West Connecticut Hamfest & Swap, Newtown, CT, August 29, 2021

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Electronics and Amateur Radio Hamfest: August 29, 2021

Sponsored by the Candlewood Amateur Radio Association

Contact: John Morelli

Telephone: 203-417-0160

Email: W1JGM@arrl.net

Website: hamfest.cararadioclub.org

We are back for 2021, Candlewood Amateur Radio Association (CARA) will be hosting the Western Connecticut Hamfest and Swap meet on August 29th from 8 am till 1PM. This annual event is held at the Edmond Town Hall, at 45 Main Street, Newtown, CT. This is “The Biggest Little Hamfest in Western CT” and is sure to have plenty for all electronics, maker, and Amateur Radio enthusiasts.

Every year, enthusiasts from the greater Danbury area and surrounding states gather to swap gear, knowledge, and stories. This year there will be an amateur radio license testing session (9:30 am) as well as a presentation about emergency communication and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) at 10:30AM. Get those books out and get, or upgrade, your FCC Amateur Radio license at the same time you look around and find that piece of tech you can’t go home without.

There will be electronics and radio equipment vendors, tailgating, and refreshments as well. Door prizes will be announced periodically, You are entered with your admission ticket. Raffle tickets will be sold for some great gear as well.

There are still spaces available for tailgate sales spots or tables in our indoor area. At $15 and $20, respectively, these spots include one admission each. Get rid of that gear you don’t use anymore. There is sure to be someone there interested in your unused computer, electronic or radio gear. Regular admission is $7 at the door ($1 discount with the flyer, available at our website). Kids under 12 are free!

For further information go to hamfest.cararadioclub.org or contact John Morelli W1JGM at W1JGM@arrl.net<mailto:W1JGM@arrl.net> or 203-417-0160.

Tally Ho! A Fox is Loose in Bedford, NH Vicinity, July 31, 2021

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Al Grant, KB1HYL, writes on the Granite State ARA mailing list at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2021:

Just to let you know, the fox is loose.  Since the power output is so low (15 milliwatts) and not easy to receive with an omnidirectional antenna, I’ll tell you that the fox is somewhere in Earl Legacy Park in Bedford, NH.

Sorry it took me so long to get started today, but the fox will be loose until about 6 or 7 Sunday afternoon.  I’ll get more efficient as I do this more often.

73

Wayne – KB1HYL

Fox is Hiding in the Manchester, CT Vicinity, July 30, 2021

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Rod Bungard, N1RUU, writes on the ctfoxhunter list at 5:21 PM on July 30, 2021:

Greetings Fox hunters,
 
Fox #5 PL 123.0
 
Is out hiding, the fox is running 1.5 watts into a 18 inch antenna. Since there is no starting place for finding the hidden transmitter, all you can do is while going about your travels, periodically try to activate the hidden transmitter. Your first try may be from home. You do this by going on the 2 meter simplex frequency of 146.550 MHz (PL 123.0), key your transmitter, ID and then send a DTMF “1”. If the FoxBox can hear you and you can hear it, you will hear its very distinctive sound. It will transmit for 30 seconds, ID and then go back to sleep. You can make it transmit as often as necessary to find it.

Once someone has been able to bring it up and hear it, please report that information to the other fox hunters. Feel free to reply to the group. Do not reveal its location, just a location (and direction if possible) from which you are able to hear it. This then becomes a starting point for the other fox hunters to use.

You do not actually have to touch the box to claim finding it. If you hunt the Fox please log to this group even if you don’t find it.

Hint: Can be heard from Lowe’s in Manchester. Location, after you find the box look at the Sassafras growing in the area.  The plants have different shaped leaves on the same plant.

Good luck.

Rod N1RUU

St. Albans ARC Hamfest, August 7, 2021

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Paul Gayet, AA1SU, writes on the Vermont ARRL Members Only list:

I would like to invite you to the St Albans Amateur Radio Club (STARC) Hamfest on Saturday, August 7 from 8 AM to Noon.  It will be held at the VFW on 335 Lake Street in St Albans.  Admission is $5.  This includes buyers, tailgaters, or inside sellers.  Under 18 years old is free admission.

There will also be Ham Radio License testing at 9 AM.  Bring $15 cash, FRN from the FCC, and email your address.

The talk-in repeater will be 145.230 -100 Hz.

Here is a link to the official flyer: https://www.starc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/STARC-Hamfest-2021-scaled.jpg

After the Hamfest, you are invited to the Radio Amateurs of Northern Vermont (RANV) summer picnic.  This is just down the road at Kamp Kill Kare State Park in St Albans Bay.  RANV pays the admission.  Just tell the Ranger you are with the Ham Radio people, and he/she will point the way.  The club will supply some drinks and charcoal.  You bring your own food and bathing suit (optional).  The hours are from 11 AM to 3 PM.

Getting to the park is fairly easy.  You just stay on the same road as the VFW, and head towards the lake (2.5 miles?).  At the lake, the road turns right.  Go north for 0.7 miles. After the small bridge turn left on Hathaway Point Road.  Go 3 miles down the curvy road to the park entrance.

I hope to see you there.

——————————————————————–
ARRL Vermont Section
Section Manager: Paul N Gayet, AA1SU
aa1su@arrl.org
——————————————————————–

New Job Opening at ARRL Headquarters: EMC Engineer

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Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, writes on the ARRL Members Only list:

Now that Paul Cianciolo, W1VLF, has assumed the responsibilities of the ARRL Product Review Test Engineer, the position of ARRL EMC Engineer has been posted on the Employment section of the ARRL web page. This is a full-time position in the ARRL Lab in Newington.

http://www.arrl.org/employment-opportunities

 

VJ Day Parade, Moosup, CT, August 8, 2021

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Tim Rodgers, KC1TWR, writes on the RASON and TriCityARC mailing lists:

For those available Sunday August 8th late morning and early afternoon who would like to help ECARA out with the VJ Parade on Moosup. 

Volunteers should be on post by 11:00 AM. Parade steps off at 1 PM sharp. It’s usually clear by 3:30. Most posts consist of being on a side street where a division steps off and providing assistance and comms to the parade committee volunteer on post.  Most of the radio traffic consists of a call to net control to find out where someone is supposed to stage for the parade.
Contact  John Szamocki at szamocki@charter.net
 
73,
Tim KC1TWR

———- Forwarded message ———
From: John Szamocki <szamocki@charter.net>
Date: Mon, Jul 26, 2021 at 12:43 PM
Subject: [ecara] VJ Day Parade
To: ECARA Reflector <ecara-reflector@groups.io>

Hello All. I know it’s short notice but we need radio ops to cover the VJ Day Parade route in Moosup, Ct on Sunday August 8, 2021. We are looking for a total of 8 volunteers to assist with the parade. Please email me ASAP if you. Can help with this.

73
John Szamocki K1CSP
ECARA President

HamXposition Update

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HamXposition logoOnly 5 1/2 weeks to HamXposition 2021: September 10, 11 & 12  at the Best Western in Marlborough!

Hotel rooms are still available at the discounted rate of $99.  Contact the hotel on their local phone number (508)  460-0700 and tell them you want the HamXposition rate.

We are still in need of volunteers to assist with parking, ticketing, and the logistics involved with keeping our forums on schedule.  Volunteers working at least one 2-hour shift will receive free admission.  You can volunteer at https://hamxposition.org/volunteer

General Admission Tickets are now available retail at Ham Radio Outlet in Salem, NH and at Electronics Plus in Littleton, MA

Online ticketing is almost ready – stay tuned for an announcement when it goes live.

HAM BOOTCAMP

Nashua Area Radio Society is proud to once again offer Ham Bootcamp. It includes a series of demonstrations and tutorials designed to help newly licensed Technician, General, and Extra class license holders get on the air and use their amateur radio license. Bootcamp is also a great opportunity for prospective Hams who are interested in seeing what the hobby has to offer.

Ham Bootcamp activities are geared towards Technicians and prospective Hams and General class licenses and higher Hams. Bootcamp participants will find all of this material interesting and fun no matter what their focus or license level.

The Bootcamp program is available to all licensed and prospective Hams. You can register for the Friday, September 10 Ham Bootcamp session at HamXposition by visiting <https://www.n1fd.org/ham-bootcamp/>.

TECH IN A DAY

Bill Poulin, WZ1L, and members of the Cape Ann ARA will once again offer “Tech in a Day” at HamXposition on Saturday, September 11, 2021.

This program has served the local community in getting newly excited people to become licensed amateurs. The program will run approximately 0800-1700. It concludes with a dedicated Volunteer Exam session.

Prospective candidates should purchase the ARRL Technician Class License Manual and read the manual before attending the class.  The book can be purchased at Ham Radio Outlet or the ARRL.

If you have any questions, contact Bill at (978) 504-9112 (Cell) or email <billpoulin01913@gmail.com>.

NEW ENGLAND ARES ACADEMY

Complementing our Saturday programming, we’re pleased to host the ever-popular New England ARES Academy featuring workshops and talks aimed at getting you prepared and ready to face any EmComm situation. The program includes:

  • Intro to ARES
  • HF Propagation for EmComm
  • Getting Started with WinLink Express
  • SKYWARN Refresher
  • Tactical Message Handling
  • Lessons Learned from the “Big Ones”
  • Intro to NEBMS
  • Go-kit Strategies

ARES / Mesh Networking Training, August 4 & August 15, 2021

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AREDN logoSteve Goldsmith, W1HS, writes on the Twin State Radio Club mailing list:

Good opportunity to learn about Mesh networking if anyone is interested.

—
Hello All,

Greater Manchester ARES invites other ARES groups to participate in mesh network training.

The first session is a zoom meeting on Wednesday, August 4th from 6:30 to 8:00pm. The second session is hands-on training in Goffstown on Sunday, August 15th, 9am to noon.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN – arednmesh.org) provides customized mesh software that can be flashed to commercial wifi routers, primarily in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands that are shared according to FCC Part 15 and Part 97 rules.

The AREDN software functions as a digital network with and without internet availability. Greater Manchester has had 5GHz nodes at Elliot Hospital and Catholic Medical Center operating continuously for 2 years. A node at the Manchester EOC was added recently. The Greater Manchester network supports email, chat, file transfer, and VOIP telephone services.

Training in August will focus on understanding how to access an AREDN network over dedicated wifi, exchanging email with Winlink Express over the network, and using the chat and simple file transfer capability built into the 5GHz routers.

Participants will use their own laptop computers with wifi capability, and with an installed browser and Winlink Express. The zoom meeting on August 4th will focus on introducing mesh networking, and configuring participant laptops for the hands-on exercise.

Those who plan to participate in the hands-on exercise should attend the zoom meting. Others interested in an introduction to AREDN mesh networks are also welcome to join the zoom meeting.

Please let me know who should be on a mailing list for additional information. I am sending this to a couple of email lists, so apologies in advance to those who receive multiple copies. Feel free to share with others. The more the merrier!

73,

Jay K1EHZ
k1ehz -at- arrl -dot- net

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