Ahhhhh….Spring! May it last a long time. At least for 3 months! I’m sure you are looking outside and writing up the list of repairs, cleanup, tree cutting, etc. especially from the most recent storm. I kind of embarrassed myself when I could not assist in storm reporting as my power went out for 12 hours and no backup was in place. Lesson learned. I also have antennas to fix and battery power re-installed and mobile set up. I’ll be busy.
Mixed in with the list of to-do’s is that toward the end of the month I will be having surgery in Worcester and will be sidelined for a couple of weeks at least. I will do whatever I can parked in front of a PC but emails may be delayed.
A busy month is in store as activities are ramping up. First of all, the VOTA W1AW/1 Massachusetts event is April 12. There are spots available if you are interested in operating. You can do it as a group or by yourself and any mode. Contact Larry, W1AST at w1ast@arrl.net to sign up. Let’s all have some fun and make the state proud! Speaking of Larry, he is also heading up the upcoming Big E event once again and is looking for volunteers now. Planning is now heating up as you may know as this takes a lot of time to line up everything to cover a 16-day event. I will be doing what I can and I hope you and your club can help as well. Let Larry know to volunteer.
April 28 and 29 is our favorite, Near-Fest at the Deerfield NH Fairgrounds. I have enjoyed going there and lately have been challenged getting there recently. I hope you can get out there and enjoy the area, the people and the food.
March 28 I will be kicking off the WMA Train and Test Extra class course. This is one that does not get taught a lot as it is a large undertaking. This course has actually went national and many (69 signups to date) around the country have signed up. Our teaching is actually done by a group so it is taught by those who are subject matter experts and the others can chime in to provide “color comments”. There is a need for a few volunteers to help teach the classes. This is on Zoom and you do not have to be on every session. If you are interested contact me and I can provide further information.
Field Day planning is ramping up within the clubs and one of the challenges I have been hearing about is having participants to help in setting up, take down and various other functions. The natural reason for one is those that have been doing it year to year is they are getting on in years. One thing that can help is breaking out from the norm and trying something different that makes it easier. Using this as a promotional tool to attract hams and non-hams alike. Getting the word out beyond the club can help as well.
That’s it for this month. I hope you get outside and enjoy Spring and while your at it bust out some gear and get some Q’s in your log.
See you soon!
Ray-AA1SE