Greetings ARRL members and friends,
The 100th anniversary of the establishment of radio station WBZ will take place in September. The Billerica (MA) Amateur Radio Society, along with the Hampden County Radio Association in Springfield, MA will be commemorating WBZ’s 100th anniversary by conducting a special operating event starting at 1300z/9:00 am EDT September 17 and ending at 0400z/12 am EDT on September 19. Amateurs using the callsigns W1W, W1B, W1Z, and WB1Z will make two-way contact with other amateurs across all bands on SSB, AM, CW, and digital modes. A special QSL card will be sent to anyone who contacts one or more of the special event stations and sends a card accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. A historical sheet will also be available for download. Volunteer operators are being sought. If you might be interested in operating one of the special stations, please contact Larry Krainson, W1AST, at wb1dby@comcast.net. Seeking New England operators only at this time. More information on this event at https://nediv.arrl.org/wbz100/ .
VE exams are being offered at 9 AM on August 14th by Blackstone Valley ARC at Our Savior’s Parish, 500 Smithfield Rd, Route 146A, Woonsocket. Download form 605 from the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/files/file/VEs/605%20Form_2020_Fully%20Interactive.pdf and fill in with your name, address and what you are seeking. Bring it along with other required items to the exam session.
Exams are also being offered by the Newport County ARC on September 11th at St Lucy’s Catholic Church, 909 W Main Rd. Middletown. Bring a completed form 605 form, shown above. Pre-registration at www.W1SYE.org is required.
Dave Arruzza, W1CTN and his wife Nancy of nearby Ansonia CT. lost their home to a fire on July 1st. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help them, http://www.gofundme.com/f/help-dave-and-nancy-rebuild-after-a-fire . Personally, I can identify with Dave and Nancy. My wife Barbara and I lost our home to a fire in August, 1992. Logs, QSLs, equipment and just about everything else was destroyed. It was terrible.
The Consortium which was conducted at the Asia Grille by members of BVARC was halted last year because of Covid restrictions after 14 years of operation. The Consortium provided basic radio training, the sort of basic learning that we old timers obtained while studying to obtain our licenses. The made-easy methods of learning material needed to pass Tech through Extra tests did so without teaching much regarding why things worked as they did. I’m pleased to report the return of the Consortium. Unfortunately, the Asia Grille cannot accommodate us due to some internal logistical problems at the present time but the Manville Sportsmen’s Club, 250 High St, Manville is willing to provide us with quarters for October, November and December. It will be determined at the end of that period how and where the Consortium will continue. During the Covid time out, study material was provided by e mail, which is not as beneficial but is useful and hopefully welcome.
A new RF safety regulation issued by FCC requires us to measure our transmitting capabilities to assure that we are in compliance. A simple to use free calculator is available on the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-now-provides-free-rf-exposure-calculator . Please use this to measure your RF exposure. Keep a copy of the results with your station records. You do not need to send a copy to FCC.
The New England Division Convention is fast approaching. Their website is open and we may purchase registration tickets on line at https://hamxposition.org/ . I have registered and hope to see many fellow RI Amateurs at this great event. It will be a live convention, much better than the virtual meetings that COVID forced us into.
Our Section Emergency Coordinator, Paul W1PJS along with two of his ECs, Scott Tillotson WX1X and Sean McGrath W1SMM were guests of the Providence Radio Association (PRA) and presented what ARES is doing for RI and the communities these days. Paul would be happy to visit your club meeting and make a similar presentation. You may contact Paul at W1pjs@hollowsolids.com .
There seems to be some tension existing among the participants planning the Bouvet Island DXpedition which is planned for late 2022 or early 2023. Read the latest at http://www.arrl.org/news/bouvet-island-dxpeditions-are-in-planning-stages-for-2021-2022-and-2023 The only things we can be sure of at this time is that the Bouvet operation will take place during our winter in Rhode Island. It’s their summer on Bouvet. The other sure thing is that we need to stay tuned because we haven’t heard the last of the plans from the 3Y0 teams. Bouvet is a very rare and wanted DX entity, second in demand only to North Korea which stands alone in first place as the most wanted. Thousands of DXers worldwide are ready and anxious to work Bouvet Island and add it to their DXCC list. What happens next has the attention of every DXer.
Postal rates are going up for the second time this year. On August 29th, domestic rates increase from 55 to 58 cents per ounce and international rates go from $1.20 to $1.30 per ounce. Time to stock up now on “forever” stamps and save a few pennies on your QSL mailing.
Stay well.
73,
——————————————————————–
ARRL Rhode Island Section
Section Manager: Robert G Beaudet, W1YRC
w1yrc@arrl.org
——————————————————————–