Phil Temples

New Year’s Day Fox Hunt, South Windsor CT, January 1, 2026

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Foxhunting with tape measure yagiPaul, Gipson, N1TUP, writes:

Greetings Foxhunters,

Keeping with tradition, I will be hosting a Foxhunt on New Years Day at 1pm.

This hunt will be conducted in the same manner that we have previously conducted live foxhunts.  The hunters will assemble at the  91 Ayers Road in South Windsor, CT, home of the old Wapping Elementary School, be set up and ready to start by 1pm. The fox will take a roll call at 1pm on the BEARS repeater, 145.110 MHz, PL tone is 77.0 Hz.  This hunt will be conducted using the repeater for all communication and information sharing.  I encourage communication between participants and any base stations that can supply helpful information to the hunters.  Once you have spotted the fox you should stop all transmissions.  Pay attention, if someone says they are going to check an area and you never hear from them again, that might be a clue.  Remember not to hunt the repeater output frequency as that will just lead you to the repeater.  I will not be there.  You will want to listen on the repeater input frequency, 144.510MHz.  That is the frequency the fox will be transmitting on.

The fox will be located within 20 air miles of the starting point and not within Hartford or Springfield.  The fox will be on publicly accessible property that will not require anything other that a standard passenger car for access.  The fox will host a “tailgate” party at the end of the hunt at the “den”. 

If this is your first hunt, I would recommend riding along with someone who has done this before.  Dress warmly as you will be outside at the end for the party, the rest of the time you will be in and out of the car taking bearings etc.

Experience has shown that hunters will start arriving in the den about 1 hour after the start.  The event has a two hour time limit not including socializing in the den at the end.

Current information regarding this and other foxhunts in Connecticut are on groups.io. If you are not already a group member, you may want to consider signing up for the groups.io CTFOXHUNTER so that you do not miss any important foxhunt related news.

73,
Paul, N1TUP

Please forward this email to those who may have an interest in foxhunting, including CERT/Emcomm groups.  

Maine ARRL Section News

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ARRL logoPhil Duggan, N1EP, writes on the Maine ARRL Members Only list:

Thank you to all who participated in the Maine Simulated Emergency Test on Oct 25. As I write this letter, Hurricane Melissa is ravaging Jamaica. While Maine rarely gets such devastating storms, we are not immune, and must prepare by training, and then testing our emergency communications skills. Amateur Radio Emergency Services around the state did just that last Saturday. If you are interested in joining an ARES/RACES or other emcomm group, contact your county ARES Emergency Coordinator, or Maine Section Emergency Coordinator Derrick Ouellette, KW1A.

November is upon us and some fun operating activities are on the agenda, such as November Sweepstakes. Copy and paste this link into your browser for the ARRL contest calendar where you can find more info: https://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar.

The League is asking all hams and clubs to lend their support in getting the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act passed. Use this link to find out how you can help: https://www.arrl.org/current-legislation.

The Pine State Amateur Radio Club celebrated their 50th year with a banquet and awards event October 11 in Brewer. It was quite an impressive event and organizers, especially club president Ed Paradis, W1IZ, deserve a bravo Zulu for pulling it off. Former ARRL Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, was keynote speaker. It was good to sit and chat with Fred and Anita (AB1QB). I gave a Maine section update, and as expected, was heckled by K1GUP. I got even on a session of the Maine Seagull Net a few days later. (Just kidding!)

Speaking of the Seagull Net, after the time change this coming weekend, the net will start at 4:30pm instead of 5. This time of year 75 meters tends to go long a bit after 5pm and there is interference with other net down south and in the midwest. The SGN is on 3.940 MHz.  The Maine Emergency Communications net on same frequency but on Sunday Nov 9 and Nov 23 will also start at 4:30PM. Jim Kutsch, KY2D, will continue radiogram training during the Nov 9 session.

The first notice for the section manager election will be in the January QST. Want to exercise your leadership and management skills, and help shape the Maine ARRL section for a positive future? Consider running for section manager. You can find out the requirements, duties, and responsibilities and more information at this link: http://www.arrl.org/section-terms-nomination-information.

 

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ARRL Maine Section
Section Manager: Philip W Duggan, N1EP
n1ep@arrl.org
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IMPORTANT: Clear Frequencies for Caribbean Hurricane Impacts

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hurricane flagsBrian Szewczyk, NJ1F, writes on the YCCC list:

Some very important information about frequency to keep clear this weekend..

As the Caribbean faces potential hurricane impacts, IARU Region 2 has activated emergency nets on the following frequencies:

  • 40 meters: 7.198 MHz and 7.098 MHz
  • 20 meters: 14.198 MHz

If the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) activates, they will be operating on:

  • 14.325 MHz
  • 7.268 MHz

The amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC, will also be monitoring the HWN frequencies for real-time weather and situation reports.

This weekend coincides with the CQ World Wide SSB Contest, one of the busiest times on the bands. All operators are urged to exercise extra vigilance and avoid transmitting on or near these emergency and hurricane watch frequencies.

These nets are providing critical communication links supporting the Caribbean Islands and affected regions. Please ensure they have clear and reliable access to designated frequencies.

In summary:

  • Keep clear of 7.198, 7.098, 7.268, 14.198, and 14.325 MHz
  • Be aware of possible emergency or health-and-welfare traffic on nearby frequencies
  • Operate responsibly and help maintain open frequencies for those supporting hurricane response efforts.

Updates at https://www.arrl.org/news/tropical-storm-melissa-update

Brian

NJ1F

W1IS Awarded August 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award

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Congratulations to the two Bobs: PART members Bob, W1IS, and Bob, KC1DSQ, for winning their third QST Cover Plaque Award! Their article, An All-Band 160-Meter OCF Antenna, appeared in the August 2025 issue. This design also won first place in the 160 Meters, LF or VLF category of the 2024 QST Antenna Design Competition. Shown below is Bob Glorioso, W1IS, receiving the Cover Plaque award from Phil Temples, K9HI, New England Division Vice Director at the October PART of Westford meeting. [Photo courtesy PART of Westford website]

 

 

W1IS receives QST Coverr Plaque Award from K9HI

Pass the Bill! Have you Sent Your Letters?

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ARRL logoARRL’s push to pass the bill has great momentum, but we need EVERY radio amateur in the United States to send their letters.

Your participation can make the difference in passing this legislation.

It only takes seconds. If you’re a licensed ham in the US, go to https://send-a-letter.org/hoa/, enter your call sign, validate your address, and click the red SEND MY LETTERS button. It really is that easy!

In less time than it takes to make a single QSO, your letters will tell Congress to remove the legal restraints on hams living in restrictive HOAs to put up an antenna.

Follow the link at https://send-a-letter.org/hoa/ to send your letter now!

What it is:

The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act (see ARRL News 02/07/2025) is a pair of bipartisan bills — H.R.1094 in the House and S.459 in the Senate – which are designed to prevent restrictive homeowners’ association (HOA) rules that currently prohibit or severely limit the installation of amateur radio antennas, even when such antennas are hidden in trees, placed in attics, mounted on vehicles, or look like flagpoles.

Se Habla Español – Pasar el proyecto de ley

Si su lengua materna es el español, ARRL ha creado instrucciones y una página web para que envíe sus cartas al Congreso.

Descargue las instrucciones aquí:

https://send-a-letter.org/espanol/

“The Quest for Rooftop RF Signals: Working Around Urban Noise Issues”

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Sniffing RF noise on the rooftop of the Artisan's Asylum in Allsoton, MAArtisans Asylum (AA) is a makerspace located in the heavily populated Boston neighborhood of Allston.  AA hosts the Boston Amateur Radio Club as well as the Boston Urban Radio (BURG).

“The Artisans Makers decided to add the skills of Amateur Radio (Ham) several years back and begin teaching classes to the community.  Setting up an RF station in the Engineering and Robotics group at the Artisans was straight forward.”

Gregory Kenley, AC1NY, of Boston, describes the efforts that he and other Artisans members employed to overcome urban noise issues and successfully install an HF station in an RF-noisy environment.

[Full story]

ARISS Contact Opportunity, Call For Proposals

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ARISS logoFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Message to US Educators
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity
 
Call for Proposals
New Proposal Window is October 6th, 2025 – November 14th, 2025
 
October 4, 2025 — The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS.  ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan.
 
The deadline to submit a proposal is November 14th, 2025.  Proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory Webinar session will be held on October 15th at 8 PM ET.  The Zoom link to sign up is https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/hijg24mPRK69uGC0gUq8zw
 
The Opportunity
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session.
 
An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact.
 
Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. 
 
Please direct any questions to education@ariss-usa.org .
 
 About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org.