National Traffic System

Update on NTS 2.0 Modernization Project

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NTS logoMarcia Forde, KW1U, writes:
 
The following update on the NTS 2.0 modernization project was recently sent to all ARRL Section Managers and Section Traffic Managers for dissemination to traffic handlers in their areas. More information can be found on the new website nts2.arrl.org under the Standards and Procedures tab. Information on handling instructions and numbered radiograms is available now and information on the encapsulation radiograms for emergency communications will be there soon. There is also a tab To Contribute Your Ideas if you wish to contribute those.  
 
Greetings to all STMs and SMs, 
 
It was brought to my attention that little to nothing has been disseminated regarding progress on the part of the NTS 2.0 teams. My apologies for not keeping folks better up to date.
 
You are aware that we held briefings throughout the various ARRL divisions during the latter part of 2022, and enlisted the help of 35 to 40 volunteers. Each was assigned to one or more of five implementation teams who have met weekly since the beginning of 2023. We have been able to secure a page on the ARRL website to inform you of the ongoing projects, but it is only recently that we are now able to share some results of these teams’ work. 
 
1. An article on NTS has been published in the July issue of QST which you may have received already. We are grateful to the editors of QST for highlighting this program and look forward to more articles in the future.
 
2. Perhaps highest on the minds of most folks is an update to the Net Directory. This is a major undertaking as the current directory has not been updated in recent times and the software has not been felt by many to be very user friendly. While we don’t have a finished product to show you at this time, it is important for folks to know that one of our NTS 2.0 implementation teams has drawn up a set of requirements we think various groups will want to see implemented and this has been forwarded to the IT department at ARRL. Emergency manager Josh Johnston KE5MHV and the IT department have been pleased with our work and are now working with us to develop a product we hope you will find informative and easy to use. It will take a little time yet before you will see a finished product as the entire website at ARRL is in the process of being updated. We want you to know however that definite progress is being made, so we ask for your patience and hope you will be happy with the new net directory once it has been completed. 
 
3. In accord with renewed interest in emergency communications preparedness on the part of amateur radio and the ARRL in particular, several of our teams have been working on encapsulation of the forms used by emergency service organizations. Forms such as the ICS-213, ARC-213, HICS-213 and the Texas STAR Form originated by emergency personnel must be deliverable exactly as sent, and to accomplish this these forms must be encapsulated within a radiogram for transmission via the National Traffic System. A great deal of thought and testing have gone into this product which will be revealed on the ARRL’s website (nts2.arrl.org). Documentation and training will be provided. While we recognize such emergency traffic will likely be sent via digital means where available, we feel it is important that voice and CW circuits must be capable and practiced in the event they are needed.
 
4. Because of the above mentioned use of emergency type traffic, there are some additional requirements which are important. You will find these on the above noted website as additional handling instructions and ARRL numbered radiograms.
 
Two new handling instructions are being added. One is HXI which indicates an encapsulated message is included which must be relayed so as to be deliverable in a particular format. The second is HXR, which requires the delivering station to notify the originator of the message confirming that the recipient has personally received the message. This is a frequent requirement from served agencies. This is different from the HXC instruction, which is sent by the delivering station instead to the station of origin, whose call sign is in the header. Where HXC notifies the station of origin of delivery (such as the message being deposited in a mailbox) of their Radiogram, HXR confirms to the sender that the recipient has the message in-hand.
 
A new ARRL numbered radiogram has been added as “ARL FORTY ONE”. This is to be used with an HXD handling instruction where tracing a message is important to find any possible breaks in the relay chain. You will find a number of blanks to be filled in a service reply. This standardization of the HXD reply will allow for more efficient tracking and better understanding of the process. 
 
While we understand change can be hard, we hope you will find value in the above. The teams continue to work diligently to make improvements and we welcome feedback from the NTS community. Please share with net participants in your sections.
 
73, Marcia KW1U
NTS 2.0 Implementation Teams

Director’s Update for 3Q-2022

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Fall has gone by very quickly for me. I have been busy with ARRL Board work, New England Division projects, attending Ham Fests, Mentoring and Licensing work, and a 6m Antenna Project. I am pleased to report good progress on all fronts. Here’s more about what I’ve been up to.

BIG E Space Chat

BIG E Space Chat Students and Speakers
BIG E Space Chat Students and Speakers

New England school students made live radio contact with an astronaut on the International Space Station from The BIG E on September 27th. You can view a video of the contact below. This and other videos made by folks who attend Space Chat were viewed more than 3,000 times by people worldwide.

The “BIG E Space Chat” is part of a project to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) educational activities and Amateur Radio learning activities for young people. We brokered the creation of this project through a partnership between The BIG E, New England Sci-Tech (a STEM education group in New England),  Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), and Black Helicopter Creative LLC.

We received quite a bit of television and newspaper coverage for our contact as well. Here’s an example of some of the TV coverage that aired on New England stations –

 

In addition to inspiring the young people who participated in Space Chat, we were able to help to make the public aware of the value that Amateur Radio brings to young people. I want to thank the many folks here in New England and the great people at the BIG E for making this project possible.

You can learn more about the BIG E Space Chat project here.

Club Grants

Mike Walters, W8ZY, and I worked with a team to select and award the first round of grants as part of the ARRL Foundation Club Grant program. We received a total of 128 grant applications totaling over $1.7M! We awarded a total of $270K to 24 Radio Clubs in the United States. 

ARRL Club Grant Program at a glance:

  • Clubs do not need to be ARRL-affiliated clubs to submit proposals
  • Looking to fund projects that create significant impact beyond the applying club: transformative impact on Amateur Radio; create public awareness and support for Amateur Radio; educational and training impact.
  • Examples of projects include, but are not limited to: get-on-the-air projects; ham training and skills development through mentoring; STEM and STEAM learning through Amateur Radio; station resources for use by the ham community; emergency communications and public service projects that emphasize training; club revitalization projects.

The second round of grants will be awarded early in 2023.

Board Projects and Meetings

National Traffic System 2.0 Project

I’m also leading a subcommittee within the Emergency Communications and Field Service Committee that is working on a plan to create the next generation of the National Traffic System (NTS). We are in the process of holding a series of briefings for Traffic Handlers across all ARRL divisions on the NTS 2.0 project. The briefings will be completed in December. We have signed up a total of 35 volunteers to help us work through the details of implementing the NTS 2.0 program. We are planning a kickoff meeting for the volunteers and I expect that the Implementation Teams will begin their work by the end of this year.

The ARRL has initiated a routine Traffic Origination program as part of NTS 2.0. The first messages were sent in October to all Section Managers, STMs, Directors, Vice Directors, the ARRL CEO, President, and first and second Vice Presidents.

NTS 2.0 Project - ARRL Routine Traffic Origination
NTS 2.0 Project – ARRL Routine Traffic Origination

The purpose of this program is to provide information about our work on the NTS 2.0 program as it rolls out and to measure the performance of the National Traffic System.

ARRL Club Development Webinar Series

Mike Walters, W8ZY, Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, and I are working on a program to create a series of webinars for clubs to help them develop skills and solve problems. This webinar series will kick off in 2023 and will feature presentations by ARRL members on the following topics.

ARRL Club Development Webinar Series
ARRL Club Development Webinar Series

Please get in touch with Mike Walters at mwalters@arrl.org if you are interested in helping us to produce content for the new Club Webinar Series.

Additional Board Committee Work

My work as chair of an Administration and Finance Subcommittee that is looking at ways to grow ARRL membership and increase active participation in Amateur Radio is nearly complete. The subcommittee will be sharing our final recommendations with the Administration and Finance Committee later this year and with the ARRL Board in January.

Finally, I have been serving as one of the ARRL Board members on the newly formed Investment Management Committee. The Investment Management Committee provides oversight of ARRL’s external investment manager and advises ARRL’s Administration and Finance Committee and the Board of Directors on investment policies and portfolio management. We have been working on procedures and processes that govern our oversight work with our outside investment manager.

Assistant Director Teams

Our Division Assistant Directors have all held several meetings with their working groups this quarter. In addition, the Spectrum Protection team has received a generous grant from ARDC to equip RFI Teams in each New England Section with direction-finding radios and antennas to enable them to assist Hams across New England in resolving interference problems. Our Assistant Directors and their working group areas follow –

  • Cory Golob, KU1U – Assistant Director, Emergency Communications and Public Service Activities
  • Rob Leiden, K1UI – Assistant Director, Spectrum Protection and Use
  • Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB – Assistant Director, Mentoring and Ham Development
  • Dan Norman, N0HF – Assistant Director, Youth Outreach and STEM Learning

Each team has projects underway that will benefit hams across New England. This newsletter features articles about what our Assistant Directors are doing.

Communications, Club Meetings, and Hamfests

We continued with our work to improve communications this quarter. There are three parts to our activities in this area:

  • Quarterly Division Cabinet Meetings with Club Presidents, Section Managers, Field Staff Members, and other leaders
  • Triannual (every 4 months) Division Town Hall Meetings with all ARRL Members in New England
  • Frequent attendance at Club Meetings (at least 6 times a quarter for each New England Division leadership team member) 

We held our third Town Hall Meeting on October 19th. We provided an update on ARRL and New England Division activities and answered questions from the folks who attended. You can see what was discussed, including a recording of the event, here. We are planning to hold our next Town Hall Meeting in February 2023.

We held an ARRL Forum at Fall NEAR-Fest in Deerfield, NH, where we updated folks on ARRL and New England Division projects and answered questions. We joined Peter Stohrer K1PJS at NEAR-Fest to talk with folks and answer questions.

Our next Cabinet Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, December 17th. We are inviting members of the HQ Staff to these meetings so that they can share information on what they are doing and receive feedback directly from division leaders.

Here’s a summary of the many events and communications activities that we’ve participated in and hosted this year –

New England Division Events & Communications 2022 YTD
New England Division 2022 Events & Communications

The New Division Team has been attending club meetings to stay in touch with what clubs are doing and to hear feedback and concerns from folks. We each try to attend at least six club meetings every quarter. If you’d like one of us to visit your club’s meeting, don’t hesitate to contact me at ab1oc@arrl.org.

AB1OC Amateur Radio Activities

I’ve been working on an upgrade to the 6m antenna system at our QTH. The project consists of adding a total of 12 new 6m antennas along with tower-mounted preamplifiers. We are putting up three fixed stacks of 3-element Loop Fed Array (LFA) yagis and a new 7-element LFA yagi on our main tower. The project is just being completed, and I have been making Meteor Scatter contacts on 6m with the new antennas. You can read more about the project here.

US West Stack of LFA Yagis & Large LFA Yagi on Mast
US West Stack of LFA Yagis & Large LFA Yagi on Mast

I hope to see you soon at a Hamfest, Club Meeting, Town Hall Meeting, Cabinet Meeting, or some other event in the near future. All the Best, and 73,

Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
ARRL New England Division Director
Email: ab1oc@arrl.org

“The BIG E and Amateur Radio—Early Years”

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Betsey Doane, K1EIC, writes:

In the early 1990s, Larry Buck, K1HEJ, Luck Hurder, formerly KY1T (now WA4STO) and Betsey Doane, K1EIC, decided to make a plan for demonstrating Amateur radio at The BIG E. So we embarked on getting computer/modem accounts to communicate. And that we did.

There were literally loads of messages passed back and forth to plan the event. Larry was in charge of communicating with the exhibition leaders to be sure we would comply with all requirements.

We recruited many volunteers and opened our first booth which provided lots of Amateur radio information, good conversation among the visitors and hams attending, a full traffic handling area using 2 meter FM and packet and an HF station which we used as we could. Remember, there was no Windows OS, no small computers, and no RMS. But packet was extremely popular at that time. The CT N1DCS and later N4GAA packet nodes were among the largest, if not the largest in the country handling thousands of messages. The W1EDH, K1EIC and W1HAD nodes also assisted in the relay of traffic.

The young people who came up enjoyed writing messages to their families and friends. Thoroughly also enjoyed using the key to write their name as instructed by the chart provided. They had fun, the adults
enjoyed it and so did we.

We did this event every year for close to 25 years adding what we could with the constraints at the fair. Volunteers came from Connecticut, Western Mass and, I think, Rhode Island. We knew we had to staff it fully so there were backups planned.

Connecticut operators are proud to have been an exhibitor at The BIG E for so many years. We were well received. We are truly excited that so many New England amateurs and radio clubs are participating in this year’s BIG E exhibit, and that our New England Division Director, Vice Director, and Assistant Directors are helping to organize The BIG E Space Chat.  

FEMA, NTS Cooperation Lauded

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NTS logo[Charlie Rocheleau, W1CPR, is a FEMA Communications Specialist in the MAssachusetts Task Force 1 (MA-TF1.]

Thanks so much for the follow up with our [radiogram] traffic.  The dedication and skill of the NTS members is without parallel.  I believe it to be a national treasure that must be maintained and strengthened during these very uncertain world events.  ALL of our traffic is sent HF using PACTOR and no infrastructure. 

We appreciate your hard work. 

During a lengthy meeting with Washington a few months ago, HQ asked us to investigate any and all methods of contacting team members during a catastrophic communications failure.  MATF ran tests with NTS a few months ago.  We put almost 250 radiograms through the system and they were extremely successful.  We learned some lessons and everyone got great practice.

The Alerts I sent out today were real world alerts as the task force MA-TF1 (FEMA US&R) is on stand-by for a deployment to Kentucky.  Steve Hanson, KB1TCE, runs a digital hub in Owls Head, Maine and has been my go-to person for injecting these messages quickly into the NTS system.

Best to you and your team,  and thanks for passing the traffic!

-Charlie Rocheleau, W1CPR

 

Postscript:

Winlink messages received at KB1TCE for insertion into DTN are forwarded to KW1U MBO for distribution through the DTN network. Having received an alert from W1CPR that 40 Priority messages would be coming this way, I alerted key MA traffic handlers to be ready and these folks did a fantastic job of getting them out. KC1MSN took a total of 11 off the board for EM2MN, W1RVY took and delivered one and I delivered one to Maynard and distributed most of the rest via First Region Net to K1UAF, WX1T and KC1KVY who either delivered or distributed further. W1LEM also took Cape Cod traffic off the board. Kudos to all the folks who helped get all 40 out in one day.
 
Marcia KW1U

Director’s Update for 2Q-2022

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I’ve been quite busy the last few months with a combination of ARRL Board work, New England Division projects, Mentoring, and some time on the air. I am pleased to report good progress on many fronts. Here’s more about what I’ve been up to.

Club Grants

Mike Walters, W8ZY, and I, as part of an ARRL Foundation Committee, put together the application and decision process for the ARRL Foundation Club Grant program and rolled it out. Thanks to a generous donation by ARDC, the ARRL Foundation is making $500,000 available to Amateur Radio Clubs.

ARRL Club Grant Program at a glance:

  • Clubs do not need to be ARRL-affiliated clubs to submit proposals
  • Looking to fund projects that create significant impact beyond the applying club: transformative impact on Amateur Radio; create public awareness and support for Amateur Radio; educational and training impact.
  • Examples of projects include, but are not limited to: get-on-the-air projects; ham training and skills development through mentoring; STEM and STEAM learning through Amateur Radio; station resources for use by the ham community; emergency communications and public service projects that emphasize training; club revitalization projects.

The response to the first round of this program has been tremendous. We received 127 applications for Club Grants! The first round of grants will be awarded by the end of the summer, and the second tranche of applications and awards will commence in the late summer/early fall.

Board Projects and Meetings

I am working along with other ARRL Board Members and leaders as part of several ARRL Board Committees. First, I am a member of the Administration and Finance Committee, where I am chairing a subcommittee that is looking at ways to grow ARRL membership and increase active participation in Amateur Radio.

I’m also leading a subcommittee within the Emergency Communications and Field Service Committee that is working on a plan to create the next generation of the National Traffic System (NTS). I am working closely with Marcia Forde, KW1U, and other traffic handlers to create a plan for NTS 2.0. We are planning a series of briefings for Traffic Handlers here in New England as well as across other ARRL divisions on the NTS 2.0 project.

Finally, I have been appointed to be one of the ARRL Board members on the newly formed Investment Management Committee. The Investment Management Committee provides oversight of ARRL’s external investment manager and advises ARRL’s Administration and Finance Committee and the Board of Directors on investment policies and portfolio management.

Field Day

Our 2022 Field Day Visit Tour

Anita, AB1QB, and I had a great time during Field Day, visiting clubs all over New England. We covered about 1,000 miles during a three-day tour on Field Day weekend. I especially enjoyed meeting folks in person during Field Day and seeing what everyone was doing. It was great to see all of the different ways that clubs across New England approached Field Day. Anita took many great photos during our tour, and you can view those and read more about our Field Day travels here. We operated as AB1OC/M from the mobile HF station in our truck during the trip and had a ton of fun on the air as well.

Assistant Director Teams

Phil Temples, K9HI, and I continued working with our division Assistant Directors as they continued to set up their teams and began sharing information and projects across our division.

  • Cory Golob, KU1U – Assistant Director, Emergency Communications and Public Service Activities
  • Rob Leiden, K1UI – Assistant Director, Spectrum Protection and Use
  • Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB – Assistant Director, Mentoring and Ham Development
  • Dan Norman, N0HF – Assistant Director, Youth Outreach and STEM Learning

A great deal of good work is getting accomplished by our Assistant Directors, and each team has projects underway that will benefit hams across New England. Our second quarter 2022 newsletter features articles about what our ADs are doing.

BIG E Space Chat

International Space Station

New England school students will be making live radio contact with an astronaut on the International Space Station from The BIG E during the week of September 26th – September 29th. The “BIG E Space Chat” is part of a program to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) educational activities and Amateur Radio learning activities for young people.

We brokered the creation of this project through a partnership between The BIG E, New England Sci-Tech (a STEM education group in New England),  Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), and Black Helicopter Creative LLC.

You can learn more about The BIG E Space Chat and how students can sign up to be part of the planned education program here.

Folks are also planning an Amateur Radio booth at The BIG E, and you can learn more about that project and how your club can be part of it here.

Communications, Club Meetings, and Hamfests

We continued with our work to improve communications this quarter. There are three parts to our activities in this area:

  • Quarterly Division Cabinet Meetings with Club Presidents, Section Managers and Field Staff Members, and other leaders
  • Triannual (every 4 months) Division Town Hall Meetings with all ARRL Members in New England
  • Frequent attendance at Club Meetings (at least 6 times a quarter for each DVA team member) 

We held our second Cabinet Meeting on April 16th (see what was discussed here). Our next Cabinet Meeting is scheduled for August 13th. We are inviting members of the HQ Staff to these meetings so that they can share information on what they are doing and receive feedback directly from division leaders.

We held our second Town Hall Meeting on June 15th. Attendance was excellent again, with over 140 in attendance. We provided an update on ARRL and New England Division activities and answered questions from the folks who attended. You can see what was discussed, including a recording of the event, here. We are planning to hold our next Town Hall Meeting in November.

We held an ARRL Forum at Spring NEAR-Fest in Deerfield, NH, where we provided an update on ARRL and New England Division projects and answered questions. We joined Peter Stohrer K1PJS at NEAR-Fest to talk with folks and answer questions.

 

Western MA Section Manager Ray, AA1SE and Assistant Director Anita, AB1QB discuss Licensing and Mentoring with Gordon West, WB6NOA at Hamvention
Western MA Section Manager Ray, AA1SE and Assistant Director Anita, AB1QB discuss Licensing and Mentoring with Gordon West, WB6NOA at Hamvention

We also attended the Dayton Hamvention, where we helped to staff the ARRL Clubs booth and answer questions about the ARRL Foundation Club Grant program.

I am also planning to host an ARRL Forum at HamXposition in Marlborough, MA. HamXposition will take place on August 26th – 28th. You can see the schedule for the ARRL forum and session hosted by our division ADs here.

Licensing, Mentoring, and Youth

Stu, W1SHS Intro to EmComm at Ham Bootcamp
Stu, W1SHS, hosts an “Introduction to EmComm” at Ham Bootcamp

I have continued work on Licensing and Mentoring programs. We taught weekend Technician, General, and Extra License classes this spring and helped 19 hams earn their license or an upgrade.

We also held a spring Ham Bootcamp program, which helps hams across the country to learn how to use their Amateur Radio License to operate, put stations together, and get on the air. We added additional Ham Bootcamp training on getting started in Emergency Communications activities thanks to help from Stu Solomon, W1SHS, and Cory Golob, KU1U’s Emergency Communications and Public Service Activities Team.

AB1OC Amateur Radio Activities

I’ve enjoyed some operating time in the ARRL June VHF Contest and the new ARRL International Digital DX Contest. We also operated as K2K New Hampshire during the 2022 13 Colonies Special Event. We have received hundreds of QSL requests from our K2K operations, and we are working through those now. Finally, the 6m Band has been pretty good this year, and I am enjoying some operating time on 6m on most days as well. 

I hope to see you soon at a Hamfest, Club Meeting, Town Hall Meeting, Cabinet Meeting, or some other event in the near future. All the Best and 73,

Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC
ARRL New England Division Director
eMail: ab1oc@arrl.org

Exciting Things Happening in Traffic Handling

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Marcia Forde, KW1U, writes on the New England Traffic Handlers Facebook page:
 
Hey New England Traffic Handlers:
 
I’ve not been much of a poster on FB but there are exciting things happening in the traffic handling world and at ARRL.
 
Did you notice in July QST the comments from ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA? He acknowledged the ARRL had not taken the lead it should in emergency communications in the last decade. However, now with the creation of a new standing committee, Emergency Communications and Field Services Committee (EC&FSC), there is, I believe, a renewed interest in turning this around. A subgroup of that committee has been working for the past few months on identifying what in NTS needs updating and how NTS can, in the future, be a real asset to public service agencies in their emergency communications. This group has been spearheaded by our New England Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, in conjunction with W2RU, KW1U KC1OIP and KE5MHV (Emergency Communications Manager at ARRL).
 
We believe we have some great ideas and a vision for NTS 2.0 which has received positive response from the EC&FSC members, and we want to start sharing this with the traffic handlers community. We will be looking for input but perhaps more importantly for help on one or more of several implementation teams. Contact any one of us if you are interested in learning more and potentially helping out and we will arrange for Zoom meetings to share and explain the work that has been done so far.
 
I think this is a great opportunity to help make a difference in promoting the value of Amateur Radio to the public and to those agencies that serve the public in times of emergencies.
 
73, Marcia KW1U

NH Field Organization Changes

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NH Section Manager Pete Stohrer, K1PJS, writes:

 
I wanted to mention a few changes in the NH Field Organization staff. John, K1UAF, is the new Section Traffic Manager in NH replacing Bill Noyce, AB1AV. 
 
All monthly PSHR and SAR reports should be sent to John, K1UAF, via the GSTN FM phone (146.94), NH Section Traffic and Training (3976 kHz) or VTNH CW (3539 kHz) nets. 
 
Joe Burke, W1INC has been appointed as Assistant Section Traffic Manager.
 
Many thanks to Bill, John and Joe for their continued support in NH Traffic handling and NTS.
 
73
 
Pete

Vermont New Hampshire (VTNH) CW Traffic Nets

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Fred,WA1MXT, writes on Facebook’s The New England Traffic Handlers group:

VERMONT NEW HAPMSHIRE (VTNH) CW Traffic Nets meets every night at 7pm local time on 80 meters 3.539. We normally operate at approximately 15 words per minute but will slow down to what ever speed you check in at. Don’t be bashful, we have all been there at one time or another. 

New England Traffic Handlers Facebook Group Created

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blank NTS formA new joint NTS/RRI New England Traffic Handlers Facebook group has been established called “The New England Traffic Handlers.”

According to MA Section Traffic Manager Marcia Forde, KW1U, and RRI Board member James Geschwinder, N1PZP, the group will promote traffic handling activities and training across New England.  All are welcome to join.

Visit the group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/307326484575346.