FCARC News Archive  

Current news items are posted on the FCARC Home Page. To keep that page short and timely, older items considered to be of continuing interest are removed and posted here. The newest items are at the top of the page. Information not of lasting interest (like meeting location details) may be edited out.

The 2011-2012 Club Calendar has been posted. Click here or on "Activities" in the menu on the left side of this page.

We are returning to program and business meetings every month for two reasons:

• Having months without meetings has not led to better attendance.
• Breakfast at a crowded restaurant is not a good time and place for membership discussions of club business.

Another change for 2011-2012 will be the meeting room. This year we plan to make our usual meeting place the Faculty Dining Room at Greenfield High School. We can have coffee or other refreshments here, and we can sit around tables for hands-on activities or connect to antennas ouside a window here. This room is easy to find, just turn left inside the main entrance of the school. The Small Auditorium (room 59) will still be available for us to adjourn to if a program can benefit from the nice audio-visual facilities there.

For reference the 2010-2011 calendar can be seen on the website.

Logs have been scrutinized, a few unnoticed dupes were expunged, some corrections made, all data and documentation has been sent off to ARRL.

2011 ARRL Field Day Results for FCARC (as submitted)
  Call	Score	Class	QSOs	Mult	GOTA	Sec	# participants
  AC1L	2,296	2A	531	2	KB1MSU	WMA	25
  QSOs: c.w. 192 (3 at GOTA station), phone: 339 (30 at GOTA, 23 on 6 meters)
  QSO points: 1446, bonus points: 850

Some participants were saying, well, we may not have done all that well, but we learned a lot. But actually when the score was calculated we did better than we had done in recent years. Here are scores for the previous five years as reported in the ARRL Contest Results archives (yes, we know, "Field Day is not a contest").

2010 ARRL Field Day
Call	Score	Class	QSOs	Mult	GOTA	Sec	#	Club
AC1L	2,078	2A	438	2	KB1MSU	WMA	25	Franklin Co ARC

2009 ARRL Field Day
Call	Score	Class	QSOs	Mult	GOTA	Sec	#	Club
AC1L	1,770	2A	319	2	KB1MSU	WMA	25	Franklin Co ARC

2008 ARRL Field Day
Call	Score	Class	QSOs	Mult	GOTA	Sec	#	Club
AC1L	2,066	2A	334	2	N1AW	WMA	25	Franklin Co ARC

2007 ARRL Field Day
Call	Score	Class	QSOs	Mult	GOTA	Sec	#	Club
AC1L	2,128	2A	339	2	N1AW	WMA	22	Franklin Co ARC

2006 ARRL Field Day
Call	Score	Class	QSOs	Mult	GOTA	Sec	#	Club
AC1L	3,620	2AB	288	5	 	WMA	30	Franklin CTY ARC

Note that the high score in 2006 came about because both stations were operated QRP -- the actual number of QSOs was low, and by all accounts it was a disappointing experience for the ssb operators who had a hard time being heard with only 5 watts.

Of our 25 participants, thirteen licensed hams operated the cw, ssb, and 6 meter stations, four unlicensed operators made 30 supervised QSOs at the GOTA station, and eight others participated in various ways including helping with setup and takedown, moving the trailer, and supervising the GOTA station.

For some time the FCARC 2 meter repeater in Leyden has actually been our backup portable repeater, while Bill Boutwell, N1EWK, and Gerry Lempicki, KA1STZ, analyzed and then repaired the damage done by lightning or power surges in the summer or fall -- nobody seems to have noticed exactly when the damage occurred. One of the effects of this damage was to disable the CTCSS tone control, which led to repeating of noise or distant users trying to access another repeater.

On Friday, December 10, the backup repeater was replaced with the main machine, with all control functions restored. CTCSS is operating properly, using the 136.5 Hz tone. Also, we can now exercise control functions such as temporarily disabling CTCSS if a net or an emergency operation requires opening up access. We can also reset the repeater controller remotely if necessary. As required by FCC regulations the repeater can be reset remotely using a frequency different from the repeater input channel.

There are still some parts needed to restore all of the functions of the weather station at the repeater site.

The annual FCARC Holiday Potluck Party starts at 6 p.m. in the Greenfield High School cafeteria (directions below) on Monday, December 19. Barbara Berrigan, KB1NOI is coordinating the potluck part -- if she does not call you, please call her and tell her what you can bring (main course, desert, etc.).

We will have an auction to benefit the club treasury. Carter, WA1TVS, will serve as auctioneer. If you have a new or nice usable radio or other items you would like to contribute to this auction, please contact Carter for listing the item and arrange for its delivery to the potluck if feasible. Or bring an ad or picture of the item with a description. No items-no auction! But that won't happen, so bring your checkbook or cash.

By popular demand, a group of talented club members will provide music again this year!

Directions to Greenfield High School: From the center of Greenfield go north on Federal St. (Rtes 5 and 10) about 1.5 miles, at Silver St. (stop light) turn left. (From the north, the Silver St. intersection is about 0.3 mile south of Rte 2 on Rtes 5 and 10, turn right). On Silver St. look for a sign for the High School on the left, about 0.3 mile from Federal St. (Click here for a map.)

The FCARC VE (Volunteer Examiner) team will hold an Amateur Radio License exam session on Monday November 28. The session begins at 7:00 p.m., downstairs at the Unitarian Church on Main Street in Northfield (Routes 10 & 63).

The fee is $15 cash or check. Bring 2 forms of ID (one photographic), Social Security number, any current CSCEs & photocopies, any amateur radio license & copy, pens & pencils. A calculator is OK if it is cleared.

Pre-registration is not required. However, it is helpful if we have an idea of how many candidates to expect and what exams they plan to attempt. Please contact Al Woodhull, N1AW, phone 413-773-3522, e-mail n1aw@arrl.net if you expect to attend or if you have any questions.

For more information, including the schedule of future FCARC VE Sessions, please see the Amateur Radio License Exams page on this website.

For the club meeting at 7:15 p.m. on Monday, November 21, our guest will be Terry Dun, former Fire Chief, Emergency Manager, and Select Board member in Shelburne. He has worked with the Franklin Regional Emergency Planning Committee in planning communciations improvements for public safety agencies.

[snip...]

Our guests for the October FCARC meeting will be The SOTA Jerks: Frandy, N1FJ, Jim, KK1W, Matt, W1MSW, and possibly another collaborator will present a talk about Summits on the Air -- how it works, and why it's so much fun. Since July, 2010 Frandy has activated 33 summits. This is growing in popularity around the world -- check out the SOTA website http://www.sota.org.uk to learn more. On Patriots' Day last spring Chris N1EWK and Al N1AW joined Frandy and Matt to activate Pocumtuck Rock in Deerfield, and pictures of this expedition were published in the May Communicator, archived on this website at http://www.fcarc.org/communicator/comm201105.doc.

[snip...]

Webmaster's note: This article has been archived for reference in case another emergency event such as a hurricane occurs. The information here is specific to Hurricane Irene of August 2011, you should expect a similar message with possibly important changes to details in a future event. To receive bulletins like this by e-mail you should register with Western Massachusetts ARES - go to the ARRL WMA Section web page at http://wma.arrl.org and click on the WMA ARES REgistration link.

Subject: WMA ARES - Hurricane Irene Standby

From: n2yhk@arrl.net

Date: 8/26/2011 11:07 AM

To: ARES members

ARES Standby / Availability Check

At this time, WMA ARES is being placed on standby. I am asking the DECs to put together a list of those who might be available for assignments in support of potential EmComm operations. Support that may be necessary might include:

* HF Net Control Operators (3943 / 7245)

* VoIP Net Control Operators (IRLP / Echolink)

* WL2K Relay Stations (from HF / VoIP)

* Operators to staff the SEOC / MEMA Regions / ARES Command Stations

* Operators to assist served agencies in the field, such as local EMAs, EOCs, shelters or the Red Cross.

If you are interested in being placed on standby, please contact your local EC or DEC and make sure they are aware of your contact information, availability and capabilities.

Please advise of your availability to do any of the following:

* Activation in place, i.e. those that can help with HF nets, IRLP/EchoLink, WL2K, or other such things from home

* Deployment to major EOC, i.e. Agawam Region 3/4 HQ, Worcester ECC (WC1MAD Region 4 station), SEOC in Framingham, etc.

* Field deployment to assist a served agency - Specify within or outside of the WMA section

We are asking for people to indicate availability for 12 hour shifts:

* Saturday 7 PM to Sunday 7 AM

* Sunday 7 AM to Sunday 7 PM

* Sunday 7 PM to Monday 7 AM

* Monday 7 AM to Monday 7 PM

The DECs are listed below. Please continue to monitor the track of the storm and updates about potential EmComm responses. Prepare your go kits and yourselves for potential deployment. As the storm approaches, monitor HF, VoIP and your local EmComm frequencies.

Franklin County DEC - N1OTS: n1ots@yahoo.com

Preparation WMA ARES asks you to prepare yourself for any possible communications assistance requests. Check your go kits, charge your batteries and stock up your personal supplies. Some potential requests for assistance for this type of situation might include providing preliminary damage assessment reports to emergency management and disaster relief organizations and providing communications to assist localities in the restoration of power and other essential services.

Situational Awareness / Disaster Intelligence Reporting

ARES members should be prepared to assist SkyWarn spotters with net control and liaison duties as well as report local weather or damage meeting or exceeding the following criteria:

* Winds (40 mph or greater; specify whether estimated or recorded) -- large branches downed (specify diameter of branch) -- Trees/power lines downed -- Structural damage to buildings (roof, windows, etc.)

* Rainfall -- 1 inch or greater in an hour (NOT a 1"/hr. rate for 10 minutes) -- 2 inches or greater storm total

* Flooding -- Streams/Rivers -- also, when nearing bankful -- Coastal -- Street (Road Closures/Washouts, Cars Stuck due to flood waters - Minimum of 6" of water covering an entire roadway or lane of a major route/highway)

* Damage -- Any storm damage the affects major roadways or infrastructure (to include transportation, public safety or medical facilities) -- Any major power or telecommunications outages

You should also monitor your local municipalities and relay in any CONFIRMED reports of the above situations. They should be relayed to the NWS as well as to any local served agency, your regional or state MEMA HQ and to any Red Cross chapter / Salvation Army liaisons that are active. This information will help those agencies issue warnings and prepare for their response to any disasters.

Frequencies The local ARES / RACES / SkyWarn frequencies are listed below: 146.910 162.2 Mt. Greylock 146.940 127.3 Mt. Tom 146.985 136.5 Greenfield 146.925 100.0 Worcester 146.970 114.8 Paxton 145.370 136.5 Gardner 145.450 74.4 Fitchburg 53.31 71.9 Wachusett - Statewide Coordination IRLP (9123) / Echolink (*NEW-ENG*) - Command / Liaison The HF frequencies of 3943 / 7245 will also be utilized for command / liaison as necessary. The National Hurricane Center uses 14.325 MHz for wide scale communications.

NO REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE FROM OUR SECTION HAVE BEEN MADE AT THIS TIME. We are only at the planning stage, preparing to fulfill any potential requests, by checking on the availability of operators. Let me know if you have any questions, concerns, suggestions, etc. Thanks! John, N2YHK WMA SEC

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and statewide ARES and RACES will participate in a two hour hurricane drill, Aug.8 to test communications interoperability.

The test will utilize many forms of communications available to hams:
1. HF voice, on 3.943 MHz (7.245 MHz, if propagation permits)
2. VHF voice on local repeaters: 146.985 (Leyden), 146.91 (Mt. Greylock), and 146.94 (Mt. Tom)
3. Echolink, *NEW-ENG* Conference Node (#9123) and IRLP Reflector, 9123
4. VHF packet

Individual operators, operating from home or mobile stations, are encouraged to invent damage reports, always to be prefixed with the statement: "This is a drill."

For more information, go to the web reflector page: groups.yahoo.com/group/mass_races_ares_skywarn_general/message/1600

At the FCARC Annual Meeting on June 13, Bob Solosko (correction) was elected a Director, Howard Field was re-elected as Treasurer, and Al Woodhull was elected as Vice-President.

The next Monday meeting will be in the Fall, but there is a lot going on during the summer. Field Day is next, on the weekend of June 24-25. See the FCARC Activities page for more information.

The April issue of the FCARC Communicator has been published. Club members who get it by e-mail should have received it today. Those who opt for hard copy via the US Postal Service should see it soon.

With last month's issue you may also have noticed a change of editor. Hyrum Huskey, KB1KRS, did a splendid job for many years, since before those who now edit this website became members of the club. Hyrum is preparing to move from our area and has turned over the editorship of the Communicator to Bob Solosko, W1SRB.

Each issue of the Communicator is posted on the website at about the time the next issue is due to be published, and old issues going back more than 5 years are available. Click here for Communicator archives.

Join us on the air to celebrate the New Year on the KB1BSS repeater, starting at 11:50 P.M. on New Years Eve.

The FCARC has been invited by the Montague Parks and Recreation Department to continue its tradition of providing communications support for the Sawmill River 10K Road Race, to be held in Montague on New Year's Day. We need 15 to 20 volunteers to cover this race.

Al Woodhull, N1AW, is coordinating the FCARC effort on this. Please contact him at 773-3522, n1aw@arrl.net, or on the air to let him know you will participate.

The race will begin at 10 a.m. at the village common in Montague Center. Our communications center will be upstairs from the race headquarters in the historic Montague Grange building. We will start setting up the net control station between 8 and 8:30. Radio operators should plan to arrive by 9 a.m. to allow time to sign in, get an assignment, and get to assigned positions on the race route. Parking in Montague Center can be a problem if you arrive late.

• Vice President: Al, N1AW, was elected by the board to fill the position vacated by Chris, KB1NEK. A Director position is now open. Anyone interested in serving as a Director should contact the board in order to be considered.
• Repeater: The 2 m repeater PLL tone is not working. A temporary controller will be put in place so the permanent controller can be repaired.
• Program meeting October 18: Carter, WA1TVS, will give a talk about his cross-country trip, including observations during an actual tornado warning.
• New licensees: Two new licensees are being offered a year of free club membership after the recent VE session. See article below.
• Crop Walk: See article above. Howard, N1LUP, is coordinating volunteers.

The FCARC VE (Volunteer Examiner) team held an Amateur Radio License exam session on Monday August 23. One new licensee is the result. Congratulations to John Glezen of Swanzey, NH, who qualified for a new Technician license. According to QRZ.com John's new call is KB1URV and became effective on August 27.

Congratulations are also in order for two others from the FCARC area who passed license tests at Boxboro last weekend. Chris Dickerman of Northfield, KB1SMY, upgraded to a General Class license, and Martin Boucher of Hinsdale, NH, earned a new Technician license. Martin's call is KB1USR, and became effective on September 9.

The FCARC VE Team holds exams four times a year, on the fourth Monday of February, May, August, and November. The next session will be November 22nd. For more information, please see the Amateur Radio License Exams page on this website.

The next FCARC meeting is scheduled for Monday November 15. Time: 7 p.m. Location: Greenfield High School, Small Auditorium, room 59.

Dealing with Field Day problems: several club members have been working on bandpass filters and checking out club-owned transceivers, and thinking about possible new station and antenna configurations for our Field Day operation at Poet's Seat. The goal is to reduce some of the interference problems we have had between the stations operating close together. Work in progress and proposals for changes will be presented. It is hoped the discussion will lead to additional suggestions and broader participation as we work toward the June 25-26 2011 event.

Directions to Greenfield High School: From the center of Greenfield go north on Federal St. (Rtes 5 and 10) about 1.5 miles, at Silver St. (stop light) turn left. (From the north, the Silver St. intersection is about 0.3 mile south of Rte 2 on Rtes 5 and 10, turn right). On Silver St. look for a sign for the High School on the left, about 0.3 mile from Federal St. (Click here for a map.)
To find GHS Room 59: Go in the main door of the High School (left end of the building). Go straight back through the lobby toward the restrooms. Turn right and go down that hallway about 2/3 of the way to Room 59 on the right.

For dates of future meetings see the FCARC Activities page.

Ed Boutwell, KB1BNG, of Turners Falls, passed away on Sunday October 31 at home, surrounded by family. He was known to many members of the Franklin County amateur radio community. Ed was the FCARC's poet. His poems frequently appeared in the monthly FCARC Communicator newsletter.

Arrangements will be handled by Kostanski Funeral Home in Turners Falls. The calling hour will be Wednesday November 3 at 10 a.m. A funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. After the service the burial will be at Beaver Meadow Cemetary in Leyden.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Hospice of Franklin County or to the Beaver Meadow Cemetary Association.

Due to the election of Chris, KB1NEK, to serve as club president, there is a vacancy for the remainder of his term as vice-president. At the regular e-board meeting on Aug. 9, Al, N1AW was nominated to fill the position. He and others thought it would be best to wait a month to make a final decision in case a club member wants to nominate someone else. According to the by-laws, the e-board itself has the power to fill a vacancy in any club office.

The board also decided to take a closer look at the state of the KB1BSS repeater. This summer there were a number of problems with the equipment, and some members expressed a desire to make improvements to avoid future disruptions. Another task discussed was the improvement of equipment used during the annual Field Day. Four club members are working on a project to make band-pass filters in the hopes of preventing interference between the two radios usually operating in the trailer.

The annual club picnic will take place on Saturday, May 22, at Fred and Jan Smead's house, 73 Mt. Warner Rd, Hadley. Click here for a map, or click here for directions.

Please note the time has been changed to 2 p.m. (it was originally listed as 3 p.m. on the 2009-2010 FCARC Calendar).

Betty, KB1DCG, will be coordinating the potluck. Please let her know if you plan to attend and what food you will bring.

Greenfield schools are closed on April 19, Patriot's Day, a state holiday, so the April meeting at GHS will be a week earlier than originally scheduled, on Monday April 12.

The meeting program will be "Build It Yourself". Have you built a kit, or a gadget described in a magazine, or modified commerical or surplus equipment? Several club members will talk about home-brew projects and kit building, and will show and talk about their projects.

Anyone interested in making a presentation should contact Al, N1AW. We would like to have each presenter give a 5 minute (+/-) talk on one project, hopefully with pictures on digital media so we can use the projection system to make things visible to all. Bring pictures of the construction process, or of things like antennas which you can't bring along. If you don't want to give a talk, or you have more than one project, bring them along and we'll have an informal show-and-tell session after the presentations.

Cindy Dickerman, KB1IAE, will be ordering a new batch of club T-shirts from Valley Tees in Greenfield. She plans to place the order after our March club meeting. Anyone attending the meeting can order there. Or call Cindy at 413-498-0166.

The shirts are crew type, forest green color, with the FCARC logo on both front and back.

Cost-$10.00 for sizes small, medium, large and xlarge. $12.00 for sizes 2XL, 3XL.

Dennis Rolstad, N1WYU, a resident of Leyden, MA, died on Wednesday, March 17.

Dennis was a long time member of the FCARC. His business was selling and servicing radio equipment, and he donated his skills to the club, providing technical support for the KB1BSS repeaters. He was an avid collector and restorer of antique radios. His living room was a radio museum, and his basement was a radio treasure trove.

Club members knew him as a friend to all, someone who was always willing to help. He could always come up with a needed tube or a tone encoder, or give advice and help with trading electronic equipment on the Internet.

Funeral services will be private. An obituary appeared in The Greenfield Recorder on March 19 and can be viewed online here.

Carl Meyer II, known to family and friends as Chuck, died on Feb.. 24. He was a pilot, former newspaperman, member of the Community Emergency Response Team and the FCARC. During the ice storm of December 2008, Chuck used his training as CERT member and amateur radio operator to provide emergency communications at the shelter in Heath and at the EOC in the city of Gardner. This past fall, Chuck volunteered his time at several flu vaccination clinics in the area.

A memorial service for Chuck will be held on Sunday, March 21, in Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls. The obituary in the newspaper recommends donation to one of his favorite charaties instead of flowers. The charities are Angel Flights, the Franklin Land Trust, and the Joslin Diabetes Center.

The next FCARC meeting is scheduled for Monday March 15. Time: 7:15 p.m., location: Greenfield High School, Small Auditorium, room 59.

Our guest speaker will be Jose Castillo, N1BAA, ex-N4BAA, KG4SB, YI9BAA, and VP5BAX. He is now a Franklin County resident. He is currently setting up for serious contest operation at a new home in Sunderland. He moved from Amherst recently so he could put up higher towers than Amherst would permit without a hassle.

Jose wrote: "I have PLENTY of photos....and experiences on which to draw from as I speak quite regularly all over the US.... I will put together a short program in Power Point that addresses operating from a small footprint to what I have today...AND integrate contesting into it as well as every day modern logging."

Directions to Greenfield High School: From the center of Greenfield go north on Federal St. (Rtes 5 and 10) about 1.5 miles, at Silver St. (stop light) turn left. (From the north, the Silver St. intersection is about 0.3 mile south of Rte 2 on Rtes 5 and 10, turn right). On Silver St. look for a sign for the High School on the left, about 0.3 mile from Federal St. (Click here for a map.)
To find GHS Room 59: Go in the main door of the High School (left end of the building). Go straight back through the lobby to the restrooms. Turn right and go down that hallway about 2/3 of the way to Room 59 on the right.

For dates of future meetings see the FCARC Activities page.

The Montague Sawmill River 10K run will take place on Friday, January 1st, 2010. As we have done in the past, the FCARC will be providing communications. We are looking for ham radio operators!!!

• Place: Town Common in Montague Center
• Net control Center: The Grange, 34 Main Street, Montague Center
• Race time: 10 a.m.
• Volunteer checkin time: 9 a.m.
• Talk-in: 146.985, negative offset, PL 136.5 (FCARC Leyden repeater)

We would like to have communications volunteers meet at the Grange by 9 a.m. for assignment of posts, handing out of maps, and allowing time to get to assigned posts. Parking can be a problem if you arrive late.

Directions from I-91 North or South, take exit 27 to Rte 2 East. Go to the second traffic light, the landmark is a Mobil gas station across the street. At this light turn right and go over the bridge to Avenue A. At the next traffic light turn left onto 3rd Street and follow this up the hill. This road will become Unity Street and then you will come to a fork in the road. Bear right onto Turners Falls Road. Continue on Turners Falls Road to Montague Center.

From the Amherst-Hadley-Sunderland area: take Rte 47 or Rte 63 north. These routes join near Montague Center. Main Street in Montague begins off Rte 47, about 200 yards west of where it ends at Rte 63. The Town Common and the Grange Hall are about a mile north on Main St. Click here for a map showing the location of the Grange Hall.

To volunteer, or for more information, contact Barbara, KB1NOI, or John, KB1NOH, at 413-773-5903.

Monday the 16th is the date, and 7:15 is the time for the November FCARC meeting.

The program will feature Paul Allis of Western Mass Communications speaking on "Cell Phone Technology". Cell phones use radio, but in different ways from what we are used to as amateur radio operators.

Paul's company operates cell phone stores in Deerfield and Greenfield and a two-way radio business in Bernardston.

Directions to Greenfield High School: From the center of Greenfield go north on Federal St. (Rtes 5 and 10) about 1.5 miles, at Silver St. (stop light) turn left. (From the north, the Silver St. intersection is about 0.3 mile south of Rte 2 on Rtes 5 and 10, turn right). On Silver St. look for a sign for the High School on the left, about 0.3 mile from Federal St. (Click here for a map.)
To find GHS Room 59: Go in the main door of the High School (left end of the building). Go straight back through the lobby to the restrooms. Turn right and go down that hallway about 2/3 of the way to Room 59 on the right.

For dates of future meetings see the FCARC Activities page.

The phone portion of the ARRL November Sweepstakes contest begins at 4 p.m. EST (2100Z) Saturday, November 21, and runs until 10 p.m. Sunday evening, November 22 (0300Z Monday Nov 23). Stations can operate up to 24 hours in the 30 hour period. Total operating time is reported with entries. So if you operate only a few hours you will be able to compare how you did with others who made a limited effort when the results are published on the ARRL website .

QST for November 2009 has a good discussion of operating techniques for Sweepstakes in the "This Month in Contesting" column on page 85. Much more information is available on the ARRL Contests web page.

N1AW has written a short Contesting: Why and How for the Beginner page with reasons why you might want to participate and some hints for getting started.

Finally, some pictures from our June 2009 effort have been posted... See the photos page for a link.

Sunday, August 2, the Greenfield Triathalon starts at the swimming area on the Green River. Operators should report by 7 AM to the park on Nash's Mill Rd, between Colrain Rd and Leyden Rd. The event starts at 8 and will run to about 1 PM.

Saturday, August 8, the Bridge of Flowers Race in Shelburne Falls, starts in the village center. Radio operators should report by 7 AM, to the alley way between Baker's Pharmacy and the Keystone Market. The race will start at 8:20. You may want to bring a chair and a bottle of water.

The Mount Tom Amateur Repeater Association's 21st Annual Amateur Radio & Electronics Hamfest will be held Saturday March 7, 2009. Doors open at 7:00 a.m. for vendors and at 9:00 a.m. for bargain hunters. The location is the Springfield Turnverein Club, 176 Garden Street, Feeding Hills, MA.

Advertised features include: Snack Bar, Door Prizes, Raffle Prizes, Handicapped Parking & Access, Amateur License Exams, Tailgating, and Help Loading/Unloading. 120 VAC is available.

See the MTARA Flea Market web page at http://www.mtara.org/flea09.html for more information, including a map, and driving directions.

Topics to be covered are:

• ARES, RACES SKYWARN and other emergency communications groups in Western MA
• Amateur operations with EOC's (Emergency Operations Centers)
• Simplex Operations
• Go Kits
• Net Operations and Procedures
• Public Service Operations
• Traffic Handling with examples and practice

The Details:

• When: Saturday February 28th
• Where: Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 506 Cottage Street, Springfield MA (same location as the MTARA Meetings)
• Time: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
• RSVP- Contact Tom, N1MUV indicating that you are planning to attend. His e-mail address is n1muv@charter.com

A map showing the location of the venue can be found on the MTARA website.

Three of the four who passed their Extra Class exams at the November FCARC VE session have new calls:

• Eric Parham is now AB1JW
• Alan Corey is now AB1JX
• Janice Peeters is now AB1JY

At the club meeting at the holiday party on December 15 a resolution was passed to revert to the traditional formula for setting the date of the monthly FCARC breakfasts. The breakfasts will now take place on the Saturday after the second Monday of each month. This replaces the formula that scheduled the breakfasts on the third Saturday of each month.

More often than not both formulas indicate the same date, but this is not always true. The date of the January 2009 breakfast remains January 17. The February breakfast will be on February 14, Valentine's Day, not February 21 as scheduled previously. (Note this is also the date of the Winter Carnival).

As it turns out there are no other changes to the breakfast date for the rest of the 2008-2009 club year (The March breakfast was already scheduled for March 14). The calendar page (http://www.fcarc.org/activities.htm) has been updated with changes color-coded.

Kudos to: Barbara, KB1NOI, Janice KB1DCC, Eric, KB1QYO of Shelburne, and Alan, formerly WA1ZTA, all four of whom were the only examinees at our November 24 testing session; all four of whom took Extra Examinations; and all four of whom passed! Quite an evening for both the successful candidates and the volunteer examiners! [from December 2008 Communicator]

Pictures from the evening are posted here.

Dave, KB1MU, has organized a slow-speed c.w. net meeting at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesdays. The net meets on 28.135. The purpose is to provide a place for those interested in practicing and improving c.w. skills.

Photos from the FCARCs participation in the August 2008 Greenfield Triathlon are now on-line. Go to the Photos page for links to these and other pictures.

A report on the 8/2 fox hunt is now on line here.

Scott passed on a preliminary estimate of our score. We had 334 contacts, 910 bonus points, and a total claimed score of 2026 points. This is very close to last year's result.

For details and a comparison with 2007, go to the new Field Day Results page.

Pictures of the FCARC Field Day effort are posted on the Flickr site, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/50505234@N00/sets/72157605890641039/

There are pictures of past FCARC Field Days in the FCARC Photo Gallery. You can find more information about past Field Days in the FCARC Communicator archives (look for the Summer 2006 and 2007 issues).

Did you know that the Western Massachusetts ARRL Section has its own website at http://wma.arrl.org? Several articles that may be of general interest are currently posted, including:

• Information about Public Service Volunteer Opportunities in the New England Division, listing public events at which Amateur Radio communications is providing a public service and for which additional volunteers from the Amateur Community are needed and welcome.
• A description of recent organizational changes of the American Red Cross in Western Massachusetts, and effects upon the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES).
• A preliminary announcement and pointer to more information about the ARRL New England Division Convention at Boxboro, coming up August 22 through August 24 this year.

Maps are now available showing the theoretical coverage of the KB1BSS 2 meter and 440 Mhz repeaters, as well as the 10 meter link to the 440 Mhz machine. Click here for more information.

The Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut is located at 115 Pierson Lane in Windsor, CT. It is dedicated to the preservation of old time communications equipment and to educating the public. The museum displays radios, televisions, motion picture and telephone equipment, as well as vintage advertising and memorabilia. Audio, video and paper libraries, along with an extensive collection of schematics, are also available for research.

The Museum has now obtained its Certificate of Occupancy. The museum is tentatively open Thursdays & Fridays 11a-4p, Saturdays 10a-5p. Sundays are coming. The grand opening celebrations are taking place the weekend of October 26 and 27.

More info is available at the Museum website (http://www.vrcmct.org/).

An amusing 10 minute film about ham radio produced 68 years ago can be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBGIdf0VjQ4. Look up the film credits at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031834 and note the part of the ship's radio operator was played by Clayton Moore, who later was the Lone Ranger.

Info from ARRL Propagation Bulletin, October 12, 2007.

It's approaching 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night and it's your turn to be net control for the first time? Are you nervous about the procedure? A copy of the preamble and procedure document for the Western Massachusetts – Franklin County Emergency Net has now been posted on this website. Click here!

WXSpots, a new tool in the tool chest for SkyWarn operations and weather enthusiasts is now available! WXSpots is a free, Internet based system designed to quickly disseminate observed reports of severe weather.

WXSpots is not intended to replace Amateur Radio. By it's vary nature of dependence on the Internet, WXSpots can't provide data from a severely affected area. On the other hand, WXSpots can quickly communicate data from those observers just outside it. It also provides the means to help monitor local severe weather as it unfolds with many more observers able to communicate what they are seeing.

For more info see the website www.wxspots.com.

(From the Western Mass Amateur Radio newsgroup,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WesternMassAmateurRadio/)