Author Archives: Gilbert Hayes

ARRL Request to Contact Your US Senators Supporting S1534 – the Amateur Radio Parity Act

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Dear ARRL member,

I am writing to you today because we are at a crossroad in our efforts to obtain passage of The Amateur Radio Parity Act.

Our legislative efforts scored a major victory in our campaign when The Amateur Radio Parity Act, S. 1534 now moves to the Senate, where we need every Senator to approve the bill. This is the companion Bill to H.R. 555, which passed in the House of Representatives in January.

You are one of over 730,000 licensed Amateur Radio Operators living in the United States. Many of you already live in deed-restricted communities, and that number grows daily.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL HAMS TO GET INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS!

If you want to have effective outdoor antennas but are not currently allowed to do so by your Home Owner’s Association, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!

If you already have outdoor antennas, but want to support your fellow hams, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!

If you want to preserve your ability to install effective outdoor antennas on property that you own, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!

We need you to reach out to your Senators TODAY! Right away.

Help us in the effort. Please go to this linked website and follow the prompts:

https://arrl.rallycongress.net/ctas/urge-us-senate-to-support-amateur-radio-parity-act

Thank you.

73,
Rick
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Rick Roderick, K5UR
President
ARRL – The national association for Amateur Radio®

Nominations Open for Section Manager

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WMA ARRLNominations for Western Massachusetts Section Manager are now open!  The term is for two years starting on January 1, 2018.

Any candidate for the office of Section Manager must be a resident of the section, a licensed amateur of Technician class or higher, and a full member of the League for a continuous term of at least two years immediately preceding receipt of a petition for nomination.  All nomination paperwork must be received by ARRL Headquarters in Newington, CT by 4:00 PM on Friday, September 8, 2017.  The nomination forms and other associated information are available on ARRL HQ’s website here.

Due to increased professional commitments as well as some health issues, current Section Manager Ed Emco W1KT will not be running for election again.

Call for Speakers for Boxboro

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Don’t just attend Boxboro 2017 – BE A PART OF IT!

The Boxboro Committee seeks fresh and exciting presentations for this year’s ARRL New England Division Convention, September 8-10, 2017.  We’re looking for talks of both a technical and non-technical nature.  As a Boxboro speaker, you will have the opportunity to share your subject and knowledge with Amateur Radio operators from around New England, surrounding states, and Canada.

In addition to forums throughout the day Saturday, we will feature Saturday evening entertainment, workshops on Friday, and a half-day Sunday program.

If you represent a regional club or organization (e.g. YCCC, NEQRP, WRONE, MARS, etc.) we can help facilitate open forums or closed meetings by providing you a meeting space.

Groups who wish to set up information tables should get your requests in early. While the tables are offered without charge, we ask for some volunteer time in return to assist us with ticket sales and other logistics during the convention.

To register as a presenter, please check the Convention’s forums and classes web page or email or call us if you have additional questions.

We look forward to meeting all of you at the convention.

New England QSO Party

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The NEQP is a great time to check out antenna systems and offers a moderately paced opportunity to work new states and countries.   You’ll find a wide variety of participants, from newcomers to experienced contesters, all interested in making contacts with New England stations.

We’re working to make sure that all of the New England counties are active again this year and would appreciate your help.  Get on for at least an hour or two and join in on the fun.  Please let me know if you can put in any time at all so we can work on activity from the rarest counties.   Will you be QRV?   Let us know which county you’ll be on from with a message to info@neqp.org

Oh yes, the NEQP is also lots of fun when mobile.  Every time you cross a county line the action starts over again.   It’s amazing what a 100w radio and mobile whip can do.

The QSO Party is 20 hours long overall, in two sections with a civilized break for sleep Saturday night.  It goes from 4pm Saturday until 1am Sunday, then 9am Sunday until 8pm Sunday.  Operate on CW, SSB and digital modes on 80-40-20-15-10 meters.   For each QSO you’ll give your callsign, a signal report and your county/state.   Top scorers can earn a plaque and everyone who makes 25 QSOs and sends in a log will get a certificate.

Last year we had logs from 179 New England stations and 300 more from around the country and world.

The full rules are here ->  http://www.neqp.org/rules.html

The 2016 results were posted over the weekend and the results since 2002 are also available ->  http://www.neqp.org/results.html

It’s just about a month until the 2017 NEQP.   Please make some QSOs even if you don’t want to send in a log.

Thanks!

73 Tom/K1KI

2017 Boston Marathon Looking for Ham Radio Volunteers

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Boston MarathonVolunteer registration is open for the 2017 Boston Marathon! Sign up today on the BAA’s web site. You don’t need to specify any group name or passcode. Just make sure you request at least one ham radio assignment in your preferences. Once you get your application confirmation number, you’re all set.

If you’re a returning volunteer, you’ll be asked to provide your BAA Volunteer Loyalty Number. You should’ve received that in a separate e-mail from the BAA today. There’s also a tool to look it up on the BAA volunteer site. If you still have trouble finding it, e-mail us and we can help you out.

Don’t delay! Volunteer registration closes in early February. Help us get the word out by forwarding this e-mail to your club and other hams who might like to volunteer. Most volunteers first learn about the event through word of mouth. If you know new amateurs who might like to join us, make sure to let them know about it. Even just a quick mention at your club meeting can be a big help.

If you have any questions about volunteer registration, or the 2017 Marathon generally, please get in touch anytime. Volunteering at the Marathon is a big job, and we appreciate the time and effort everyone puts into it. We’re happy to do what we can to make your work more comfortable or effective.

I look forward to seeing everyone again soon.
Thank you, and 73,

Brett Smith, AB1RL
for the Boston Marathon Communications Committee
contact@hamradioboston.org

MARS to Conduct Interoperability Exercise with Amateur Radio Community

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MARSFrom 30 October through 1 November, members of the Military Auxiliary Radio System will be conducting a quarterly Department of Defense Contingency Communications exercise. The purpose of this quarterly exercise is train on our ability to provide communications following a “very bad day” scenario when traditional forms of communications will likely be unavailable. While the simultaneous loss of all communications nation-wide is not likely, for training purposes, we are assuming there has been a massive nation-wide outage.

One of the objectives of this exercise is to continue the partnership with the amateur radio community to help provide information about local conditions and send this information to the Department of Defense to help understand what is happening around the United States.

During this exercise, we will use 60 meters, local VHF and UHF repeaters as well as HF NVIS amateur radio bands. Our goal is to have a conversation about the local conditions in and around your county. During the conversation, our operators will be asking basic questions such as the status of commercial power, public water systems, and road conditions. These will be person to person conversations…you don’t need to use any digital modes or know any special messaging formats.

To kick off this exercise, we are encouraging the amateur radio community to monitor 5,330.5KHz from 0300-0400 Hrs Zulu on 31 October. During this hour, we will be doing a high power voice broadcast from a military station on the east coast and alternate with a voice broadcast from the west coast. Amateur radio operators are encouraged to submit a reception report as indicated in the voice broadcast.

For the remainder of the exercise, MARS personnel will be calling for amateur radio operators on the 60 meter channels as well as using already established amateur radio nets on HF NVIS and VHF/UHF repeaters.

Amateur radio operators are also invited to attend the ARRL webinar scheduled for 25 Oct at 2000 hrs eastern time where Dave Stapchuk, Chief AF MARS, and the Army MARS Program Manager will give a presentation about the MARS program. Please register for the webinar here.

Additional information is on the U.S. Army MARS Facebook page.

New England QSO Party

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New England QSO PartyThe New England QSO Party is coming up the first full weekend in May. Time for New England stations to be the hunted!

The contest runs in two sessions over the weekend:

2000Z Saturday May 7 until 0500Z Sunday May 8 (4pm EDT Saturday until 1am EDT Sunday)

1300Z Sunday May 8 until 2400Z Sunday May 8 (9am EDT Sunday until 8pm EDT Sunday)

Suggested CW frequencies are 3540, 7035, 14040, 21040, and 28040. Suggested SSB frequencies are 3850, 7180, 7280, 14280, 21380 and 28380.

More details on the contest are available on the New England QSO Party’s website.

Training for ARES ECs, DECs, SECs

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WMA ARESARRL Headquarters will be offering a training session for ARES Emergency Coordinators, District Emergency Coordinators and Section Emergency Coordinators on local, section, and state level Memorandums of Understanding for ARES. The training webinar will be Tuesday May 24, 2016 at 8pm Eastern Time. You may register for the webinar here. The webinar will be recorded and made available online afterward. All EC’s, DEC’s and SEC’s are encouraged to participate.

— Mike Corey, KI1U, ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager.

KA1OTQ, Southern Worcester County DEC, SK

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KA1OTQIt is with regret and sadness that we must convey that the Southern Worcester County DEC Bob Beausoleil KA1OTQ has recently passed away and become a Silent Key.

Bob was involved with amateur radio in the section and locally for several decades, including being Sutton Chain of Lights Communications Coordinator and being the Net Manager for the Sunday morning ARES net on the W1BIM machine.

Bob’s obituary can be viewed here.