Serving the Community Through Amateur Radio
MTARA MEMBERS - March is Membership Month!!
Calling all MTARA Members! March is our membership renewal month! Renewal forms have gone out in the mail to all members who have to renew their membership, so bring it to the hamfest, the next club meeting or just return it in the mail.
The MTARA relies upon membership for over half of its operating budget yearly, so if you want to see the club continue to grow, March is the month to renew your membership!
FCC Seeks Comments for Blanket Waiver to Allow Amateur Radio in Hospital Emergency Drills
In February 2010, the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a request with the FCC for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) of the Commission's Rules "to permit hospitals seeking accreditation to use Amateur Radio operators who are hospital employees to transmit
communications on behalf of the hospital as part of emergency preparedness drills." On March 3, the FCC issued a Public Notice -- WP Docket 10-54 -- seeking comments if the Commission "should grant AHA's request for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) to permit
amateur operators who are hospital employees to participate in emergency drills that are conducted by hospitals for accreditation purposes and that are not government-sponsored." Section 97.113(a)(3) specifically prohibits amateur stations from transmitting communications "in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer."
Given the public interest in facilitating government-sponsored emergency preparedness and disaster drills, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau have provided a process for requesting a waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) to permit named Amateur Radio operators to participate in specified government-sponsored drills by transmitting messages on behalf of identified employers. The waiver must be requested prior to the drill, and employees may not transmit amateur communications on their employer's behalf unless the waiver request has been granted by the FCC.
MTARA Exclusive! The First Video Tour of the American Radio Relay League!
In case you missed our February club meeting, we still would like to give you the chance to tour the ARRL Headquarters! The American Radio Relay League may be within easy driving distance for us, but many of us have not seen what really goes on behind the 'Black Diamond' or what the League does due to conflicts in our work schedules or our daily lives (to say nothing for those who live in far-away places!)
We hope you enjoy this video, produced, directed, shot, composed and edited by our own KB1XG. This is the first, and only video tour of the ARRL. We hope that it spurs your interest to drop in and visit the League when you are in the neighborhood!
Just click on the title ("MTARA Exclusive...") above to load the page with the viewer! Then get your popcorn and favorite beverage - this movie lasts 31 minutes!
Date Set for Mass QRP Convention
The first Massachusetts QRP Convention (MassCon) will be held March 12-13, 2010 in the Westford Regency Inn Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts. Presentations from leading figures in the QRP world will be made from 8 AM through 5 PM on Saturday (March 13). Speakers expected to present include Allison Parent (KB1GMX), Dave Siegrist (NT1U), Bruce Beford (N1RX), Chuck Kitchin (N1TEV), Michael Rainey (AA1TJ), John Sexton (KO1H), and QRP Hall of Fame members George Heron (N2APB), Joe Everhart (N2CX), and Dave Benson (K1SWL). Nobel Prize winner Joe Taylor (K1JT) will round out the event.
In addition to the Saturday seminar, a Friday evening gathering will be held on March 12, 2010 for attendees to meet the speakers, browse through vendor offerings, and do a little show-and-tell of their own.
Finally, a banquet will be held at the conclusion of the conference. Steve Galchutt (WG0AT) will keynote the event showing movies and talking about operating portable QRP, and hiking the peaks of Colorado with his pack goats Rooster and Peanut. Ticketing for the banquet is separate from the conference.
Crisis in Haiti - You Can Help!
The recent earthquake that devastated Haiti has left the area around Port-au-Prince in ruin and in want for every conceivable human need. We in New England are a world away as we watch the misery on the nightly news.
To donate to the American Red Cross, you can follow this link:
http://www.redcross.org/en/donatemoney
or you can make a donation right at the Pioneer Valley Chapter at our meeting. Make your check payable to the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross (PVCARC) and put "Haitian Relief Fund" on the memo line.
Amateur Radio in Action - Hams respond to Haitian Crisis
Here is a link to a news story from WFOR-TV in Miami FL:
http://cbs4.com/video/?id=89675@wfor.dayport.com&cid=5
(note- there is a short ad before the video so be patient)
Which MTARA repeater do you prefer to use?
Announcing New Net on the 146.94 Machine
Radio Scanner Monitoring Information Hobby Net --
Starting Thursday, January 7th, 2009 at 7:00 pm for approximately 30-45 minute period on the Mt Tom Repeater (146.94) an information net will be held for all amateur radio hobbyists who have/may have an interest in the passive radio monitoring hobby.
Round table discussions will cover "how to/where to monitor", as well as "what equipment is needed" to listen to the various radio services to including public safety, local government, military, aero/aircraft, railroads, public utilities, and various other services, operating in the frequency ranges of 30 to 1000 mhz.
Acting NCS for the net will be Ken, KB1PKI, who has been active in the radio hobby monitoring for over 30 years, and the Civil Air Patrol.
The net is off to a great start! If you would like to comment, please feel free to add your thoughts to the "Scanner Net" Forum. A link to this forum is in the menu on the left of this page under MTARA Discussion Group.
Would you like to see different reset tones and identifiers on each of the MTARA repeaters?
Local Weather
Propagation Forecast
