a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
Radio clubs
Leandra MacLennon, AF1R, will present: “On The Road With AF1R” at the October 7, 2021 meeting of the Framingham Amateur Radio Association.
Members will receive a zoom invitation. Non-members may request an invitation by sending an email to John at president@w1fy.org.
“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes on the K1USN mailing list:
I want to remind everyone of our upcoming “Candidates Night” Zoom session @ 7:30 PM on Tuesday, September 28th with the three candidates for ARRL New England Director: Fred Hopengarten, K1VR (current Director); Tom Frenaye, K1KI (former Director); and Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC.
This “Candidates Night” will be an opportunity to learn more about each candidate and to ask them questions about their view for the future of Amateur Radio in New England.
We want to see a good turnout for this Zoom session and hope that you will have some questions for the candidates.
Questions should be addressed to all three candidates. Please forward any questions to Pi – K1RV ( k1rv@arrl.net ) as well as to Thaire – W2APF ( thaire.w2apf@gmail.com ), who will be acting as moderation for the evening. Preference will be given to written questions submitted in advance and we also hope to take live questions via the Zoom chat window during the session as time permits.
[If you would like to join our rapidly growing list of K1USN Zoom attendees then send me an e-mail ( k1rv@arrl.net ) to be added to the master Zoom list which is separate from the K1USN member list.]
Brendan Baldonado, NW1S, writes on the Boston Amateur Radio Club mailing list:We will use the Boston repeater to coordinate arrival and meet up.
It may rain on Saturday, if that happens I won’t be able to go Sunday due to a previous engagement but anyone else I will encourage to go.
Brendan – NW1S
On Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 7:00 PM, Clint Bradford, K6LCS, will present “How to Work Amateur Satellites with Your HT” (meeting is both in-person and online) at the New England Sci-Tech ARS (STARS) meeting.
Description:
You do not need 100W of transmit power nor expensive antenna arrays to work the FM amateur satellites! Many hams already have the necessary equipment to “work the birds.” This presentation will walk you through ALL the steps needed to successfully work several ham satellites. This presentation has been well-received by more than 100 clubs and conventions to which Clint has given it. Between the material presented, the handouts, the always-lively Q&A during and afterward, and the www.work-sat.com support Web site, STARS will be providing attendees complete information on this aspect of the amateur radio hobby.
Bio:
Clint K6LCS has been a ham since 1994 and found his niche in the hobby working amateur satellites with minimal equipment and telling all about it! He has served as a liaison between NASA, the ARISS team, and schools coordinating amateur radio contacts between the International Space Station and students (and orchestrated a wildly successful ARISS contact). Audiences have never found his presentation slides “wordy” or dull and trivia questions are included throughout the session. For reference materials, Clint has created a support Web site at www.work-sat.com for all to use. The Web site has become a one-stop source for all the citations, equipment recommendations and software suggestions made in the presentation. Professionally, Clint was sales manager for ADI / Premier Communications / Pryme, worked for a Motorola commercial two-way dealer for a couple of years, and for Ham Radio Outlet for a couple more. He resides in Jurupa Valley, California, with his wife, Karen, and their rescued lab, Freja.
For Zoom conference information, email Bob Phinney, K5TEC, at bobphinney -at- nescitech -dot- org or call 508-720-4179.
George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford list:
The September [PART of Westford] meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, beginning at 7:30 PM via WebEx video conference. A meeting link is below; just click on it to join in. You can join the conference any time after 7:00 PM to check out your gear or just rag chew until the meeting starts. We will NOT be meeting in person at the Senior Center until further notice.
The meeting topic will be “Programs Helping Hams and Young People to Develop New Skills and Get on The Air,” presented by Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC. Fred is president of the Nashua Area Radio Society (and a PART member!), and he’s been mentoring young hams and prospective hams for many years. He’s got some good ideas about getting youngsters interested in the hobby and ways to get new hams better acquainted with all the things they can do on the air. <…>
See you at the meeting!
73,
George, K1iG
BARS Zoom Meeting: Wed, Oct. 6 at 7 PM
Alan, KD1D, will make a presentation on locating hidden transmitters for hams [at the Billerica Amateur Radio Society meeting on October 6, 2021]. He’ll discuss “fox” transmitters and radiolocation methods for fun, radiosport and practical applications. RF fox hunting is fun, provides us with physical and mental exercise and teaches us how to locate sources of interference like repeater trolls, stuck transmitters and unlicensed operation on our ham bands.
There are many Fox Hunting opportunities in our area. This will get you started in this most fascinating aspect of amateur radio. Please join us for an evening of Amateur Radio excitement!
73,
Tom K1TW
Interim BARS President
From the Minuteman Repeater Association newsletter:
Membership Meeting Wednesday, 15 September 2021 7:30—9:30 pm
Dave Hornbaker – N1DCH Shortened 80m End Fed Half Wave Antenna
Location: New England Sci-Tech, Natick + Zoom Teleconference
Dave will discuss his Shortened 80-meter End Fed Half Wave Antenna. He will start with an overview of End Fed Antennas then, move onto the End Fed Half Wave. Dave will talk about how to feed an End Fed Antenna, counterpoise, and grounding. He also will discuss the design of his two End Fed Half wave antennas, the differences and performance, as well as design of the transformers and the common mode choke. He will also delve into the need for a counter- poise and common mode choke.
David’s interest in radio began when he was a kid and hung around the shack of his uncle Myron Hornbaker, W0GFU (SK), Fowler, Kansas. He got his First-Class Radiotelephone License in 1975 (now, General Radio- telephone Operator License). He was employed by a local telephone company as an installer of IMTS telephones in automobiles. Later, he went to work for Wichita, Kansas television station KAKE-TV as a master control operator.
David owns and is president of DCH Consulting Services, an Information Technology company. He has worked in the computer industry for over 40 years, most recently with the Microsoft Corporation. David is a graduate of University Massachusetts Lowell. BS, MS, Information Technology.
We’re pleased to announce the Norfolk County Radio Association’s web presence is now hosted on ema.arrl.org. To view their new site, visit <https://ema.arrl.org/ncra>.
On Tuesday, August 31, 2021 at 7:00 PM, Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, will present “Programs Helping Hams and Young People to Develop New Skills and Get on The Air” at the New England Sci-Tech ARS (STARS) meeting.
For Zoom conference information, email Bob Phinney, K5TEC, at bobphinney -at- nescitech -dot- org or call 508-720-4179.
Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, will be the featured speaker at the Framingham Amateur Radio Association meeting on September 2, 2021 at 7 PM. He will present on “Programs Helping Hams and Young People to Develop New Skills and Get on The Air.”
Tom Walsh, K1TW, writes on the Billerica ARS website:
This is a discussion on HF Digital Modes concentrating on FT8. The history and evolution of WSJT-X modes and its derivatives, like JS8-Call, JT-65, FT-4 and WSPR. We will also look at a few standalone kits for digital modes that you can build yourself, as well as an overview of FT8 software and associated software for digital modes.
Neil Goldstein, W2NDG, has been tinkering with radios since the early seventies when he used to hang out in his uncle’s ham shack in CT (W1PVC SK). These days he can be found in the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains with a QRP radio, or sitting at his workbench amidst a cloud of solder smoke. After first getting licensed in 2011 as KD2APZ, he started looking for ways to merge his two hobbies: computers and radio. Now, a holder of an Extra Class license, he experiments with SDR, rig control, digital modes, and has a well-used soldering iron. Neil maintains radiokitguide.com, the complete list of radio kit sources on the Internet.
[For Zoom conference details, email Tom Walsh, K1TW, at k1tw -at- comcast -dot- net.]
Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, will be the featured speaker at the QRA Zoom meeting at 7 PM on August 19, 2021. He will present on “Programs Helping Hams and Young People to Develop New Skills and Get on The Air.”
Coming Tuesday, August 24, 2021 at the Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society: “Amateur Radio Public Service” by Bruce Pigott, KC1US.
This presentation will cover procedures, resources and clubs involved with public service events. Items discussed will include typical tasks, recommended equipment to use and communications protocols. Information about training as well as the groups and agencies that need radio support are also presented. Bruce has been doing events since 1989. He has been an operator, leader at large activities and a ham planner and organizer for various Public Service events. Bruce has maintained repeater systems, done many Field Days, participated in VHF contests, and built APRS tracker boxes. He has held a number of engineering positions, such as component engineer and test engineer for assembled boards and IC wafer trim and test.
[For Zoom conference information, email Bob Phinney, K5TEC, at bobphinney -at- nescitech -dot- org or call 508-720-4179.]George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:
The August PART meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, beginning at 7:30 PM via Webex video conference. […] You can join the conference any time after 7:00 PM to check out your gear or just rag chew until the meeting starts. We will NOT be meeting in person at the Senior Center until further notice.
This should be an interesting meeting. After the usual club business, the two Bobs (W1IS and KC1DSQ) will receive the QST Cover Plaque Award for their article in June QST. Presenting the award will be New England Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, and Eastern MA Section Manager Tom Walsh, K1TW. After the award presentation, Andy, KB1OIQ, will give a presentation on GridTracker, an adjunct program for WSJT-X that maps current and historical contact info, keeps track of operating awards, weather, solar conditions, and a lot more.
See you Tuesday!
[To request conference login information, contact George Allison, K1IG, at k1ig -at- arrl -dot- net]George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:
PART member Bob, W1IS, along with Bob, KC1DSQ, are guest columnists in the August 2021 issue of CQ magazine, with an article titled “My Antenna Has Gain!” PART members will recall that they presented this topic at the January 2021 club meeting, and a video is available on the WB1GOF.org website.
The two Bobs will also be making a presentation on “Multiband Wire Antennas Using Capacitive Loading for Lower SWR” at the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo this Sunday, August 15, at noon Eastern time, followed by a live Q&A.
—
George K1IG
PART President
WB1GOF.org
Eric Horwitz, KA1NCF, writes:
“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes in K1USN Happenings, August 5, 2021:
We have lined up a presentation for our next K1USN Zoom session on Tuesday, August 24th @ 7:30 PM.
Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, from the N1FD Nashua Area Radio Society, will do a presentation entitled “Programs Helping Hams and Young People to Develop New Skills and Get on The Air”.
Please spread the word about this upcoming presentation!
I should also mention that the Nashua ARS will be offering online classes for Technician, General and Extra licenses and will offer online exam sessions for all attendees! Take a look here for further details – https://www.n1fd.org/amateur-radio-license-class-registration/
Visit Nashua ARS Website: https://www.n1fd.org and their blog: https://stationproject.blog.
Derek Rowell, AK1WI, writes in the Sci-Tech ARS newsletter:
As promised last week, I have installed one of the New England Sci-Tech (NEST) WSPR (“Weak Signal Propagation Reporter”) beacons in the Radio Room and have had it running since on 80m, 40m, 20m, and 15m using the OCF dipole during periods when the room has been idle. My plan is to build filters for the other bands that are covered by the OCF (17m, 12m, 10m), one per day, and have them available later this week.
Derek, AK1WI
Doug Bruce, N1WRN, writes on the Billerica ARS w1hh.org website:
Our featured speaker will be Rob Macedo, KD1CY, who can do a very timely SKYWARN Overview beginning at 7:15 or 7:20 PM on August 4 on Zoom with [the Billerica Amateur Radio Society].
[We will announce the link to join the Zoom meeting before the meeting, but it will be posted to the BARS email list . Are you on the email list? If not, please send an email to bars-subscribe@w1hh.org and then simply reply to the robot response from the server and you will be subscribed.]SKYWARN is something virtually every BARS member can participate in and it uses the Westford repeater for all local SKYWARN activations. It is very helpful during winter weather and summer storms. SKYWARN reports are used by virtually all the major Boston TV stations too. It would be good to get BARS more involved in this.
Rob is also on Tom Walsh K1TW’s ARRL staff and has close ties to the National Weather service and the Weather Channel. Rob may also appear at times on local TV and Radio.
Eric Williams, KV1J, writes on the Algonquin ARC mailing list:
The Algonquin Club will be holding a QSL card sorting session on Thursday August 12th, 7:30 PM at the Marlborough Fire Station. We will be in the classroom/EOC. The Fire station is at 215 Maple St (Route 85). The classroom entrance in on the side of the building, do not use the front door.
The QSL Bureau receives QSL cards from DXers all over the world, sorts them and then sends them to the New England area hams. We process 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
Thank you and hope to see you next month.
73, Eric KV1J
W1 QSL Bureau Co-Manager