Category Archives: SM Report

   Hello, another busy month! But it actually included a vacation for me at Oswego, NY. A few hams got together and did a number of POTA activations along the shores of Lake Ontario. The photo below is at Fort Ontario (photo by Larry W1AST) Great weather and fun.

   Once I returned home, I had our usual section manager’s meeting with Mike Walter’s W8ZY and joining us was Dave Minster NA2AA our CEO to reveal the campaign to get the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act passed. This is to change the law regarding antennas in HOA restricted communities. This is a well-planned effort to include a very simple process to get letters sent by all hams to their respective Senators and Representatives. The letters you send are going directly into their hands by the lobbyists for delivery. This is getting widespread promotion by podcasters, and social media and others. I have visited a few clubs to promote this and placed it in our social media outlets. Please help in talking to every ham about it and make sure the letters are sent. For more, go to https://www.arrl.org/current-legislation

   The CMARA Club in Holden got some great new as they are going to have the opportunity to conduct a ARISS space station contact with the Worcester Ecotarium. They have approved the plan and are looking at a March 2026 event. More details will follow as they come.

   There has been more and more word of POTA activations going on. This is awesome as this activity is still growing like wildfire. This activity is going to play well with the upcoming “Clubs on the Air” program starting in January. Why not when you can put some radios and antennas in a qualified park get some members and play radio. For added fun bring a grill or some treats! There will be more details about the COTA program as it is still getting planned.

   Every two years, notice goes out in QST about section manager elections. This year all the section managers that was posted was uncontested and was re-elected, including me. (Your stuck with me! 😊) But I do present one important question, (or two) What if I did not run? Who would take over if I was not able to serve anymore? You need to give this a thought. More and more elected positions are going unopposed. Even directors! Yes, it is a commitment, it is a volunteer job but an important one. There is work involved. All in all, it’s not that hard. I had to learn the job by myself. And there are ups and downs, but overall, I find it to be rewarding. I have met new friends, learned a lot of things, and promoted amateur radio and the clubs in my area. Consider seeking an appointment for my section. I have no problem with anyone taking a job to advance to my position! I will “mentor” you. I am here, talk to me!

   So, let’s see what October brings us. Some big contests coming up and of course it is Near-Fest on the 3^rd and 4^th. The Nutmeg Hamfest is the weekend after. Also, October 4^th is our Western Ma SET for ARES. Thanks to Chuck WS1L for the efforts in putting this together. If you can help, contact him or your area DEC.

   Enjoy the fall foliage working in your favorite park or to the hamfest and see friends old or new and maybe buy that treasure.

73 de Ray AA1SE

   “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

   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

Well, another month gone. Not like I’ll miss it. It was challenging with the snow and cold we had. Hopefully the worst is over and the good stuff will return,

   A shout out goes to the NOBARC club in Pittsfield. They have ramped up Tech classes, and VE sessions to boost their club. Eric KA1SUN, Cory N1XWS, and Chuck WS1L and others have been working on boosting the hobby in them thar hills 😊and their efforts are evident! Other clubs can benefit from this as the evidence is showing favorably that outreach and mentoring is working and benefits YOUR club! It does take some effort by all members to make it happen!

   As usual, I was at the Algonquin Hamfest in Marlboro and it was a good one despite the attendance was a bit off. I think the weather scared off some people as a storm was approaching. I know I was quite busy the whole time and I Did spend time doing some mentoring to some newbies. An added bonus to having tables with goodies there. Try it out sometime! The next one is on March 1 in Chicopee for the Mt. Tom club. Hopefully we will have a dandy crowd there. See flyer elsewhere.

   With any luck the function of sending an email via the league to the section members is fixed. YAY! Only been 9 months. Gee a rebirth! I will try it when this gets published.

   Phil, K9HI, Jon K1ILZ the Eastern Ma Section MGR., myself along with other’s have continued to work on the revitalization of NTS. We are currently regrouping and rearranging things to move things forward more. Anyone can go to nts2.arrl.org and see information user accessible video’s, trainings, and more highlighting our efforts. If you want to get involved we would love to hear from you. Just email myself or k9hi@arrl.org to find out more.

   The New England Convention is making some noise as August will be fast approaching. They are looking for speakers and passing out flyers. They were actually at the Marlboro Flea market promoting the event.

   At this point all I can say to end this is COME ON SPRING!!!!!

73

Ray AA1SE  

Hello, the celestial odometer has clicked off another number! I hope everyone has a Happy New Year. Now the question is, will it be boring or exciting. As they say, time will tell.

First off, I received the news that Steve Boyson N1VLG passed away. He was the State Government Liaison for Eastern Mass. He also assisted WMA as that position could not be filled. The SGL position is described as such:

The section’s State Government Liaison is the primary contact for all governmental affairs having the potential to affect amateur radio. The SGL helps inform legislative and regulatory entities of the importance in amateur radio considerations in each bill, and potentially helps muster a section wide amateur radio publicity campaign to bills as needed. Requires full ARRL membership. The WMA SGL will be expected to work in lockstep with the EMA SGL as they would both be working to the same goals with the same state government.

If there is anyone interested in this please contact me. Ideally, both Massachusetts ARRL sections could have their own SGL. EMA had graciously assisted us and I appreciate that. That voice representing us is important!

As January 1 approaches we also have a changing of the guard in our division director as Tom K1KI takes over once again. I wish to thank Fred AB1OC for his three years of dedicated, hardworking service. I know one item on Tom’s agenda is to get the Tech class HF privileges that the FCC has sat on for years finalized, approved and placed in operation. This can be a huge step in getting more techs on HF to keep them active and advancing themselves in the hobby.

Usually, I look at the New Year and look at what kind of mayhem I can cause this year. 😊 I am still continuing to run license classes with a General class course coming soon. One thing is my club visits has fallen off largely due to my mother’s health issues and did not want to stray too far. Hopefully I will be able to get out and see you again.

One thing I am going to work on is increasing activity with traffic handling. I am asking nets to look at generating traffic to other hams and taking messages and delivering them. Many nets call for check in’s and ask if there is any traffic. This does have the potential to wake up the nets as there is more activity. Traffic can be within the net, between clubs, even section and country-wide. I have been presenting and hosting Zoom sessions on traffic and NTS and am planning more. I do have training materials available on the nts2.arrl.org website under training and documentation. The ema.arrl.org has a section worth looking at under National Traffic System. Contact me for any questions or for more information.

The next thing is the continuing saga of the practice of mentoring. (yah! That same ole rodeo) I continue to see where mentoring has had positive effect on that new ham. I have interacted with some new hams that have passed the exam at my session. I see firsthand the level of interest when you take an interest in them. Ok, it’s a little effort and with persistence it WILL pay off for your club. There is more to a club than going there to gulp down coffee and treats! Be an important part and participate to help the club grow with members and activity. Remember who taught YOU when you were a newbie.

Ok, the soapbox is creaking a little so I need to get off of it! My hopes are we can work together in raising the needle and keep the momentum moving. Thank you to all the participants in 2024 and hope we have bigger numbers in 2025! You know where I’m hiding.

73,
Ray AA1SE