSN-Bernie-Milton, MA
KC1GFY-Garrett-Andover, MA
N1WEN-Bill-Natick, MA
KI4SZF-Chris-Sarasota FL
KC1FTJ-John North Chelmsford, MA
KC1FUT-Jessie-Blackstone, MA
KA1RSY-Ed-New Bedford, MA
KB1QAT-Gary-Concord, MA
KB1NZZ-Chet-Quincy, MA

Including NCS – 20 stations in 44 minutes.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday 5/4/20 at 830 PM ET

May 3, 2020May 3, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The May Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday May 4, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.

For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For tonight’s ARES Net, we will be providing another update on COVID-19, what we are doing to monitor this health emergency from a communications needs perspective and what you can do as ARES volunteers or general Amateur Radio Operators during this health emergency to prepare for any communications issues during this time. A link to a document that we had created for ARES awareness last month is available at the following link:
https://ema.arrl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Eastern-Massachusetts-ARES-COVID-19-Update.pdf

We will also have some announcements on training and exercise opportunities in the month of May. Updates on those events will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at https://ema.arrl.org/ares. Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

May 04 2020 – MEMA RACES / ACS / Emergency Communications Net

May 3, 2020May 4, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Mike “Sparky” Leger-N1YLQ, MEMA Region 2 RACES Radio Officer writes:

Hello to all,

I hope that everyone and your families and friends are continuing to stay healthy! Trying to remember what day it is has been a challenge as the normal workweek and routines have long since gone out the window as we distance socially from others… and temporally from our daily routines to make things work as best we can.

Tomorrow, May 4th 2020 is the first non-holiday Monday of the month and, as such, is our RACES/ACS/Preparedness night. We will be holding our sector nets on the normally assigned frequencies. As with last month, many EOCs and Community operating points are not accessible by our operators, so I continue to ask those who cant get to their EOC or normal RACES operating post to please check in from home or a mobile rig if possible.

As always, I am looking for Net Control stations to staff two of the four sector nets for the evening. Sector 2D is already covered as it always is. I can run the Sector 2A net from my home QTH in Acushnet (though if someone else wants to act as NCS for 2A for some practice, I am more than happy to let them have at it.) I am looking for NCS operators for Sector 2B (Plymouth County) and 2C (Cape and Islands.) Please let me know if you are interested,

For the net we will once again be working with the form AR-2 AR2 SHORT FORM INSTRUCTIONS and collecting information from our RACES operators. I have attached the AR 2 Short Form for reference. I will be looking for the following data items from the Form AR-2 during what would normally be our simplex test…

Items 1, 2 (If still activated), 3 (If still activated), 4, 5, 6, and 17.

Any requests or updates that do not fall within the AR-2 parameters can be sent using NTS formatted messages.

I am asking that all Net Control Stations please record the information from the AR-2 in a spreadsheet that you can e-mail or on a piece of notebook paper that you can scan or send to me as a photo.

I continue to ask that any operators who have the time, please try to check into sector nets from near-by sections. This will allow any our Net Control Operators to practice fielding nets with a strong check-in count and will also serve to help practice with relays or modified sector assignments in the event that a single repeater is out of service.

For those operators who serve as Net Control Operators, please try to remember to send me a list of the stations and communities that check into your nets. The numbers are reported to MEMA to show them our level of participation. I am continuing to work on a graphical map based report to show which parts of our section have strong coverage and which areas may need a more targeted recruitment campaign to improve our ability to provide back-up communications in an emergency.

The Region #2 and State Net Schedule for this evening is as follows:

Sector 2A
147.00 /+0.60 PL
19:30 Local

Sector 2B
145.39/-0.60 PL 67.0
20:00 Local

Sector 2C
146.955/-0.60 PL 88.5
20:00 Local

Sector 2D
146.865/-0.60 PL 103.2
19:30 Local

6-Meter State Net
53.31 / – 1.0 PL 71.9

Note: 53.31 has been reported to be having difficulties lately.
The appropriate people are aware and working to remedy any issues.
19:00 Local

MA RACES HF Net
3930 KHz LSB moving up to 3955 KHz until there is a clear frequency
18:45 Local

I appreciate you all answering the call to serve even when things are uncertain and tough to manage as they can be right now. Thank you all for helping us keep things on track and prove that we remain consistent. This net provides a monthly reminder that we stand ready with a quiet professionalism prepared to serve as a voice to whomever needs one to get help and resources where they should be.

If you know someone who would benefit from being on this list, please have them contact me at WC1MAB@gmail.com and I will add them to this distribution. Thank you all!

If anyone has any questions or comments I can be reached by e-mail or cell phone. Thanks for being a part of our team and I look forward to hearing back on who can participate this month.

Sincerely,
Michael Leger (N1YLQ)
MEMA Region #2 RACES Officer

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net – Saturday 5/2/20 at 1000 AM EDT

May 1, 2020May 1, 2020 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

EMA ARES – DEC Healthcare Liaison – K1JRO-John O’Neill writes:

Thanks to the Allan and the group at the Mansfield EOC for stepping up and taking Net Control for 2 months in a row.

At the conclusion of the regular analog net, after the net closes, I would like to try the DMR Net once again. Please see the bottom of this note for the DMR details. NEDECN (NEDECN.ORG) is graciously supporting the EMHN by providing us with our own Talkgroup on a number of their repeaters covering Eastern MA. I would ask that those interested in DMR to consider a donation to NEDECN and / or becoming a member. Their network of linked repeaters throughout New England is extensive.

Net Control for the May 2, 2020 Eastern MA Hospital Net will be the Mansfield EOC. The net will commence at the usual time of 10: AM using the following repeaters / frequencies in the order listed.

1. Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5
2. Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
3. Plymouth 146.685 tone 131.8
Simplex 147.42

The Net will then return to the Sharon Repeater for any final comments and Net closing.

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 giving Net Control a try 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 is seeking licensed Amateur Radio Operators to join their group. For information on joining them 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.

Analog 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

DMR Repeaters
NEDECN DMR Repeaters supporting EMHN
Boston 449.1750 Offset -5.00 CC1
Hingham 146.4300 Offset -1.500 CC1
Bourne 145.2000 Offset -0.600 CC10
Dennis 146.4700 Offset -1.500 CC11
Martha’s Vineyard 145.180 Offset -0.600 CC10

All repeaters: EMHN Talkgroup #8851 Time slot #1

We look forward to hearing from you all on the Net.

Respectfully,

John O’Neill K1JRO
President, South Shore Health Amateur Radio Group
EMA ARES – DEC Healthcare Liaison

South Shore Health Amateur Radio Group – W1SSH
55 Fogg Road, Box 42
South Weymouth, MA 02190