a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
Radio clubs
“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).
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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). […]
“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
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.
From the Sci-Tech ARS Newsletter, March 3, 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.
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.
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.
Lou Harris, N1UEC, was awarded the first Louis H. Schall, W1JLI, Memorial Award at the Norwood Amateur Radio Club Dinner on February 27, 2020. The Walpole resident was “recognized for his tireless efforts on behalf of the Norwood Amateur Radio Club exemplifying the best spirit of Amateur Radio.”
Schall became a Silent Key in 2006. A longtime member of the Norwood Amateur Radio Club, W1JLI was also a founding member of the 19/79 Amateur Radio Association (K1VTE) in Malden, and a pioneer in New England Amateur Television.
Kudos to Lou Harris, N1UEC!
(via Facebook)
The Barnstable Amateur Radio Club will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, March 2, 2020 at 7:00 PM in the Dennis Police Department conference room in Dennis, MA. Entrance to the meeting area is to your right after entering through the main entrance.
It meets on the first Monday of each month unless otherwise noted.
All radio amateurs and people interested in Amateur Radio are welcome to attend. BARC members will receive a written call to meeting with more detail and a meeting agenda.
The Bristol County Repeater Association and Fall River Amateur Radio Club will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, March 2, 2020 from 7 to 9 PM at the Stop and Shop, 816 Grand Army Highway, Somerset, MA in the Community Room (2nd floor).
(Enter on the Fall River side near the Dunkin Donuts in the store. The stairs and elevator will be on the right. Go left on second floor.)
At their February meeting, members of the Norfolk County Radio Association plan to discuss ideas for celebrating the club’s 100th anniversary in 2021. According to NCRA president Dick Bean, K1HC, two ideas suggested are: a special event station, and a commemorative QSL card. 
Andy Wallace, KA1GTT, writes on the Billerica ARS mailing list:
Please join me in welcoming back Bruce Blain, K1BG, who is the newly appointed Eastern Massachusetts Affiliated Club Coordinator for the ARRL.
Bruce has been a popular speaker at BARS and other events and is well known for his ability to deep-dive into cause and effect – witness his recent work on the history of Incentive Licensing. As Club Coordinator, it will be very interesting to hear what Bruce plans to do to strengthen the clubs that exist in EMA. We are blessed to have 35 clubs to choose from here! As you can expect, they all bring unique politics, technical focus, membership interests, meeting facilities, etc. Bruce has his work cut out for him in herding these cats.
This will be an interesting presentation and I am sure you will have questions for Bruce about the club world surrounding BARS. See you there!
—
Meetings begin promptly at 7:00 PM, first Wednesday of the month. Our meeting location in Chelmsford is at:
Chelmsford Bible Church
128 Gorham St. (Route 3A)
Chelmsford, MA 01824
Please park in back and enter by the rear door. A map can be accessed by the “Club Meetings” notice on the right side of the website.
