March 2022- ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section News

March 2022: EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS (EMA) SECTION NEWS 


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    Welcome to the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts (EMA) section news
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Visit <https://ema.arrl.org/> for frequent updates to the news

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EASTERN MA STAFF MEETING

Eastern MA Section Manager Tom Walsh, K1TW, held a section cabinet
meeting on February 26 via Zoom.  The meeting was well-attended. Among
the reports given, Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY,
updated the group on recent emergency communications-related events. 

Also, Technical Coordinator Dan Brown, W1DAN, announced two new
Technical Specialist appointments:  Dom Mallozzi, N1DM, Natick; and
Bruce Mackinnon, KC1FSZ, Wellesley.

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KEEP UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST EASTERN MA SECTION NEWS
Now you can receive timely news and information from the Eastern MA ARRL
website delivered daily to your inbox. Look for the signup form in the
right-hand column on ema.arrl.org and sign up to receive stories!
 
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NEW ENGLAND DIVISION CABINET MEETING – APRIL 16, 2022
Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, and Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, are
planning to convene another New England Division Cabinet Meeting via
Zoom on Saturday, April 16, 2022 from 9 AM-12 noon. 

The last cabinet meeting, held on January 8, was well-received and drew
approximately 50 amateurs representing ARRL-affiliated clubs and field
organization leaders from all seven sections -- along with several ARRL
Headquarters staffers.  Kemmerer presented his plans for improving
two-way communications with the division membership via cabinet and town
hall meetings and attendance at hamfests, conventions and radio club
meetings. 

The cabinet meeting is an ideal venue for club leaders and field
volunteer leaders to share their ideas and discuss what is, and is not
working in their respective clubs and sections; also, to give feedback
to AB1OC and K9HI on important issues to bring back to the ARRL board.
The meeting will feature an ARRL Headquarters guest speaker (to be
announced).

Details of the meeting will be distributed to club leaders and field
volunteer leaders shortly.

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SKYWARN TRAINING IN 2022
NWS Boston/Norton has announced 2022 Virtual SKYWARN training sessions.
All 2022 SKYWARN Training is virtual due to COVID. 

Details and registration for the online presentation as well as the
optional online quiz to become a spotter or refresh/renew your spotter
training as an existing spotter can be found at:
<http://wx1box.org/2022/03/12/special-announcement-2022-virtual-skywarn-training-sessions-announced-all-2022-skywarn-training-virtual-due-to-covid/>.

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KB1OIQ WINS SOURCEFORGE AWARD
Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, of Westford recently received an award from the
SourceForge website for his work on the “Andy’s Ham Radio Linux”
software collection. Andy has created and maintained the collection for
the past ten years. In that time, it has been downloaded 100,000 times.
 
SourceForge recognized the project for:
* Community Leader
* Community Choice
* Open Source Excellence
* SourceForge Favorite

PART of Westford President George Allison, K1IG, wrote,
“Congratulations on the award from SourceForge! I know that your
software collection has significantly influenced the adoption and use of
Linux by ham radio operators worldwide.”

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HAM SCOUTING ACTIVITY ON THE INCREASE
New England Sci-Tech member Jon Lyna, KC1MII, organized a ham radio
display at a recent Boy Scouts Klondike Derby on February 5 in
Dunstable. Pi, K1RV, the trustee of W1BSA, generously made available the
W1BSA call sign to use. Several area amateurs, including Mindy, KM1NDY,
and her spouse Marc, AA1F, participated in the event along with their
green van “Limey” equipped with several HF, VHF and UHF stations.
(See:
<https://ema.arrl.org/2022/02/03/amateur-radio-demo-at-boy-scouts-klondike-derby-dunstable-february-5-2022/>.)

KC1MII had also planned a similar ham radio event on March 12 at a Boy
Scout Klondike Derby in the Blue Hills in Milton. However, due to
inclement weather, Jon decided to postpone the event for another time.
(See:
<https://ema.arrl.org/2022/03/10/boy-scouts-klondike-derby-ham-radio-demo-milton-march-12-2022/>.


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ARRL CLUB GRANTS PROGRAM

By now, many of you have probably heard about the new ARRL Club Grants
Program that’s beginning to take shape. It may be the most important
thing to hit the Amateur Radio service in a long time. 

The ARRL Foundation will award up to $500,000 to clubs. “This program
will substantially contribute to the growth of amateur radio clubs and
their efforts to expand and support the amateur radio community,”
writes ARRL Foundation President David Woolweaver, K5RAV. 

It’s not too early to start thinking about how your club might take
advantage of an influx of capital to take on that pie-in-the-sky
project--like a new communications trailer, or a new remote HF station
to get your antenna/condo-challenged club members on the air on HF!

Look for more announcements to follow. The official applications are
scheduled to begin sometime in April. See also:
<https://nediv.arrl.org/2022/01/15/arrl-foundation-to-create-club-grants-program/>.

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WHITMAN ARC TECHNICIAN COURSE BEGINS MARCH 15

The Whitman Amateur Radio Club is offering a Technician class course.
According to WARC instructor Ross Hochstrasser, W1EKG, the course starts
on March 15th, with classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7 to 9
PM at the Whitman Police station. 

If you are interested, please email WARC.Training@gmail.com. A VE exam
session will be offered at the end of the class.

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PART OF WESTFORD MEMBERS PUBLISHED IN QST

Once again, the dynamic duo of Bob, W1IS and Bob, KC1DSQ, had an antenna
article published in QST. Their latest article describes a design for a
20-meter phased dipole beam. 

If you like the article, PART of Westford President George Allison,
K1IG, encourages you to vote for Bob and Bob to receive the QST Cover
Plaque Award at <http://www.arrl.org/cover-plaque-poll>. 

The deadline for voting is March 21, 2022. 

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GREAT HILL GANG’S “DAY OF RADIO” MONTHLY MEET UPS

Looking for a fun, social event to attend on a Saturday morning? The
Great Hill Gang meets monthly at the drive-up summit of Great Hill in
North Weymouth for a “Day of Radio.” The event provides an
opportunity for fellowship to both old and new hams alike. Plus, the
Great Hill QTH has a commanding view of the Boston Harbor islands.
Talk-in is generally available on the Quincy 146.670 repeater. 

The next Day of Radio, normally scheduled for Saturday, March 19, has
been moved to Sunday, March 20 on account of inclement weather
anticipated.

See: <
https://ema.arrl.org/2022/03/12/the-great-hill-gang-still-going-strong/>


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YOUR NEXT CLUB SPEAKER
What? You don’t have a club speaker or presentation lined up for next
month? Fear not! Our Eastern MA Affiliated Club Coordinator, Bruce
Blain, K1BG, stands ready, willing, and able to help you find that
perfect presentation for a live or remote meeting. There’s no excuse
not to have a monthly educational and entertaining presentation to
maintain a healthy club ecosystem. 

And for more ideas, check out the Eastern MA speaker’s list at:
<http://goo.gl/6j61JY>. 

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NE 2022 HAMXPOSITION DATES CONFIRMED
The Northeast HamXposition (a.k.a. ARRL New England Division Convention)
organizing committee has confirmed the dates for the 2022 convention in
Marlborough, MA: August 26-28, 2022. The Committee notes that this was
the original weekend for the event before they were forced into a
September slot due to venue conflicts.

This year, HamXposition will play host to not one, but TWO division
conventions: the New England Division AND the Hudson Division!
HamXposition’s 2022 website is now “live.” 

For the latest information, visit <https://hamxposition.org>.

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FLEA AT MIT

The monthly MIT flea market (a.k.a. “Swapfest”) is back. The popular
Cambridge flea market had been called off during COVID and after the
passing of Steve Finberg, W1GSL, who shepherded it through many
successful years. See https://w1mx.mit.edu/flea-at-mit/ for more info.

The next Swapfest will be held on April 17, 2022.

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NTS NEWS 

Section Traffic Manager – Marcia Forde, KW1U
Visit: <https://ema.arrl.org/national-traffic-system/> 

The full complement of NTS net schedules may be found at: 
https://ema.arrl.org/national-traffic-system/net-schedule/ 

Here’s an excerpt from Marcia’s February report: 

“Peter, KC1HHO, reports that graduates of his training program are
handling traffic quite professionally. Jack, KB1SYL, has been visiting
the Cape and participating in the Cape and Islands Traffic Net. Ethan,
KC1OIP, has upgraded to General class and has attempted to check into
the MARIPN net on HF. However, with antenna restrictions at his home
location he was unable to be heard at the time. Hopefully propagation
will allow him to do so from time to time. Thanks to Ethan for his
efforts. Alex, KC1NBT, another graduate of Peter's program, has moved to
Chicago but has been exchanging radiograms with the EM2MN folks.”

Marcia also notes that FRN Daytime will now meet daily on 3950 kHz at
1445 and 1630 local time, to accommodate Eastern Area Net’s new times
following the change to daylight savings time.

The February Station Activity Report “top ten” includes: N1IQI,
KW1U, KC1KVY, W1RVY, WA1VAB, KC1MSN, W1TCD, N1LAH KC1HHO, WA1LPM, and
KC1GSL. 

Marcia’s latest report can be found at
<https://ema.arrl.org/2022/03/14/massachusetts-traffic-report-for-february-2022/>.

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ARES NEWS	

Section Emergency Coordinator – Rob Macedo KD1CY
Visit: <https://ema.arrl.org/ares/>

Welcome to Timothy J. Miranda, W1MWS of North Chelmsford, who has been
appointed as an Assistant District Emergency Coordinator (ADEC) in the
Eastern Massachusetts section.

Eastern Massachusetts ARES has been contacted by the Massachusetts
Emergency Management Agency regarding updates to the ESF-2 (Emergency
Support Function-2) Communications Annex and by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency regarding communication resources in the section from
an ARES perspective. We are working through these updates with these
served agencies.

NWS Boston/Norton has announced their virtual SKYWARN training plans for
2022. All training sessions will again be virtual due to COVID for this
year. Attending one session and passing the online quiz will get you a
Spotter ID number and Spotter Card for new spotters and count as renewed
training for spotters that have taken prior training. 

The details can be found on the wx1box.org web site at:
<http://wx1box.org/2022/03/12/special-announcement-2022-virtual-skywarn-training-sessions-announced-all-2022-skywarn-training-virtual-due-to-covid/>.

News concerning ARES and Emergency Communications in the EMA section is
updated regularly on our web site: <https://ema.arrl.org/ares/>.

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FINAL WORD

If you glossed over it, GO BACK and RE-READ the story about the ARRL
Club Grants Program. We’re not kidding when we say it has the
potential to positively impact Amateur Radio more than anything in a
very long time!

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EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION LINKS

Where to find stuff:

New England Division website:  
<https://nediv.arrl.org/>

Section website: 
<https://ema.arrl.org/>

Section Facebook page: 
<https://www.facebook.com/easternmaarrl/>

Section Leadership:
<https://ema.arrl.org/organization/#Section_Leadership>

Section Public Service List: 
<https://ema.arrl.org/eastern-ma-public-service-list/>

Section Speaker List: 
<https://ema.arrl.org/eastern-ma-club-speakers-list/>

To join EMA ARES visit:
 <https://secure.ema.arrl.org/qilan/ares/EMA/ARES_about>

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The EMA monthly section news is jointly produced by Phil, K9HI,
Assistant Section Manager and Tom, K1TW, Section Manager. 

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ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section
Section Manager: Thomas D Walsh, K1TW
k1tw@arrl.org
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