Public Service

Kriss Kliegle, KA1GJU, writes on the Port City ARC mailing list:

Plan on showing up at 0645 at the Portsmouth High School or thereabouts.  Many thanks to those planning on being there this Sunday AM!

Can I have a list of volunteers to assist in the parking of vehicles at the Portsmouth High School grounds on Sunday, October 31?

We have had a year off due to Covid, but they are doing it this year with many doing it virtually… so participation is expectedly to be down.

They have food and coffee available in the cafeteria and nice quality t-shirts (long sleeve T’s have been the norm).

Bring an HT (with charged batteries!) and know how to get on a simplex frequency (VFO Mode) and lock it. Ear buds or speaker mic are handy as well.

Here’s the latest email…

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Thank you again for volunteering.  Your ongoing support means a lot to the race.  We are happy to be hosting a live race again this year, and our volunteers are such a necessary part. 

Jim Palmer, KB1KQW, writes on Facebook:

Back at it again today [10/23] and tomorrow [10/24] for the 2021 edition of the Head of the Charles Regatta. Working in the Massachusetts State Police Command Post/Unified Command Center again this year as the Emergency Services Liaison for Amateur Radio. Hoping for another great and safe event this year – and good to be back in the seat and see everyone again after skipping last year. At least for this event I can “sleep in” a bit with a 6 am start time instead of 5 am for the marathon lol.

From Central NH ARC Facebook page:

Members of the Central New Hampshire Amateur Radio Club provided communications support for the 2021 New Hampshire Marathon, Half Marathon, & 10K on Saturday, October 2, 2021 in Bristol. 

According to the event web site: “The race takes runners along the roads that lead out from and back into Bristol around the shoreline of Newfound Lake, the 4,106-acre lake that has helped make this small town a popular spot for summertime outdoors recreation, for swimming, boating and fishing on the lake to hiking and camping in the hills and mountains that surround its 22 miles of shoreline — the town’s population typically doubles in the summer, city officials say, from its usual 3,300 residents to more than 6,500 in the peak vacation months.”

Dave Colter, WA1ZCN, writes on the Twin State Radio Club mailing list:

Just a reminder that we have the Post Mills CROP walk this Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. We need four or five operators for this very low-key event. Good people, great scenery, and a nice relaxing afternoon. Our role is to be there if one of the walkers needs to bail out or is injured, and to keep an eye on traffic issues and notify the Sheriff’s dept. if needed. Talk-in for those who haven’t been there before will be on the [Twin State Radio Club] repeater network, so you can try the new Burden’s Hill repeater, which has HT quality coverage in Post Mills. As usual, walk communications will be on a simplex frequency to be determined. This will be our first year doing this event without Bill Burden, WB1BRE, organizing things.

73,

Dave WA1ZCN

Tim Rodgers, KC1TWR, writes on the RASON and TriCity ARC mailing list:

Communicators needed!

The 2021 Niantic Bay Boardwalk 5K is scheduled for Saturday, October 16th, with a rain date for Sunday October 17th. This is a short event with the race starting at 10 AM and award ceremony at 11:30 AM. Report time at the Region 4 Mobile Communications Unit will be 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM.

Gary Roy, KB1AKU, writes on the Hampden County Radio Association mailing list:

The Amateur radio community  will again support and provide communication assistance for The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts fund raising event on Sunday September 26th. Please check out their web site for this very important fund raising event: https://www.foodbankwma.org/events/will-bike-4-food/  They need our assistance in areas that have poor or no cell phone coverage. The routes will require us to cover the area in Vermont, extending through Leyden, Colrain, and Shelburne. In addition there is a small area in Whately and Williamsburg which includes the water stop in Williamsburg.

The 100 mile route begins at 7am, but will not arrive in the Vermont area that we cover until sometime after 9am. The Whately area will not need coverage until later in the morning, possible 10am or 11am. These times will be better determined in the next couple weeks. We will need volunteers to cover the above route areas and net control. We also need riders with the Food Bank volunteer route monitors and at the Guilford water stop.

Net Control will set up next to the Hatfield Library at the entrance to this event headquarters located at the Lions Club Pavilion 15 Billings Way Hatfield. The KB1BSS repeater in Leyden, Mass on 146.985 Mhz, negative offset, with a PL of 136.5 hz will be used.

Please contact me if you can assist with the Will Bike 4 Food Event.

My email is: groy773@gmail.com

Thank You,
Gary Roy
KB1AKU

From the RASON mailing list:

Almost two dozen amateurs will participate in providing communications for the Surftown Half Marathon, east of the Misquamicut State Beach in the vicinity of the new Wuskenau Westerly Town Beach, 311 Atlantic Ave., and Sam’s Snack Bar. 

“Look for the Westerly Police Mobile Command vehicle.  Please make sure your radios are programmed and remember to get in early because of the road closures.  See the attached maps and notices for details,” writes Jim Creamer, KB1MAO, Washington County DEC and RI Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator.

The Westerly Amateur Radio Team and hams from the surrounding areas will be supporting the Surftown Half Marathon on September 12, 2021 in Misquamicut.

Stan Pozerski, KD1LE, Pepperell, Massachusettts, describes the challenges in providing communications for the New England Forest Rally, a two-day automotive rally that traverses both asphalt and dirt logging roads in Western Maine and Northern New Hampshire.  

From wma.arrl.org:

Aaron Addison, KF1G, writes:

The Franklin County Amateur Radio Club will provide communications for two events soon to take place in our area. We welcome licensed amateurs who would like to join us.

On 20 August, the Franklin County Land Trust will host an off the beaten path bicycle tour, called the Deerfield Dirt Road Rondonee (D2R2). It is part of their fund raising efforts. As the name of the tour suggests, it is mostly over dirt roads, in rural towns of western Franklin County and up into southern Vermont. Radio communications are necessary for key points along the tour where cell phone service is not available. At those points, our communicators will be the only way the Franklin Land Trust staff can send or receive messages to and from the base for the race in Deerfield.

The tour consists of three routes: 100k, 160k, and 180k. The first group of riders start at 6 AM, and the last rider may return as late as 6 PM. We will not cover that entire time period. We will ask radio volunteers to work in shifts. Volunteers may occasionally be asked to bring equipment, water, or food to remote stops along the way

On 29 August, the Connecticut River Conservancy and the Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club sponsor a traditional, 26 mile marathon. It starts at the campus of the former Marlboro Community College, in Marlboro, VT, and follows a path along the banks of the Green River, over mostly dirt roads. Our club members, with help from others, will help with the needs of the race staff, many positioned at water stops along the way. We are also there to call for help if needed by runners in distress.

For the D2R2, contact Al Woodhull, N1AW, at aswoodhull@yahoo.com, or 413-773-3522.
For the Green River Marathon, contact Chris Myers, KB1NEK, at camyers@protonmail.com, or 413-625-0344
More information on the Groups.IO site, at FCARC-MA, in the FILES section.