Dec52019

December: Youth on the Air (YOTA) Month*

Radio Events

This event takes place from 0000 UTC on December 1 until 2359 UTC on December 31. Participants earn certificates by working the various YOTA-suffix stations on the air throughout December. Not a contest, the event is aimed at getting as many youngsters on air from as many countries as possible. Stations operated by young radio amateurs around the world will get on the air to celebrate youth in amateur radio. YOTA Month began a few years ago in International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1, and the concept has now taken root in the Americas as YOTA Month in the Americas.

During YOTA Month, radio amateurs aged 25 and younger will be on the air as special event stations during December on various bands and modes. In the US, look for K8Y, K8O, K8T, and K8A. Elsewhere in the Americas, VE7YOTA will be on the air from Canada. XR2YOTA in Chile has been added to the list of youth stations in the Americas for YOTA Month. Young hams in other countries may also join in. Listen for other YOTA Month stations with “YOTA” suffixes.

For more information about YOTA in the Americas, contact Coordinator Bryant Rascoll, KG5HVO, or Camp Director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.

*Abstracted from The ARRL Letter for December 5, 2019

Nov212019

ARES Resources

ARES/RACES/SKYWARN

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because ARES is an Amateur Radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership.

· Download the ARES Manual [PDF]

· ARES Field Resources Manual [PDF]

· ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Fillable PDF]

· ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Word]

· ARES Plan

· ARES Group Registration

· Emergency Communications Training

How to Get Involved in ARES: Fill out the ARES Registration form and submit it to your local Emergency Coordinator.

Nov212019

SKYWARN Recognition Day December 7

ARES/RACES/SKYWARN

SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) will mark its 20th anniversary on December 7, 0000 to 2400 UTC. ARES, SKYWARN and other amateurs will operate from National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices across the country in a nod to the long relationship between the Amateur Radio community and the NWS SKYWARN program. Developed by NWS and ARRL staff in 1999, SRD is cosponsored by the organizations.

Participants exchange contact information with as many NWS stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meters, plus 70 centimeters. Contacts via repeaters are permitted. Stations should exchange call signs, signal reports, and locations, plus a quick description of the weather at your location (e.g., sunny, partly cloudy, windy, rainy, etc.). EchoLink and IRLP nodes, including Voice over Internet Protocol Weather Net (VoIP-WX), are expected to be active as well.

WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center will also be on the air for SRD, 1300 – 1700 UTC. Event certificates are electronic and printable from the main website at the conclusion of SRD. Please see the SKYWARN Recognition Day website.

Nov92019

News from EMA.ARRL.ORG

General Interest

Each day on the section web site we bring you news and information from Eastern Massachusetts and beyond. Visit https://ema.arrl.org for the latest.

Here’s a small sampling of the stories that have appeared this past month:

  • Amateurs to Contact Military Station on 60 Meters During Simulated
    Emergency Test, November 3, 2019
  • Eastern MA Hospital Net, November 2, 2019
  • Western MA ARES Simulated Emergency Test, November 3, 2019
  • K5TEC: “Ideas for Attracting Youth and Families to Amateur Radio” at Framingham ARA, November 7, 2019
  • YuKanRun Ocean View 5K and Half Marathon, Ipswich, November 3, 2019
  • Norton Halloween Parade, October 27, 2019
  • Antenna Raising in Style at New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio
    Society
  • Framingham ARA Flea Market Suspended
  • 15-meter QRP FT8 Activity Night, Westford Vicinity
  • Massachusetts Traffic Report for September 2019
  • New England Sci-Tech General Class Course, Natick, November 16-17, 2019
  • Falmouth ARA FARA Fest, Bourne, November 2, 2019

*Taken from October 2019 – Eastern Massachusetts (EMA) Section News

Oct172019

ARRL to Launch New “On the Air” Magazine

General Interest

ARRL is launching a new magazine, On the Air, in January 2020. To be published on a bimonthly basis, On the Air will offer new and beginner-to-intermediate-level radio amateurs a fresh approach to exploring radio communication. Each issue will include advice and insights on topics from the variety of Amateur Radio interests and activities: radio technology, operating, equipment, project building, and emergency communication. The goal of this new magazine is to be a vital resource in helping new and newer radio amateurs get active and involved in radio communications.

“On the Air responds to the brand-new and not-so-brand-new radio amateur seeking ideas and answers,” said QST Managing Editor Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY. Schoenfeld is part of the ARRL staff team that developed the new magazine. The planning included an extensive national-level study of new Amateur Radio licensees, identifying their motivations for getting licensed and their experiences of getting started. A focus group responded positively to a trial sample edition of the magazine.

“Too many new licensees never take the next step,” says Schoenfeld. “We’re excited to introduce a new Amateur Radio magazine for this audience, aimed at getting them active, getting them involved, and getting them on the air.”

The first issue of On the Air will be published in January 2020 (January/February issue) and will be introduced as a new ARRL membership benefit. Effective November 1, when eligible US radio amateurs join ARRL or renew their memberships, they will be prompted to select the print magazine of their choice — On the Air or QST. Current members receiving the print edition of QST, upon renewal, may choose to continue receiving the print edition of QST (monthly) or the print edition of On the Air (bimonthly).

All ARRL members, including international members, will be able to access digital editions of both QST and On the Air. Members who already access QST on the web or from the mobile app will be able to access QST and On the Air starting in January.

Oct52019

VE Session Results – October 4, 2019

Exams & Training

Congratulations to these hams who passed their exams at the October 4, 2019 VE Session:

Gerald D Goodson, KC1MAU, Technician
Gregory R Wille, KC1LWU, General

Enjoy your new/upgraded privileges!

Need help to get on the air?

Email us with your particular needs, including antennas, VHF/UHF handheld programming, SSB, CW and/or digital mode operation, etc. – radioevents [at] semara [dot] org.

When are you available?  We may be able to arrange either 1-on-1 or small classes.

Aug302019

BSA 2019 Jamboree on the Air

General Interest • Radio Events

Registration now is open for stations to register for Scouting’s 2019 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA). JOTA will take place October 18 – 20. JOTA is Scouting’s largest event in the world and always takes place over the third weekend of October. Click on “Sign Up Now” and register using your free Scout.org user id. Use the same site to register for the 2019 Jamboree on the Internet.

Bill Stearns, NE4RD, has been named the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) National Jamboree on the Air Task Force Chair. He has activated a number of JOTA and Scout Camp stations from the Montana Scout Council and served on the 2017 National Scout Jamboree K2BSA and 2019 World Scout Jamboree NA1WJ staffs. The NA1WJ Amateur Radio operation at the 2019 World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia reported that more than 3,000 Scouts took part in the ham radio demonstrations, logging more than 4,000 contacts in 86 DXCC entities.

Abstracted from The ARRL Letter for August 29, 2019

Aug212019

WWV Celebrates 100 Years

General Interest

1919 – 2019 WWV Centennial

The world’s oldest radio station, WWV, turns 100 years on October 1, 2019.

September 28 through October 2, 2019, operators from across the country, are planning 24-hour operations of special event station WW0WWV on CW, SSB and digital modes.

Operations will shift between HF bands following normal propagation changes and will include 160m and 6m meteor scatter.

We will be operating right at the WWV site and face a challenging RF environment.

Abstracted from ARRL Special Bulletin 7: ARLX007

Aug32019

ARRL Happy 150! Birthday Event Announced

Radio Events
Hiram Percy Maxim, 1AW

The Happy 150! event will run from August 31, 0000 UTC thru September 8, 2359 UTC.

Free Hiram Percy Maxim 150th Birthday Event logging software is now available. Scott Davis, N3FJP, perhaps best known for the ARRL Field Day software that bears his call sign, has developed a free logging program for ARRL’s Happy 150! Hiram Percy Maxim Birthday Celebration on-the-air event that gets under way on August 31 and runs for 9 days. Davis calls his software Hiram Percy Maxim Contest Log 1.0. Maxim, 1AW, who cofounded ARRL, was born on September 2, 1869.

“I’ve never created a program for a non-recurring event before, because the coding time required is too large,” Davis said in a post to the N3FJPsoftware user group. “I’ve made this exception because this is a really nice, simple rule set with the very popular field day-style exchange that has the added bonus in schedule flexibility of running for 9 days. The Hiram Percy Maxim celebration sure looks like a well-designed event that will be a lot of fun for us all.”

The Happy 150! event will begin at 0000 UTC on August 31 and continue until 2359 UTC on September 8. It is open to all radio amateurs. The goal is straightforward: Contact as many participating stations as possible. W1AW and all ARRL members will append “/150” to their call signs during this event (DX operators who are ARRL members may operate as <call sign>/150, if permitted by their country of license.) Participating stations will exchange a signal report and ARRL/RAC Section. DX stations will send a signal report and “DX.” All Amateur Radio bands except 60, 30, 17, and 12 meters are available. Permitted modes are CW, any voice mode, and digital.

Davis said Hiram Percy Maxim Contest Log 1.0 is full featured and “very easy and intuitive to use.”

“If the Hiram Percy Maxim celebration is received as strongly as it appears, my hope is that ARRL will decide to make this an annual event,” Davis allowed. “After all, birthdays come once a year, and we now have the infrastructure to continue.”

The original is at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2019-08-01

Jul312019

HamXposition at Boxboro

General Interest

HamXposition at Boxboro
The ARRL New England Division Convention
September 6-8, 2019

Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center,
Boxborough, Massachusetts
www.hamxposition.org

  • Top-notch Forums and Talks all three days
  • Large Exhibit Hall & Flea Market:
    Sat 9 AM to 5 PM & Sun 9 AM to 1 PM
  • Major prize drawings
  • Friday DXCC/Contesting Dinner
    featuring special guest Adrian Ciuperca, KO8SCA
  • Saturday Grand Banquet
    featuring Dan Barstow, KA1ARD, Senior Education Manager for the International Space Station National Lab
  • Ham Radio Bootcamp, designed to help newly licensed Technician and General’s to get on the air and use their Amateur Radio license
    Post banquet fun – movie night – open mic storytelling – jam session
  • Jazz Band for Sunday Brunch
  • ARRL VE Exams
  • Tech-in-a-day™ license study course, $5 fee for materials and snacks
  • W1N special event station. Reserve your time at ,www.hamxposition.org/special-event-station

…and more!

Amateur Radio Exposition for Young People presented by the Nashua Area Radio Society, September 7th and 8th.
This exposition will include many hands-on activities, videos, and displays about amateur radio and wireless communications, including:

  • Software Defined Radios
  • High-Altitude Balloons
  • Portable and Mobile stations
  • Emergency Communications
  • Fox-hunting

Purchase your tickets today online at www.hamxposition.org