ARRL EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION
Section Manager (SM) – Phil Temples, K9HI
Assistant Section Manager (ASM) – Jeremy Breef-Pilz, KB1REQ
Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC) – “Bo” Budinger, WA1QYM
Official Observer Coordinator (OOC) – Ed Parish, K1EP
Public Information Coordinator (PIC) – Bob Salow, WA1IDA
Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) – Rob Macedo, KD1CY
Section Traffic Manager (STM) – Marcia Forde, KW1U
State Government Liaison (SGL) – Shawn O’Donnell, K3HI
Technical Coordinator (TC) – Eric Falkof, K1NUN
AUGUST 2012 SECTION NEWS
New England’s premiere ham radio event, the ARRL New England Division
Convention in Boxboro, is just around the corner. Thousands of Amateurs
will flock to Boxboro on August 24-26, 2012 – a testament to the
planning and hard work that has gone into ensuring that Boxboro 2012
will be the biggest and best ever.
Boxboro has it all: a robust outdoor flea market, a highly successful
indoor commercial vendor exhibit, volunteer exam sessions, captivating
talks and presentations, and not one—but TWO banquets–the DXCC and
Grand Banquets on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. Special
events station W1A will be QRV for you to see and operate.
Presentations and talks will cover a wide range of interests and
specialties: contesting, QRP, area repeater owners working session,
SKYWARN, AM, introduction to antennas, and much, much more. A full
schedule can be downloaded at <http://tinyurl.com/bvoths5>.
If you haven’t pre-ordered your admission and banquet tickets yet,
cruise over to <http://boxboro.org>. Proceeds from ticket and banquet
sales helps support the ARRL Foundation scholarship program.
An important test of the World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC 2014)
project was conducted in New England on July 14-15 during the recent
IARU Competition. The goal of the “dry run” was to test the
effectiveness of the operating locations by volunteer contest operators
and also, setup and installation of antennas by dedicated technical
crews.
“Despite the very hot weather it all seems to have gone very well,”
remarked Tom Frenaye, K1KI, WRTC 2014 Secretary. “All stations were on
the air. We’re getting lots of feedback on things we should look at
improving.”
Thirteen stations were established along the I-495 corridor in Eastern
and Western Massachusetts, in the towns of Pepperell, Leominster,
Devens, Wrentham, Medfield, Mansfield, and Plymouth/South Carver.
“We will have a similar test in 2013, likely with twice as many
stations,” K1KI added. “In 2014 we plan to field the full 59 stations
— plus spares — and host a whole bunch of contesters from around the
world.”
For more information, visit <http://wrtc2014.org>.
The 146.685 Plymouth repeater will be out of commission for the first
week of August for general repairs.
The Genesis ARS will sponsor a special event station and display on
September 2 for Family Fun Day at the Plymouth Airport. In addition to
operating HF and VHF radios, club members will distribute educational
materials to the public. If you can help, contact KB1SRO.
MITRE-Bedford ARC conducted a VE session on July 17.
Don’t miss the Southeastern MA ARA Tailgate Flea Market on September 9
at the SEMARA clubhouse in South Dartmouth. For full details, go to <
http://tinyurl.com/cz8dtgh>.
This SM, along with ACC Bo Budinger, WA1QYM presented on the Eastern MA
ARRL field organization at the Falmouth ARA meeting on July 26.
SEC KD1CY and ASEC N1FY co-presented at a SKYWARN training class
recently at ARRL Headquarters in Newington.
Whitman ARC members are gearing up for the big special events station
operation, NN1MF, and exhibit at the Marshfield Fair from August 17-26.
They’re looking for help from area hams who wish to participate. Those
who sign up for one or more four-hour shifts will receive a free
vehicle and personal pass. To volunteer, contact N1FRE at
<wf.hayden@verizon.net>.
NE1RD operated on Lovell Island in Boston Harbor (NA-148) on 17 through
10 meters on July 14-15 and 28-29. If you snagged a QSO with Scott, you
can QSL him at his home address, LoTW, eQSL, or ClubLog.
NI1X volunteered for fox duties at a recent South Shore fox hunt on
July 7. KB1TEH found Bruce first. Bruce was hiding behind the
Bridgewater Library. The team of KB1MOC and Bob Brown (SWL) captured
second place.
K1RV is trying to promote interest in an operation from the Scituate
Lighthouse parking lot in conjunction with International
Lighthouse-Lightship Week August 1-8. Pi says there will be “lots of
visitors during Scituate Heritage Days.”
WQ1O conducted a mini-Regional shelter exercise in Sandwich on July 28.
According to Frank, there was good representation on the part of Red
Cross and other partner agencies.
We had a great Eastern MA turnout at the recent New England Division
Cabinet Meeting in Boxboro last month. At least eight affiliated clubs
from the section were represented.
KB1PGH is recruiting a few more hams to assist with the Essex Youth
Triathlon on August 11. Dean says the Cape Ann ARA has provided
communications support for this event for the past two years.
MARI traffic handlers led the pack with the highest rep percentage to
1RN Cycles 3 and 4, according to statistics from 1RN Manager W1KX.
Framingham ARA members plan to hoist a few cold 807s at the Summertime
FARA Night Out on August 12 at the British Beer Company. Interested
“hoisters” should RSVP to Gordy, K1GB.
Barnstable ARC members installed a new Telewave folded dipole array at
the Dennis 146.955 repeater site on July 7. The operation took over
eight hours to complete. The antenna system weights 300 lbs. and stands
39 feet tall. The crew of nine had to contend with temperatures in
mid-80s with 91 percent relative humidity! Photos and story at
<http://tinyurl.com/cvzbof2>. Thanks, Barnstable ARC.
Cape and Islands DEC WQ1O posted an informative video on YouTube
demonstrating the use of the Narrow Band Emergency Message System. WQ1O
says it’s a great tool for emergency use. With it you can send ICS
forms, radiograms–even CSV files—to many stations, or
point-to-point. See Frank’s video at <http://tinyurl.com/cfs2um4>.
A tiny Japanese micro-satellite will soon be writing Morse messages in
the sky: <http://tinyurl.com/c7dfd4h>.
From the “What-The-Heck-Was-That?!” Department: K1NS was driving in
Walpole recently. “I passed this car, which I thought had an amazing
ham microwave/radome/antenna on the roof. But of course it turned out
to be a Google Street View camera car. Wow! First one I’d ever seen.
What a device.” You can see Bill’s photo of the G-mobile at
<http://ema.arrl.org/local/CIMG0142.jpg>. Thanks, PART-L list.
73,
K9HI
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ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section
Section Manager: Phillip Temples, K9HI
k9hi@arrl.org
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The annual Eastern Massachusetts Section Traffic Handlers Picnic will be held August 5, 2012 at the Raynham Senior Center picnic area in Raynham MA. The picnic will run from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM. [