"News Briefs"

- The "Chirp'n Click" eNewsletter -

Spring (?) - 2005

 

- SMHARC ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY -
   The Annual SMHARC Holiday Party will be held on November 13, 2004 at Solmar on Warren Avenue in East Providence. Cocktails are at 6:00 PM followed by Dinner at 7:00 PM. The meal will be Family Style Beef, Chicken or Fish and the price will be $18.00 per person. Contact Mario - WZ1K with your questions or RSVP info. He will be sending out an email, also.
 

- SMHARC/Red Cross Blood Drive -
   The Sturdy Memorial Hospital Amateur Radio Club, in conjunction with the American Red Cross, sponsored a Blood Drive at the Congregational Church, 17West Street, Mansfield, MA. It was held on Thursday, April 22, 2004 from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM and administered by local Red Cross Personnel. Parking is available in front of the Church on West Street, on Union Street across from the Church or in the Mansfield Police Station's Lot on West Street.
   The Red Cross is always in need of blood for the many valuable services that they provide to area hospitals, disaster relief, etc. Thanks to those who donated blood and to all those who assisted at the drive, too. This is just another way to show that we are there for the Red Cross when needed. Thank you...

- SMHARC V.E. Test Session -
   It's been talked about but has taken quite a long time to accomplish. Several club members, over the past year, have become certified ARRL Volunteer Examiners. With the recent help of Rick Cantin - AA1TI and the Norwood ARC V.E. Team, some of these SMHARC members have been getting some experience helping the Norwood Team at their monthly sessions. At this point, we are hoping to run our first test session in the last week of May or the first week of June. More info will be available here as our plans get finalized. Please stay tuned!

- Emergency Shelter Activation in Plainville -
Sunday January 25, 2004 - Bruce Bumpus - N1OFC, received a phone call Sunday evening from the Fire Department regarding a major natural gas leak in town. They requested assistance in setting up and maintaining an Emergency Shelter at the Plainville Senior Center on School Street. The original report of a broken gas main came in at 8:01 PM.
   Town employees working to repair a broken water pipe on East Bacon St (Rte. 106), struck and ruptured a high pressure gas main. The gas company had been called to the scene to mark the pavement before the Water Dept. workers had started to dig, but were a few feet off in their calculations. High pressure gas was mixing with the water in the hole and shooting high into the air. First arriving fire officials evacuated 3 or 4 homes in the immediate vicinity of the break as a precaution. As time went on, there was a delay in getting the gas shut down and several more homes were evacuated. By 9:00 PM, about 25 homes had been evacuated and it was decided to open a temporary shelter. 
   Plainville EMA was called to man the shelter. They supplied shelter for eight families which included 25 people. By 12:30 AM, the "all clear" was given for residents to return to their homes. They were instructed to wait in their cars in their yards until a gas company employee could check the air quality inside their house with a meter. The setup and operation went very smooth and efficient... a tribute to Bruce and his Plainville EMA Staff.

- North Attleboro Santa Parade -
   The 2003 North Attleboro Santa Parade was held on Sunday, November 30th. The Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC contributed an army of volunteers to pre-stage, stage and start the parade, again this year. KA1IG rousted up a team of trained radio operators and again, proved their worth in making this fairly complicated event, run smoothly. Ed Lambert, Parade Chairman and D.A.N.A. member, sends his sincere thanks for another job, well done! In attendance were N1FLO, K2TGX, NZ1K, WA1NRQ, KA1IG, N1IV, K1VQ, KA1PES, WB1DJM, N1DPY, WZ1K, K1YWS, N1OFC, N1SEC, N1EZT and KB1JLU. Great job, everyone!

N1FLO on Commercial Radio!
   While listening to the Loren & Wally Radio Show on WROR this morning, I heard Tom Doyle say "Hey, I was down in Norwood yesterday and I stopped in to the McDonald's there. I was talking with John Benson, the Manager there, and he said his daughter loves listening to our "Special Songs" in the morning, so we're going to play the "You Ain't Seen Newton Yet!" for her, right now!" I guess we never realized that John's radio interests went beyond Amateur Radio... he's made it to the "Big Time!"         :-) n1iv 

- w1smh.com gets Facelift -
   "Leave Well Enough Alone" is not a phrase that many Graphic Designers bother listening too. Every once in a while, we have to change things to freshen up appearances. In that tradition, I decided it was time to perform a facelift on our web site. I kept the basic structure and content the same but gave it a new visual appearance. I hope everyone enjoys the new colors and format changes!        ...N1IV
 

Representative Poirier delivers copy of Proclamation to SMHARC!
   The club received a letter and a copy of Governor Romney's "Amateur Radio Day" proclamation. State Representative Betty Poirier mailed a copy of the Proclamation and a letter stating that she regrets that she will not be able to attend Field Day this year. Representative Poirier said she had planned to present us with the proclamation at Field Day but due to a scheduling conflict, she cannot attend. She also stated that she enjoyed meeting and talking with us last year and looks forward to next year's event.
   Rep. Poirier was impressed with the volunteer efforts and specialized skills of club members involved in the event. She is familiar with our involvement with our local community Emergency Management staff and our disaster communications abilities. The club would like to sincerely thank Representative Poirier for her efforts in bringing this recognition to our organization. Congratulations to all of our club members for their efforts in raising awareness to both our hobby/service and our club.
 

Governor Romney declares June 28 “Amateur Radio Day”!
   June 11, 2003 – Boston, MA – Governor Mitt Romney issued a proclamation declaring June 28, 2003, “Amateur Radio Day” this morning. The Governor made this proclamation in recognition of the more than 13,000 amateur radio operators in the Commonwealth. These volunteers play a valuable role in Emergency Communications, National Weather Service “Severe Weather” spotting and Public Service in the Commonwealth. They are involved with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency,
 several Massachusetts branches of the American Red Cross and other important served agencies.
   Congratulations to all those Massachusetts "Hams" that have worked very hard to give us the reputation that made this proclamation a reality. Enjoy your Field Day with a deserved sense of accomplishment! See the rest of the story on the ARRL Eastern Mass Section site at www.ema.arrl.org 
 

KB5TBB/R - Updated
   Clayton and some helpers have hard at work getting the Attleboro repeater back operating without the problems that have been plaguing it for some time now. On Wednesday, April 30, a permanent replacement to the Spectrum equipment that previously ran the KB5TBB - 147.195 repeater was installed and adjusted. The repeater is now running 50 watts and brought to you by a Kenwood repeater. Clayton will be providing more details about the system in the near future. However, for now he'd like to pass along this information to you, the users.

1. The squelch is now much more "open" than it was previously with loaner equipment we tested. This should get us coverage comparable with what was in place in years past. I cannot guarantee coverage "like it used to be" because things out of my hands in our operating environment such as RF noise, atmospheric conditions, etc. The new equipment has a much "tighter" receiver than the old one.

2. The input PL/CTCSS tone remains at 127.3 HZ, though I am not making promises as to what output tone will be in place permanently since further testing is being done. This means you should not set your radio to "tone squelch" mode, only "tone encode" mode.

3. There is no courtesy tone - just a four second tail. Unlike previous repeaters, you do not need to let the squelch tail completely drop before each transmission though it might be in good practice. The
timeout timer is set to 2 minutes. If you don't let the tail drop in your conversation, that's okay so long as the repeater sees a carrier drop between stations. In the future, a courtesy tone might be used.

4. If you encounter unusual noise being transmitted by the repeater, please report it to me directly via email or in person. Include the time, date, the operating location, and as many other details as possible. One key test you should perform is to listen on the input frequency of the repeater at the time of occurrence. On most radios this is accomplished by hitting the "REV" button. The potential for
interference from nearby paging increases as time goes by and I'm working to filter out this nuisance.

If there are any other matters which you feel need clarification about the repeater, please respond to Clayton directly at kb5tbb@arrl.net.

Enjoy the new machine and many thanks to Clayton and those who gave of their time to get the system back up and working!!!
 
 

Generosity is alive and well!
   At our Skywarn Training session on April 29, we were introduced to a young man who had, on his own, studied for and passed his Technician License. He found his way to the Skywarn Class not knowing that we even existed as a club. He was excited and downloaded our application to become a member. He had very little equipment with which to get started and sent out an email looking to purchase a used dual-band HT. We put his W.T.B. Ad on the club's "Classifieds Page" to see what could be found.
   Enter WA1NRQ... yes "Nasty Rotten Quack" as he likes to refer to himself... however, he proved just the opposite. Tom donated a 2 Meter Antenna, Mirage-B23 Power Amplifier, Drake TR-22, 2M VHF-FM transceiver and an MFJ-1274 TNC 2. He's also loaned Alex a Kenwood TH-22A until he decides what he likes. In these days of fast paced, busy lifestyles, it's great to see someone step up and help a young Ham get started! Thanks Tom!

New England QSO Party Results are in!
   The results have been posted for the 2002 New England QSO Party. Our own Ken Stringham - AE1X was awarded a Certificate for 1st Place/Single Operator/Low Power/Bristol County. Ken's final score was 874 points - 19 multipliers, 15 CW and 16 SSB. Congratulations, Ken!
   Ken hopes to be in the contest again this year in the same class, though will likely only be on SSB on 10 meters. Ken is selling his Ten-Tec Omni 546C in favor of a Ten-Tec Model 574 Digital Century 21. You can see Ken's new station list on his web-site www.geocities.com/ae1x.

- ARRL Certificate Presented -
   This photo and article were posted on the Eastern Mass ARRL page by Phil Temples - K9HI, our Section Manager. Thanks for the recognition, Phil.       ...Editor
   The Sturdy Memorial Hospital received a plaque from the ARRL, commemorating 25 years of ARRL affiliation this week. Presenting on behalf of the ARRL was Eastern Mass Affiliated Club Coordinator Frank Murphy, N1DHW. John Benson, N1FLO, SMHARC President, accepted the award. The Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC also celebrates its 25th anniversary as a radio club this year. It was formed in the aftermath of the devastating "Blizzard of '78." "Clubs play an 
integral role in the health and vibrancy of our hobby," said Phil Temples, K9HI, Eastern Massachusetts ARRL Section Manager. Temples added, "The Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC has distinguished itself time and time again as one of the premiere clubs in this section through its public service, its outstanding publicity of our hobby/service to the community, and its continuing affiliation with our national Amateur Radio organization."
   Anyone using the equipment at the club shack for non-contest operation is asked to please log your QSO entries into the provided ARRL Logbook that has been left on the desk up there. Tom Bell - W1XS, as the trustee of W1SMH needs to have a record of our contacts using the W1SMH callsign for QSL and FCC purposes. Again, Thanks for your cooperation...             ...the Club Officers
February 8, 2003 - Massachusetts ARES Simulated Emergency Test - Participation in the Massachusetts ARES/SKYWARN S.E.T. was a success. Club members participating were: KA1EZH, KA1IG, K2TGX, KB1CRZ, KT1H, K1VQ, N1OFC and N1IV. John - N1FLO monitored from work and was very satisfied with the club's effort. More info on the EMCOM page.