Phil Temples

PART CW Training and Kit Purchase

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PART of Westford logoPART of Westford (MA) President George Allison, K1IG, writes:

The Police Amateur Radio Team (PART) of Westford, MA, is getting ready for Field Day (only five months away!), and one of the things we’re doing is CW training. We’ll be running a course for CW newbies (probably using the CWOps curriculum), and our members show a lot of interest in learning.

We’ve also made a bulk purchase of Morserino kits for our members. If you haven’t seen a Morserino, it’s quite a gadget, incorporating a keyer, display, code reader, touch paddles, speaker, CW trainer, and LoRa transceiver. It’s about the easiest kit you’ll ever build; one hour is all it took me, and it worked the first time!

If bought individually through the Morserino website, these keyers are about $100 with free shipping (very slow, through the post office with no tracking), or about $130 with DHL shipping (about 5 days from Austria, with tracking). Since we ordered 20 kits, Morserino gave us a bulk discount, so the kits, with DHL shipping, cost $94 each. Shipping in bulk accounted for much of the savings: shipping one kit via DHL is $30, shipping 20 kits was $72. PART has a kit-building fund that subsidized some of the cost, so we offered the kits to members for $50 each, and they quickly sold. 

Other clubs may want to make a bulk purchase. It takes at least 14 to get a discount, and I found that corresponding directly with the head of Morserino (info@morserino.info) about a bulk purchase is more effective than ordering through the website. If one club can’t get enough orders, perhaps several clubs can get together.

I was surprised by the interest in CW, especially among the newer hams and the “no-code Extras,” and I’m looking forward to fights in the Field Day CW tent for operating time!

HamXposition 2024 Banquet Speaker: Dr. Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW

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image of Dr. Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW
Dr. Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW

We’re pleased to announce that Dr. Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW, will be the invited guest speaker for the Northeast HamXposition / ARRL New England Division Grand Banquet on Saturday, August 24, 2024.

Tamitha is a new kind of weather forecaster for our modern world. As we become more reliant on technology like our cell phones, GPS (GNSS), and other satellite services (and our use of the Amateur Radio bands) we find we are more susceptible to the effects of Space Weather. Just like terrestrial weather on Weather can Earth, Space be as mild as a rainstorm or as wild as a hurricane.

WX6SWW will show you in non-science jargon how this new kind of weather impacts your daily life. You will never look at the Sun or the Earth in the same way again. After all, Space Weather is just like the weather in your own backyard, it’s just a little further up.

ARRL is New Publisher of Gordon West, WB6NOA

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Gordon West, WB6NOAARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® has become the new publisher of the Amateur Radio License Preparation books and related resources authored by Gordon West, WB6NOA. Gordon West’s popular books, classes, and audio courses have been a mainstay of amateur radio licensing for over 40 years. Generations of hams have learned from ‘Gordo’, and now the impact of his knowledge and experience will continue with the reach and resources of ARRL. [full story]

Volunteer Registration for the 2024 Boston Marathon is Underway

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Rob Macedo, KD1CY, writes:
 
We are about two-thirds of the way to our goal for Amateur Radio volunteers for the 2024 Boston Marathon. The registration deadline is Friday, February 2, 2024. It is a hard deadline. We’d like to make sure we achieve our goal and have reserves for the myriad of cancellations that we get as we near the event. We prefer folks to register now even if they are unsure they can do the event and if they can’t make it, they cancel within a reasonable period of time versus not registering because they aren’t sure if they can volunteer as after the deadline, we usually can’t accommodate any new registrants per BAA policy. The details on volunteer registration is listed below between the hashtags and please post these details as is to your various email lists (for any credit cited on the email, please credit the Boston Marathon BAA Amateur Radio Communications Committee versus me personally as we are a committee team so I am just taking care of this task for our overall committee):
 
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Volunteer registration for the 2024 Boston Marathon is open. Returning volunteers have received an email from the BAA that included registration instructions. In order to make registration as smooth as possible, we are providing specific instructions for our Amateur Radio Operator (ARO) volunteers.

If you haven’t previously volunteered, or have a friend who would like to volunteer, please go directly to the Volunteer Registration page and follow the instructions for new volunteers.
 
Step by Step Sign Up Guide:
https://hamradioboston.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/44002497536-2024-volunteer-registration-step-by-step-guide

A few notes for volunteers:

Almost all amateur radio positions are single person assignments. We are not able to group people on a single assignment, but we will try to accommodate which segment you are assigned to in order to allow for similar start/end times.

Don’t delay! Volunteer registration closes on Friday, February 2 at 5:00 PM EST. It would help our planning processes if you could complete your registration by Friday, January 26.

Help us get the word out by forwarding this email to your club and other amateur radio operators who might wish to volunteer. Most volunteers first learn about the event through word of mouth. If you know new licensees who might like to join us, please 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 the upcoming volunteer registration period, or the 2024 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 fun, comfortable, and effective.

We look forward to seeing everyone again soon.

Thank you, and 73,

Boston Marathon Communications Committee
contact@HamRadioBoston.org

 
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Thanks for your support on this request!
 
Regards,
 
Rob Macedo (KD1CY)
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Boston/Norton Massachusetts
Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Communications Committee – Chair Emeritus & MEMA Amateur Radio Liaison
 
 

Amateur Extra Course Offered by Massabesic (ME) Adult and Community Education Beginning February 8, 2024

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Massabesic Adult Ed logoThe Massabesic Adult and Community Education Center is offering an Amateur Extra course at its facilities in Waterboro, Maine, beginning February 8, 2024. A “Beginner and Intermediate Electronic Soldering and Kit building course will also be offered later in April.

For more information, see the Wireless Society of Southern Maine (WS1SM) blog page at: <https://blogws1sm.wordpress.com/2024/01/08/ham-radio-level-3-extra-and-beginning-and-intermediate-electronic-soldering-and-kit-building-courses-offered-by-massabesic-adult-ed/>. 

HamSCI Invites Amateur Participation in Solar Eclipse, April 8, 2024

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HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science logo

 

Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) is inviting ham radio operators to make radio contacts during the total solar eclipse, probing the Earth’s upper atmosphere known as the ionosphere. The HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science will occur on April 8, 2024 during a North American solar eclipse.

To learn how you can participate, visit:  https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science/. For more information about Citizen Science projects, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science/.

Vermont ARRL Field Organization Signs MOU With American Red Cross

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Photo of Paul Gayet, AA1SU shaking hands with American Red Cross representative following MOU signingVermont Section Manager Paul Gayet, AA1SU, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the American Red Cross.

According to Paul, “We are just the second state in the union to do so.”

The document is endorsed with the signatures of Vermont’s Section Manager and the American Red Cross Regional Disaster Officer for Vermont.

 

Town Hall Recap, January 10, 2024

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One hundred people attended last night’s New England Division Town Hall Zoom meeting, where discussion centered on several important motions that are before the ARRL board for consideration, including a draft proposal to change ARRL Bylaw 46, entitled “Board Member Statement on Authority, Responsibility, and Expectations.”

A Town Hall panel consisting of Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC; Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI; and invited guest Pacific Division Director Kristen McIntyre, K6WX (one of the “Bylaw 46” related motion authors) explained the need for the bylaw as well as changes to printed QST to attendees. 

Some questions related to the Bylaw 46 discussion involved the ARRL Standing Orders, which can be found here, and the Electronic Recording Policy for ARRL Meetings can be downloaded from here.  

You can view the discussion and the Q&A via the video presentation below.

 

 

 

“Marty on the Mountain” Engstrom, N1ARY (SK)

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Marty Engstrom, N1ARYFrom ARRL News:

Avid radio amateur, Marty Engstrom, N1ARY, of Fryeburg, Maine, has become a Silent Key. He died on January 4, 2024. Generations of New England television viewers may know him as Marty on the Mountain from his weather reports on camera for WMTW-TV from the station’s transmitter site on Mount Washington in Gorham, New Hampshire.

Engstrom was known to quip that he was not intentionally in the weather business: “I’m a TV engineer, not a meteorologist!,” he would say. Engstrom served the viewers of New England for 38 years. He began at the station in the mid-1960s, after a career in the United States Air Force, according to a memorial on the WMTW website. He retired in 2002. [Full story]

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