St. John Valley ARA (ME) DMR Class Online, January 16, 2021

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St. John Valley ARA logo“This class is geared towards explaining why DMR is set up the way it is and why it seems so complicated. By the end of the class it is my hope that you will understand how the DMR repeater system works and also understand the terms to be able program your radio to access the system. This class is focused on the DMR system specific to Maine, which is a C-Bridge / DMR-MARC system, but the content can be applied to almost any MotoTRBO system. This class was developed by kb1zpp and sponsored by the SJVARA.

Note: This is not intended to be a class on how to set up your codeplug but rather how to understand the terms to be able to write a codeplug yourself from scratch. That being said I will have codeplug examples from a few models and may have time at the end of the class to address any brand specific questions. There will be a follow up class “Advanced DMR Programming” to follow this class in the near future which will dive deeper into the programming software side of DMR.

Intro to the Maine DMR System
January 16, 2021
Lobby opens at 16:30 est
Class starts at 17:00 est
Held via www.freeconferencecall.com, you will need an account which is free
You will need a computer, PC or Mac. You won’t see anything on a smartphone.
You will need to download the app from www.freeconferencecall.com
For a walkthrough to set up an account check out the April or November issues of the SJVARA newsletter at www.sjvara.com/feedpoint”

Register at <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeK37_oBBQskFtztsLhYRjOelBuxCUjgFITreusaAVXITW6Gg/viewform>.

WA1ZMS Transmission to Commemorate Fessenden Christmas Eve Broadcast

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Reginald Fessenden Commemorative PlaqueFrom ARRL Letter:

As he has done each December for the past few years, Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, of Forest, Virginia, will transmit a program on 486 kHz, under authority of his FCC Part 5 Experimental License WI2XLQ, to commemorate wireless pioneer Reginald Fessenden’s accomplishments. Justin will transmit for at least 24 hours starting at around 1800 UTC on December 24. Fessenden claimed to have made his first voice — and music — broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1906 from Brant Rock, Massachusetts, although his account is disputed.

From Wikipedia:

“Fessenden reported that on the evening of December 24, 1906 (Christmas Eve), he had made the first of two radio broadcasts of music and entertainment to a general audience, using the alternator-transmitter at Brant Rock [Massachusetts]. Fessenden remembered producing a short program that included a phonograph record of Ombra mai fu (Largo) by George Frideric Handel, followed by Fessenden playing Adolphe Adam‘s carol O Holy Night on the violin and singing Adore and be Still by Gounod, and closing with a biblical passage: ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will’ (Luke 2:14). He also stated that a second short program was broadcast on December 31 (New Year’s Eve). The intended audience for both of these transmissions was primarily shipboard radio operators along the Atlantic seaboard. Fessenden claimed that the two programs had been widely publicized in advance, and the Christmas Eve broadcast had been heard ‘as far down’ as Norfolk, Virginia, while the New Year Eve’s broadcast had reached listeners in the West Indies.”

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COVID-19 Vaccine Informational Session Video, Sponsored by Wallingford ARG, Meriden ARC (CT)

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Eric Knight, KB1EHE, writes on ct-ares:COVID-19 logo

In case you missed last night’s (December 16, 2020) superb session, here is a video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNqchMz-4Co

For background / context, below is the bulletin that was distributed prior to the event:

TOPIC:  INFORMATIONAL SESSION ON COVID-19 VACCINE SPONSORED BY WALLINGFORD AMATEUR RADIO GROUP – MERIDEN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

 
TIME:   December 16, 2020,  07:30 pm (1930) – 9:00 pm (2100) Eastern Time (US and Canada)
 
Speakers:    
 
Edward Snyder, MD  W1YSM               Professor Laboratory Medicine, Yale University/Yale New-Haven Hospital    (10 min)
Elsie Mathews,  MPH KB1IFZ                Director, Data Management  – Pfizer                                                                       (10 min)
Stephen Civitelli,  RS, MPH                    Director of Health, Town of Wallingford                                                                  (10 min)
 
Format: There will be three 10 minute presentations followed by 60 minutes of open Q&A  from attendees to the Panel
 
THIS IS  INFORMATIONAL ONLY FOR THE PUBLIC – There is NO commercial sponsorship or affiliation sponsorship of any type.
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ARRL Headquarters Closed Tomorrow for Winter Storm Bailey

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ARRL logoCentral Connecticut, along with much of New England, will be impacted by winter storm Bailey tonight into Thursday and beyond. Estimates have varied widely, but have consistently indicated a major impact. The latest forecast is calling for 11-15” of snow beginning this evening going through tomorrow afternoon.

ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, has announced that the Headquarters building in Newington, Connecticut will be closed for business on Thursday, December 17, 2020.  Employees will be encouraged to work from home; many already are, or are equipped to.

In advance of the storm, ARRL staffers removed some antennas from one of the towers on the HQ roof that was in poor condition. 

Minster anticipates that Headquarters operation “will be back to normal” by Friday.

73,

Fred Hopengarten, K1VR
ARRL Director
New England Division

Phil Temples, K9HI
ARRL Vice Director
New England Division

Maine ARRL Section Web, Facebook Pages

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Maine iconCory Golob, KU1U writes:
 
We now have websites, pages and groups going, now we just need content. These are still works in progress, but they are all published.
 
 
 
Maine Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MaineARRL
 
 
73 DE KU1U

Providence Radio Association W1OP Earns 9-Band DXCC, Qualifies for 9-Band WAS

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Providence Radio Assoc logoThe Providence Radio Association has chalked up some impressive accomplishments on the air: through its members’ efforts the W1OP club station has earned a 9-Band DX Century Club (DXCC) award and qualified for 9-Band Worked All States (WAS). 

“Congratulations to all W1OP operators who added to these totals. An outstanding achievement,” said PRA President Dave “Tess” Tessitore, K1DT. Tessitore added that 95 percent of contacts for the 9BDXCC via Logbook of The World (LoTW), while the 9BWAS total as 100 percent. 

PRA will celebrate its 100th anniversary of ARRL affiliation in 2021. 

“N1R Special Event Station”

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N1IBQ operating N1R Special Event Station, Nov. 7-8, 2020From Candlewood ARA (CT) “CARA Capers” newsletter, December 2020:

On the weekend of November 7-8, 2020, the US Coast Guard Auxiliary ran eight special event stations across the country to commemorate its 81st Anniversary. Created by the U.S. Congress on June 23, 1939, the “US Coast Guard Reserve Act of 1939” established a civilian volunteer component of the Coast Guard to promote boating safety and to facilitate the operations of the Coast Guard. Members had to be US citizens who were boat owners or had partial ownership of a boat.

As America’s unofficial involvement in World War II escalated, Congress recognized the need for a military Reserve similar to the Army and Navy, so in February 1941 the original act was repealed and a new act passed that established a military Reserve and Temporary Reserve and renamed the civilian organization as the “Auxiliary”.

Back in August a call went out to Amateur Radio operators in the Auxiliary asking them if they would participate in commemorating the anniversary by setting up and operating a Special Event Station. Since N1A was already assigned by the FCC, I chose N1R (“R” for Reserve, our 1939 name) and set up a “patio portable” station. I still don’t have a permanent antenna at my home.

N1R setupSo, with great anticipation of having a pile-up with dozens of stations answering my “CQ” call to get the special event QSL card, I got on the 20- meter frequency I had published on ARRL’s Special Event page and started calling “CQ”. And then… nothing. Antenna tuned to 1:1.03, 80 watts SSB, Saturday morning, dead silence. Moved to the 40 meter frequency that I had published… nothing again. Frustrated, I listened up and down the two bands and heard a few stations, not the usual chatter. Even the POTA stations seemed to be staying home. Time to change strategy. I started calling stations that were finishing their QSO’s and that helped get a few contacts in the log.

Was it a post-election distraction? Were the bands just shut down? Not sure. After the event I called Chuck, K1DFS, in Plainville, CT who was operating N1A for the event from his home station, and he had the similar experience over the two days.

But was it fun? Absolutely Yes! Since I run the same setup almost every weekend with really good results (considering the station and antenna) I’m pretty sure that there wasn’t much more I could have done. This was my first activation of a special event station, so the learning experience was worth it all… how to get a special event call sign from the FCC, set it up in QRZ.com, list it on the ARRL Special Event webpage, and even more importantly, anticipate next year’s event!

N1R antennaMy station consisted of a Yaesu FT-891 running 80 watts with LMR400 UF cable to a 23 foot Diamond BB7V vertical antenna. An older MFJ 949D tuner and a RigExpert AA230 antenna connected to the tuner with a 2-way antenna switch. The most important component was a patient and understanding XYL.

For more information about the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and its history, visit the N1R page I posted on QRZ.com.

73, Ron Willson, N1IBQ

K9HI: “ARRL Update” at PART of Westford (MA) Online Meeting, December 15, 2020

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PART of Westford logoFrom PART of Westford website:

The [PART of Westford] December 15, 2020 meeting will be held online via video conference, starting at 7:30 PM. Login details will be sent to members via Groups.io. Our guest speaker will be Phil Temples, K9HI, ARRL New England Vice Director, who will talk about ARRL news and happenings.

[To request conference login information, contact George Allison, K1IG, at k1ig -at- arrl -dot- net]

MA Ham Operator License Plate Update, December 8, 2020

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MA ham operator plate sampleRandy Dore, AI1G, writes on December 8, 2020:
 
I received a call this afternoon from Mass DOT RMV that my [ham operator license plate] application has been processed and the new plates should be completed in the next few weeks. She said they are picking through them in no particular order as there was quite a backlog.
 
[…]
 
You can pass the news on this to the membership. They are working on the backlog of applications.
 
Happy holidays,
 
Randy Dore AI1G
Grafton
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