Tag: #covid19

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MIT Swapfest Cancelled for Remainder of 2020

- by k9hi - Leave a Comment

From http://w1mx.mit.edu/flea-at-mit/ As MIT has announced that only seniors will be back on-campus with heavy restrictions in place, we have determined that we won’t be able to hold Swapfest without excessive risk for the rest of the calendar year. Swapfest will (tentatively) pick back up on April 18 of next year, and anyone who submitted preregistration should have either recently received an email or will shortly receive postal mail returning their payment.

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Northeast HamXposition 2020 Cancelled

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Bob DeMattia, K1IW, Northeast HamXposition 2020 Chairman writes: Large indoor gatherings such as our convention are currently prohibited by Massachusetts state law. This is highly unlikely to change by November.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to hold a physical convention this year. However, we do plan some virtual activities, all free.  We are currently working on the details for these and will keep you posted as they develop: We plan to the operate the W1A special event station over the weekend of October 31st – November 1st. To avoid a conflict with the November Sweepstakes, we moved this to …

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Licensing Education & Training

Southeastern MA ARA In-Person VE Session, August 1, 2020

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Members of the Southeastern MA Amateur Radio Association (SEMARA) Volunteer Exam team will hold an in-person ARRL-sponsored Volunteer Exam session on August 1, 2020 at their club house at 54 Donald Street, Dartmouth, MA. According to VE team leader Fred Bacon, N1TF,  “Masks are required and social Distancing is practiced. So far I have two signed up for the Technician exam. We do limit the number of candidates to six in the building at one time but have not reached the limit yet.” For further information, visit http://semara.org/exams/, email exams [at] semara [dot] org or call 508-748-0047.    

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All / Field Day

Interim Field-Day-@Home Update

- by Bill Ricker - Leave a Comment

Eastern Mass Section summary from ARRL Contest Branch logs-received as of 7/19 Deadline for FD logs is as usual one month, so 7/28. Clubs can check for members’ logs via Contest Branch Logs Received. As of today, there are 150+ FD logs citing EMA as the section, with 19 clubs with 2+ entries (total 117 stations),  plus a handful of  single club home stations and representing clubs spanning multiple sections, and a couple dozen 28 claiming no club affiliation. Compared to 39 station logs in 2019, this is a very successful COVID-19 Field Day @Home for EMA. Status (as of …

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Public Service

2020 Head of the Charles Regatta Cancelled

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This premiere rowing event, attracting competitors from all over the world, relies upon Amateur Radio communications for coordination and medical support of both land and boat-based services along the beautiful Charles River. From Boston.com: “Organizers of the Head of the Charles Regatta, a two-day [October 17-18, 2020] annual event drawing thousands of rowers from around the world, announced the cancellation of the 2020 event Wednesday, citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “’As you know, our top priority has always been holding a regatta that is safe, competitive and fun,’ Head of the Charles executive director Fred Schoch wrote in a Facebook …

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Public Service

2020 Baystate Marathon Cancelled

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Terry Stader, KA8SCP, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list: From the Lowell OEM folks: After speaking with the Lowell Cultural Affairs Special Events office they confirmed that these events have been cancelled for this year. I just wanted to  send a courtesy update everyone involved each year. Hopefully we will resume in 2021: Asian Water Festival (August) Kinetics Race (September) Bay State Marathon (October) River Regatta (October)

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Affiliated Clubs / Licensing Education & Training

Falmouth Amateur Radio Association Resumes In-Person VE testing

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The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association has announced that its Volunteer Examination team has resumed in-person test sessions. According to the Falmouth ARA website: “Lee Thomas, NQ1L, FARA’s [VE team coordinator] has arranged for the use of a facility that allows for proper social distancing.   Examinations are now available on the second Saturday of the month by reservation only.  Contact Lee Thomas at NQ1L38 at gmail.com to schedule an examination.”

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NEAR-Fest XXVIII October 16 & 17, 2020 Is Cancelled

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Michael Crestohl, W1RC, writes:   You may have already know that the Deerfield Fair Association voted reluctantly but overwhelmingly to cancel the 2020 Fair at a special meeting on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2020. Ben, KB1NZN, and I are members.  We were at the meeting and voted for cancellation.  We both totally agree with the decision of the Deerfield Fair Association membership who voted 105 to 5 in favor of cancelling the Fair.   There was not one good reason put forth during the discussion in favor of holding thenFair this year. Especially in these unprecedented times our first responsibility must be …

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Field Day

Field Day Listings on ema.arrl.org

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Bill Ricker, N1VUX, writes: I have created a non-place Site for FD@Home cumulative scoring in the FD Directory  (geographic coordinates in Boston Harbor but not on an island; county=mixed, same as “Nowhere”; it will get the Harbor forecast, oops). It currently shows these clubs:   Club Plans BARC:Boston ARC Confirmed Fal:Falmouth FARA Inc Confirmed Fram:Framingham Amateur Radio Assn Fara.org Confirmed K1USN:K1USN Club Probable MARA:Massasoit ARA Inc Confirmed MITLL:MIT Lincoln Labs Confirmed Msex:Middlesex-Zola ARC Probable NEAR:New England Amateur Radio, Inc. Confirmed PARC:Philips Amateur Radio Club (PARC) Confirmed PART:Police Amateur Radio Team of Westford Confirmed PRA:Pentucket RA Confirmed STARS:Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society …

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Affiliated Clubs / Field Day

K1USN Radio Club On-line Meeting, June 23, 2020

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“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes on the K1USN RC mailing list:   Our discussion topic on Tuesday, June 23rd @ 7:30 PM will be 2020 ARRL Field Day plans.   We want to hear from you to learn what you expect to do for the 2020 ARRL Field Day. Obviously there are extenuating circumstances this year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.   The recent K1USN Zoom session presentation by Bruce – K1BG about his past one person Field Day operation may have given you some ideas on how you might operate.   Do you plan to get on the air during …

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Affiliated Clubs / Youth

New England Sci-Tech To Begin Phased Reopening

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New England Sci-Tech [in Natick] will begin a phased reopening in compliance with state and CDC guidelines. Beginning Tuesday, June 16, parts of the facility, including the radio rooms, will be open by appointment only. There will be limits on numbers of people in the facility at one time. Strict hand washing rules and use of masks will be in effect. Hand sanitizer dispensers will be prominently located. Certain in-house workshops will be offered, but many of the online workshops will continue. STARS and other club meetings will continue on Zoom until further notice. Field Day will be held at …

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Affiliated Clubs

K1USN Radio Club Meets June 9, 2020

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“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes on the K1USN mailing list: We are pleased to announce that, Rick, N1DC, will be giving us a presentation [June 9, 2020 at 7:30 PM] about his recent (pre-Covid!) IOTA visit to Hutchinson Island, Florida. I’m sure that this will prove interesting especially for any of you considering some sort of portable operation later this month during ARRL Field Day on the weekend of June 27-28.   [For Zoom conference details, email “Pi” Pugh, K1RV, at pi.k1rv -at- gmail -dot- com.]

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MIT Swapfest Cancelled for June, July 2020

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June 4, 2020: As Massachusetts is only in the first phase of its reopening plan, with large events still not allowed for at least several more weeks, and as MIT has not yet decided when groups may resume holding activities on campus, we’re sorry to say that the June 21, 2020 and July 19, 2020 Swapfest meets are also cancelled. —http://w1mx.mit.edu/flea-at-mit/

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Affiliated Clubs

SEMARA Meets Online, June 4, 2020

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Marcel Dumont, W1MLD, writes on the SEMARA mailing list: Hi Everyone, Well, it looks like we [the Southeastern MA ARA] are going to have another ZOOM meeting for the month of June. If anyone is interested in attending the meeting, please forward to me your email address. This is the only way I can make sure that your address is correct. We must have a minimum of ten members present to conduct a meeting. This type of meeting will assure that you will not get the Corona virus from the club. Please respond to the following address. President@semara.org   or   chiefmld@comcast.net …

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Affiliated Clubs

Bristol County Repeater Association Meets Online, June 1, 2020

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Margaret Gaffney, KA1BZE, writes on the BCRA mailing list: This month we will meet on Skype. With Skype we will be able to run the meeting for longer than 40 minutes. As usual the meeting will be held tomorrow June 1 at 7:00 PM. Use the following link: [email mmgaffney -at- comcast -dot- net for meeting information.] Note: one of the items to be discussed is field day from home.

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Licensing Education & Training

Social Distancing Exam Sessions Demonstrate Pent-Up Demand for Testing

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From ARRL Web: A recent in-person “social-distancing” amateur radio exam session in Indiana and a “drive-in” session in California are representative of those that are relieving some of the pent-up demand for testing. As the COVID-19 pandemic lumbers on, in-person exam sessions have begun to resume across the US and elsewhere in the world. “With in-person sessions starting up again around the country, we are hearing the same story from volunteer examiner (VE) teams everywhere,” said ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) Maria Somma, AB1FM. “Large numbers of candidates who have been waiting to test are contacting teams and are thankful …

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Field Day

Temporary Rule Waivers Announced for 2020 ARRL Field Day

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From ARRL Web: With one month to go before 2020 ARRL Field Day, June 27 – 28, the ARRL Programs and Services Committee (PSC) has adopted two temporary rule waivers for the event: 1)      For Field Day 2020 only, Class D stations may work all other Field Day stations, including other Class D stations, for points. Field Day rule 4.6 defines Class D stations as “Home stations,” including stations operating from permanent or licensed station locations using commercial power. Class D stations ordinarily may only count contacts made with Class A, B, C, E, and F Field Day stations, but the temporary …

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Public Information

“Social Distancing? COVID-19 Made it Real. Ham Radio Made it a Hobby”

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“A close-knit culture, with separation at its core” is a story and accompanying video produced by Christian Science Monitor staff photographer Anne Hermes. It explores how Amateur Radio operators are taking COVID-19 and social distancing in stride and features interviews with Eastern MA hams. It portrays the hobby in a very positive light. Eastern MA Public Information Coordinator Kayla Creamer, W2IRY, was instrumental in working with Ms. Hermes to identify individuals and clubs for interviews and subject material.   “The Christian Science Monitor, commonly known as The Monitor, is an internationally known nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic …

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