K9HI: “ARRL Update” at PART of Westford (MA) Online Meeting, December 15, 2020

PART of Westford logoFrom PART of Westford website:

The [PART of Westford] December 15, 2020 meeting will be held online via video conference, starting at 7:30 PM. Login details will be sent to members via Groups.io. Our guest speaker will be Phil Temples, K9HI, ARRL New England Vice Director, who will talk about ARRL news and happenings.

[To request conference login information, contact George Allison, K1IG, at k1ig -at- arrl -dot- net]

(UPDATED) First Annual Hams All-Holiday On Air Celebration (W1E Special Event Station), December 12, 2020

Parks On The Air logoDec. 12: Unfortunately I had to cancel this event – a very unusual occurrence for me. Looks like the weather is a bit uncooperative too.  -KM1NDY

Mindy Hull, KM1NDY, writes in the Wellesley (MA) ARS Spark Gap newsletter:

Hello Friends! You are all cordially invited to:

WHAT: 1st Annual Hams All-Holiday On Air Celebration (W1E Special Event Station)  

WHEN: Saturday December 12, 2020. Two times: W1E on air from 11am to dusk. Everyone get together from noon to 2pm.  

WHERE:  Meet at Hopkinton State Park. Use the Main Entrance at 164 Cedar St., Hopkinton, MA 01748. Follow the map below.  Same place as November’s POTA!

PARKING: Park in large lot at boat launch. We will meet in a grove of trees with picnic tables near the beach at the end of the parking lot that is the farthest from where you entered it. See maps.  Park as close to the meeting spot as possible in case it’s real cold and we need to use our cars to warm up. 

MONITORING: 147.555 FM

GPS COORDINATES OF EXACT MEETING SPOT: 

42°15’30.7″N 71°31’01.8″W     ( 42.258539, -71.517168 )

WHY: To take back some of what this year stole from us.

DETAILS: We will operate the special event station W1E from about 11am to dusk at Hopkinton State Park on December 12, 2020 for the 1st Annual “Hams All-Holiday On Air Celebration”. We will be celebrating every holiday that anyone missed because of this crazy year! Our goal is to have as many QSOs as possible and then send a greeting card to every contact. We will set up one portable radio station in a heated shelter and operate SSB on 20M early and 40M later. The shelter will only hold one to two people at a time given the pandemic, so expect it to be cold. Bring your own equipment for other bands if you want to operate simultaneously; we have 100-Watt RF band-pass filters available so we can operate on multiple HF bands at once (10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 40, 80M).

If some of you would like to help operate the main station, send me an email with the time you are requesting to be on air.  Or just show up and we’ll see if we can get you on. Or bring your own station. 

If you want to just come hang out with radio people, enjoy some non-Zoom companionship, make a few contacts, and celebrate the holidays in person, show up between noon and 2pm. We will be social distancing, wearing masks, and splitting into smaller groups if there are more than 25 of us. Be prepared for cold!

Also, Hopkinton State Park is a Parks-On-The-Air (POTA) site, so you can activate a park as well! Activation code = K-2440. 

Bring as much festivity with you as possible! We all really really need it this year…

(I’ll send one more update next week!)

Yours, 

KM1NDY

K9HI Guest Speaker at Billerica (MA) Amateur Radio Society Online Meeting, December 2, 2020

Billerica ARS logoBARS President Doug Bruce, KC1MJK, writes:

Our next [Billerica Amateur Radio Society] meeting will be via Zoom on December 2, 2020 at 7:00 PM. Our guest speaker will be ARRL New England Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, who will present an ARRL Update.

[Contact Bruce Anderson, W1LUS, at w1lus -at- hotmail -dot- com for a Zoom invitation.]

Norfolk County (MA) RA Donates to ARRL Education & Technology Fund

Norfolk County Radio Association logoFrom ema.arrl.org:

At its November 11, 2020 meeting, Norfolk County Radio Association members generously voted to award a $100 donation to the ARRL Education and Technology Fund.

“The NCRA has been making it a tradition to donate to a selected ARRL Fund nearly every year since 2008 for a total of $1,300 to-date,” said Norfolk County RA Secretary Dave Doe, K1HRV. 

The ARRL-affiliated club was established in 1921 and plans to hold a centennial celebration in 2021. 

New Connecticut Affiliated Club Coordinator: Ed Snyder, W1YSM

Ed Snyder, W1YSM
Dr. Ed Snyder, W1YSM

Ed Snyder, W1YSM, has been appointed as the new Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC) for Connecticut by Section Manager Chuck Motes, K1DFS.  

An Amateur Extra Class licensee, Ed became the SKYWARN Emergency Coordinator for New Haven and Middlesex Counties. He joined the Meriden Amateur Radio Club (MARC) and was elected President in 2019.  MARC has grown under Ed’s leadership. With the help of the club’s almost 90 members, MARC now offers a choice of five weekly on-air nets, weekly fox hunts, monthly VE sessions, radio repair opportunities and various other ham activities.

With encouragement from Phil, K9HI, Ed approached Chuck Motes, K1DFS, about the open ACC position as the job description seemed to parallel what Ed was already doing for MARC.  His appointment became effective on October 31, 2020.

“I intend to begin my support of amateur radio clubs in the section by surveying each of the 41 ARRL affiliated clubs.  My overall goal is to determine how Connecticut clubs and the ARRL can work together to grow and expand our beloved hobby for the benefit of its members.”  Snyder is passionate about clubs. “I truly believe local radio clubs are key to the survival of Amateur Radio.”

Ed lives in Wallingford with his wife Rose and his family. 

 

Newport County (RI) Radio Club “Park On The Air” Effort Growing

KC1KUF operating Parks On The Air from Coccumcussoc State Park
Ryan, KC1KUF, activating Coccumcussoc State Park. Gear: Icom IC-7000, 30 AH LiFePO4 battery, and 20-m HamStick antenna.

via NCRC web site:

The [Newport County Radio Club] Parks On The Air (POTA) Group is growing, with many successful activations in the month of October.  Fairly simple radios and antennas are deployed in state or national parks recognized by the ParksOnTheAir program. An example of a recent activation is Coccumcussoc State Park in North Kingstown.  It was activated for the first time by Ryan, KC1KUF.  Ryan, 14 and a freshman at North Kingstown High School, started working on his radio license two years ago, and completed his General this summer.  In that time he has become an accomplished Winter & Summer Field Day operator, so it is only natural that he would find new ways to get on the air in the field.

Sometimes a single operator is involved, and sometimes a few people join in to put multiple stations on the air.  It is a wonderful opportunity to get outside in the fresh air and have a chance to meet up with our fellow hams in a safe way.  If you would like to join in on the fun and be kept aware of new activations, please email POTA at w1sye.org

The November 9th club meeting (7 PM via Zoom) will have a short presentation on POTA, with plenty of time to ask questions about antennas, rigs, and batteries.