Eastern Massachusetts ARRL

Members of the Whitman Amateur Radio Club scored valuable PR from the inclusion of a chatty, general interest story about the club and Amateur Radio in the July 25, 2007 issue of the Whitman Times. The article, entitled Frequency Fliers, featured interviews with a number of WARC members describing their hobby interests. The public service aspects of Amateur Radio were highlighted, including the passing of health and welfare messages, SKYWARN activations, as well as communications for public service communications at triathlons and road races. The article also featured nice color photos of Jeff Lehman, N1ZZN and Paul Moss.

–Whitman ARC web site

The 2007 Marshfield Fair is now history, but the Whitman Amateur Radio Club has produced another special newsletter filled with descriptions and photos from the special event to commemorate the Amateur Radio activities.

“We had a great ten days at the Marshfield Fair,” writes WARC’s Bruce Hayden, NI1X. “The weather was good and the participation was fantastic. I hope you enjoy reading about the radioactive adventures of the Whitman Club members.”

[Ed. note: the newsletter should be posted on the web site shortly.]

Brad Anselmo, N1VUF writes on SEMARA Discussion list:

On October 5th through the 7th, the Boy Scouts will hold a jamboree at Fort Tabor in New Bedford. They would like to have a ham radio station set up for the participants to work.

If anyone is interested in helping out, please let me know. I would like to get one HF station and one 2M/440 station with enough people to man them between 9:00 am and 5:00 PM on Saturday. If we can get two people for 2-3 hours each to be there throughout the day, that would be great. If anyone is interested in spending the day, you are more than welcome. Food can be provided.

I have two radios, IC-706 and Yaesu 2M/440 but will need an HF antenna. Spare radios would be nice to have stored in someone’s car as well. I have a supply of batteries so we would not need to run off of power supplies. I am trying to see if we can set up near the building (if not inside depending on weather) so we can have a place to put the antenna.

I will be there with a Troop and will probably have another station set up on Friday night through to Sunday morning.

This is a great opportunity to show our hobby to a large group of people. If people have ideas of placards, small demonstrations or even powerpoint presentations that can be run on a laptop, let me know.

Let me know your ideas and if you are able to participate. You can contact me directly via cell at 774-930-6403 or via e-mail.

Thanks,

Brad Anselmo, N1VUF

A list of emergency training classes offered by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency can be found over at http://ares.ema.arrl.org/article.php?sid=345.

Steve Schwarm, W3EVE writes:

I need hams for the Jimmy Fund Walk on Sunday, September 16th. This is a low key event that covers the same course as the Boston Marathon. We are supplying communications for the Red Cross First Aid stations along to course. The majority of the activity is on the last half of the course. We also have been asked to supply hams for the medical buses. All the buses start from downtown and of course return you there. Parking will be provided. This is a good first time event so if you have some new hams suggest that they might give this event a try. All that is needed is a 2 meter HT with a good antenna and extra batteries.

To sign up send me an email at w3eve@arrl.net or give me a call on my cell 508-922-9688. This is for a very worth while event and I could really use your help.

All radio enthusiasts are invited to attend the Fall 2007 NEAR-Fest! The Deerfield (NH) Fairgrounds was the site of the legendary “Hosstraders Tailgate Swapfest” for fifteen years until the event was moved in 1993. “Hosstraders” is just a memory now but NEAR-Fest is continuing the grand tradition back at the magnificent Deerfield Fairgrounds.

In addition to the hundreds of hams “tailgating” in the flea market there will be a huge building of commercial vendors and dealers offering everything from the latest in radio equipment, books, accessories and who knows what else? You never know what treasures, old and new, you will find at Deerfield!

More information and directions are available on the NEAR-Fest website.

–Thanks, Western MA ARRL

The following is from Tom Kinahan, N1CPE, Massachusetts State RACES Radio Officer.

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

Incident Command System 200 at Holbrook Public Safety Building on October 20, 2008

Modular Emergency Response Radiological Transportation Training T-T-T at Shrewsbury Fire Department on October 21, 2008

Incident Command System 400 at DelValle Institute – O’Neill Room on October 23, 2008

NIMS-700 / ICS-100 at So. Attleboro Fire Station on November 6, 2008

Incident Command System 300 at Merrimac Council on Aging on November 8, 2008

Incident Command System 300 at Barnstable County Fire & Rescue Training Academy on November 19, 2008

Incident Command System 100 at Ipswich New Town Hall Meeting Room B on November 21, 2008

Incident Command System 100 at Ipswich New Town Hall Meeting Room B on November 25, 2008

HSEEP Toolkit Training Workshop at MEMA Headquarters-Training Room on December 2, 2008

Incident Command System 400 at Barnstable County Fire & Rescue Training Academy on December 10, 2008

Visit our web site at
MEMA Training Calendar
for more details.
1

Hello to all….

The Massachusetts Statewide Hurricane Joshua Drill report is now posted on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web page. It can be found on the Main Menu under the training section below the Go Kit Power Point Presentation.

Thanks to all for their support of this drill and Eastern Massachusetts ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
1

Hello to all….

The two announcements on WinLink 2000 have been added to a separate link under Departments/Programs called Winlink 2000. In addition, a Power Point presentation on Winlink 2000 that was done at the Boxboro Hamfest in 2006 has also been added with updated frequency information for those that want a larger overview of the Winlink system. The file is 5.5 to 6 MB so those with low bandwidth connections may want to save the file to the hard drive before viewing it.

Phil McNamara-N1XTB has also prepared a document on how to view WinLink 2000 Bulletin messages and how to view lists of bulletins known as catalogs. This has been added to the WinLink section.

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

Hello to all….

***UPDATED FOR CALL-SIGN CHANGE OF N1YHR-10 to N1RCW-10. REMAINDER BELOW UNCHANGED.***

From Tom Kinahan-N1CPE, Phil McNamara-N1XTB and Gil Follett-W1GMF, here is some important information on Packet and WinLink RMS-Packet stations in the region:

Gil W1GMF has assembled a group of RMS-Packet stations in Eastern Mass that are available to all:

KK1X-10 AYER,MA 145.07
N1OTX-10 WOBURN,MA 145.09
W1GMF-10 ABINGTON,MA 145.09
N1XTB-10 MIDDLEBORO,MA 145.01
N1RCW-10 FORRESTDALE,MA 145.01
KE1AB-10 CRANSTON,RI 145.05

In addition to:

WC1MA FRAMINGHAM, MA. 145.75
N1CPE-10 MILFORD, MA 145.75
WC1MAA-10 TEWKSBURY, MA 145.01
N1OTS-10 GREENFIELD, MA 145.05

The following link provides additional information on the Packet system across Eastern Massachusetts:

http://www.powersrvcs.org/EMAPACKET/

As we move into the active part of Hurricane Season, now is a good time to try technologies such as WinLink and Packet to add to your Emergency Communications capabilities.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo

Hello to all….

WinLink is becoming a popular way to utilize digital communications over radio despite the low speed of which digital traffic can flow on VHF and UHF. John Ruggerio-N2YHK and Tom Kinahan-N1CPE demonstrated this technology at the last Western Massachusetts ARES Meeting. The following are instructions they have provided that I modified slightly to be more generic.

If you haven’t tried Winlink 2000 out yet, give it a shot. Winlink 2000 is E-mail for ham radio, where regular Internet E-mail is extended from the Internet by radio and can be used to get E-mail into an area without Internet access by radio from an area with Internet access. You can access Winlink 2000 via the Internet, via VHF packet to a RMSPacket station which is connected to the Internet or via HF (Pactor III preferred, but will work with Pactor I and Pactor II). The network also continues to function locally if Internet access is lost.

To get started, go to http://www.winlink.org, click on Downloads, go to the Airmail web page, download the program and run it. Answer all of the usual Windows installation questions – You don’t need to install the PTC-II drivers if you’re not using HF. Then run the program.

When you run it for the first time, click Cancel when it starts popping up the Setup dialog boxes to get to the regular “E-mail” screen. Then click on Tools – Options – Settings and enter your callsign. Click on Modules and make sure Internet Access (Telnet) is checked off. If you’re using VHF Packet, also check off VHF Packet Client and click Setup.
Choose your TNC, Com Port and Baud Rate. Click twice to get back to the “E-mail” screen. Then click Modules – Internet Access – Settings. Enter
these:

Remote Callsign: WL2K
Remote Host: server.winlink.org
Port: 8772
Timeout (sec): 120
Local Callsign:
Password: cmstelnet
Protocol: B2
Include in Auto-check: checked

Then click OK and click the Green Circle and you should see the connection made in the window, ending with an FF, FQ and disconnect.
Then click close.

To connect using VHF Packet, click Modules – Packet Client. Enter the call-sign of the Telpac you want under Connect to:. Your callsign should be in Connect As:. Dial your radio to the frequency of the Telpac you want to connect to and click the Green Circle. You should see the connection made in the window, ending with an FF, FQ and disconnect.
Then click close.

Click on File – New to start a message. Click Cancel when the address book pops up. Enter the call-sign or email address you want to send the message to in the To: field. Enter a subject and some text, then click Message – Post to prepare it to be sent. Then open up Modules – Internet Access and click the Green Circle. The E-mail should go out.

Once you connect to a RMSPacket station, you are automatically registered for 90 days. Just login once every 90 days to keep your account active. If it goes inactive, mail to you will bounce. Just login again to reactivate it. Your E-mail address is callsign@winlink.org. All E-mail coming from the Internet to your Winlink account is automatically blacklisted with a notice to you. To allow mail to come through, first send a message from your Winlink account to the address you wish to whitelist. You can also sign up for Webmail access by clicking the Webmail tab on http://www.winlink.org. You can also control your whitelist from there. To send a message to the Internet from Winlink, just enter the E-mail address in the To: field. Mail to other Winlink users only needs a callsign – You don’t need to enter @winlink.org after it.

If you get on the system, feel free to send a message to me at KD1CY at winlink dot org or send a message to Tom-N1CPE at N1CPE at winlink dot org. For Western Mass Hams, send a note to N2YHK-John Ruggerio. Let me know if you have any questions.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://www.wx1box.org
http://ares.ema.arrl.org

       PSLIST                                                 August 5, 2007

    Public Service Volunteer Opportunities in the New England Division
Listing public events at which Amateur Radio communications is providing

a public service and for which additional volunteers from the Amateur

Community are needed and welcome.  Please contact the person listed to

identify how you may serve and what equipment you may need to bring.
The most up-to-date copy of this list is maintained as

http://purl.org/hamradio/publicservice/nediv
   **** Every event listed is looking for communications volunteers ****
Date    Location      Event                       Contact      Tel/Email
Aug 18  Mt WashngtnNH Mt. Wash. Bicycle Hill Climb Cliff N1RCQ

                             n1rcq@amsat.org or Dave KA1VJU ka1vju@cnharc.org

Aug 19  Mt WashngtnNH Mt. Washington Century Ride  Cliff N1RCQ

                             n1rcq@amsat.org or Dave KA1VJU ka1vju@cnharc.org

Aug 19  Oxford     MA New England Ride for Kids    Wayne NH6XW   508.735.0807

                                                   wayne.anderson@verizon.net

Aug 26  Lakeville  MA Cranberry Triathlon          Tony  N1XRS   508.889.1174

                                                         tdduarte@comcast.net

Sep 16  Boston     MA Jimmy Fund Walk              Steve W3EVE   508.922.9688

                                                               w3eve@arrl.net

Sep 29  Bristol    NH NH Marathon                  Cliff N1RCQ

                             n1rcq@amsat.org or Dave KA1VJU ka1vju@cnharc.org

Oct  6  Hollis     NH Applefest Half Marathon      Jim  WD4JZO   603.889.4429

                                                              wd4jzo@arrl.net

Oct 19  Cambridge  MA Head of the Charles Regatta  Jeff  K1EMS

                                                          RWJeffA@comcast.net

Oct 20  Cambridge  MA Head of the Charles Regatta   Jeff K1EMS

                                                          RWJeffA@comcast.net

Oct 21  Cambridge  MA Head of the Charles Regatta   Jeff K1EMS

                                                          RWJeffA@comcast.net
This list is published periodically as demand warrants by Stan KD1LE

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credit is given to the authors and the Web address below is included.

Send comments, corrections, and updates to:
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Refer to http://purl.org/hamradio/publicservice/nediv for the most

recent version of the PSLIST.

		

K1VV and N1DT plan again to activate Dumpling Rocks (USA 1321) and Historic (USA 247) Lighthouses in Buzzard’s Bay on Saturday, August 18, 2007, 2007 from 7:00 AM EDT (1100 UTC) until about 2:00 PM EDT (1800 UTC).

The two were to originally activate Dumpling Rocks and Historic Lighthouses on July 7, 2007 but a family illness caused a last-minute cancellation.

The W1AA operation coincides with the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society‘s (ARLHS) National Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend, August 18-19, 2007. According to the ARLHS web site, the event is “to promote public awareness of ham radio and lighthouses; to contribute to the recognition that lighthouses, lightships, and their keepers deserve; to foster camaraderie within the ham fraternity; and to provide fellowship amongst the members of the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society.”

Guidelines for the event can be found on-line.