Clubs
Radio clubs
Donna Halper: “The History of Radio in New England” at Billerica ARS Meeting Online, July 6, 2022
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.]
K1IG: “Giant Antennas of the Navy” at Nashoba Valley ARC Hybrid Meeting, June 16, 2022
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.
IHOP Ham Radio Breakfast, Northborough, June 4, 2022
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.
K1KP: “Troubleshooting Gear” at Billerica ARS Online Meeting, June 1, 2022
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.
[For Zoom conference details, email Bruce Anderson, W1LUS, at w1lus -at- hotmail -dot- com.]LoRa Birdhouse Project at Wellesley ARS
W1PJE: “Propagation and Space Weather” at Pilgrim Amateur Wireless Association Meeting Online, May 20, 2022
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.
QST Cover Plaque Award at PART of Westford Meeting, May 17, 2022
George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:
The May PART meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 17, 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.
We’ve got several items on the agenda:
1. New England Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, will present the QST Cover Plaque Award for March 2022 to PART members Bob Glorioso, W1IS, and Bob Rose, KC1DSQ. After the presentation, Fred will talk about ARRL happenings.
2. Terry, KA8SCP, talk about emergency response by various agencies to an “event” at the Seabrook power station, and involvement by the Amateur Radio community.
3. Field Day plans!
4. ARRL grant money for clubs.
Attendees are reminded to bring donations for the Westford Food Panty. Items such as canned soups and Dinty Moore beef stew are always appreciated.
See you Tuesday!
George, K1IG
Agenda update: Terry, KA8SCP, is unable to attend the meeting; his talk on Seabrook events has been postponed.
KA1HIH: “Antique Radios” at Algonquin ARC Meeting, May 12, 2022
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.
North Attleborough Repeater NA1HS is QRV
Ray Cord, K2TGX, writes on the Study Memorial Hospital ARC mailing list:
Hello All,
This is to announce that the North Attleborough Emergency Management Agency UHF Repeater NA1HS is back on the air at full legal strength, 447.975 – Split PL 88.5. We would appreciate your trying it out in your travels and from home, and sending us your signal reports. I know Pierre, N1EZT, and John, KA1EWN, put a lot of hours in getting it back up with the new antenna.
Tnx, 73
Ray K2TGX
Ray Deputy Director Norton EMA-CERT70
East Main St
Norton, Ma. 02766
508-726-1054 cell
Cape Ann ARA “Meet Up” at Haskins Park, Rockport, May 29, 2022
Cape Ann ARA to Offer Remote Hams Operating Capabilities
The [Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association] Equipment Committee is pleased to announce a trial offering of a remote operations station to our members using the Remote Hams https://www.remotehams.com software. Licensed amateur radio operators subscribe to the service, and both individuals and groups provide access at their discretion stations open for either public or private use.
We will be making available a station to club members who have been a member in good standing for the previous 12 months, for what we expect will be a 1-year trial period after which the CAARA Board of Directors will review to make this a permanent offering. It should be noted that the Remote Hams service is globally oriented so licensed amateurs who participate in the Remote Hams service by extension are also free to use any other station participating in the service whose owner is willing to authorize their use.
We are offering the service on an as-is where-is. There is no service level in place regarding uptime, reliability, suitability for use, security, time to repair if there is an equipment failure, or availability. You are responsible for providing your own computer and internet connectivity that meets the Remote Hams requirements to run the client software. No claim is made regarding the peaceful coexistence of the Remote Hams application with other applications on your computer.
[…]BCRA Antenna Build, Swansea, MA, May 14, 2022
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.
KD0VKB: “The Art of the QSL Card” at Sci-Tech ARS Hybrid Meeting, April 26, 2022
Josh Landewee: “Bridgecom Systems” Talk at Barnstable ARC Hybrid Meeting, May 2, 2022
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.
K3LR: “DX Engineering” at Zola Center ARC Virtual Meeting, April 23, 2022
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.]
USS Salem Radio Club, N1SLM, Recently Formed
The USS Salem Heavy Cruiser museum ship is returning to the airwaves.
Hank, KQ1V, and Ron, W1OF, wish to announce the recently formed USS Salem Radio Club, N1SLM. They have forged an agreement with the new director and have plans for the USS Salem to be quite active over the next few months. Lots of work needs to be done preparing Radio Room #5. Hank and Ron are hoping that some volunteers will come forward.
If you would like more information, please contact either Hank <hwpiel@yahoo.com> or Ron <w1of@nsradio.org> directly.
WU2D: “Shortwave Dream Receivers of the 60s” at Nashoba Valley ARC Hybrid Meeting, April 21, 2022
The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club’s April meeting is Thursday, April 21st 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 (contact K1BG for details), 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 Mike Murphy, WU2D, who will walk us through “Shortwave Dream Receivers of the 60s.”
For many of us, ham radio was an offshoot of an earlier budding radio hobby, specifically shortwave listening in the 1960s. It was the middle of the Cold War, and the bands were full of exciting signals. Even the marine frequencies between 2 and 3 MHz were busy back then. So as a kid, you no doubt had your eye on what would be called your Dream Receiver.
The hobby magazines were full of these shortwave sets, adorned with many shiny knobs and big slide rule dials. Of course obtaining such would cost many hours of mowing lawns, delivering papers and even pumping gas. And yes – begging, trading, threatening and pestering your parents were all part of the game.
Mike will walk us though those golden years by showing off some popular shortwave dream receivers of the late 50’s through about 1972. Don’t be surprised if you see your old Hallicrafters or Lafayette, or Heathkit receiver in this presentation.
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.
KM1NDY: “SOTA and POTA Operating” at PART of Westford Meeting, April 19, 2022
George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:
The March PART meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 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.
Our speaker for the April meeting is Mindy, KM1NDY, who will give a presentation on SOTA and POTA operating. Portable operation can inspire amateur radio operators to get outside and play radio. While structured programs such as Parks-On-The-Air (POTA) and Summits-On-The-Air (SOTA) provide ready made opportunities for portable radio pursuits, the actual number of ways a ham can enjoy operating in the field is limited only by imagination. One bonus of portable radio is its ability to draw people together and promote the amateur radio hobby to the public at large. This talk will discuss gear choices, operating strategies for both individual and group events, and other factors that can help lead to a successful outdoor radio experience.
Mindy was licensed in February 2019, and holds an extra class radio license. She has activated 57 peaks for SOTA, now 21st in the W1 (New England) Association, and is an active POTA participant.
Attendees are reminded to bring donations for the Westford Food Panty. Items such as canned soups and Dinty Moore beef stew are always appreciated.
I’ve heard a rumor from a reliable source that there will be free stuff at the meeting!
73,
George K1IG