Clubs / Public Service

Marlborough Labor Day Parade, September 3, 2018

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AARC logoThe Algonquin Amateur Radio Association is looking for volunteers to assist in the Marlborough Labor Day parade on September 3. The parade is one of the club’s highest profile public service events. 

According to AARC’s Ed Fitzgerald, K1DIN, “The early recruiting for this year’s parade and the great response may give us the opportunity to try some operational upgrades. Each year that we’ve filled our roster, we have made some changes which seem to have worked well.”

Jim Babish, K1UUM, has agreed to assist Ed as his assistant team organizer “so that he might learn all the steps to getting the parade team ready.” Says K1DIN: “Of similar importance, we need to continually ‘deepen our bench’ so that in years when some of our volunteers have other commitments for parade day, we still can have complete coverage… We have a few experienced volunteers who have been able to fill in for folks who have last minute emergencies, for which I will be forever grateful.”

Those wishing to volunteer should contact K1DIN at: edfitz1@earthlink.net.

NTS

TRAFFIC HANDLERS PICNIC THIS SUNDAY AUGUST 12

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REMINDER – The annual traffic handlers picnic will take place this Sunday, August 12 from noon to 4 at 44 Raymond Road, Concord MA.  All traffic handlers and others interested in learning more about traffic handling are invited.  Hamburgers, hot dogs and Italian sausages will be provided.  Bring your beverage of choice.  I have heard of some folks bringing chips and cake.  If you wish to bring something to share it would be most welcome and appreciated, but we do always seem to have a lot  left over.  I also have a limited number of chairs, so if you happen to have lawn chairs you can easily stuff into your car, by all means please do.  If anyone doesn’t have GPS and wants directions, email kw1u@comcast.net or call or text 508 314 6836.  Last weather report indicated a chance of a brief shower, but we’ve been lucky before and I’ve put in my request to the weatherman.  At least the temperature should be more agreeable than it has the past few weeks.  A head count by Saturday would be great so I know I have enough food, but if it’s spur of the moment, do come anyway.  Look forward to seeing you there.

Marcia KW1U

Clubs / Licensing Education & Training / Operating

SEMARA Contest College, September 9, 2018

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Southeastern MA ARA logoThe South Eastern Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association (SEMARA) will host a presentation entitled Contest College @ SEMARA on September 9, 2018 at approximately 12 PM.
 
This hands-on presentation will cover:
 
* different styles of contesting
* achieving a respectable score with 100 W
* operating various modes during a contest
* home-brewed  antennas for contests
 
There will also be on-air operation, listening and/or making contacts during the Worked All Europe SSB contest.
 
The organizers request an approximate head count, so lunch time pizza can be ordered.  Email Don if you are interested and plan to attend at: wa1bxy [at] hotmail [dot] com.
 
The SEMARA club house is located at: 54 Donald Street, S. Dartmouth, MA 02748; club phone number for messages: 508-997-7070
Technical

ARRL Headquarters Gets On AM!

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On July 14, 2018, Eastern MA Technical Coordinator Dan Brown, W1DAN, traveled to ARRL Headquarters along with Tim, Smith, WA1HLR, and Steve Cloutier, WA1QIX, to help get the lab station, W1INF, on AM… in a big way!

The ARRL Headquarters lab is in possession of a tube-based Gates BC1T AM broadcast transmitter from the late 1950s. On loan from the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut, this transmitter was designed to make 1 kilowatt on the AM broadcast band, and was not meant for ham use. Product review engineer Bob Alison, WB1GCM, and lab manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, greeted us at a closed ARRL. We got a very quick tour, and went to work. Tim installed a transmit/receive (T/R) relay inside the transmitter, which he had previously modified for 160- as well as 80 meters. The power was also reduced to FCC limits. Steve installed his software modulation monitor and I installed two audio limiters as well as an audio distribution amplifier.

After a tasty lunch provided by Ed, all work was done by mid-afternoon. Bob was making contacts with other hams on the AM mode on 75 meters.

The W1INF lab station also includes a Flex 5000 transceiver, and a K7DYY Super Senior. The station will be on the air for AM events and contests, as well as occasional lunch break contacts by the staff.

The lab’s test gear is truly state of the art. It also holds the museum exhibit that once was in the lobby of headquarters. Ed runs the lab, and Bob does the product reports you see in QST. The lab staff also includes RFI engineer Mike Gruber, W1MG, and senior lab engineer Zach Lau, W1VT.

Dan, W1DAN

ARRL Technical Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts Section

 

 

WA1HLR-Relay
WA1QIX-a
Steve-Tim
Steve-Soldering
Tim-Coils
Bob-Tim
Ed-TunaTin
Steve-Tim2
Bob-Operates
Outside

[Show slideshow]
Clubs / Field Day / Public Information

Framingham ARA Field Day Featured on “Access Framingham TV”

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Screenshot of "Framingham Beat" featuring story about FARA Field DayThe Framingham Amateur Radio Association‘s recent Field Day operation at the McAuliffe Library was featured on Framingham’s community access channel accessfram.tv. According to FARA’s Glenn Axelrod, KC1HPZ, the coverage “is expected to be part of Access Framingham’s ‘Framingham Beat’ news magazine show at 7:30 PM on August 2.”

“Sumner, W1VIV, was featured prominently… his explanation of Field Day became the narration for the video that KC1HPZ shot and AFTV’s staff edited.”

Access Framingham can be viewed on RCN 3, Comcast 9, or Verizon 43. It can also be live-streamed on the web at accessfram.tv/watch.

UPDATE: the program can also be found on YouTube: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZjHmHfIP90>.

Operating / Technical

W1VIV Article Featured in CQ Magazine

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June, 2018 CQ Magazine table of contents pageAn article by Sumner Weisman, W1VIV, of Framingham, appears in the June, 2018 CQ Magazine entitled, “Wireless Ham Radio for the Hearing Impaired.”

“I am pretty hard of hearing, where one ear is completely gone and the other is about half gone,” writes Sumner. “I use a hearing aid in my ‘good’ ear.  I like to do a few contests each year, and the earphones blasting into my hearing aid really abused my hearing.”

Sumner’s article tells how to use Bluetooth to stream the audio from your ham transceiver directly into your hearing aid, for very clear and pleasurable radio reception.

Operating

USS Massachusetts “Big Mamie” 77th Birthday Special Event Operation, September 22, 2018

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NE1PL QSL cardThe USTNR (Uncommon Service To Nautical Radio) club will operate from the USS Massachusetts museum ship at Battleship Cove in Fall River on September 22, from 0900-1500 or 1400Z-2000Z. 
 
“We will be celebrating the 77th birthday of ‘Big Mamie’ operating as NE1PL,” according to USTNR trustee Rick Emord, KB1TEE. QSL information can be found on the “Contacts” page of the USTNR website . 
 
Rick says this is the first time they are commemorating the famous battleship’s anniversary. He “hopes to continue long into the future.” 
Operating

YCCC Members Attend Lithuanian Hamfest

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W1UE at 2018 Lithuanian Hamfest
Dennis, W1UE, conveyed greetings to the hamfest participants from the Yankee Clipper Contest Club in New England. Simonas, LY2EN, is on the right.

Dennis Egan, W1UE, Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, and Rich Assarabowski, K1CC, represented the Yankee Clipper Contest Club at the 2018 LRMD (Lithuania) Hamfest held on July 27-29, 2018.

The event was held in Miego Klinika, a rural resort on a small lake in the middle of a forest in the northern part of Lithuania. Dennis, Fred, and Rich traveled to LY-land following the 2018 World Radiosport Team Championship in Germany.  (See also: https://ema.arrl.org/2018/07/06/yccc-well-represented-at-wrtc2018-july-12-16-2018/)

“The tradition of summer radio amateur meetings in Lithuania goes back to 1989. This was at the end of the Soviet occupation, when the country was a republic in the Soviet Union. This year, Lithuania is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its independence right after the First World War. This was a turning point for many European nations. It looks like the Lithuanian Amateur Radio is going through a very active and successful period right now.”

For the complete story, visit https://dxnews.com/lithuanian-hamfest-2018/.

All

Previous Year’s Boxboro Program Videos Now On-line

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The Boxboro Committee is pleased to announce the creation of a video collection of talks and presentations at the 2017 Boxboro – New England Division Convention.  The collection can be found at https://archive.org/details/femarainc.  (FEMARA, Inc. is a Massachusetts non-profit corporation which sponsors and runs the ARRL New England Division Convention.) 
 
The Committee plans to add future videos to the collection as well as older programs.
 
Contact committee member Kayla Creamer, W2IRY, if you have questions about the videos.
 
All

2018 Boxboro! Program Schedule Announced

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The 2018 Boxboro! New England ARRL Division Convention has released its program schedule of forums, meetings and presentations on September 7-9, 2018. 

“We’ll feature a wide variety of technical and non-technical talks and presentations throughout the weekend,” said Phil Temples, K9HI, Boxboro Program Chair. “Everything from: SKYWARN Training, AMSAT and MARS forums, Easy RF Fingerprinting, along with several sessions on Youth STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and much, much more.”

The entire schedule is now available for viewing on the Boxboro web site at: http://boxboro.org/forums-and-classes.

Clubs / Youth

Massachusetts Maritime Academy ARC Granted ARRL Affiliation Status

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The Massachusetts Maritime Academy Radio Club has been granted ARRL Affiliation status. 

In a letter dated July 31, 2018  from ARRL’s Norm Fusaro, W3IZ,  Field Services and Radiosport Department Manager to MMAARC club trustee Andrew Perron, AB1YN, Fusaro writes: “It gives me great pleasure to advise you that the ARRL has approved your club’s application for affiliation with the ARRL.  The Massachusetts Maritime Academy Radio Club is hereby declared a duly affiliated society.” 

The League will generate a “handsome” charter and send to the club in the near future. 

Fusaro added, “Your club is now eligible for the benefits of ARRL affiliation; we hope you will make full use of our services. ”

Congratulations to the officers and members of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Amateur Radio Club for this important milestone!

 

Amateur-Auxiliary / Organization

ARRL Board Adopts Volunteer Monitoring Program; Official Observer Program to be Retired

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“The ARRL Board of Directors has adopted the recommendations of the Official Observer Program Study Committee, which would retire the Official Observer (OO) program and institute the Volunteer Monitoring (VM) program. The Board took the action at its July 20 – 21 meeting in Windsor, Connecticut, instructing that the transition “be implemented as soon as practicable.” Under the terms of the new program, current Official Observers will be invited to apply for appointment as Volunteer Monitors (VMs). The Board expressed its appreciation for the OOs and their dedicated volunteer service over the years.”

[Full story, ARRLWeb]
Operating

Titanic Marconi Club to Activate Stage Harbor Light for National Lighthouse Day, August 7, 2018

- by k9hi - 1 Comment

Stage Harbor LighthouseThe Titanic Marconi Memorial Radio Association Of Cape Cod (W1MGY) plans to operate from the Stage Harbor Light in Chatham during National Lighthouse Day on August 7, 2018, according to the club’s QRZ page.   “[Stage Harbor Light is] privately owned … we have received permission to operate from.”

International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend, ILLW began  in 1998 as the Scottish Northern Lights Award sponsored by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group. ILLW is a popular Amateur Radio event that takes place on the third full weekend in August each year. It attracts over 500 lighthouse entries in over 40 countries.

Clubs / Field Day / Operating / Technical

Nashoba Valley ARC Members Participate in HamSCI Experiment During Field Day

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Photo of WX1P at the Nashoba Valley ARC Field Day 2018
Bob Reif, W1XP, sends a test transmission to the CASSIOPE satellite. 

The Nashoba Valley ARC participated in a Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSci) experiment with the Canadian CAScade, Smallsat and Ionospheric Polar Explorer (CASSIOPE) spacecraft over Field Day weekend.

Courtesy the HamSci web site:

 “’We’re really happy with our results this year’ remarked Dr. Gareth Perry, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary, CASSIOPE’s home institution. ‘The Radio Receiver Instrument (RRI) recorded plenty of chatter between Field Day participants, especially during our passes over the eastern and central United States on the evening of the 23rd’.

“Members of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) group coordinated with the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club (NVARC, N1NC) and the Hoosier DX And Contest Club (N9NS) and the Indianapolis Radio Club to ‘direct traffic’ – asking their members to stick to pre-selected frequencies during the passes, and to record their transmitting logs.” 

The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation project is a platform for the publicity and promotion of projects that:

  • Advance scientific research and understanding through amateur radio activities
  • Encourage the development of new technologies to support this research
  • Provide educational opportunities for the amateur community and the general public

 

Clubs / Operating

W1 QSL Card Sorting Session at Algonquin ARC, August 9, 2018

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rare dx qsl cardEric Williams, KV1J, writes on the Algonquin ARC mailing list:

The Algonquin Club will be holding a QSL card sorting session on  Thursday August 9th, 7:30 PM at the Marlborough Fire Station.  We will  be in the classroom/EOC where we hold Field Day. 

The Bureau receives QSL cards from DXers all over the world, sort them and then  send them to the New England area hams.  We processed about 100,000 QSL  cards each year.  To do this, we are grateful for the team of over 40  volunteers and several area clubs that help make this happen.  Our  Algonquin club is one of the clubs that helps with the presorting step in our process. 

Our part is easy and fun.  You get to see QSL cards from all around the  globe.  Maybe catch a card that is for you!  We will have boxes of cards  from the country national organizations that are for W1 call area hams.  For our session we will have about 13,000 cards. Our mission is to sort  those cards into stacks for each first letter of the call sign suffix.  So there will be a stack for all the call signs the a suffix the starts  with A and one for those starting with B and so forth.  It goes quick  especially with lots of people doing it on several separate tables. 

When we are done, those stacks will be sent to our individual letter  sorters who will then sort them by the individual recipient hams. 

Our web site is – www.w1qsl.org  If you want to see the details of our processes –  http://www.w1qsl.org/qslsort/docs.htm 

Thank you and hope to see you next month. 

73,

Eric, KV1J
W1 QSL Bureau Co-Manager

Licensing Education & Training

Tech-In-A-Day™ Program At Boxboro Convention, September 8, 2018

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The Boxboro-ARRL New England Division Convention will again feature a Tech-in-a-Day™ program, sponsored by instructors from the   Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association. The day-long technician study course will be held on Saturday, September 8, 2018 from 9 AM to 5 PM. After the end of the class, there will be a special VE Exam for course attendees. There is a small fee to cover course materials, along with an FCC established $15 exam fee.

If you wish to participate, please preregister for the class using this online signup form. For more information about the Tech-in-a-Day™ program visit the CAARA website or contact Stan Stone, W4HIX, if you have any questions.

Licensing Education & Training

New England Amateur Radio Weekend Technician License Class, August 10-11, 2018

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NE1AR logoNew England Amateur Radio, Inc. is offering a two-day Technician license class on August 10-11, 2018 for high school students and adults. “This fast-paced, two-day course will get you ready to take the TECHNICIAN license exam.

“Topics range from the science of radio electronics to the FCC rules governing the radio spectrum. Some preliminary reading and study is necessary to get the best results from this course. Material will be sent approximately a week before the course.

“The TECHNICIAN level course runs on Friday, August 10 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 11 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by the FCC Technician exam at 3:00 p.m., at New England Sci-Tech, 16 Tech Circle, Natick.

The course fee covers exam fee, drinks and snacks, sandwich lunch, and course materials. Advance registration and payment required.

For questions, e-mail bobphinney at nescitech.org or call 508-720-4179 or visit <https://www.nescitech.org/product/weekend-general-class/>.