It is with sad regret to announce Ellis Rud N1MWJ has become a silent key on Nov 27.
Ellis was currently the EC for North Berkshire county, prior to that he was the past president of NoBARC in Adams. His career was for the state as a park ranger for Mt Greylock until his retirement.
Details can be found here:
https://flynndagnolifuneralhom
73,
Ray KB1LRL
Worcester Emergency Communications Team President Brian Loverro K1BML is looking for a few more ham radio volunteers to help support the Sutton Chain of Lights this Saturday December 1, 2018 from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
The event is a town-wide holiday celebration featuring open houses and activities at a large variety of locations throughout the town. For more on the event, visit the Sutton Chain of Lights Facebook page.
The role of amateur radio is to coordinate the trolley buses that shuttle people to and from various locations throughout the town. You will need an external antenna. The trolleys’ roofs are made of fiberglass, so you’ll need another means of attaching the antenna to the trolley other than mag mount. Duct tape has often been used in the past. HT’s should be OK but portable mobiles are preferred. No DC power is available from the trolley so everything will need to be run by battery.
This is a very fun, festive and low-key event, perfect for those wanting to get into public service for the first time. Operators will also likely have opportunities to get out at some of the stops to shop and the like.
To sign up or for more information email K1BML and confirm that you have the equipment listed above. Thank you for your help and support.
Hello everyone, I am sure you are still digesting the feast and overdosing on football games still. I hope you had a truly splendid Thanksgiving.
First thing is to express my sincere thanks to Tom K1KI for his many years as Director of New England. As you know, he was narrowly beat out by Fred Hopengarten K1VR for that position. I wish Tom well in his endeavors and keeping up the good fight wherever it may lead him.
Earlier this month, ACC Gil WK1H and myself went to the Hampden County Radio Association meeting and I did a presentation there which included an open forum to hear what was on their mind. They had a big crowd there which would make a lot of other club’s drool in envy. This is a fine example of a club which actively participates in many facets of the hobby. They also have a great emphasis of bringing in new hams and mentoring them to become an active part of the hobby. Congratulations to this fine group and keep up the great job.
As of now there are some other irons in the fire going on but I will not elaborate just yet. Keep in mind some of these changes are based on the feedback that you have given me. Also remember the help wanted sign is still out.
It’s hard to imagine 1 year is approaching as your Section Manager. It has been one where I feel the biggest accomplishment has been being visible to as many of you as possible and next year will be no different. I am going to sit in on a webinar for ARES connect and see if I can get this new system understood and start getting this set up and in use for our group.
Most clubs at this time are having their annual Holiday parties instead of meetings. I hope you will have a great time in celebration. At this time, I want to wish all of you a happy, safe, wonderful Holiday Season. And of course, a Happy New Year.
73,
Ray KB1LRL
The 2018 SKYWARN Recognition Day will be on Saturday, December 1.
SKYWARN Recognition Day was developed in 1999 by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League. It celebrates the contributions that volunteer SKYWARN radio operators make to the National Weather Service mission, the protection of life and property.
Amateur radio operators comprise a large percentage of the SKYWARN volunteers across the country. Amateur radio operators also provide vital communication between the NWS and emergency management if normal communications become inoperative. During the SKYWARN Special Event operators will visit NWS offices and contact other radio operators across the world. This will be the 20th year of SKYWARN Recognition Day and its anticipated that 80-100 NWS Forecast Offices will be participating once again this year.
The WX1BOX Boston/Norton Office SKYWARN station covers all the Western Massachusetts section except Berkshire County, which is covered by the WX2ALY Albany Office SKYWARN station.
WX1BOX will be on the air Friday November 30 and Saturday December 1 on the following schedule for these Western MA repeaters:
Friday November 30th, 2018:
7:00-7:30 PM: 146.970-Paxton Repeater (PL: 114.8 Hz)
Saturday December 1st, 2018:
7:00-8:30 AM: 146.595 Simplex
1:00-1:30 PM: 146.595 Simplex
1:30-2:00 PM: 145.37-Gardner/145.45-Fitchburg/147.39 Repeaters via IRLP 9122
4:00-4:30 PM: 146.970-Paxton Repeater (PL: 114.8 Hz)
WX1BOX will be monitoring the *NEW-ENG3* conference node 9123/IRLP 9123 system throughout the SRD event from 7 PM-12 AM Friday Evening 11/30/18 and from 7 AM-7 PM Saturday 12/1/18. Our HF station will be active on the various HF bands during the same time period. What bands/modes we operate on will be dependent on propagation and operator availability. We will attempt to announce the different HF frequencies will be on via our Facebook and Twitter feeds as well as on the DX Spotter/cluster system dxsummit.fi for people that wish to contact us on HF.
WX2ALY will also be on the air from 1300Z (8:00 AM EST) to 2100Z (4:00 PM EST).
For more information on SKYWARN Recognition Day, check the following:
National Weather Service SKYWARN Recognition Day page
ARRL SKYWARN Recognition Day page
ARRL Headquarters has released the election results for all of this season’s division director and vice-director elections. The New England Division results were:
Fred Hopengarten, K1VR 1,432
Tom Frenaye, K1KI 1,383
Candidate Mr. Hopengarten was declared elected, edging out incumbent Mr. Frenaye by only 49 votes.
Details on K1VR and his views on the positions on various topics in amateur radio and what the ARRL should be doing in that regard can be seen on his candidacy website.
Congratulations to K1VR on his election and thanks to K1KI for his many years of steadfast service in the position.
Re-posted from the Eastern MA ARRL website:
The Blue Hill Observatory awarded Rob Macedo, KD1CY, with their Outstanding Service Award on November 9, 2018. The award was presented at a Blue Hills Observatory fundraising event by meteorologist and Weather Channel personality Jim Cantore and former Weather Channel meteorologist Mish Michaels. The honor was especially meaningful for Macedo as it coincided with his birthday.
“It’s both rewarding and humbling to receive [the award] in the presence of some of the most respected people in the meteorology profession,” remarked KD1CY. “It wouldn’t be possible without the support of hundreds to thousands of SKYWARN spotters and Amateur Radio operators who support the program and give their reports during times of severe weather…”
Macedo serves as the ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for the WX1BOX Southern New England / Boston / Norton National Weather Service office, and Section Emergency Coordinator for Eastern Massachusetts.
Note: This is a re-post from the ARRL national website here.
ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology alumnus Mariusz Zielinski, KB1MDS, invited ARRL Lifelong Learning Manager Kris Bickell, K1BIC, Lifelong Learning Administrator Ally Riedel, KM3ALF, and ARRL Communications Content Producer Michelle Patnode, W3MVP, to witness an exciting November 2 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with students at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer, Massachusetts, where Zielinski teaches. Pathfinder Amateur Radio Club students queued up to ask mostly technical questions of NASA astronaut Serena Maria Auñón-Chancellor, KG5TMT.
The Pathfinder ARC said the ARISS project became “a school-wide endeavor, capitalizing on our students’ interests in the trades and STEM subjects, giving them an interdisciplinary opportunity to apply their various skill sets.” Over the 2-year run up to the contact, Pathfinder students fabricated the antenna-aiming and mounting hardware. The club said on its website that it “incorporated many of the technical areas to construct the radio station and prepare for the ARISS contact and challenged our students to learn more about wireless technology and radio science.” One goal of the project was to “provide an educational opportunity for students, teachers and the general public to learn about wireless technology and radio science through Amateur Radio,” the club described.
Palmer Town Councilor Robert Lavoie, Massachusetts Representative Todd Smola, and Massachusetts Senator Anne Gobi were on hand to present a citation of congratulations from the State of Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Wearing an “ARISS 2018” T-shirt designed by students, Zielinski told a WWLP television reporter that the successful contact was even more exciting than the Boston Red Sox recent World Series win.
Further assistance and support was provided by fellow Teachers Institute alumni and Pathfinder instructors Schley Warren, KA1TDL, and Frank Legassey, KC1IYH, as well as from Jack O’Donnell, KC1GZB; Susan Grimaldi, WA1SJG, and Al Grimaldi, KB1XG, of the Mt. Tom Amateur Repeater Association. Legassey, an electronics instructor, and O’Donnell, a physics instructor, earned their Amateur Radio licenses during a January 2018 exam session at the school.
Others pitching in included Gary Thomas, AA1UE, of Wealth Technologies; Ronald Osimo, K1CRR, of the Cheshire County DX Radio Club; ARISS mentor Steve Taylor, W1HQL; Aggie Zielinski, and Anatoliy and Elen Borryssenko of A&E Partnership.
Videos of the Pathfinder contact have been posted on YouTube.