Operating

Newport County (RI) Radio Club’s “POTA Activate-All-Rhode-Island,” September 6-9, 2023

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Photo of POTA operation at Fort Wetherill, Jamestown RI
POTA K-2875, Fort Wetherill, Jamestown, RI

We are excited to announce the Newport County Radio Club (NCRC) is gathering a team including local enthusiasts and nationally known POTA ambassadors to activate all 52 Rhode Island POTA parks over four days in September. Teams of operators will spread out to activate the parks using SSB, CW, and digital modes.

Mark your calendars for this major opportunity to make a clean sweep of all RI parks – including Block Island and other seldom activated references in our much sought after, small state. (41 of the 52 POTA parks in RI have been activated less than 50 times ever.)

[Full Details]

Maine Section Manager eNews March 2023

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Maine Section Manager eNews March 2023

Maine ARRL Convention & Hamfest

Don’t miss the Maine State ARRL Convention and Androscoggin Hamfest March 24-25! There are some great forums Friday evening and Saturday morning, in addition to the Saturday morning hamfest, VE exam session (12:30PM Sat) and much more. The event will be at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center in Lewiston. Here is a link to the hamfest for more information: 

https://www.w1npp.org/convention

Ellsworth Ham Radio Symposium

Get your geek on and come on down to Ellsworth for the April 22 Ham Radio Symposium. From noon until 4pm featured presentations include Satellite Communications, Node Red Programming for Amateur Radio Applications, Re-purposing Old Computers For The Shack, QRP, and more.  Admission by donation. The event will take place at Meadow View Apartments Phase IV Dining Hall, 25 Tweedie Lane, Ellsworth. Talk-in will be on the 146.910- (PL 151.4) repeater.

Amateur Extra Course

Looking for an on-line course to help you upgrade to Amateur Extra Class? Western Massachusetts Section Manager Ray Lajoie, AA1SE is teaching a course on-line starting March 28, so register NOW to get in on it! Here is the link: https://nediv.arrl.org/2023/03/05/western-ma-train-test-group-amateur-extra-class-begins-march-28-2023/

NEARFEST

The NEAR-Fest is a week early this spring. The dates are April 28-29.  Check out the website https://near-fest.com/

VE Sessions

VE Teams, please send your scheduled VE exam dates and info to N1EP and they will be included on the official Maine ARRL web site. Also, an applicant only needs to show a single legal photo ID at the session. Two alternate forms of authorized ID are only required if the applicant has no legal photo ID. Also, note that the general class pool changes as of July 1. The ARRL VEC is $15. Applicants bring your FRN number (FCC Registration Number) available for free at fcc.gov.

   * March 18 VE Session at 10am at Meadow View Apartments Phase IV Dining Hall, 25 Tweedie Ln, Ellsworth. Pre-register with n1ep@yahoo.com.  207-598-5397.

   * March 18 Sponsored by the Pine State ARC, 9AM (No walk-ins) must register or call ahead to Peter Bither, 207-944-2616 or email redbeard104@aol.com. Location:Â Calvary Chapel, 154 River Rd, Orrington ME 04470

A Centennial Milestone

We are all familiar with the 1901 trans-Atlantic radio communication by the great Marconi, but did you know this November is another centennial which Marconi paved the way for? That is the very first trans-Atlantic 2-way communication between ham radio operators. The Maine Ham Radio Society, at the suggestion of one of their Facebook Page members, has scheduled a Transatlantic 2-Way Centennial special event with the 1X1 call sign N1A for November 25 – 28 to commemorate the milestone. All clubs are encouraged to do the same. Let’s mark this 100-year anniversary with gusto!

CW Traffic Nets

Want to practice your Morse code, make friends with other hams, and contribute to public service and the National Traffic System? There are two such nets in Maine that you can support. The Maine Slow Speed Net meets Monday through Friday at 6:00PM on 3585 kHz.  Average speed is about 10-12 wpm but net controls will gladly adjust to whatever speed in which you check in. The Pine Tree Net is held seven days a week at 7:00pm on 3596 kHz. The speed is usually around 20 wpm, but, again, net control welcomes all, no matter the speed.

New England QSO Party!

The NEQP is May 6-7 this year! This is a great opportunity to get you Worked All States award and to also give other stations outside New England your section. Details are at https://neqp.org/.

RFI Trouble Shooting Guide

Experiencing radio frequency interference from some unidentified source?  Check out this logical RFI trouble shooting guide at: https://nediv.arrl.org/rfi-troubleshooting-guide/

Clubs Webinar Series (Club Secretary Edition)

From ARRL Field Services Manager Mike Walters, W8ZY:

Below you will find the invitation for the first of what we plan to be many webinars on club development. The idea is to take a look at the different positions in the club and how we can provide training for those positions. The first webinar is on the club secretary. As we move forward more positions will be targeted. Feel free to distribute this invitation to your section. All of these webinars will be recorded and the recordings and Power Point slides will be available in the ARRL Learning Center. We hope this will be of interest to many of the club members and the webinar is open to anyone that wishes to attend. They will use the link below to register and the link will be sent to them. 

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.

When: Mar 30, 2023 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic: ARRL Club Development Series: Secretary

Register in advance for this webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AzCmCTdORruOmPu5gm2W_g

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

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ARRL Maine Section
Section Manager: Philip W Duggan, N1EP
n1ep@arrl.org
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Foxhunt in Wallingford CT, March 12, 2023

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Dave Tipping, NZ1J, writes on the ctfoxhunter list on March 11, 2023 at 4:17 PM:

 
We’ll have a live Fox Hunt on Sunday from 9:30am until 11:00 am.  The Fox will be hidden somewhere in Wallingford, which is a 50 square mile area.
 
We’ll be using these three frequencies:  

There will be a 1 watt signal continuously on 146.565 MHz.  It will make a short beep every three seconds and will ID in Morse Code every minute.

The 10mW transmitter is on 147.475 MHz and will beep every three seconds and will ID in Morse Code every minute.

The 1mW transmitter is on 146.315 MHz and beeps every three seconds and ID as W1NRG in Morse Code every minute.  Expect a range of only about 1/10 mile on this transmitter.

 
There is no central starting location.  And, there will be no check-ins prior to the hunt.  Hunters should be at a location of their own choosing and listening on 146.565 at 9:30.  
 
There may be a two second long test of the 146.565 transmitter at 9:25.
 
Other Fox Hunters can be contacted on the W1NRG repeater 147.360 with PL 162.2  Hunters with an extra radio available might do well to monitor 147.360 throughout the hunt.
Good luck.

Dave NZ1J

“Tune In: The WWV Frequency Celebration”

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WW0WWV logoDuring March 2023, Tune In: The WWV Frequency Celebration will be held in Fort Collins, Colorado to commemorate 100 years of standard frequency broadcasts from Radio Station WWV.

“So, why’s that important?”

Back in 1923, the Radio Broadcasting industry was in its infancy. More and more stations were crowding into a limited space as the popularity of the new technology grew. The commercial stations (and hams) needed a standard to keep their equipment tuned to their assigned place on the dial (frequency). WWV started these standard broadcasts on March 6, 1923, and that service continues today, along with the better-known atomic time standard and other services.

As stated in the October 1924 QST Article The Standard-Frequency Set at WWV :

Probably no radio station has ever rendered the American radio world so great a service as WWV in transmitting the standard wave signals. Before these signals began both broadcast and amateur waves were uncertain and often wavemeters disagreed violently. Since the signals began those in the East have been able to make precision calibration on their own wavemeters and pass the information on to the west.

The WWV Amateur Radio Club, along with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery (FCMoD), and the HamSCI organization, are hosting Tune In: The WWV Frequency Celebration on March 2-4 at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, 408 Mason Ct, Fort Collins, Colorado, and throughout the month of March on air.

[Full story]

Foxhunt in Wallingford CT, February 19, 2023

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Dave Tipping, NZ1J, writes on the ctfoxhunter list on February 18, 2023 at 3:13 PM:

We’ll have a live Fox Hunt on Sunday [February 19, 2023] from 9:30 am until 11:00 am. The Fox will be hidden somewhere in Wallingford, which is a 50 square mile area.

We’ll be using these three frequencies:

  • There will be a 1-watt signal continuously on 146.565 MHz. It will make a short beep every three seconds and will ID in Morse Code every minute.
  • The 10mW transmitter is on 147.475 MHz and will beep every three seconds and will ID in Morse Code every minute.
  • The 1mW transmitter is on 146.315 MHz and beeps every three seconds and ID as W1NRG in Morse Code every minute. Expect a range of only about 1/10 mile on this transmitter.

There is no central starting location. And, there will be no check-ins prior to the hunt. Hunters should be at a location of their own choosing and listening on 146.565 at 9:30.

There may be a two second long test of the 146.565 transmitter at 9:25.

Other Fox Hunters can be contacted on the W1NRG repeater 147.360 with PL 162.2 Hunters with an extra radio available might do well to monitor 147.360 throughout the hunt.

Good luck.

Dave NZ1J

Barnstable ARC holds Winter Field Day at Scout Camp

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The Barnstable ARC (BARC) held its first Winter Field Day (WFD) at Boy Scout Camp Greenough in Yarmouth, MA this weekend.  The Club and the Boy Scouts are working together to put a permanent amateur radio station at the camp.  As part of the close relationship being forged with scouting, BARC (W1MA) set up a 2O station in the camp and manned it around the clock with a dozen volunteers.  Since the Administration building was winterized with no heat or water, it was an ideal location for an outdoor experience including temporary heaters and bringing in water.  Although the effort was smaller than BARC’s summer Field Day, setting up the antennas and operating in cold weather gave both old timers and newer operators valuable experience.  Don, KT1OK (foreground) and Lem, W1LEM were finishing the operation on Sunday afternoon, logging a few last-minute contacts on 15 and 40 meters.

665 contacts were made on 5 bands using emergency power with stations as far away as Hawaii.  BARC is taking every opportunity to showcase amateur radio at Camp Greenough that hosts camp outs to scouts from all over Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Winter Field Day continues this effort that began with Jamboree on the Air last Fall and continues with WFD and the removal of trees in preparation for Eversource to install three donated poles for the permanent radio station antenna supports.

 

Vermont QSO Party, February 4-5, 2023

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VT iconThe 65th Vermont QSO Party will take place during the first full weekend of February 2023, beginning at 0000 UTC Saturday February 4 and ending at 2400 UTC Sunday February 5, which is a 48-hour period.

In local time, this corresponds to a start time of 7:00 PM EST Friday night February 3rd and an end time of 7:00 PM Sunday night February 5th.

The Vermont QSO Party provides the opportunity for Amateur Radio operators to contact and exchange QSO information with Vermont Amateur Radio operators. All licensed amateur radio operators are invited to participate. Stations outside Vermont work Vermont stations. Stations within Vermont work everyone.

For more information, visit <http://www.ranv.org/vtqso.html>.

VOTA / W1AW Massachusetts Needs More Operators

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Larry Krainson, W1AST, writes:

VOTA Massachusetts is looking for more ops. As of January 27, 2023 we have 10 operators signed up to operate as W1AW/1 for the Volunteers On The Air (VOTA) and are looking for more for the April 12th to 18th week-long session.

If you are interested in learning more or becoming an operator, please contact Larry, W1AST, at W1AST@arrl.net.

New England Clubs Gear Up For Winter Field Day, January 28-29, 2023

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Winter Field Day Association logoA number of radio clubs throughout New England are gearing up for the annual Winter Field Day event this weekend.

Winter Field Day is sponsored by the Winter Field Day Association. Complete rules can be found on the WFD website, at Winter Field Day. According to ARRL, “Combining this with ARRL’s yearlong event, Volunteers On the Air, is a great way to make contacts that count for both activities and get new operators on the air. … Like the ARRL Field Day, bonus points are earned in several ways, including for using non-commercial power sources, operating from remote locations, making satellite contacts, and more.”

The Granite State Amateur Radio Association is QRV for Winter Field Day. They will operate as “3 Oscar” under the call sign N1QC at their summer field day site, “Mike’s Barn,” 972 Back Mountain Road, Goffstown, New Hampshire. Setup begins around 10:30 AM on Saturday morning. According to Eric Pfeifer, N1JUR, “One brave soul and station will operate for the full 24 hours.” 

The Addison County Amateur Radio Association will operate Winter Field Day at N1TRK’s QTH at 1685 Main Street in New Haven, Vermont.  “Operations will be held inside the Hambulance. The event starts at 2 PM Saturday and ends the following day at 2 PM. We will operate using the club call (N1FS) and certainly have some fun!” For more info, visit: https://winterfieldday.com/index.php  or contact Rob at litchrobbie@gmail.com or via cell at 802-355-1474.
 
New England Sci-Tech will participate in Winter Field Day from 2 to 9 PM on Saturday at 16 Tech Circle in Natick, Massachusetts. “We will stay warm and take a points loss but still have fun! Non-licensed adults and children can get on the air with one of our control operators.”
 
New England Sci-Tech will also hold a number of other activities in conjunction with WFD: maker activities from 4 to 6 PM for children of members and visitors, and hands-on activities led by volunteers. “Make a meteorite necklace, make 3-D paper art, make an electronics gadget, make a laser-cut art project, make a woodworking project, and more.” Also planned are thirty-minute planetarium shows at 5 and 7 PM, a pot luck dinner from 6 to 8 PM, and a ham radio “movie marathon” from 7 to 9 PM. 
 
The Twin State Radio Club will operate in Winter Field Day on Blackwater Road in Canaan, New Hampshire. “In past years, we’ve put heat in the comm trailer, hung a 40-meter dipole, and put the mini-beam up on the tower trailer, which gives us the most popular contest bands,” according to TSRC’s Dave Colter, WA1ZCN.  “We’ll likely run two stations on generator power. Setup begins at 8am this Saturday, and the event starts at 2pm and runs for 24 hours. If you want to try HF operating and don’t have the means at home (or the license,) this will be a good opportunity. Operating privileges will be those of the control operator present.”  Talk-in will be on the 145.33 repeater.
 
The Hampden County Radio Association (HCRA) and Franklin County Amateur Radio Club (FCARC) will mount its first Winter Field Day operation on Sunday from 9 AM until 2 PM using the call sign W1NY. The group will be set up at 1500 West Street, Amherst, MA. “Indoor restrooms are available, and food (from Atkins Farm) is a mile down the street and offers many delicious foods and treats. You are also welcome to bring something to share or for yourself.” The group plans to operate from the upper parking lot. “Look for antennas and call signs on cars and hams. We shouldn’t be hard to find.” For details, contact  W1BCC Brad Councilman (FCARC president)  at bc@councilman.com or Larry Krainson (HCRA president) at W1AST@arrl.net.
 
The Candlewood Amateur Radio Association will conduct their Winter Field Day exercise at the Ball Pond Firehouse, 7 Fairfield Drive, New Fairfield, Connecticut. All interested local hams are invited to participate.  A signup sheet for the event can be found at:  2023 Winter Field Day 1/28-1/29 Signup Sheet.
 
Members of the Boston Amateur Radio Club are QRV for Winter Field Day and will camp out and operate from one of the Ponkapoag Adirondack Mountain Club cabins in the Blue Hills south of Boston. “This will be a blast!” writes BARC’s Mindy Hull, KM1NDY. “It is imperative that you arrange this with me if you plan on going.”