Phil Temples

“Hobby Club’s Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF”

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From Aviation Week:

A small, globe-trotting balloon declared “missing in action” by an Illinois-based hobbyist club on Feb. 15 has emerged as a candidate to explain one of the three mystery objects shot down by four heat-seeking missiles launched by U.S. Air Force fighters since Feb. 10. 

The club—the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB)—is not pointing fingers yet. 

But the circumstantial evidence is at least intriguing. The club’s silver-coated, party-style, “pico balloon” reported its last position on Feb. 10 at 38,910 ft. off the west coast of Alaska, and a popular forecasting tool—the HYSPLIT model provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—projected the cylindrically shaped object would be floating high over the central part of the Yukon Territory on Feb. 11. That is the same day a Lockheed Martin F-22 shot down an unidentified object of a similar description and altitude in the same general area.

There are suspicions among other prominent members of the small, pico-ballooning enthusiasts’ community, which combines ham radio and high-altitude ballooning into a single, relatively affordable hobby.

[Full story]
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New General Class Element 3 Question Pool Goes Into Effect On July 1, 2023

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ARRL VEC logo/bannerFrom ARRL VEC Newsletter, February 2023:

General Class Element 3 Question Pool Errata Released 

The NCVEC Question Pool Committee (QPC) has released the latest errata for the 2023 – 2027 General Element 3 question pool, which goes into effect on July 1, 2023. Nine questions were modified (G1B01, G1C01, G1C02, G5C02, G7C10, G9B05, G9C09, G9D09, and G9D10) and two questions (G9C06 and G9D13) were withdrawn from use. 

The pool is available as a Microsoft Word document and PDF. These changes are reflected in the new General Pool download file dated February 1, 2023. 

New General Examinations will take effect for exam sessions on July 1, 2023

The newly revised general pool must be used starting July 1, 2023. VECs and VEs will have new test designs available starting on that date. Previously supplied versions of ARRL VEC General-class exam booklets (2019 series) and computer-generated General-class exams from the 2019 question pool are valid until midnight on June 30, 2023. The ARRL VEC will supply its officially appointed, field-stocked VE teams with new General exam booklet designs around mid-June. 

New England Hamfest / Flea Market Season Begins

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flea marketSpring is not far away and with it, the start of a new hamfest and flea market season in New England.

Here are upcoming ARRL sanctioned hamfests and flea markets in the New England Division for the first quarter of 2023:

 

New England Division Town Hall Meeting, February 23, 2023

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ARRL logoPhil Temples K9HI, our Assistant Directors, and I will hold our next New England Division Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, February 23rd, at 7 pm ET. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide you with an ARRL update, get your thoughts on what we should be focusing on, and answer any questions you might have about the ARRL and what we are doing on behalf of ARRL members here in New England.

We plan to spend a good deal of our time together answering your questions. If you’d like to send us a question in advance, you can do so via an email to ab1oc@arrl.org, or you can just plan to ask your questions during the Town Hall Meeting.

We will hold our Town Hall Meeting via a Zoom Webinar. You can get your personal link to join the Town Hall Meeting via the following link (paste the link in your browser to register) –

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-4QVGZj_THG1VXImuTnazQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

We hope to see you on February 23rd!

——————————————————————–
ARRL New England Division
Director: Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
ab1oc@arrl.org
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Lots of Activities Planned at HAM-CON, February 25, 2023

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HAM-CON, the ARRL Vermont Convention will be Saturday, February 25th, 8AM-1:30 PM at the Hampton Inn Convention Center, off of I-89 Exit 16 in Colchester.

We would love to get everyone back to meeting LIVE at the convention again. If you are within 2-3 hours of travel, please do consider joining us live. This would include everyone in Vermont, Northern New York and much of New Hampshire. If you cannot travel for some reason, please do consider JOINING US ONLINE! Simply buy an advanced sale ticket (only $6) which will allow you join in and take part in all our forums and even view the forums afterwards. Information and tickets can be found at ham-con.org

Our theme for HAM-CON 2023 is “Getting On The Air” There are many facets to amateur radio, but the most popular and endearing activity is getting on the air and contacting other hams. Our lineup of forums and activities will emphasize just that.

If you are going to get on the air, you might as well be great at your craft! “Be The Best Operator You Can Be” with W1SJ will detail all the fine points of making all those QSO’s. And, you don’t have to sit at home in your basement to get on the air. “Get Out and Operate” with K1BIF will show how we make contacts from parks, summits, farms and even boats! And if that is not enough for you, “Operate From Anywhere Remotely” with W1VE will detail how you can access a ham shack anywhere on the planet from the comforts of home. There is nothing like working the world while driving on a long trip. “Operating an HF Mobile Station” with AB1OC will cover how to setup, build and operate an HF mobile station capable of working anyone. Experienced operators will tell you that there is a rhythm to making many contacts, much like a dance. K8ZT will describe this for us in “The Rhythm of the QSO.” Some hams take their operating very seriously as they compete in contests. We’ll explore the World Radio Team Championship, the Olympics of ham radio in “The WRTC Competitive Experience” with N9RV. We’ll also have the 2023 running of the ARRL Forum and find out the latest from our national organization. And finally, how well do you know your ham radio trivia? Join us for the Millionaire Game Show where we will ask such questions and you may just win a cool (fake) million dollars!

Add to the above the flea market, Tech table, DMR table, W1V special event station, demonstrations and VE session and we have one heck of show. Be sure to buy your ticket early and be there! Again, look us up at ham-con.org for all the details on HAM-CON 2023, February 25th. 

Connecticut Valley FM Association Swapfest Canceled, February 4, 2023

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CVFMA logoOn February 2, 2023 at 18:10:24, Bruce Beford N1RX wrote:

Good evening, all.

I have spoken with a majority of the CVFMA board members this evening about the dangerous weather conditions that are approaching. In light of this and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to CANCEL this Saturday’s swapfest that was scheduled to be held in Charlestown, NH.

The last thing any of us want is to endanger the health or safety of our members and the attending public. I apologize for this late notice, but we feel under the circumstances it is the right thing to do.

Expect other emails to be sent to those that registered as vendors, and PLEASE help us get the word out through any channels you may have. We do not want people to be travelling in dangerous conditions to an event that is not taking place.

We will revisit the possibility of rescheduling at a later date.

Thanks All.

Bruce Beford, N1RX
CVFMA Presiden

 

Rescue by Ham Radio in New Hampshire

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Pete Stohrer, W1FEA, writes on the NH ARRL Members list:

Hello NH ARRL Members,

Perhaps by now you have heard of the NH Chronicle piece “Rescue by Ham Radio” that aired January 31st on WMUR’s NH Chronicle. If you would like to see the program in its entirety, click on one of these two links:

https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-chronicle-roadside-rescue-by-ham-radio/42675125

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDwKfqExDz4

NH Chronicle has given us permission to share the links and post them on our Amateur Radio Club websites.

Over the years, NH Chronicle has produced many programs on Amateur Radio. One, “Field Day,” followed the activities of the Contoocook Valley Radio Club during the 2011 June event.  From that video, Jennifer Crompton of WMUR TV Channel 9 and her videographer were the recipients of the Bill Leonard National Media award from the American Radio Relay League for 2011 and can be viewed at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCeGqfuwvKo

The relevance of Amateur Radio in today’s communication infrastructure is clearly seen in these professionally produced programs for TV. The privilege of using your well-earned FCC license for emergency communications is the reason why we have Amateur Radio. Part 97.1(a) states the Basis and Purpose for the Amateur Radio Service:

“Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.”

If you are new to Amateur Radio, I encourage you to consider joining your local Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) group. A geographical listing of groups can be found at www.nhradio.org or email the NH Section Emergency Coordinator, Al Shuman, K1AKS – k1aks@arrl.net for more information.

73, Pete, W1FEA

Boston Marathon Needs Amateur Radio Volunteers

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BAA MarathonThe Boston Marathon Amateur Radio team is still in need of about 50 additional volunteers to fill our nearly 300 assignments. The BAA volunteer registration deadline is this Friday, February 10 at 5:00 PM EST. The Boston Marathon will be taking place on Monday, April 17, 2023.

If you are still undecided, we encourage you to register now; you can discuss any questions you may have with us and if you decide this is not for you this year you can withdraw between now and the end of March.

If you had an experience last year that has not made you want to return this year, please reach out and we will do our best to make it right. We want every volunteer to enjoy their race day experience, but we understand that sometimes things happen.

If you have not previously volunteered and want to chat about what we do, what is expected of us, and what equipment you might need, please do not hesitate to drop us an email.

NOTE: The BAA will not have any specific COVID policies this year for vaccination or testing.
Registration Link (for new and returning volunteers):
BAA registration can be accessed via the BAA web site specifically in the “Athletes’ Village” section.
https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/volunteer/volunteer-registration
Step by Step Sign Up Guide: 
https://hamradioboston.freshdesk.com/en/support/solutions/articles/44002389087-2023-volunteer-registration-step-by-step-guide. If you have any questions about the upcoming volunteer registration period, or the 2023 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

Please make sure to whitelist volunteer@baa.org and contact@HamRadioBoston.org to make sure you receive BAA and ARO committee communications.

K1IR Appointed to ARDC Grants Advisory Committee

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Jim Idelson, K1IRFrom YCCC Scuttlebutt, February 2023:

Jim Idelson, K1IR, has recently been appointed to the ARDC Grants Advisory Committee. Jim, past YCCC President (2001 – 2002), has been involved in amateur radio since 1971, and he credits the hobby with helping him achieve a productive and fulfilling career in technology and business. He is an active contributor to the amateur radio community through his involvement in public service events, as an author, and through the Zero Falls Alliance – an initiative he created to focus on tower safety in amateur radio. Jim has also served as a volunteer with local, regional and national organizations. Other amateur radio activities include contesting, DXing, and experimentation. Congratulations, Jim!