Eastern Massachusetts ARRL

Tony Brock-Fisher, K1KP writes:

MIT Professor Chuck Counselman, W1HIS, will give a presentation on HF Propagation on May 7th, at 7 pm, at the Andover Safety Center in Andover, MA. Hosted by the Andover Emergency Management Group (AEMG) this talk is a general primer on HF propagation.

The talk will be oriented towards the ham who has a 100-W HF transceiver, no amp, and no tower, just a trapped multiband vertical on the ground or a wire 25 ft above ground, and who rarely (if ever) works CW or any of the so-called digital modes. The goal is to enable this ham to choose the best combination of time and frequency to work, say, parts of the USA 50, 150, 1500, and 3000 miles away, the Caribbean, and Europe, by SSB on HF.

The level of the presentation assumes that the intended audience has heard of ionospheric propagation but is fuzzy about how the maximum and minimum usable frequencies (MUF & LUF) vary with time of day, time of year, and solar activity; and what happens around the times of local sunrise and sunset.

The practical, how-to, mechanical aspects of HF ionospheric propagation will be emphasized while the theoretical aspects are minimized. Just enough of the science will be discussed to help the ham remember why and when things happen. Covered will be daytime D-region absorption; critical frequencies, such as foF2; NVIS; normal daytime E and F, and normal night-time F2 propagation; single and multiple F-hops. Little will be said about paths longer than about 5000 miles (8000 km).

Web sites will be listed where ready-made propagation predictions can be found, and where customized propagation predictions can be generated for the individual’s TX power, antenna, and mode (e.g., CW or SSB voice).

The Andover Safety Center is located at 32 North Main Street, Andover, MA 01810

Mark Richards, K1MGY writes on PART-L:

Bob Vogtli, KB1ZHX, worked with his daughter last year in a school science fair project. She wanted to launch a high altitude balloon and take photos. The project is called SpaceCAT. Bob did some research, found the Amateur Radio APRS connection, studied, got his Technician license, and we go from there…

http://spacecathab.weebly.com/index.html

Bob and his daughter are moving things to the next level with SpaceCat II. The plan is to launch next month, and I was invited to participate (my bride asks if there’s room in the balloon for me), so I’ve taken on the task of designing, building, testing, packaging, and flying a payload deployment component of the lift vehicle. In English, we’ll reliably disconnect from the balloon via a telemetry command, and the expensive electronics will gently float to Mother Earth where we can collect it in a controlled and somewhat planned fashion rather than climbing a 60 foot tree and risking mortality to recover some electronics.

[…] Bob is giving a presentation on this launch at the school as a component of our adaptation of STEM (ours has roots), and has invited me to join him.

What would be cool is to borrow for show and tell a tiny tracker APRS transmitter with a GPS attached. Then we can show the tracker location on a map, and hear the tracker on an HT portable. Even work a few stations to demo Amateur Radio. The object is to inspire and allow the imagination and creativity to take to wings (or, in this case, helium and nylon).

The Good Friday Walk will be held on Friday, April 18 in Hingham. Shifts are available lasting from two hours to as long as you are able. Amateurs will provide communication for a 20 mile fund raising walk from Plymouth River School into Wompatuck State Park and back. It’s a great opportunity to partcipate in a low-key public service event.

Contact WB1ARU at enoaru@gmail.com if you can assist.

The Genesis Amateur Radio Society is pleased to present an “Introduction to Ham Radio” Technician Course, on May 10 and May 17 from 9 AM-3 PM at the Middleborough Public Library.

The course will utilize the ARRL’s Tech Q&A 5th Edition, and will culminate in an FCC exam conducted by a volunteer examination team.

The deadline for registration is April 26. Email n1ir@arrl.net or sign up online at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1TJ4_i–2wsb9Oh1hVBU_mpeEWcpJRLE9BI5fYWBQgMA/edit?usp=sharing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doug Grant, K1DG writes:

The World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) will be held in Massachusetts July 12-13, 2014. Like the Olympics or the Boston Marathon, this event draws the “best of the best” from around the world. Fifty-nine two-operator teams will be set up with Field-Day-style stations on 16 properties around the Route 495 corridor, from Pepperell in the north to Plymouth and Taunton in the south.

The international teams will compete to see which team can make the most contacts with the most countries and take home the gold medal. This Olympic-style world championship will be widely covered in the local, regional, and national media and provide excellent publicity for amateur radio.

The WRTC2014 organizers need volunteers to help with this once-in-a-lifetime event. The biggest need at the moment is for people to help set up and keep an eye on the stations and provide local transportation for the teams between the headquarters hotel in Westborough and the sites.

Several clubs in the area have “adopted” one or more sites. Perhaps your club would be interested in doing this as a club project. We’d be happy to send someone to your next club meeting to provide more details.

Please visit www.wrtc2014.org/volunteer to sign up and tell us how you would like to help make this exciting event a success.

Learn more about WRTC2014 at http://www.wrtc2014.org.

73,

Doug Grant, K1DG

Eric Horowitz, KA1NCF writes:

Attention Boston area hams:

It is that time again… Public Service season is here. We are now looking for help for this year’s Project Bread Walk for Hunger on Sunday, May 4th, 2014.

This will be the 46th running of the event. We need people to provide communications support for the Project Bread Staff and volunteers along the 20 mile walk.

If you are interested in helping out this year, go to http://www.mmra.org/wfh/ to log in and fill out the signup form.

If you have questions please send an email to: wfh14@mmra.org

73,
Eric – KA1NCF
Walk For Hunger 2014
Amateur Radio Communications Coordinator
Email: wfh14@mmra.org

As a warm-up to the Boston Marathon in April, Ashland, Massachusetts has organized the Ashland Marathon Park Prep, a half-marathon road race, to be held on 16 March, 2014. Expect this event to span between 8AM and at the latest 1PM.

This may well be the very first Amateur Radio public service opportunity of the year.

Last year was the first time ham radio made a showing, thanks to the support of the MMRA and FARA. This year, the event organizers are depending upon the safety and logistics communications presence that our Amateur Radio Service brings.

http://www.marathonparkprep.com

Come one, come all. Experienced or first timers. There will be a place in our communications constellation for you in this organized event.

It’s helpful if you have 2M/70CM mobile and portable radios. Your portable should have sufficient battery for 4 to 6 hours of use and a gain antenna.

To register, you have two options:

Send email to Mark Richards, K1MGY, Amateur Radio Team coordinator at:

k1mgy@arrl.net

Or register using the online form at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gNDUmHF3dEhCiIltlfntpiczZGM8ceTLxBisWFQXceY

Once registered you’ll be contacted by K1MGY with further information. Assignments and other documentation will be forthcoming within the next two weeks.

Looking forward to your support!

/Mark Richards
K1MGY

The MARI CW Net has now expanded to seven evenings a week, all on 3565 Khz at 7:00 PM.  The net has been gaining in participation and it is hoped this will allow those who work during the week to be able to check in on the weekends, in addition to providing additional outlets for traffic.  The net continues to run at slow speeds, but if anyone needs NCS to slow down, the appropriate “Q” signal is QRS.  Anyone wishing information or help with CW net operation can contact Marcia KW1U@arrl.net.  Also for help with CW skills, check out the CWOPS (http://www.cwops.org/cwacademy.html).  It’s a lot of fun!

Dennis Egan, W1UE writes:

WRTC 2014 will be having a work party at the Milara Factory, 49 Maple St, Milford Ma on Tuesday, January 7, starting at 9 AM. We will be working inside, installing rotor shelves, rotors, masts, and checking out our installations in the 35 new Rohn top sections that we have there. We also have other work, i.e. pulling bolts out of new straight tower sections, bringing down station kit trunks, making up tower bolt kits, and a few other items, so there is plenty of work to be done. Bringing wrenches/sockets, especially 13mm ones, would be a big help.

Please RSVP with me at w1ue@arrl.net. I do need to know how many are coming, so I can better arrange the work flow.

73,

Dennis W1UE