Author: Eliot Mayer

Public Service Repeater Usage on October 6 and 27

The WARA 146.64 MHz repeater will be used as a backup repeater for two public service events in October:
  • October 6, from 7 AM to 2 PM:  Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Cycle for Life
  • October 27, from 7 AM to 2 PM:  Ashland Sporting Association Half Marathon
From the communications organizer for both events,  Mark Richards, K1MGY: 
Standby use means that the WARA 2M repeater may be used in the event our main system fails, or for overflow traffic.  Should the system be required, announcements will be made.  A closed net will NOT be conducted.  During breaks in communications, stations wishing to make brief calls are welcome.

We recognize that use of these resources is a privilege and extend gratitude on behalf of the two organizations to WARA for generously extending a hand.

Boxboro 2018

We hope to see you at the ARRL New England Division Convention in Boxboro on September 7-9.  Check out www.boxboro.org for all the details.  And …

Help us at the WARA booth at Boxboro! We’ll have a table indoors, encouraging new members to sign up and existing members to renew, by putting them in a raffle for a Alinco DJ-500. Volunteers will all be in a separate drawing for a door prize!  To sign up for an hour or two at the booth, click here. -Ron / KG1T

Celebration of K1UGM’s Life

Rhoda Morris, N1CSI, invited Waltham repeater friends of her late husband, Jim Morris, K1UGM, to a celebration of Jim’s life.  It was held at the Americal Civic Center in Wakefield, MA, on Saturday, May 5, 2018.

Jim was a regular on the 146.64 MHz repeater for many years.  If you don’t know Jim and are curious, see http://walthamara.org/2018/01/03/k1ugm-silent-key/.

Cover of the program
Rhoda, N1CSI, with a photo of Jim, K1UGM
On display were some of the replicas of antique scientific equipment that Jim and Rhoda created for a variety of museums. In the front is one of several replicas of Galileo’s telescope. In numerous QSOs on the ’64 repeater, Jim described the painstaking effort he made to achieve a near-perfect replica of the original telescope.

SKYWARN Training Session at WARA May 30 Meeting

The May 30 WARA meeting will be a severe weather spotter training session. The training is presented by Rob Macedo, KD1CY, in association with the National Weather Service SKYWARN program. Everyone age 16 and older who stays to complete the training will be able to become trained NWS weather spotters.

The training includes a two-hour thirty-minute computer-based presentation, which discusses the development of thunderstorms, the criteria for “severe” thunderstorms, as well as the cloud features associated with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Additional information will be presented about winter storms and proper snow measurement and reporting of coastal flooding, river, stream, and urban flooding and rainfall measurements. The session will also present the procedure for reporting weather information to the National Weather Service. Safety procedures for the various forms of summer severe weather (severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and lightning), winter storms, and flooding will also be covered in the training session. Anyone attending should bring a pen or pencil and bringing a notebook is optional.

The number of seats is limited, so per-registration is strongly advised. Use the following link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-training-class-waltham-ma-tickets-45327445610

For any questions or further info, contact Rob at rmacedo@rcn.com.

Amateur Radio License in a Day – April 21, 2018

Bill Poulin, WZ1L, sent us this informaton:

The Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association, CAARA, will be holding a one day study course for those interested in earning the FCC Technician class amateur radio license. This course will be held at the Lanesville Community Center on 8 Vulcan Street in Gloucester, MA on Saturday, April 21st, 2018, from 8:00 AM and going until 4:30 PM. Exams will begin at the end of class.

There is a $20.00 fee for course materials, snacks and the FCC Test Fee. You must sign up beforehand by e-mailing CAARA at techinaday@caara.net.

Tech-in-a-Day Flyer

WA1NVC Tests Feasibility of Bringing Internet to Repeater Site

March 4, 2018 – Roger, WA1NVC, investigates the feasibility of bringing Internet service to the repeater site.  It would enable networking of the 900 MHz repeater, and possibly other cool stuff like remote diagnostics.

Roger tried two different cellular data boxes. This one worked the best, especially when tested with the door to this metal radio room closed.
Checking the connection speed… Yes, fast enough for our purposes.

BARC Invitation to MassPort Fire Rescue HQ, 3/15/2018

We received this invitation from Joe Harris N1QD, Boston ARC President and WARA member.

The Boston Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring a field trip to tour Massport Fire Rescue HQ at Logan Airport for our March meeting. I’d like to pass along an invitation for WARA members to join us as well!

Here is the blurb from our newsletter:

The March 2018 meeting of the Boston Amateur Radio Club will be held at MassPort Fire Rescue Headquarters, 261 Harborside Drive, East Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday March 15, 2018. A tour of MassPort Fire Department apparatus will commence at 6:45 p.m. followed by Santarpio’s pizza at 7:15 p.m. followed by the General Meeting at 8:00 p.m. Attendance for this event is limited to 25 people.

We will have two speakers at this meeting. They are: Steve Staffier, K1SMS, Communications and Interoperability Manager for Massport and MassPort Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Robert Barnes. Steve will talk about Communications Interoperability and Deputy Barnes has an interesting presentation about MassPort Fire Rescue that he will give.

There is parking available at MassPort Fire Headquarters, 261 Harborside Drive, East Boston, Massachusetts. The Fire Department is located past the Hyatt Hotel. Please park in the marked spaces.

Since we’re literally in the neighborhood, we will have Santarpio’s Pizza for dinner. A suggested donation of $7.50 per person is requested.

There is a space limitation at the facility. We will only be able to accommodate 25 members. If you’re interested in attending this meeting, you will have to send an email to k1bth@arrl.net no later than March 7, 2018 indicating your interest in attending. Management reserves the right to cancel the evening if not enough people sign up by the 7th.

This should be an interesting meeting and we hope to see you there.

Welcome to the new Waltham ARA web site. If you were brought here automatically from the old wara64.org site, please update your browser’s Bookmark / Favorite for WARA to walthamara.org. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about this site, please contact us.