Phil Temples

Eastern Massachusetts Section to Welcome New Section Manager; Incumbent Section Managers were Reelected

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ARRL logoFrom ARRL News:

11/18/2022—Jon McCombie, N1ILZ, will become Section Manager (SM) of the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section on January 1, 2023. McCombie, of Eastham, was the only nominee to submit a petition to run for office when the nomination period closed in early September. As the sole nominee, he has been declared elected.

This past year, McCombie has been Assistant SM to Tom Walsh, K1TW, who has been the SM of the Eastern Massachusetts Section for the last 8 years. Walsh, of Bedford, decided not to run for a fifth 2-year term of office.

There were no balloted elections during this fall season’s SM election cycle. The following incumbent SMs ran unopposed, and they were declared reelected, beginning their new 2-year terms of office on January 1: Cecil Higgins, AC0HA (Missouri); Matt Anderson, KA0BOJ (Nebraska); Jim Mezey, W2KFV (New York City-Long Island); Rocco Conte, WU2M (Northern New York); Marc Tarplee, N4UFP (South Carolina); Tom Preiser, N2XW (Southern New Jersey); Michael Douglas, W4MDD (West Central Florida), and Joe Shupienis, W3BC (Western Pennsylvania).

Thanks to ARRL Field Organization Supervisor Steve Ewald, WV1X, for information contained in this story.

Amateurs Provide Communications Support for Northwoods Gravel Grind Bicycle Race, Rangeley Vicinity, Maine

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Northwoods Gravel Grind Bicycle Race
Riders starting out for the first loop. Photo by N1EP

From Nov. 15, 2022 ARRL Club News, by Phil Duggan, N1EP

On September 10, nearly 200 riders entered the seventh annual Northwoods Gravel Grind in the Rangeley area of Maine, which encompassed parts of Franklin and Somerset counties. The course included 35-, 50-, and 68-mile loops.

The riders were not out there in the northwoods alone. Besides deer, moose, and bear, there were about 15 amateur radio operators assigned to various locations and in sweep vehicles throughout the course. Franklin County ARES and friends made sure important safety and logistical information was relayed to net control, and they did this by 2-meter simplex!

Many of the hams were using their mobile radios in vehicles with mag-mount antennas or similar aerials. Several hams set up external J-pole or high-gain antennas 20 feet or higher at key locations, and they were invaluable in relaying communications if net control (Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG, and Ruth Gauvin, KB1SBZ) couldn’t hear a mobile or portable station.

I had the privilege of helping. It was enjoyable to be out in the woods listening to the call of the loons, as I was assigned to Loon Lake Road, right next to Loon Lake. Franklin County ARES Emergency Coordinator Russ Norris, KA1FKC, stopped by and chatted with me for a while. Have you ever seen his vehicle? There is no doubt he is a ham radio operator! And I absolutely loved his pooch, Mabel, who wore a fancy harness labeled ARES.

Many times throughout the race, riders would thank me for being there, and I am sure the other hams got this feedback as well. Public service events such as this promote our hobby in a positive way. They also help us hone our emergency communications skills. If you have never volunteered to help in such events, you should consider doing so. It’s rewarding and fun. You can contact me at n1ep@arrl.org or ARRL New England Division Assistant Director for Emergency Communications and Public Service Cory Golob, KU1U, at ku1u@nediv.arrl.org, and we can share when public service events need hams.

Hams that participated in this year’s event included KA1FKC, KB1RDG, KB1SBZ, AA1XD, WA1KLI, N1TCJ, KB1YES, NT1N, KC1LGJ, KC1ROC, N1EP, KC1RID, K1OK, K1NEO, and N1TCJ.

New England QRP’s Annual Central New England (NH) Meeting and Lunch, November 19, 2022

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NEQRP logoCarl Achin, WA1ZCQ, writes on the NEQRP mailing list:

This Meeting & Lunch is always on the Saturday BEFORE Thanksgiving, ANNUALLY. Hope YOU can make it.

Date: Saturday, November 19th, 2022
Time: 10AM for early-birds (~11AM is OK too) till the last person drops, usually around 2PM+
Place: Golden Corral – 655 South Willow Street, Manchester, NH

Please bring something for “Show-‘N-Tell” and show and talk about it with others.

Schedule:
Meet-‘N-Greet (Social-Hour plus Show-‘N-Tell)) – 10AM through 11AM+
Club updates and info – 11:15 through 11:30AM
Buffet Meal from 11:30 through 1:30PM
More socializing till approximately 2PM+

*** COME JOIN US FOR THIS ANNUAL GATHERING. ***

* P.S. – Christmas Party Gathering coming-up on the SECOND FRIDAY in DECEMBER (9th). More on that later.

Barnstable (MA) ARC Honored for Sixty-Five Years as ARRL Affiliated Club

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The Barnstable Amateur Radio Club on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, received a commemorative plaque from the ARRL board of directors for sixty-five years of ARRL club affiliation at its November 7 meeting.  BARC President Norm Caitlin, WA1NLG, accepted the plaque and certificate from Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC. 

BARC has conducted licensing classes and its members serve as volunteer examiners. They have also provided communications support for a number of public service events, including the Cape Cod Marathon, Falmouth Road Race, MS and Alzheimer’s walks, SKYWARN nets, ARES exercises and JOTA events.

Congratulations to the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club on this momentous achievement. 

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Registration is now open for Nashua Area Radio Society’s Fall 2022 Ham Bootcamp

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October 2020 QST Cover Ham Radio BootcampFrom ARRL web site:

10/28/2022 – The online event is scheduled for Saturday, November 5, 2022, from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM EDT. There is no charge to attend the Ham Bootcamp which entails a variety of informative presentations and activities related to amateur radio, and is geared toward new operators of any license class that wish to learn more about getting on the air. Additionally, Ham Bootcamp allows those thinking of becoming hams to see what the hobby is all about. The sessions usually have 100 – 400 attendees and over the past several years, more than 800 have attended. More information is available at the Nashua Area Radio Society’s website. The Nashua Area Radio Society of New Hampshire is an ARRL Special Service Club.

ARRL Headquarters Connecticut Open House and Picnic a Great Success

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ARRL picnic, October 29, 2022
Photo courtesy Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R

The weather cooperated beautifully for the ARRL Headquarters’ Connecticut Open House and Picnic on Saturday, October 29. ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, reported that the event was well-attended. He estimated that around 130 Connecticut amateurs came to the picnic.

In addition to supplying tasty hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, the staff hosted an outdoor display of Ham Aid Kits used for disaster response. Books and items were on sale in the lobby area. The Maxim Memorial Station, W1AW, was on full display for people to visit and operate. Every W1AW visitor was issued an attractive certificate. 

Third 2022 New England Town Hall Recap, October 19, 2022

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The third of three 2022 New England Division Town Hall meeting presentations held on October 19 was, once again, well attended. 

Director Kemmerer, Vice Director Temples and the division’s four assistant directors described their recent activities and accomplishments, including the ARRL Club Grant Program and The BIG E Space Chat. In addition, the six panelists fielded questions on a variety of topics, including: the status of Technician license band enhancement with the FCC; digital symbol rate rules; efforts to revamp NTS (“NTS 2.0”); ARRL membership renewals, and new ham recruitment.

The agenda (in PDF format) can be viewed, below; as well as the entire video presentation.

 

ARRL New England Division Town Hall 2022-10-19 slide presentation
ARRL New England Division Town Hall 2022-10-19 slide presentation

  

ARRL New England Division Town Hall 2022-10-19 video recording

National Weather Service, Gray Maine, Winter Weather Spotting Training Courses

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Bill Arcand, W1WRA, writes on the Granite State ARA mailing list:

 

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2022 NWS Gray Winter Spotter Training (Virtual)

Help your National Weather Service by becoming a Winter Weather Storm Spotter! Storm spotters report snowfall, ice accumulation, ice jam flooding and coastal flood erosion during Northern New England’s long harsh winters. Spotter training will teach you how to accurately measure and report significant winter weather phenomena!

For other training in upcoming months, check out the National Weather Service online at https://www.weather.gov/gyx/skywarn. You can contact Donald Dumont Donald.Dumont@noaa.gov for additional information on this training.

Winter weather images