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Joseph Fratto-K1UN – FCC General Radiotelephone Operator Writes:

The USCG Auxiliary Radio Nets for Divisions 5 / 12 were held on 8 SEP 24 at 1000 hrs
on the Roslindale repeater.

Check Ins: Radio Roslindale
Vessel 323088
Mobile 5F
Mobile 5G
Radio Wilmington

Net Control: Radio Waltham NCS

Traffic: Routine radio checks and no official traffic.

The “Auxiliary Net” was held at 1100 hrs on the MMRA Minuteman Repeater
Network. We had 15 stations checked into the net. On a training note we discussed
that September is National Preparedness Month under the EPA. We mentioned using
portable generators and the need for safety precautions.

Our two new Auxiliary Amateur Radio Operators now have their issued Ham Radio
callsigns. Ben Wechsler is KC3ZRF and he is located in Kennebunkport Maine.
Jane Eastman KC1VHN was on the “Auxiliary Net” this morning and made a lot of
friends on the radio net.

Also on the MMRA Auxiliary Net we mentioned that we are all assigned to ESF #2.
This is the official ICS Incident Command Structure classification for Radio Ops.
ESF #2 stands for Emergency Support Function #2. ESF #2 comes under the broad
heading of Logistics Command.

At the request of Department of Homeland Security ESF #2 personel. The FCC Federal
Communications Commission approved the 60 meter five channels. These five channels
allow Ham radio operators to communicate with authorized federal stations at any time.
Federal stations come up and guard these five channels during emergencies and drills.
Hams are secondary users of these channels and are allowed to use them as they please.

During emergencies or in times of need stations with HF capability are urged to monitor
the 5 Mhz 60 meter channels for any emergency traffic.

Also please note that there is a USAF Military Auxiliary Radio Service MARS VHF Radio
Net held every Friday Evening at 1930 Hrs. This net is on the USAF MARS VHF Radio
Net on the MARS VHF Linked radio network. You have to be an authorized MARS Radio
operator to participate. The MARS network is very much alive on VHF and stations from
across the Commonwealth and surrounding states routinely participate.

Submitted: Joseph Fratto
FCC General Radiotelephone Operator License

Don Rolph, AB1PH, Walpole area ARES Emergency Coordinator writes:

The MEMA RACES nets are held on the first Monday of the month, unless the first Monday is a holiday, when it is delayed one week, Since Sep 2 was Labor Day for Sep 2024, the RACES nets will be held on Mon Sep 9 at:

********************************************************************************

80 meter Voice net
5:45 PM ET
Frequency: 3930 KHz working up to the first free frequency
Matt KC1PFA will be net control

*********************************************************************************

Region 2D VHF net:
7:30 PM ET VHF net on 146.865 MHz PL 103.5 (Sharon Repeater)
We will have a general call up of any RACES, ARES, or other interested stations. If there is time, we will have a simplex test.

Jim WJ1R will be net control.

********************************************************************************

HF 80 meters NBEMS net:
Dial Frequency: 3584.5 MHx
Center Frequency: 1500 Hz
Initial mode: THOR22

We will have checkins, followed by an ICS-213 format message using FLMSG.

Don AB1PH will be net control

*********************************************************************************

Winlink Net:

Bryan Marcotte KF1D will be net control.
Send a winlink checkin form to KF1D, copy AB1PH, between 0600 Monday Sep 9 and 2400 Monday Sep 9.

We look forward to you checking in!

—

73,
AB1PH
Don Rolph

N1SOM-Jeff and the South Shore Hospital Group writes:

Good Evening,

On Saturday September 7, 2024 the South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Group will hold an Eastern MA Hospital Net commencing at 10:00AM.

We realize that some locations, individuals, and groups may be subject to COVID restrictions. We encourage everyone who is affected by these restrictions to utilize their home or mobile stations to check into the net if possible. Even if you cannot reach all the systems being used, please check-in on those you can.

Also we will be using our repeater (147.345 tone 110.9) this month as a test after having some maintenance done and I would be seeking footprint/coverage information from net check ins.

We will use the following repeaters in the order listed.

1. West Bridgewater Repeater 146.775 dcs 244
2. Weymouth Repeater 147.345 tone 110.9
3. DMR -Talkgroup 8851 Time Slot :1 on the following NEDECN repeaters: Boston 449.175 -5.M CC:1, Hingham 146.430 -1.5M CC:1, Sagamore 145.200 – 0.6M CC:10, Dennis 146.470 -1.5M CC:11, East Falmouth 145.210 -0.600 CC:9, Martha’s Vineyard145.180 -0.600 CC:10, and Walpole 145.380 -0.600 CC:12.
4. Sharon Repeater 146.865 tone 103.5
5. Simplex 147.420

We will then return to the West Bridgewater Repeater for Net closing.

NET Protocol: Please wait for Net Control to ask for Check-ins. When asked to check in please use the standard net check-in procedure which is: Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your or your facilities call sign, your first name, and your facility’s name.

We extend an invitation to any health care facility, EOC of any city or town as well as RACES or ARES members to check in during the NET.

We are always looking for groups or organizations to try their hand at Net Control duties. If you are interested in trying your hand at Net Control please let us know. We can be reached by sending an email to ssharg@outlook.com or replying to this message. The goal is to rotate Net Control practice and the experience among as many individuals and groups as possible.

We thank the repeater trustees for their generosity in allowing us to conduct these monthly nets and the use of their systems in an actual event.

We hope to hear you Saturday.

73,

Jeff N1SOM and the South Shore Hospital Group W1SSH

South Shore Health Amateur Radio Group
55 Fogg Rd. Mail-Stop 42
South Weymouth, MA 02190

Hello to all…

A reminder that the monthly ARES/RACES Nets will be delayed one week to the second Monday of September on 9/9/24 due to the Labor Day holiday on the first Monday of the month. We hope everyone enjoys the long holiday weekend. Thanks to all for their continued support of ARES, RACES 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)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
https://ares.ema.arrl.org
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Ethan, KC1OIP, writes on the Boston ARC email list:

It’s that time of year again! The Head Of The Charles is looking for Amateur Radio (and lifeguards, first aid and bike team) volunteers for 2024. Please see below.

—
Volunteer registration for the 2024 Head of the Charles Regatta is opening today at 3pm! The PIN across all of our volunteer teams is 0911. While registration is opening early for returning volunteers, I’d ask you to spread the link and associated information to anyone you know that may be interested in helping! We’re always looking for enthusiastic people to join the team and help us support an incredible event!

This is the link to volunteer registration through Regatta Central:

https://volunteer.regattacentral.com/

Below are a few answers to frequently asked questions:

Q: What are the dates for HOCR 2024?
A: Events will be taking place on the weekend of October 18th to October 20th, 2024.

Q: What are the shift times for each team assignment?
A: Reporting and Securing Times are as follows:

0600 – 1800: Lifeguards and Ham Radio Operators on Safety Launches
0700 – 1800: Land-Based Ham Radio Operators, First Aid Teams, Bike Teams

These timeframes are rough, and we’re allowing for operational hang-ups that may add time to the day when estimating.

Q: When will we hear about assignments?
A: We start working on assignments as soon as we receive volunteer applications. However, we won’t release an assignment list until it’s reasonably full. You likely won’t see anything like that until the end of September or beginning of October. You will receive an email when any action is taken on your application, whether it’s accepted, declined, or put on hold. If you have any questions about the status of your application, please direct them to emergencyservices@hocr.org.

Q: When will I hear from you again?
A: One of our goals is to improve communication with the volunteer contingent every year, and 2024 is no exception. In the next few weeks, the Race Operations team (which includes all of the Emergency Services committee members) will begin meeting regularly. As deadlines for volunteer registration and certification submission approach, you’ll be hearing from us more frequently. In the interim, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact that committee at emergencyservices@hocr.org. This inbox is monitored by several committee members and we’re usually very quick to respond.

Q: What about the volunteer premiums?!
A: I have no information about volunteer premiums for 2024, aside from the fact that we are as curious as you are!

If you have any questions that aren’t listed here, please reply to this message and ask! We’ll be glad to answer them to the best of our collective ability. We’re looking forward to working with you all again soon!

Best,

The HOCR Emergency Services Committee
emergencyservices@hocr.org
—
Hope to see you in October!

73,
Ethan, KC1OIP

KA8SCP-Terry Stader – MEMA Region 1 RACES Radio Officer and ARRL ARES District Emergency Coordinator for Region 1 RACES writes:

This year’s Baystate Marathon and Half-Marathon race is scheduled for Sunday October 20, 2024.

Amateur Radio operators have been asked once again to support the Baystate Marathon and Half Marathon. This year the event is on Sunday, October 20th.

Our operational time period is from approximately 0700 until event completion (estimated 1400). Our assistance has been requested by Lowell Office of Emergency Management and Lowell Fire Department. The communications team will be employing Amateur Radio to provide this communications asset.

Amateur Radio will be used for:
* Accountability Net: the purpose of this net is to coordinate with a race public information booth the status of runners who are unable to complete the race for any issue to any one is seeking this information.

Race info may be found at http://baystatemarathon.com.
Course map is found at
https://www.baystatemarathon.com/course-map-description

Please contact me if you can assist or would like more information.

Please share with others that may be interested. This is a pretty laid back
event and suitable for first time public event participation.

Terry-KA8SCP

Terry M. Stader – KA8SCP
MEMA Region 1 RACES Officer
ARRL ARES Eastern MA District Emergency Coordinator for Region 1 RACES

Hello to all…

The August Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday August 5th, 2024 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. We will have several announcements for the net and if a NTS practice message is made available, we will have a NTS practice message sent over the net as we started doing those messages in these nets starting in October 2023.

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
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
https://ares.ema.arrl.org
https://www.wx1box.org
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