Clubs
Radio clubs
Change of Venue: Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC Meeting, March 17, 2020
Ray Cord, K2TGX, writes on the SMH ARC mailing list:
This is to announce that due to restrictions imposed on Sturdy Memorial Hospital activities for outside groups because of the coronavirus we will be moving the club meeting scheduled for this coming Tuesday, March 17th. Thanks to Steve, N1LEO, and his brother for offering to host the meeting.
The new location will be Stone-E-Lea Golf Course Club House, 1411 County Street, Attleboro, MA. Times will remain the same: ARES EmComm meeting at 7:00PM, Business meeting at 8:00PM.
Hope to see you all there, bring your N-95 masks and hand sanitizer.
CANCELLED: Pentucket RA Meets on May 19, 2020
David Robertson, KD1NA, writes on the Pentucket RA mailing list:
Because of the Virus situation I feel we should cancel the coming PRA meeting that was to be held on the 19th of this month. Instead we should hold the next meeting on April 16th. This way we can discuss setting up for NEAR-Fest. I have ordered the early entry tickets.
73,
Dave KD1NA
CANCELLED: Northeastern University Wireless Club Meetings
From the NUWC mailing list, March 12, 2020 at 4:59 PM:
This has been a very busy week for everyone. After the university elected to move classes online and recommended against large gatherings, we consulted with our faculty advisors and CSI to see what the best path moving forward is. Until further notice, we have decided to suspend our general meetings along with our workshop series with IEEE. The lab space will remain open for as long as academic buildings are open, but we discourage against group meetings. This is still a developing situation, and we will notify you as things change.
CANCELLED: North Shore RA Meets March 16, 2020
“We had made the decision [to cancel] last night and then this morning (March 13, 2020) we got notice from our meeting place PMLP cancelled all use of the auditorium until further notice.” -Rick, KB1LYJ
The North Shore Radio Association will hold its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 16, 2020, in the Peabody Municipal Light Plant auditorium, 201 Warren St Extension, in Peabody (talk-in 145.470 repeater).
CANCELLED: PART of Westford March 17, 2020 Meeting; Breakfasts Still A “Go”
To All PART of Westford Members,
In light of guidance from the State of Massachusetts regarding older adults having a higher risk related to COVID-19, and avoidance of mass gatherings, the March PART meeting is canceled. This is the only PART activity being canceled at this time; until further notice, the monthly Saturday breakfast (next scheduled for April 4) is still on, and the weekly Owl Diner breakfasts will be held as desired by the attendees.
Items of interest for PART members regarding COVID-19 will be posted on the WB1GOF.org website.
PART is still conducting other activities, and even if there is an epidemic going around, this great hobby of ours provides plenty of ways to interact. Some suggestions include:
1. Monitor the WB1GOF repeater. It’s possible that some of our members will be in quarantine, and they may need help with groceries or other tasks. They may just want to hear a friendly voice. Be sure your HT batteries are charged. If you need help and you can’t reach someone on the phone, get on the air and let someone know.
2. At the ragchew after the Sunday night net, offer suggestions or help in dealing with local issues. Since there’s no club meeting in March, we can hold a “virtual meeting” after the net.
3. I’ve heard rumors that foxes may soon be on the loose. This is ideal fox hunting weather (reasonably warm, and no ticks), and the foxes are eager to be running wild after being cooped up all winter. A walk in the woods is great exercise, and there’s virtually no chance of picking up the Coronavirus. If you’re not a fox hunter, the club’s hunters would be happy to give you a demonstration — join the NE Massachusetts Fox Hunter users group at: https://groups.io/g/
4. The CQ-World Wide WPX (SSB) contest is the weekend of March 28-29. Check out the rules at: https://www.cqwpx.com/rules.
Coping with the epidemic is going to be a challenge for the community and the nation, but challenges like this are what ham radio is for. Let’s do this together.
—
George K1IG
PART President
WB1GOF.org
CANCELLED: Cape Ann ARA Tuesday Evening Open Houses
Gardner H. Winchester II, KA1BTK, writes on the Cape Ann ARA mailing list:
In light of Governor Baker’s Declared State of Emergency to Support the Commonwealth’s Response to the Coronavirus <https://www.mass.gov/news/gov
CANCELLED: Zola Center ARC Meeting, March 14, 2020
Frank Ventura, N1FMV, writes:
Hi all, with the Governor calling a state of emergency I think it is best to hunker down and stay safe. We were supposed to meet at the Zola center this Saturday. I think we should call off our March meeting and wait this thing out. Here are the dates of our upcoming meetings:
April 25
May 23
June 20
Nashoba Valley ARC Members Judge Radio-Related Entries at Bromfield School Science Fair
From the NVARC March, 2020 Signal:
Once again, Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club members volunteered to judge radio-related entries in the Bromfield School’s (Harvard, MA) annual Science Fair. There were fifty-two entries, five of which were in the areas of NVARC expertise. The students were quite knowledgeable in their subjects, some more than others, but all of them were impressive. The projects NVARC judged were:
1. “Warping WiFi: The Attenuation of WiFi Signals by Different Materials”
2. “Free Space Optical Communications using Lasers”
3. “Making GPS Use Safer”
4. “Simple Aurora Monitor”
5. “The Construction and Research of MagLev Trains”
Of these, NVARC judged numbers 1, 2, & 4 as superior works, and awarded the students with a Certificate of Merit, an RTL-SDR HF/VHF radio dongle, and a private tour of Haystack Observatory.
CANCELLED: Cape Ann ARA Meets March 14, 2020
CAARA President Hank McCarl, W4RIG, writes on March 11, 2020:
With Bill sick and not able to cook the special dinner, the requests from the Governor of the Commonwealth, and advice from several CAARA Board members I believe we should cancel both the Board and Members Meetings on this coming Saturday March 14. Let me know if you have any objections – keep in touch via the repeater.
The next Members Meeting of the Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association will be held at 12 noon at the clubhouse at 6 Stanwood Street, Gloucester, MA. See map and directions to the site.
The Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association is an ARRL-affiliated club whose mission includes: providing health and safety communication services for emergencies and disasters on Cape Ann and in other areas when requested, educate and train new amateur radio operators and to maintain a well-tuned disaster team, conduct FCC testing for new licenses and those wishing to upgrade, provide educational services and demonstrations to local area schools and community organizations such as the Boy Scouts, conduct public demonstrations and educational events, assist public utilities in finding radio frequency interferences that could potentially harm or hinder emergency communication activities, and create a positive, supportive environment for our members that promotes camaraderie and fellowship.
CANCELLED: Algonquin ARC March 12, 2020 Meeting
I have decided to cancel the March AARC meeting after consulting with the officers.
Much of our club membership falls into the CDC-identified vulnerable population which has been advised by federal and state agencies to minimize contact to reduce risk of exposure to novel-coronavirus. Gov. Baker declared a state of emergency this afternoon, and many companies and educational institutions are restricting domestic travel, large meetings, and offsite meetings.
There is no reason to make a decision regarding the April meeting at this point. If the situation continues, we have time to investigate streaming or other remote meeting options for April.
I also encourage members to check into the weekly club net, Sundays at 1900 on 446.675, PL 88.5.
Thanks,
Mike, w1ku
AARC acting president
The Algonquin Amateur Radio Club will meet on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Jim Idelson, K1IR, will present on tower safety.
AARC meetings are held at 7:30 PM in the library of the 1st Lt. Charles W. Whitcomb Middle School in Marlborough, 25 Union Avenue. Use Door #1 at rear of building.
Harvard Wireless Club Meets March 10, 2020
Hey Everyone,
I know that in light of the college asking everyone to leave campus by Sunday, a lot of plans are in flux. During these uncertain times our emergency preparedness skills are as important as they ever have been. Given that we expect an attendance of less than 25 people today, our meeting and elections this evening will still take place as planned. I encourage all underclassmen to consider running for a position. Radios have arrived and will be distributed.
Allen Liu, KC1HBB
Allen Liu, KC1HBB, writes on the HWC mailing list:
The wireless club will be meeting at our shack on Linden Street [in Cambridge] at 7 PM on Tuesday, March 10th. We will be having elections for next year’s board and handing out radios to licensed members who have not yet received theirs. There will be food (likely pizza). […]
CANCELLED: SKYWARN Training at Minuteman RA Meeting, Leominster, March 18, 2020
“We cancelled the next meeting on March 18th. Our first venue cancelled, we got a second venue and was all set but it was SKYWARN training and NWS cancelled…We had arranged an online meeting as a backup, but NWS won’t allow spotter IDs to be issued. We are adding an online option for future meetings, but have not tested that yet.” –David, N1DCH
Please join us on Wednesday, March 18th @ 7pm, for SKYWARN weather spotter training. The training is being presented by Robert Macedo, KD1CY. All attendees will be issued a SKYWARN spotter ID and will be eligible to report severe weather to the National Weather Service.
This presentation will train you how to assist local officials and the NWS with early detection of hazardous weather. This is a public event but registration is required. If you plan on attending, please be sure to register before Friday March 13th to reserve your spot. Registration will be open to the public after the 13th.
More info about SKYWARN can be found at www.weather.gov/box/skywarn
Location: Leominster Office of Emergency Management, 37 Carter Street, Leominster, MA 01453 View Map
Register for this SKYWARN training here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-training-class-mmra-meeting-leominster-oem-tickets-98531617721
Also, please join us for the weekly MMRA TIOS Net every Tuesday at 8pm on the linked repeater network.
73,
Jason, W1HFP
MMRA Secretary
Nantucket ARA Meets March 7, 2020
The Nantucket Amateur Radio Association (W1TUK) will hold its next meeting on March 7, 2020 at 12 noon at the Nantucket Police & Fire Department in the second floor conference room, 4 Fairgrounds Road , Nantucket, MA 02554.
NARA is an ARRL affiliated club. It meets quarterly on the first Saturday of each month in: December, March, June, and September.
KC1FSZ: “Homebrewing Renaissance in Amateur Radio” at New England Sci-Tech, March 10, 2020
From the Sci-Tech ARS Newsletter, March 3, 2020:
Pilgrim ARC Meets March 9, 2020
The next club meeting of the Pilgrim Amateur Radio Club will be Monday, March 9, 2020, 7:00 PM at The Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School, 195 MA-137, Harwich, MA.
Pilgrim ARC members have been active in amateur radio emergency communications, class/test instruction, and maintaining two repeaters in Truro and Harwich. PARC is an ARRL affiliated club.
Southeastern MA ARA Meets on March 5, 2020
The Southeastern MA Amateur Radio Association (SEMARA) will hold its monthly business meeting on March 5, 2020 at 7 PM at the clubhouse at 54 Donald Street, Dartmouth, MA.
About SEMARA: Founded in 1932, SEMARA is an ARRL affiliated club. It owns a clubhouse which sits on three acres of land. The clubhouse contains three separate operating positions, each with HF/VHF/UHF gear and desktop computers/monitors, all networked together with high-speed business-class internet. There is also a meeting hall, kitchen area and two restrooms. The club owns and operates three analog repeaters, plus an APRS digipeater and iGate.
W1EKG on “Vintage Aircraft Radios” at the Whitman ARC, March 4, 2020
The Whitman Amateur Radio Club will meet on March 4, 2020 at 7:00 PM. WARC member Ross Hochtrasser, W1EKG, will present on vintage aircraft radios.
WARC holds a winter flea market, conducts licensing classes, and participates in a number of high-profile public service events. Meetings are held at the Whitman Knights of Columbus Hall on route 18 just south of the Abington line.