Monthly Archives: July 2018

Island Activation Crew Ready for Tomorrow

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Congratulations to the activation team for three successful new island activations and a brief lighthouse activation.

The NCRC Island Activation is in the Elizabeth Islands again for the next three days and have plans of activating multiple islands for the first time.  Note all islands in that area are part of the NA046 IOTA Group.

Likely targets are Bull, Slates, Gosnold, Lighthouse USA215, and Weepecket (Marked in RED if activation is currently underway).

They should be spotted on the networks as W1SYE.  Usual operating time is around 11 AM Eastern (1500Z), and usual frequencies are 7.260 and 14.260 +/- QRM.

Island Activation Team – Front row left to right: Jim KA1ZOU, Mike AC1DV, Willy W1LY, Paul K1YBE. Back row: Pete W1LAB, Marshall, John K1JSM, Rosemary and Grant

 

Weepecket Island (July 25 Activation)

UPDATE July 25 1614Z – The activation is official so it is now Weepecket MA061S

UPDATE July 25 1520Z – The crew is on the air  14.257.  Will move to 40 later in the morning (7.261).  Conditions are MUCH better today and they are working a large pileup.

UPDATE July 25 1500Z.  The crew is on the island (MA061).  Expects to be on air by 1520Z.  14.260 and 265 are occupied — guessing 14.257.

Weepecket Island off the coast of Naushon

 

Gosnold Island (July 24 Activation)

Update July 24 1700Z.  The activation of the Lighthouse has gone QRT.

Good news is the team has officially activated Gosnold Island MA-059S, which allowed them to switch over to the Old Cuttyhunk Lighthouse early.  Many thanks!

Update: July 24 1600Z:  Still on 7.260 seeking enough contacts to qualify Gosnold.  They do plan to change locations to the Old Cuttyhunk Lighthouse ARLHS USA-215 at 1800Z.

Update: July 24 1550Z:  Shifted to 7.261 (20 meters was quite long skip)

UPDATE: July 24 1510Z- The team is on Gosnold.  Will likely begin at 14.257 (a tad lower to avoid QRM).  Expect on air by 15:30Z

UPDATE: July 24 1430Z – The activation team is waiting for transportation to Gosnold island (MA059/NA-046).  Should be on the air starting with 14.260 in the next hour or so.  The crew is still considering a second activation later today for the Old Cuttyhunk Lighthouse ARLHS USA-215.

Crew on Gosnold Island MA-059. Long rough trip to get to the island.

Waiting for the raft to take them over to Gosnold

 

SLATES ISLAND (July 23 Activation)

UPDATE: July 23 1625Z – Station now OFF AIR.  Check back on Tuesday July 24 for a new island starting around 1500Z.

UPDATE: July 23 1615Z – Station now on 7.260 MHz

UPDATE: July 23 1600Z – Slates Island activation is officially MA058S and IOTA NA046 now.  Congrats on another activation.

At table (L to R): Jim KA1ZOU, John K1JSM, Willy W1LY. Behind table: Mike AC1DV, Paul K1YBE. Photo by Pete W1LAB

UPDATE: July 23 1500Z – They gang is on Slates Island MA058 and IOTA NA046.  40 may be a bust due to high local noise.  They are currently on 14.260

UPDATE: July 21.  First Island planned is Slates (MA058) and IOTA NA046 on July 23, starting about 14:00 UTC near 7.260

Slates Island

Check back often for updates.

 

Signup for July 19 Hands-on Radio Event

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Our first Hands-on Radio Event will be Thursday July 19th from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM at All Saints STEAM Academy,  915 W Main Rd, Middletown, RI 02842.  Our topic for this meeting will be VHF radios, antennas, and accessories.

Paul Wynn, AC1DW, will be our coordinator for the first event, and has asked that we list out a number of the items that we will be demonstrating:

  • Chuck N1CKT – a field portable VHF go-kit that is used by the Portsmouth Emergency Management Agency. Several of his VHF radios including iCom V-80, iCom ID-51A+ [D-star], iCom IC-M92D [maritime], and a Kenwood TM281A with a Samlex power supply, LiFePo batteries, and several antennas.
  • Mike AC1DV – a very small mobile vhf unit that he uses on his sail boat. It can be mounted with hook&loop (Velcro) to your dash. No Drilling holes in your dash required.
  • Willy W1LY – 12 or 13 element VHF yagi for display (and sale).
  • Ted W1GRI – another go-kit (personal rig not EmCom)
  • Bob WB4SON – Kenwood DM710GS (which is essentially a dual band mobile radio — one side tuned to APRS).  Will also bring DSTAR HT and TH-D72A (full duplex HT, which allows talking AND listening at the same time).
  • Mike K1NPT – demo of APRS for the event. (Automatic Packet Reporting System) It’s more than just GPS reporting.

We would appreciate it if you would register in advance so that we can have enough pizza and drink for those attending.  Please fill in the registration form here.

Paul N1PSX to reschedule & thanks to Richard Connor

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Unfortunately Paul N1PSX (RI Section Emergency Manager) was injured today and spent his evening at the hospital getting patched up, so he was unable to join us at the meeting for his presentation on ARES here in RI.  We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to hearing his presentation in August.

We were fortunate to be visited by Richard Connor, an expert on Dolphin “society” and behaviors.  Richard, who has spent decades researching Dolphin behavior in Shark Bay Australia, has recently published a book for lay people, and will be giving us a full presentation at the October meeting.  He was nice enough to give us a preview tonight.

Information on the “Decade of the Dolphin” can be found here.

Meeting Reminder July 9: 7 PM KVH

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Just a reminder that our usual business meeting will begin at 7 PM at KVH Manufacturing (75 Enterprise DR, MIddletown, RI).  In addition to induction of new members, and a review of Field Day results (Excellent), Paul Silverzweig, N1PSX, the RI Section Emergency Manager, will be giving a presentation that will focus on how Amateur Radio works to benefit the community and served agencies.  Paul will be sharing some photographs from his recent activations.

Members are reminded to sign up for the upcoming Hands-on Radio Event on July 19th.  Details are can be found here