Operating

Larry Krainson, W1AST, writes:

The Massachusetts W1AW/1 Volunteers On The Air event was held from April 12th through April 18th. Team VOTA MA consisted of 15 hams contributing to a total of 9449 QSOs. It was a team effort and everyone contributed!

I would like to thank the following hams for their part in the MA Spring VOTA effort. They made it a success:

• • AB1UT
  • AF1R
  • AG1C
  • K1NZ
  • K1UR
  • KJØD (operating remotely thru K1TTT)
  • KX1X
  • N1FTP
  • N1MGO
  • N1SOH
  • W1AST
  • W1FJ
  • W1FM
  • WA1OEZ
  • WA3SWJ

There were plenty of pileups in all the modes including FTx, CW and SSB right up to the last minute of operation.

W1AW/1 Massachusetts VOTA will activate again the first week of November. If your transmitter is in MA and you would like to join the team, contact Larry, W1AST at W1AST@arrl.net.

Mark your calendars for the New England QSO Party on May 6-7, 2023. The object is to contact as many New England stations (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) in as many New England counties as possible on 80-40-20-15-10m. (New England stations work anyone.)

Station categories include single-operator high power; low power (150w or less); and QRP (5w or less), plus multi-operator, single transmitter. Same four categories for mobiles in New England. Use of spotting assistance is permitted in all categories. But self-spotting is not permitted.

For more information, visit <https://neqp.org>.

From ema.arrl.org:

Larry Krainson, W1AST, writes:

Massachusetts is ready and anxious to work everyone during its spring VOTA (Volunteers On The Air) week starting Wednesday, April 12th and going through Tuesday, April 19th.

We have a team of 17 amateurs that will be operating on all bands on multiple modes. We even have hams located in “other” states remoting through transmitters located in Massachusetts through K1TTT and some other stations.

We will be operating as W1AW/1 and per VOTA rules, each contact will be worth 5 points. Those of the team ops that have field or other positions may also be running their own call alongside the W1AW/1 to give you additional points as well. For example, if I am operating I can also run as my own call W1AST and not only give you the state W1AW/1 for 5 points contact but a 30-point contact as well. This is up to each VOTA MA op if they decide to do so.

All the points are calculated via LOTW submissions. There are no paper logs and no physical QSL cards; it’s all done via LOTW.

Watch for the spots being posted and find W1AW/1 and work us. I hope to hear you on the air!

73,

Larry, W1AST
VOTA MA Manager

W1AW will be activated by Vermont stations from 0000 UTC Wednesday, March 29 through 2359 UTC Tuesday, April 4, 2023. 

The first hour of W1AW/1 Vermont will be streamed. Go to https://www.youtube.com/@DrDX/streams and click on “Live” starting at 8 PM EDT Tuesday night March 28.

For more information on W1AW/1 Vermont, visit: http://hamclass.net/w1aw1.html. 

The 2023 Volunteers On The Air program schedule can be downloaded at https://contests.arrl.org/docs/2023-VOTA-State-Activations-Schedule.pdf.

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.

——————————————————————–
ARRL Maine Section
Section Manager: Philip W Duggan, N1EP
n1ep@arrl.org
——————————————————————–

Larry Krainson, W1AST, writes:

Wanted: Designer for the 2023 13 Colonies Massachusetts K2H QSL card. The card has a theme that follows the other 13 Colonies states.

Anyone that may be interested please contact Larry, W1AST, at W1AST@arrl.net

During 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.

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