a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
Radio clubs
The Nashoba Valley ARC garnered some great publicity from its recent Thinking Day on the Air event in Shirley, MA in the Nashoba Valley Voice in a March 2 story entitled, “Now on the air: Girl Scouts“.
See more “Amateur Radio in the Media” stories at https://ema.arrl.org/public-information/amateur-radio-in-the-media/.
The WCC Amateur Radio Association will commemorate Maritime Day with a special event operation. WA1WCC will be operating on the bands April 14-15, 2018, staffed by former WCC and Coast Guard operators working from the Chatham Radio / WCC Operating Building. See https://www.qrz.com/db/wa1wcc#mrd2018 for additional information.
The Framingham Amateur Radio Association is offering a scholarship to any area high school senior who will be attending college in the next academic year, or currently enrolled in a college program.
Applicants holding an Amateur Radio license will receive preference. Non-licensed relatives of FARA members will also receive consideration. Membership in FARA is not required.
All applications must be postmarked by April 15, 2018. Please Contact Richard Cosma, AA1VI at rcosma@rcn.com, or call 508-877-8241.
Bill Poulin, WZ1L writes on the Cape Ann ARA list:
The Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association will hold a one-day study course for those interested in earning the FCC Technician class Amateur Radio license. The course will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2018 from 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM at the Lanesville Community Center, 8 Vulcan Street in Gloucester. An exam will be held at the conclusion of the class.
There is a $20.00 fee for course materials, snacks and the FCC test fee.
You must register in advance by e-mailing techinaday@caara.net.
Chris Johnson, N1IR writes on the Genesis ARS list:
The Tech course for April 7, 21 and May 5th is a go! We are located at the Plymouth Airport Community Room have 6 students so far and the list is growing, again of you know anyone who is interested in taking the tech course please pass this on. Thanks to all that volunteer without your effort the hobby and this class would not be a success.
Call out to volunteer instructors, anyone wish to teach a section please email me.
Saturday April 7, 2018
09:00 – 9:15 Setup, Introduction, Books Materials
09:15 – 10:00 T1 (FCC Rules Part A)
10:00 – 10:45 T1(FCC Rules Part B)
10:45 – 11:30 T2 (Operating Procedures)
11:30 – 12:15 Lunch
12:15 – 13:00 T3 (Radio Waves and Propagation)
13:00 – 13:45 T4 (Station Setup and Operation)
13:45 – 14:00 Breakdown
Saturday April 21, 2018
09:00 – 09:15 Setup
09:15 – 10:00 T5 (Electrical and Electronic Principal)
10:00 – 10:45 T6 (Electrical Components and Functions)
10:45 – 11:30 T7 (Operating Procedures)
11:30 – 12:15 Lunch
12:15 – 13:00 T8 (Operating Modes and Special Operation)
13:00 – 13:45 T9 (Antenna and Feed Lines)
13:45 – 14:00 Breakdown
Saturday May 5, 2018
09:00 – 09:15 Setup
09:15 – 10:00 T10 (Electrical and RF Safety)
10:00 – 10:30 Q + A / VEC Setup
10:30 – 12:30 VE TESTING
The Framingham ARA Spring Flea Market will take place on April 8, 2018 at the Keefe Technical School, 750 Winter Street in Framingham. Admission for buyers is $5, and under 12 is free. Tables are $20 in advance and $25 at the door if available. There will be refreshments, a VE session and door prizes.
For complete information, visit http://www.w1fy.org/flea.aspx.
The Boston Amateur Radio Club will hold a special meeting at Massport Fire Rescue Headquarters, 261 Harborside Drive, East Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday, March 15, 2018. A tour of MassPort Fire Department apparatus will commence at 6:45 PM, followed by a short trip to Santarpio’s pizza at 7:15 PM concluding with the general meeting at 8:00 PM. Attendance for this event is limited to 25 individuals.
Steve Staffier, K1SMS, Massport’s Communications and Interoperability Manager, will talk about communications interoperability followed by a presentation about Massport Fire Rescue by Deputy Chief Robert Barnes.
Parking is available at Massport Fire Headquarters, 261 Harborside Drive, East Boston, Massachusetts. The Fire Department is located past the Hyatt Hotel. Please park in designated spaces.
Since we’re literally in the neighborhood, we will have Santarpio’s Pizza for dinner. A suggested donation of $7.50 per person is requested.
Due to space limitations at the facility, we will only be able to accommodate 25 members. If you’re interested in attending this meeting, you must send an email to k1bth@arrl.net no later than March 7, 2018. Management reserves the right to cancel the evening if not enough people sign up by March 7.
The Genesis Amateur Radio Society linux training sessions continue through March, 2018.
According to GARS Project Manager Jack Buckley, W1AKN, the sessions will address:
The training sessions run from 9 AM until 12 noon in the Genesis ARS meeting room at the Plymouth Airport.
After months of work, Southeastern MA Amateur Radio Association members are putting the finishing touches on their new station at the clubhouse at 54 Donald Street in Dartmouth.
According to SEMARA member Don Rosinha, WA1BXY, the shack now features a Kenwood TS-570 and an Elecraft, as well as new computers and accessories.
A radio room showing and tutorial event for club members scheduled for last month was postponed by winter weather conditions. It will occur in the near future.
Congratulations to SEMARA for constructing an elegant and functional station for its members.
PART of Westford is holding a kit building session on Saturday, March 10, 2018, according to PART club president Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ.
“The club has chosen the Cricket80A QRP CW transceiver for the 80 meter band,” Stewart says. “I’m looking for a building chairman, two to three Elmers to help and encourage kit builders, a technical person to spend a few minutes explaining the circuit theory, and people who want to build the kit!”
Interested parties should contact KB1OIQ at kb1oiq@arrl.net.
More information about the Cricket80A kit can be found at http://4sqrp.com/cricket.php.
Brent Putnam, W1NCH writes:
The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association (FARA) is holding a Technician class licensing course over the course of three Saturdays: March 17, 24 and 31 from 9 AM to noon at the Falmouth Fire Rescue Department headquarters, 399 Main Street (entrance on King Street), in the 2nd Floor EOC/training room.
The exam for the students will be held in the same location immediately after the May 31 session.
Cost of the class is $50 and includes:
This is a great value for anyone seeking to get their license, as the total cost of the individual items is well over $100.
Interested? Contact Brent Putnam, FARA President, at W1NCH@arrl.net.
Hank McCarl, W4RIG writes on Cape Ann ARA list:
The seismograph [at the Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association] at 6 Stanwood Street [in Gloucester] reported a 2.7 magnitude earthquake with epicenter at East Kingston, NH just north of Amesbury, MA at 9:28 AM on Thursday February 15, 2018.
This quake was also detected by Stan Stone [W4HIX] with his seismograph in Lanesville. Nice to know that our own MAGLO is operating as part of the USGS Netquake program.
Nashoba Valley ARC member Joe Dzekevich, K1YOW was presented with ARRL’s Cover Plaque Award for his December, 2017 QST article entitled “Upper Level Lows and 6-Meter Sporadic E.” ARRL New England Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, presented the award to K1YOW at the February 15, 2018 NVARC meeting in Pepperell.
The QST Cover Plaque Award is given to the author or authors of the most popular article in each issue and is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll web page.
Members of the Zola Center ARC are participating in a kit-building workshop on February 17, 2018 at the Irving K. Zola Center for Persons with Disabilities in Newton Highlands.
According to Zola Center ARC’s Bob Druk, WA1UIY, “the group will build continuity testers as a club project. At the December meeting we held a soldering workshop where we they learned the basic fundamentals of soldering. At the end of the session each participant was able to successfully solder the ends of wires together.” Many of the current Zola members are either legally or totally blind.
WA1UIY adds: “The continuity tester project is the next step in their progression. Their goal is to build an AM/FM radio from an Elenco kit which they hope to start by April.”
Additional volunteers are sought to assist in this project.
Dan Brown, W1DAN, Eastern Massachusetts Technical Coordinator and president of the Wellesley Amateur Radio Society will conduct this week’s session.
The Algonquin Amateur Radio Club is again holding its Marlborough Flea Market on February 17, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the 1Lt Charles W. Whitcomb School, 25 Union St., Marlborough, MA. Talk-in is on the MMRA repeater, 147.27+ (PL 146.2).
A VE session will be held beginning at 9:00 AM. General admission is $5. Vendor tables are $15 before February 9, 2018, or $20 at the door if space is available. Each table includes one admission.
For more information, contact Tim Ikeda, KA1OS at 978-333-0067 (before 9:00 PM), email fleamarket@n1em.org or visit http://www.qsl.net/n1em/2018flier.pdf.
The Clay Center ARC has announced it will conduct three courses for the public, starting in late March and April, 2018.
“We have teamed up with Brookline Adult and Community Education (BA&CE) and Newton Community Education (NCE) to offer a radio Technician Class course for adults and child-parent pairs to facilitate their successful completion of the FCC radio license test. Children who pass the test receive a free membership in the Clay Center Amateur Radio Club, the largest youth-oriented radio club in New England.”
Clay Center will also hold Technician and General Class “License In A Weekend” events.
For full details, visit http://www.cc-arc.org/courses/.
Jack Buckley, W1AKN writes on the Genesis ARS list:
We are getting closer to operating on N1ZIZ (147.835 -600) in the digital (NXDN) mode. The first of March will be the official date for using NXDN on N1ZIZ. The N1ZIZ repeater currently is operating on the analog FM mode with the repeater configured to operate in mixed mode which allows for both digital and analog operation.
The PL 82.5 must be reprogramed to the new PL 131.8. Anyone wishing to have assistance with this reprograming is invited to drop in next Sat Feb. 17. Come with the rig in question and we will see if we have the cable (bring the programming cable if you already have one) You may bring your cable and software (we will attempt to employ Chirp program, but cannot guarantee the rig is included in Chirp app yet) If you wish to get the app setup on your PC, bring your PC in (we are conducting GARS Linux training but you can bring MS for this session) You must have adapter and AC cord along with an extension cord to power you rig
Bottom Line N1ZIZ is configured as follows:
As always:
Please come join us at a Genesis ARS business meeting they are conducted every last Monday of each month.
GARS Business Meetings are at Plymouth Airport, Gate #2, Community Room AKA: precinct voting room, 7PM – 8PM with speakers most meetings!
The Clay Center ARC will feature guest speaker Russel Nickerson of Collabots on February 6, 2018 at 6:30 PM.
“Robotics is a combination of technology that changes life as we know it. Transistors increased the adoption of radios in the past; now there are other technologies that are making robotics a reality.”
The Clay Center is located at the Dexter School at 20 Newton Street, Brookline, Massachusetts.
via Clay Center ARC e-newsletter
Greg Algieri, WA1JXR writes:
The Central Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association (CMARA) will be conducting a “Learn CW Training Net” on the club repeater, W1BIM on 146.97 PL 114.8 on Monday nights at 7:30 PM starting January 15. Greg, WA1JXR will be the net control station and CW instructor. The purpose of the net is to teach hams new and old how to send and receive CW. The net will be a combination of FM voice as well as modulated CW (MCW) transmissions over the repeater.
CMARA members as a club project have built an MCW interface for their 2M FM radios which will allow them to send CW. If others are interested in obtaining a MCW Interface Kit they can contact Greg, WA1JXR at wa1jxr@comcast.net and I will start an interested list. If we get a minimum of 10 kit orders I will do a bulk buy of parts and circuit board and assemble more kits. So check it off on your calendar and check into the “Learn CW Training Net” on Monday nights and learn and have fun with the original digital mode, CW.
The Whitman Amateur Radio Club will hold its Winterfest on January 20, 2018 from 9 AM until 1 PM at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Route 18, in Whitman. A VE testing session will be conducted at the event. Admission is $5; tables cost $15. Raffle prizes will be drawn at noon. Talk-in will be provided on the Whitman ARC repeater: 147.225Mhz+ PL67. For vendor information, call: 781-523-5010 or visit http://www.wa1npo.org.