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Volunteer Opportunity – Ride to End Alzheimer’s – June 14th
K1DSL-Dan Loveman writes:
On June 14th, cyclists will return to Hampton Beach to begin their 2025 New England Ride To End Alzheimer’s, and I’m writing today to ask for your help in supporting them!
The event details are as follows:
Saturday, June 14th
Hampton Beach State Park, Hampton, NH
Volunteer roles vary and range from 6am-4pm
**SAG team members are asked to commit to the whole day, rest stop volunteers may have shorter shifts depending on where they are stationed.
If you’re able and willing, I’d like to invite you to join the Amateur Radio team for the 2025 Ride To End Alzheimer’s. You can find all the event details here and the direct registration link is here.
This is a very important event. The riders at this event are raising money to fund research that will one day put an end to Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Our job is to staff the communications network that helps keep them safe while they do it.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thanks and 73,
Dan Loveman /K1DSL
alz@k1dsl.net
Scout Camp Station W1MA Opens at Camp Greenough on Cape Cod
With the help of a $25,000 ARRL Club Grant and another $100,000 0f in-kind donations, the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club (BARC) held the grand opening of W1MA on May 31 at the Scout camp in Yarmouth. The project included rebuilding an entire wall of the building the station is in and providing the camp with nearly a mile of fiber-optic cable. The project also included the ability to use the station remotely at the camp’s welcome and training center for radio merit badge and license training. Scouts from all over Cape Cod attended the opening hosted by project leaders Norm, WA1NLG and Mark, N1ZPO, both Eagle Scouts, as well as another half dozen BARC members who helped bring the project to completion. The station features both HF and VHF/UHF/Satellite capability and remote operation over the internet and is located adjacent to the new welcome center at the camp’s entrance. The event was well-attended with BARC providing snacks outside the station.
Future plans include an enhanced antenna system and operating during JOTA events using the station as the event headquarters.
NH Governor Kelly Ayotte Issues Proclamation Designating June as “Amateur Radio Month”
For further information, contact NH ARRL Section Public Information Coordinator Skip Camejo
In public recognition of the valuable service that amateur radio operators provide to their communities at no cost, Governor Kelly Ayotte issued a formal proclamation designating June as “Amateur Radio Month” in New Hampshire.
Amateur radio operators, also known as ham radio operators, offer their services to their communities in time of emergency to assist local, state and federal public safety agencies in providing auxiliary communication capabilities to allow regular public safety communication systems to concentrate on the emergency. In particular, NH-ARES (New Hampshire Amateur Radio Emergency Service) has groups and members situated throughout the state to provide assistance as needed. ARES is an emergency communication organization sponsored by the ARRL (American Radio Relay League), the leading non-governmental amateur radio organization in the United States. In addition to ARES, the ARRL sponsors the NTS (National Traffic System) which routinely transmits message traffic by radiogram, similar to telegrams, throughout the country. In the event of an emergency the NTS would be available to provide long distance communication capabilities to responding agencies as well as health and welfare messages to or from the disaster area to family members outside the area when conventional communication systems are not functioning. To practice their radio communication skills, amateur radio operators participate in an annual event called Field Day. This event is held every June and involves operators setting up their radios in sometimes remote locations to practice and train for emergency communication. Many local amateur radio clubs set up public demonstrations and encourage members of the public to try their hand at amateur radio. This year Field Day will be held the weekend of June 28-29, 2025.
This year NH-ARES entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Emergency Services and Communications that designates NH-ARES as the sole organization providing amateur radio communications support to the state.
As witnessed in weather disasters such as Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, hurricanes in Florida and tornadoes throughout the midwest, cellular systems and public safety radio systems can become inoperable due to infrastructure damage. The use of amateur radio provides an auxiliary communication system utilizing trained and federally licensed radio operators to support the missions of the state’s public safety agencies. In addition to emergency communication capabilities, amateur radio operators routinely assist their communities by providing communication services at events such as marathons, bicycle races, canoe races and other similar events. These public service radio communication assignments help train radio operators and fine tune the abilities of NH-ARES members to adapt to changing radio and weather conditions.
Is Your Club on the Map?
Use the ARRL Field Day Site Locator to make in-person connections during the event! With a little more than a month to go until the big weekend, there are almost 650 sites listed on the locator. To search for a site near you, just go to the map and zoom in on your area. Click on the red map pins for details about each site. To add information to the locator, click on “Add a Station”
Check it out www.arrl.org/field-day-locator.
2025 13 Colonies Special Event Recognizes Ken Villone, KU2US
Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, writes:
In just a few weeks, one of the most popular summer operating events kicks off – The 13 Colonies Special Event. Now in its 17th year, the event has grown from Special Event Stations making approximately 12,000 contacts to last year making 292,496 contacts around the world. The Event runs from July 1 9:00 AM—July 7 Midnight Eastern (July 1 1300 UTC—July 8 0400 UTC).
This year, event organizers are recognizing the 13 Colonies Special Event founder Ken Villone, KU2US, who is passing the torch on to Tony Jones, N4ATJ. For the past 16 years, Villone has lead the event by working with state and bonus station coordinators. Then after the event he would print out individual certificates for thousands of people who made contact with the special event stations.
The Special Event consists of one station operating in each of the 13 Colonies (K2A – K2M) and three bonus stations (WM3PEN – Philadelphia, GB13COL – England, TM13COL – France) each representing their city, state, or countries role in America’s Colonial period.
Villone describes how the event got started:
“I had just finished participating in the ARRL Sweepstakes in 2008, and remarked how fun it was. I could not figure out why there were not more of these type special events on the air. So I decided to try my luck and create one for one year only to see what happened and to have some fun. I knew we had to offer a special QSL card and/or certificate, plus have on hand a printer and supplies. The hard part was deciding what the event would commemorate and when to do this. I needed a theme that ALL could relate to! Also, the event would have to be the type with multiple event stations involved, like the ARRL Sweeps.
“Then it hit me! 13 Colonies states, during the 4th of July week, and offer a certificate with the theme for the year. I made sure the theme was different each year with a different certificate design to make it interesting and to also make the certificate collectable. The theme would highlight some event or thing connected to the American Revolution. The event was held July 1st to the 4th, 2009, 4 days with no advertising except on QRZ. I had a hard time getting 13 different Ops, one from each Colony state, but it worked out. All in all, it was a success! We made over 12,000 contacts the first year. I decided we had a good thing going, so I recruited another Op from each state and ran the event the followning year.We did over 32,000 contacts in 2010, and had a total of 26 state operators. There was a 13 Colonies special event in 1962 but only lasted one year, according to my research. (I was 13 years old).”
Ham radio operators and SWLs can participate in the event. Complete information about the call for each colony station and the bonus stations can be found on the event website 13colonies.us and they can follow us on Facebook – 13 Colonies Special Event Community. Stations need only make one contact with one of the participating stations, or they can go for a Clean Sweep and work all 13 Colony stations and the three bonus stations. Each station offers a special QSL card for the event as well as a different certificate each year. Operators can keep an eye out for the special event stations by watching many of the DX spotting networks, such as DXSummit.fi.
Authors Track at HamXposition
Larry Krainson, W1AST, writes:I’m tinkering with the idea of having an “Authors Track” or “Meet the Authors” at this year’s HamXposition.
Calling all hams in New England who are book authors! Your books do not have to include ham radio, but it would be fun if they did.
If you are interested in learning more, please contact Larry, W1AST, at W1AST@HamX.org with your name and call.
Julio Ripoll – Founder & Coordinator of National Hurricane Center Amatuer Radio Station – WX4NHC Receives Prestigious Dayton Hamvention Special Achievement Award
From WX1BOX.org:
WD4R-Julio Ripoll, founder and Amateur Radio Coordinator for WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami FL, which has been active during landfalling New England tropical systems received the prestigious Dayton Hamvention Special Achievement Award. Further details including a picture of Julio receiving the award can be seen below:
2025 HamXposition Prizes Announced
From Northeast HamXposition.org:
Major prizes have been announced at the 2025 Northeast HamXposition.
“Our website lists the door prizes that have been both donated by vendors and purchased by the committee,” explains Prize Chair Larry Krainson, W1AST.
“One of our top prizes — the FT-891 and ATAS-120 — go together as a complete HF mobile station. I think people will be excited by our offerings.”
For the full list of major prizes offered at the Friday evening DXCC-Contest Banquet, Saturday morning Keynote Address, Saturday afternoon hourly drawings, Saturday evening Grant Banquet, and Sunday Closing Ceremony, visit https://hamxposition.org/prizes.
“Message From A Freshly Licensed Ham”
From Franklin (County, MA) Land Trust E-News & Views, May 15, 2025:
“For many years, we have relied on the generous support of volunteer amateur radio operators (Hams) during D2R2. These Hams, mostly members of the Franklin County Amateur Radio Club (FCARC), provide communication support between D2R2’s home base in Deerfield and checkpoints scattered across the Hilltowns where there is little to no cell service. Last year, when I began planning a new event that would also require support from FCARC (Edge Hill Trail Race), the club’s membership gently hinted that it would be helpful if a few of FLT’s staff and volunteer community became Hams themselves. Flash forward to spring of this year and two of our staff members, including Alex Wahlstrom (callsign KC1WTM) and me (callsign KC1WTW), and five other community members have received FCC-license to operate amateur radio equipment.
“For four Mondays in April, we transformed our conference room into a classroom. A group of interested community members came to learn the material required to get on the air from FCARC members Bob, Chris, and Lad, including understanding the physics of radio waves, electrical components, the pros and cons of different radio frequencies, basic safety, and government regulations. This culminated in a Technician exam which took place earlier this week.
“Now that I’ve passed the test, I am looking forward to learning how to use a radio to communicate with people nearby and thousands of miles away, talk to astronauts on the International Space Station, and even bounce radio signals off the moon. Most of all, though, I’m excited to be able to serve the needs of my community. In the rural Hilltowns where cell service is limited, Ham radio is an important skill in emergencies and can serve as a communication tool in most situations where cell phones are not an option for those who wish to learn the skill.
“Thank you to the Franklin County Amateur Radio Club, the Shelburne Cultural Council, and the Laurel Volunteer Examination Team for help making this event possible.
“I’ll see you on the radio!”
Liam Cregan,
Land Conservation Specialist