What a great time of year to be in New England. Temperatures have been down and the past week has seen sunshine day after day with no storms in the area. The traffic nets continue to operate daily and while traffic numbers have been down you folks do a great job of faithfully checking in and handling all listed traffic.
August was a busy month, beginning with the section-wide summer exercise, “Big Blow”. EM2MN,MARIPN and MARIDN were all activated and our traffic handlers showed up to take care of any listed message traffic. Thanks to net managers KC1HHO, N1LAH and N1ILZ for help in coordinating this effort.
We also enjoyed our annual traffic handlers picnic on Sunday, August 4 where 18 folks braved the weather predictions of potential storms to be present on what turned out to be a delightful afternoon.
Later in August we hope you were able to attend the Northeast HamXposition in Marlboro, one of the best ever. Of particular note was the NTS display put on by the Nashua NH Area Radio Society that included a demonstration of the new Radiogram Portal where folks could actually send a message to friends and family. More information on this Portal can be found on the nts2.arrl.org website. In addition, on Saturday afternoon visitors could observe the operation of a live traffic net. The First Region Net was conducted, operating remotely into a station in New Hampshire.
Would anyone like to learn more about NTS, including how traffic nets operate and how messages are relayed and how you can get involved? Being able to relay a message accurately and efficiently is especially important for anyone interested in emergency communications operations. Because we understand many are somewhat timid about getting on the air, we will be conducting a training session on Zoom on October 14. Scroll down for information about this training.
And finally, this is an election year for ARRL New England Division Director and Vice Director. We have been fortunate to have Fred Kemmerer AB1OC as our Director for the past three years. During that time Fred has been a champion for NTS and message traffic handling. He has been responsible for the creation of the NTS 2.0 revitalization and enhancement of NTS project. As one who has worked with Fred on this project I have seen how hard he has worked not only for NTS but for amateur radio in general. In October ballots will be sent out to all ARRL members in New England. If you are a member I urge you to vote. We’ve got the momentum, let’s help keep it going! Phil Temples K9HI, Vice Director had no opposition and we are happy Phil will continue as our Vice Director for the next three years.
NTS Training on Zoom
Interested in NTS and Traffic Handling? Join us Monday, October 14 at 7PM on Zoom and receive training.
Hosted by Ray, AA1SE the WMA SM and joined by Marcia, KW1U the EMA, WMA and RI STM, Bob, KC1KVY, Shawn N1CVO, we will provide the training on the basics of proper handling of NTS traffic as well as participating on a net. This will be a combination of videos and open discussion to get started in this aspect of the hobby that’s been around for over 100 years. All ham operators are invited to join whether you are experienced or not. Below, please find the link for this training. This will be first come-first served and limited to 100 participants. We hope to see you on Zoom. Any questions email Ray AA1SE at aa1se@arrl.net