Amateur Radio Field Exercise sponsored by Walpole EMA/CERT on Sat. Sep. 21, 2024 – 9 AM-2 PM

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

On Saturday, September 21st from 9 AM to 2 PM at Adam’s Farm at 999 North St, Walpole, MA, Walpole Emergency Management Agency and Community Emergency Response Team will be sponsoring an exercise by amateur radio operators to deploy and test their communications capabilities in the field. A variety of antennas, radio transceivers and power systems will be tested to understand the functionality and behaviors of the various options. These include sending test messages across Eastern Massachusetts and, if the equipment is successfully deployed, across the continental US.

We would love more participants (contact don.rolph@gmail.com to participate), visitors, and also amateur operators willing to work the event from their home stations.

The operating schedule will be

9 AM arrive and begin setup
9:30 Walpole EMA on air with monitoring/net on Walpole Repeater: 146.895, pl 123.0
11:00 80 meter voice on 3930 KHz moving up to first free frequency
11:30 80 meter NBEMS on 3582.5 KHz MARIDN net: pass NTS traffic
12:00 60 meter voice on channel 1 dial 5330.5 KHz
12:30 20 meter NBEMS with Transcontinental NBEMS net: 14,068 KHz
1:00 40 meter voice on 7200 KHz

We would love to have you join us!

73,
AB1PH
Don Rolph

Reminder: September 9th, 2024 MEMA RACES/ACS Communications Test Net

Mike “Sparky” Leger, N1YLQ, ARES DEC – MEMA Region 2 RACES Radio Officer writes:
 
Hello to all,
 
   This email is the typical monthly message to let everyone know that
Monday evening, September 9th, 2024 is our first non-holiday Monday of the month
and, as such, will be the next RACES/ACS/Preparedness Net night.
 
  An item of note for this month is an upcoming exercise by members in conjunction with the Walpole EMA/CERT team. Walpole EMA and CERT are sponsoring an amateur radio field exercise on Sat Sep 21 from 9 AM – 2 PM at Adam’s Farm in Walpole. This exercise will be utilizing 2-Meter frequencies as well as multiple HF bands and will be testing and demonstrating various off-grid power systems for emergency communications. As I get more information on the planned frequencies, modes and times, I will be passing them along to the group. 
 
      For any operators interested in performing the duties of Net Control
Station (NCS), there are materials available to make the task fairly simple
and straight forward. The net pre-amble and role call lists are available at
http://wc1mab.org/Month.php with the role-call lists on the left column near
the bottom. If anyone is worried that they may mess up running a net, please
remember that, in many cases, a less than perfect net is WAY better than no
net at all! At the conclusion of any net, any operator that acted as Net
Control Operator is asked to please send a note to WC1MAB@gmail.com
<mailto:WC1MAB@gmail.com>  letting me know who ran the net and who checked
in so that the proper numbers can be reported to our served agencies. We
cannot always count on our normal net control operators to be available in
the event of a large scale emergency, so every RACES operator should be
prepared to act as NCO if needed when disaster and emergency strikes!
 
Winlink Net Instructions From Don Rolph: 
 
*Winlink Net*
 
To participate:
 
– create a check-in form using the Winlink standard checkin form
 
– send via Winlink after 6 AM EST Mon. August 5th and before midnight EST August 7th
  (any mode, but include mode in check-in form) to KF1D
 
   I continue to ask that any operators who have the time, please try to
check into sector nets from near-by sectors. This will allow our Net
Control Operators to practice fielding nets with a strong check-in count and
will also serve to help practice with relays or modified sector assignments
in the event that a single repeater is out of service.
 
   For those operators who serve as Net Control Operators, please try to
remember to send me a list of the stations and communities that check into
your nets. The numbers are reported to MEMA to show them our level of
participation. I am continuing to work on a graphical map based report to
show which parts of our section have strong coverage and which areas may
need a more targeted recruitment campaign to improve our ability to provide
back-up communications in an emergency.
 
    I appreciate you all answering the call to help our communities remain
prepared. Thank you all for helping us keep things on track and prove that
we remain a consistent source of communication capability to the
Commonwealth. This net provides a monthly reminder to our communities and
served agencies that we stand ready with a quiet professionalism prepared to
serve as a voice to whomever needs one to get help and resources to where
they need to be.
 
 If you know someone who would benefit from being on this list, please have
them contact me at   <mailto:WC1MAB@gmail.comWC1MAB@gmail.com and I will
add them to this distribution. Thank you all!
 
      If anyone has any questions or comments I can be reached by e-mail or
cell phone. Thanks for being a part of our team and I look forward to
hearing back on who can participate this month.
 

Sincerely,

Michael Leger (N1YLQ)
MEMA Region #2 RACES Officer
C: 508_995_0203 

 

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday September 9th, 2024 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater System

Hello to all…

The September Eastern Massachusetts ARES section net will be Monday September 9th, 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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USCG Auxiliary Division 5 / 12 Nets held Sunday 8 SEP 24

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

Massachusetts RACES Nets – Monday 9/9/24 for HF, Region 2D VHF, NBEMS & Winlink – Times and Details Below

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

Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net (EMHN) – Saturday 9/7/24 at 1000 AM EDT

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

CQ Race Volunteers: By The Sea Half-Marathon, Manchester-By-The-Sea, September 15, 2024

Chris Winczewski, W1TAT,, writes on the Cape Ann ARA mailng list:

We have had a very successful race season so far and we are down the fall stretch with just 5 races to go in 2024! Now we need to fill our slots for the upcoming September 15th for the By The Sea Half-Marathon.

We need two more volunteers to operate Checkpoint 1 and Checkpoint 2, both in Manchester-By-The-Sea. Please see the race details and open slots for this race and future races and email Chris, W1TAT, as soon as possible.

RACE SCHEDULE, DETAILS, AND SIGN-UP INFO

Many thanks and 73,
Chris, W1TAT

Reminder: Monthly ARES/RACES Nets Will Be on the Second Monday of September – 9/9/24 Due to Labor Day Holiday

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
https://www.wx1box.org
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Amateur Radio Communications Support Opportunity: Head Of The Charles 2024

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

Baystate Marathon – Amateur Radio Operators Needed Sunday October 20, 2024

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

Amateur Radio Communications Request, Cycle for Shelter, Haverhill, September 15, 2024

Ethan Hansen, KC1OIP, writes on the Boston ARC mailing list:
 
Hi all, Cycle for Shelter is looking for amateur radio operators for this year’s event. Please see the information from Ross Chapman below.
This year’s event will take place on Sunday September 15th.  The start and finish  is again at the Northern Essex Community College sports complex, Haverhill, Mass.
 
There are (4) routes planned, a 100 mile, 62 mile, 35 mile & 15 miles long. Most will overlap each other. The final routes are still being worked out but will run through similar areas as in years past. The start times for each route vary, starting as early as 7:30 AM and the event closes at 4:00 pm. Some routes will take as little as 3 hours to complete where the longest would take a full day.
 
We are looking to fill the positions of route support in such that there would be at least (1) vehicles per route. All route support vehicles will be offered equipment and instruction on the day of the event.
We are also in need of Amateur Radio Operators at (7) different rest stops. Of the seven (7) rest stops locations again are in: Boxford, Georgetown Groveland, Topsfield, North Hampton, Kensington and Amesbury. The open close times of these stops is being calculated but should not be longer than (4) hours. Bike marshals are also needed for the 15 mile route which is local to the start/finish.
 
If you have time available to help again with this event, it would be greatly appreciated. All are welcome at the finish for food and the celebration of the days event.
 
Please RSVP regrets and/or confirmation that you will be able to help. (Even if I have already talked with you)
 
If you know of anyone who would be willing to help, please forward this note to them and have them contact me.
 
Regards, 
 
Ross Chapman 
Route Support Coordinator
Cycle for Shelter, 2024
603 479 2728
73,
Ethan KC1OIP

Reminder: Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net – Monday August 5th, 2024 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater System

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
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Reminder: August 5th, 2024 MEMA RACES/ACS Communications Test Net

N1YLQ-Michael Leger, Region 2 RACES Radio Officer writes:
 
Hello to all,
 
   This email is the typical monthly message to let everyone know that
Monday evening, August 5th, 2024 is our first non-holiday Monday of the month
and, as such, will be the next RACES/ACS/Preparedness Net night. I would
like to thank the stations that checked into our nets last month. I would also like to
thank those stations who participated in yesterday’s ARES Emergency Exercise. The notice for the 
exercise was relatively short, but from initial reports it seems that the event was well attended.
 
      As always, I am looking for Net Control stations to staff our sector
nets for the evening. While each of the sector nets and the HF and Winlink nets should all be covered
this month, we are always looking for NCOs to help provide practiced support in the event of a communications Emergency. Please let me know if you are interested in participating in this role! 
 
      For any operators interested in performing the duties of Net Control
Station (NCS), there are materials available to make the task fairly simple
and straight forward. The net pre-amble and role call lists are available at
http://wc1mab.org/Month.php with the role-call lists on the left column near
the bottom. If anyone is worried that they may mess up running a net, please
remember that, in many cases, a less than perfect net is WAY better than no
net at all! At the conclusion of any net, any operator that acted as Net
Control Operator is asked to please send a note to WC1MAB@gmail.com
<mailto:WC1MAB@gmail.com>  letting me know who ran the net and who checked
in so that the proper numbers can be reported to our served agencies. We
cannot always count on our normal net control operators to be available in
the event of a large scale emergency, so every RACES operator should be
prepared to act as NCO if needed when disaster and emergency strikes!
 
Winlink Net Instructions From Don Rolph: 
 
*Winlink Net*
To participate:
– create a check-in form using the Winlink standard checkin form
– send via Winlink after 6 AM EST Mon. August 5th and before midnight EST August 7th
  (any mode, but include mode in check-in form) to KF1D
 
   I continue to ask that any operators who have the time, please try to
check into sector nets from near-by sectors. This will allow our Net
Control Operators to practice fielding nets with a strong check-in count and
will also serve to help practice with relays or modified sector assignments
in the event that a single repeater is out of service.
 
   For those operators who serve as Net Control Operators, please try to
remember to send me a list of the stations and communities that check into
your nets. The numbers are reported to MEMA to show them our level of
participation. I am continuing to work on a graphical map based report to
show which parts of our section have strong coverage and which areas may
need a more targeted recruitment campaign to improve our ability to provide
back-up communications in an emergency.
 
    I appreciate you all answering the call to help our communities remain
prepared. Thank you all for helping us keep things on track and prove that
we remain a consistent source of communication capability to the
Commonwealth. This net provides a monthly reminder to our communities and
served agencies that we stand ready with a quiet professionalism prepared to
serve as a voice to whomever needs one to get help and resources to where
they need to be.
 
 If you know someone who would benefit from being on this list, please have
them contact me at   <mailto:WC1MAB@gmail.comWC1MAB@gmail.com and I will
add them to this distribution. Thank you all!
 
      If anyone has any questions or comments I can be reached by e-mail or
cell phone. Thanks for being a part of our team and I look forward to
hearing back on who can participate this month.
 
Sincerely,
 
Michael Leger (N1YLQ)
 
MEMA Region #2 RACES Officer
 
C: 508_995_0203

Massachusetts RACES Nets – Monday 8/5/24 for HF, Region 2D VHF, NBEMS & Winlink – Times and Details Below

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,  For August 2024, the RACES nets will be held on Mon August 5th 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.

Don AB1PH 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 Aug 5 and 2400 Monday Aug 5.
We look forward to you checking in!

73,
AB1PH
Don Rolph

Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net (EMHN) – Saturday 8/3/24 – 1000 AM EDT

Jeff N1SOM and the South Shore Hospital Group W1SSH writes:

Good Evening,

On Saturday August 3, 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.

We will use the following repeaters in the order listed.

1. Plymouth Repeater 146.685 tone 131.8
2. West Bridgewater Repeater 146.775 dcs 244
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. Falmouth Repeater 147.375 tone 110.9
5. Simplex 147.420

We will then return to the Plymouth 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

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Wide Exercise – Operation “Big Blow” – Saturday 8/3/24 – 1000 AM-1200 PM EDT

Hello to all…

Understanding the short notice, Eastern Massachusetts ARES is conducting a section wide exercise code named Operation “Big Blow” for this Saturday 8/3/24 from 10 AM-12 PM. Eastern Massachusetts ARES members or any general Amateur Radio Operators are welcome to participate. You need not be an ARES member to participate. The document details frequencies and modes and u can utilize as many or as few modes as you would like during the exercise and also note some local area repeater start times for nets may occur during the 2-hour window and not right at 10 AM. Information is below:

https://ema.arrl.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/EasternMA-ARES-Summer-Exercise-2024-V1.6.pdf

This document may be updated one last time on Friday 8/2/24 with minor changes/finalization of plans. We hope many can participate despite the short notice and thanks to all for their continued support of Eastern Massachusetts 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)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
https://ares.ema.arrl.org
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Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net (EMHN) – Saturday 7/13/24 – 1000 AM EDT

Jeff N1SOM and the South Shore Hospital Group W1SSH writes:

Good Afternoon,

On Saturday July 13, 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.

We will use the following repeaters in the order listed.

1. West Bridgewater Repeater 146.775 dcs 244
2. Dartmouth Repeater 147.000 tone 67.0
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. Attleboro Repeater 147.195 tone 127.3
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

Saturday July 6, 2024 Eastern MA hospital Net postponed to Saturday July 13th, 2024 at 1000 AM EDT

Jeff N1SOM and the South Shore Hospital Group W1SSH writes:

Good afternoon everyone,

The South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Group will hold the Eastern MA Hospital Net on July 13,2024.

The NET usually held on the first Saturday of the month is being postponed 1 week until July 13th.

Given the first Saturday in July is so close to the July 4th holiday, and many folks are extending the holiday through Friday and into weekend, we thought it best to hold the NET on the following Saturday.

Jeff N1SOM, will send out a notice with the repeaters being used on the 13th sometime this week giving everyone an ample opportunity to be prepared for the NET.

Happy 4th of July! We hope to hear you on the air Saturday July 13th.

73,

John K1JRO and the South Shore Hospital Group W1SSH

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

Reminder: July 1st, 2024 MEMA RACES/ACS Communications Test Net

Mike “Sparky” Leger, N1YLQ, Region 2 RACES Radio Officer writes:

Hello to all,

This email is the typical monthly message to let everyone know that
Monday evening, July 1st, 2024 is our first non-holiday Monday of the month
and, as such, will be the next RACES/ACS/Preparedness Net night. I would
like to thank the stations that checked into our nets last month. I would also like to
thank those stations that have helped with Skywarn operations over the last few
weeks as the weather has kept that comms team particularly busy!

Please note that the 80m HF Voice net will have a Net Control Op with lower than
usual power. Please use relays and patience as necessary to move messages through
the net this time around.

As always, I am looking for Net Control stations to staff our sector
nets for the evening. This month I am working my shift with the fire department and will
be unreliable at best as NCOfor the Sector 2A net. If anyone would like to act as NCO, for the 2A net please let me know! The other Sector Nets and the HF and Winlink nets should all be covered this month for NCOs.

For any operators interested in performing the duties of Net Control
Station (NCS), there are materials available to make the task fairly simple
and straight forward. The net pre-amble and role call lists are available at
http://wc1mab.org/RACES_R2_Interim_Preamble.pdf and
http://wc1mab.org/Month.php with the role-call lists on the left column near
the bottom. If anyone is worried that they may mess up running a net, please
remember that, in many cases, a less than perfect net is WAY better than no
net at all! At the conclusion of any net, any operator that acted as Net
Control Operator is asked to please send a note to WC1MAB@gmail.com
letting me know who ran the net and who checked
in so that the proper numbers can be reported to our served agencies. We
cannot always count on our normal net control operators to be available in
the event of a large scale emergency, so every RACES operator should be
prepared to act as NCO if needed when disaster and emergency strikes!

Winlink Net Instructions From Don Rolph:

*Winlink Net*

To participate:

– create a check-in form using the Winlink standard checkin form

– send via Winlink after 6 AM EST Mon. June 3rd and before midnight EST June
4th (any mode, but include mode in check-in form) to KF1D

I continue to ask that any operators who have the time, please try to
check into sector nets from near-by sectors. This will allow our Net
Control Operators to practice fielding nets with a strong check-in count and
will also serve to help practice with relays or modified sector assignments
in the event that a single repeater is out of service.

For those operators who serve as Net Control Operators, please try to
remember to send me a list of the stations and communities that check into
your nets. The numbers are reported to MEMA to show them our level of
participation. I am continuing to work on a graphical map based report to
show which parts of our section have strong coverage and which areas may
need a more targeted recruitment campaign to improve our ability to provide
back-up communications in an emergency.

I appreciate you all answering the call to help our communities remain
prepared. Thank you all for helping us keep things on track and prove that
we remain a consistent source of communication capability to the
Commonwealth. This net provides a monthly reminder to our communities and
served agencies that we stand ready with a quiet professionalism prepared to
serve as a voice to whomever needs one to get help and resources to where
they need to be.

If you know someone who would benefit from being on this list, please have
them contact me at WC1MAB@gmail.com and I will add them to this distribution.
Thank you all!

If anyone has any questions or comments I can be reached by e-mail or
cell phone. Thanks for being a part of our team and I look forward to
hearing back on who can participate this month.

Sincerely,

Michael Leger (N1YLQ)
MEMA Region #2 RACES Officer
C: 508_995_0203