March 2022: EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS (EMA) SECTION NEWS
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Welcome to the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts (EMA) section news
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Visit <https://ema.arrl.org/> for frequent updates to the news
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EASTERN MA STAFF MEETING
Eastern MA Section Manager Tom Walsh, K1TW, held a section cabinet meeting on February 26 via Zoom. The meeting was well-attended. Among the reports given, Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY, updated the group on recent emergency communications-related events.
Also, Technical Coordinator Dan Brown, W1DAN, announced two new Technical Specialist appointments: Dom Mallozzi, N1DM, Natick; and Bruce Mackinnon, KC1FSZ, Wellesley.
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KEEP UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST EASTERN MA SECTION NEWS
Now you can receive timely news and information from the Eastern MA ARRL website delivered daily to your inbox. Look for the signup form in the right-hand column on ema.arrl.org and sign up to receive stories!
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NEW ENGLAND DIVISION CABINET MEETING – APRIL 16, 2022
Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, and Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, are planning to convene another New England Division Cabinet Meeting via Zoom on Saturday, April 16, 2022 from 9 AM-12 noon.
The last cabinet meeting, held on January 8, was well-received and drew approximately 50 amateurs representing ARRL-affiliated clubs and field organization leaders from all seven sections — along with several ARRL Headquarters staffers. Kemmerer presented his plans for improving two-way communications with the division membership via cabinet and town hall meetings and attendance at hamfests, conventions and radio club meetings.
The cabinet meeting is an ideal venue for club leaders and field volunteer leaders to share their ideas and discuss what is, and is not working in their respective clubs and sections; also, to give feedback to AB1OC and K9HI on important issues to bring back to the ARRL board. The meeting will feature an ARRL Headquarters guest speaker (to be announced).
Details of the meeting will be distributed to club leaders and field volunteer leaders shortly.
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SKYWARN TRAINING IN 2022
NWS Boston/Norton has announced 2022 Virtual SKYWARN training sessions. All 2022 SKYWARN Training is virtual due to COVID.
Details and registration for the online presentation as well as the optional online quiz to become a spotter or refresh/renew your spotter training as an existing spotter can be found at: <http://wx1box.org/2022/03/12/special-announcement-2022-virtual-skywarn-training-sessions-announced-all-2022-skywarn-training-virtual-due-to-covid/>.
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KB1OIQ WINS SOURCEFORGE AWARD
Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, of Westford recently received an award from the SourceForge website for his work on the “Andy’s Ham Radio Linux” software collection. Andy has created and maintained the collection for the past ten years. In that time, it has been downloaded 100,000 times.
SourceForge recognized the project for:
- Community Leader
- Community Choice
- Open Source Excellence
- SourceForge Favorite
PART of Westford President George Allison, K1IG, wrote, “Congratulations on the award from SourceForge! I know that your software collection has significantly influenced the adoption and use of Linux by ham radio operators worldwide.”
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HAM SCOUTING ACTIVITY ON THE INCREASE
New England Sci-Tech member Jon Lyna, KC1MII, organized a ham radio display at a recent Boy Scouts Klondike Derby on February 5 in Dunstable. Pi, K1RV, the trustee of W1BSA, generously made available the W1BSA call sign to use. Several area amateurs, including Mindy, KM1NDY, and her spouse Marc, AA1F, participated in the event along with their green van “Limey” equipped with several HF, VHF and UHF stations. (See: <https://ema.arrl.org/2022/02/03/amateur-radio-demo-at-boy-scouts-klondike-derby-dunstable-february-5-2022/>.)
KC1MII had also planned a similar ham radio event on March 12 at a Boy Scout Klondike Derby in the Blue Hills in Milton. However, due to inclement weather, Jon decided to postpone the event for another time. (See: <https://ema.arrl.org/2022/03/10/boy-scouts-klondike-derby-ham-radio-demo-milton-march-12-2022/>.
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ARRL CLUB GRANTS PROGRAM
By now, many of you have probably heard about the new ARRL Club Grants Program that’s beginning to take shape. It may be the most important thing to hit the Amateur Radio service in a long time.
The ARRL Foundation will award up to $500,000 to clubs. “This program will substantially contribute to the growth of amateur radio clubs and their efforts to expand and support the amateur radio community,” writes ARRL Foundation President David Woolweaver, K5RAV.
It’s not too early to start thinking about how your club might take advantage of an influx of capital to take on that pie-in-the-sky project–like a new communications trailer, or a new remote HF station to get your antenna/condo-challenged club members on the air on HF!
Look for more announcements to follow. The official applications are scheduled to begin sometime in April. See also: <https://nediv.arrl.org/2022/01/15/arrl-foundation-to-create-club-grants-program/>.
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WHITMAN ARC TECHNICIAN COURSE BEGINS MARCH 15
The Whitman Amateur Radio Club is offering a Technician class course. According to WARC instructor Ross Hochstrasser, W1EKG, the course starts on March 15th, with classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7 to 9 PM at the Whitman Police station.
If you are interested, please email WARC.Training@gmail.com. A VE exam session will be offered at the end of the class.
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PART OF WESTFORD MEMBERS PUBLISHED IN QST
Once again, the dynamic duo of Bob, W1IS and Bob, KC1DSQ, had an antenna article published in QST. Their latest article describes a design for a 20-meter phased dipole beam.
If you like the article, PART of Westford President George Allison, K1IG, encourages you to vote for Bob and Bob to receive the QST Cover Plaque Award at <http://www.arrl.org/cover-plaque-poll>.
The deadline for voting is March 21, 2022.
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GREAT HILL GANG’S “DAY OF RADIO” MONTHLY MEET UPS
Looking for a fun, social event to attend on a Saturday morning? The Great Hill Gang meets monthly at the drive-up summit of Great Hill in North Weymouth for a “Day of Radio.” The event provides an opportunity for fellowship to both old and new hams alike. Plus, the Great Hill QTH has a commanding view of the Boston Harbor islands. Talk-in is generally available on the Quincy 146.670 repeater.
The next Day of Radio, normally scheduled for Saturday, March 19, has been moved to Sunday, March 20 on account of inclement weather anticipated.
See: <https://ema.arrl.org/2022/03/12/the-great-hill-gang-still-going-strong/>
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YOUR NEXT CLUB SPEAKER
What? You don’t have a club speaker or presentation lined up for next month? Fear not! Our Eastern MA Affiliated Club Coordinator, Bruce Blain, K1BG, stands ready, willing, and able to help you find that perfect presentation for a live or remote meeting. There’s no excuse not to have a monthly educational and entertaining presentation to maintain a healthy club ecosystem.
And for more ideas, check out the Eastern MA speaker’s list at: <http://goo.gl/6j61JY>.
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NE 2022 HAMXPOSITION DATES CONFIRMED
The Northeast HamXposition (a.k.a. ARRL New England Division Convention) organizing committee has confirmed the dates for the 2022 convention in Marlborough, MA: August 26-28, 2022. The Committee notes that this was the original weekend for the event before they were forced into a September slot due to venue conflicts.
This year, HamXposition will play host to not one, but TWO division conventions: the New England Division AND the Hudson Division! HamXposition’s 2022 website is now “live.” For the latest information, visit <https://hamxposition.org>.
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FLEA AT MIT
The monthly MIT flea market (a.k.a. “Swapfest”) is back. The popular Cambridge flea market had been called off during COVID and after the passing of Steve Finberg, W1GSL, who shepherded it through many successful years. See <https://w1mx.mit.edu/flea-at-mit/> for more info.
The next Swapfest will be held on April 17, 2022.
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NTS NEWS
Section Traffic Manager – Marcia Forde, KW1U
Visit: <https://ema.arrl.org/national-traffic-system/>
The full complement of NTS net schedules may be found at: <https://ema.arrl.org/national-traffic-system/net-schedule/>
Here’s an excerpt from Marcia’s February report:
“Peter, KC1HHO, reports that graduates of his training program are handling traffic quite professionally. Jack, KB1SYL, has been visiting the Cape and participating in the Cape and Islands Traffic Net. Ethan, KC1OIP, has upgraded to General class and has attempted to check into the MARIPN net on HF. However, with antenna restrictions at his home location he was unable to be heard at the time. Hopefully propagation will allow him to do so from time to time. Thanks to Ethan for his efforts. Alex, KC1NBT, another graduate of Peter’s program, has moved to Chicago but has been exchanging radiograms with the EM2MN folks.”
Marcia also notes that FRN Daytime will now meet daily on 3950 kHz at 1445 and 1630 local time, to accommodate Eastern Area Net’s new times following the change to daylight savings time.
The February Station Activity Report “top ten” includes: N1IQI, KW1U, KC1KVY, W1RVY, WA1VAB, KC1MSN, W1TCD, N1LAH KC1HHO, WA1LPM, and KC1GSL.
Marcia’s latest report can be found at <https://ema.arrl.org/2022/03/14/massachusetts-traffic-report-for-february-2022/>.
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ARES NEWS
Section Emergency Coordinator – Rob Macedo KD1CY
Visit: <https://ema.arrl.org/ares/>
Welcome to Timothy J. Miranda, W1MWS of North Chelmsford, who has been appointed as an Assistant District Emergency Coordinator (ADEC) in the Eastern Massachusetts section.
Eastern Massachusetts ARES has been contacted by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency regarding updates to the ESF-2 (Emergency Support Function-2) Communications Annex and by the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding communication resources in the section from an ARES perspective. We are working through these updates with these served agencies.
NWS Boston/Norton has announced their virtual SKYWARN training plans for 2022. All training sessions will again be virtual due to COVID for this year. Attending one session and passing the online quiz will get you a Spotter ID number and Spotter Card for new spotters and count as renewed training for spotters that have taken prior training.
The details can be found on the wx1box.org web site at: <http://wx1box.org/2022/03/12/special-announcement-2022-virtual-skywarn-training-sessions-announced-all-2022-skywarn-training-virtual-due-to-covid/>.
News concerning ARES and Emergency Communications in the EMA section is updated regularly on our web site: <https://ema.arrl.org/ares/>.
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FINAL WORD
If you glossed over it, GO BACK and RE-READ the story about the ARRL Club Grants Program. We’re not kidding when we say it has the potential to positively impact Amateur Radio more than anything in a very long time!
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EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION LINKS
Where to find stuff:
New England Division website: <https://nediv.arrl.org/>
Section website: <https://ema.arrl.org/>
Section Facebook page: <https://www.facebook.com/easternmaarrl/>
Section Leadership: <https://ema.arrl.org/organization/#Section_Leadership>
Section Public Service List: <https://ema.arrl.org/eastern-ma-public-service-list/>
Section Speaker List: <https://ema.arrl.org/eastern-ma-club-speakers-list/>
To join EMA ARES visit: <https://secure.ema.arrl.org/qilan/ares/EMA/ARES_about>
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The EMA monthly section news is jointly produced by Phil, K9HI, Assistant Section Manager and Tom, K1TW, Section Manager.
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ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section
Section Manager: Thomas D Walsh, K1TW
k1tw@arrl.org
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