a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
Barry, KB1TLR, writes on the BarnstableARC mailing list:
I need a driver, radio operator for one of the tired runner vans, would like another to help Charlie and Joan at net control; and I still need standbys for any position. It would probably be better if the standbys lived closer to Falmouth in case of the need for a last minute fill in. I have had things happen the morning before or day of the race and had to call up standbys.
If you would like more details or can volunteer, contact Barry via e-Mail.
Mark Petruzzi, WA1EXA, is looking for volunteer to activate the Harwich Cranberry Festival next week. While this is a Barnstable ARC station, volunteers do not need to be a member of BARC.
ATTENTION NEW HAMS, OLD HAMS, NON ACTIVE HAMS, HAM FAMILIESSign up to help at the historic 50th Anniversary Harwich Cranberry Festival BARC station, Fri Sept18, 19 and/or 20.
Great time to get practice on bands beyond your license privileges, new modes, learn great building skills.Great fun for the whole family. Significant other can spend money on stuff you don’t need, kids can run wild all day and you can pick them up at the town jail after the festival, all the food you can eat at posted prices, free parking if you can find any spaces when you arrive . This only comes once a year, don’t miss out.Service of the town of Harwich, BARC, and festival committee, not responsible for any injury, theft, damage, lost items or illness. Children brought at risk of parents for all issues, weather not guaranteed, risk of any act of God not covered, land uneven walk at own risk, all claims subject to denial of payment. Animals at owners and victims risk. May be at risk for any number of communicable diseases some may be fatal, all parties not responsible for governmental surveillance, arrest, or injuryENJOYMENT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
KB1TEE writes in the MARA newsletter that NE1PL will be operating from the USS Massachusetts September 19th, 2026 from 8:00AM ET to 4:00PM ET to commemorate the anniversary of the launching of the ship. He is always looking for operators to help out, so if you are interested in operating in this unique setup, please contact him via e-Mail.
Eric, KA1NCF, writes on the NSRA mailing list.
This is a request for help for the Cycle for Shelter Bike ride out of Haverhill, MA. benefiting Emmaus, an organization providing emergency shelter, affordable housing, and supportive services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.NSRA has been helping with this bike ride for many years.Event is: Cycle for ShelterWhere: Starts and ends in Haverhill, MA , but the ride comes into our area with a rest stop in Topsfield, MAWhen: Sunday, Sep. 13, 2026 between the hours of 8 am and 3 pm
If you have time and would like to help with the event please let Eric know via e-Mail
Larry Krainson, W1AST, the Western MA ARRL Affiliated Clubs Coordinator, writes with a unique opportunity!
The second operation of Massachusetts W1AW/1 is taking place August 11th through the 18th. He is currently looking for clubs or individuals to operate the activation. Also, HamX is right smack dab in the middle of this operating window and there will be W1AW/1 operations on both Friday and Saturday from HamX itself.
If you are interested please contact Larry direct!
Barry, KB1TLR, writes on the Barnstable ARC mailing list:
We have a unique opportunity this year; National Lighthouse Day is Aug. 7th and Lighthouse Weekend falls on the 8th & 9th. We have received clearance from Ross Comstock @ the Chatham Coast Guard Station to access the facility to conduct operations for the 3 days.
On Friday we will operate under “W1MGY” ( the Titanic / Marconi Memorial Radio Assoc. of Cape Cod) then Sat. &
Sunday we can operate under W1MA or possibly W1MGY. In discussing this with Rob / K1UI we decided to set up on Thursday afternoon; tower trailer, a 10-80 m dipole and an R-5 vertical. We will run two Icom 7300 stations w/ logging computers, as we normally do.
What we MUST have is a list of all members who be taking part. This is a requirement of the station as it is a government facility. It must be turned ahead of time so please respond to this as soon as possible.
We will be in need of workers to set up and take down, operators,loggers and liaisons to inform the public what is transpiring and why. This is a great opportunity for new hams to do some HF operating.
Barry states that he will be making up QSL cards with both call signs to hand out send out. Banners will be up and the public will be invited! It will be a great opportunity to outreach to the public and most of all, fun!
The ARRL will have a LIVE Portable Antenna forum for ARRL members on June 23rd at 8:00PM ET. It is expected to be one hour long.
To access the forum go to the ARRL Learning Center, then follow on to On The Air Live Recordings to read about the forum. You will need to log in with your ARRL credentials.
Joe Reynolds, KA1GDQ, has recently posted he is looking for signal reports for the K1AFB 70cm repeater.
Please contact Joe with signal reports directly.
Lem, W1LEM, writes on the Barnstable ARC mailing list that International Marconi Day is fast approaching on April 25th!
Barbara N1NP has a group operating from the Marconi Site in Wellfleet. She is well-staffed except for setup (~0730) and teardown (~1600). All are welcome to observe and to help with meeting and greeting.
Rob, K1UI, writes on the Barnstable ARC mailing list:
BARC will hold its 1st club workshop at the Harwich Community Center on Oak St. in Harwich Center on Saturday April 11 from 9am to noon.There will be a discussion and demonstrations of how to get your PC and transceiver talking to each other and how to use some free software for Field Day and working DX.If you have any questions, please send them along to robleiden@comcast.net.
The Groton Road Race Committee has again requested the assistance of the Amateur Radio community for the Race on May 3. The Amateur Radio community have been providing situational awareness, health and safety communication for this event for over three decades. The course circles Groton Hill, starting and ending at the Groton Hill Music Center as in 2025. This will be the fourth year the Race has followed this course.
The planned event schedule this year is similar to last year; the two main races start shortly after 10am. The communications support that we provide is expected to start around 9:00AM and we should be done shortly after 1:00PM.
The Groton Road Race continues to be a major event for Amateur Radio in North Central Massachusetts. For those of you who have joined them in previous years know that the runners sincerely appreciate the Ham presence; many say so as they run past. This event is so large that Police Departments and other public safety organizations from several communities come to assist the Groton PD. Part of the volunteers role is to provide backup communications from the Groton Police to these out-of-town officers who come to help with this event.
Contributing to the public good is one of the reasons Amateur Radio exists. Public service events are a key opportunity for us to show our colors, volunteer our skills and equipment, and demonstrate why it is in the public’s interest to continue to allocate precious RF spectrum to our the Amateur Radio Service. The Groton Road Race is a low-stress event and a great way to gain more experience with the public service aspect of amateur radio. If you would like to join the event, please contact Ralph, KD1SM.
Don Rolph, AB1PH sends along that the MS Ride the Rhode is coming up on Saturday June 13. This year it is only a one day event. Traditionally amateru radio teams operate to coordinate the the support and gear (SAG) wagons as well as coordinate rest stop operations. The MS team is hoping to enlist support again this year.
If you would like to participate please sign up and let AB1PH know as well so he can coordinate the team.
Terry, KA8SCP, writes on the PART of Westford Mailing list:
Hello fellow ham radio community members. It is that time of the year where we start pitching for ham radio support for the annual Westford Apple Blossom Parade. This year’s parade will be held rain or shine on Saturday, May 16th. The parade starts in Westford Center and ends at the Abbot School. It has been hosted by the Westford Kiwanis (https://westford.org/kiwanis/) and has a long history in town. PART has been providing comm support for many years. Parade starts at 10 AM, we usually muster around 8AM for any last minute updates and to insure adequate coverage. Parade is pretty much wrapped up around noontime. Your assignment could finish earlier.
All you need is a 2 meter FM handheld that works with the Westford 146.955 WB1GOF repeater. Some assignments are stationary at specific parade route locations, others may be to be a shadow to one of the Kiwanis Parade organizers. We are looking for 12 (minimum) to 16 hams for this event.
This is a GREAT event for a first time public service event participant.
Very laid back and calm event. It’s always fun to watch a parade!
If you’d like to sign up or need more information, please contact Terry, KA8SCP via e-Mail.
N1SOM writes on the EMHN mailing list:
On Saturday February 7, 2026 the South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Group will hold an Eastern MA Hospital Net commencing at 10:00AM.
Home or alternative locations are also welcome to check into the net. Even if you cannot reach all the systems being used, please check-in on those you can.
We will use the following repeaters in the order listed.
- West Bridgewater repeater 146.775 dcs 244
- Plymouth Repeater 146.685 tone 131.8
- DMR -Talkgroup 8851 Time Slot :1 on the following NEDECN repeaters: Boston 449.175 -5.M CC:1, Hingham 146.430 -1.5M CC:1, Sagamore 145.200 – 0.6M CC:10, Dennis 146.470 -1.5M CC:11, East Falmouth 145.210 -0.600 CC:9, Martha’s Vineyard145.180 -0.600 CC:10, and Walpole 145.380 -0.600 CC:12.
- Sharon Repeater 146.865 tone 103.5
- Simplex 147.420
We will then return to the West Bridgewater Repeater for 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, EOC of any city or town as well as RACES or ARES members 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 trying your hand at Net Control please let us know. We can be reached by sending an email to ssharg@outlook.com or replying to this message. The goal is to rotate Net Control practice and the experience among as many individuals and groups as possible.
We thank the repeater trustees for their generosity in allowing us to conduct these monthly nets and the use of their systems in an actual event.
We hope to hear you Saturday.
Dust off your APRS gear and check in next week to the New England APRS Test Net! This is a great opportunity to figure out the APRS functions on your latest HT or other gizmo.
Why participate in the test net? During the first month, there were a number of reports of operators who tried to check in, but needed to figure out how to send a message or worse, realized they needed to update the firmware of their device. As Amateur Radio Operators, we often market ourselves folks who can send a message “when all else fails” so this is the perfect time for you to find out in a fun environment what isn’t working BEFORE you need to do something important!
KC1VMZ sends the details on the neaprs mailing list:
WHAT: NE APRS Test net
WHEN: second Monday of the Month (for February, this is Monday February 9th): 0600 ET – 2200 ET
WHERE: APRS
HOW: Destination Station = ANSRVR
HOW: Message body = CQ [space] NEAPRS [space] “your text: check-in message of choice.”
Extra credit – send out a location beacon during the net time period as well.
The Algonquin Amateur Radio Club will be holding its annual Hamfest at Whitcomb Middle School at in Marlborough, MA on Saturday, February 14th, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. General admission is $5 and includes a chance at the $200 Cash Door Prize.
For more information check out the official flyer.
For this weekend’s ARRL VHF Contest, Steve K1STK and his Scott KA1QAS are heading out roving as KA1QAS/R in FN51, FN41, and FN42.
They plan on being in FN51av on Saturday from 2:00PM ET until 8:00PM ET or so. Then Sunday morning they will be in FN41, and in the afternoon they’ll land closer to their homes in FN42. Each grid square change allows them to work stations again from our new location!
They will be operating on 6m, 2m, 70cm, and 23cm all modes. They will also be on 220 MHz and 900 MHz with FM.
Throughout the contest they will be listening to 146.52, 446.00, and 927.50 FM simplex. Give them a shout! They’re eager to test the mobile station they have been building, so they hope to hear from anyone, anywhere, from all the grids!
Hopefully you can also track them on APRS at K1STK-7 and KA1QAS.
They welcome skeds! e-Mail Scott KA1QAS at ka1qasradio@gmail.com
John Rokicki, KC1VMZ reminds us on the NEAPRS mailing list that tomorrow is the New England APRS Test Net:
Extra credit – send out a location beacon during the net time period as well.
Extra Extra credit – Help John test out a new APRS net technology – Net Central. To participate, send a message “CI” to one of two different callsigns NEAPRS-1 or NEAPRS-2. John will be running two setups – one internet-connected (-1), one RF only (-2). The RF-only setup will rely on iGates, but the local setup will only talk via RF. You can send “CO” for check out at any time, or wait until the net ends at 2200 and be sent a message letting you know that the net has ended. If you just want to be “in and out”, you can do that! Just send “CI CO” (Charlie India space Charlie Oscar).
I would like to see if anyone is available to help with a Parade in Gloucester this Sunday 11-30-25It starts at 3 pm in Gloucester and we have been notified at the last minute.
