New England Clubs QRV for Winter Field Day!

by

Winter Field Day Association logoA number of clubs and individuals throughout New England will be participating in this weekend’s Winter Field Day festivities.

The Tri-State Radio Club will operate from their QTH on Blackwater Road in Canaan, NH.  Contact Dave, WA1ZCN, at dbcolter@myfairpoint.net for details.

The Boston ARC will operate from a Ponkapoag AMC cabin in the Great Blue Hill Reservation in Randdolph, MA. Contact Scott at k1su.scott@gmail.com for more information.

The Wellesley (MA) ARS will be QRV for Winter Field Day. No details are known.

The Hampden County Radio Club (Agawam, MA) is encouraging its members to operate individually.  

The Port City ARC will be active from its club room in Seabrook, NH. Contact Mark, K1RX, at mpridesti@yahoo.com for details.

The Barnstable ARC gang will be QRV from the Dennis, MA, firehouse. Contact KT1OK@ARRL.net for more info.

The Meriden ARC is operating WFD at the Wallingford Emergency Management building in the Hope Hill Firehouse, 143 Hope Hill Road, Wallingford, CT. (They have pizza!)
 
The PVRA Repeater Club will hold its Winter Field Day at 33 Mitchell Drive, Manchester, CT. Contact Mark N1SAT mark@n1sat.com if interested.
 
The Southeastern MA ARA will hold its WFD indoors at the W1AEC clubhouse in South Dartmouth, MA. Contact ben@n1wbv.net for more information.
 
Just like the summer version, Field Day, Winter Field Day is about going to a different location than your home, operating on a power source other than electrical from your wall, being in a temporary shelter or location and talking to other Winter Field Day participants. If you operate SOTA or POTA, think of it as a full 24 hour activation.
 
But Winter Field Day can also be operated from your home using different power sources or electrical, your home station or portable or any way you wish to enter. There are different points awarded for different power sources and different power levels and locations.
 
To learn more about Winter Field Day, visit https://winterfieldday.org. The site features a map of registered WFD operations.
 
 
WFD locator map Northeast
 

 

ARRL CT Section NCS Operator Training Workshop, Newington CT, February 1, 2025

by

Douglas Sharafanowich, WA1SFH, writes on the CT-ARES mailing list:CT ARES logo

What:   Net Control Station Operator Training Workshop

Date:   Saturday, February 1, 2025

Time:   0830 – 1200  

Place: Newington Volunteer Fire Dept. – Company #1, 1485 Main Street, (Cross Street: Centerwood Road), Newington,  CT

The ARRL CT Section is excited to announce its upcoming, in-person, Net Control Station (NCS) Operator Training Workshop.

Target Audience:
Members of ARES*, Skywarn, the National Traffic System (NTS), and other Hams wanting to build more skills.

–  This comprehensive, fast paced, hands-on workshop is designed to not only to give attendees the foundational training they need to start conducting a Radio Net successfully, but also to provide “a refresher” for experienced Net Control Station Operators.

Be Part of our NCS Operator Team!

Don’t Miss it!

REGISTER TODAY at:  https://tinyurl.com/mw9e6und

Pre-Workshop Reading Assignment

Please read “The First 15 Minutes” presentation, and write down your observations.

We will begin the Workshop with a discussion of what happened, focusing on:
The Good, The Bad, and THE UGLY.

LINK: https://tinyurl.com/yc5erdcm

 

Note:

* ARES members

This workshop prepare you for the ARES Emergency Communicator Individual Task Book – Level 2 Participation requirement: “Serve as Net Control”

 

Fox Hunt, North Haven CT Vicinity, January 19, 2025

by
Dave Tipping, NZ1J, writes on the ctfoxhunter list:
 
This weekend is POTA Support Your Parks Weekend.  A lot of club activity will be at Wharton Brook during the time of our regular Fox Hunt.  In response, this week’s hunt will be shorter, ending at 10:30 am.  The search area will be North Haven, within 3 miles of Wallingford.  This will be an unfamiliar area, but also smaller than usual.
 
————————————————————————————————–
We’ll have a live Fox Hunt on Sunday from 9:30am until 10:30am.  The Fox will be hidden somewhere in North Haven and near Wallingford.
 

We’ll be using these three frequencies:  

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

The 10mW transmitter is on 147.455MHz and will beep every three seconds and will ID in Morse Code every minute.

The 1mW transmitter is on 146.290MHz 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

ARRL Board of Directors Meeting, January 16-18, 2025

by

 

ARRL Board of Directors Meeting, January 2025, Windsor CT
 
 Thursday evening session at the ARRL Board of Directors Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut. (K9HI photo)

 

K9HI posed with Radio Amateurs of Canada President Allan Boyd, VE3AJB/VE3EM, at this week's ARRL Board of Directors meeting in Windsor, Connecticut
 Radio Amateurs of Canada President Allan Boyd, VE3AJB/VE3EM, at this week’s ARRL Board of Directors meeting in Windsor, Connecticut. (K9HI photo)

2025 HamX Call for Talks

by

2025 HamX banner

HamX is the largest annual gathering of Radio Amateurs east of Dayton and north of Huntsville. And it fields more talks and workshops than any other ham convention in the world. We’re not just a trade show, we convene to exchange ideas. Here’s your chance to participate. Locally, 2025 will be celebrated as the 250 th anniversary of “the shot heard ‘round the world.” But we all know that for over a century Amateur Radio’s signals have been heard ‘round the world.

Every year’s talks pretty much run the same gamut of subject areas—Antennas and Propagation, Contesting and DXing, EMCOM/PS, League, Operating Activities, Organization and Innovation, Technical, and Training. This year we’re emphasizing “signals heard ’round the world.”

So, consider volunteering to speak on signals.

  • How we generate and transmit Amateur signals. (our bands, equipment, remote systems, antennas, propagation, etc.)
  • How we modulate our signals. (CW, phone, digital, image, etc.)
  • The uses we make of our signals. (on-the-air activities, EMCOM and public service, DXing, contesting, traffic, repeaters, EME. etc.)

Even if you can’t speak, you must have some ideas regarding what you or others want to hear about—elementary topics for the newcomers among us, intermediate-level topics for the general attendees, even advanced topics to challenge and educate us all. Pass them on as a
request.

Here are this year’s planning and preparation milestones:

  • January through April – Individuals propose presentations. The Convention’s Programs Committee also solicits presentations. Speaker Login webpage active.
  • By 30 April – Solicited presenters reply.
  • By 1 June – Potential presenters commit to speaking if scheduled.
  • By 30 June – Closeout: presentation curation complete. Presenters notified.
  • By 30 June – Presenters finish populating database with personal information, talk title, and talk summary. (Minor grammatic and spelling edits are permitted until the database is locked.)
  • 15 July – Database locked. No further editing by presenters.
  • 31 July – Scheduling resolved, locked, and provided for brochure preparation.
  • 10 August – Brochure submitted to printer.
  • 21-23 August — HamXposition 2025!

It’s never too early to start planning! Contact HamXposition Program Chair Skip Youngberg at K1NKR@hamxposition.org.

New England Mesh Working Group Meeting, January 14, 2025

by

Ben Jackson, N1WBV, writes:

Just a reminder that the January New England Mesh Working Group monthly Zoom meeting is scheduled for Tuesday January 14th at 7:30PM.

Some tidbits we will be covering:

* Successful linking of the VT mesh with the RI mesh via tunnel.
* Progress in Dartmouth
* Progress on the Cape
* Meshtastic

Please feel free to invite anyone who you may think would be interested!

73

Ben, N1WBV

[Contact Ben at <ben@n1wbv.net> for Zoom details]

New England Division Update, January 8, 2025

by

ARRL logoNew England Division

This is a short update as the new year opens. The ARRL Board of Directors will be meeting on January 17 and 18. While there is a draft agenda available, many of the reports and possible action items are just being circulated to the Board this week.

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/About%20ARRL/Board%20Meetings/Draft%20Agenda%202025%20(SH).pdf

We plan to hold an information session on Saturday, January 11th at 11am via Zoom for New England Division ARRL members to update you before the meeting. Zoom connection info is below.

This Zoom session will also serve as a way to gather your suggestions and ideas to use as we have discussions with other Board members before and during the Board meeting. We’ll hold another Zoom session after the Board meeting to report on what took place.

Thanks for your support as I return to the ARRL Board. I’m looking forward to working to move forward on a number of critical issues with the help of Vice Director Phil Temples/K9HI.

Very 73 and Happy New Year!

Zoom:

Tom Frenaye is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: New England Division
Time: Jan 11, 2025 11:00 Eastern Time

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81456003601?pwd=AUGEwOxiTasrcXHYhOsrC7X006xXuM.1

Meeting ID: 814 5600 3601
Passcode: 886125

Dial by telephone

• +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
• +1 646 931 3860 US

Meeting ID: 814 5600 3601
Passcode: 886125

 

Maine Section News

by

ARRL Maine Section Manager Phil Duggan, N1EP, writes:

Boat Anchor Hamfest

First Maine Hamfest of the year is Saturday, February 15 from 8am until noon at the Club Calumet, 334 West River RD, Augusta, ME. Admission $5. VE Session time to be determined. No table fees, so bring plenty of gear to sell or swap. Sponsored by the Augusta Amateur Radio Association. P.O.C George Szadis K1GDI email grszadis@aol.com.

Hams Needed For Can Am Sled Dog Race

Northern Maine is looking for volunteers! Fort Kent, Maine is hosting the annual Can Am Crown of Maine sled dog races. The event runs March 1st, 2nd and 3rd. If you are interested in volunteering to work communications at Net Control, one of the checks points, or anywhere help may be needed, please reach out to the Can Am Comms Chief, James Jalbert, kc1ecv@gmail.com. This is a great opportunity to use your ham radio skills, make some new friends, expand your network, and see the great Northern Maine in the winter time. Reach out to James for more info.