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Boston ARC Field Day at Bare Cove Fire Museum, Hingham, June 22-23, 2019

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Boston ARC logoJoe Chapman, NV1W, writes in the June issue of BARC’s The Sparc:

Field Day is less than two weeks away, on June 22 and 23, and as usual, [the Boston Amateur Radio Club] will be operating from the Bare Cove Fire Museum in Hingham. This is a high point of the year for me and for many other BARC members as well. If you’ve never been to Field Day before, consider joining us on Saturday, Sunday, or both. At the very least, consider coming for the cookout on Saturday.

We’ll start setting up on Saturday morning, and in addition to helping out, you’ll also learn a lot about setting up a station and erecting temporary antennas. It’s always fun to see what equipment others bring, and if you avoid buying ham equipment in the weeks after Field Day you have more self-control than I do.

Operating starts at 14:00 on Saturday. There will be plenty of Extra class licensees available to pair up with Technicians who want to try out HF. You may want to learn about a new mode like PSK31, or just watch experienced operators work. Even old dogs will find plenty of new tricks to learn.

I hope at long last to demonstrate a successful satellite contact. The SSB/CW satellite FO-29 will have a nice high pass starting at 16:40 on Saturday afternoon that looks perfect. To quote Bullwinkle J. Moose, this time for sure!

Clubs / Field Day / Public Information

Framingham ARA Field Day, McAuliffe Public Library, Framingham, June 22

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Framingham ARA logoSumner Weisman, W1VIV, writes on the FARA list:

Greetings to all hams,

The Framingham Amateur Radio Association‘s annual Field Day is coming soon!  We hope you will stop by and say hello.

    Date — Saturday, June 22.

    Place — McAuliffe Public Library, Water Street, Framingham

    Operating time — 2 pm to 6 pm.

We can’t promise, but there will be opportunities to operate as well.

We hope to see you there.

73, Sumner Weisman, W1VIV

Clubs / Field Day

Waltham ARA Club Picnic and Field Day Operation, June 22, 2019

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Waltham ARA logoEliot Mayer, W1MJ, writes on the wara64 mailing list:

On Saturday, June 22, 2018, WARA will combine a club picnic and a 4-hour operation in the ARRL Field Day.

Time:  12:00  – 6:00 PM
Location:  Sunset Shelter, Prospect Hill Park, Waltham (near the repeater site)

The club provides hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, condiments, plates, napkins, etc.    Attendees are encouraged  to  their own (non-alcoholic) drinks and a side or snacks  to share.

The FD operation is very laid back, and everyone is welcome to operate.

To learn more about the ARRL Field Day, see http://www.arrl.org/field-day.
Clubs / Field Day

Algonquin ARC QRV for Field Day, June 22-23, 2019

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AARC logo[From QRZ, the AARC Newsletter, June, 2019]

This year Field Day will take place from Saturday, June 22nd, to Sunday, June 23rd, in the Training Room of the Central Fire Station located at 215 Maple St, Marlboro, MA.

The event will run from Saturday at 12pm until Sunday at 12pm. Setup will begin on Saturday at 9am. Anyone is invited to participate. You do not need to be a member of the club or a licensed amateur radio operator.

Clubs

W1LSB: National Company Talk, Waltham ARA, May 29, 2019

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Waltham ARA logoThe National Company of Malden, Massachusetts was a world-class manufacturer of commercial and amateur radio communications equipment from the early 1930s until the late 1960s. Their HRO series was used extensively by numerous allies during World War II, and can be credited with helping in the effort to receive coded messages from behind enemy lines. At the May 29 meeting of the Waltham Amateur Radio Association, George Maier, W1LSB, will take us through the company’s history, products, and talk about some National employees that he knew personally.
 
For general information about the meeting, and the meeting before the meeting, see https://walthamara.org/meetings/.
 
Clubs / Field Day

Northeast Amateur Radio Club Field Day, June 22-23, 2019, Humarock Point, Scituate

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Bill Kretschmer, N2KNL, writes on the Pilgrim ARC web site:

The Northeast Amateur Radio Club, N1ERC, will conduct Field Day at the Fourth Cliff Recreation Area at Humarock Point in Scituate on Friday and Saturday, June 22-23, 2019.

Pilgrim ARC members Russ Apgar, K1RTA, (NEARC President) and Bill Kretschmer, N2KNL,  (NEARC Vice President) and other members will set up a tower trailer, antennas and transceivers on Friday, June 21. We will have cookouts Friday and Saturday evenings, and group breakfasts at the Omelet Factory in Pembroke on Friday and Saturday mornings.

If you would like to attend the event and join our club, feel free to bring food and drinks. The site is about 90 minutes from the Cape Cod area. MA State Route 3, Marshfield Exit 12, then east to Humarock Point overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Overnight camping is available on site.

Humarock Point is located on an Air Force campground. The area was originally used during World War II. There were two active six-inch gun turrets and a control bunker.  A personal note: I have attended many field day events since 1990. This is the most scenic location I have ever been to.

Clubs / Technical

N1DCH: Intro to Radio Hotspots, Minuteman Repeater Association, May 15, 2019

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The Minuteman Repeater Association will feature Dave Hornbaker, N1DCH, who will present on “Introduction to Hotspots” at itsMMRA logo annual meeting on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 7 PM.

The presentation will cover different hot spot options with emphasis on MMDVM based hotspots and Pi-Star. 

The meeting will be held at New England Sci-Tech, Inc., 16 Tech Circle, Natick, MA. Directions

 

Clubs

WA1VVH on Shortwave Station HCJB, Nashoba Valley ARC Meeting, May 16, 2019

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Bruce Blain, K1BG, writes:

The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club’s May meeting will be Thursday, May 16th at 7:30 PM at the Pepperell Community Center (in Pepperell).

This month’s speaker will be Harry Chase, WA1VVH. He will be talking about his memories of shortwave station HCJB in Ecuador. He made several trips there as a volunteer to set up broadcasting equipment, help with technical issues, and eventually help decommission the stations.

Clubs

W1UE: “HQ9X-Building a Station in Paradise” at Algonquin ARC, May 14, 2019

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AARC logoDennis Egan, W1UE, will present, “HQ9X: Building a Station in Paradise” at the monthly meeting of the Algonquin ARA on May 14 at 7:30 PM. Dennis operated from Roatan Island, situated off the coast of Honduras, during the recent ARRL DX Contest on February 16-17, 2019.

The Algonquin ARC meets  in the library of the 1st Lt. Charles W. Whitcomb Middle School, 25 Union Ave, Marlboro (enter through door #1 at rear of building).

Clubs

KB1TLR: Go-Kits, Falmouth ARA Meeting, April 25, 2019

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Falmouth Amateur Radio AssociationBrent Putnam, W1NCH, writes on the Falmouth ARA Facebook page:

The April meeting of the Falmouth Amateur Radio Association will be held on Thursday, April 25, at 7:00PM in the Falmouth Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

This month, our own Vice President, Barry, KB1TLR, will be doing a presentation about go-kits.

And we have an announcement about a Go-Kit Contest!

The EOC (also known as the training room) is located at the back of the second floor of the Falmouth Fire and Rescue Department (FFRD) headquarters at 399 Main Street in Falmouth. The public entrance to the building and parking lot are off of King Street.

Several members will be having dinner before the meeting at Liam Maguire’s (273 Main Street, across from the library) at 5:30pm. It’s 900 Thursday, so call in on the FARA 900 repeater on 927.850 -25.7875, PL 88.5. If you don’t have 900, we’ll also be listening on the FARA K1RK repeater, 146.655-, PL 88.5.

All are welcome to join us!

Clubs

WO1VES: “Digital Voice Hotspots for Ham Radio” at Billerica ARS Meeting, May 1, 2019

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Andy Wallace, KA1GTT, writes on the Billerica Amateur Radio Society mailing list:

Everyone, I am excited to announce that Brian Gudzevich, WO1VES, will be our speaker for May.  Brian runs the “Wolf Pack Repeater System” in Stoneham and hosts the “Nut Net” on the Danvers repeater (145.47) at 11:15PM every day.

Brian explains his topic: “I will be presenting an introduction to digital voice hotspots for ham radio.  These hotspots are designed to link digital radios to reflectors over the Internet, and allow you to talk to people anywhere in the world without the use of a Repeater.  They will work with almost any make, model and digital mode.  I will also be giving a run down of the various digital modes, reflectors, and terminology.  Followed by a live demo.  I hope to give people a full understanding of how these hotspots work.”

That says it much better than I could. If, like me, you only use an FM rig to talk on repeaters this could be really eye opening and I am guessing it will also be a way to “work DX” with your HT or computer! I hope the turnout will be excellent.

In addition, the Near-Fest ham flea (May 3 and 4) and ARRL Field Day (June 22-23) are approaching fast and after Brian speaks we will have Club discussion about those events.

Andy, KA1GTT

President, Billerica Amateur Radio Society

Time:

Meetings begin promptly at 7:00 PM, first Wednesday of the month.

Location:
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.

The Billerica ARS encourages members to get on the air! (GOTA). There are many exciting operating events over the coming cold months to enjoy. Let us know what you’re interested in.

Bring a friend (or aspiring ham) and join us!

Note: The weekly BARS Wednesday night net will not meet on this evening because of the club meeting. Members are encouraged to get on Billerica (147.12) on their way to/from the meeting instead.

 

Clubs / Youth

KV1J on W1 QSL Bureau, New England Sci-Tech, April 23, 2019

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Eric Williams, KV1J, Co-manager of the W1 QSL Bureau, is the featured guest speaker at New England Sci-Tech on April 23, 2019 at 7 PM. Eric will explain how the QSL card sorting works, and encourage attendees to do some actual card sorting.
 
Prior to the meeting, at 6 PM the club offers training on how to operate the HF station in the radio room (tours for visitors); at 6:30, everyone is encouraged to check into the net on 449.125 (CTCSS 146.2 Hz).  After the meeting and presentation is the Planetarium show and public telescope night, weather permitting.
 
New England Sci-Tech is located at 16 Tech Circle, Natick MA. Directions
 
 
 
Clubs / Youth

Northeastern University Wireless Club Semester Wrap Up

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Courtesy NU Wireless Club web site:

First off, thank you to everyone for a great semester!  We hope everyone enjoyed this semester’s events, workshops, and other club activities.  If you have any feedback from the past semester, or want to make recommendations for the next one we would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to any officer on slack.

Just some quick Summer notes:

  • Ham nets will continue through June
  • Door codes will last through Summer 1 and Summer 2
  • No events are planned, but still feel free to utilize the club space
Clubs

Quannapowitt RA to Feature WO1VES: “Digital Ham Radio and Internet,” April 18, 2019

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The Quannapowitt Radio Association will feature Brian Gudzevich, WO1VES, presenting on “Digital Ham Radio and Internet Connections” on April 18 at 7:00 PM. 

QRA meets at the Reading Senior Citizen Center at 49 Pleasant Street in the old fire house. Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month, September through June. All are invited and holding an Amateur Radio license is not required. 

Clubs / Emergency Communications

KA8SCP to Present on Emergency Communications, Nashoba Valley ARC, April 18, 2019

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Terry Stader, KA8SCP, will be the featured speaker at the Nashoba Valley ARC‘s April 18 meeting in Pepperell. A member of PART of Westford, Stader is involved in Massachusetts RACES. He’s a D-STAR coordinator for numerous repeaters, an ARRL District Emergency Coordinator, and the MEMA Region One Communications/RACES Officer.

NVARC meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM in the Pepperell Community Center, 4 Hollis Street, Pepperell, MA.

Clubs / Licensing Education & Training

Additional VEs Needed, Billerica ARS, April 11, 2019

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Billerica ARS logoGary Frascarelli, W1GFF, Billerica VE Liaison, writes on the Billerica ARS list:

The Billerica VE Session is short on VEs for this month’s test session [on April 11, 2019].  I need 6 (SIX) due to the fact that in addition to our regular session we need to have a second session in  a different room for someone who is visually disabled and needs the test read to him.   I only have two plus myself at this time, so I really need four or five more.  Please respond direct to me.  It is held at the Chelmsford Bible Church, 128 Gorham St, Chelmsford (across from Gary’s Ice Cream).  Park and come in the downstairs door out back.  

Gary Frascarelli <gary@garyfrascarelli.com>

 

 

Clubs / Technical / Youth

Northeastern University Wireless Club Hackathon, April 6-7, 2019

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The Northeastern University Wireless Club (W1KBN) is holding its 4th annual Hackathon on Saturday, April 6 from 12 noon until Sunday, April 7 at 3 PM in 424/425 Hayden Hall on the Northeastern campus.  The theme will be post-apocalyptic, and the Hackathon will have prize categories for both hardware and software oriented projects. 

To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wireless-club-spring-2019-hackathon-tickets-58854136306. 

Clubs / Public Information / Youth

Cape Cod Mini Maker Faire, Volunteers Requested, April 27, 2019

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The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association will again be participating in the Cape Cod Mini Maker Faire, Saturday, April 27, 2019 at the Mashpee High School, 500 Old Barnstable Road, in Mashpee. According to FARA president Brent Putnam, W1NCH, “We need volunteers to assist with station setup, operating, greeting the public, and helping the kids to make Morse code sounders.”
 
If you are available to assist, or have any questions, please contact Brent, W1NCH, at W1NCH@arrl.net.
 
For more information about the Faire, see http://capecod.makerfaire.com/