Phil Temples

ARRL Foundation Grants $270,000 to Amateur Radio Clubs

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ARRL Foundation logo

From ARRL Club News:

The new ARRL Foundation Club Grant Program, funded by a generous grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), has awarded $270,000 to radio clubs that participated in the first round of applications.

The Club Grant Program, introduced earlier this year, includes $500,000 to be awarded to radio clubs with projects that will have the most impact on amateur radio, the community, and the future of radio technology. The grants will fund transformative projects that encourage the growth of active amateur radio operators and training opportunities, education programs for student groups and schools, and club revitalization. A second round of applications to award the program’s remaining funding opened on September 7, 2022. The deadline for submitting an application is November 4th at 7PM Eastern time.

Twenty-four clubs were notified on Monday, August 29, that they are receiving grants. The ARRL Foundation received 128 applications in the first round, with requests totaling $1.74 million. The selection committee noted that it was difficult work deciding from many high-quality grant proposals, considering the finite available funds. Radio clubs that did not receive grants in the first round may revise and resubmit applications in the second round.

The ARRL Foundation, established in 1973 by ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®, administers the Club Grant Program. ARRL has long recognized that it is in the best interest of amateur radio to encourage and support amateur radio clubs. Clubs historically have recruited, licensed, and trained new radio amateurs and have provided the community setting for them to continue their education and training.

The new Club Grant Program will help clubs more easily provide and expand their important services. More information about the program can be found on the ARRL Foundation website, at www.arrl.org/club-grant-program.

The following clubs, in no particular order, were awarded grants:

Club Name Town State
Heritage High School Amateur Radio Club Brentwood CA
Newport County Radio Club Newport RI
Bristol County Repeater Association Tiverton RI
Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club Philadelphia PA
Quaboag Valley Amateur Radio Club Warren MA
Amateur Radio Club at Kansas State University Manhattan KS
Meriden Amateur Radio Club Wallingford CT
Anchorage Amateur Radio Club Anchorage AK
Andrew Johnson Amateur Radio Club Greeneville TN
Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association Gloucester MA
Yavapai Amateur Radio Club Prescott AZ
Cave City High School Amateur Radio Club Cave City AR
Fauquier County 4-H Ham Radio Club Warrenton VA
All Things Amateur Radio Association Carroll OH
Forsyth Amateur Radio Club Inc Winston Salem NC
Sunset Empire Amateur Radio Club Astoria OR
Barnstable Amateur Radio Club South Dennis MA
Orange County Amateur Radio Club Cornwall NY
Daleville Area Amateur Radio Service Daleville AL
Lake Washington Ham Club Kirkland WA
Radio Association of Western New York West Seneca NY
Prairie Dog Amateur Radio Club Childress TX
West Chester Amateur Radio Association West Chester OH
Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club Pitman NJ

 

Preparations Continue As the Start of Project BIG E Approaches

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With just two days left before the start of The BIG E fair in West Springfield, MA, Amateur Radio preparations for Project BIG E have kicked into high gear.

The combined ham radio booth and ARISS space contact depend on the efforts of many Amateur Radio volunteers drawn from across New England and Eastern New York. The booth alone will be staffed twelve hours every day from September 16 until October 2. With two shifts of four hams per day, that’s over 800 person-hours.

“I’m happy to report as of the morning of September 13 we are fully staffed,” according Project BIG E Coordinator Larry Krainson, W1AST. Krainson is also President of the Hampden County Radio Association, one of the booth’s primary sponsors.

Larry Krainson has been coordinating weekly Zoom calls with other volunteers since June to plan the layout of the booth and coordinate the many moving parts involved with this ambitious project. Western MA ARRL Section Manager Ray Lajoie, AA1SE, is providing much assistance with the booth setup. 

Project BIG E Sponsor and Club Recognition

 

The BIG E Space Chat is an ARISS contact that will take place in The BIG E Arena in the September 27-29 timeframe. The exact date and time won’t be known until a decision is made by NASA approximately a week before the event. 

A number of other organizations—both local as well as international—will play critical roles in ensuring a successful contact with the International Space Station from The BIG E venue.

BIG E Space Chat partners

 

ARISS Mentor Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, is providing overall coordination between ARISS and the science education program component provided by New England Sci-Tech in Natick, MA. Ray Lajoie, AA1SE, is responsible for pre-contact programming as well as the stage audio-video setup at The BIG E Arena, a performance venue that can accommodate up to 3,000 people with additional capacity for folks to stand. The covered stage is 40- by 80 feet  with arena grade public address and video displays.

A 45-minute pre-contact program will feature inspirational videos about the ISS, space, and previous contacts; introductory remarks from Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, ARISS Mentor; Gene Cassidy, CEO of the Eastern States Exposition; David Minster, NA2AA, ARRL CEO; and Bob Phinney K5TEC, President of New England Sci-Tech.

Phil Temples, K9HI, and Barbara Irby, KC1KGS, are involved with the Amateur Radio promotion for the event.  Phil and Barbara are working with The BIG E marketing team to coordinate web content, press releases, and plans for radio and television interviews of the space station contact. 

Amateur Radio operators who present a valid FCC license at the gate will be granted free admission along with three of their guests on the day of the space station contact. It’s hoped that hundreds of amateurs will turn out to witness the lucky dozen students as they make a once-in-a-lifetime contact with an astronaut in space.

 

Youth at New England Sci-TechYouth at New England Sci-TechPerhaps the most important component of The BIG E Space Chat is Bob Phinney’s STEM learning and makerspace center, New England Sci-Tech (NEST), in Natick, MA.

NEST is providing a world-class STEM learning experience for students across New England—including the dozen or so lucky youths who have been selected to participate in The BIG E Space Chat. 

In-person and virtual activities are being conducted over a 12-month period. They include:

• Building and launching a beginner level model rocket
• Building and launching air-powered rockets and planes
• Earning an FCC amateur radio Technician license
• Participating in a basic electronics course
• Participating in Public Telescope Nights
• A field trip program that introduces real-world science
• Participation in space science educational activities at the BIG E
• Participation in an optional Cubes-in-Space® Program that will introduce students to real-world science

The Big E, formerly known as The Eastern States Exposition, is billed as “New England’s Great State Fair.” It is the largest agricultural event on the eastern seaboard and the sixth-largest fair in the nation. In 2021, the Big E had 1.5 million visitors, and over 1.6 million visitors in 2019.

ARRL Board of Directors Meeting, July 15-16, 2022

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From the ARRL Facebook page:

The ARRL Board of Directors gathered for its Second Annual Meeting on July 15 – 16, 2022, in Windsor, Connecticut. Read more about the highlights from the meeting here: https://bit.ly/3TS8BFf

This photo shows roughly one-third of the attendees. Front row, L-R Dir. Jairam, Dir. Zygielbaum, Dir. Kemmerer, Dir. Ritz, Dir. Mcintyre, Dir. Boehner. Back row, L-R VD Vizcarrondo, VD Propper, VD Temples, VD Tharp, VD Marcin, and VD Morine.

 

N1ILZ To Become Eastern MA Section Manager Effective January 1, 2023

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ARRL logovia ema.arrl.org:

Tom Walsh, K1TW, writes:

I am very pleased to add my congratulations to Jon Mc Combie, N1ILZ. 

ARRL announced [on September 9] that Jon, N1ILZ, will assume the role of ARRL Section Manager for Eastern Massachusetts beginning January 1.  There should be a formal announcement from ARRL in the coming few days.

Jon brings a great enthusiasm and level of experience to the job, and I couldn’t be happier than to leave Jon at the helm when my term ends in just a few months.  Please join me in wishing Jon great success.  

I will of course help Jon through the transition so he will be ready.  Give him great support.  

I thank you all for the support I received the last eight years.

73,

Tom K1TW

Newport County (RI) Radio Club Mentors New Hams Where They Are to Help Them

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Nancy Austin, KC1NEK, writes:

photo of KC1RJK and KC1RJD
Nolan, KC1RJK, and Pat, KC1RJD, supported one another studying for the Technician exam to bring
resilient communication to Prudence Island, RI. They passed with flying colors at a NCRC VE-session on
June 4, 2022.

The Newport County (RI) Radio Club mentors new hams where they are to help them bridge that critical gap between getting licensed and joining a first net. (Sometimes, it even requires a boat!) On Friday, the NCRC and RI ham community gathered together to help new hams on Prudence Island get comfortable on the air. Over the weekend, this inspiring effort helped this Ocean State club’s 2m nets grow with enthusiasm to record levels – and the women are now set to operate with confidence. Amateur radio is a welcoming Social Media, a Technical hobby, and a key form of resilient communication.

Prudence Island, Rhode Island is a strategically-located island in Narragansett Bay not accessible by any bridge. It’s the kind of place where, for example, today a sailboat is racing the ferry that runs periodically to Bristol, RI. It has a small-year round community and earlier this year two growth-mindset long-time residents, Patricia Strong, KC1RJD, and Nolan Byrne, KC1RJK, decided to study with the NCRC on-line education training given by Bob Beatty WB4SON – and plunge ahead to take their Technician exam. Their mission was to get on the air and bring resilient communication to their island. And yes, they could do it! With no technical background, but plenty of can-do attitude, these two older women took the ferry to the mainland and passed their exams on June 4th with flying colors. (See pre-exam photo.) The club provides new members with radios and the women took part in Field Day this June. So far, so good.

But then, like many new operators, they ran into speed bump issues around antennas, net etiquette, and basic comfort around using an HT on a daily basis. What to do? As the summer wrapped up, NCRC-VP Paul Fredette, K1YBE, reached out to fellow antenna and mesh mentors in the club, as well as club member Ray Perry, KC1IPC, at the Portsmouth Emergency Operation Center. How could we collaborate to help Pat, KC1RFD, and Nolan, KC1RJK, get the mentoring they need to really get on the air? Prudence Island is technically a part of Portsmouth, and so arrangements were made for a team to visit these new hams at their respective island QTHs and install appropriate antennas, test mesh equipment, and then help Pat and Nolan get comfortable contacting club members across the water.

Everything was a huge success! The new hams had a mentor at their side as they practiced making contact with stations using the NCRC’s W1SYE Repeater. Since hurricane season is upon here, a test was also made on Simplex. The women were able to easily contact other nearby club women across the Bay, as well as getting strong signal reports across the entire state: from Carl, KC1NAM, in Tiverton, to Dan, KB1RON, in West Greenwich, to Steve, WA1GVM, in Coventry, to Ted, KC1NEU, near Providence. This mentoring session was a game changer. The new hams have rejoiced at the support they received from so many, and felt empowered to join the NCRC nets that night and over the weekend. Mostly, they appreciate the welcoming, nonjudgemental community support that met them where they were—figuratively and literally. As they say, it takes a Village!

73,

Nancy Austin, KC1NEK
President Newport County Radio Club (founded 1945, ARRL chartered 1949)

 

 

On Friday September 2, 2022 a team from the Newport County (RI) radio Club (with support from Ray Perry,KC1IPC, at the Portsmouth, RI Emergency Operation Center) took the boat to Prudence Island to install antennas at various QTH, test future mesh capabilities, and mentor new hams Nolan, KC1RJK, and Pa,t KC1RJD, on how to join a 2m net, call CQ, and move between the W1SYE repeater and the National Calling frequency on Simplex as needed. [Trip photos courtesy of Keith Henry, KC1LPV]

KM1P Featured in ARRL Letter Article about OMOTENASHI

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Boston amateur and AMSAT member Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, is mentioned in the September 8, 2022 issue of The ARRL Letter. He describes a tool called JPL Horizons, an online solar system data and computation service that provides access to key solar system data for solar system objects such as asteroids, planetary satellites, planets, the Sun, and select spacecraft:

From The ARRL Letter:

When NASA’s Artemis I rocket launches for its mission to the moon this month, you’ll be able to track it using 70-centimeter beacons known as Outstanding MOon exploration TEchnologies demonstrated by NAno Semi-Hard Impactors (OMOTENASHIs).

Omotenashi is Japanese for welcome or hospitality, and it describes the 70-centimeter beacons as small spacecraft and semi-hard landers of the 6U CubeSat format which will demonstrate low-cost technology to land and explore the lunar surface. OMOTENASHI will be one of 10 CubeSats to be carried with the Artemis I mission.

Brian Wilkins, KO4AQF, says that with the Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW), anyone with internet access can pinpoint where Orion is and track its distance from the Earth, its distance from the moon, the mission duration, and more. AROW is available on NASA’s website and Twitter account. AROW visualizes data collected by sensors on Orion that are sent to the Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center in Houston during its flight. It will provide periodic real-time data beginning about 1 minute after liftoff through the separation of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, approximately 2 hours into flight.

Once Orion is flying on its own, AROW will provide constant real-time information. On the web, users can follow AROW to see where Orion is in relation to the Earth and the moon, and follow Orion’s path during the mission. Users can view key mission milestones and characteristics on the moon, including information about landing sites from the Apollo program. Also available for download will be an ephemeris, which provides trajectory data from the flight.

AROW will also provide a set of Orion’s state vectors — data that describes precisely where Orion is in space and how it moves — for inclusion in these tweets once Orion is flying on its own. These vectors can be used for data lovers, artists, and creatives to make their own tracking app, data visualization, or anything else they envision. For more information, read https://www.nasa.gov/feature/track-nasa-s-artemis-i-mission-in-real-time/.

AMSAT member Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, adds a second online tool, called Horizons. The JPL Horizons online solar system data and computation service provides access to key solar system data and flexible production of highly accurate locations for solar system objects such as asteroids, planetary satellites, planets, the Sun, and select spacecraft. Horizons is provided by the Solar System Dynamics Group of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Fitzgerald says to use “OMOTENASHI” as the Target Body. You can find information and the online app at https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.

— Thanks to Brian Wilkins, KO4AQF; Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P; NASA; JPL Horizons, and AMSAT.

Fox Hunt, Manchester CT Vicinity, September 8, 2022

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Paul Gipson, N1TUP, writes on the ctfoxhunter list:
 
Greetings Fox Hunters,
 
Fox #1 has been deployed, as 2 pm today, September 8, 2022.
Fox #1 
At its new location, the fox is running the usual 2 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 88.5 MHz), 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. Eye ball contact is sufficient. It is located less than 500 feet from a safe parking location.

 
In this case the fox is less than 50 feet from a parking area. If you exceed this distance you are finding it the hard way.

Good luck,

Paul, N1TUP
 

NN1C Takes Top Honors in CQ WPX SSB

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Larry Banks, W1DYJ, writes:

The results of the CW WPX SSB contest were just published.  Congratulations to Marty, NN1C; he operated from KC1XX in the Single Operator All Band High Power category: a score of 15,170,455.  Here are his “places”:

  • #4 in the World
  • #1 in the USA
  • Highest world score in the Youth Overlay  (<25 years old.)

To quote the article in CQ magazine: “In addition to achieving the top SO HP score in the USA, contest prodigy NN1C — using the call KC1XX — dominated the youth overlay.

73 / Larry / W1DYJ

Port City ARC (NH) to Highlight Amateur Radio at Navy History Day, September 10, 2022

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Sign for USS-Albacore Submarine Park, Portsmouth NHPreparations are underway by Port City Amateur Radio Club members to set up an Amateur Radio display at Navy History Day at the USS Albacore in Portsmouth, NH.

PCARC President Kriss Kliegle, KA1GJU, explains that the display will be geared towards younger children. “[We will] show them the code practice oscillator and teach them how to send code. There will be some paperwork with the Morse code characters. In the past, we have had them send their name or simple messages in code.”

 KA1GJU also plans to record “a swath of spectrum in the HF bands (IQ data) and play it back with my SDR Console software to demonstrate CW, and some of the digital modes on the bands. If we are allowed WiFi access, I could access my network of live SDR’s via the SDR Console Servers that I have. Using a real radio and antenna at the site is next to impossible due to the QRM from leaky HV power lines all around the museum.” Kriss adds, “This is where the club can present Amateur Radio to the younger generation, which is one of the most important aspects of our club… seek new members and get them active on the radio.”

The five hour event is estimated to have over two hundred adults and fifty children and young adults in attendance.

Team K2H 13 Colonies QSL Party, September 4, 2022

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Team K2H QSL preparationLarry Krainson, W1AST, writes:
 
On Sunday, September 4th, friends and members of Team K2H, the 13 Colonies Massachusetts team, got together to prepare QSL cards to send.

I had ordered 1,000 cards and hoped that it would be enough this year. The team made 21,373 QSOs this year—over 6,000 more than in 2021. That made us think we’d have many more QSL requests this year.

 
Our twenty-four K2H operators were kept busy. Most of the contacts were made using FT8 or other digital modes This year, many more contacts were DX.
 
When we were finished, we had prepared 970 cards to be mailed on Tuesday. That is far more than any other year.
 
Card requests continue to come in long after the special event. This year, I even received a request from 2020.
 
Team K2H had a blast making contacts during the 13 Colonies special event operation on July 1-7, 2022.
 
If you are interested in becoming an activator in 2023, please contact Larry, W1AST, at hamop.w1ast@arrl.net.