Operating
Operating, on-the-air events and activities, contests, DXing
Framingham ARA Field Day 2018
Sumner Weisman, W1VIV writes on the FARA mailing list:
The Framingham Amateur Radio Association (FARA) will hold their annual Field Day exercise this coming Saturday, June 23rd. We have an excellent new location — the McAuliffe Library at 746 Water Street in Framingham, near the lights at Nobscot. Look for us in the open area directly behind the library.
Setup starts about 10:30 AM, and official operation will be from 2PM through 6 PM.
Along with tables of operating radios, we will have a literature table for visitors.
Updated June 17, 2018
13 Colonies Special Event, July 1-7, 2018
ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ writes:
The annual 13 Colonies Special Event will take place from Sunday, July 1st, 9:00 AM Eastern (1300 UTC) until Saturday, July 7th, 12:00 Midnight Eastern (July 8th, 0400 UTC).
Participants are encouraged to contact as many of the original 13 Colonies as possible in that timeframe. There are also two bonus stations: WM3PEN (Philadelphia, PA), and GB13COL (Durham, England). A nice certificate is available at the end of the event.
Each colony has its own callsign and list of operators. Massachusetts is K2H. If you are interested in being a K2H operator, contact Bob (K1KVV) at radioevents [at] semara [dot] org so he can put you on the official operators list. One must hold a General Class license, or higher, and should plan to operate from their home station.
This is a fun event and I hope a lot of you will participate. For more information: http://www.13colonies.net.
Fox Activated in Chelmsford, May 31, 2018
John Salmi, KB1MGI writes on May 31 at 1:08 PM at on the Foxhunting listserv:
Eastern MA Stations Active for Museum Ships Weekend, June 2-3, 2018
“Pi” Pugh, K1RV writes:
“As of today there are now 106 ships/museums listed as active participants and the K1USN Radio Club will join them for the Museum Ships Weekend beginning Friday evening, June 2 at 0000 UTC (8:00 PM EDT). Check out the list here – http://www.nj2bb.org/museum/
“We want to be on the air as much as possible during the entire 48-hour weekend event. Operators are needed to help keep [K1USN’s] three HF stations on the air. Please let me know if you are available to spend some time during the weekend. Remember that K1USN was the originator of this fantastic operating event that is now sponsored by the crew onboard the Battleship New Jersey. They have done a wonderful job promoting this event and continue to issue special certificates to stations that manage to work 15 participants during the weekend.
“I wish to remind everyone that Museum Ships Weekend is NOT an actual contest. There will be operating time available for operators with all skill levels. Due to the large number of anticipated contacts (1000+ in 2017) we do all logging using N1MM+ logging software. It’s quite simple to use and we will be happy to offer instructions.”
Additionally, look for other local museum ship stations on the bands:
- Mike Rioux, W1USN and Bob Reiser, AA1M plan to activate the USS Cassin Young, WW2DD, in the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown.
- Henry Brown, K1WCC, plans to activate a German Seehund, or “midget” submarine, WW2MAN, the Seehund U-5075 Amateur Radio Association in Quincy.
- Rick Emord, KB1TEE and crew will activate the USS Massachusetts from Battleship Cove using the callsigns NE1PL and N1EPL at Battleship Cove, Fall River. [See also: NE1PL QRV for Museum Ships on the Air, USS Massachusetts, June 1-3, 2018]
- The historic Essex-built schooner, the Evelina M. Goulart may be activated by Jim Hurd, W1LDL as W1E in Essex.
Fox Placed in South Chelmsford, May 26, 2018
John Salmi, KB1MGI writes on the Foxhunting mailing list:
I have placed a 2 Meter 146.565 DTMF Tone 2 to activate in South Chelmsford at the Red Wing Farm Conservation [Area] at 17 Maple Road.
KB1OIQ 2m, 80m Foxes Deployed in Westford
Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ writes in the Fox Hunting list on 5/25/18:
The KB1OIQ fox transmitters have been deployed!
They are located here:
Frances Hill Wildlife Sanctuary
Across from 122 Lowell Road
Westford, MA
(Near the Chelmsford/Westford boarder)
I will leave them out for today and tomorrow. I plan to pick them up around 6 PM on Saturday [5/26] for redeployment.
I did not put out a log book. A photo emailed to me will suffice.
2m Frequency = 146.565 MHz
80m Frequency == 3.5805 MHz (give or take)
Have fun and 73!
Field Day Safety Officer Checklist
Attention Field Day groups:
Please download this document and discuss it at your Field Day planning meetings. In addition to earning bonus points, following these guidelines could save lives!
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2017/16-2017%20Safety%20Officer-2.pdf
[based on an original document by Bruce Pigott, KC1US.] Thanks, N1VUX
“Salutations from Roatan Island – HR9”
Note: several Eastern Massachusetts amateurs are currently participating in a DXpedition to Roatan I. [NA-057] in Honduras.
Dennis Egan, W1UE/HR9 writes on the Yankee Clipper Contest Club list:
Salutations from Roatan Isalnd, Honduras!
Our HR9 operation is well underway. Sunday, we built the elements for the DXE Skyhawk. That endeavor took most of the day. The temperature here isn’t bad- 84F- but it is the relentless humidity that takes it out of you. There is also little relief at night, as the temp drops to maybe 78F. I guess that’s life in the Caribbean!
Monday, the 50ft aluminum tower went up. We were able to rig the rotor, mast, and feedlines to the tower before it was pushed up. It took the 4 of us, with 2 Honduran helpers, to lift it into place. I took a few pix until the tower got to the 30deg up, when all hands were needed to get it up the rest of the way. Still, once everything was rigged, the actual lift- while pretty exhausting- didn’t take an hour. We also brought the Skyhawk to the back lawn and began the process of finishing the antenna.
Tuesday, Paul K1XM and Charlotte KQ1F spent his morning finishing the antenna assembly, when Rudy N2WQ took the manual and a tape measure and rechecked every dimension of the antenna to make sure there were no errors. Once that was completed, Paul climbed the tower and we spent about 2 hours rigging up the ropes to tram the antenna to the top. We rigged up two pulleys to get a 2:1 mechanical advantage on the tram, and 1.5 hours later the antenna was on the mast at the top of the tower! Again, we have very few pix of this happening, as all 4 of us were actively involved in the tramming. Charlotte and I lifted, Paul was on the tower, and Rudy played the tie line. Seeing as the tramming area was little bigger than the beam, I thought it was a great job by all, especially Paul, who spent 3+ hours at the top of an unguyed 50ft aluminum tower! While they were checking over the antenna, I put together the antenna switching/BPF/Triplexer board.
It was most gratifying to put the antenna analyzer on the end of the coax, and see the SWR dips in the ham bands pretty much where we wanted them! The linears will be happy with this antenna!
I know some of you worked us Tuesday night. FYI, we were barefoot with 100 watts. We were surprised when 15m was still open to the states- the stations that called us were loud, but there just weren’t many of them. 20m was also fun, as stations in zones 14-15-16-17-18-19-25 were all easily worked.
Today we’ll be working on getting the low band antennas up. Expect to see us on 40/80/160 tonight, hopefully with a KW. There is more work to be done in the shack with running coax to the antenna switching board, and running control cables/coax to the operating positions.
If any YCCCer needs us for DXCC band/countries, let us know and we’ll try to accommodate. We won’t have much of an antenna for 12 or 17M, but any other band we should be good on.
PS: Remember, its HQ9X, NOT SQ9X. Even though we religiously sent the call correctly, and sent Zone 7 with each exchange, there were still over 200 ops that miscopied us in CQWW CW.
Falmouth ARA Field Day 2018
The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association is preparing big-time for Field Day June 22-24.
According to FARA Field Day Coordinator Larry Gray, W1IZZ, “We’re filling positions for: Field Boss; Station Captains for the SSB, CW, VHF, and GOTA stations; Food Captain, Media Publicity Coordinator, Public Information Table Coordinator, Set Up and Tear Down Coordinators” to name just a few. “There is an opportunity for everyone, regardless of experience or physical condition.”
FARA will set up in their usual location at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds, 1220 Nathan Ellis Highway, in East Falmouth.
For more information about Falmouth ARA’s Field Day site, see http://www.falara.org/announcements/farafieldday2018opportunities.
WX4NHC Annual Station Test, May 26, 2018
Rob Macedo, KD1CY writes on the SKYWARN mailing list:
Please see the following information from WD4R-Julio Ripoll, Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator on the 2018 WX4NHC On-Air Communications Test which will be held this Saturday May 26th, 2018 from 9 AM-5 PM EDT (1300-2100 UTC) across various bands and modes on Amateur Radio. We encourage Amateur Radio Operators in our region to participate.
Announcement from WX4NHC – Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, Miami Florida
WX4NHC will be On-The-Air for the Annual Station Test
Saturday, May 26th, 2018 from 9AM-5 PM EDT (1300z- 2100z)
This will be our 38th year of public service at NHC.
The purpose of this event is to test Amateur Radio Station equipment, antennas and computers prior to this year’s Hurricane Season, which starts June 1stand runs through November 30th.
This event is good practice for Ham Radio Operators world-wide as well as NWS Staff to become familiar with Amateur Radio communications available during times of seer.
We will be making brief contacts on many frequencies and modes, exchanging signal reports and basic weather data exchange (“Sunny”, or “Rain”, etc.) with any station in any location.
WX4NHC will be On-The-Air on HF, VHF, UHF , 2 & 30 meter APRS and WinLink wx4nhc@winlink.org subject must contain “//WL2K”.
We will try to stay on the Hurricane Watch Net frequency 14.325 MHz most of the time.
Due to space and equipment limitations, we will have 2 operators per shift, we cannot be on all frequencies or on every mode at the same time.
You may be able to find us on HF by using one of the DX Spotting Networks,
Such as the DX Summit Web Site: http://www.dxsummit.fi/Search.aspx
We will also be on VoIP Hurricane Net 4pm-5pm EDT (2000-2100z)
(IRLP node 9219 / EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203). http://www.voipwx.net/
Florida Statewide SARNET and local VHF & UHF Repeaters will be contacted.
QSL Cards are available via WD4R.
Please send your card with a S.A.S.E.
Please do NOT send QSLs directly to the Hurricane Center address, as it will get delayed.
Due to security measures:
NO VISITORS will be allowed entry to NHC without prior clearance from NHC PIO and Security.
Only WX4NHC Operators on the pre-approved operating schedule will be allowed entry.
For more information about WX4NHC, please visit our website
Thank you for your participation in the WX4NHC Annual Station Test event.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Julio Ripoll Architect WD4R
WX4NHC Amateur Radio Asst. Coordinator
www.wx4nhc.org
Celebrating 38 years at the National Hurricane Center
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
KB1MGI Fox Deployed in Westford, May 20, 2018
John Salmi, KB1MGI writes on the Foxhunting list:
I placed a 2-meter[fox on] 146.565 press DTMF tone 2 activate at the East Boston Camps in Westford.
Pilgrim Amateur Wireless Association Field Day 2018
The Pilgrim Amateur Wireless Association writes on its Facebook page:
Join us as we host P.A.W.A field day at the Swansea Fire Station
50 New Gardner Neck Road
Swansea Mass 02777
Saturday, June 23 9:00 AM through Sunday June 24 2:00 PM
Everyone is welcome to join in to make contacts or stop by. Hope to see you there.
Whitman ARC Field Day 2018
Whitman ARC writes on its Facebook page:
The Whitman Amateur Radio Club will be holding field day once again this year in the field behind the East Bridgewater YMCA. Setup will begin Saturday, June 23 at 9 AM, with operating running from 2 PM Saturday through 2 PM Sunday. We invite you to stop by to operate; or just socialize and enjoy the food!
New Fox Hunting Listserv Now On-line
A new fox hunting listserv is now on-line, according to PART of Westford‘s Dave Welsh, WI1R.
“This list is explicitly not just for PART members. Anybody who is interesting in fox hunting, especially in the general area of Westford and the surrounding towns, is more than welcome to participate,” reports PART of Westford president Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ. “Please forward this email to any friends who may also be interested in fox hunting.”
The goal of fox hunting–otherwise known as Amateur Radio Direction Finding–is to find a hidden radio transmitter. Typically, a transmitter would be hidden in conservation land well out of sight of passersby, and not in overly damp or other sensitive areas.
“Make sure there is safe access to the fox. Always be aware of your surroundings and your abilities. Be safe and have fun!”
KB1OIQ invites fox box owners who deploy/hide their foxes to announce it via the list. “Let us know when you’ve retrieved the fox so we’ll stop looking for it. If there is a logbook, let us know who successfully found your fox.”
To sign up for the fox hunting list, go to http://lists.wb1gof.org/
Commemorative Marconi Radio Contact with Newfoundland Planned, May 31, 2018
CORRECTION:
Barbara Dugan, N1NS writes on May 29, 2018:
Contact is scheduled for 1145 local BOSTON time which is 1545 UTC time.
Sorry for my mistake. My iphone was giving me London time- wrong setting, needed UTC time. London is UTC plus 1.
A two-way amateur radio contact with the Society of Newfoundland Radio Amateurs (SONRA) VO1AA in St. Johns, Canada is planned during the upcoming visit of Princess Elettra Marconi to station KM1CC and the Cape Cod National Seashore on May 31, 2018.
[See: Invitation to Meet and Greet Marconi’s daughter, Princess Elettra Marconi, May 31, 2018].
“Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland is where Guglielmo Marconi received the letter ‘S’ from his Poldhu Station in 1901 in the U.K. by flying a kite antenna,” according to Barbara Dugan, N1NS. Dugan is trustee of the Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club (KM1CC) and a National Park Service employee.
VO1AA and KM1CC will try to make contact on 14.224 MHz USB +/- between 1645-1700 1545-1600 UTC. “The Princess could be behind schedule, so we must be flexible,” adds N1NS.
Amateurs and SWLers are invited to listen on the frequency at those times for the commemorative QSO featuring the Princess. Chris Hillier, VO1IDX will serve as the net control so SONRA members can call in to the Princess. Someone from KM1CC will stay on the air with VO1AA should the Princess need to depart; afterwards, KM1CC will take calls from anyone who wishes to contact them in grid square FN51.
Their Society of Newfoundland Radio Amateurs Facebook page is at: https://www.facebook.com/sonranfld/.
Fox Box Deployed, Chelmsford BB Wright Conservation, May 13, 2018
John Salmi, KB1MGI writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:Easy find.
Eastern MA 2018 Field Day Directory
The 19th Annual Eastern Massachusetts Field Day Directory contains some of the most comprehensive Field Day resource pages of its kind.
According to Bill Ricker, N1VUX, the Directory offers both detailed historical and current information on individual field day club operations along with the complete event operating rules and helpful safety tips. The Directory’s software will automatically compute your field day site’s Maidenhead Grid locator for VHF recommended ‘Grid Chase’ extra exchange. “We report third level, six-character grid; for example, LL99ii–which is useful for some microwave aiming tools–but you only need four (LL99) in the on-air exchange.”
“Clubs which are reactivating a previous Class A or F site can confirm to the EMA Directory by simply putting their pin in at the ARRL Field Day Locator – also conveniently linked from our directory. I’ll pick that up and mark them confirmed. I would appreciate an email from new clubs in Class A or F, clubs with new sites, clubs whose details on their EMA directory need updating, or who are definitely not using the site they had last year.”
The Directory also links to updated information on how to handle NTS radiogram traffic, and score bonus points during the event.
“A major goal always has been helping (and encouraging) EMA ARRL staff and leadership to plan visits to nearby field day sites, as is our custom — and helping us hit as many different ones as possible. From the staffs’ comments last year about how many sites they didn’t find, I’d like to suggest that if your big banner isn’t visible from the road, place some Realtors(tm)-style foamcore and wire signs at the entrance and leading visitors through the maze.” Bill adds, “‘Public Welcome’ and an arrow are recommended. If you’re not conducting a 24-hour operation, a statement of hours would be good on both the sign and on the EMA FD Directory and Headquarters Locator.”
N1VUX also invites you to post your comments and memories from field day on the ARRL Soapbox. “We’ll link them in the Directory for history. If your club has memories on a website or Facebook page that we don’t have linked, send me the link and I’ll make sure it’s included.”
The Eastern MA Field Day Directory can be viewed at http://fd.ema.arrl.org. N1VUX can be reached at his arrl.net address.
W1HFN Fox Box QRV in Chelmsford, May 9, 2018
Barry Fox, W1HFN writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:
The W1HFN fox box will be deployed at the Lime Quarry on Rte 110 [in Chelmsford] today [Wednesday, May 9, 2018]. Frequency is 146.565. There is a 20 second voice message / ID every 3 minutes and a log to sign. The unit is quite small–about the size of a deck of cards.
I will leave it out for a week, at that duty cycle batteries should last.
Good luck to all.