Volunteering in Florida ARES Mutual Assistance

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The ARRL has been asked to share the following from the Communications Branch Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management:

“The State of Florida appreciates the service of ARES. State of Florida SEOC and its staff will never request individuals or provide individuals any information on an incident.  All requests for individuals in the ARES program in the State of Florida will follow the North Florida ARES Plan and direction of their Section Manager Stephen Szabo. Absolutely no direct communications to the SEOC or its staff is to be made by individuals to request to be deployed or provide services at anytime.”

Any amateur wishing to volunteer to assist needs to go through the ARRL Northern Florida Manager Steve Szabo’s established processes, as that is the system Florida Emergency Management is utilizing to coordinate Amateur Radio activities.  Under no circumstances should individual Amateurs contact Florida Emergency Management.

We also remind ARRL / ARES volunteers who may be assisting in support of the ongoing relief and recovery efforts that the only persons who should be speaking on behalf of the ARRL or its field organization are the ARRL Section Manager or their Public Information Coordinator / Public Information Officer.   Unfortunately we have had reports of false information being apparently shared via Amateur Radio channels.  This type of misinformation can negatively affect the hard work being done by various Emergency Management agencies involved, as well as the various agencies also providing assistance, and can be harmful to the efforts of the Amateur community trying to assist in the response and relief efforts. ARRL SMs, PICs, and PIOs only provide information publicly where it has been vetted by state officials, and only as directed.  Unauthorized false reports can seriously and negatively impact the work of relief and recovery officials as well as damage the good relationships that Amateurs have in those relief and recovery communities.  Let the trained PICs/PIOs do their jobs!

Thanks to the hundreds of Amateurs who are providing communications assistance as this story continues to unfold.  With everyone working in concert and through appropriate channels, your work is helping make a difference.

Dan Henderson, N1ND
Assistant Secretary, the American Radio Relay League, Inc.
Regulatory Information Manager
ARRL – the national association for Amateur Radio
Phone: 860-594-0236

Ray Lajoie KB1LRL Elected Next WMA Section Manager

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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.

Boxboro Speakers & Saturday Grand Banquet

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We are still looking for a few more great speakers to fill out our renowned forum program. If you have, or know of someone that has a forum topic, please contact Phil Temples k9hi@boxboro.org, or sign-up on our website at http://boxboro.org/forums-and-classes/speaker-signup. Speakers will receive a $10 coupon toward lunch at the hotel and get reserved close-in parking.

We are also accepting volunteers to staff our ticket booths, assist our speakers, and help out with parking. You can sign up as a volunteer here: http://boxboro.org/volunteer. Volunteers working at least 3 hours will receive a $10 coupon for lunch at the hotel.

Finally, please join us for our Saturday Night Grand Banquet featuring key note speaker Paul Stoetzer, N8HM. With an outwardly appearing modest apartment-based set up, Paul has racked up a huge list of awards. Come listen as he tells us how he did it. The $40 banquet admission also features a full buffet. Get seven of your friends together and purchase a table for 8 for $280, a $40 discount.

Tickets available at http://www.boxboro.org

73,
Bob – K1IW
Boxboro 2017! Publicity Chair

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.