Ham Radio @ IEEE International Microwave Symposium Seeks Volunteers, June 2-7, 2019

Re-post of news originally from the EMA ARRL website:

Volunteer form:   HamRadio @ IEEE IMS 2019

Boston area amateurs have been requested to provide an Amateur Radio presence at the IEEE International Microwave Symposium in Boston, June 2-7, 2019 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston’s Seaport District.

Local amateurs will equip and staff an ARRL booth in the trade show area of the conference stocked with ARRL books and literature for display and raffle. It is hoped the booth will also feature a remote radio capable of HF, VHF, and UHF and satellite capability.  Conference attendees can ask questions about how to get involved in ham radio, either as a hobby or as a vehicle for student learning.

Although the conference site is well-served by public transportation, event coordinators are exploring the possibility of complementary (or reduced) parking rates for volunteers. In addition, the conference organizers have scheduled an “Amateur Radio Social” Tuesday, June 4 at 6:30 PM featuring keynote speaker Howard Michel, WB2ITX, ARRL Chief Executive Officer.

If you would like to be involved in this high-profile event, please register at: Ham Radio @ IEEE IMS 2019.

WMA Section Meeting at Boxboro

During the New England Division Convention at Boxboro on Sunday, September 9, one of the discussion forums scheduled is a “WMA Section Meeting” hosted by Western MA Section Manager Ray Lajoie KB1LRL.

The purpose of this meeting is essentially just to give all ARRL members in Western Massachusetts a platform for discussion of things they would like to see the section change and improve.  Ray’s main focus recently has been to get people appointed to various section staff positions and getting emergency communications plans going, however, any other subject can be brought up and discussed openly at this forum.  The forum should be more of a town hall / open discussion rather than something that is more rigidly scripted.  Come and make your voice heard!

The WMA Section Meeting forum will be on Sunday, September 9th from 12 – 12:50 in the Seminar room.  Check the forum schedule on the Boxboro convention website for more details.

WMA Section Manager Sets Field Day Tour Plan

Field Day has arrived!

Hi everyone. I hope everyone has a moment to read this. As I had mentioned earlier, my plan for Field Day is an aggressive tour of WMA and to visit as many, if not all the public sites in action during that time.

The likely one will be NoBARC as it will be the farthest. I may be there during setup. I plan on leaving from the other end of the section very early. Southwick, Hampden, Springfield, Franklin will follow to wrap up the Western part of the state.

Sunday morning, I will start the day at WECT in Worcester where I will be taking traffic from the Western Mass 80 meter net at 8:30 am. Then to CMARA, Mohawk and Montachusett. There are no set times, and the order may change. Let’s see how I do!

If you are having a field day drop me an email and I will try to get it in there as well. I know of a couple of others and I am seeking to get the club events the priority as a lot of hard work goes into those.

I hope to see you all out there Sat. and Sun.

73,
Ray KB1LRL

From ARRL President: Relief Efforts Need Your Help

Dear ARRL Member:

There are few times when I have needed to reach out directly to you for your help. This is one of those times.

The American Red Cross (ARC) has asked ARRL for assistance with relief efforts in Puerto Rico. In the nearly 75-year relationship between ARRL and ARC, this is the first time ARC has made a request for assistance on this scale. Hurricane Maria has devastated the island’s communications infrastructure. Without electricity and telephone, and with most of the cell sites out of service, millions of people are cut off from communicating. Shelters are unable to reach local emergency services and people cannot check on the welfare of their loved ones. The situation is dire.

How can you help?

1)    Volunteer. ARC needs up to 50 radio amateurs who can help record, enter, and submit disaster-survivor information into the ARC Safe and Well system. There are very specific requirements and qualifications needed for this deployment; for instance, familiarity with Winlink, an Amateur Radio license of General class or higher, and previous experience in disaster response. Deployment will be for up to 3 weeks (at ARC expense). If you would like to be considered for deployment, please complete the following online ARRL form, which asks for your qualifications and skills: Volunteer Deployment Form

2)    Donate to Ham Aid. ARRL’s Ham Aid program loans Amateur Radio equipment kits to established Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) groups and partner agencies during disaster response, in order to establish Amateur Radio communications support. Ham Aid is supported by donations from individuals and corporations – including many of our ham radio industry partners. ARRL has previously staged Ham Aid equipment in Texas, and in the last few weeks, we have supplied kits in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Our supply of Ham Aid kits has been rapidly depleted. Your donation to Ham Aid will help us now. Your contributions to Ham Aid are 100% tax deductible. To make a donation online, go to www.arrl.org/arrl-donation-form and select “Ham Aid” from the ARRL donation form. To donate by mail, print a donation form, and mail it with your check payable to ARRL, noting “Ham Aid” on the memo line of your check; mail to ARRL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111 USA.

It has been four weeks since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas. In little over a month, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have left paths of destruction and catastrophic flooding that will impact the lives of people throughout the southeast U.S. and Caribbean for years to come. Throughout these disasters, our trained ham radio volunteers, and especially those in coordinating roles, have helped us meet the requests of our partner agencies and organizations. To all ham radio operators who have been on alert, activated, deployed, or donated, THANK YOU. We are grateful for your service and for your generosity.

73
Rick Roderick, K5UR
ARRL President

Ray Lajoie KB1LRL Elected Next WMA Section Manager

WMA ARRLNominations for ARRL Western Massachusetts Section Manager closed on last Friday, September 8th.  Only one WMA ARRL member submitted nomination paperwork for the election.  As a result, Ray Lajoie KB1LRL won the uncontested election.  Ray hails from Lunenburg and has long been a member and highly involved with the Montachusett ARA in a variety of roles.

Regarding his election, Ray states “I am looking forward to serving the Western Mass section and visiting the various clubs in the coming future. The months coming will be a lot of fact gathering and looking to see where we need to work on first.”

Ray will take the reins from current Section Manager Ed Emco W1KT on January 1, 2018, whom is standing down from the position after serving in that role for the last 12 years.

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

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

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.

QST to All Massachusetts Hams – S1685 Needs You!

recently received a personalized note from ARRL President Kay Craigie N3KN regarding how important Massachusetts amateur radio operators are for the passage of S. 1685, The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 right now.  She writes:

We are at a critical time for S. 1685, The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015, in the United States Senate. There is reason to think this legislation will be considered in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as early as next week. That is an extremely important step in the bill’s progress towards success.
We have learned that opponents of the legislation have urged their members to contact members of the Senate committee to communicate what can only be called bald-faced lies about the bill’s intent and effects.

A number of steps are being taken to counteract those lies. We have to remind the Senators on the committee that amateur radio operators in their states want them to support the bill. I’m asking for your help as Section Manager.

Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey is on the Commerce committee.

It is quick and easy to do what needs to be done.

Please phone the Senator’s office in Washington, DC, at or phone a local office. Or send an e-mail to the Senator using his official web page.

The message is simple: “I’m a constituent and an amateur radio operator. I urge Senator Markey to support S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act, when it comes up for a vote in committee on November 18th. Thank you.”

The Senator’s Washington, DC, phone number is posted at http://www.arrl.org/contacting-your-congressional-representatives.

His own web page showing local office numbers is at http://www.markey.senate.gov/.

Whether you phone or e-mail, the key thing is to do it now. As in, today.

If your Section has a web page or Facebook page, please this appeal there today. Whatever you can do to urge ARRL members in Massachusetts to contact the Senator right now and urge his support will be very important and deeply appreciated.

Sincere thanks and 73, Kay N3KN

Regardless if you are an ARRL member or not, if you are a licensed amateur radio operator living within Massachusetts, please consider following through with President Craigie’s request. Let’s show our support for our fellow amateurs that need this bill passed to put up a decent antenna system!

President Craigie also wrote directly to the Senate subcommittee yesterday on the ARRL’s behalf.  This can be viewed at: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/ARRL-S1685-Memo.pdf