Category Archives: SM Report

Hello Western Mass.  I’m sure by now we are starting to come out of hibernation and thinking warm thoughts which is what I hope to be a warm, sunny season coming up.

First of all, join me in welcoming Peter Mattice, KD2JKV to a new position as Assistant Section Manager.  Peter is currently one of the WMA Assistant Section Traffic Managers and will continue with that role as well.  Peter will be concentrating on the northwest corner and Berkshire county which I find to be a real challenge to get out there.  He also does a radio show and podcast dedicated to ham radio called Ham On! which is broadcasted on WTBR in Pittsfield every Wednesday at 9:00 AM.  I was a recent guest on his show and had fun with it!  Welcome Peter!

Hamfest’s are warming up! I was at the Marlboro hamfest and as usual was a great time. My next one is at Mt. Tom hamfest for Saturday, March 7th. With that will also be representatives for ARES and RACES for our section so stop by and say howdy!

On a personal note, a number of members are aware of my career change to a commercial truck driver. As of Jan 15, I did receive my Class A drivers license and have been looking for a position. The vast majority of local companies failed to respond to my applications except one. I will be driving over the road which will keep me out of state quite a bit. This will limit my appearances somewhat for a while and my intent is to keep an open line of communication. With any luck, I can still attend field day and Boxboro. (Oh, wait, HamExposition!) I need to see how things are with time. There is some great momentum going on and want to see it blossom.

For those who are not aware, Grant, KC1KCE has set up a Facebook account for our section. All are welcome to post club and public service events and other information as well. This is also linked to this website so when items like my report goes on this site, it populates to Facebook. This is to expand our information pipeline to get news and events out more. Thanks, Grant, for the stellar effort!

As you know, our Section has initiated a Mentoring program which ran into a little snag in the brochure we introduced. It has now been revised and approved and you will see it on the website for all to download and modify as needed for your club or event. I would love to get some feedback as to what you did and if this has a positive impact on the new ham.

Our resident Near-Fest creator, Mr. Mike W1RC came up with an idea where he created an email and with some of our members help, emailed 99.9% of the states police departments to educate them on ham radio exemption to give them clarity and to ensure with the distracted driving law which is now in effect. A number of departments replied with appreciation that they received the information. Keep in mind, if you are pulled over and you get a ticket, just take it and bring it up to the court. I do not anticipate a problem, but just in case. Thanks to all who assisted in the effort in getting the word out.

Boy, I had a mouthful to report this month! Please keep spreading the word according to Amateur Radio! Thank you all for a wonderful month.

73,
Ray, KB1LRL

Hello everyone, Happy New Year! Today I officially begin my second term in this role. I am looking forward to this as now I have something to work with in terms of a staff. To those who have supported me the past two years, I can’t say it enough, Thank you! Now, let’s move it forward!

One of the things I plan on doing is getting together with key people and getting information on what went well or bad and what we need to do to make this section stronger and function better.

Earlier this week we had a visit from mother nature which had all the making of being an ice storm equal to 2008. Thankfully the result was far from that but just the same there was a need for some readiness. Special thanks go out to all those who monitored and conducted nets and provided weather reports. This can certainly act as a building block to improve our ARES program.

In a couple of weeks, our ARRL New England Division Director Fred Hopengarten  K1VR will be conducting the annual cabinet meeting to have club presidents, section managers and other section representatives from New England gather and share comradery, ideas, issues, etc. as the League will have their board meeting shortly after. If you have anything to bring up you are welcome to shoot me an email and I will bring it forward. Meetings such as these have definitely been heard at the League and acted on as well.

As usual, the help wanted sign is still out. You can certainly add to the New Year’s resolutions and volunteer for one of the open positions we have.

That’s all for now hope to see you as I start up visits to meetings.

73,
Ray KB1LRL

Hi fellow amateurs, the question of the month is WHERE DID THE YEAR GO??? It’s November! I was just finishing Field Day. Yeesssh! So many things to do and no time, now it’s getting cold now. Oh well, soldier on.

Sunday, Nov 3 was an important day as our section had our first Section Emergency Test (SET) in a verrrry long time. Bob K1YO put it together largely where our strengths and weaknesses are. All in all this was a successful exercise and indeed, it revealed to us where we need to work on to further strengthen our emergency program. Mine is to set up and operate Winlink and FLDigi. Thanks once again Bob for getting it back together again.

If you haven’t noticed the website is looking a little different. Gil, WK1H has switched to a new service for various reasons and it looks good. Of course, you have to visit the website regularly to see the difference! (hint,hint!) We could use a new logo though. Anyone with artistic skills draw some up and send them to me. The one selected will get a new ARRL Handbook. (I actually sent out this offer in January. Nothing but crickets!).

Looking at the New Ham listings, the western part of the state is showing strong activity with new license and upgrades. I am curious, what works for your club? what do you do? Can other clubs benefit from this? I have ideas and am working on a project to aid in this. But am I missing something? I would love to hear about it. My visits to the clubs have revealed so much but maybe I missed something. Let me know.

That’s enough mumbo-jumbo for now. I just want to say if I don’t see you, have a safe, fun Thanksgiving weekend.

73, Ray KB1LRL

Hello everyone, I held off this month’s report to include Boxboro’s Hamfest which if you missed it, shame on you!

Boxboro provided pretty much the usual cast of characters and events. Most of the outdoor flea vendors were a little worried with Dorian dumping its remnants in the area but, luckily it left us at 6 am and the sun broke out and went into a great day. Some of us turned a great shade of red as a result. The flea market actually looked better than last year on Sunday as they migrate to the hamfest in Albany NY.

There was a great selection of forums that unfortunately doing the flea market restricts me from attending them and I wish Sunday was just as good to go to them. Oh well! I will point out that our SEC, Bob K1YO co hosted an SEC forum with Rob Macedo and others and soon after that I was receiving many compliments on how great his part of the talk was! Bob has continued to impress. I can’t thank him enough for the effort he has done for our section. Next time you see him do the same!

On a personal note I had really one item I needed to accomplish and after 9 years finally achieved it, and that was get my Extra Class License upgrade. It’s surprising how a few pieces of paper can get someone so nerved up! But now it’s out of the way. Time to enjoy the privileges!

I do not know if it is just me, but I noticed QST has been later than normal. The last copy I got was a bit ruffled up. I did get and email from someone reporting the same. If you are getting them damaged or late, let the league know as well as myself.

One other thing, by a unanimous decision, (no one else stepped up!) I was elected to a second term as your Section Leader. So, the good thing is we can keep going on getting our section where it should be. I have a project or two in the works going on and am always looking for positions to be filled to round out our staff. Please give it a thought and join in the fun. It really is not rocket science. (Except for the tech specialists! Hi-hi)

That’s enough gab for this round. Many clubs are starting their new season. Keep me posted as to what activities are going on. Some clubs do a great job of doing that and would love to see more.

Have a great one!
73,
Ray, KB1LRL

Hello, I’m sure by now you have recovered from Field Day, tabulated your scores and feel good about what you accomplished this year. Regardless of outcome it should always have been a successful mission. Some of the clubs reported participation a little off this year. Tough to determine the reason why and it varies, but it makes me think. Are we getting older and tired? Have priorities changed? Are we bored? Tough to tell and I would say yes to all of them. We actually had 1 club that did not participate this year. I hope they will return next year. It is always best to do a after action debriefing to evaluate how the event performed and what could be improved.

One of the visits was at CMARA which is at the Aldrich Astronomy Field in Oakham. That is a great spot and it was buzzing with activity. Of course, around the “mess hall” where I found they have a killer feast there. But importantly there was a variety of activity there including satellite contact where there was over a dozen contacts made. FCARC had someone trying but this is a great thing to demonstrate to people as to what we can do with radio. Others there were trying out new antenna builds and the FT8 mode has been present at the sites also. Thanks to all who participated on a job well done by all.

Bob, K1YO has been hard at work on getting ARES put together and functioning as well. We now have a communication plan in place, and are still getting EC and DEC positions filled, but great progress is being made. Clubs can use this as some of the new hams coming in are getting their licenses largely for EMCOMM.

The July edition of QST has announced the nomination opening for the Western Mass section manager position. This is a 2-year term. In the ARRL site there are nomination instructions including a nomination signature form. I. myself am going to seek reelection, but anyone else is welcome to throw their hat into the ring.

With Field Day out of the way I am going to look at getting the Mentoring program more established and functional. I will be looking for the Tech Specialist’s to reach out to the clubs and make them more aware that this recourse is available to them and to encourage others to volunteer for this position as well.

With summer now upon us and great weather is here, it is a great time to get out there and do something radio related like contacting someone doing SOTA or IOTA, trying out a new field antenna, etc. I myself will be testing and trimming single band dipoles I have built as well as starting my trailer project. It’s not all about radio, spend time with friends and family too!

73 to all!
Ray KB1LRL