Serving ARRL members who reside in the New England sections
Carl Achin, WA1ZCQ writes:
The QRP Club of New England‘s annual Southern New England Meeting and Lunch at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut has been canceled due to continued COVID restrictions in the building.
“Hope to see you there in April, 2023,” Carl says.
New England Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, and Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, were on hand at the April 8 Southeastern MA Amateur Radio Association (SEMARA) meeting in Dartmouth, Massachusetts to present the club with a plaque and special certificate honoring SEMARA on its 75th anniversary of ARRL affiliation. Club members also heard a presentation by Kemmerer on the new ARRL Club Grant program.
Phil Duggan, N1EP, writes in the MHRS CARRIERWave:
Warmer temperatures are here and [the Maine Ham Radio Society] will be planning several outdoors portable operating events for you to join in on the fun. Plus, the Ellsworth Amateur Wireless Association will most definitely be scheduling some fun activities at the Ellsworth Harbor Park on the Union River throughout the spring and summer months.
Bring a favorite QRP rig, or join in on using other’s setups, or just come and join in on the fellowship. All are welcome! MHRS’s first spring event will be held Saturday, May 21 at N1EP property in Milbridge. Let’s test some antenna designs! Sunscreen and bug spray a must!
Members of the K1USN Radio Club in Braintree, Massachusetts gathered on March 5, 2022 in their recently-reopened club shack to hear an ARRL update by New England Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC and Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI. The presentation was interspersed with lively discussion from the members.
Kriss Kliegle, KA1GJU, writes on the PortCity (NH) ARC mailing list:
For those of you that would like to get on HF and have problems with antennas, towers, HOA’s, etc… you can still enjoy the hobby! As discussed in my presentation at the meeting and via Zoom, I think we will go forward with running RemoteHams software, called “RCForb.” You will need a username (your call sign in small letters, not caps) and a password (that cannot have your call in it) to get on the servers. Registration is instant, via a code sent to your email address provided.
Then download the latest ‘Client’ software, not the ‘Server’ software… unless you want to place your own radio online for you or select friends. The server software is very programmable as is what users can do (RX only, Tune, TX and RX, etc). The ‘Client’ application uses the same GUI for all radio manufacturers, so it’s rather simplistic but very easy to use. There are over 320 radios available on the network, not all are open to the public. Many are radio clubs, that will ask you to join the club to obtain access.
Your entrance to the world of remote HF, VHF, and UHF radios starts here: https://www.remotehams.com/ Just follow the three steps!
Once you are all registered search the list of servers and look for the two with my call sign (KA1GJU). If you right click on them (one at a time) you can make them a favorite, and they will appear at the top of the list all the time.
As of today, there’s an IC-7300 at the clubhouse on the 40/80M fan dipole which gives you two bands to operate on. Obviously it will RX on other bands, but will be beyond the limits of the onboard auto tuner. There’s another IC-7300 at my QTH on an inverted vee for 75M. Currently the antenna is resonant at 3.980 thru 4.000 MHz, the auto tuner will handle the mismatch for operations below the upper end of the band (i.e. 3.895, 3.900, 3.925 MHz).
I have my servers set to have users be registered before they can ‘spin the knob’, so send my a PM if you want your call on the user list for privileges.
Both are in the ‘experimental’ stages (been online for three days only) and I got most of the big issues taken care of. Now it’s where can I place them as to not interfere with my own operating schedule. I host numerous remote SDR servers for people to use, and I try to keep QRM to a minimum. So distance has to be placed between RX only antennas and the many TX antennas I have.
Feel free to email me with any questions you may have. I’m still learning how to use the software after day three! The same website posted above also give you access to the forum, and you can get answers there too.
73 Kriss KA1GJU
The Greater Bridgeport (CT) Amateur Radio Club has established a new program to provide continuous training to its members–both in the classroom and with on-air activities.
“The program is called “CARES – Continuing Amateur Radio Education & Skills,” says GBARC Public Information Officer and Past President Emily Starbrook, N1DID. “It’s our commitment to our members to help them achieve their goals. CARES believes that no ham should be left behind. Once someone has made the commitment to become a ham, we will make sure they have the skills and technical access to make the most of ham radio.”
CARES will consist of two “tracks.” Track A will target new hams, while Track B will be for ham who are on the air:
Typical Track – Classroom Topics
● Buying a handheld radio
● Programming your radio
● Power Supplies
● VHF/UHF Antennas
● How to make a tape measure
Yagi Antenna
● Introduction to Foxhunts
● DMR/D-Star/Fusion
● Q-Codes
● Moving on to your General
Class License
● HF Privileges for Technicians
● Intro to Soldering
● Make a Cable with PL-259s
● Baluns and Chokes
● How to make a J-Pole Antenna
● Building an arduino based
foxhunt transmitter
● CW keyers and decoders
● Operating digital modes
● Building a multi-band antenna
● APRS and Packet
Typical On-Air Track Activities
Track A – Basic Skills
● Your first simplex contact
● Your first repeater contact
● New Ham Nets
● New Ham Ragchews
● Rookie Roundup Contests
● POTA/SOTA
Track B – Skill Building
● Simplex Nets
● Simulated Emergency Tests
● On-Air Group activities
● New England QSO Party
● Group POTA/LOTA
● Winter Field Day/Field Day
● Antenna Ranging
“The CARES program is for continuing education which doesn’t leave out the possibility of VE sessions,” says Starbrook. “But so much of what VEs do has moved online, so it is unlikely to become an in-person testing service anytime soon. Much self-paced training is available online that is highly effective for people who are motivated.” N1DID feels that GBARC will be much more effective in “offering help to people to navigate questions they have after they take advantage of those online resources.”
Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, writes in the March 2022 issue of Blackstone Valley ARC’s The Messenger:
The FCC, sometimes called the friendly candy company, dropped all Morse code proficiency testing from any of the Amateur radio exams administered after Feb. 23, 2007. Understandably, some rejoiced but some were disappointed because they wanted to learn code and use it on the air. At the time, some interpreted FCC’s action as ending all use of CW. Of course, that was never FCC’s intent.
Shortly after that date, there rose a small demand by some to learn CW after being licensed with a General or Extra class license. Responsible clubs that always try to provide service to their members and the community in which it resides, developed classes and taught Morse code to Extras and Generals who wanted to know and use the code. The classes also facilitated obtaining code practice material and keys. Statistics taken from submitted logs indicated strangely that the use of CW increased by about 15% nationwide in the years following FCC’s dropping the code exam requirement. We’re not sure why.
BVARC organized its third CW class in January, 2022 and unlike past classes, BVARC’s instructor, Bob, W1YRC, selected those who were “high pots” or high potentials to fill the class. On Feb. 16th, the fourth weekly class session was held in Bob’s kitchen. The actual learning of the Morse alphabet and numerals, together with a few pro signs and punctuation was learned at home by each student after the initial session which set down the format and expectations. Bob explained that there is no possible way that he can learn the code for the students. It’s like learning basic verbs in French or Latin. There’s no possible way that the teacher can learn it for the students.
However, once the 26 letters, 10 numbers and about 10 pro signs and Q signals are learned. Bob worked on the students’ smoothness in sending code. To add interest to the classes, the second half of each session is used to “show and tell” related topics; code keys, oscillators, QRP radios, dummy loads, etc. In order to maintain the students’ energy and interest, fresh baked apple, blueberry and pumpkin pies are usually offered along with a variety of other good things. I apologize for the few added pounds that seem to make their way into the CW bag. All our students are very happy that they have added a valuable tool to their tool box, a tool that will help them add plenty of DX to their log.
Students in the latest class are: Joe Campbell, KC1OPD; Marc Caouette, W1MCX; Mickey Callahan, K1WMC; Mike Kenney, K1ETA; Byron Kinniburgh, K1CYQ; Patty Vilnit, W1AUT and Ray Vilnit, KC1HQB. All are now able to copy and send at least 10+ wpm. They need more practice to smooth out their rhythm and feel more comfortable at the key. At least half participated in the recent ARRL CW DX Contest. If there is interest, another class will be formed and run through the program. Remember, accuracy transcends speed.
From ema.arrl.org:
New England Sci-Tech writes on its website:
New England Sci-Tech and New England Amateur Radio [Natick, MA] are working with Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center to establish an educational amateur radio club. You can be a charter member!
The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory has a long history of amateur radio going back to the turn of the last century. We are working to help BHO establish a new club that can meet occasionally on top of Blue Hill and more regularly in locations around greater Boston.
If you are interested in finding out more, please fill out the form below. Be patient as we send out updates occasionally. The main building and weather tower are closed for renovations, so it will be a while before the radio club will have a permanent home. [Full story]
Michael Carter, K8CN, writes on the PortCity ARC (Portsmouth, NH) mailing list:
The Radio Amateur Society of Norwich (RASON) in Norwich, Connecticut, has established a mentoring program designed to match people with experience in one or more aspects of the hobby with individuals who would like mentoring.
A web page on the club’s website lists members who are willing to share their expertise. Those who wish to benefit from a mentor’s expertise are encouraged to contact a mentor using the contact information on QRZ.com. Alternatively, mentees can submit a form and be matched to a mentor by RASON club officers. They’ll be connected through an introductory email after which they can continue the conversation.
This program is available to RASON members only.