Eastern Massachusetts ARRL

Members of the Whitman Amateur Radio Club are active right now at the annual Marshfield Fair with a special event station, NN1MF and Amateur Radio exhibit booth August 15-24. Bill Hayden, N1FRE is coordinating the event.

As in previous years, hams will explain Amateur Radio to the public and introduce youngsters to Morse code. In the past, the crew made approximately 150 contacts with 31 states, 15 foreign countries, and two Canadian provinces.

—Thanks, Whitman ARC Spectrum, August, 2008

Jeff Arnold, K1EMS writes:

On behalf of the American Red Cross First Aid Station Committee of Massachusetts Bay we are asking your help once again this year for the 2008 Head of the Charles Regatta.

This year’s dates are Friday through Sunday, October 17, 18, 19:

Friday, October 17, 12 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 18 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, October 19 7 a.m.-6 p.m.

Because of road closures and ability to shift people around, we need you to be able to commit to a whole day. Please pass this message on to your friends and ham radio clubs.

If you are available to help with ham radio support of this event for any one or all of the days please reply to my email with the following information:

name
address
city
zip
call sign
home phone
cell phone
email address
jacket size
land station or boat station

If you have done this before and would like to be where you were, please let me know that location. We try to give station requests on a first-come, first-serve basis, but if you are returning this year, we will try to give you preference.

APRS–this year we once again hope to have APRS set up for each of the ten rescue boats. We’re not sure what frequency we will be using yet. If you have a tracker box set up and it works, we would like to use it for the weekend. Your unit must have a battery capable of operating the 12-hour day, and a charging cable so that we can charge them up overnight each day.

VHF and/or UHF capability (will let you know as soon as we figure out which we will be using).

We will program these units at CBC before the event or send you the file that will be with your unit.

Thank you all and look forward to hearing back from each of you.

Jeffrey Arnold, K1EMS

**********************************
Jeffrey Arnold
RWJeffA@comcast.net
jarnold@whensecondscount.net
K1EMS@arrl.net

The Harvard Wireless Club will hold its annual student activity fair from 4 to 7 p.m. on September 10, 2008. The rain date is September 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

“This year’s fair will be on the Quad, not at the usual Tercentenary Theater location,” writes HWC’s Clayton M. Nall, NF1R. “We could use at least three to four people to help. Please let me know if you plan to attend.”

The National Weather Service (NWS) and the Taunton Area Communications Group will be presenting a program about the “Realities of New England’s Hurricanes”.

The program will be held at the Morton Hospital and Medical Center, 55 Washington Street, Taunton, Mass. on MONDAY, AUGUST 18TH, 7:00 p.m. in the Margaret Stone Conference Room.

The speaker will be Matthew Belk, Hurricane Program Leader from the National Weather Service in Taunton Mass.

This seminar is open to the public at no charge. Everyone is welcome to attend, especially those who are interested in learning about hurricanes as they affect New England.

The program will discuss:

1. How and when hurricanes form, especially those that affect New England.

2. The strengths and damage potential of hurricanes.

3. The “Rules of Thumb” for hurricanes in New England.

4. Safety Rules for people living where hurricanes strike.

It is not necessary to pre-register for this talk. However, if you have any questions about the program, please contact Matthew Belk at 1-508 823-1900 ext. 405 during normal business hours.

Again, the following seminar is planned for Monday August 18, 2008

From 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at Morton Hospital, 55 Washington St., Taunton, MA

All are welcome.

The ARRL has chosen Dave Bernstein, AA6YQ, of Wayland, Massachusetts, as the recipient of the 2008 ARRL Technical Innovation Award. The ARRL board voted unanimously at its July 18-19, 2008 board of directors meeting to select AA6YQ for the prestigious annual award.

According to the meeting minutes, “Mr. Bernstein has written and published the DXLab Suite of Programs for Radio Amateurs that he has placed in the public domain for free use and collaboration. A world-class DXer in his own right, he was one of the earliest logging-program authors to integrate functions for ARRL’s Logbook of the World and programs from other developers. His DXLab suite consists of eight programs that cover every aspect of station operation which he supports in a fashion that rivals or exceeds commercial applications and companies. He goes beyond simply supporting DXLab and mentors users in other aspects of programming and Amateur Radio.”

Dave Bernstein, AA6YQ; photo courtesy www.qrz.com

K1VV and K1WCC plan to activate Scituate Light USA742 & Scituate North Jetty USA1273 as W1AA on Saturday, August 2, 2008 from 7:00 AM EDT (1100 UTC) until about 2:00 PM EDT (1800 UTC).

“Whitey” Doherty, K1VV notes that he and Henry will begin operations on 75 meters around 3994 kHz plus/minus. “Later, we will go to 40 phone around 7234 and 7040. On 20, we’ll be on 14270 plus/minus. If there’s too much QRM we will be above 14310.”

K1VV says they will run K1WCC’s station simultaneously and cover two bands. “We have bandpass filters, but we may not be able to run both stations that close to each other.”

DX QSLs can be sent via the Bureau. Stateside cards should be sent to W1AA with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the QRZ.com address.

“All are welcome to come by,” says Whitey. “We will be set up in the parking area next to the light. [Look for the] silver 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickup with a 33-foot mast on the back of the truck.”

Tom Kinahan, N1CPE writes on MRAS-Leaders:

The following new courses have been added to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s training calendar:

* Hazmat Awareness at Brockton VA Hospital BLDG #22 on September 10, 2008

* Incident Command System 100 at Newburyport High School, Room 127 on August 20, 2008

* Incident Command System 100 at Boxborough Woods Holiday Inn on August 22, 2008

Visit our web site at http://tinyurl.com/ypzh5y for more details.

John Mullaney, K1BOS writes:

The Waltham Amateur Radio Association‘s 2-meter repeater (146.640 MHz) is now a APCO P25 mixed mode Quantar. It will stay mixed mode only if the analog users don’t complain too loudly. If you have VHF P25 radios you are free to use it, but please give right of way to analog users, and keep P25 use out of drive time.

For regular non-digital users a transmit CTCSS of 100.0 Hz has been added so that you don’t have to hear P25 digital noise. The input is still carrier squelch so folks without CTCSS (I guess there are still a few) can still use the repeater but CTCSS 100.0 Hz will also work and will keep your radio silent during P25 activity. For digital folks the NAC is 293.

We would also be interested in range reports compared to the GE Master 2 that was removed from service.

146.640 MHz – 100.0 Hz out
146.040 MHz Carrier Squelch in
NAC293 (input for P25)

–Thanks, Boston ARC The SPARC, July 2008

Members of the Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association are formulating plans to operate from Thatcher Island, off the coast of Cape Ann. The activity is tentatively scheduled for August 16, 2008.

According to CAARA’s Briggs Longbothum, AB2NJ, “the Fish and Wildlife Service will be issuing a Special Use Permit for our activity at the North Tower.” He writes, “the Thatcher Island Association is being very supportive of our plans.”

Longbothum will review the group’s plans at their next planning meeting, scheduled for this weekend.

“I’m hoping that our Thatcher Island activation becomes a recurring event with the CAARA name on it.”

Members of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club and the Mohawk Amateur Radio Club provided communications support for the 49th running of the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic on July 3-6, 2008. Although the first day started with rain, the skies eventually cleared and participants were treated to a fine day of Olympic-level racing.

Amateur Radio volunteers were stationed at thirteen critical locations around the road race course. They were tasked with providing communications between the finish line at the summit of Mt. Wachusetts and the race director as well as relaying lead racer positions to the next location so that the course marshals and Princeton and Westminster police officers could control the vehicle traffic. Amateurs were also prepared to summon aid for any serious medical emergencies.

Sunday featured the Criterium race in downtown Fitchburg. Five radio operators covered this short course, alerting the marshals to racers passing critical intersections so that spectators could be kept off the course.

Thanks to the following operators for volunteering for this event: AB1CV, K1JHC, K1KKY, K1YTS, KA1GCN, KA1JL, KA1QCB, KB1ESR, KB1LRL, KD1LE, KD1SM, KK1X, KT1I, N1XYT, W1SEX, and WA1VVT.

–Photo courtesy KD1SM. Thanks, Nashoba Valley ARC Signal, July 2008

by Joe Reynolds, KA1GDQ

CAPE COD, MA June 28-29, 2008–Every year since the mid 1980s, the Central New England Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society has held a bikeathon to raise money to help fight the deadly disease of MS. Before there were cell phones, there was a group of people who, at one time, were a part of Metro Motorist Aid REACT Team in the Boston/South Shore Area. They used CB radios and went to GMRS when introduced by the FCC. After a few years, more and more individuals were obtaining their Amateur Radio licenses to better support the ride. The ride has gone through a few name changes. The latest was from the Great Mass Get-a-Way to the present name of the Cape Cod Get-a-way. The event is a two-day event starting in Quincy, MA and ending on day two in Provincetown, MA with a mid-stop over night stay (and party) in Buzzards Bay, MA.

Shown here: John Mahon, N1PYN
The Cape Cod Get-a-Way (CCG, formerly Great Mass Get-a-Way) would leave Marina Bay in Quincy on the fourth Saturday of June at 7 a.m. Cyclists would pedal through the towns across the South Shore, most of it right along the coast, taking little back roads and side streets with rest stops every 15 to 20 miles. After the lunch Stop in Duxbury (Rest Stop #3), the route would split.

Back in the mid 80s and early 90s not everyone had cell phones, and there weren’t many GMRS repeaters that provided adequate coverage for both routes. With so many miles to cover, and an increase in the number of cyclists, John Mahon, N1PYN saw the need for assistance in communications. The help came from Amateur Radio operators. He proceeded to recruit amateur operators from the area, as well as encourage his wife Tina, KA1YAY and close friends Jim, KA1YCV and Steve, KB1NMJ to get their amateur licenses. The introduction of amateur radio to the event was a big success. Since then, a countless number of GMG/CCG volunteers, as well as several MS Staff members, have become amateur operators.

MS Volunteer Coordinator Brenda Barbour, KB1MVJ was always proactive to raise awareness of our effectiveness and the need for additional amateurs for this large-scale event. The biggest obstacle is that the MS Bike Tour usually falls on the same day as the ARRL nationwide Field Day weekend due to scheduling conflicts at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Mahon, a member of the Genesis Amateur Radio Society in Plymouth, MA, has just completed his 20th year with the event. He began preparation for the ride several months prior to organize the hams for the tactical net and would coordinate the use of repeaters [Norwell AC1N Repeater, 145.25mhz; Plymouth 146.685 now owned by Genesis ARS, formerly was run by the Mayflower ARC, Falmouth 146.655, Dennis/Yarmouth Repeater (146.955) and the now former Provincetown Repeater (147.255)]. He would also coordinate some of the 440 MHz repeaters for the event (now they are all shut down due to PAVE PAWS) for tactical operations to coordinate immediate attention to major problems.

John & Jim would venture out and test repeater coverage from all checkpoints on both routes, adding extra markings so the riders would not get lost and test strategic route locations to ensure reliable coverage. On the day of the event, amateurs would setup their mobile stations at check points and John would “SAG” the route as he maintained net control operations.

As more and more riders joined, cell phones became more popular and some cyclists were using FRS Radios, there were still too many holes to maintain 100 percent effective communications. This is where Amateur Radio was proven to be the best effective method of communications for the bike tour. John created a friendly environment for the newest of the operators, instructed and guided them, sometimes on the air in a polite matter of fact manner that kept the net comfortable & professional. Event participants, staff & volunteers, seeing the camaraderie, friendly and very effective benefits of amateur radio, started to get their amateur licenses (John Siemiatkoski, Tour Director, KB1MOW) along with many, many others). We also have a motorcycle crew member with his ham ticket (Ross Chapman, KB1MGD). Through his efforts of showing the need for Moto-Crews to communicate, the number of these members with their amateur ticket has grown as well. We are still working on it, but every year, a few more individuals became licensed to join the ranks. To date, John’s efforts have resulted in over 20 new amateurs just for this event.

Finally it had arrived that the 2008 Tour, this year known as the Cape Cod Get-a-Way, had a new Net Control. So, after 20 years of being the MS Bike Tour Net Control, Mahon and his wife Tina, KA1YAY, the tour’s former Medical Director, decided to step down and pass the reigns to someone else. They remain involved by filling SAG, medical and Checkpoint assignments.

John will continue working hard with the Brockton Emergency Management Agency, continuing to recruit and train new operators. He also serves as President of the recently reactivated South Shore REACT, whose mission will be auxiliary communications in emergencies, disasters, public service events and promoting personal & family disaster preparedness throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod.

Again John, thanks for a job well done & best of luck with all of your future endeavors.

Respectfully Submitted,

Joe Reynolds
KA1GDQ

(assisted with re-write by John Mahon, N1PYN; Tina Mahon, KA1YAY & Steve Hawker KB1NMJ)

Congratulations to Framingham Amateur Radio Association members Dave Hoaglin, K1HT and Sumner Weisman, W1VIV for their efforts in the 2008 ARRL DX CW contest earlier this year.

K1HT won in the Eastern MA Section, low power classification. An avid contester, Hoaglin is also on the DXCC Honor Roll. W1VIV won fifth place overall in the low power class.