Author Archives: Ray Lajoie

Announcing the NE and Section Ham of the Year Awards

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The New England Division has created a new Ham of the Year award to recognize and honor those that have made notable accomplishments for Ham Radio. The awards will be given out at HamXposition. This is going to be an annual event. Any member in Western Ma. can recommend an individual by sending me an email describing why and the accomplishments he/she achieved to aa1se@arrl.org. Read the press announcement below:

ARRL NEW ENGLAND DIVISION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NEW ENGLAND AND SECTION HAM OF THE YEAR NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

July 23, 2025—The ARRL New England Division is pleased to announce the results of the 2025 Ham of the Year Awards. The nominating committee and judges consisted of Section Managers:

  • Douglas Sharafanowich, WA1SFH, Connecticut
  • Jon McCombie, N1ILZ, Eastern Massachusetts
  • Phil Duggan, N1EP, Maine
  • Pete Stohrer, W1FEA, New Hampshire
  • Nancy Austin, KC1NEK, Rhode Island
  • Paul Gayet, AA1SU, Vermont
  • Ray Lajoie, AA1SE, Western Massachusetts

New England Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, and Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, participated as non-voting members.

The judges considered one nominee from each New England ARRL Section. Criteria included, but were not limited to, achievements in the areas of:

  • Club leadership
  • Ham class instruction / volunteer exams
  • Emergency Communications / ARES
  • Technical accomplishments
  • Youth activities

In The Western Ma, Section, Larry Krainson, W1AST was nominated for this prestigious honor.

Larry has taken on many roles for Amateur Radio including a presidency with the Hampden County. Radio Assn, building the club to over 125 members. For 2 years planned the Big E promoting Ham Radio to over a million people. Currently with the convention committee responsible for the increase in vendors and prize value. He is also the WMA Affiliated Club Coordinator. He is also the state manager for the annual 13 colonies special event in July.

For his service to Amateur Radio in Western Ma, Larry Krainson, W1AST has earned the honor of Western Ma. Ham of the Year.

The New England Ham of the Year awardee will be announced in the near future. This individual, along with the Western MA. Ham of the Year, will be acknowledged at the New England Division (“HamX”) in Marlborough, Massachusetts, in late August. For additional information, contact Ray Lajoie AA1SE (aa1se@arrl.org

Section Manager’s Report Aug. 2025

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   “I’m melting, melting!” That seems to have been the theme for this month. Pretty sad you have to walk around carrying a meat thermometer with you! And to top it off, I have been dealing with a sore back. Ok, bad news and complaining out of the way.

   So, if you haven’t heard, the board meeting from the league had announced 2026 will be celebrated as the year of the club. There is a committee with Mike Walters, W8ZY that will be coming up with activities and incentives to get clubs more active and on the air especially with the club call signs. Should be interesting and more to follow on that later. The league has also submitted to the FCC it’s comments on the request for the 70cm band by AST & Science. You can post comments to the FCC by Aug. 5.

   Something else I saw which was a surprise was that SteppIR had folded their tents! This will take place on Aug.31. To see the announcement, go to https://consumer.steppir.com/ They cited “Due to emerging factors.”

   So, the big event is close at hand, HamXposition. Lots of people have been looking forward to this including me. This year I will not be having a forum. One reason is the attendance does not really support it and I will also be taking on a new role there as the head of the flea market…OH BOY! 😊 I guess certain people want to see me roast out there more. Yep, I need to take precautions more. So, you will see something different out there but I will still have my treasures out there. Look forward to seeing you all out there. There are a TON of forums that weekend and the prize kiddie is really good. That group did a good job of putting that part together. They really are trying to make this one of the premier conventions next to Dayton, Hamvention, Huntsville.

   Just prior to that, if you want to take a nice ride in the country is the NOBARC Hamfest which will be August 17 at 371 Old Columbia St in Adams. I plan on going, likely just to visit.

   Something new that is starting in the New England Division is the New England and Section Ham of the year awards which will be awarded at the convention. It will be on a separate posting to learn more.

   Hopefully when the weather cooperates a little more and there is a break between events, definitely get out there and play some radio. I need to do the same thing as I need to work on some set ups outside. My tri-bander is junk and need to get that squared away.

   Ok blink your eyes and it will be September and cooler. Then you will complain about the cold! Hi-Hi

Have a great August!

73, Ray AA1SE

Volunteers Needed at HamXposition

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Calling for Volunteers for HamXposition in August 2025!
Thank you to all the dedicated volunteers who make HamXposition possible! Your
smiling faces and eagerness to help make a difference to the attendees.
I’m reaching out to invite you to volunteer (again) this year! Here is the link to the form.
https://registration.hamxposition.org/volunteer/
We have a big need for help this year and have a number of positions for volunteers—
they won’t be assigned in advance, but if you have preferences/restrictions, please note
them on the form.
Examples of volunteer activities:

  • Registration/ticket sales throughout the convention timeframe
    o The convention itself
    o Comedy show on Thursday evening
  • Technical troubleshooting
  • Set-up (Thursday)—some of this is outside
    o Video Equipment in each room
    o Signage
    § Inside the hotel for each room
    § Outside
  • Cones
  • Speaker section
  • Handicapped section
  • Direction Finding
  • Take-down (Sunday afternoon)-some of this is outside
    o Equipment
    o Signage that we have put up, inside and out
  • Limiting access to vendor area as needed when area isn’t open to attendees
  • Flea market
    o Set up
    o Selling tickets
  • Way-finding, for example
    o Forum rooms
    o Tech in a Day
    o Flea market
    o GOTA station
  • Ticket prep for drawings
  • Resource/answering questions
    Time slots?
  • 2 hr time slots available
    o Thursday Aug 21 8-10am, 10-12, 12-2, 2-4, 4-6, 6-8pm
    o Friday Aug 22 8-10am, 10-12, 12-2, 2-4, 4-6, 6-8pm
    o Saturday Aug 23 8-10am, 10-12, 12-2, 2-4, 4-6, 6-8pm
    o Sunday Aug 24 8-10am, 10-12, 12-2, 2-4pm
    Perks?
  • If you work 2 x 2 hr shifts
    o Free admission (or)
    o Lunch voucher for Friday or Saturday (no lunch on Thursday or Sunday)
    (or)
    o Another ticket for the Sunday drawings
  • If you work additional 2 x 2 hr shifts, you can get one additional lunch voucher-if
    you haven’t taken the admission option
    Please reach out with questions. I look forward to seeing you there!
    73 Barbara KC1KGS
    kc1kgs@hamx

New Ham List for July

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Here is the latest new hams for Western Ma. Clubs, use the list and invite those near your area. We have 83 new hams in the first half of the year

Report for 2025-07-01

Derek L Ferguson, KC1WXV – FCC
25 Appaloosa Ln
West Springfield, MA 01089-1714

Nicholas S King, N1NSK – FCC
PO Box 1051
Hancock, MA 01237-1051

Adam Shurtleff, KC1WWY – FCC
29 Walker St
North Adams, MA 01247-2859

Matthew J Arnold, KC1WXL – FCC
18 Bonnydale Rd
Leominster, MA 01453-3006

Stella Schuren, KC1WXJ – FCC
447 Lancaster Ave
Lunenburg, MA 01462-1512

Eric W Smith, KC1WYX – FCC
376 Main St
Oxford, MA 01540-1730

Frank Koch, KC1WWK – FCC
97 Flanagan Hill Rd
Sterling, MA 01564-2313

Michael D Kloter, KC1WZD – FCC
7 Vinton Rd
Sturbridge, MA 01566-1201

Anna A Chinappi, KC1WXY – FCC
194 Granite St
Uxbridge, MA 01569-1231

Michael Ocallahan, KC1WWJ – FCC
14 Victoria Ave
Worcester, MA 01607-1506

Lora M Cameron Landis, KC1WZA – FCC
14 Oregon Rd
Southborough, MA 01772-2013

Section Manager Report July 2025

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Greetings, I’m sure you are still resting from Field Day, scores are being tabulated, pictures shared, etc. Speaking of pictures, I would like to put together something for the League. Please send me pictures of the weekend’s activities. Thanks.

    Field day was a bit of a mix as I find the number of clubs or groups visited were down. I know of some that have ceased their FD activities and there were others that really pushed on improving their operation and I saw some nifty stuff going on. The CMARA club moved to a new location which was more public accessible and put on a public table to promote Ham Radio to others. Quaboag has a new location in the town common in West Brookfield. This location definitely shows promise in being a great location to show off what they can do to support their town. And the NOBARC club also has new digs not far from where they used to be in Windsor. There was a lot of radio activity with room to spare. I want to extend a “Well Done” to those and all the FD sites this year. Of course, as you unwind from this you are now looking to start planning next year’s event. The one thing I do see is by getting younger people into radio were the clubs that improved the most. Something to think about when starting your club meetings in September. I really enjoyed visiting all the clubs this year. Everyone made me feel welcome when I arrived.

   As I mentioned last month, the nomination period is on for the position of Section Manager. To learn more, go to  http://www.arrl.org/section-terms-nomination-information Don’t be bashful!

   On July 8th, my team is holding a new Technician Class license course on Zoom if you know of someone interested in getting their Ham Radio License, see the flyer elsewhere on this website.

   I guess that’s enough jibber-jabber for now. Have a great time in whatever you are doing this summer and thanks.

73, Ray AA1SE

New Ham Report for May

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Report for 2025-06-01

Michael R Sienkiewicz, KC1WVJ – FCC
3005 Prospect St Unit B
Bondsville, MA 01009-7722

Willie Lopez, KC1WUE – FCC
63 Magnolia Ave
Holyoke, MA 01040-3125

Jeffrey L Horan, KC1WTN – FCC
100 Southampton Rd
Holyoke, MA 01040-9788

Liam Cregan, KC1WTW – FCC
63 Golden Dr
Northampton, MA 01062-3405

Elizabeth McKinstry, KC1WUC – FCC
PO Box 5434
Springfield, MA 01101-5434

Daniel Moriarty, KC1WWE – FCC
2 Corashire Rd
New Marlborough, MA 01230-2107

Brian S Dannemiller, KC1WTX – FCC
4 Lincoln St
Greenfield, MA 01301-2016

Dan Alden, KC1WTL – FCC
506 Country Side Rd
Greenfield, MA 01301-9757

Alexander J Wahlstrom, KC1WTM – FCC
213 Northfield Rd
Bernardston, MA 01337-9797

Robert C DeRose, KC1WTP – FCC
157 Thompson Rd
Colrain, MA 01340-9720

Karl Anderson, KC1WTV – FCC
PO Box 45
Conway, MA 01341-0045

Edwin F Sause, KC1WVR – FCC
36 Highland Vlg
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370-1249

Andrew B Robertson, KC1WSX – FCC
16 Sunset Dr
Sterling, MA 01564-2454

Section Manager’s Report June 2025

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   I think you would agree with me that most of these weekends you should be operating maritime mobile. My hopes is the weather changes before field day and we get some great weather. Last year was interesting as storms were threatening and occurred during the event.

   Speaking of Field Day, don’t forget to go to the leagues website and enter your event in the Field Day Locator. https://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator As I previously mentioned, I will be visiting the sites and hope to visit all of them in my section.   

   The July’s edition of QST will announce nominations for Section Manager to serve for the next two years starting in January. I encourage anyone interested to visit http://www.arrl.org/section-terms-nomination-information to learn more. Yep, Western Mass is up. Do you feel the need to boot me off the throne? 😊

   As clubs are anticipating summer activities, the theme of the season are POTA parties. Some clubs have had one with great success and others are in the works. They are not hard to put together either. It’s a great way to get the new ham involved with the club and radio.

   Clubs will be wrapping up their meeting season this month which usually involves elections for officers. I have seen some clubs struggle with getting members to fill in the positions. It adds a greater burden to those still in office and it snowball’s, leading to continued erosion of what was once a vibrant club. Don’t let this happen to your club. Get involved! It’s really not rocket science.

   I hope everyone has a successful Field Day and a fabulous, safe Summer. See you at FD or at the convention in Marlboro in August.

73, Ray AA1SE

New Ham Report April 2025

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Kenneth P Lamothe, W1WXX – FCC
66 Dogwood Ln
Agawam, MA 01001-3645

Julian J Lee-Choi, KC1WSB – FCC
15 Hartman Rd
Amherst, MA 01002-1413

Jensen Gilbert, KC1WNW – FCC
6 Cheryl Cir
Belchertown, MA 01007-9764

Robert S Waskiewicz, KC1WOB – FCC
95 Chmura Rd
Hadley, MA 01035-9727

Diana L David, W1CBL – FCC
9 Fernwood Rd
Southwick, MA 01077-9514

Mark G Plaquet, KC1DZG – FCC
129 Clayton Rd
# 422
Ashley Falls, MA 01222-9713

Timothy M Jones, KC1WSC – FCC
155 W Bare Hill Rd
Harvard, MA 01451-1626

Patrick J McEvilly, KC1WNU – FCC
305 Reservoir Rd
Lunenburg, MA 01462-1532

Amanda Vollum, KC1WNX – FCC
PO Box 7
Berlin, MA 01503-0007

Thomas Dings, KC1WNT – FCC
147 Old Colony Rd
Princeton, MA 01541-1604

Kaushik Satheesh Kumar, KC1WNO – FCC
101 Brookdale Cir
Shrewsbury, MA 01545-5446

Zarius Dubash, K7HHH – FCC
15 Joseph Rd
Shrewsbury, MA 01545-7715

Joseph Bonapace, KC1WOK – FCC
30 Cassie Ln
Uxbridge, MA 01569-3114

Zoran Mladenovic, KC1WQL – FCC
3A Spring Brook Ct
Mendon, MA 01756-1334