All

Months of testing an EchoLink node on the Minuteman Repeater Assocation has produced positive results, according to MMRA president Kevin Paetzold, K1KWP.

“An EchoLink node had been hosted by N1QPR at his QTH. We suspected the path from the N1QPR QTH to [our hub] was not the best and these tests confirmed those suspicions.” Paetzold reports that a new Echolink node has been put together by W1BRI and it is now being hosted by K1IW at his QTH.

The MMRA Echolink node is listed under the club call sign W1MRA. At the present time, the W1MRA node cannot initiate outgoing connections due to a conflict with various DTMF repeater control codes. However, said K1KWP, “We do plan to eventually be able to allow initiation of outgoing connections via a prefix code which will be given to all members.” Paetzold added, “It’s expected that stations or repeaters which are not reachable via the MMRA network will now be able to reliably connect and participate in nets which are held on the MMRA repeaters, such as the TIAOS Net, the monthly ARES Net, and the CEMARC Youth Net. And, it would be great to hear those members who have moved away connect back into the repeaters.”

The EchoLink node will allow stations in other areas of Eastern Massachusetts that are presently unable to participate in the monthly ARES net to do so.

Paetzold concluded, “On behalf of the MMRA I would like to thank N1QPR, W1BRI and K1IW for making this all possible.” —Thanks, The Minuteman, January 2004

An article in The Boston Globe, December 18, 2003 reports that a large commercial development which threatens the site of the Minuteman Repeater Association’s Stoneham repeater has been delayed. The state environmental affairs secretary is concerned about traffic patterns and impact to historic parkways and open spaces. —Thanks W1DJY and The Minuteman, January 2004

Peg LeGendre, Science Mentor Teacher for the Cambridge Public Schools has received word that the John Tobin Elementary School has been awarded a Project Grant under the League’s Amateur Radio Education & Technology Program (a.k.a. “Big Project”).

The grant application was authored by Dr. Peg LeGendre. It is a collaboration of Dr. LeGendre and the Harvard Wireless Club.

“On behalf of the ARRL, the Executive Committee, ARRL President Jim Haynie, and the ARRL Headquarters Staff I have the pleasure to inform you that a Project Grant has been awarded to John Tobin Elementary School,” wrote Mark Spencer, WA8SME, Project Coordinator, ARRL Amateur Radio Education & Technology Program, in an email dated December 29, 2003.

“The ARRL is happy to have the opportunity to assist you with your instructional goals. We recognize that the hard work in that regard has just begun.” Spencer added that he would provide whatever assistance he can in the future to help ensure the success of the students.

Eastern Massachusetts Section Manager Phil Temples commented, “My hat is off to Tim McBride, N1QZY and company [at HWC] for their efforts in promoting Amateur Radio in the local Cambridge schools. This appears to be the start of an excellent collaboration.”

The Boston Amateur Radio Club recently received notice from ARRL that its Special Service Club (SSC) designation has been renewed for another two years. Exceptional clubs like the BARC meet the highest standards of Amateur Radio in areas such as new ham development and training, public relations, emergency communications, school club support, technical advancement, operating activities, annual reports, etc.

The Boston ARC was founded in 1988; they have been designated a Special Service Club for most of that time.

—Boston ARC The SPARC, December, 2003

The Massachusetts Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (MaSATERN) is preparing itself for possible activation on New Year’s Eve, acccording to MA SATERN Coordinator Frank Murphy, N1DHW. “In keeping with our tradition of being prepared, the MaSATERN ARC will provide ham operators to staff the Salvation Army/ Boston EOC. The Sharon backup Emergency Operations Center will not be operational unless required by an incident. And the mobile communications van is also operational.”

Murphy and other operators will monitor local police, fire and Amateur Radio frequencies during this period. If necessary, they will activate an ARES Net on 146.640 as well as operate on 53.31 MHz.

Murphy added, “The Salvation Army Massachusetts Disaster Services Operation has been ordered to ‘Stand-by Alert Status’ for the remainder of the holiday period.”

Genesis ARS is planning a “license in a weekend” class January 17-18, 2004. The effort is being led by Bob Smith, W1XRA. —Genesis ARS Monthly Update, November 2003

Dick Doherty, KA1TUZ (right) is shown receiving the Boston Amateur Radio Club’s 2003 Ham of the Year Award from club president Paul Olivieri, N1ZKR at the BARC’s annual holiday dinner on December 18.

“This was not the first time Dick was so honored over the last 15 years. [KA1TUZ] has consistently given his all to promote ham radio and the Boston Amateur Radio Club,” commented BARC member Frank Murphy, N1DHW. Murphy was a co-recipient of the prestigious award in 2001.

Photo courtesy N1DHW

Possible State Funding Available for Amateur Radio Organizations

In June 2003 ARRL signed a Statement of Affiliation with the Citizen Corps, making ARRL an affiliate organization working with Citizen Corps and other organizations to promote the goals of Citizen Corps. As an affiliate organization, ARRL, along with American Red Cross, NOAA, Points of Light Foundation, Veterans of Foreign Wars and others, was invited to a two-day meeting in Maryland on December 2 and 3. The purpose of the meeting was to identify strategies and goals for organizations working with Citizen Corps.
In the course of the meeting, Citizen Corps staff shared the information that $35 million was awarded to state Citizen Corps groups. Each state will receive a share of the money based on a population-based formula. The funding was awarded in order to execute states’ strategic plans for disaster prevention and preparedness and recovery – this plan had to be submitted to Citizen Corps by December 31, 2003. Funds will begin flowing to states in March 2004.

What does this mean for ARRL? Since there is no funding available on the national level, ARRL Hq is not eligible for funds. However, for ARES groups and Amateur Radio clubs, there is potential funding for projects that relate to a state’s strategic plan. The message from Citizen Corps was that participation and funding must be at the local and state level. Each state has a Point of Contact (POC) for Citizen Corps and a State Administrative Agency (SAA) that will manage the funds. The Citizen Corps funding mandate requires that the SAA work through the POC for programs and initiatives to be funded locally. The POC and SAA may be the same in some states.

ARRL affiliated clubs that are interested in this funding might best band together, and should take the initiative to contact their state POC and SAA about programs that need funding (a pilot project, specialized training, equipment or a system). If there is more than one Section in the state, it would be best to work together on a funding request and present a unified plan that may be better received by the POC and SAA. Please share this information with those you feel would be interested. Also, SMs and/or SECs should contact the state POCs, if this has not already been done, to ensure that Amateur Radio is included in the state’s strategic plan.

So, it’s up to you. If you need funding for a local project, event or initiative, collaborate on your grant request by contacting other Amateur Radio groups in your area or state to coordinate and integrate your plans. Then contact the state Citizen Corps POC. A list of the state POCs can be found at this web address: http://www.citizencorps.gov/citizenCorps/statepoc.do. Additional information about Citizen Corps is at http://www.citizencorps.gov.

***** DHS Raises Warning Level to High (Orange) *****
**** ARES Members Asked to Assume Higher State of Readiness ****

(Updated 1300 12/22/03)

Hello to all…

Quoting specific sources and “…raised chatter approaching the levels of 9/11…”, Department of homeland Security (DHS), raised the Warning Level to High (Orange) at approximately 1330 EST (1830Z) today. Responding to only a few questions, DHS Secretary Ridge stated that the threat level was being raised in face of compelling evidence, but at the same time, exhorted the public to participate in holiday activities as usual while keeping a wary eye out for unusual activities around them. Read about the news release at DHS News Conference

As in past declarations of High (Orange), I ask that you assume a higher state of individual readiness by completing the following actions as soon as possible:

1. Test your home and mobile systems to ensure their proper working order
2. Test and charge all battery backup systems
3. Review current procedures for reaction and mobilization on our website, http://ares.ema.arrl.org
4. Contact your EC/DEC if you have recently changed your contact information and you did not have a chance to communicate that to him.

Please carry your H/T with you at all times as practicable. During an emergency, please remember to check in to the RACES repeater nearest to your current location. That is important if you are visiting relatives, etc., within our section away from home.

I would like to echo Secretary Ridge’s call to all of us to carry on and enjoy our holiday activities. I would also like to wish you and your family Happy Holidays, and a happy and prosperous new year!

s/Michael P. Neilsen
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
Eastern Massachusetts
Section Emergency Coordinator
w1mpn@ema.arrl.org
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
978.562.5662

“Saturday, December 6 was SKYWARN Recognition Day, sponsored by the National Weather Service. The Boston Amateur Radio Club, using club call W1BOS with designator /MQE, set up a station at the Blue Hill Observatory on Great Blue Hill in Milton. “MQE” is the station designator assigned by the NWS to the Blue Hill Observatory, home of the longest continuous weather data in North America.

“We’ll remember this one for a long time,” said Mark Duff, KB1EKN, the leader of the event. The storm of December 6, 2003 was to become one of the most substantial to hit our area. It turned out to be one of the biggest December snow storms on record. You couldn’t ask for a more perfect day for a SKYWARN event.
Fortunately, Mark, KB1EKN, Bob, WA1IDA, and Hank, K1QK set up the station, strung a couple HF wire antennas, and mounted a VHF ground plane on the day before the event. It turned out to be excellent planning.

The same trio, along with Geri, KB1ISG and Joe, KB1IXK met at the Observatory at the summit of Great Blue Hill about 0900 on Saturday, December 6, as the storm continued to increase in intensity. By then, approximately 6 inches of snow had fallen. The Observatory had earlier recorded a wind gust of 53 miles per hour! Thanks to the work done on the day before, the group was able to get on the air in short order.

Contacts were made on the HF bands with stations across the country on 10, 15, and 20-meters. We were also active on 2-meters, both on simplex and through repeaters. The wind blew to nearly 50 mph and the snow fell heavily during the event. Since one of the items reported during the QSO exchanges was the local weather, we couldn’t have been more pleased with the exciting conditions to report.

Operations continued into late Saturday afternoon, when the better part of valor suggested that we shut down and get off the hill before we became stranded. Mark led the way with the dismantling of the antennas in 40+ mph winds. [Boy, these fire fighters sure are tough.] Both of the 4-wheel drive vehicles that brought the group up the hill made it off safely as darkness was falling. All in all, it was quite an adventure—and we had fun.

Kudos also to Blake, K1BTH, for providing the mid-afternoon fuel (in the form of coffee and donuts) that helped provide the energy required for the tear down, and to Bill, N1VUX, for arranging to have W1BOS/MQE listed as an official station.

Finally and foremost, thanks are due to KB1EKN for the concept and the arrangements with the Observatory.

Shown (L-R): KB1EKN, K1QK, KB1IXK, WA1IDA

—Written by K1QK, in Boston ARC The SPARC, December 2003, photo courtesy KB1ISG

The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Town of Falmouth, according to FARA president Bob Courtemanche, N1WAT. Courtemanche signed the document for FARA; Fire Chief Paul Brodeur signed on behalf of the Town. The MOU designates FARA as “the official RACES organization to provide emergency and disaster communications support to the Town of Falmouth.”

In agreeing to the Memorandum, the Falmouth ARA will activate the Emergency Operations Center when designated club representatives have been asked to do so by the Fire Chief. According to Courtemanche, “volunteers must be sworn in by the Town to operate in any emergency situation, whether at the EOC or at an official town site. Emergency traffic will be handled over the repeater which will be closed for general use.”

“The Falmouth ARA has worked for over a year to reach the agreement with the Town,” commented Courtemanche. “Now we must show them that we are professional, prepared, and competent communicators.”

N1WAT requests that all members familiarlize themselves fully with the MOU which will soon be posted on the club’s web site.

—Falmouth ARA Newsletter, December, 2003