BARC Holiday Party is Sunday, January 9

nv1w Announcements

The Boston Amateur Radio Club will hold its annual Holiday Party on Sunday, January 9 at 1:00 p.m. at the Stockyard Restaurant in Brighton. The cost will be $25 per person including tip; you will be responsible for your own bar bill. We will be ordering off the menu.

Directions can be found here.

Please RSVP to Joe, NV1W, at joechapman@alum.mit.edu by Thursday,January 6, specifying your name and call sign (if any) and the number of people attending. If you put “BARC Holiday Party” in the subject line of your email it will make my life easier. You may settle up with Jim, N1ICN, at the party.

You may also send nominations for Ham of the Year to me at the same address.

QSL Cards

NW1S Uncategorized

Just finished writing up QSL cards for the contacts made during BARC Technician POTA Day. The prizes being given are for; Youngest Ham, First Ham Radio Contact and First POTA activation! There are even some Thank you QSL cards and EYE BALL QSL cards.

Thanks to everyone that made the day extra special.

Frequencies for Technician POTA Event

nv1w Outdoors, Uncategorized

Here are some suggested frequencies for the Technician POTA event at the Blue Hills State Reservation on Saturday, September 20. Frequencies in bold are where activators will start operating, and where hunters should concentrate. See also the POTA spotting site; search for BARC in the comments or park K-8402.

10 meters: Bottom of the Technician phone and image range (28.300–28.500 MHz SSB). Try 28.340 MHz. Note that 10 meter band openings are unlikely to be reliable or long due to very low solar ionizing radiation this weekend.

6 meters: Techs may use the full band, though remember only CW is permitted below 50.100 and avoid the DX window from 50.100–50.125 MHz. Try 50.130 MHz.

2 meters: 146.520*, 146.535, 146.550, 146.565, 146.580, 146.595, 147.405, 147.420†, 147.435, 147.450, 147.465, 147.480, 147.495, 147.525, 147.540, 147.555, 147.570, 147.585 (*National call frequency, †BARC simplex frequency.) If the activator is not having much luck, we will also try the national call frequency of 146.520 MHz.

70 centimeters: 445.9125, 445.9250, 445.9375, 445.9500, 445.9625, 445.9750, 446.0000*, 446.0125, 446.0250, 446.0375, 446.0500, 446.0625, 446.0750, 446.0875, 446.1000, 446.1125, 446.1250, 446.1375, 446.1500, 446.1625, 446.1750 (*National call frequency.) If the activator is not having much luck, we will also try the national call frequency of 446.0000 MHz.

Update to Tech POTA Day

NW1S Announcements, News, On the air, Outdoors 0 Comment

Update on the Tech POTA Day: 

We tried to get access and permission to operate from the Norman Smith Education Center but they are hosting a private function and cannot accommodate us. Just outside their gate there are several good clearings where we will be setting up our Parks on the Air station. There is also a quick path around the center to the peak along the skyline trail. 

TALKABOUT: We will use the Great Blue Hill repeaters for communicating during the event: NE1AR 146.985/PL 88.5, and 449.125/PL 146.2 (Echolink Capable). As a backup you can contact NW1S via text or phone: 978-430-0750

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PARKING: The closest and easiest way to get to the activation site is the Chickatawbut Parking lot (shorturl.at/jxAJQ), though space is limited. There is also a parking lot at Route 28 and Chickatawbut Road (shorturl.at/hFL15). If you’re looking for a longer hike, park at Houghton’s Pond Parking (shorturl.at/byK78) and follow the trail towards Chickatawbut Hill. Trail Map: shorturl.at/gmDP2.

GETTING THERE: After parking you may hike one of the many trails or take a short walk up the road towards Norman Smith Education Center. The Gate MAY be open to that road but please do not drive up that road as we are only asking for access for one car so we can haul up the gear. Don’t forget to drop us a quick email if you’re thinking of going even if just for a short while: nw1s.brendan@gmail.com.

EVENT: The Boston Amateur Radio Club plans to be up there from 1030am to around 4pm and have coordinated to have a SOTA to POTA contact with a Ham from Temple Mountain, 58 Miles away! We also have a BARC member in Virginia who will be listening to make contacts with us as well. 

SATELITE: The SO-50 Amateur Radio satellite will be in the air between 11:53 and 12:07 local time on Saturday! We have three radios, including a full duplex VHF/UHF radio, set up and ready to make a contact via satellite.

HUNTING: The Blue Hills have archery hunting but it is only permitted Monday through Thursday so we should not have any issues. 

SPOTTING: We will be spotting via the POTA.us spot page and will do our best to add BARC in the comments section of the spot. You can also look for all spots from K-8402.

WEATHER: It looks like it’s going to be a cold one up on the hill so dress appropriately. 
CLUB: The Event is hosted by the Boston Amateur Radio Club. Visit www.barc.org/ and join today if you’re not already a member.

Technician POTA Event, Saturday, Nov. 20

nv1w Announcements, Outdoors

The Boston Amateur Radio Club will host a Parks on the Air (POTA) event with a special invitation to Technician license holders and new hams on November 20th, 2021, from 10:30 to 4:00. The event will take place in the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton at the Mount Chickatawbut summit. We will attempt to “activate” the park according to POTA rules using VHF, UHF, and the Technician segments of the HF bands.

Bring your handheld and any other radio you want to try out on the summit. The club will provide some power sources and a few different antennas for you to experiment with. You will also have an opportunity to operate on six and ten meters. Brendan, NW1S, and Joe, NV1W, will be on hand to answer questions and help introduce you to amateur radio in the great outdoors. There will even be prizes for accomplishments things like most contacts made, farthest contact, and most Technician bands used. Afterwards there will be a social event of food and drinks.

You may park at a lower parking lot and hike the short path to the summit. The Boston Amateur Radio club is attempting to organize a car to bring those who cannot or wish to not walk the distance to the summit. Further information on the Blue Hills can be found at https://friendsofthebluehills.org.

Please email Brendan, NW1S at nw1s.brendan@gmail.com if you’re planning to attend. Final information on the event will be published here as the event approaches.

Join us at the 110 Grill in Braintree afterwards for some food and drinks! Please include in your email if you will be joining us at 110 Grill so we can make a proper reservation.

We look forward to seeing you at the summit!

Updates on the Tech POTA Day can be found at BARC.org, and @W1BOS on Facebook and Twitter.

Do you want to participate without making the trek up Mount Chickatawbut? You can hunt our operators on Saturday. Look for us on the POTA spot page, the @W1BOS Twitter or on the National Calling Frequencies. We invite your club to get on the Air with our Technicians and test out your VHF and UHF Equipment.