The Western MA Section Manager’s report for July, 2021 can be read at <https://wma.arrl.org/blog/2021/07/03/section-managers-report-july-2021/>.
Phil Temples
N1DUC Featured Guest on Ham Talk Live!
Greater Bridgeport (CT) Amateur Radio Club assistant secretary Junie Cassone, N1DUC, was the featured guest on Episode 263 of Neil Rapp’s Ham Talk Live!: “POTA, Lighthouses, and Ducks.” Junie talked about her Parks on the Air activations, Lighthouses, Field Day–and, of course, her ducks.
The episode can be heard at: <https://www.spreaker.com/user/hamtalklive/episode-263-pota-lighthouses-and-ducks-w>.
Maine Telegraph July 2021 Now Available
The July, 2021 edition of the Maine Telegraph Newsletter, the statewide newsletter for Maine Amateur Radio operators, is now available at: <https://nediv.arrl.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/JULY-2021-Maine-Telegraph-Newsletter.pdf>.
K1WHS Station Suffers Serious Storm Damage
From yccc.org:
Well-known contester and VHF/UHF/microwave enthusiast Dave Olean, K1WHS, Lebanon, Maine, suffered serious damage to his towers and antennas on June 30 as a result of dangerous storms that moved across New England overnight.
“My place was hit on 6/30 with an apparent microburst that did tremendous damage. Many trees are down and one large white pine came down right across the west guy anchor of my 130 ft Rohn 45 144 MHz tower. This was a tree that I had identified to remove as soon as I had a chance. When it fell, it snapped off the top of the rock anchor. They have a rated working strength of 14,000 pounds, but I am sure the falling tree force was much greater than that. With no guy attached the tower just toppled over and laid out all 130 ft across the tops of trees. The equalizing plate and part of the anchor is up in a tree. It is a total wreck. The H frame on top has been ripped apart along with the four 17B2 144 MHz yagis. The famous LVA, an array of 16 x 5 element yagis spaced along one tower leg, was also on the tower and has been destroyed. I was in the process of re aligning the LVA to aim towards ND0B in N. Dakota in an attempt to give him his last state on 144. Now there is nothing left. As the yagis fell through the foliage canopy, the elements have been cleaned off or severely bent. Many booms are ripped apart or bent. There is nothing salvageable from the quad array of 17B2s. They are all destroyed. The H frame is destroyed as well.
“I was not here when the storm came through, but witnesses said it was very frightening and the winds came from many directions. My neighbor has about 40 uprooted trees. I suspect a microburst from the direction that I see fallen trees. My wife arrived home just after the storm and called me. By the time, I arrived, it was just after 9 PM and getting quite dark. I knew something was wrong when I could not see towers on the hill while driving south along the lake. Normally the towers are very visible. I could not sleep all night, and, at dawn, armed with a big chainsaw, I drove the truck up to the VHF shack. The scene is sickening, with the entire tower laid over the trees and bent like a pretzel. It is being held up on one end by a guy wire from another tower that somehow managed to stay up! That guy is under tremendous pressure. I am not sure how to fix all the damage, and save tower #2.”
Dave K1WHS
QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, August 14-15, 2021
The third QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo is scheduled live from August 14-15, 2021 and then on-demand for 30 days.
The event organizers “promise a flawless, great learning experience for those seeking to improve their knowledge and to be exposed to new ideas, equipment, and practical techniques – all done in a highly engaging format on the vFairs platform that we used in our first August 2020 Expo.”
ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, is a QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo Partner. FlexRadio is the Expo’s Platinum Sponsor. Gold sponsors as of this time are Elecraft and RFinder.
Registration begins on July 1st, 2021. Full registration Early Bird Tickets are just $10 and then $12.50 “at the door.” Full registration includes access to the entire Expo including presentations and the 30 day on-demand period. Free registration includes access to exhibitors, prizes, general lounge and lobbies. If you were registered to the March Expo, then you already have a free registration to the August Expo.
For more information and Expo Updates, go to https://www.
Richard Kemmerling, N2WBJ, of Shirley, NY, is operating from Moore State Park, K-2248, in Paxton, Massachusetts for Parks On The Air. He was last heard on 14.050 MHz at around 1754 UTC, according to pota.app. K1VR: “Antenna Zoning VI: Your Hearing, And What to Do,” ARRL Learning Series, June 30, 2021
Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, writes:
The sixth and final webinar of the ARRL Learning Network series on Antenna Zoning will be presented at 2 pm ET Wednesday, TODAY, June 30th.
Worried about a public hearing? This session is your guide. Length: 17 minutes 38 seconds. A live question and answer session will follow.
Subjects: Your hearing, what to do, the use of photos, points to emphasize.
To watch, go to http://www.arrl.org/arrl-learn
> To register for an upcoming presentation click here <
If you can’t tune in at 2 pm ET (18z) Monday, about one day later it will be up on the ARRL web site. The five previous webinars are already posted. On the Learning Network page, click on
> To view recordings of previous sessions click here < .
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ARRL New England Division
Director: Fred Hopengarten, K1VR
k1vr@arrl.org
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ARRL Product Development Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, HamXposition 2021 Keynote Speaker
Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, will be the keynote speaker at the 2021 Northeast HamXposition.
The keynote theme is “Growing Amateur Radio.” There is no shortage of new ham radio licensees each year–approximately 30,000. But only a fraction ever become active. Bob will share stories, perspective, and ARRL initiatives intended to develop more active, involved, and engaged radio amateurs.
Bob Inderbitzen is the Product Development Manager for ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®, and has been on the ARRL HQ staff for 30 years. He advances, with his staff colleagues, ideas that lead to new and improved ARRL membership programs, services, and products. Bob obtained his first ham radio license as a 6th-grader in 1981, and was president of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Wireless Association from 1987-90. Today, Bob’s interests in ham radio include HF and portable operating, and station integration-and-control using the Raspberry Pi. He is an ARRL Diamond Club Life Member and a contributor to ARRL’s Second Century Campaign.
HamXposition Grand Banquet Speaker: Dr. Philip J. Erickson, W1PJE, MIT Haystack Observatory/HamSCI
Dr. Philip J. Erickson, W1PJE, will be the featured Grand Banquet Speaker at the 2021 Northeast HamXposition (ARRL New England Division Convention) in Marlborough, Massachusetts on September 10-12, 2021. W1PJE will discuss HamSCI’s latest ionospheric science investigations and will also highlight research in his group at MIT’s Haystack Observatory. The work brings international and national aspects of amateur ionospheric science into the New England realm.
Dr. Erickson is head of the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences group, a Principal Research Scientist, and an associate director at Haystack Observatory, a multidisciplinary radio observatory operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A licensed radio amateur, he is a member of ARRL, RSGB, and TAPR, vice president of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club. He is on the scientific steering board of the Ham Science Citizen Initiative (HamSCI). Dr. Erickson is also a member of the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Radio Frequencies, which advocates on scientific radio frequency requirements and interference protection for scientific and engineering research.
Tickets for the Saturday evening banquet are expected to sell quickly, so make sure to get your tickets online when they are available. The meal will be plated (details in progress).