a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
The Algonquin Amateur Radio Club Flea Market will be held on February
14, 2026 from 9am to 12pm at the 1Lt Charles W. Whitcomb School, 25
Union St, Marlborough MA 01752.
The following is the link to the AARC 2026 Flea Market flyer.
https://www.qsl.net/n1em/2026flyer.pdf
Please feel free to include this information in your club’s newsletter
as well as send to club members.
Ken, KA1GFN
Treasurer and Newsletter Editor
Algonquin Amateur Radio Club
FARA Fest is held annually at the Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational School. FARA Fest 2025 will be held on November 1, from 09:00 to 12:00. The Fest provides and opportunity for local hams to buy, sell, or swap items of interest to amateur radio operators. VE license exam sessions are also held as part of the Fest. Flyers are distributed and available prior to each annual FARA Fest. Food and coffee is available during the Fest, thanks to the school’s culinary program.
More information can be found at: https://www.falara.org/activities/fara-fest
Fellow Radio Amateurs,
All are welcome to the First annual Amateur Radio Flea Market of the Providence Radio Association, being held Sunday, Oct 19, 9am-1pm, at the Smithfield Sportsman Club, 5 minutes off Rt 44 and Rt 295, in Greenville (Smithfield) RI, Rain or Shine!
FREE Admission with unexpired canned goods, or a $5 donation to the RI Community Food Bank and the PRA Foundation
Sellers set-up at 8AM, $10 at the door, indoor and outdoor spaces available on a First come, First serve basis.
Please distribute to your club members, friends, and associates.
Thank you and 73,
The Providence Radio Association, Inc.
and the PRA Foundation, a 501(c)(3)
Larry Krainson, W1AST, writes:We need your help publicizing HamX and urging your members to attend.
Thank you for your help promoting your New England Convention!
The 48th Eastern VHF-UHF-Microwave Conference sponsored by the North East Weak Signal Group (NEWS) will be held May 9-10-11, 2025 at:
Hilton Garden Inn
555 Corporate Drive
Windsor, CT
Room Reservations available NOW at special rate. Limited Supply–Reserve
Now.
https://www.hilton.com
A complementary shuttle is available from Bradley Airport +1 860-688-6400
RAIL Stop nearby–Our friends from NY, NJ, PA and South and West may want
to travel by AMTRAK. The Hotel Shuttle can pick you up for free at the
Windsor Locks, CT Train Station, (but not from Hartford, if you get off
there). If any problem call Mark or Paul
Registration $40 ($50 after April 30)
Saturday Lunch at Jim’s Restaurant
124 Poquonock Ave. Windsor, Ct $20
(reserve and pay on Registration page)
REGISTRATION & Banquet Purchase is ON-LINE NOW www.newsvhf.com
***Call for Papers & Presentations***
Please Contact Paul Wade, W1GHZ
w1ghz@arrl.net
Please consider making a presentation.
For general conference information:
Mark Casey, K1MAP
map92map@gmail.com
413-222-9292 call or text
HAPPY TAX DAY! And coming this weekend, the anniversary of “the shot heard ‘round the world,” the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, which sparked the American Revolutionary War. This month’s stories are titled after Paul Revere’s ride (“The British are coming!”). Enjoy!
* Celebration of Marconi Day is Coming!
Marconi’s 151st birthdate is April 25, 2025 (born 1874). International Marconi Day this year is Saturday, April 26, 2024. Historic Marconi radio stations around the world go on the air to make two-way contacts with each other and other amateur radio operators.
Where: Marconi Station Site, Wellfleet, MA Saturday April 26 from 10 AM-3 PM.
The Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club and the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club are partnering with Cape Cod National Seashore to serve as an official International Marconi Day Station. Please visit the site to learn about Marconi’s historic Wireless Station that is famous for sending the first wireless transatlantic message from the USA to Europe (1903) and its ship-to-shore messages. HF radio operators will make live contacts around the world using Morse code and voice.
For more information:
Barbara Dougan, trustee Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club-KM1CC
km1cc.capecod.fn51@gmail.com
* NEAR-Fest is Coming!
NEAR-Fest is coming VERY soon! Like May 2-3! Join the crew this May as NEAR-Fest returns to its NEW home in New Boston, NH!
The organizers have an incredible flea market lined up, packed with radios, electronics, unique finds (You never know what you might find!), and all the camaraderie that makes NEAR-Fest the legendary gathering it is.
Whether you’re a seasoned ham, a first-time attendee, or love the thrill of the hunt, there’s something for everyone!
Full details at https://near-fest.com/
* NE QSO Party is Coming!
The New England QSO Party, on May 3-4, is a great time to check out antenna systems and offers a moderately paced opportunity to work new states and countries. You’ll find a wide variety of participants, from newcomers to experienced contesters, all interested in making contacts with New England stations.
Our goal is to get every one of the counties in New England on the air so we hope you will join in the fun! Even if you can join the fun for a couple of hours, contest organizers will appreciate it! Will you be QRV? Let the NEQP team with a message to info@neqp.org.
The New England QSO Party is 20 hours long overall, in two sections with a civilized break for sleep on Saturday night. It runs from 4 pm Saturday until 1 am Sunday, then 9 am Sunday until 8 pm Sunday. Operate on CW, SSB and/or digital modes on 80-40-20-15-10 meters. For each QSO you’ll give your callsign, a signal report and your county/state. Top scorers can earn a plaque and everyone who sends in a log with 25 QSOs or more will get a certificate. The goal is to work stations anywhere in the world – and their goal is to work New England stations, so you’ll be very popular!
For more information, visit the NEQP website at https://neqp.org
* 13 Colonies Special Event is Coming!
13 Colonies Massachusetts is looking for a few new ops to join Team K2H.
13 Colonies takes place every July 1-7. We’re looking for volunteers who can operate for at least 2 hours per day for at least 4 of the 7 days.
Operating as K2H is a blast. You become the DX, and stations want to work you. You don’t have to be a contest op to volunteer. Anyone interested and available is welcome. As part of team K2H for the past few years, we have made around 20,000 contacts.
If you are interested, please contact Larry, W1AST, 13 Colonies Massachusetts state manager, at W1AST@arrl.net before May 15th.
* Field Day 2025 is Coming!
I hope you have started planning for Field Day 2025! It’s coming up quick – June 28-29 this year. The League has all manner of materials to help you and your club get started, including the FD site locator (please register your site!!), and the 2025 ARRL Field Day Public Relations Kit [PDF] at https://arrl.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0zMzEwNjY0JnA9MSZ1PTUyNDYxMTkzMiZsaT0zNzcwMTg1MA/index.html to get you started – including a press release template that you can use for your activation. Full details at https://arrl.org/field-day
* 2025 Northeast HamXposition is Coming!
Mark your calendars! The 2025 Northeast HamXposition is not that far away: August 21-24, 2025, in Marlborough, MA. This is New England’s premier ham gathering. I hope to have an eyeball QSO with all of you at HamX! More info at https://hamxposition.org/
* Recruiting IT/Website Talent to Help Maintain EMA Section Website
Are you an IT person with some experience with WordPress? Could you volunteer an hour or two per week to help keep the EMA website? I’m looking for someone to provide some backup/relief for our tireless web site administrator, to keep an ear open for goings-on in the section, and to timely post short articles to the site, keeping the news fresh. If you are interested, please email me at n1ilz@arrl.org.
* Virtual NTS Traffic Net Going Strong
Many Technician class amateurs miss out on fun and skills learning of traffic handling because they reside in areas of the country where local traffic nets on VHF repeaters don’t exist. The Virtual NTS Traffic Net (VNTN) seeks to address this problem with the creation of a Zoom-based local traffic net that can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection.
The Net meets weekly, and held its inaugural session on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at 7:00 PM ET. The VNTN URL is: https://bitl.to/3xj4 The net will be changing time to 8 PM ET soon – stay tuned for details.
Full details at https://ema.arrl.org/2025/03/05/virtual-nts-traffic-net-begins-march-5-2025/
* Still Recruiting a New Section Youth Coordinator
Sadly, our Section’s former Section Youth Coordinator, Paul K1YUB, is now a Silent Key. I need to fill this important position on the EMA Section Staff. The SYC requirement and job description is at https://www.arrl.org/section-youth-coordinator If you are interested in this volunteer position, please contact me at n1ilz@arrl.org – I’ll appreciate it greatly!
* N1ILZ for a Final
Spring has definitely sprung! Flowers are coming up, grass is turning green again, and it SEEMS like we’re done with snow. At least I hope so. What are your spring ham radio plans? Doing some antenna work? Tidying up the shack? Taking some of that extra equipment to NEAR-Fest to sell to its new happy owner? Stay warm and dry and get ready for some great Spring fun!
Can you write a paragraph or two about what you’re up to, so I can publish it in the Section Update? Let me know via email at n1ilz@arrl.org!
* For always up-to-date news, please visit the EMA Section website at http://ema.arrl.org
This Section News Update was brought to you by Section Manager Jon N1ILZ.
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There are only 172 days until HamX—the 2025 Northeast HamXposition and New England Division Convention!
From the Watertown Patch:
“Swapfest is a huge electronics, tools, technology, amateur radio, and gadget flea market held on the third Sunday of every month from April to October in the Albany St. parking garage at MIT. Come buy, sell, or just look at objects as diverse as WWII Enigma machines, motors, power tools, computers, space capsules, and more. Early bird buyer admission starts at 7:00 AM for $15. Normal buyer admission starts at 9 AM for $6 (or $5 with a paper printout of our flyer). Vendors can preregister by the 5th of the month by mailing in our flyer with a check or show up to register day-of for a slightly higher fee. 9 AM-2 PM, but come early for best deals. Bring cash!”
The Northeast HamXposition boasts a cadre of dedicated volunteers who make this convention possible. But we can still use more volunteers. Your smiling faces and eagerness to help makes a difference to the attendees. From selling tickets, assisting presenters, supervising the flea market, setting up the rooms, handling parking signage, supervising the flea market, and taking it all down and packing it up for next year— you make it happen!
If you’d like to help us at the 2024 Northeast HamXposition, please register at https://registration.hamxposition.org/volunteer/ or contact our Volunteer Chair Barbara Irby, KC1KGS, at kc1kgs@hamxposition.org.
[See also: https://hamxposition.org/2024/07/23/meet-hamxposition-volunteer-chairperson-barbara-irby-kc1kgs/]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phil Brooks, KA1PXZ, Chief of NEAR-Fest, is pleased to announce that, effective October 4th, 2024, the New England Amateur Radio Festival, known as NEAR-Fest, will be held at the Hillsborough County Agricultural Society Fairgrounds and Youth Center located at New Boston NH, approximately 15 miles west of Manchester.
The reason for the permanent change in venue is due to ongoing scheduling conflicts with other events at the Deerfield (NH) Fairgrounds, NEAR-Fest’s home for the past eighteen years.
The hard decision to move the popular New England hamfest was taken by a unanimous vote of NEAR-Fest’s Board of Directors on May 17th, 2024.
In endorsing the decision NEAR-Fest’s Benevolent Dictator Emeritus, Michael Crestohl, W1RC, aka “Mister Mike” commented: “This was inevitable. The Deerfield Fairgrounds is becoming more and more popular with exhibitors and, as a designated agricultural fairgrounds, they have to give priority to agricultural events. We had a fabulous eighteen-year run. I am confident that Phil and Kelley, along with their team, will take NEAR-Fest forward at our new location for many years to come.”
Other than the location nothing else will change. It is still the same NEAR-Fest we have all known and loved since 2007!
NEAR-Fest XXXVI will be held Friday October 4th and Saturday October 5th, 2024 at the Hillsborough County Agricultural Society Fairgrounds, located at 17 Hilldale Lane, (Route 13) New Boston NH. GPS Coordinates 42.9842430, -71.6793460.
See you there!
NEAR-Fest (The New England Amateur Radio Festival, Inc.)
PO Box 172, Barton VT 05822 (781) 639-9172
World Wide Web: www.near-fest.com E-mail: ka1pxz@near-fest.com
Mike Crestohl, W1RC, writes on January 27, 2024:
Dear Friends of NEAR-Fest:
Please note this is an updated announcement. Please disregard any other notices you may have read.
Our Spring 2024 hamfest, NEAR-Fest XXXV, will be held on Thursday April 25th and Friday April 26th 2024. There will be no hamfest activity on Saturday due to an unfortunate scheduling conflict with the Deerfield Fairgrounds. We had originally announced that the event would take place only on Friday but due to popular demand and the cooperation of the Deerfield Fair Association we are pleased to announce this new full two-day schedule.
Our 2024 Fall NEAR-Fest XXXVI is scheduled for October 11th and 12th and will be the same as always for the past eighteen years, on Friday and Saturday.
The gates will open on Thursday morning at 7:00 AM for PREPAID TICKET HOLDERS ONLY so you might want to buy your tickets online well in advance starting February 1st 2024 on our Web site, www.near-fest.com, or in March at the Ham Radio Outlet store in Salem NH and at Ross Hochstrasser’s Clock Shop in Whitman MA and get your favorite spot. NEAR-Fest XXXV will end at 3:00 PM on Friday.
Prepaid ticket holders will line up and enter via Gate C as we did in the Fall. They MUST have ALL of their needed tickets and inside parking passes or they will be sent to Gate F. This includes all Campers, RVs, tenters, who MUST also have their overnight camping passes as there will be NO tickets or passes sold at Gate C. Anyone needing to buy tickets or parking passes will go to Gate F and will be admitted starting at 8:00AM. Once the line has entered at Gate C it will close and all others entering the grounds will proceed to Gate F.
For this event only admission per person is $10.00 whether you buy your ticket online or in advance or at the gate. Overnight parking and tent passes are $15.00 regardless of whether you plug into an electric outlet or not. Campers, RVs and overnight stayers will go directly into the Fairgrounds as we will not be using the campgrounds this time. The cost of the pass for RVs, Campers, Motorhomes, etc, is $30.00. All vehicles that remain in the Fairgrounds overnight (after 9:00 PM) will require an overnight parking pass in addition to an inside parking pass for Friday.
Everyone over 21 will need an admission ticket except unlicensed spouses, active duty military, full-time students (with ID) and other valid pass holders.
If you buy something big and heavy in the flea market one of our volunteer staff members will be glad to transport it and you to your vehicle at no charge as we have been doing for many years. As always inside parking for disabled persons is free of charge and they may use a single person “mobility device” as well. NEAR-Fest reserves the right to limit the use of golf carts and “other power driven mobility devices” due to safety concerns and potential liability issues.
Please visit our Web site, www.near-fest.com, or our Facebook page, NearFest NH for any further updates. We apologize for any inconvenience that this modified version of NEAR-Fest may have caused but it is only for this time. We appreciate your indulgence and understanding.
See you at Deerfield!
73,
MisterMike, W1RC
The Falmouth ARA FARA Fest is held annually at the Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational School. The Fest provides and opportunity for local hams to buy, sell, or swap items of interest to amateur radio operators. VE license exam sessions are also held as part of the Fest. Flyers are distributed and available on this site prior to each annual FARA Fest.
The Board of Directors has set the following official guidelines for FARA FEST.
Outside Spaces are $10.00 per space. All vendors will be given a placard to display, bring your own table.
Indoor spaces are $10.00 per TABLE, we supply the table. All vendors will be given a placard to display.
General admission is $5.00, children under 14 free
[Full Details]The New England Amateur Radio Festival (NEAR-Fest) will be held Friday October 13 and Saturday, October 14 at the Deerfield, New Hampshire, Fairgrounds. Besides the flea market, we will have a full slate of forums during the day on Friday. While we encourage everyone to attend the show, the forums will also be available to view on-line for those who cannot be present. The schedule (subject to change) can be viewed at: http://hamclass.net/nearf23.html. Details for viewing on line will appear the day before.
Further details on NEAR-Fest can be found at: https://near-fest.com/.
