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Alan Hicks, KD1D, writes on the NEMass Fox Hunters List at 3:34 PM on August 14, 2020: The KD1D Fox is out again with a new battery from Electronics Plus! I expect it to last for 4 -5 days. In consideration of the warm weather (and the chiding I got for the last location’s altitude), the new location is easily accessible from the parking area at the end of Trails End Road in Westford. Happy Hunting! 73 de KD1D
Read MoreBarry Fox, W1HFN, writes on the NEMass Fox Hunters List at 1:01 PM on August 8, 2020: Sorry for the time lapse since deployments, medical stuff, surgery, etc. Deployed the fox today at the Hartwell reservation in Littleton. Transmits on 146.565 with a voice ID every 30 seconds. In a typical (for me) senior moment, I forgot to leave the sign-in log behind. If you say you found it, I will believe you. BTW, wear your hiking shoes, its a long walk. 73, Barry, W1HFN
Read MoreFrom ARRL Web: The ARRL Board of Directors met on Friday, July 17, 2020 in a remote session, using the Zoom videoconferencing platform During this session, the Board accepted the final recommendations of the Band Planning Committee. Committee chair and ARRL First Vice President Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, introduced the motion to adopt the plan. An earlier draft of the plan was introduced at the Board’s in-person January meeting. After the January Board meeting, the Committee received and considered hundreds of comments from interested amateurs. The final band plan can be viewed on the ARRL website.
Read MoreThe Nantucket Amateur Radio Association hopes to operate in International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend at Sankaty Head Light once again. According to NARA’s Jerry Horton, W2JH: “We kicked off planning last Sunday during our weekly outreach video conference. We will operate at least two HF rigs on Saturday [August 22, 2020] from about 10 AM to 4 PM, with Sunday serving as the rain date. We are exploring the possibility of streaming our station; at a minimum we want to capture plenty of video and lots of photos for after-the-fact posting. The whole gang is involved, sharing assorted tasks: readying …
Read MoreThe Yankee Clipper Contest Club will hold its fourth in a series Special Interest Group presentations on RTTY contesting online on Thursday, July 9, 2020 from 7:00-8:30 PM for its membership. Previous SIG presentations have addressed CW, SSB, and FT4/8 modes.
Read MoreHello 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 …
Read MoreBarry Fox, W1HFN, writes on the NE Mass Fox Hunters List at 12:33 PM on July 4, 2020: Happy Fourth of July to all! The fox is at the Mill Hill conservation land in Littleton. Frequency is 146.565 with a voice ID every 30 seconds. No visible PI. Enjoy! 73, Barry – W1HFN
Read MoreJohn 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
Read MoreEric Williams, KV1J, writes on the Algonquin Amateur Radio Club mailing list: Hope all are well. I am cancelling our QSL sort session that was scheduled for August 13, 2020. Two reasons: one, of course, is the current virus situation. The Fire Station is not available and our work is not “Essential.” The other reason is with the worldwide precautions, we are not receiving the boxes from the countries. So at this point that are not enough cards to sort. It may be that the mail embargoes will be released and we’ll get a surge of cards at some point. …
Read MoreThe Yankee Clipper Contest Club will hold its third in a series Special Interest Group presentations on single-sideband contesting online on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 from 7:00-8:30 PM for its membership. Previous SIG presentations have addressed CW and FT4/8 modes.
Read MoreBob Kelley, K1KVV, writes on the Southeastern MA ARA web site: 13 Colonies Event Week July 1, 9AM to July 7, Midnight, EDT (1300Z 1 July 2020 to 0400Z 8 July 2020) Certificate: Only one 13 Colonies QSO gets you a certificate. For a CLEAN SWEEP, you don’t need to work the Bonus Stations, WM3PEN & GB13COL. [D-STAR is OK for Bonus Stations] Working a Colony Station: use DX Summit www.DXSummit.fi to find a 13 Colonies S/E station. Spotting: after working a colony station, you are encouraged to spot it on DX Summit: i.e., “K2H 13 Col MA.” Questions? See KU2US & www.13colonies.us.
Read MoreArt Bernstein, N2KA, writes on the Yankee Clipper Contest Club mailing list: Some time ago I posted a bit concerning whether or not anyone was hearing a signal on 160 meters, just at and above the FT8 frequency of 1840 kHz. I received some suggestions and also that no one else was hearing it. After doing a lot of eliminating around the shack and determining it was coming from the outside, I did some research to find out who transmits on 160 meters in addition to Radio Amateurs. What I found was interesting and brought back some memories from years …
Read MoreFrom ARRL Web: 06/11/2020 – Volunteer Monitor Program Coordinator Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, said the program has recognized numerous radio amateurs with Good Operator Notices. “One facet of the ARRL and FCC agreement that set up the Volunteer Monitor Program calls for ARRL to recognize especially good amateur radio behavior, in order to encourage compliance with FCC rules and further the efficiency of the Amateur Radio Service,” Hollingsworth said. “Seventeen operators in 15 states received Good Operator Notices in the first quarter of 2020. The Good Operator Notices went to veteran operators as well as newcomers, including a 13-year-old in North Carolina for …
Read MoreAlan Hicks, KD1D, writes on the writes on the NE Mass Foxhunters list at 5:16 PM on June 12, 2020: I found a nice den for the fox in Westford. It has a new case and a bigger battery (which I expect to last well into next week). the KD1D Fox transmits about 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off and can be heard telling an old tale. It is transmitting on 146.565 MHz and is in a location that won’t interfere with Barry’s Littleton fox, If you need some help, just ask and I will provide clues, such as: …
Read MoreBarry Fox, W1HFN, writes on the NE Mass Foxhunters list at 3:17 PM on June 12, 2020: The W1HFN fox is out at the Bumble Bee park in Littleton. Frequency is 146.565 with a continuous voice ID every 30 seconds. Parking is at N42° 31.643′ W71° 29.566′ more or less. Good luck to all! 73, Barry – W1HFN PS NO PI within sight!
Read MoreThe Pilgrim Amateur Wireless Association maintains an impressive schedule of on-air nets for its membership. “Everyone is welcome to join us. We are always glad to hear you in there,” writes PAWA club secretary Mike Nye, N1NTM.
Read MoreDennis Egan, W1UE, writes on the YCCC mailing list: Effective July 1, International Postage rates for mail destined to the US will rise. How much depends on what country is doing the mailing, and how much they are currently charging. What probably is affected the most is the postage cost of parcels under 4.4 pounds mailed from China to the US. Rates for China to USA will roughly double. These rates, as of now, will NOT be reflected in the rates USPS customers are charged when mailing items internationally. As part of the Universal Postage Union agreement with the USA, …
Read MoreDennis Egan, W1UE, writes on the YCCC mailing list: Please join us Wednesday evening [June 10, 2020] at 7:30 PM. Our concentration this week will be on operating FT4/8 in digital contests. Coverage will include WSJT-x, but it won’t include any of the other variations (JTAlert, MSHV, etc.) as I have no experience with them. If someone wants to cover them, please let me know and I’ll allot time. Setup, what boxes to click, and how to operate will all be covered. See you then!
Read MoreJohn 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. …
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