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Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list at 12:05 PM on September 4, 2021:
Hello Fox Hunters,
The KB1OIQ 2m 146.565 MHz fox is on the loose in the town of Westford.
The clue: Peace be with you
Enjoy the nearby bench and the view as your reward for finding the fox.
There is no log book. Take a photo if you wish, and email it to me…..or not, as you choose. 🙂
Have fun, and 73,
Andy
George, K1IG, suggested setting up a Fox at a residence or public building, that would simulate an interfering or unlicensed transmitter (that wasn’t hidden in the woods in a tick nest, for example).
As of 6:00 pm EDT, the KD1D Fox is in such a location in Westford. If you take some initial readings from Hildreth Hills (Monadnock Drive and surroundings), you should get a hint of where it might be. (It can also be heard from Kimball’s, but it might be best to save that for a reward at the end of your quest).
As usual, the KD1D Fox operates on 146.565 MHz FM with a message that repeats every 60 seconds
There is no logbook and hunters should avoid going on private property. Be aware of your surroundings, especially traffic. To log your find, just send an email with the (suspected) street address and/ or a( small) photo to kd1d@arrl.net.
Happy Hunting!
73 de KD1D
Mike Cormier, K1MJC, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list at 2:32 PM on September 3, 2021:
Yes, the K1MJC fox is out yet again!
Here are two clues:
As you know, there are not very many “prospect”-ive places in my home city of Waltham to hide the fox.
Wow, after all this hard work of finding a location for the fox and putting it there I think I’ll need to replenish my energy by going to the corner store and picking up:
“A candy bar introduced in 1936, consisting of peanut butter crunch layers enrobed in chocolate. “ Mmmmm!
P.S. – There are only three entrances to this area; only two are active at this time due to construction concerns. The fox is close to only one of the entrances of the location in question.
One of the maps on this page would prove useful!
https://walthamlandtrust.org/trail-guides/
Happy hunting!
73‘s Mike C. K1MJC
Forgot to mention, the K1MJC Fox is transmitting on 146.565 just in case some were wondering.
I’ll have to brush up on my Map & Compass skills for the KD1D Fox!
Gerry Hull, W1VE, writes on the YCCC list:
Hi Folks,
For those who are planning to attend the Northeast HamXposition Sept 10-12, we are planning, as usual, a special event station. Marty, NN1C and I will be spearheading the effort.
Rather than just a drop-by-and-say-hi/Quick QSO moment, we thought it would be great to turn this into another “Discover the HF Experience” activity. If you remember, this was done in the past by both YCCC and a group of contest clubs at the Dayton Hamvention. It was a great success.
So, this year, at HamXposition, we will have three operating positions. Two of the stations will be remote, and the third will be a local station at the Xposition, with dipole antennas.
We are excited to show hams what shortwave radio is, and especially what it is like in 2021. We would like to give new hams/non-hams at least a taste for what HF radio is, and why we get so excited about it. We have two fantastic superstations for our remote operations, and they should excite both old and new!
What we need is some of your expertise and time. A new ham or someone interested in the hobby can read books till they are blue in the face — but what they can learn from an Elmer will stay with them forever.
I have a sign-up sheet for Elmers. You sign up for any of the three stations in half-hour increments. We will have another public signup sheet for those new-hams/non-hams/shy-ops wishing to participate. Perhaps you will come and just explain what HF is all about, perhaps make a QSO or two, or just enjoy some operating time. However, explaining what we do and how we do it should be our primary focus.
If you do not want to operate — come by and be an ambassador for our hobby.
We will be setting aside some specific times where we will simply talk to the crowd, and answer lots of specific questions. What’s SSB? What’s CW? What’s Digital? What are the HF bands? What is a remote station? Etc.
Here is the sign-up sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1k9z9-oM0copOynmLGlQI4-Nh_HDLYS_n5-MWUkz14xU/edit?usp=sharing
(It is only open to YCCC mail members. If you can figure out how to share publicly, let me know.)
The hours are:
About the stations:
The local station will be a 100w station with low dipoles, located on the property, signing W1A.
W1A@W1KM Cape Cod, Massachusetts Remote:
Greg has graciously given us permission to use his station. It is one of the premiere HF contest stations on the east coast, with antennas literally sitting on the Cape Cod bay.
N6A@WA6TQT Anza, California Remote:
My good friends who are the owners/supporters of WA6TQT (ex W6BH Radio Ranch) have graciously offered the Anza Superstation for this special event. It has a commanding signal into the pacific (worldwide, actually) on 160-10m.
Please help! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
73,
Gerry W1VE
Mike Cormier, K1MJC, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list at 4:40 PM on August 27, 2021:
The K1MJC fox is out…!
It is located in a conservation area within the city of Waltham Massachusetts.
Frequency: 146.565
Here are the clues:
The name of the conservation area may be considered another polite name for a person who is a “hoarder“!
There are two entrances, one is a “paine“, but I would not want to … “school“ … you on the better entrance!
Here is a link to some good conservation maps of the area, it is one of these map’s you need:
https://walthamlandtrust.org/trail-guides/
Happy hunting.
K1MJC Mike C. 73s
Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list at 9:51 AM on August 15, 2021:
Hello Fox Hunters,
The KB1OIQ 2m fox is on the loose! 146.565 MHz
Here are clues for getting close to it:
– Start at the Jack Walsh field
Then, do one of these things, either:
1) Seek the Koalas.
…or…
2) Seek the little bears, then the polar bears, but ignore the bear cubs.
Have fun and 73,
Andy
Sheldon Gana, K1KOS, Swansea, MA, is operating from Rehoboth State Forest (K-8382) for Parks On The Air. He was last heard on 14.273 MHz at around 2001 UTC, according to pota.app. Barry Fox, W1HFN, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on August 7, 2021 at 12:51 PM:
The W1HFN fox is out, 146.565 MHz with a 20 second voice ID every minute or so. Location? PAX ROMANA! (N) XLII XXXII.DCCCXXVIII (W) LXXI XXIX.DCCLXXII
Hello to all…
Cape Cod ARES will conduct a district exercise “Operation Big Blow” as an advanced level exercise. Given the significant push for Amateur Radio volunteers for the 2021 Boston Marathon, several ARES District Emergency Coordinators who are either out of area or dealing with significant professional/personal workload and the high level of SKYWARN Activations during the month of July, formal section participation from the exercise has been dropped but anyone wishing to participate from outside of the Cape Cod district is more than welcome to do so and can reach the Cape Cod ARES district via 2m simplex, HF and digital modes such as Winlink and NBEMS. This is the exercise plan: Cape Cod ARES District “Operation Big Blow” Exercise.
In mid-November, we will plan another section wide exercise. This will allow for large events such as support for Northeast HamXposition and the Boston Marathon to complete as well as support for Amateur Radio hurricane nets for the upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season which is expected to ramp up and become more active as we head into mid-August. Amateur Radio Operators in the Eastern Massachusetts section should think about and prepare for what they would do if a landfalling hurricane were to strike Southern New England. The last direct landfalling hurricane to affect Southern New England was Hurricane Bob in August 1991, 30 years ago. The last major hurricane strike (Cat-3 or higher) to affect the region was Hurricane Carol in 1954. Now is a great time to prepare for the “what if” of a landfalling hurricane by preparing your station and augmenting its capabilities participating in SKYWARN Net Activations for localized severe weather events and participating in public service events where available. If a hurricane landfall does not occur this season, you will be more prepared for a major incident, weather related or otherwise, that could require Amateur Radio and ARES support.
Thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES and SKYWARN!
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
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Hello to all…
The August Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday August 2nd, 2021 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system.
For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:
https://mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_linking.html (Click the ARES box to see the repeaters and other systems linked)
We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For this month’s ARES Net, we will have announcements around a final extension for anyone interested in volunteering at the 2021 Boston Marathon, Northeast HamXposition and an exercise on Saturday 8/7/21 being run by Cape Cod ARES. This exercise will not be section wide due to all of the SKYWARN activations over the month of July in the region but all in the section are welcome to participate.
Thanks for your continued support of ARES!
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box
Eric Williams, KV1J, writes on the Algonquin ARC mailing list:
The Algonquin Club will be holding a QSL card sorting session on Thursday August 12th, 7:30 PM at the Marlborough Fire Station. We will be in the classroom/EOC. The Fire station is at 215 Maple St (Route 85). The classroom entrance in on the side of the building, do not use the front door.
The QSL Bureau receives QSL cards from DXers all over the world, sorts them and then sends them to the New England area hams. We process about 100,000 QSL cards each year. To do this, we are grateful for the team of over 40 volunteers and several area clubs that help make this happen. Our Algonquin club is one of the clubs that helps with the presorting step in our process.
Our part is easy and fun. You get to see QSL cards from all around the globe. Maybe catch a card that is for you! We will have boxes of cards from the country national organizations that are for W1 call area hams. For our session we will have about 13,000 cards. Our mission is to sort those cards into stacks for each first letter of the call sign suffix. So there will be a stack for all the call signs the a suffix the starts with A and one for those starting with B and so forth. It goes quick especially with lots of people doing it on several separate tables.
When we are done, those stacks will be sent to our individual letter sorters who will then sort them by the individual recipient hams.
Our web site is – www.w1qsl.org
Thank you and hope to see you next month.
73, Eric KV1J
W1 QSL Bureau Co-Manager
POTA.app reports that Bob Farquharson, WC1N, of South Easton, MA, has activated Scusset Beach State Reserve, K-8430, in in Sagamore Beach, MA today for Parks On The Air (POTA). Bob was last heard at 2215 UTC. He’s QRV around 14.296 MHz. Eric Horwitz, KA1NCF, writes on the North Shore Radio Association mailing list:
Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:
Hi everybody,
<…>
There is a 2m fox on the loose in Westford. It can be heard on 146.565 MHz near my home QTH (info good on QRZ).
The clue: The name of the conservation land has these initials (not necessarily in the correct order): PMC
There are two entrances: one is very well marked with parking for 3-4 cars. The other entrance has a small signpost, with on-street parking nearby.
I forgot to put out the logbook. Take a photo if you wish and send it to me.
It is still damp in the woods, and annoying flying insects are somewhat abundant.
Have fun and 73!
Andy
Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, writes:
“I had the pleasure of serving as the ARISS contact moderator for the Youth On The Air (YOTA) 2021 Camp’s contact with the International Space Station (ISS) using Amateur Radio today. Young Hams spent the week at the Voice of America Bethany Relay Station in West Chester, OH engaging in a variety of Amateur Radio Activities. Ruth Willet, KM4LAO, was the host for YOTA 2021 and provided an excellent pre-contact program. The West Chester Amateur Radio Association partnered with YOTA 2021 Camp group to help them with YOTA 2021 activities and their ISS contact. You can view a video of the YOTA 2021 Camp’s contact with astronaut Aki Hoshide, KE5DNI, on the International Space Station (ISS) by clicking on the video above.
Working with a school or group to help young people make contact with an astronaut on the ISS using Amateur Radio is a great way to build a lasting relationship around Amateur Radio with young people and their teachers and mentors. In my role as an ARISS Mentor and Ground Station, I have had the pleasure to help with nine of these contacts around the world over the last several years. In every case, local Ham Radio clubs partnered with the school or group to provide STEM learning experiences based on Amateur Radio. Helping a school or group make contact with the astronaut on the ISS provides a memorable experience for everyone involved.
You can learn more about the ARISS contact program here or contact me at ab1oc@arrl.net.
Fred, AB1OC
Hello to all…
The July Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday July 12th, 2021 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. It is on the second Monday of the month due to Monday July 5th being the observed holiday for US Independence Day.
For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:
https://mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_linking.html (Click the ARES box to see the repeaters and other systems linked)
We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For this month’s ARES Net, we will have comments on an upcoming ARES exercise we are planning on Saturday August 7th, 2021, past SKYWARN activation information and the continued need for Amateur Radio volunteers for the 2021 Boston Marathon.
Thanks for your continued support of ARES!
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box
Fran Kelly, KC1NDQ, Swansea, MA, plans to activate Phoenix State Park, K-8409, in Fairhaven, MA for Parks On The Air (POTA) on July 17 from 1300 to 1800. Fran will operate on 10, 20, and 40 meters for the event.
POTA.app reports that Jay Hubert, KA1JAY, Worcester, has activated Blue Hills State Reserve, K-8402 in Milton, MA today for Parks On The Air (POTA). Jay was last heard at 1246 UTC. He’s QRV around 7.194 MHz. From the MMRA Email List and KC1US-Bruce Pigott:
Hi Folks,
We’re looking for amateur radio operators to assist with the Massachusetts State Triathlon in Winchendon on Sun 7/11. It occurs from about 7am to 1pm (some assignments should secure as early as 10am, and most by Noon). This is an Olympic Distance Triathlon, with a .9 mi swim, 22 mi bike and 6.2 mi run. Registration often fills up. The expanded course will continue, down into the centers of Gardner and Baldwinville. This means our communications plan will involve using a variety of systems on both 2m and 70cm, including deploying portable repeater systems. We will forward maps and details about the event to those signed up.
More info online: www.maxperformanceonline.com
If you are interested, please send an e-mail to events@wect.org and let us know if you have UHF equipment with DCS / DPL. Thanks!
Thanks and 73,
Matt, NM1B
Matt Brennan, NM1B
nm1b@wect.org
(508) 425-2750 x107