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  • Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide (AUXFOG)

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now refers to Amateur Radio groups such as ARES, RACES, REACT and other EMCOMM organizations, by the terms “Auxiliary Communications (Service)” and/or “Auxiliary Emergency Communications”.

    To assist what the DHS now calls Auxiliary Communications, the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) has released a publication titled the ‘Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide (AUXFOG)’. On one of the Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program (ICTAP) own webpages, they describe the AUXFOG this way:
    “The Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide (AUXFOG) is a new reference for auxiliary communicators who directly support backup emergency communications for State/local public safety entities or for an Amateur Radio organization supporting public safety.
    This reference guide contains information about AuxComm best practices, frequently used radio frequencies, Mutual Aid channels as well as tips and suggestions about auxiliary emergency communicators integrating into a NIMS ICS environment to support communications for planned events or incidents. It can serve as a reference both for auxiliary emergency communicators and public safety communications professionals.”

    While printed copies are not available from the DHS, or the ICTAP, you may download a electronic copy here: AUXFOG_21_November_2013. Please note the AUXFOG is in PDF format, and is about 3MB in size.

  • Ham Radio Classes – Coming Soon

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    The Hampden County Radio Association will be holding an Amateur Radio Technician Class along with General and Extra Study Groups at the Holyoke Hospital Auxiliary Conference Center (auditorium), 575 Beech Street, Holyoke, Mass. This classes and study groups are open to everyone of all ages and affiliations.

    There will be three different meeting dates:
    Class #1 – Monday, January 13, 2014 7:00 – 8:30 PM
    Class #2 – Monday, January 20, 2014 7:00 – 8:30 PM
    Class #3 – Saturday, January 25, 2014 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

    VE Exam – Saturday, January 25, 2014 at approximately 3:00 PM

    Attendance is NOT taken. If you can’t make the Monday evening dates, just come on Saturday. These condensed meetings are presented with the assumption that individuals will study and take practice tests on their own outside of class time. Our goal is to provide experienced ham radio operators (elmers) to be used as resources when going over the questions and answers that may be on the test.

    There is no charge for the class/study group, but the purchase of the ARRL License Manual ($29) is strongly suggested. Internet links to other resources will be provided. ARRL License Manuals can be ordered for delivery at the first class by contacting John, kx1x@arrl.net.
    The cost to take the test is $15 per attempt.

    The license, after passing the test, costs $0 and can be renewed for $0 every 10 years. Two forms of ID are required, including one picture identification.

    Questions? Email John/Kx1x, kx1x@arrl.net

    [mapsmarker marker=”4″]

    HCRA Meeting Location - Holyoke Hospital

  • Next HCRA Meeting Friday, January 3rd

    Next HCRA Meeting Friday, January 3rd

    Guest Speaker Fred Hopengarten – K1VR

    Bundle up and come on out to HCRA’s January meeting where guest speaker Fred
    Hopengarten – K1VR will discuss the legal aspects of antennas and towers. Fred is the author of the book Antenna Zoning published by the ARRL and has been a lawyer handling federal communication law since 1990. His presentations are filled with advice on working with local governments and zoning regulations as well as success stories from his clients who have hit legal roadblocks. We are looking forward to his presentation and hope that you will join us.

    Along with Fred’s presentation, we will be discussing regular club business and future events, selling raffle tickets for the FT-857, taking membership renewals for 2013/2014, and taking deposits for WRTC equipment that the club is selling at a discount to members. Don’t forget to come early for Bob – K1YO’s Tech Corner!

    Meeting starts at 7:30PM (Tech Corner at 7:00pm)

    Holyoke Medical Center Auxiliary Conference Center
    575 Beech St. Holyoke MA, 01040

  • 2013 ARRL 10 Meter Contest – That’s a Wrap!

    Another 10 Meter Contest has come and gone. Excellent conditions and no shortage of stations around the world.  If you haven’t done so via the HCRA Facebook page, email me your QSO breakdown, the category you entered as, and your total claimed score.  Please do this regardless of the number of contacts you made as every point counts! Also, please make sure to send your logs into ARRL no later than 0000 UTC Wednesday, January 14th.  For the club to get credit you need to have Hampden County Radio Association spelled out like this:

    CLUB: Hampden County Radio Association

    Thank you for your participation and have a Happy New Year!

    73,

    Matt – W1MSW

  • ARRL 10 Meter Contest This Weekend!

    Hello Fellow HCRA Members,

    This is a reminder that the 10 meter contest is this weekend and we will again be participating not only as individuals, but also as a club. The band has had some great openings over the last couple months, so there is some potential to see quite a bit of activity during the contest.

    A couple of things to remember:

    • For HCRA to get credit for your score, you must have “Hampden County Radio Association” spelled out in the “CLUB” field in the cabrillio file you submit to ARRL after the contest (ex. CLUB: Hampden County Radio Association)
    • If you use ANY assistance (ie Cluster Network, Facebook, QRZ.com, Telephone, etc), you need to change your operating category to Multi-Single instead of Single-Op.
    • Work on setting up logging NOW and not 10 minutes before the contest.
    • READ THE RULES!!!  It can seem daunting, but they’re not too complicated, just detailed.  Knowing what to expect makes all the difference in the world.
    • If you don’t understand something, let us know and we’ll do our best to explain and help get you going.
    • DD gift cards will be awarded to anyone who scores over 100K.
    • HAVE FUN!  Don’t get hung up on the equipment that you have compared to what others are using or how everyone else is doing.  Just focus on your own operating and try to do better than the year before or if you’ve never operated in the contest, set a baseline to try to beat next year.  We do this because it’s fun!

    When the contest is over, please send me your claimed score and QSO breakdown so we can update the HCRA page. Below are few useful links for more information. Again, don’t hesitate to ask questions if there is something you don’t understand. Also, if you need a place to operate or want to try HF for the first time, let us know and we might be able to find a station where you can guest op.

    General Rules for all ARRL Contests:
    http://www.arrl.org/general-rules-for-all-arrl-contests

    10 meter contest rules in addition to the general rules:
    http://www.arrl.org/10-meter

    Contest basics for those new to contesting:
    http://www.arrl.org/contest-basics

    A deeper look into contesting:
    http://www.arrl.org/contest-toolbox-tutorials

    GL ES 73 DE W1MSW

  • Last Chance for Holiday Party FUN !!!

    If you missed the December 1 deadline we are extending it until tomorrow (December 3rd) at 8:00 PM. You need to contact either Marty, Diane or myself via telephone, email, or Facebook with your desires. We will put you on the list and you can pay ‘at the door’ of the Steaming Tender on December 9th.

    You can reach me at 413-237-4666 most anytime.

    Please remember you ARE committing to purchasing a ticket – even if you don’t go so be sure before you call

    More info about the joint HCRA/MTARA holiday party in the link below – just in case you/ve been out of town or under a rock somewhere!

    https://hcra.org/wordpress/category/holiday-party-2/

  • Twitter Is -Not- The Woodpecker Of Old…

    Many of our older, Er, Ah, I mean…more experienced Hams in the club, may recall the “Russian Woodpecker”. Beginning around 1976 till around 1989 when it ceased, this powerful radio signal was heard world wide and when triangulated, the source was found to emanate from inside the Ukraine. Hence the name, the Russian Woodpecker.

    Twitter’s only metonymy with the Russian Woodpecker is the use of the bird metaphor in their names. The Russian Woodpecker wanted to disrupt communications, Twitter wants to facilitate them.

    As Amateur Radio Operators, one of our goals is to communicate with as many good friends, and make as many new friends as possible using our radios. Similarly, as a club the HCRA needs to communicate with as many of its members (and our friends) as it can. By using Twitter, the club has one more item in it’s tool-kit to do just that.

    Twitter is easy to use, accessible via PC as well as any number of mobile devices, and proven itself to be an effective way to share information and ideas. Be it between people who follow other people, or people who follow institutions, such as our club.

    A major plus Twitter has going for it, is that while not everyone has time to log onto the internet, then go to websites browsing text files, most everyone has time to look at a quick message sent to them containing 140 characters…or less! That’s right, in about 30 seconds you can instantly learn what’s happening with your club. These Tweets may include a link that would provide you with more information and content.

    So, it’s with the above in mind, the Hampden County Radio Association created its own Twitter account called “Hampden County RA” or “@HampdenCountyRA” and we encourage all our members to follow us on Twitter. It’s easy to locate, you can find it by simply clicking on this link: https://twitter.com/HampdenCountyRA. We look forward to your follows, and all club members who follow @HampdenCountyRA, will be followed back.

    One last thing, to alleviate any concerns, be assured this is the official and -only- account the Hampden County Radio Association has on Twitter.

  • Board Meeting Minutes 11/5/2013

    HCRA Board of Directors Meeting
    November 5th, 2013

    Location: West Springfield, MA
    Time: 7:00 PM
    Present: KK1W, KB1NWH, AA1YW, K1YO, N1FJ, N1KXR, Kx1x, W1MSW

    OFFICER REPORTS

    Vice President – KB1NWH
    Membership Report: 64 Regular, 3 Life, 8 Family = 75 Total
    Helped Bob/K1YO erect his tower

    Treasurer – AA1YW
    Current financial report: $8817.00
    Status of WRTC Sales: $4775.00 sold to date
    Status of FT857 raffle: 88 tickets sold to date
    We have one returned check for $15 and associated fees. Dave is looking into a resolution.

    Secretary – N1MFL – Not Present
    Mail pickup schedule for the next month to ensure we capture any/all holiday party payments
    All minutes need to be posted to the website and categorized as “meeting minutes”

    DIRECTOR REPORTS

    Technical – K1YO
    Tech Corner appears to be a great success – All board members and meeting attendees have given this program a big ‘thumbs up!’

    Zero Beat, N1FJ
    Silent auction – good activity so far and it will continue based on these successes
    Zero Beat seems to be getting good articles – reasons? – More interest in publishing, perhaps more advertising for articles helped too.
    Frandy will be out of twon 11/25 to 12/2 and requests all articles be submitted by 11/20 for the December issue.

    Membership – N1KXR
    Membership Report, how many Regular, Family, Life and Prospect members at this time (see count above under KB1NWH)

    At Large – Kx1x
    Date and location announced and published in Zero Beat and on the website. This will be a Technician Class and both a General and Extra ‘study group’ – similar to last year’s successful venture. The location is the HMC Auxiliary Conference Center and will comprise two Monday night classes and an all day Saturday class with subsequent VE session. As always John is looking for volunteer instructors/leaders for all three classes.

    Program – W1MSW

    CW training class update – tabled for the time being.
    Comments on the last two presentations (Hamsource and POTA) – Both meetings were well attended and interesting.

    Meeting Calendar:
       January: Fred/K1VR on legal aspects of antenna/tower erection
    February: Fred/AB1OC on Dxpedition to Bora Bora
    March: Show & Tell – Promotion will start in January 2014
       April: – OPEN
    May:  Chuck/ARRL on the ARRL’s “Intruder Watch” program
    June: Field Day planning, N1MM workshop, elections

    OLD BUSINESS
       Holiday Party planning report (Kx1x & KK1W) – On track for a good turnout again this year.
    Status of proposed ‘cloud’ database (NT1K & KK1W) – In progress, no firm completion date at this time.
    Remember Jeff/NT1K is our webmaster – Jeff should receive all website suggestions/password problems etc.
    WB1DBY held a foxhunt on November 3rd with good success.
    Bruce/KB1TLX has reported the coffee/donut bar has finally reached ‘break even’ status and will continue.
         .
    NEW BUSINESS
       Dave/N1MFL advised the board of his resignation due to lack of time to devote to the position. The board accepted his resignation and thanks him for his two years of hard work and good ideas. For the meantime the position will remain open. We will ask the membership for a volunteer to finish out Dave’s term. Until a volunteer is found Ed/KB1NWH will take over the database and USPS pickup and Jim/KK1W will take the minutes.

    Matt/W1MSW and Ed/KB1NWH will once again head up Field Day in 2014. We will be returning to School St. Park in Agawam once again. Matt is also working on a FD execution guide and Band Captain manual following the successful format of the WRTC manuals.

    2013/2014 Board Meeting Dates
    January 7th
    March 11th
    May 6th
    June 10th

    Respectfully submitted by Jim Mullen/KK1W

  • Board Meeting Minutes 9/10/2013

    HCRA Board of Directors Meeting
    September 10, 2013

    Location: West Springfield, MA
    Time: 7:00 PM
    Present: KK1W, KB1NWH, AA1YW, N1MFL, N1FJ, N1KXR, Kx1x, W1MSW

    OFFICER REPORTS

    Vice President – KB1NWH
    Details on donation to Agawam for FD. $250 check should go to the Perry Lane School
    Database is up to date
    Treasurer – AA1YW
    Current financial report : $6877.00
    Status of WRTC Sales: Sold two generators, three LMR400 coax
    Status of FT857 raffle (# of tickets sold): 62 tickets sold to date
    How many renewals have been received through PayPal? – 18. Dave needs more into about PayPal deposits
    Secretary – N1MFL
    Status of State and Federal Filing – Done
    How is planning for on-line board meetings going?  – Continued pending information gathering.

    DIRECTOR REPORTS
    Technical – K1YO – Not present
    Proposed subjects for ‘Tech Corner’?
    HMC is looking for help with interference to their VHF repeaters – is this something you have time for?
    Zero Beat, N1FJ
    Any problems with the September issue? – A ‘gentle reminder’ that “cutoff date” means when an article is due!
    Silent auction planning and proposed dates. – Decided on a ‘white elephant’ table, dates TBD
    Membership – N1KXR
    Membership Report, how many Regular, Family, Life and Prospect members at this time. – 47R, 5F, 3L and 2P
    How is the new system of maintaining the database and mailing list working? – a few challenges but overall working OK.
    Status of possible September/October foxhunts – Continued pending contacting WB1DBY
    At Large – Kx1x
    Plans for January Classes – Dates to be determined and announced
    Program – W1MSW
    CW training class update – Still in the developmental stage
    Meeting Calendar:
       October: John/N1OLO from Hamsource
    November: Dave/N1MFL and Dan/KB1VWQ on POTA
    January: Fred/K1VR on legal aspects of antenna/tower erection
    February: Fred/AB1OC on Dxpedition to Bora Bora
    March: Show & Tell
    April: – Open
    May: – Open
    June: Field Day planning, N1MM workshop, elections
    Facebook poll says a meeting on DX Cluster would be welcome. Looking for a potential presenter.
    Investigate a possible meeting by (or at) the local ‘maker space’

    OLD BUSINESS
       Any further info on the APRS node in Chester? (KB1NWH & KK1W) – Not an HCRA problem, dropped
    On-line BOD meeting planning and test (N1MFL) – Continued pending further information from members
         .
    NEW BUSINESS
       Does the format of our minutes meet legal criteria? (N1MFL & KK1W) – Dave will upgrade to a more formal presentation
    Holiday Party planning (Kx1x & KK1W) – Marty/W1MJB has offered assistance with planning.
    September database problems and how to avoid them in the future (N1KXR, KB1NWH and KK1W) – Discussed and resolved
    Status of proposed ‘cloud’ database (NT1K & KK1W) – Still in the works, hopefully within 30 to 60 days
    Remember Jeff/NT1K is our webmaster – all website suggestions/password problems etc. should be addressed to him.
    Retirement of the HCRA IRLP Node (Kx1x) – Done, John will retire the node, any equipment of value will be donated to the Crew 510

    2013/2014 Board Meeting Dates
    November 5th
    January 7th (possibly on-line)
    March 11th
    May 6th
    June 10th

    Respectfully submitted by Dave/N1MFL

  • Board Meeting Minutes 8/18/2013

    HCRA Board of Directors Meeting
    August 18th, 2013

    Location: Brimfield, MA
    Time: 2:00 PM
    Present: KK1W, KB1NWH, AA1YW, N1MFL, N1FJ, N1KXR, W1MSW

    OFFICER REPORTS

    Vice President – KB1NWH
    Field Day report (with W1MSW) and 2014 FD planning – See new business
    Treasurer – AA1YW
    Current financial report – $6267.14
    Secretary – N1MFL
    Status of state and Federal fiscal year end reports – State is complete. Federal is created and needs to be finalized
    Plan and implement an on-line board meeting for January 2014

    DIRECTOR REPORTS

    Technical – K1YO – Not present
    Would like to institute a “pre-meeting” Tech Corner at our monthly meetings. – All agreed a good idea, Matt and Bob will coordinate
    Zero Beat – N1FJ
    Cutoff and publication dates for Zero Beat, confirm with BOD and enter into the Yahoo calendar.
    Membership – N1KXR
    Report – To date we have sold about 20% of the tickets for the FT857 raffle.

    At Large – Kx1x – Not Present
    Planning for ham classes (Tech, General, Extra) for January  location to be decided. – See New Business
    Former Crew Member George (Chris) Fotopoulos/KB1PQU was awarded the FEMARA Scholarship
    Program – W1MSW
    September – Tom/K1KI, ARRL Diamond Anniversary
    October – John/N1OLO from Hamsource
    November –  POTA presentation with Dan/KB1VWQ and Dave/N1MFL
    December – .Holiday party, December 8th – See above
    January – Open
    February – Open
    March – Show & Tell
    April – Open
    May – Open
    June – Field Day training

    Frandy suggested we run a ‘silent auction’ at all appropriate club meetings and volunteered to handle it. This will start with the September meeting.
    OLD BUSINESS   
    Paypal membership renewal, is live on the website.- AA1YW, NT1K
    Foxhunting status, is this dead for 2013? – N1KXR – Rich is on track to hold one in mid-September or October.
    WRTC Station Sales – AA1YW, KK1W

    • WRTC Sales Program (KK1W and AA1YW are working on this.
      • Dave and Jim will finalize the program and announce it in Septembers Zero Beat. The main points of the program are:
        • A fair price will be determined for all items we are offering for sale.
        • The list, with prices will be published in September 2013 ZB.
        • Anyone desiring an item will be required to tender a 20%, non-refundable deposit.
        • If more people than items are requested at the September meeting a lottery will be held to determine who gets the item.
          • In order to be in the lottery the 20% deposit must be tendered.
        • All items must be ‘paid in full’ by June 1, 2014.

    NEW BUSINESS
        Field Day – the final report – KB1NWH and W1MSW

    • From all reports Field Day 2013 was a success
      • We learned a lot about the new location
      • We will have a better concept of station layout in 2014
      • The Town of Agawam was a pleasure to deal with and the park was extremely well maintained.
      • Dave/N1MFL made a suggestion for better/more signage to help visitors find their way around.
      • Unless there’s a lot of input from the members once again food will not be supplied.
      • 5A seemed to be fine with everyone
      • Better equipment (transceivers) would have helped mitigate intra-station interference

    Procedure for handling membership data between all concerned parties – tabled from the June meeting.
    A new procedure has been designed for database maintenance as follows:

        • All applications will go to Rich/N1KXR (the membership person)
          • Rich will enter them in the Access database
          • Rich will enter any new members into the HCRA mailing list
          • Rich will pass the application to Dave along with payment.
        • Dave will deposit the money and sign off on the application, then return it to Rich for filing

    Possible change of web host and other website improvements – NT1K, KK1W – Jeff and Chris/KB1RMA are working on a revised website that includes putting our database ‘in the cloud’. This would allow access and editing and available to all board members. Everyone agreed this is a good idea and is hopeful we’ll have something up and running soon.

    Holiday Party Planning – Kx1x

    • Holiday Party, December 9th – the date and location are confirmed.
      • John/Kx1x is tentatively handling this event. I’ll work with John and relate how we handled the event and MTARA participation in 2012.
      • Articles for ZB, website, Facebook and the HCRA mailing list
      • Track ticket sales for each club and work with MTARA for the final accounting.
      • Jim/KK1W will print the tickets
      • Price /person will most likely be $20 this year.

    Membership Renewal

    • Membership Renewal
      • Rich/N1KXR has this on his agenda. He will:
        • Write an article for Zero Beat asking for renewals
        • Copy that article to the website, Facebook and the HCRA mailing list.
      • Frandy/N1FJ will include an application form in September ZB
        • Jim/KK1W will create a modified application form.
      • Matt/W1MSW will give Rich the passwords to the HCRA mailing list and a tutorial on how to add/modify members on the list.
    • APRS Node in Chester (KK1W)
      • Waiting on MTARA for any decisions here. Jim/KK1W has offered to help with equipment removal if needed but HCRA has no interest in operating a packet or APRS node.
    • Donations to HMC and/or Agawam Park & Rec?
      • $250 to HMC to paid in September
      • $250 to Agawam Park & Rec
        • Ed/KB1NWH will check and see if there is a specific fund we can donate to that ensures the entire donations goes to maintenance at School St. Park.
    • Training sessions (Tech/General/Extra)
      • John/Kx1x will be organizing this for January 2014
        • HMC and Mercy will be informed so they can send employees for training.
        • Location to be determined by class size and potential attendees.
    • WRTC participation
      • As a club HCRA will continue to promote this important event through July 2014.

    2012/2013 Board Meeting Dates – Approved, Jim will enter in the Yahoo calendar        September 10th
    November 5th
    January 7th – Possible on-line meeting
    March 11th
    May 6th
    June 10th

    Respectfully submitted by Dave Scarpa/N1MFL