Clubs

Now that you know what it isn’t, come to the next Billerica ARS meeting and hear what it is from HamXposition Program Chair Phil Temples, K9HI.

Phil will highlight some of the exciting talks and presentations lined up on the three-day program, as well as discussing some of the less-known activities that will occur at the Convention on August 26-28, 2022 at the Best Western Royal Plaza & Trade Center in Marlborough.

(By the way, it’s okay to forget and call it “Boxboro.” Phil does it occasionally, too!)

Phil Temples is ARRL Vice Director for the New England Division and a former Eastern MA Section Manager. A ham for over fifty years, he’s a Life Member of the ARRL and QCWA.

[For Zoom conference details, email Bruce Anderson, W1LUS, at w1lus -at- hotmail -dot- com.]

The Barnstable Amateur RadioClub will meet  in-person at the Brewster Police Department Community Room, 631 Harwich Road (Rt 124), Brewster, MA 02631. In addition we will provide a Zoom link to the meeting.

This month, Jon, N1ILZ and Lem, W1LEM will review and demo EmComm tools, including NBEMS, WinLink, NTS.

George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:

The July PART meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, beginning at 7:30 PM at the Cameron Senior Center, 20 Pleasant Street, Westford, MA, and via Webex video conference.  For those attending via video conference, a meeting link is below; just click on the green button 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. Bear in mind that internet connectivity from the senior center may be unreliable.

The meeting agenda includes a presentation on end-fed wire antennas by Bob, W1IS, and the famous Field Day wrap-up, complete with maps and awards.

Attendees are reminded to bring donations for the Westford Food Panty. Items such as canned soups and Dinty Moore beef stew are always appreciated.

Congratulations to the Great Hill Gang for securing the club call sign, K1GHG!

Next BARS Zoom meeting:  July 6 at 7:00 PM on Zoom

“The History of Radio in New England” by Donna Halper

Historian and radio personality Donna Halper will join us to describe the early days of radio in New England, from its modest beginnings to what has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Donna was born here in Massachusetts and began working in the broadcasting field in 1968 as a DJ and music director. In 1974, while at WMMS in Cleveland she “discovered” the progressive rock band Rush. She has written several books, including the first book-length study devoted to the history of women in American broadcasting, Invisible Stars: A Social History of Women in American Broadcasting. She also has taught college-level courses in broadcasting, media criticism, media history and radio programming and has a PhD from UMass Amherst.

[For Zoom conference details, email Bruce Anderson, W1LUS, at w1lus -at- hotmail -dot- com.]

Bruce Blain, K1BG, writes:

The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club’s June meeting is Thursday, June 16th at 7:30 PM at the Pepperell Community Center (in Pepperell). Doors will open at 7:10 PM.

We will also “simulcast” this meeting via Zoom (details are below), giving people who live outside the local area or who have concerns about meeting in person an opportunity to participate. 

This month’s guest speaker will be George Allison, K1IG, who will talk about Giant Antennas of the Navy. For its worldwide operations, the U.S. Navy has need for very large antennas and powerful transmitters. The sizes of these systems are measured in miles, not meters, and power is in megawatts. George will show you three of these; if you’ve got a few hundred square miles of land, maybe you’d like to build one yourself! 

This is sure to be an exciting and interesting presentation.

We will also have a quick discussion about Field Day plans and Field Day budgets. 

Need directions? Click here and put your own address in box “A”.

Thanks and 73. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Bruce, K1BG

978-772-2773 or bruce.blain@charter.net

PS. Thanks to the Pepperell Community Center for the use of the building, and thanks to Jim Hein, N8VIM and his employer, Medtronics, for the use of the Zoom account.

John Iwuc, KB1VXY, writes on the Framingham ARA mailing list:

Where: IHOP

Location: 4102 Shops Way, Northborough, MA 508-393-1222

When: Sat June 4th 2022. The Breakfast starts at 7:00 AM

Talk-in: Many going to the breakfast as well as those at the the breakfast may be listening on the following repeaters:

W1BIM – Paxton, 2 m repeater (146.970, PL 114.8)
W1MRA – Marlborough, 2 m Repeater (147.2700, PL 146.2)
AE1C – Southborough, 2 m DMR Repeater (145.27, Timeslot 2, TG # 3125 Mass State Wide, Color Code 7 )
AE1C – Southborough, 70 cm DMR Repeater (448.375, Timeslot 2, TG # 3125 Mass State Wide, Color Code 1 )
W1WNS – Westborough, 70 cm Repeater (448.775, DCS D244, P25 NAC 353)
WA1NVC – Framingham, 33 cm Repeater (927.01250, PL 131.8 )
WB1CTO – Framingham, 1.2 cm repeater (224.24, PL 103.5)

The weather looks great for Saturday!

Spread the word to all the ham’s you know.

Next BARS Zoom meeting:  June 1 at 7:00 PM on Zoom

“Troubleshooting Gear,” Tony Brock-Fisher, K1KP

Tony will speak on the often arcane art of finding and repairing problems with equipment. Often, a methodical approach, a bit of knowledge, and a few useful pieces of test equipment are all you need to put things right again.

The Pilgrim Amateur Wireless Association will meet via Zoom on May 20, 2022 for a business meeting at 6:30 PM, followed at 7:00 PM by a special presentation on Propagation and Space Weather by Phil Erickson, W1PJE.

Dr. Erickson is head of the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences group, a Principal Research Scientist, and an associate director at Haystack Observatory, a multidisciplinary radio observatory operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A licensed radio amateur, he is a member of ARRL, RSGB, and TAPR, vice president of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club. He is on the scientific steering board of the Ham Science Citizen Initiative (HamSCI). Dr. Erickson is also a member of the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Radio Frequencies, which advocates on scientific radio frequency requirements and interference protection for scientific and engineering research.

For Zoom link information, contact Mike Nye, N1NTM, at n1ntm@hotmail.com.

The next AARC meeting will be held in­ person on May 12 at 7:30 pm in the library of the 1st Lt. Charles W. Whitcomb Middle School, 25 Union Ave, Marlboro, MA. Enter from Agoritsas Drive next to police station and use Door #1 at rear of building.

The speaker this month will be Lou Tramontozzi, KA1HIH, presenting on antique radios. 

Lou will appear on Zoom and will present at the beginning of the meeting shortly after 7:30.   If we are unable to connect to Zoom at the library due to network or equipment challenges,  the presentation will continue on Zoom.

After the presentation we will review the election results and share Lantern Battery Challenge anecdotes.

The Bristol County Repeater Association will hold an “Antenna Build” and in-person club meeting on May 14, 2022 from 1:00-3:00 PM at the Swansea Baptist Church, 25 Church Street, Swansea, MA 02777.

“We will meet in the upper parking lot, near the back of the church/hall.  We’ll have tables setup, tools and help in building your dipole antenna.  Details on the build will be discussed during the Tech Talk at the May 2nd monthly meeting.  We are going to have the builders choose their antenna, within reason.  More details will be sent out by email.

Norm Cantin, WA1LNG, writes on the Barnstable ARC mailing list:

We will be meeting in-person [on May 2, 2022 at 07:00 PM] at the Brewster Police Department – Community Room, 631 Harwich Road (Rt 124), Brewster, MA 02631.  In addition we will provide a Zoom link to the meeting.

The Zola Center ARC meets on April 23, 2022 at 11:00 AM. Following introductions, Tim Duffy, K3LR, of DX Engineering will speak about the history of DX Engineering and what it is today. The talk will be followed by a “virtual” pizza party, a wrap-up of Boston Marathon activities, and a repeater update.

[Contact Frank Ventura, N1FMV,  at frank -at- littlebreezes -dot- com for Zoom conference details.]