Division: New England

Previous EMA Monthly Summaries 

 It’s mid-March and after some wacky late-winter weather, it feels like spring is in the air! I hope you all have not been affected by the heavy rain and sometimes floods. On the other hand, I hear from my NH and VT contacts that they’re well into “mud season,” and it’s shaping up to be an epic one. We could have it much worse!

* Beware the Ides of March!

Good advice for Caesar (even if maybe he didn’t heed it). For the rest of us: I’m just hoping for no rain, thunderstorms, high winds, or God forbid, snow!

* Help Do Some Research During the Upcoming Eclipse

The Case Amateur Radio Club, W8EDU, the club station at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, is asking for amateur radio operators to help with a research project centered around the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse. Help some college-age hams do some cool research!

Full details at https://nediv.arrl.org/2024/02/25/amateur-radio-operators-needed-for-help-with-solar-eclipse-project/.

* Eversource to the Rescue

The [Barnstable ARC] W1MA wide-area repeater [Dennis, Cape Cod, MA] lost commercial power during the February Nor’easter when a 4000 V feeder circuit failed. After several days of backing up the W1MA BARC repeater’s batteries with a generator, Eversource repaired – at its own expense – the feeder circuit.

A big shout-out goes to long-time BARC member and past President Steve Boyson, N1VLG. Steve used his contacts with Eversource to arrange for the repair at no cost to the ham community (saving thousands of dollars). And a big shout-out to Eversource for their work and recognition of the value of Amateur Radio to the community.

Full stories at https://ema.arrl.org/2024/02/23/eversource-to-the-rescue-w1ma-r-has-power-again/ and https://ema.arrl.org/2024/03/09/barnstable-arc-hosts-eversource-honorees/.

* NEAR-Fest Dates Changed for Spring 2024 Only

Final reminder: dates for the ever-popular NEAR-Fest are changed for Spring, 2024 ONLY, to April 25-26. Details at https://ema.arrl.org/2024/01/27/near-fest-xxxv-changes-and-news-updated-january-27-2024/ or at https://near-fest.com/

* Updated ARRL Library Book Program

Would you or your club like to donate Amateur Radio books to a local library, school, college, student radio club, etc.? ARRL has updated its Library Book Program. The set includes the most popular ARRL publications. Details at https://www.arrl.org/library-book-set.

* Cape Ann ARA to Conduct Tech-in-a-Day Class

The Cape Ann ARA [Gloucester, MA] will conduct a Tech-in-a-Day on April 20, 2024. This is an excellent opportunity to mint more hams on the North Shore. Thanks to the Cape Ann ARA for doing this!

Full story at https://ema.arrl.org/2024/02/22/cape-ann-ara-tech-in-a-day-study-course-april-20-2024/.

* Titanic Event and POTA Activation April 12-14

This is an annual event to commemorate the April 15, 1912, sinking of the Titanic. The event is run by the Titanic Marconi Memorial Radio Association of Cape Cod (a.k.a. Barry KB1TLR and friends). This year the group will also be activating the Cape Cod National Seashore for Parks on the Air (POTA). The special event will be spotted on the DX spotting networks as W1MGY. Give them a call!

Full details at https://ema.arrl.org/2024/02/21/titanic-event-and-pota-activation-april-12-14/.

* New England Affiliated Club Coordinators (ACCs) Get Sync’ed Up

Thanks to Eastern MA ACC Bruce, K1BG, for pulling together a meeting of all New England ACCs and SMs. The group brainstormed ideas for getting clubs active and reinvigorating clubs. One idea was a section-wide award for best club newsletter. Stay tuned to this column for more details as they develop.

* N1ILZ for a Final

We’re almost at the Ides of March, and I’m seeing signs of Spring: greens poking out of the ground, the snow is (mostly) melted, and temperatures are (mostly) moderating. Yay! Antenna Season must be just around the corner!

But spring is coming, sooner than we might expect, and it will be time for planting gardens, antenna raising, tower climbing, and generally getting ready for summer fun. What’s on your to-do list? Got any interesting plans? Is your club doing something especially interesting, like a POTA activation or license classes or … Can you write a paragraph or two about what you’re up to, so I can publish it in the Section Update? Let me know via email at n1ilz@arrl.org!

* For always up-to-date news, please visit the EMA Section website at http://ema.arrl.org

This Section News Update is brought to you by Division Vice Director Phil K9HI and Section Manager Jon N1ILZ.

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ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section
Section Manager: Jon W McCombie, N1ILZ
n1ilz@arrl.org
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