The next in the series of introductory training for amateur radio operators on the basics of RACES, ARES and SKYWARN will be held on February 8, 1998 at 1:30 PM at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s Area 1 Headquarters in Tewksbury on the grounds of the Tewksbury State Hospital.
This introductory training will familiarize amateur radio operators with the purpose of each of these different amateur radio emergency communications groups, how to get involved in each, and show examples of how these groups are working together on a statewide basis to coordinate responses to emergencies where amateur radio is used.
The meeting will consist of an introduction, three 20 minute presentations and a question and answer period. This training has already occurred in Bridgewater and Belchertown, and will be offered one more time in Framingham in May of 1998.
We are working on other topics for presentation to amateur operators involved in emergency communications as well.
If the weather intervenes and causes a postponement of this session, it would be postponed to February 15th.
The hospital may be easily reached from routes 495 or route 93. From route 495 take the exit 38 for route 38. Take route 38 south toward Tewksbury center. About three miles south on route 38 you will see a Shell gas station on your left at an intersection with a traffic light. Make a left turn at this light on to Chandler street. Go down chandler street about 300 feet and take a right turn into Hospital Road, Entrance #3. This is the main entrance of the Hospital. This road leads directly to the main parking lot of the hospital. When you get to the parking lot turn left into the lot and the MEMA building will be straight ahead of you. On the opposite side of the lot. Be sure to use entrance #3. Some of the other entrances do not lead to the correct parking lot.
From Route 93 take exit number 42, Dascomb road. At the end of the exit ramp follow the signs toward Tewksbury. Dascomb road becomes East Street when you cross from Andover into Tewksbury. Stay on East Street until you pass the hospital on your left and the Little league fields on your right. Just past the hospital, at the blinking traffic light, turn left on to Chandler Street. About a tenth of a mile down Chandler street will be Hospital Road, Entrance #3. This is the main entrance of the Hospital. This road leads directly to the main parking lot of the hospital. When you get to the parking lot turn left into the lot and the MEMA building will be straight ahead of you. On the opposite side of the lot. Be sure to use entrance #3. Other entrances do not lead to the correct parking lot.
There will be a talk-in on the Billerica Repeater. 147.12 MHz +600 KHz offset, for those needing assistance in finding the meeting location.
Tom Kinahan N1CPE
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If you own a cellular telephone and have not been able to get through to an emergency number like 911, that is all about to change. The FCC has acted to revise its rules which require covered wireless carriers. The new regulations make it mandatory for them to transmit all wireless 911 calls from both subscribers and non-subscribers to emergency assistance providers operating Public Safety Answering Points. The details are contained in Report Number WT 97-43 available at: www.fcc.gov
Amateur Radio Newsline #1061 12/12/97
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If you want to hear the latest word from space, tune into the transmissions from the Goddard Amateur Radio Club in Greenbelt, Maryland. They regularly retransmit space shuttle audio to Amateur Radio operators worldwide.
According to Dan Schultz N8FGV, the club transmits shuttle audio on 3.860, 7.185, 14.295 and occasionally 21.395 and 28.650 MHz. It also runs a local service on 147.45 MHz FM in the Greenbelt area. The club is on the air when the Shuttle crew is awake and a volunteer control operator is available to man the station.
The Shuttle Retransmission FAQ is on the web at: http://garc.gsfc.nasa.gov/www/retransmission/shuttle_faq.html
Amateur Radio Newsline #1061 12/12/97
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Cary Oler at the University of Lethbridge in Canada relays word of a new radio propagation service known as CAROS, or the Coordinated Amateur Radio Observation System. Oler says CAROS is based on the principle of amateurs contributing radio propagation information for others to use.
“We have, for several years, been planning to implement such a service, primarily to test whether amateurs can supply sufficient information to make such a global service useful,” he said in a recent e-mail posting. “Its success or failure will be dependent upon those who use it and find it useful.”
Oler says the project is interested in reports detailing normal, below-normal and above normal propagation on paths with which you are most familiar. Additionally, the project would like to hear about unusual propagation (non-great-circle, aurora- related, meteor-induced, etc.) that you observe, as well as about rare contacts (both of which are routinely reported already via packet—Ed).
Oler says there are no limitations on reports. “We will accept reports from anyone, at any time, and on any frequency (from ELF to microwave and beyond). Moon-bounce communicators are welcome to join in the fun, as are satellite communicators and anyone else.” He asks those submitting reports to be as specific as possible. Since there is a possibility that this service could generate data that might supplement types of future scientific research, we hope all submissions will be detailed and complete.” Reports will be archived.
Post CAROS propagation reports to http://solar.uleth.ca/solar/www/subcaros.html. The main CAROS web page at http://solar.uleth.ca/solar/www/caros.html is updated every five minutes. Direct questions or comments to coler@solar.stanford.edu.
ARRL Letter - Vol. 16, No. 49 12/12/97
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