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“ARRL Serving its Members: NU2W’s Story”

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The New England Division RFI Team assisted Tom Lanieri, NU2W, of North Chelmsford, MA, with a significant RFI problem he’s been suffering with for many years. 

Tom writes: “I moved from central New Jersey ten years ago and knew from day one that my experiences with HF and amateur radio were doomed because of the noise and the HOA restrictions. So I dabbled in successfully resuscitating vintage gear:  a full Collins S-line, Drake twins, Heaths, Hallicrafters, Hammarlunds, amplifiers, receivers, transmitters, and all the peripherals. It took me over 40 years to acquire reasonably repairable, functional priced radios.”

Then Tom was introduced to one of the New England Division RFI teams consisting of W1DAN, W1EMI, and N2YCH.

“After two-plus years, seven hours, two guest visits, RFI gear, and more than three-and-a-half hours of travel time for a few, they determined the very best I could achieve was to try some alternate signal-to-noise improvement methods. […]

“We tried everything. Something is out there—an electrically driven noise generator that disappears only with a local power outage. It is 24×7, in good weather or bad, regardless of season—and directionally, it has no origination point. I guess it will remain a mystery. However, I must state for the record that these three technicians, who have personal employment obligations, found the means to visit me. They were patient, tenacious and friendly, and I deeply appreciate it at incredible levels.”

Tom notes that it was a true learning experience. He and the team enjoyed “sniffing out noise” with different antenna arrays, scope/analyzers, and SDR devices.

“They left with me a new ARRL publication, Ham Radio for Indoors. I will read that thoroughly. Coupled with other ARRL books and their suggestions, I will try to adopt a new way of hamming. I am looking forward to their report, and I will consider all of the options they present, from a very stealthy thin wire dipole to a new whizzbang feature rich, RFI-eliminating rig.”

Tom concludes: “I am proud to be an ARRL member and to have met this entirely professional team of RFI techs. Please recognize them in some way.”

[We appreciate Tom sharing his experiences with these dedicated ARRL employee and field organization members! -K1KI and K9HI.]

 

Barnstable ARC Activates Chatham Lighthouse US-0158

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The Barnstable Amateur Radio Club (BARC) activated Chatham Light the weekend of August 9 and 10 using three operating positions, 1-VHF and 2-HF, for 8 hours both days.  Setting up on the grounds of Coast Guard STACHATHAM adjacent to the heavily travelled walkway in front of the station, operators greeted the public and explained how amateurs have an annual lighthouse event, both in the USA and worldwide, where hams at lighthouses exchange greetings on the radio.  BARC had two HF antennas, a triband beam on a tower trailer and an R-7 vertical so 10, 15, 20 and 40 meters were operational though a Coronal Mass Ejection arriving the day before made band conditions very challenging.  In spite of that, about 100 phone contacts were logged, almost all on 20 meters.  The weather was perfect both days with bright sunshine, cool temperatures and only a light wind.

Chatham Light is an operating lighthouse on the grounds of STACHATHAM, a Coast Guard station serving the Chatham fishing industry and public recreational boating in often dangerous waters off the Cape Cod coast.  A second lighthouse was originally paired with it at Chatham but was subsequently moved to another Cape Cod location.

Club participation was excellent, including several recently licensed operators and the event also served as a test platform for dealing with some interference issues observed during Field Day.  This year was the third year the club activated Chatham Light in August.

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Connecticut POTA Three-Island Adventure, August 11, 2025

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Parks On The Air logoBrian Horne, N1BAM, writes on the CT-POTA mailing list:
 
Good morning all,
 
This coming Monday, 8/11/2025 there are 6 of us that will be traveling to the 3 islands on the CT River.
 
US-1659: Dart Island State Park
US-1673: Haddam Island State Park
US-1714: Selden Neck State Park
 
The plan is to get to the first island around 8:30 am, start operating on UHF/VHF, then 40m & 20m. Then moving on, to the next island.
 
We will be spending a limitedamount of time at each island before moving on, only 10′-15′ per band. While on HF, we will have 3 people working at a time instead of passing the mic to all 6 of us. It will be mostly SSB but there will be CW as well. We will have the ability to use FT4/8 but will likely not spend much time there as it is hard to “pass the mic” on digital.
 
If you are in the area and want to follow along the river bank to hunt the island and get UHF/VHF contacts for the islands we would love to have the contacts.
 
A huge thank you to Marc K8LSB for doing the leg work to get this pulled together.
 
The 6 operators will be, 
 
John – N1CB
Brad – W1BCC
Brian – N1BAM
Paul – W1IP
Frank – N1AEB
Marc – K8LSB

CT Section Manager Newsletter – August 2025

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August 11, 2025

CONTENTS
– Northeast HamXposition 2025
– FUN with POTA (Parks On The Air)
– Hurricane Season (Update)
– When All Else Fails®
– SKYWARN: On-Line Spotter Training
– Getting the Message Through (NTS)
– New Eastern CT Traffic Net Manger
– New PIOs Wanted
– CT Section Manager Cabinet Openings.

NORTHEAST HAMXPOSITION 2025
& ARRL New England Division Convention

This is THE BIGEST HAMFEST in the North East.
You don’t want to miss it!

Dates: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Aug. 21 – 24
Hours: Varies per Day (Big days are Saturday & Sunday)
Place: Best Western Marlborough, MA
181 Boston Post Road W.
Marlborough, MA 01752
Website: http://hamxposition.org

Great Fun! PLAN TO BE THERE! Lots of exciting and informative Forums and Presentations and Outdoor Swapfest at this Hamfest. see Schedule https://registration.hamxposition.org/Schedule/

NEW AWARD:

New England Division’s “Ham of The Year”. This will be presented during the ARRL Forum on Saturday.

As part of the festivities, I will be hosting 2 meetings: the CT Section Manager Meeting on Saturday @ 4pm, and a fast paced, interactive workshop: “The First 15 Minutes” (Saturday, Time TBA – see program schedule)

FUN with POTA (Parks On The Air)

If you have not discovered the fun of POTA, you are missing out! Since the last newsletter, I have teamed up with two groups activating CT State Parks.

The first was over at Gardner Lake State Park (Salem) – see video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YuKbnZej2s And, the second was at Dennis Hill State Park (Norfolk).

Today, Monday 8/11, I will be at 2 parks that sit next to each other up in Danielson: Ross Pond SP and Old Furnace SP Also, today, a group of 6 stalwart fellows are planning to activate 3 islands in the Connecticut River.

Hurricanes

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR HURRICANE SEASON 2025? Our Hurricane Season typically starts in late August. That means we all now have 3 Weeks (+/-) to Get Ready (e.g. Home Prep, Radio Prep)

When All Else Fails®

Amateur radio operators use their ARES® training, skills, and equipment to provide communications during emergencies When All Else Fails®. Hams serve our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers, and wired and wireless networks. Amateur radio can function completely independently of the internet and phone systems. An amateur radio station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Hams can quickly raise a wire anten na in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and power source, and communicate effectively with others.

To learn more about ARES check out: https://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARES%20Fact%20Sheet_Final.pdf

To learn more about CT ARES, and CT ARES Training and Organization, go to: https://ctares.org/

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

2025 CT ARES “Simulated Emergency Test” (SET) date has been announced. It will take place on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

SKYWARN: Spotter Training Course now On-Line (FREE!)

Peter Cimino – K1PCN, our new District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) for CT ARES -Region 1 recently wrote:

Are you interested in Weather, Ham Radio, and helping your community? I invite you to become a SKYWARN Spotter The National Weather Service now offers free online, anytime available, – Spotter Training via their Comet MedEd Platform. Link: https://www.weather.gov/chs/skywarn. This course is available to ANYONE interested in weather. For More Information, please read his post at: https://tinyurl.com/3sfcjcmz.

Getting the Message Through The National Traffic System (NTS) During disasters or other emergencies, radiograms are used to communicate information critical to saving lives or property, or to inquire about the health or welfare of a disaster victim.

The current National Traffic System is comprised of dedicated, well trained and practiced operators in the art of Traffic Handling. They participate in Nets at the Local, Section, Region, and Area levels 365 days per year. – AND, YOU CAN BE ONE OF THEM. Find more information about CT Traffic Nets at: https://ctares.org/nets/.

HOT NEWS

New Eastern CT Traffic Net Manager

Please welcome H. Kevin Harkins – KA6PDG, who has been newly appointed as Eastern Connecticut (East Conn) Traffic Net Manager.

Public Information Of ficers (PIOs) WANTED

ARRL Public Information Officers (PIOs) are appointed by their Section Manager and report to their ARRL section Public Information Coordinator (PIC). The Section Manager may, at his/her discretion, delegate this appointment power to the section PIC. PIOs are generally recommended by an affiliated club for appointment consideration and must be full ARRL members.

If you have Public Relations experience or are interested in learning more, contact Georg Papp – K1YBO (CT Public Information Coordinator) k1ybo@arrl.net

CT Section Manager Cabinet Openings

I still have need of 2 people to complete my CT Section Cabinet Roster.

The work is simple and the pay is “unbelievable” (LOL!) Contact, your friendly CT Section Manger: WA1SFH@arrl.org.

– Section Youth Coordinator (SYC)

Helping to get YOUTH exposed to Amateur Radio, and next steps.

– Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC)

Keeping in touch with Affiliated Clubs, and encouraging other Clubs to become ARRL Affiliated Clubs

Ham Radio is FUN !
GET RADIO ACTIVE !
See YOU.. ON THE AIR !

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ARRL Connecticut Section
Section Manager: Douglas E Sharafanowich, WA1SFH
wa1sfh@arrl.org
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High Altitude Balloon Launch Seeks Help with SSTV Report, August 13, 2025

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I am Drew Deskur, KA1M, and I am the Director of the Kopernik Observatory, a public observatory and Informal STEM Education Center in Vestal, New York, in the ARRL Western New York Section in south central New York State. www.kopernik.org

On Wednesday, August 13, Kopernik Observatory will be running a High Altitude Balloon camp for local high school students. On the payload of the balloon, we will be running APRS (K2ZRO-9) for tracking and we will also be flying SSTV on 145. 600 throughout the flight. We plan to launch hopefully between 10 to 10:30 AM (1400-1430 UTC) and the balloon should reach over 100,000 feet. In previous balloon flights, we have had APRS reports from up in Canada. Total flight time should be approximately 3 hours.

Please track the flight on aprs.fi and download the SSTV images if you are able to do so. We would love to receive copies of images received from stations in the Northeast and elsewhere so we can share with the students how altitude matters on VHF. Please send those images to k2zro@kopernik.org. Thank you!

—
Drew Deskur KA1M
Executive Director
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center
Look Up… Dream Big!
www.kopernik.org

2025 Eastern MA Section Ham of the Year Announced

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ARRL logoARRL NEW ENGLAND DIVISION 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

 NEW ENGLAND AND SECTION HAM OF THE YEAR NOMINEES ANNOUNCED 

July 23, 2025—The ARRL New England Division is pleased to announce the results of the 2025 Ham of the Year Awards. The nominating committee and judges consisted of Section Managers: 

  • Douglas Sharafanowich, WA1SFH, Connecticut 
  • Jon McCombie, N1ILZ, Eastern Massachusetts 
  • Phil Duggan, N1EP, Maine 
  • Pete Stohrer, W1FEA, New Hampshire 
  • Nancy Austin, KC1NEK, Rhode Island 
  • Paul Gayet, AA1SU, Vermont 
  • Ray Lajoie, AA1SE, Western Massachusetts 

New England Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, and Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, participated as non-voting members.  

The judges considered one nominee from each New England ARRL Section. Criteria included, but were not limited to, achievements in the areas of: 

  • Club leadership 
  • Ham class instruction / volunteer exams 
  • Emergency Communications / ARES 
  • Technical accomplishments 
  • Youth activities 

In Eastern Massachusetts, Max Kendall, WØMXX, was nominated for this prestigious honor.  

He serves as vice-president of the STARS radio club at New England Sci-Tech, teaches Arduino, PCB design, and coding classes at New England Sci-Tech, and is the founder of the New England Weather Balloon Society.  He recently organized a high-altitude balloon (HAB) hackathon for students from all over the world, and he has designed and fabricated a four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) implementing a new Radio Frequency (RF) telemetry module that has been successfully used in the field now for many HAB launches. Max has also given public talks sharing his interest in high altitude ballooning and engineering projects at radio clubs and HamXposition for several years.  

Max works tirelessly as a teacher, mentor, and motivator to and for his age-based peers, helping them understand why Amateur Radio is cool, and motivating them to get involved. Max’s efforts advancing the state of the radio art are critical to getting youth involved in the hobby.  

For his service to Amateur Radio in Eastern Massachusetts, Max, WØMXX, has earned the honor of Eastern Massachusetts Ham of the Year. 

The New England Ham of the Year awardee will be announced in the near future. Max Kendall, WØMXX, along with the New England Division Ham of the Year, will be acknowledged at the New England Division (“HamX”) Convention in Marlborough, Massachusetts, in late August. 

For additional information, contact Jon McCombie N1ILZ, n1ilz@arrl.org, 508-246-4982. 

St. Albans (VT) Hamfest, August 9, 2025

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St. Albans ARC logoThe St. Albans Amateur Radio Club (STARC) Annual Hamfest will be this Saturday, August 9 from 8 AM to Noon. Admission is just $5.00 – under 18 is free admission. This includes tailgaters and inside sellers.

Amateur radio test session at 9 AM.

Door prize drawing at 10:30 AM.

The location is the St Albans VFW – 353 Lake Street St Albans, VT.

Additional information can be found at this link: https://www.starc.org/starc-hamfest-2025-2/

Please come out and support this great club with your appearance. I hope to see you there.

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ARRL Vermont Section
Section Manager: Paul N Gayet, AA1SU
aa1su@arrl.org
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New England Division Update – What’s new? Webinar: August 7th

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ARRL logoPlease join us for an ARRL update Webinar on Thursday, August 7th at 7pm. We’ll be able to give you a summary of actions taken at the July ARRL Board meeting as well as activities in Newington, and by some of the Board committees.

We’ll also have plenty of time for your questions and input.

Here is the link to use to connect to the Webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81014888314?pwd=Czx9fr3buMAoc8zM8PDiSY7agcPUXi.1

Hope you will join us next week!

Tom Frenaye/K1KI
ARRL New England Division Director

Phil Temples/K9HI
ARRL New England Division Vice Director

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ARRL New England Division
Director: Thomas Frenaye, K1KI
k1ki@arrl.org
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ARRL Presence at Maine State Convention

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Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI

ARRL was well-represented at the 2025 Maine State Convention in Augusta, Maine, on August 2.

The convention, sponsored by the Androscoggin ARC, featured a robust indoor flea market along with presentations covering: Parks On The Air; an ARES Meet and Greet; QCWA chapter meeting; UFB New England; and an ARRL Forum featuring New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI; Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI; and Maine Section Manager Phil Duggan, N1EP.