A short time ago, Section Manager Ray Lajoie KB1LRL asked the members and clubs throughout the section to provide information on a variety of nets that are being run throughout the area.
The output of this activity is now available! The net listing is available on the main navigation menu What We Do > Operating > Net Listing.
Special thanks to John Nitzke, KF1KI for putting the listing together for us!
The New England QSO Party will be held on May 2nd and 3rd. Now’s your chance to be the sought after stations instead of the other way around!
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 by email which county you’ll be on from.
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.
The full NEQP rules are here. Hope to hear you on the air during the contest!
The Central MA Amateur Radio Association has recently started up a new Breakfast Net. The net runs on their W1BIM repeater system every day at 9 AM local as well as on 80m on 3982 kHz at 10 AM local.
The purpose of the Breakfast Net is twofold. First is to reach out to all hams in the area and keep us socially connected during these times of physical isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and enjoy some easy-going conversation. The second is to check in and see if anyone needs help during these times, with special attention towards older folks whom are more at risk from the virus. In many cases, the net arranges for others that are already going to be out and about to help get groceries or other supplies and deliver them to those more at risk.
All are welcome to check in on either the repeater or the HF versions of the net. See you there!
Hi everyone,
I am looking to add to our website a listing of all the nets in the state as well as within the listening footprint. These can be casual, emergency, hf or repeater nets. The Eastern Ma website has a good one available and want to combine them with what we get so anyone has a means to see whats there for nets.
The purpose is to give new hams a resource to use nets for on-air experience, also given the current situation it can give all hams a reliable, active resource in which to participate in various nets. The league has listings but they have not been updated in some time. Having ours on our website we can maintain it better.
Send me what you have to rplajoie@comcast.net. Even though I may already know it send it along. Include any nets you regularly participate in even if it’s from another state. The more, the merrier.
Thanks and stay safe and sane.
Ray KB1LRL
Congratulations to the latest new hams of Western Massachusetts:
Antonio J Costa, KC1MTR
320 S East St
Amherst, MA 01002-2615
Daniel P Lesperance, KC1MTS
63 Laskowski St
Chicopee, MA 01020-3577
Joseph P Gomes, KC1MTM
PO Box 24
Cummington, MA 01026-0024
Robert Denault, KC1MXD
36 Lombard Ave
East Longmeadow, MA 01028-1641
Mark Bouchard, KC1MTO
267 Parker St
East Longmeadow, MA 01028-2614
Sarah K Oelker, KC1MTX
75 Evergreen Dr
Holyoke, MA 01040-1619
Matthew Chipman, KC1MTQ
1 Chatham Way
South Hadley, MA 01075-7517
Peter G Goodale, KC1MTW
180 Stony Hill Rd
Wilbraham, MA 01095-1510
Gary G Boyd, KC1MTP
78 Lumae St
Springfield, MA 01119-2506
Craig A Melchiori, KC1MTN
42 Edgemere Rd
Dalton, MA 01226-2012
Samantha Wood, KC1MTY
188 Silver St
Greenfield, MA 01301-1804
Ronald T Malotte, KC1MWX
176 Maple Ave
Apt 5-01
Rutland, MA 01543-1337
Igor Leib, KC1MWJ
94 E Main St
Westborough, MA 01581-1417
Damien M Lapierre, KC1MUT
11 Westview Dr
Sutton, MA 01590-1848
Hi everyone. What a difference a month makes. Last month we were looking forward to meeting’s, hamfests, baseball, etc. Now the new sport that’s popular is toilet paper searches and keeping the kids occupied. Needless to say, this has become a sobering experience for a lot of people. This also brings a new respect for those into making (makers) and preppers. We as hams share similar interests as we are always working on our gear so it will work under bad conditions and situations. Now that we are hunkered down, I’m sure ham projects are getting worked on and caught up, and BETTER!
With the situation in place, clubs have had to cancel events and meetings. Members have been coming up with ways to stay active within the group. I have seen some new nets springing up and there is some online stuff as well. There is a WMA page on Facebook where clubs can share information and ideas. It is pretty secured so no junk will get in. Of course, any articles of interest to all can go to Gil, WK1H, Grant, KC1KCE, our new PIO, or myself. With that, The League as you know is all working from home and can be contacted via email. There have been questions regarding exam sessions that people have been preparing for. They are looking at this as well as other things to keep parts of these areas moving. There is chatter, although nothing confirmed that the Extra class question pool may get extended to cover those that were studying before the June 30 cutoff. I’ll keep you posted.
Some of you know of my latest act of insanity where I retired from my job and went to school and got my CDL. March 30 I will be out of state going to orientation and training with Schneider. When I am done, I will be going over the road over 37 states. This was a little premature but none of the local companies would not hire unless you have experience, despite the huge demand. I will still, the best I can continue to keep up to date, attend online meetings and answer emails and calls, etc. There is good forward momentum going on, I want to keep it going.
As I have mentioned in the past, I have always encouraged the advancement of Ham Radio in some form. Whether it’s learning a new mode, taking lessons on EMCOMM, building antennas, etc. If you have kids or grandkids, this is an excellent opportunity to “home school” them in science, or if you are good, math. This hobby richly promotes STEM, what a great opportunity while at home! While I am away and, on my downtime, I do plan on busting out the Morse Code cd’s and learning code…again! Let’s see where that gets me.
I hope everyone stays safe and healthy. With any luck we will be out of this and we get back to normal with the exception that we ALL, hams or not, have learned from this experience.
Thank you all and 73!
73,
Ray, KB1LRL
The following message was sent to all amateur radio operators that have signed up to volunteer at the Boston Marathon this year:
As you should now have read in the BAA’s email to all volunteers, the decision has been made to postpone the race this year. This was directed by the City of Boston and protects everyone involved with the Marathon; runners, volunteers, medical professionals, spectators, and others.
The BAA has posted their official statement on their website:
https://www.baa.org/124th-
We greatly appreciate our volunteers and the work that you do. There are a lot of logistics that go into planning the race and as we have more details in the coming months we will provide timely updates for volunteering for the new race date of September 14. We look forward to your participation on our Team then.
We wish you all the best and very much look forward to September 14th!
Thank you, and 73,
Yours sincerely,
Boston Marathon Communications Committee
contact@HamRadioBoston.org
Eastern and Western Massachusetts Section Traffic Manager KW1U has posted the latest NTS monthly report. It can be viewed on the Eastern Massachusetts ARRL website at this link.