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The full text of the new Massachusetts anti-texting law is now on-line at http://www.mmra.org/massachusetts_anti_texting_bill.pdf. The portion pertaining to the Amateur Radio exemption is highlighted in bold.

[See also: Texting Bill Legislation Update from State Government Liaison K3HI]

–Thanks, KB1OQA and the Minuteman Repeater Association

 

 

Larry Caruso, K1LGC writes in PRA625 list:

Saturday, October 9, 2010 members of the Pentucket Radio Association will be at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge headquarters building to help them kick off National Wildlife Refuge Week. We will have an HF rig on the air, much like a field day set-up, and intend to significantly light up the airwaves as we get the word out for this noble cause. Our special event call sign is once again “K1W.” The event is also slowly growing; to date there are thirteen other NWR sites scattered throughout the country which will also be on the air at the same time. For a complete list see this website: http://www.nwrweek-radio.info/activesites.htm

The refuge headquarters building is located at 5 Plum Island Turnpike, Newburyport, MA. If you’re a licensed ham interested in making a few contacts we’d love to see you. Or you can come with your family and spend the day enjoying the refuge. If you have friends with children (or without) invite them along too. It’s not just a radio event and Refuge manager Graham Taylor has events planned for the day which folks of all ages can enjoy! There will be a live animal touch tank from 10 am to noon and a curious creatures live animal show from 12:30 – 2:00pm. Out on the refuge itself will be a duck banding demonstration from 9 – 11 am (park at Refuge Lot 1) and a Plum Island History interpretive walk from 1 – 2:30 pm (pre-registration required; meet at the refuge headquarters building).

I will be there around 8:00 am to set up radio operations. Set-up is pretty simple and help is always appreciated. Dave Robertson has graciously offered his K3 for the event, so the old Icom 706 will be resting in the truck. Hope to see many of you there.

The Framingham Amateur Radio Association is offering a “crash course” for those who would like to upgrade to Amateur Extra class. The course is free and open to everyone, not just FARA members.

The dates are the following Saturdays: October 23, October 30, and November 6 and take place at the FARA shack from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. For further information, email Ed Weiss, W1NXC at EdAWeiss at cs dot com or call Ed at 508-881-2301.

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Salow, WA1IDA writes:

With nine years of successful events, the Boston Athletic Association Half Marathon continues as a “Boston Tradition.” Ham radio has established its community value at times like these. We have been asked again to support safety and administrative communications. With a little fine-tuning, including many ideas from hams, the event is expected to be even better than last year.

The park where the start and finish had been located is undergoing a major renovation, so the race starts and finishes at beautiful Franklin Park. Obviously the course must be adjusted. It is for this reason that hams can respond with our personal and communications flexibility. For those who have done this event before, you know the road conditions still call for our best support for the athletes. We need you again, and the Race Director has asked for even more ham help (that’s what happens when we are appreciated).

As this is being written, the new course is still being laid out and qualified to international standards. Much of the original route on the “Emerald Necklace” should be used.

If you are new to ham public service (or don’t have much familiarity with it), this is the way to become familiar without much pressure. For hams, this is an easy introduction and an appreciated community service.

Date: Sunday, 10 October 2010
Ham start: 0600
Ham finish: 0930 to 1130 (depending on location)

Yes, I know it is the day before Columbus Day. The upside is it starts early and ends early, leaving plenty of time to enjoy the long weekend. Your help is greatly needed to continue this as a superb event and to uphold our reputation for dependable support. Our assignments consist of monitoring hazardous and critical locations along the course, and the medical/support stations. As we did in the past, we plan to use a 2-meter repeater and possibly a 70-cm repeater. A hand-held with a good battery and an antenna better than a “rubber duck” is the way to go.

If you can help, please contact the BARC Public Service Office as soon as possible. The assignments and more detail will be sent as soon as they are available. For most assignments, you can go directly to your station. Please send your best email address and a phone number (cell, also). Parking should be available very close to each assignment. Feel free to contact Tom Bertolino, KB1P, to volunteer or if you have any questions at kb1p at arrl dot net or 781.608.6186.

—Thanks, Boston ARC’s “The SPARC” Sept. 2010

Don Burke, KB1LXH writes:

We are just [a few weeks] from the 53rd Jamboree on the Air. This year’s event will take place on October 16th.

I will be putting together a group of hams from the Taunton Area Communications Group and our friends from the Whitman Amateur Radio Club.

We will operate from Camp Norse in Kingston, MA from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday using the call sign KC1TAC. We will again be using local 2-meter repeaters and Scout HF frequencies.

Last year the 52nd JOTA Group put 238 Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Girls Scouts on air and we hope to continue with that success. These young Scouts will be the life blood of our hobby in the coming years and I need your help to make it as exciting as we can for them.

What do we need this year? Operators at camp, the use of local repeaters, and of course–contacts!

First–if you have helped out in the past or would like to help out this year, please contact me and I will add your name to the 53rd JOTA Group list. I will give you all the information needed to for a day.

Second–are you a trustee of a local repeater? Or do you know someone who is? Please Ask them if we may list their repeater as a place to make contacts during the JOTA events on Saturday, October 16th. The Whitman ARC has already said yes. I will complete a list and pass it along as the date nears. We have had a great response from our friends in the past and because of you we have been able to get every Scout on the air–some 500 boys and girls in just three years. Also, if your repeater has Echolink or IRLP, on the day of JOTA will you add “JOTA” to your station’s name description?

Third–will you be hosting a JOTA event with your Scout Pack/Den or Troop/Crew? I’d like to add your groups to our list of Scout contacts.

Maybe you don’t have a Scout connection and want to help anyway from your QTH? We still want to hear from you! Please mark your calendar for the October 16th.

Feel Free to pass this request on to your club members and ham radio friends. The bigger the list the better the time. With your help and some good weather we will have another great JOTA event in Eastern Massachusetts. Thank you for your assistance; we’ll look for you on the air.

Members of the Massasoit Amateur Radio Association and others provided communication support for the Sixth Annual D. W. Field Park Triathlon on Sunday, September 19, 2010. The weather cooperated wonderfully; 129 participants registered for the triathlon which consisted of a 14 mile bike race followed by 1.7 mile canoe/kayak race, and a 4 mile road race. The event was situated in a beautiful park setting, complete with swans and great blue herons nearby. The park was closed to all but race participants.

—Thanks, NI1X and Whitman ARC “Spectrum”

Amateur radio volunteers (L-R): Bob Keene, N1LCY; Paul Moss, KB1MTW; Carl Aveni, N1FY; Paul Burbine, N1VTI, kneeling; Karen Trask, KB1UBX; Bob Loring, K1REL; Phil McNamara, N1XTB with his son Philip, SWL; Roy Logan, KB1CYV; and Bruce Hayden, NI1X. Not present when the picture was taken: Allan Cox, K1VQ and Bob Azanow, KA1KIJ.

Dave Steeves, KB1MKW writes:

“The [Chelsmford High School ARC] N1CHS should be on the air after school from 2:00 pm for an hour or so each day if schedules permit. Being on the East Coast we lose out on contacting schools on the West Coast do to the time zones. A possible idea is to have the CHSARC students and parents meet for a couple hours one evening during this contesting week at the school to operate in the [School Club Roundup] to make some contacts to other schools on the west coast and also to meet the Amateur Radio Club adviser and teacher, Dave Steeves, KB1MKW.

“This is a fun event for all kids in the school club to be able to get together and socialize and be able to speak with other students on the air. We have seen an increase in use of PSK31 during this contest, I think the kids like this mode because it is like texting to them. But phone is great just to just to hear the voices of other students. We are hoping that the members of the Police Amateur Radio Team will be able to make a contact with the CHSARC during the contest week. In the past this event has been successful. An operating schedule could be posted on the PART-L list or look for N1CHS on the DX clusters. In the September, 2010 issue of QST, page 62 there is a story about the past School Club Roundup success.

“The school’s radio is a Yaesu FT-897D, 100 watts only, and the antenna is a Cushcraft vertical R6000, 6 through 20 meters. The antenna is mounted on the school’s roof. You can see this antenna from Route 3. At this time we don’t have coax to run to the roof (250ft) to install a VHF antenna. The club room is located on the ground level and there are three stories above to the roof. The club does have one old computer that is connected to the Yaesu FT-897D; it is running Ham Radio Deluxe for PSK31 etc.

“The CHSARC is looking forward to meeting our new members this fall.”

Thanks PART “PARTicles,” September, 2010, and Senior Physics Teacher and CHSARC Adviser Dave Steeves, KB1MKW

A prominent Eastern MA amateur has been published in QST. Tony Brock-Fisher, K1KP’s work on page 43 of the October, 2010 issue entitled, “Is Your Tower Safe?” describes “galvanic corrosion — what it can do to underground structural tower components, and ways the problem can be avoided.”

Brock-Fisher is trustee and treasurer of the Philips Amateur Radio Club in Andover, MA. He’s worked at Hewlett-Packard, Agilent and Philips Electronics for 32 years in the field of diagnostic medical ultrasound. K1KP is an avid contester and DXer.

Sept. 16, 2010–The World Radiosport Team Championship Sanctioning Committee has announced the US — specifically, New England, led by two prominent New England contesters, Doug Grant, K1DG and Randy Thompson, K5ZD — has won the bid to host the next WRTC in 2014. [Details]

On Saturday, 2 October 2010, members of the Boston Amateur Radio Club will participate in the Blue Hill Observatory Fall Open House, helping them to celebrate their 125th anniversary by setting up a HF station to greet and demonstrate for the visiting public. The station will operate from 0900 to 1500 weather permitting. The plan is to send out a CQ announcing the 125th anniversary of the oldest continuous weather recording observatory in the USA. BARC will log each contact and send them a special eQSL card.

The club is asking for volunteers to help set up, staff the station, and tear down. Set up will begin at 0800 and hopefully send out their first CQ at around 0900. Staffing will be for at least three hams at a time: one to log, one to operate and one to answer questions about Amateur Radio for the public visitors. Tear down will be about 1500 for departure no later than 1600. If you can make it for a few hours while your family visits the Open House, let the club know when you can assist. You do not have to sign up for the whole day.

This is a low pressure fun event which offers the opportunity for Technician Class hams to operate under supervision on bands that they are not normally authorized. If you are interested in participating, please contact Tom, KB1P at kb1p@arrl.net or phone 781.608.6186.

—Thanks, Boston ARC “The SPARC” and WA1IDA

There have been some new naval related Amateur Radio Clubs in this area. One is the Nantucket ARC, W1NLS aboard the Nantucket Lightship tied up to a pier in East Boston. The club call trustee is Mike Rioux, W1USN. Mike and a small crew were operating in the International Lightship/Lighthouse Weekend during August. (See Nantucket Lighthouse Operation Featured in Boston Globe.)

The original call for the club was KB1UPQ but was changed to a vanity call as soon as the original license was granted.

Another naval related club recently started is the USS Essex CV-9 Memorial ARC with the call of WW2CV. Club call trustee is Bob Reiser, AA1M. The USS Essex was an aircraft carrier that was sold and scraped many years ago.

Of course, most of you know of the USS Cassin Young DD-793 ARC with the call of WW2DD. USS Cassin Young is a decommissioned US Navy destroyer under the custody of the National Park Service in Charlestown and is currently in the dry dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard being refurbished.

–Thanks, QRA News, Sept. 2010, Volume 50, Issue 1

Hello to all..

Cape Cod and Islands ARES received some excellent kudos from the American Red Cross on their efforts during Hurricane Earl. Congratulaitons to Cape Cod ARES DEC, Frank O’Laughlin-WQ1O and the Cape Cod and Islands ARES group on the publicity! Below is an article on their efforts including a link from the Red Cross complete with pictures:

http://newsroom.redcross.org/2010/09/07/story-amateur-radio-operators-provide-vital-communications-links-between-red-cross-shelters-during-hurricane-earl/#more-4063

Story: Amateur Radio Operators Provide Vital Communications Links Between Red Cross Shelters During Hurricane Earl

This post is written by American Red Cross disaster volunteer Allen Crabtree.

Friday, September 3. 2010 – HYANNIS, MA – “K1PBO, this is W2BTA with the shelter status report from the Nantucket shelter.”

Amateur Radio Technician Wini Lord Meservey was on duty at the communications room crowded with radios and computers in the basement of the American Red Cross Cape Cod Chapter in Hyannis, MA. She returned the radio call from the amateur radio operator located at the Red Cross shelters on Nantucket Island, one of many regional shelters opened in response to Hurricane Earl.

“W2BTA, this is K1PBO. I copy you,” Meservey replied. “Go ahead with your shelter report.”

One by one, each of the stations at the Red Cross shelters checked in with the count of residents and tourists who had sought shelter from Hurricane Earl. This information, along with current weather and reports of flooding, was gathered and then passed along to the Red Cross as well as the Emergency Operations Center and the nearby military base.

“Amateur radio provides communications to support the disaster relief efforts of the American Red Cross,” said Frank O’Laughlin (WQ1O). “When all other forms of communications go out, we are still on the air to keep vital emergency links open. This is particularly important here at the Cape. We are vulnerable here on our peninsula and on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard to storms and power outages.”

O’Laughlin is the Director of the local Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES – pronounced A-Rees) and is a veteran ham radio operator and trained Red Cross volunteer with twenty years’ experience. ARES is a program of the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) that provides point to point communications between shelters, assists in recovery efforts, provides weather reports in weather disasters and sends messages where normal communications have failed or are overloaded.

“The ARRL operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with the American Red Cross,” said Keith Robertory, Manager for Disaster Technology at the American Red Cross. “The hams are all volunteers and many of them are also trained Red Cross volunteers. They are our `force on the ground’ that respond when there is a disaster anywhere in the country.”

ARES has been supporting Red Cross disaster relief operations for a very long time and will celebrate its 75th anniversary this month. “We have been working with the Red Cross long before there were cell phones,” said Alan Pitts of the ARRL. “When the Internet, the cell phones and the electricity go out, they call on us, the hams, to get the job done.”

Effective disaster relief operations rely on a number of different skills and trained volunteers, and the dedicated ham radio operators of ARES play an invaluable key role in Red Cross emergency service delivery around the country, wherever disasters occur. Frank O’Laughlin and his crew of 35 committed amateur radio operators on Cape Cod expertly filled that role during Hurricane Earl, and when the next disaster strikes they are trained and ready to respond whenever called upon.

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

Hello to all..

The Hurricane Earl Post Storm Report and analysis and Eastern Region Communications Test Reults have been posted to the WX1BOX web site. It is posted at the following link:

http://www.wx1box.org/node/337

73,Rob-KD1CY.

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton Massachusetts