a field organization of the National Association for Amateur Radio®
Operating, on-the-air events and activities, contests, DXing
The July, 2021 Section Newsletter is now available at https://ema.arrl.org/july-2021-section-news/.
POTA.app reports that Gary Izzo, KC1CBQ, Norton, has activated Massasoit State Park, K-2446 in Taunton, MA today for Parks On The Air (POTA). Gary was last heard at 1850 UTC. He’s QRV around 28.395 MHz. 
Members of the Boston Amateur Radio Club are planning a QRP Cookout and Parks On The Air operation on July 11, 2021 along the Charles River at Herter Park, 1175 Soldiers Field Road, Allston. The POTA designation is K-8405: Charles River State Reserve.
An August 1st date has been suggested by the group for another cookout/QRP operation for those who are unable to attend the first event. The group is currently collecting RSVPs via the BARC mailing list.
From nediv.arrl.org:
WBZ radio 1030 kHz in Boston is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2021. It is the oldest broadcast station in New England, and one of the oldest stations in the United States.
The Billerica Amateur Radio Society and the Hampden County Radio Association in Springfield, will help commemorate this anniversary by sponsoring a special operating event starting at 1300z/9:00 am EDT September 17 and ending at 0400z/12 am EDT on September 19. Amateurs from across New England will operate W1W, W1B, W1Z, and WB1Z on various bands and modes. A special QSL card will be sent to anyone who contacts one or more of the special event stations. A historical sheet will also be available for download. The card will feature historical photos of WBZ over the years as well as a special 100th Anniversary WBZ logo.
For updated information, please visit https://nediv.arrl.org/wbz100.
John Salmi, KB1MGI, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on Jun 19, 2021 at 1:20 PM:
From nediv.arrl.org:
Larry Krainson, W1AST, writes:
Are you looking for that perfect, post Field Day ham radio activity? Then working the 13 Colonies special event stations is perfect for you!
Each July 1 through July 7, the 13 original colony states activate on all bands and modes for you to work them. Plus you can chase the three extra 13 Colonies stations where there is one each in Philadelphia, England and France.
This is a very fun activity. The action the first few days can create some overwhelming pile ups. If you can not get through, please be patient and try again later or another day. All the ops are trying to work everyone they can hear. They want to work you and will make every effort to do so.
If you work them all, it’s called a “clean sweep.” You can earn a certificate by sending $5 to KU2US. You can also send an SASE to each of the states to get back a unique QSL card. Each year there is a different theme and a new card is created. Combining the certificate with the QSL cards makes for some fancy wall paper!
But you can receive a certificate by working just one of the 13 colony stations. You do not need a clean sweep to get a certificate.
This year Massachusetts will be active once again as K2H. There are 20 operators all over the state. You’ll hear us on CW, SSB, FT8 and other modes. Work us and send in your SASE QSL request to the info on the K2H QRZ.com page.
Team K2H looks forward to hearing and working you on the bands between July 1 and July 7, 2021!
Barry Fox, W1HFN, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on June 17, 2021 at 1:50 PM:
The W1HFN fox is out, 146.565 MHz with a 20 second voice ID every minute.
Location clues: what was the name given to the ALL CAPS typewriter used by professional CW ops?
And if you elevated one to higher than average terrain, where would it be? Major hint: Littleton.
Good luck,
Barry – W1HFN
The KD1D Fox is out and about Friday JUNE 11, 2021, operating on 146.565 MHz FM and is expected to be transmitting through Sunday, at least.
It is located on LITTLETON Conservation land and can be heard from Great Road (Rt. 119) between Lake Nagog and Littleton Common.
The logbook is hidden nearby and should be easy to find. Enter your Callsign, Name, and Time & Date found or email me a (small) photo at the address below.
A cryptic clue (for those who enjoy these things) is “Happy Herder.” Email me at kd1d@arrl.net if you need additional hints.
73 and Happy Hunting from Alan, KD1D
From ARRL Special Bulletin 006:
International Space Station to be in Cross-Band Repeater Mode for Field Day
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) cross-band repeater will be available for ARRL Field Day, June 26 – 27. Contacts will count toward Field Day bonus points as satellite contacts and Field Day contacts.
Field Day rules limit stations to one contact on any single-channel FM satellite. Note that contacts made during Field Day by ISS crew would only count for contact credit, but not for satellite bonus points. ISS cross-band repeater contacts are also valid AMSAT Field Day satellite contacts.
The ARISS cross-band repeater uplink is 145.990 MHz (67 Hz tone), with a downlink of 437.800 MHz.
ARISS suggests that those unfamiliar with the ISS repeater may want to practice with it prior to Field Day. ARISS had planned to switch modes to the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) during the second week of June, but this won’t happen until after the first ARISS school contact following ARRL Field Day.
The ARISS ham station will be off-air during spacewalks on June 16 and June 20.
Hello to all…
The June Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday June 7th, 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 comments regarding past ARES Workshop and virtual SKYWARN training, past ARES exercise in May and the pivot towards public service events as Massachusetts reopens as COVID restrictions are relaxed.
Also, we will pay tribute this evening to the loss of longtime town of Walpole EMA Director and strong supporter of ARES/RACES/SKYWARN, W1ZSA-Roger Turner, who passed away Wednesday Evening. Please join us for a memorial last call up to be held at the start of the ARES Net tonight.
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
From Algonquin ARC QRZ Newsletter, June 2021:
Please note the time change for the DMR New England Digital Swap Net:
WHEN: MONDAY NIGHTS at 7:30 PM for 1 hour
WHERE: NEDECN “NEW ENGLAND WIDE” 3181 TALK GROUP
NET CONTROLS: K1NR, WA1NVC, N1JAF, NE1B
https://groups.io/g/NewEnglandDigitalSwapNet
You can read the For Sale items and if you join, you can post For Sale items.
Barry Fox, W1HFN, writes on the NEMassFoxHunters list on June 4, 2021 at 1:11 PM
My father was a 30 year vet of the Army and I (knowing better) joined the Air Force. If that is not enough of a hint, email me for more. Standard 146.565 MHz TX with a voice ID every 40 seconds or so. There is a log to sign nearby. Good luck to all!
73,
Barry, W1HFN
p.s. — I forgot to mention–it’s in the Westford area.
“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes in K1USN Happenings, June 3, 2021:
The K1USN club station will be on the air this weekend beginning on Friday [June 5, 2021] @ 8 PM EDT (0000 UTC) @ 85 Quincy Ave, Braintree, MA. We expect to have three HF stations running on SSB/CS as well FT8/4. Operators will be needed to enable us to remain on the air as much as possible during the weekend.
As many of you already know, Museum Ships Weekend was begun by the K1USN Radio Club back in 1997 and has become a very popular annual event. All organizational details are now handled by the NJ2BB crew aboard the Battleship New Jersey and we are pleased to continue to support their efforts by activating K1USN each year.
Activity on the bands has grown over the years and there are many home stations competing to make contacts with as many of the participants as possible during the weekend. Larry, W1VP, has created a cool DX Summit search tool which will go live this weekend.
This search tool will show a real time flow of MSW participant cluster spots to enable you to track them down. The DX Summit filtered feed will be available from www.k1usn.com.
As I said, we will be needing operators so please let me know if you have some available time to either operate or just to drop by to check out K1USN in action during this weekend. […] Please drop me a note to let me know that you plan to operate and what day/hours/modes you wish to operate at pi.k1rv@gmail.com.
Locally, Mike, W1USN, WA1MD & Bob, AA1M plan to activate the USS Cassin Young as WW2DD. [See: USS Cassin Young WW2DD QRV for Museum Ships Weekend, June 5-6, 2021]
Rick, KB1TEE , WI1G, WA1MAD and crew will be activating the USS Massachusetts from Battleship Cove using the callsign NE1PL. Watch for all of them on the Cluster.
The USS Cassin Young, WW2DD, will be among the museum ship stations on the air for Museum Ships Weekend. Volunteers will activate the famous Fletcher-class destroyer, DD-793. Plans are to operate on 20 and 40 meters SSB and some digital modes.
According to Wikipedia, the Cassin Young served as a part of the Fast Carrier Task Force. On April 28, 1944, this force sortied for air attacks on Japanese strongholds at Truk, Woleai, Satawan, and Ponape, during which Cassin Young operated as a picket ship, assigned to warn her group of possible enemy counterattack.
The ship is on permanent loan to the National Park Service. She is berthed at the Boston Navy Yard, part of the Boston National Historical Park in Charlestown.
The Norfolk County Radio Association is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with a special event operation from 0000 UTC June 5 to 2359 UTC June 12, 2021 on the suggested frequencies of 3.825, 7.225, 14.235, 21.285, and 28.325 MHz as well as other frequencies at the discretion of club members. Club members will operate their own stations using the club call W1AGR during this operating event. A special QSL will be available with an SASE to the club station trustee, K1HC, 422 Everett Street, Westwood, MA 02090.
The club had its beginnings in Norwood, MA in 1921 when a group of young radio amateurs gathered to exchange ideas and help each other build their home-made radio equipment. It originally became affiliated with the ARRL two years later, in 1923. The club grew to include hams from local area towns and then re-organized in 1932, calling themselves the Norfolk County Radio Association. The spirit of those early years continues today; its members are always ready to help others and mentor new hams getting started in amateur radio. NCRA members have made memorable contributions to amateur radio in technology and communications, including support for various public service needs such as municipal events, SKYWARN reporting, Red Cross, and local disaster training.
Congratulations to the Norfolk County Radio Association for reaching this historic milestone.
From the ARRL Letter, May 27, 2021:
CWops has designated the K1USN Radio Club as the 2021 recipient of its Award for Advancing the Art of CW. As CWops noted in making the announcement, the K1USN Radio Club has created and managed the K1USN Weekly Slow Speed Test (SST) that provides a place for new and unpracticed CW operators to gather and operate at relaxed speeds in a friendly and encouraging manner that helps them continue to improve their CW skills.
The Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Communication Committee writes:
Volunteer registration for the 125th running of the Boston Marathon on Monday October 11th, 2021 will open on Wednesday June 16th 2021 at 1000 AM EDT. Additional information can be seen on the hamradioboston.org web site at the following link:
Boston Marathon Volunteer Registration Date Announcement
Additional details will be posted as we draw closer to the volunteer registration date.
I placed the KD1D Fox out this morning. As usual, it transmits a 30 second message every 60 seconds on 146.565 MHz FM.
It is located in Westford Conservation land named after an aquatic mammal once highly prized for making men’s hats.
The Fox can be heard along Concord Rd somewhere between the 99 Restaurant and the railroad crossing at Forge Village. A good place to take a bearing might be near the Robinson School or the old cemetery at the corner of Concord Rd and Country Rd (Interesting, but useless fact – Country Rd used to be called Cemetery Rd, but that tended to “spook” the real estate folks, so it was changed.)
Happy Hunting and 73 de KD1D
From https://bcra.club/bcrawprel/fox-hunting/:
The next BCRA Fox Hunt has been scheduled on Saturday, May 22, 2021.
Communications with “Fox Control” can all be done over the BCRA repeater, including checking in when you have found the fox. You may also speak with us in the control vehicle using physical distancing, if you wish.
Check-ins will begin at 9:45 am on the BCRA repeater, 145.150 MHz PL 123. Chat and help on the repeater also.
The Fox will activate at 10:00 am on 146.565 MHz FM with a 5 watt signal and will transmit 1 minute of tone followed by Morse Code ID and 4 minutes of silence. The hunt will last until 2:00 pm or until all checked in participants have found the transmitter, whichever comes first.
The Fox will be located within a 10 mile radius of the intersection of President Avenue (Rt. 6) and North Main Street in Fall River. ( Latitude 41.7159 Longitude -71.1510 )
The Fox (in my vehicle, a blue/grey Jeep Commander marked BCRA) will be in a public place and will be manned at all times. When you have found the fox your time and order of arrival will be recorded and a personalized certificate will be emailed to each participant.
Participants are encouraged to work in teams, and are asked to drive carefully and observe all applicable guidelines, both from the FCC and the state & local governments. Since participants are receiving only (except for radio check-ins) an amateur radio license is not required.
Email questions to Skip at kb1cnb@bcra.club or text to 774-644-3469. After the hunt, your comments, impressions, and suggestions will be welcome!
Join us and have some good amateur radio fun!