Public Information

From Harvard Magazine, May-June 2025:

“As Leo Koerner ’26 trudged upstairs with Declan Deady ’27, a three-minute timer started in his head. Once Koerner opened the door to the “radio shack,” its walls paneled with wood veneer and plastered with Soviet-era maps, he had just a few moments to convince Deady that this endeavor was magical.

“Koerner is trying to revive the Harvard Wireless Club, a group of amateur (“ham”) radio enthusiasts. Unlike the student DJs at WHRB, Koerner’s crew operates two-way radios: essentially superpowered, imprecise walkie-talkies. Harvard’s ham radio station is the sixth-oldest in the country, founded in 1909. But this 116-year-old club is at risk of disappearing. Few young people express interest in amateur radio, with waves (generally) full of old men. Can Koerner keep this time capsule alive?”

The Massasoit Amateur Radio Association will hold an open house on April 26, 2025 at the Bridgewater Public Library, 15 South Street in Bridgewater from 10 AM until  3 PM.

Weather permitting, club members will set up a station outside in back of the library near the pavilion. In the event of inclement weather, the Judith Gabriel Room will be used.

“We hope to set up a HF Parks On The Air (POTA) station which is a ham radio activity to establish contacts with parks all over the US. We will also have portable radio go-kits and should have at least one of them talking to the local repeater.”

The group also intends to distribute flyers with information about amateur radio and, possibly,  have a portable solar power supply on hand for the radios. The equipment will showcase how amateurs can communicate in situations where power, phone and internet are unavailable.

Lem Skidmore, W1LEM, writes on the Barnstable ARC mailing list:

We will be setting up HF and VHF stations for GOTA and general contacts. 

The objectives are: public awareness of BARC and Amateur Radio, operating practice, team building, and fellowship.

We will need [Barnstable ARC] members to set up Saturday AM and teardown Sunday PM, as well 4-hour shifts all all day Saturday and Sunday to operate, and to meet and greet the public.

Please contact Mark, K4LFL, the event leader.