Public Service – Eastern Massachusetts ARRL

2021 Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Volunteer Registration Extended

July 22, 2021 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Amateur Radio Volunteers for the 2021 Boston Marathon. Amateur Radio volunteer registration has been extended to Friday July 30, 2021 at 500 PM EDT as there is still a need for more Amateurs to register to reach the required number of volunteers. Registration information is below:

On behalf of the BAA Amateur Radio Communications Committee, we hope everyone has stayed safe and healthy through the COVID-19 pandemic. After last year’s race was moved to a virtual only event, we are now approaching the 125th live running of the Boston Marathon.

Volunteer registration has been open for the Marathon since Wednesday June 16, 2021 at 10:00 AM and the Amateur Radio volunteer registration deadline has been extended to Friday July 30th, 2021 at 500 PM EDT. The race itself is taking place on Monday, October 11, 2021.

For Returning Volunteers:
The BAA sends out an email which provides you with a direct link once registration is open. This email will also include your loyalty number, which is required for sign up. New for this year is that returning volunteers will need to setup an account via the BAA Athlete’s Village.

For New Volunteers:
If you haven’t previously volunteered, or have a friend who would like to volunteer, please go directly to the Volunteer Registration page and follow the instructions for new volunteers which will include setup of an account via the BAA Athlete’s Village.

Don’t delay! Volunteer registration has been extended and closes on Friday July 30th, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. Help us get the word out by forwarding this message to your club and other amateur radio operators who wish to volunteer. Most volunteers first learn about the event through word of mouth. If you know new licensees who might like to join us, please make sure to let them know about it. Even just a quick mention at your club meeting can be a big help.

We understand that with the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing and the continued fluid situation on how it will affect the 2021 Boston Marathon, you may have questions about requirements and what COVID mitigations will be required for volunteers. If you have any questions regarding COVID mitigations, about the upcoming volunteer registration period, or the 2021 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 fun, comfortable, and effective. With respect to COVID-19 mitigations, we will do our best to answer questions but appreciate everyone’s patience, flexibility, and understanding that mitigation efforts and plans remain very fluid and could change based on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic as we get closer to the fall.

We look forward to seeing everyone again soon.

Thank you, and 73,
Boston Marathon Communications Committee
contact@hamradioboston.org

Emergency Communications / Public Service

KD1CY: “Boston Marathon Organization Make Up” on RATPAC Online, July 22, 2021

July 21, 2021July 21, 2021 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Thursday, July 22, RATPAC Zoom Presentation

Starts 9:00 PM AST / 9:00 PM EDT / 8:00 PM CDT / 7:00 PM MDT / 6:00 PM PDT / 5:00 PM AKDT / 3:00 PM HST

TOPIC: Boston Marathon Organization Make up

Speaker/Presenter: Rob Macedo KD1CY

Be sure to see future RATPAC scheduled presentations below

This meeting will be recorded. By participating you consent to being recorded.
Please change your display name to Your First Name, Call Sign and Location, e.g. Dan K7REX Idaho.
Please stay muted until ready to speak. Your space bar works like a PTT for unmuting
You may ask questions in chat; please stay on topic while using chat.

Join Thursday Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 212 888 4758
Passcode: THURSDAY

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Meeting ID: 212 888 4758
Passcode: 47672675

Organization / Public Information / Public Service

National Weather Service, SKYWARN Acknowledged at ARRL Re-Opening Ceremony, July 15, 2021

July 16, 2021 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

In addition to ARRL board members and political dignitaries attending the ARRL Re-opening Ceremony at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut: Glenn Field, KB1GHX, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at NOAA / National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts; and Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Eastern MA Section Emergency Coordinator and ARES SKYWARN Coordinator.

Field and Macedo were both acknowledged in the public ceremony by ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA.

photo of Rob Macedo, Glenn Field, Dahlia Field — Foreground: Rob Macedo, KD1CY; Glenn Field, KB1GHX; Dahlia Field. -K9HI photo

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday July 12th, 2021 at 830 PM EDT on the MMRA Repeater Network

July 12, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The July Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday July 12th, 2021 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. It is on the second Monday of the month due to Monday July 5th being the observed holiday for US Independence Day.

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. For this month’s ARES Net, we will have comments on an upcoming ARES exercise we are planning on Saturday August 7th, 2021, past SKYWARN activation information and the continued need for Amateur Radio volunteers for the 2021 Boston Marathon.

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 (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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

July ARES and RACES Nets Will be on the Second Monday of July Due to Independence Day Holiday Observed on Monday 7/5/21

July 5, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

We hope everyone has had a great Independence Day holiday weekend so far. With Independence Day being on July 4th, the observed state legal holiday is on Monday July 5th, 2021 so the RACES and ARES Nets will be held on the second Monday of July, Monday 7/12/21 at the usual times. We look forward to talking to everyone on the nets next week. Thanks!

73,Rob-KD1CY.

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

Emergency Communications / Operating / Public Service

Massachusetts State Triathlon – Winchendon – Sun 7/11/11 Needs Amateur Radio Volunteers

July 5, 2021July 5, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

From the MMRA Email List and KC1US-Bruce Pigott:

Hi Folks,

We’re looking for amateur radio operators to assist with the Massachusetts State Triathlon in Winchendon on Sun 7/11. It occurs from about 7am to 1pm (some assignments should secure as early as 10am, and most by Noon). This is an Olympic Distance Triathlon, with a .9 mi swim, 22 mi bike and 6.2 mi run. Registration often fills up. The expanded course will continue, down into the centers of Gardner and Baldwinville. This means our communications plan will involve using a variety of systems on both 2m and 70cm, including deploying portable repeater systems. We will forward maps and details about the event to those signed up.

More info online: www.maxperformanceonline.com

If you are interested, please send an e-mail to events@wect.org and let us know if you have UHF equipment with DCS / DPL. Thanks!

Thanks and 73,
Matt, NM1B

Matt Brennan, NM1B
nm1b@wect.org
(508) 425-2750 x107

Public Service

YuKan Road Races to Begin Effective August 1, 2021

July 2, 2021 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Christopher Winczewski, K1TAT, writes on the Cape Ann ARA mailing list:

<…>

YuKan road races will begin again effective August 1, 2021. Our first live, in-person road race will be the Building Center TripleThreat Half Marathon, 5K & 1-Mile in beautiful Rockport, MA on August 1, 2021. Registration is open. We’re grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding as we all worked together to navigate the difficult circumstances that the pandemic presented us all.

We look forward to seeing everyone return to the starting line at long last. We’ll be there to cheer for you when you reach the arch and celebrate your well-earned finish. Reaching your goals will be a little bit sweeter this year. Cheers to racing again in 2021.

Chris
K1TAT

Public Service

Hams Active for Bike MS: Cape Cod Getway, July 10, 2021

June 29, 2021 - by k9hi - Leave a Comment

Steve Johnson, KC1HO, writes on the W1ATD Marshfield Facebook page:

Both the Marshfield 145.39 and Norwell 145.25 repeaters will be used for the Bike MS: Cape Cod Getaway on July 10 from 6 AM to 4 PM. Activity on these repeaters should end around 1 PM as the race moves south of the repeater coverage area and they switch to the Plymouth repeater.

Please refrain from using these repeaters during these hours on July 10.

The K1USN net which is normally held on Saturdays at 9:00 will be skipped for July 10.

Emergency Communications / Public Service

Boston Marathon Volunteer Registration Now Open Through Thursday 7/15/21 at 500 PM EDT

June 17, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

The Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Committee writes:

We are excited to announce that volunteer registration for amateur radio operators for the 2021 Boston Marathon is now open. For more information about volunteering, and registration instructions, please see https://www.hamradioboston.org/node/1

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday June 7th, 2021 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater Network

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The June Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday June 7th, 2021 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. For this month’s ARES Net, we will have comments regarding past ARES Workshop and virtual SKYWARN training, past ARES exercise in May and the pivot towards public service events as Massachusetts reopens as COVID restrictions are relaxed.

Also, we will pay tribute this evening to the loss of longtime town of Walpole EMA Director and strong supporter of ARES/RACES/SKYWARN, W1ZSA-Roger Turner, who passed away Wednesday Evening. Please join us for a memorial last call up to be held at the start of the ARES Net tonight.

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 (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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / Operating / Public Service

125th Boston Marathon Volunteer Registration Opens – Wednesday June 16th 2021 at 1000 AM EDT

May 21, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

The Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Communication Committee writes:

Volunteer registration for the 125th running of the Boston Marathon on Monday October 11th, 2021 will open on Wednesday June 16th 2021 at 1000 AM EDT. Additional information can be seen on the hamradioboston.org web site at the following link:

Boston Marathon Volunteer Registration Date Announcement

Additional details will be posted as we draw closer to the volunteer registration date.

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Exercise – Operation Unify Coincident with National Red Cross Exercise – Saturday May 8th, 2021 – 10 AM-12 PM

May 2, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

The Eastern MA Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) will conduct an exercise in conjunction with the National Red Cross exercise. Operation “Unify” on May 8th, 2021 from 10 AM to 12 Noon (setup to start at 830-9 AM where needed) to test its capability in establishing communications with stations inside and outside of the section. Operation “Unity” will attempt to build upon the lessons learned from past operational exercises.

The exercise scenario involves a power grid failure caused by an X range solar flare. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of people in Eastern Massachusetts are left without power due to this solar flare.

“This exercise guideline is deliberately broad and generic in nature similar to our previous exercises. ARES groups are free to adapt this scenario and conduct their exercise as needed for their group,” writes District Emergency Coordinator Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O.

“This is another great opportunity, similar to the Fall and Winter exercises, for new Amateur Radio Operators, whether they are involved in ARES or not, to check into nets, provide simulated information and exercise traffic, or just check in and learn how nets work and what ARES can do during an actual event. This includes the National Weather Service SKYWARN component of ARES despite a non-weather scenario” writes Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator.

With the ongoing COVID-19 situation in MA, it will be unlikely that groups will be able to operate at EOCs and other municipal locations. Therefore any activation of shelters will be simulated by role play. It is likely that most of the operations involved in this exercise will utilize home stations along with field sites on Cape Cod and at other local ARES groups and those local groups’ discretion.

Some exercise objectives include:
• Simulate the activation of shelters in your area;
• Simulate the activation of EOC stations in your area;
• Establish and conduct a tactical net on simplex 2m FM/ repeater for your group;
• Simulate contact with any Town EOC RACES stations (Home stations is OK if COVID restricted) ;
• Establish contact with other ARES districts where possible;
• Establish an HF 75 meter voice net for all of MA (and potentially other areas);
• Establish an HF 60 meter voice net for all of MA (and potentially other areas);
• Pass an NTS type message on 2 meters VHF and/or 440 MHz;
• Pass a SKYWARN and/or tactical message on voice 2 meters and on the HF net;
• Optional components of the exercise to pass information digitally via Winlink and NBEMS (Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System) on VHF and HF between stations locally and to Red Cross

For full details, see the “Eastern MA Exercise Scenario and Guidelines” document at Eastern Massachusetts ARES Operation Unify Exercise – Saturday May 8th, 2021

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday May 3rd at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater Network

May 2, 2021May 2, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

The May Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday May 3rd, 2021 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:
http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net. For this month’s ARES Net, we will have comments regarding upcoming ARES Workshop training, virtual SKYWARN training (final class is Thursday 5/13/21 at 630 PM) and the Eastern Massachusetts ARES exercise coincident with a National Red Cross exercise on Saturday May 8th, 2021. Also, we’ll have some updates on COVID-19 and the recent announcements on restrictions being removed and how public service events such as road races and parades will be permitted later in May and beyond.

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 (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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

Emergency Communications / NTS / Operating / Public Service

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Workshops Via Zoom During the Month of May – Check Here for Frequent Updates!

May 1, 2021May 17, 2021 - by kd1cy - Leave a Comment

Hello to all…

**UPDATED ZOOM DETAILS FOR ALL REMAINING WORKSHOP TOPICS LISTED BELOW**

Eastern Massachusetts ARES will be hosting an ARES Workshop over the course of May 2021 covering a variety of topics that support public service and emergency communications. These workshops will also be recorded and posted online after the series of workshop topics are completed.

The following is the topic schedule complete with the current list of presenters and the timeframe for each workshop/Zoom call presentation:

Monday Evening 5/17 – 800 PM-900 PM – Go Kits Presenter: WQ1O-Frank O’Laughlin
Thursday Evening 5/20 – 800 PM-900 PM – NTS – Presenter: KW1U-Marcia Forde and one or two other members of the NTS team
Saturday Morning 5/22 – 1000 AM-1130 AM – Winlink and Vara Presenter: WQ1O-Frank O’Laughlin with members of his Cape Cod ARES team
Monday Evening 5/24 – 800 PM-900 PM – NBEMS (Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System) Presenters: WQ1O-Frank O’Laughlin and AB1PH-Don Rolph
Thursday Evening 5/27 – 800-900 PM – RF Exposure Rules Presentation Presenters: W1DAN-Dan Brown

Below are the Zoom Details for the Monday Evening 5/17/21, Thursday Evening 5/20/21, Saturday Morning 5/22/21, Monday Evening 5/24/21 and Thursday Evening 5/27/21 Workshop Topics: