Brian 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
On June 14th, cyclists will return to Hampton Beach to begin their 2025 New England Ride To End Alzheimer’s, and I’m writing today to ask for your help in supporting them!
The event details are as follows:
Saturday, June 14th
Hampton Beach State Park, Hampton, NH
Volunteer roles vary and range from 6am-4pm
**SAG team members are asked to commit to the whole day, rest stop volunteers may have shorter shifts depending on where they are stationed.
If you’re able and willing, I’d like to invite you to join the Amateur Radio team for the 2025 Ride To End Alzheimer’s. You can find all the event details here and the direct registration link is here.
This is a very important event. The riders at this event are raising money to fund research that will one day put an end to Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Our job is to staff the communications network that helps keep them safe while they do it.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
In just a few weeks, one of the most popular summer operating events kicks off – The 13 Colonies Special Event. Now in its 17thyear, the event has grown from Special Event Stations making approximately 12,000 contacts to last year making 292,496 contacts around the world. The Event runs from July 1 9:00 AM—July 7 Midnight Eastern (July 1 1300 UTC—July 8 0400 UTC).
This year, event organizers are recognizing the 13 Colonies Special Event founder Ken Villone, KU2US, who is passing the torch on to Tony Jones, N4ATJ. For the past 16 years, Villone has lead the event by working with state and bonus station coordinators. Then after the event he would print out individual certificates for thousands of people who made contact with the special event stations.
The Special Event consists of one station operating in each of the 13 Colonies (K2A – K2M) and three bonus stations (WM3PEN – Philadelphia, GB13COL – England, TM13COL – France) each representing their city, state, or countries role in America’s Colonial period.
Villone describes how the event got started:
“I had just finished participating in the ARRL Sweepstakes in 2008, and remarked how fun it was. I could not figure out why there were not more of these type special events on the air. So I decided to try my luck and create one for one year only to see what happened and to have some fun. I knew we had to offer a special QSL card and/or certificate, plus have on hand a printer and supplies. The hard part was deciding what the event would commemorate and when to do this. I needed a theme that ALL could relate to! Also, the event would have to be the type with multiple event stations involved, like the ARRL Sweeps.
“Then it hit me! 13 Colonies states, during the 4th of July week, and offer a certificate with the theme for the year. I made sure the theme was different each year with a different certificate design to make it interesting and to also make the certificate collectable. The theme would highlight some event or thing connected to the American Revolution. The event was held July 1st to the 4th, 2009, 4 days with no advertising except on QRZ. I had a hard time getting 13 different Ops, one from each Colony state, but it worked out. All in all, it was a success! We made over 12,000 contacts the first year. I decided we had a good thing going, so I recruited another Op from each state and ran the event the followning year.We did over 32,000 contacts in 2010, and had a total of 26 state operators. There was a 13 Colonies special event in 1962 but only lasted one year, according to my research. (I was 13 years old).”
Ham radio operators and SWLs can participate in the event. Complete information about the call for each colony station and the bonus stations can be found on the event website 13colonies.us and they can follow us on Facebook – 13 Colonies Special Event Community. Stations need only make one contact with one of the participating stations, or they can go for a Clean Sweep and work all 13 Colony stations and the three bonus stations. Each station offers a special QSL card for the event as well as a different certificate each year. Operators can keep an eye out for the special event stations by watching many of the DX spotting networks, such as DXSummit.fi.
WD4R-Julio Ripoll, founder and Amateur Radio Coordinator for WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami FL, which has been active during landfalling New England tropical systems received the prestigious Dayton Hamvention Special Achievement Award. Further details including a picture of Julio receiving the award can be seen below:
May 10, 2025: Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Test, Station NAF, Newport Naval Radio Station Museum, Rhode Island. W1OP used the call sign NAF to cross band to make radio contacts with amateur radio operators across the country. The Collins 237B antenna from that location in the early 1960s, is currently installed at W1OP and was used for those contacts.
Over 120 contacts made by participating W1OP members: N1SXB, KC1NTI W3DRE, AA1II, N1DM, K1COI, and K1DT.
Merrimack Valley Amateur Radio Association is planning to establish a 5 GHz mesh network at NEAR-Fest on May 2-3, 2025. The club also has a table in the Vendor building. Stop by to learn more about AREDN [Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network] deployments in New Hampshire, or just to say hello.
Purpose of the NEARFest 5 GHz network:
Train our club members in using AREDN ad hoc networks in the field
Give ALL interested hams an opportunity to learn more about AREDN
Two ways to explore AREDN at NEARfest:
1. Smartphone or other browser device
TeamTalk conferencing:
Install the TeamTalk app on your smartphone in advance from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Set up TeamTalk on phone
Open the Server List by clicking + in the upper right
Name = N1MVA TeamTalk
IP = 10.162.135.114
TCP Port = 10333
UDP Port = 10333
Username = ham
Password = ham
Nickname = your callsign
Click Save
When you arrive at NEARFest
Logon to the N1MVA-AREDN wifi with password nearfest
Click Connect next to the N1MVA TeamTalk server you created
Talk and message with others on the channel
Citadel email server
Logon to the N1MVA-AREDN wifi with password nearfest
Type localnode:8080 into a browser to access a node
Click on the square grid (mesh) in the upper left margin
Look over routers listed for the Citadel server link
Click the link
Register for an account – User name = your first and last name and callsign, password of your choosing.
Explore the program and send me a message if you like
NOTE – Email is local only, no internet
2. Bring AREDN equipment to join the 5 GHz network
Radio configuration:
Firmware – a very recent nightly build with babel routing
Channel 160
Bandwidth 20 MHz
Radio purpose setting – Mesh
There will be several omni-directional antennas on site to access with any type of antenna
The New England QSO Party on May 3rd and 4th is a great time to check out antenna systems and offers a moderately paced opportunity to work new states and countries. You’ll find a wide variety of participants, from newcomers to experienced contesters, all interested in making contacts with New England stations.
Our goal is to get every one of the counties in New England on the air so we hope you will encourage your members to join in the fun! Even if you can join the fun for a couple of hours, we’d appreciate it! Will you be QRV? Let us know with a message to info@neqp.org.
The New England QSO Party is 20 hours long overall, in two sections with a civilized break for sleep on Saturday night. It runs from 4 pm Saturday until 1 am Sunday, then 9 am Sunday until 8 pm Sunday. Operate on CW, SSB and/or digital modes on 80-40-20-15-10 meters. For each QSO you’ll give your callsign, a signal report and your county/state. Top scorers can earn a plaque and everyone who sends in a log with 25 QSOs or more will get a certificate. The goal is to work stations anywhere in the world – and their goal is to work New England stations, so you’ll be very popular!
Last year we had logs from 212 New England stations and 516 more logs from around the country and world.
13 Colonies Massachusetts, is looking for a few new ops to join Team K2H.
13 Colonies takes place every July 1-7. We’re looking for volunteers who can operate for at least 2 hours per day for at least 4 of the 7 days.
Operating as K2H is a blast. You become the DX, and stations want to work you. You don’t have to be a contest op to volunteer. Anyone interested and available is welcome. As part of team K2H for the past few years, we have made around 20,000 contacts.
If you are interested, please contact Larry, W1AST, 13 Colonies Massachusetts state manager, at W1AST@arrl.net before May 15th.
Thanks and 73,
Larry, W1AST
ARRL WMA Affiliated Club Coordinator
Northeast HamX Committee Member: W1AST@HamX.org
Team K2H – 13 Colonies Massachusetts State Manager
Proud Member of ARRL, HCRA, FEMARA & YCCC
413-348-3289
WB1DBY@gmail.com
I hope to see you at this year’s HamX! – www.HamX.org
Spring is finally here, and that means it’s time for this year’s Spring Support Your Parks Weekend, happening April 18-20. This particular weekend is extra special—not only is it World Amateur Radio Day on April 18th, but Easter falls on April 20th, giving us plenty of opportunities to make contacts and light up Connecticut’s parks in the logbooks as K2D!
Join Us for the P2P Net & Potluck Picnic!
To welcome in the Spring, we’ll be hosting our Park-to-Park (P2P) net on 40 meters at 10:00 AM on Saturday, April 20th. Pick your favorite park to activate and jump on the net, or come meet up with us at:
Wharton Brook State Park (US-1728)
675 US-5, North Haven, CT 06473
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
We’ll be gathering for a potluck picnic, so bring a dish to share—your favorite homemade meal, snacks, beverages, or desserts are all welcome! There will also be a tailgate-style POTA show and tell, so bring your radio gear to show off and operate.
Represent Connecticut as K2D!
If you’d like to activate using the K2D special event call sign, please use this [Sign-Up Link] to claim a rover number for spotting purposes. When logging your contacts:
* Log your station as K2D
* Log yourself as the operator using your personal call sign
* Submit logs to Conrad N2YCH – N2YCH(at)icloud.com
Your personal POTA account will receive credit when the logs are uploaded to K2D.
Let’s make this an amazing weekend on the air and celebrate Spring together! Hope to see you out there.
Brian Horne, N1BAM, writes on the CT-POTA mailing list:
Jay Taft, K1EHZ, writes: