Falmouth ARA Technician Weekend Class, March 7-8, 2020

Falmouth Amateur Radio AssociationThe Falmouth Amateur Radio Association (FARA) will be offering a Technician class amateur radio license course on March 7 and 8 at the Falmouth Fire Station, Main Street, 2nd Floor, EOC Room.  An FCC exam will be conducted on the afternoon of March 8.  The fee of $50 includes:

1) Nine hours of classroom instruction
2) Course Manual
3) Online test practice and tutoring
4) Refreshments
5) Access to instructors for questions & tutoring
6) License exam
7) 1-year membership with FARA
8) Admission to the next FARAfest
9) Handheld Transceiver (if the student passes) (pending availability)

This is a great value for anyone seeking to get their license, as the total cost of the individual items is well over $100.

Contact Charlie Bresnahan, K1CB at: kilo1cb@aol.com or Ralph Swenson, N1YHS at depsher911@comcast.net, for further information or to sign up.

Enthusiastic Third-Graders Learn about Amateur Radio at St. Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton

Phil Temples, K9HI, has combined his passion for ham radio and involvement in the Boston College “Read Aloud” program to bring a message about ham radio to Mrs. Cafarelli’s third grade class at the St. Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton.

A BC Read Aloud volunteer for the past sixteen years, Phil shared his unpublished children’s story manuscript entitled “Ashanti’s Ham Radio Saves the Day” with the class last month. It was well-received, despite the fact the manuscript lacked illustrations.  (Several of the kids volunteered to draw pictures for the book.)

This month, K9HI brought along a Baofeng dual-band handheld for show-and-tell. He was able to establish a QSO on the Waltham repeater with John, K1BSO, who was mobile in Woburn. John told the class about himself, and stood by while Phil passed the radio around. All sixteen children had an opportunity to say hello over ham radio. At the end, they shouted out an enthusiastic “Goodbye!” that could be heard throughout the floor. 

ARRL Board of Directors Re-Elects President Rick Roderick, K5UR

ARRL logoFrom ARRL Web:

02/10/2020 – Meeting January 17 – 18 in Windsor, Connecticut, the ARRL Board of Directors re-elected ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, to a third 2-year term. Roderick outpolled the only other nominee, Pacific Division Director Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, 8 – 7. New England Division Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, was elected First Vice President, succeeding Greg Widin, K0GW, who did not seek another term. Raisbeck was the sole nominee. A successor will be appointed to fill the Vice Director seat that Raisbeck has vacated. Bob Vallio, W6RGG, was re-elected as Second Vice President as the only nominee.

On a 9 – 6 vote, the Board voted not to re-elect Howard Michel, WB2ITX, as Chief Executive Officer. Michel was in the post for 15 months. Former ARRL Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer Barry Shelley, N1VXY, has come out of retirement to serve as interim ARRL CEO. He also was elected as Secretary. Shelley was ARRL’s CFO for 28 years and served as CEO during 2018 before his retirement, following the departure of former CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF. The ARRL Board has appointed a committee to spearhead the search for a new CEO. That panel will screen suitable CEO candidates, presenting three to the Board for consideration.  [Full story]

KB1REQ: “Amateur Radio Mobile Vehicle Installation” at New England Sci-Tech ARS, February 11, 2020

Jeremy Breef-Pilz, KB1REQ

Are you curious how to install your amateur radio into your motor vehicle? Join Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society for its 2nd Tuesday Lecture Series at 7 PM. Radio guru Jeremy Breef-Pilz, KB1REQ, will be showing us how to perform a mobile installation.

 
Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society
16 Tech Circle, Natick MA 01760
 
About Jeremy (abstracted from QRZ.com):
 
Jeremy is an electrical engineer who’s been into amateur radio since 2008 and two-way radio for longer. He studied Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, and is currently employed by Motorola Solutions.
 
Jeremy is abundantly active in radio, including contesting, HF digital modes, and supporting and improving repeaters in particular those with P25 and DMR. Jeremy participates in public service events and SKYWARN.

WA3ITR: “Your Project in Space” at Wellesley ARS, February 18, 2020

The Wellesley Amateur Radio Society will meet on February 18, 2020 at 7:30 PM. Charlie Bures, WA3ITR, will present on his new program called “Your Project in Space” for teens.
 
“The goals are to get young people involved in an HAB (High Altitude Balloon) project, which has Amateur radio (an APRS tracker device) with STEM learning. They will learn about project planning, platform testing, launching, tracking, and recovery of the balloon and its payload, and flight data analysis. The platform will carry up to 3 GoPro cameras, a commercial GPS tracker, and the APRS tracker. A 20-foot tether connects the platform to the HAB balloon, which is filled with helium or hydrogen, and is about 8 feet in diameter at launch. The platform will weigh less than 4 pounds.”
 

We meet on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August) at 7:30 PM in the Kingsbury Room of the Wellesley Police Station, 485 Washington St. (Rte 16), in Wellesley.  Please park on the street. Guests are welcome! 

See you there!

K1BG: “Entry Level Licensing–What’s Worked and What Hasn’t” at North Shore RA, February 18, 2020

NSRA logoThe North Shore Radio Association will hold its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, in the Peabody Municipal Light Plant auditorium, 201 Warren St Extension, in Peabody  (talk-in 145.470 repeater).  Bruce Blain, K1BG, will present on “Entry Level Licensing – What’s Worked and What Hasn’t:”

All of us entered the amateur radio hobby in a number of different ways. Whether it was the Class B license of the 30s and 40s, the Novice license of the 50s through the 90s, or the current Technician class license, Bruce looks at the history of entry level license requirements and conditions, what’s worked and what hasn’t, and what it means for attracting youth to the hobby.

 
 

Mystic Valley ARG Meets February 16, 2020

MVARG logoThe next meeting of the Mystic Valley Amateur Radio Group will be held on Sunday, February 16, 2020  @ 9 AM.

The meeting location will be the Milton Auxiliary Fire Dept. Station, 2nd floor, 509 Canton Avenue, Milton. The building is a little beyond the gazebo to the right of the Milton Fire Headquarters where we’ve held our Field Day Operations in past years.  Local map is attached below as a post script.

We will be monitoring the 145.43 Belmont repeater for talk-in.  Please feel free to email me with any questions.    kc1ma at arrl dot net

https://www.townofmilton.org/sites/miltonma/files/uploads/towncommontrafficdirectionfinal.pdf

More Boston Marathon Ham Radio Operators Needed

Via wma.arrl.org:
 
The Boston Marathon Communications Committee is currently at 240 out of our goal of 350 volunteer registrations for this year’s Boston Marathon. Registration was scheduled to close on February 7th — the BAA has granted us an extension until February 17th. 
 
If you’re interested in volunteering, please register today. You can sign up at http://register.hamradioboston.org. Please share this note with your ham friends / organizations that may be interested.
 
Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions. You can also email contact@hamradioboston.org to contact the entire committee.
 
Thanks and 73,

Matt Brennan NM1B
Finish Segment Coordinator

New England Sci-Tech Amateur Extra Course Begins February 20, 2020

New England Sci-Tech is offering ongoing Amateur Extra study sessions for high school students, homeschool students, and adults who already have a General level license. This slower-paced course will get you ready to take the Amateur Extra license exam. You may jump into this course at any time, pay one course fee, and take nine weeks worth of classes. A different topic group is covered each week; all topics covered in nine-week intervals. Take the exam whenever you are ready.

The course runs most Thursday evenings, 6-9 PM from February 20, 2020 until April 30, 2020 as a combination “study group” and keynote presentations by experienced instructors. Study group meets 6:00-6:30, presentations run 6:30-8:15 approximately, and remainder of time is Q and A with instructors or more study group time. Regular homework reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course.  [Full description]

PART of Westford Has a Completely Revised Website

PART of Westford President George Allison, K1IG, has created a completely revised club website at http://www.wb1gof.org and its “look-and-feel” is stellar.

According to George, “the design is flexible can be adapted to the club’s needs.” He invites feedback about the appearance, formatting, and content from the membership, and adds, “We’ll discuss it at the next club meeting.”

K1IG also thanked Scott, NE1RD, for a lot of help in setting up the site.
 

“Batteries for the Elecraft KX3 and Other Low-Power Radios” in March, 2020 QST

CE0Y/W1MJ, Easter Island

“Batteries for the Elecraft KX3 and Other Low-Power Radios,” authored by Belmont amateur Eliot Mayer, W1MJ, is featured in the March, 2020 issue of QST. The article talks about battery types, supply current vs. supply voltage, and battery and charger suppliers. 

Mayer is an electrical engineer with a BSEE from U. Mass. Amherst and an MSE in management from the Gordon Institute of Tufts University. He works on the design and manufacturing of medical imaging equipment at Analogic in Peabody. His ham radio activities include QRP holiday-style DXpeditions, operating a K3 radio from his condo home station, guest operating at the high-power stations of fellow Yankee Clipper Club members, and 2-meter FM on his daily commute. His radio operations can be followed at http://www.w1mj.com.

This is the free article of the month at http://arrl.org/this-month-in-qst.  ARRL members may vote for W1MJ’s article for the ARRL Cover Plaque Award at http://arrl.org/cover-plaque-poll.

New Rooftop Research Space Needed for W1XM

According to the MIT Radio Society’s website, the club is attempting to raise funds to renew its rooftop space atop the Green Building:

“We need your help! The center of many of our activities, located on the roof of the iconic Green Building (MIT’s tallest academic building), is at risk due to a major renovation. Beginning this spring, the Green Building is being renovated and our rooftop shack is to be removed. This space is currently home to our VHF/UHF and microwave contest and research station, W1XM, as well our 70 cm repeater, and a host of student projects. If we wish to keep our home there, we need to raise $300,000 before April 2020 for the renewal of our space.

“Sadly, the club does not have the financial reserves on hand to replace the W1XM shack. So we are asking for your help. We’re already part of the way towards our goal and have some great volunteers – with YOUR help we know we can reach our goal.”

School Club Roundup, February 10-14, 2020

Rohit Chaki, KC2UQC, operating W1AF

Date(s): February 10-14, 2020

Objective: To exchange QSO information with club stations that are part of an elementary, middle, high school or college. Non-school clubs and individuals are encouraged to participate. Sponsored by the ARRL, its Hudson Division Education Task Force and and the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club (LIMARC) to foster contacts with and among school radio clubs.

Award certificates will be issued for the following US and DX categories:

Schools: Elementary, Middle/Intermediate/Junior High School, High School and College/University
Non-school Clubs
Individuals

See http://www.arrl.org/school-club-roundup for full details.

Cape Ann ARA Meets February 8, 2020

CAARA logoBill Morris, W1WMM, writes on the CAARA List:

Greetings everyone.

Saturday, February 8, 2020, is the [Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association] member’s meeting at noon, with a club-funded lunch.  We hope to see everyone at the club for CAARA club fellowship.  Thank you.

The Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association is an ARRL-affiliated club whose mission includes: providing health and safety communication services for emergencies and disasters on Cape Ann and in other areas when requested, educate and train new amateur radio operators and to maintain a well-tuned disaster team, conduct FCC testing for new licenses and those wishing to upgrade, provide educational services and demonstrations to local area schools and community organizations such as the Boy Scouts, conduct public demonstrations and educational events, assist public utilities in finding radio frequency interferences that could potentially harm or hinder emergency communication activities, and create a positive, supportive environment for our members that promotes camaraderie and fellowship.

Dan’s Tech Night Meets February 13, 2020

Dan Pedtke, KW2T, writes:

I’ve done a bunch of work on the TechNightRadio, having a new board, and building up most of it. Hopefully by meeting time I’ll have the two signal sources working.

I will also do a summary of the Consumer Electronic Show that I went to last month.

TechNight is held every 2nd Thursday of the month, from 7-10 PM, at the Grady Research Building in Ayer, MA. It is open to anyone with an interest in radio or electronics, from age 6 to 100. Though it is directed mainly at the Ham Radio enthusiast, it also covers general electronics and computers. Amongst the marvels of radio technology like antennas, impedance matching, and software radio, we will discuss things like the Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ARM Cortex and the like, and even a little about LINUX and PC applications that work with radios. Meetings also include a period where anyone can ask questions about anything, or repair and test stuff people bring in. On occasion, the meeting will involve building a kit of some sort, that the participants have agreed to buy as a group. See the Topics page for more details.

Registration Open Through February 7, 2020, for Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Communications Volunteers

Rob Macedo, KD1CY, writes on SKYWARN-Announce:

Registration has been open for the 2020 Boston Marathon for Amateur Radio Operators across the start, course, finish and with transportation medical buses. Volunteer registration is open through Friday February 7th and whole some arrangements can be made with the Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Committee to volunteer after this deadline, we are hoping to get all needed volunteers prior to the February 7th deadline. For volunteer information registration and information, please see the following link:
 
http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/event-information/volunteer-information/volunteer-registration.aspx

If you are interested in volunteering for the 2020 Boston Marathon but are not sure at this stage about whether you can participate, we encourage you to register now and if it turns out you cannot volunteer, send notification that you can no longer volunteer as early as possible. It will be very difficult to bring in volunteers once registration closes and if you register and can no longer volunteer at the event, please let us know as early as possible so contingency planning can be completed.

For Amateur Radio/Ham Radio Operators, you don’t need to specify any group name or passcode. Just make sure you request at least one ham radio assignment in your preferences. Once you get your application confirmation number, you’re all set.

If you’re a returning volunteer (whether an Amateur Radio or non-Amateur Radio assignment), you’ll be asked to provide your BAA Volunteer Loyalty Number. You should’ve received that in a separate e-mail from the BAA today. There’s also a tool to look it up on the BAA volunteer site. If you still have trouble finding it, e-mail us and we can help you out.

Don’t delay! Volunteer registration closes on Friday February 7th. Help us get the word out by forwarding this e-mail to your club and other hams who might like to volunteer and for non-hams to any volunteer groups who might be interested in supporting the event. Most volunteers first learn about the event through word of mouth. If you know new amateurs involved in volunteering for events who might like to volunteer, make sure to let them know about it. Even just a quick mention at your club meeting or regular meeting of your organization can be a big help.

If you have any questions about volunteer registration, or the 2020 Marathon generally, please get in touch anytime. Volunteering at the Marathon is a big job, and we appreciate the time and effort everyone puts into it. We’re happy to do what we can to make your work more comfortable or effective.

-Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Communications Committee
 

Yankee Clipper Contest Club Meets February 2, 2020

The Yankee Clipper Contest Club will hold its next meeting on Sunday, February 2, 2020, from 1:00 – 4:00 PM at the Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center in Sturbridge, MA. 

Program for the day:

1. CAC Report- W1UE
2. SO2R Mini- NN1C
3. “In Band Box”- K1XM
4. “Fun with (Telnet) Filters- W1UE
5.  An update on a super station build – N1RR

YCCC general meetings are usually held in the even-numbered months at select locations within the club’s territory.

Foundation for Amateur Radio Invites 2020–2021 Academic Year Scholarship Applications

From ARRL Web:

The Foundation for Amateur Radio Inc. (FAR) has invited applications for the 2020 – 2021 academic year for the scholarships it administers. Applications must be submitted via the online form. Several questions ask for essay responses. The deadline for initial submissions is April 30, 2020. Applicants may amend their applications until May 7. [Full story]

 

K1VR: “ARRL Board, National Activities” at Whitman ARC, February 5, 2020

Whitman ARC logoThe Whitman Amateur Radio Club‘s next meeting on February 5, 2020 will feature a special presentation by Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, ARRL New England Division Director. The meeting will start at 7:00 PM.

Mr. Hopengarten was first licensed in 1956 and has been an ARRL member continuously since. He is a Life Member, and makes annual financial donations to the League. Instead of enjoying his early life, he spent nine years to graduate from Colby, Boston College Law School, and Harvard Business School. He is a practicing lawyer. He wrote  the ARRL book, “Antenna Zoning for the Radio Amateur.” He likes 160 CW, multi-op contesting, and travel.

WARC has invited members from two nearby radio clubs–the Genesis Amateur Radio Society and the Massasoit Amateur Radio Association–as their guests to attend this special presentation.

WARC holds a winter flea market,  conducts licensing classes, and participates in a number of high-profile public service events. Meetings are held at the Whitman Knights of Columbus Hall on route 18 just south of the Abington line.