The SinePost. A Message from the President NEXT MEETING

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Annabelle Gaines
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1 The SinePost The Monthly Newsletter of the Eastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Association 2016 Officers President John Szamocki Thompson, CT K1CSP Vice President Tiffany Phillips Danielson, CT KC1BLH Secretary Peter Johnson Danielson, CT K1NLX Treasurer Frances Rollinson Pomfret Center, CT KB1DNO Permanent Trustee Ed Shekleton Willington, CT K1ZE Trustee Dr Mike Therrien Putnam, CT N1MD Trustee Vincenzo Mazzarella Danielson, CT KB1JDX Member at Large Al Lafleur Quinebaug, CT K1AGL Member at Large Christy Johnson Danielson, CT N7BEO A Message from the President February 2016 Hello members and associates of ECARA. Well, my first meeting as President is under my belt and the New Year is under way. We had a great turn out for the January meeting and I hope the attendance numbers continue. We got a lot accomplished at the meeting and the DVD on the K1N Navassa Island Dxpedition was very enlightening. I can t imagine what it would be like to participate in such a physically and emotionally demanding event. At the February meeting we have to finish up with the final details for the March Hamfest. This is our big money maker for the club and I would like everyone who can help out to do so in some way. Please pass the word to anyone who wants to buy a table at the hamfest to see Pete to reserve it. If you are friends with any ham radio equipment vendors, please invite them to our hamfest. We have established a Field Day Advisory Committee to investigate different sites for Field Day this year. If you have any ideas of locations that would be good for propagation, especially vhf/uhf, please let the committee members know so they can investigate. I got a surprise in the mail today. It was a QSL card from AK9PL, Filip, who is a 9 year old from Illinois that I had a QSO with during Kid s Day on January 3, It s great to see the youth involved in amateur radio. January is winding down with the VHF Contest on January 30 th. I will be operating from my modest station at home and I know others from ECARA are planning to operate also. Good luck in the contest. If you happen to run into any old ham friends that we haven t seen in a while, please invite them to the meeting. It would be nice to get some of the older members back in the club circuit again. No pun intended. 73. See you at the meeting. 73, K1CSP John Szamocki NEXT MEETING 320 Pomfret Street (Route 44) Putnam, Connecticut Main Phone: (860) Get Directions Monday 7PM, February 8 Page 1 of 9

2 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec ECARA Monthly Meeting 1/11/16 at DKH, Putnam. Meeting called to order at 1900 hrs. Attending Members: K1AGL, Al KB1YZG, John K1CSP, John KB1ZOV, Skip K1JFT, John KC1BLH, Tiffany K1NLX, Peter KC1CMQ, Bob K1ZE, Ed KE1LI, Paul KA0ERL, Ken N1NNP, Mimi KA1KAC, Bill N1XAE, Ray KA1MPG, Jon N7BEO,Christy KA1MPI, Ron W1EQ, Bob KB1DNO, Frankie W1YFF, Ray KB1JDX, Vinny Visitors, Guests & Past Members: none ECARA Monthly Meeting Attendance K1CSP presiding. Quorum established to conduct business. Secretary s Report: Motion made to accept the December minutes as published in the January SinePost; seconded and carried. Treasure s Report: Beginning Balances: $ ; receipts dues $123.12; expenses Allen Hill gift card $100, Xmas party gratuity $64.30; ending balance: $ Motion made to accept the December Treasurer s Report; seconded and carried. New members were voted into the club: KC1ESV, KC1ESW, KC1ESX, KC1ESZ. Old Business: Ideas solicited for Kid s Day venues & promotions on 18 June were discussed. Ctc K1CSP National Parks on the Air was briefly discussed. 24 contacts already made. Ctc KE1LI Hamfest/fleamarket discussed: 2016 flyers are still available for anyone to distribute at interim events and venues. Raffle discussed. Suggestion made to offer DMR HT or mobile; and quantity to be offered. Motion made to Page 2 of 9 purchase one Tytera brand HT NTE $200 including shipping; seconded and carried. Advised that raffle tickets are in green club storage bin. KB1DNO will take care of attendee registration. KB1JDX will set up & conduct the VE session. Vehicle traffic is usually handled by K1TMP but he was not available to confirm. KB1ZOV offered to donate another HT charging stand for raffle & the club accepted the offer. KB1JDX to see if the $60 logging software package offered last year as a prize will be available this year. Vendor status discussed. Suggestion to contact QSRadio and Lentini Comm directly. K1NLX to pursue. The food & drink concession discussed. KA1MPG, KA1MPI & N1NNP volunteered to manage. K1AGL to pick up donuts. Ctc: K1NLX (fleamarket chairperson) New Business: The next club breakfast was discussed. Best date suggested was Saturday, 26 March. K1NLX to verify availability with Main St Grille & advise next meeting. KE1LI advised that the O Putnam 5K Road Race this year is 13 Mar. K1NLX to update calendar. Field Day locations were discussed: Allen Hill Tree Farm BSA camp Thompson (too much radio interference which would need to be resolved first, BSA camp Ashford (located on hill) Pomfret Rec Area Hole in the Wall Gang camp K1CSP established an exploratory committee with KE1LI, KA1MPG, K1AGL KB1DNO advised that ECARA needs to update the filing at the State Secretary s office to reflect the new officers; motion made to pay the filing fee for this process, NTE $100; seconded and carried K1CSP determined and advised that the initial executive meeting to discuss and establish club direction, and noted on the 2016 calendar, is not needed. K1NLX to remove from calendar. KE1LI reminded the group that the VHF contest is from 1/30 2/1 is coming up shortly. K1CSP advised that hams should register with RACES to have photo IDs which would be used in situations requiring the assistance of hams to provide emergency communications. If applicants do not have passport style photo they could submit, K1JFT volunteered to take photos at the April meeting for those interested. K1CSP advised that his goal as ECARA president is to get more new hams involved. Good of the order: DX-pedition through Jamaica to Navassa Island Wildlife Refuge video to follow. Meeting adjourned at 1956hrs.

KZ1M Jim Dalterio Memorial Station Update By Bob Garceau, W1EQ I thought we would start the New Year with an update on the club sponsored memorial station, KZ1M.

Jim was our Field Day Chairman for many years and he would remind us at our January meeting: 130 days until Field Day, Jim would say. I would like to update the new members on the history of KZ1M.

3 KZ1M Jim Dalterio Memorial Station Update By Bob Garceau, W1EQ I thought we would start the New Year with an update on the club sponsored memorial station, KZ1M. For the old timers in the club, KZ1M is a familiar call of one our members who passed away in Jim was our Field Day Chairman for many years and he would remind us at our January meeting: 130 days until Field Day, Jim would say. I would like to update the new members on the history of KZ1M. Jim became a silent key on May 30, He would have been 49 the next day. He lived in Manchaug, Massachusetts. He left a wife and two daughters. He was a member of the ECARA and the Yankee Clipper Contest Club. He was an avid contester, operating in most major radio contests. At the May 2005 Contest Dinner, held in Dayton, Ohio, Jim s name and call sign were listed in the program, along with other silent key (SK) and acknowledged by the master of ceremonies with a moment of silence from the large crowd. Ed, K1ZE, Dave, N3XF and I were present at the dinner, and it was emotional. The ultimate honor: acknowledgement from your peers. Another way to honor a SK is for someone to take the call and continue the legacy. On August 8, 2006, the ECARA became the holder of KZ1M, Jim Dalterio Memorial Station. Jonathan Fournier, KA1MPG is the trustee. I volunteered to be the QSL manager. The call sign, with Jon s approval, has been used in a number of contests. Jay, W1UJ has operated in a number of contests, using KZ1M. Ed, K1ZE and I have used the call in the 160 CW contest and I in other contests. I have and will continue to encourage the club to use KZ1M in all of our Field Day operations. The first contact, using Jim s call, was with PJ2T in the CQ Worldwide SSB contest at 00:05 UTC on October 28, Since then, 16,255 contacts have been logged, using KZ1M, in various contests and activities. All contacts were uploaded to the ARRL Log of the World (LOTW), where we have 7,678 QSL records. KZ1M is eligible for DXXCC (144 different countries), 118 countries on 15 meters and 134 on 20 meters. Worked all states (WAS) mixed and on Morse code (CW). As we enter the 10th year using Jim s call, I encourage club members to keep KZ1M in mind, when you operate in a contest or an activity. Page 3 of 9

ECARA and Scouting in Northeast Connecticut team up for JOTA 2015 By John Szamocki K1CSP CQ CQ CQ This is Whiskey One Sierra, Whiskey One Sierra calling CQ for Jamboree on the Air.

Members from the Eastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Association (ECARA) teamed up with Boy and Girl Scouts from Northeast Connecticut for the 58 th Annual International Scouting Jamboree on the Air.

4 ECARA and Scouting in Northeast Connecticut team up for JOTA 2015 By John Szamocki K1CSP CQ CQ CQ This is Whiskey One Sierra, Whiskey One Sierra calling CQ for Jamboree on the Air. This was what was buzzing through the airwaves from young voices on October 16 th and 17 th at the Waldron Camp in North Grosvenordale, Ct. Members from the Eastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Association (ECARA) teamed up with Boy and Girl Scouts from Northeast Connecticut for the 58 th Annual International Scouting Jamboree on the Air. The idea began when I was looking through my QST Magazine and came across an article describing the Scouting Jamboree on the Air. I showed the article to my wife Gerri, who has been a Girl Scout leader for about 17 years. Gerri looked at the article and said to me, That would be really cool to do with my scout troops. Can we do that? From that point on the idea began to snowball. We discussed opening it up to a joint venture with the local Boy Scouts too. Gerri and I met with Doug Wolfram, Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 66 in Thompson, Ct. Doug thought it would be awesome to have his scouts participate in an international Jamboree by participating in JOTA. He and Gerri began planning the event on the scouting side of things, while I began to solicit help from my ham friends at ECARA. I applied on line through the ARRL to secure special event call sign W1S for the event. The letter S, of course, to stand for Scouting. The original plan was to set up three portable HF stations on the Thompson Common. As things began to develop, I found out that the Tourtellotte High School National Honor Society was doing a sleep out for Homelessness Awareness on the same night as JOTA on the Thompson Common. Due to this conflict in location we decided to move to Plan B. Doug offered the use of the Waldron Camp and the Jesse Hay House on Mountain Hill Road in North Grosvenordale for the JOTA event. The Jesse Hay House is a facility for Scouts to meet, hike, camp out and perform scouting activities. It is a log cabin type building at the top of Mountain Hill. The elevation is about 600 above sea level and has space to put up some dipole antennas between the trees. The building has a great open meeting room with a huge fireplace on the main level Page 4 of 9

with power point projection capabilities. The lower level has kitchen and sleeping quarters. There are several acres for Scouts to camp and a river to canoe in.

5 with power point projection capabilities. The lower level has kitchen and sleeping quarters. There are several acres for Scouts to camp and a river to canoe in. The decision was finalized to use the Jesse Hay House. Ed Sheckleton (K1ZE) and I met with Doug Wolfram at the Jesse Hay to plan out the station locations and placement of antennas for the event. We decided to use two dipoles and two vertical antennas on three HF stations and one vhf station. We were also going to set up a Powerpoint and show a movie to the Scouts on Amateur Radio. Doug had Scouts from Thompson, Woodstock and Putnam invited to the event, while Gerri had Girl Scouts from four local Troops invited to the event. On Friday October 16 th in the late afternoon, ECARA members arrived at the Jesse Hay House to set up the antenna systems for the weekend event. Members present for antenna setup were Ed Shekleton K1ZE, Ron Fournier KA1MPI, Margaret Fournier N1NNP, Jon Fournier KA1MPG, John Turner K1JFT, and myself, K1CSP. John Turner showed up with a military type rescue line gun and plenty of ammo for it. John shot the line gun over the trees on the north side of the Jesse Hay House and deep into the woods. About 300 feet of nylon line later, we got a multi band dipole up about 40 feet into the trees. We then shot another line on the south side of the building into the trees to suspend a 40 meter dipole. I set up my HF vertical made up of a kite pole with a center radiator and radial wires on the ground along with a dual band stick for FM. The antennas were now ready to go and the station locations were set up for the event. The HF and FM station was located by the south front door. A 40m station was set up on the rear side of the hall on the south end while a second multi-band HF station was set up on the north end of the hall. We were now ready to go. We left to freshen up and returned to the Jesse Hay House at about 6:00 PM for JOTA. Some Scouts were already there and some trickled in as the night went on. The radio equipment was set up. Operators there from ECARA were Ed Sheckleton (K1ZE), Paul and Frankie Rollinson (KE1LI and KB1DNO), Ron (KA1MPI), Margaret (N1NNP) and Jon Fournier (KA1MPG) and me (K1CSP). Unfortunately we were dealing with a very noticeable electrical interference noise level on all three radios that would not go away. We decided that we would have to make the best of it and overcome the problem. Frankie (KB1DNO) and Margaret (N1NNP) set up a table in the front of the hall with various amateur radio pamphlets from the ARRL and displays donated to us for the event by Phil Mazzarella (KB1JQA). The computer was set up with the DVD on Amateur Radio Page 5 of 9

and we were now ready to go. Some of the Scouts that were there Friday night got on the air with our supervision. Troop 66 Scout Master Doug Wolfram got on 40 meters and began calling CQ.

At the end of the QSO, Doug was truly impressed with the capabilities of amateur radio. We suspended operations for the night at about 11:00 PM.

6 and we were now ready to go. Some of the Scouts that were there Friday night got on the air with our supervision. Troop 66 Scout Master Doug Wolfram got on 40 meters and began calling CQ. He made a contact with a gentleman from Germany. Doug surprised all of us when he began speaking with the gentleman in German. At the end of the QSO, Doug was truly impressed with the capabilities of amateur radio. We suspended operations for the night at about 11:00 PM. On Saturday October 17 th we began operations at about 8:00 am. ECARA members present were Ed Sheckleton (K1ZE), Ron Fournier (KA1MPI), Margaret Fournier (N1NNP), Jon Fournier (KA1MPG) and me (K1CSP). Jon (KA1MPG) operated on the 40m station. He had several Scouts both boys and girls operating his station. Ed (K1ZE) was operating on the multi-band station on the north end of the hall. He had a group of Scouts of all ages going through his station. After a few minutes, we easily identified the Scouts who were already hooked on the new experience exposed to them. They went immediately from one station to the next to get on the air again. I supervised the FM station with several different Scouts calling on the K1MUJ Repeater. They soon got experience operating on the local repeater talking to local hams like Bob (W1EQ), Gary (K1ZXX), and Ron (KA1MPI). By mid afternoon, it was only Ed (K1ZE) and I (K1CSP) left as licensed operators at the event. It was crazy as a surge of Scouts showed up and both Ed and I worked with several Scouts non-stop to get as much operating as possible in for them. The Scouts made contacts all over the United States, Germany, Italy, Spain and many other countries. As a new location was made, Girl Scout Leader Gerri Szamocki was working with the Scouts to put a new colored pin in the world map to document the contact. The Scouts had a great time searching for the countries on the map and placing the pins. When it was time for a break, we sat with the Scouts and enjoyed some homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs provided by Gerri Szamocki and the Girl Scouts, and Scout Master Doug Wolfram s famous Beef Stew. It was delicious. Page 6 of 9

During the event we worked with a few Scouts and their leaders seeking the Radio Merit Badge. We covered a lot of information in one day and as a result, four Scouts completed their radio merit Badge.

7 During the event we worked with a few Scouts and their leaders seeking the Radio Merit Badge. We covered a lot of information in one day and as a result, four Scouts completed their radio merit Badge. In summary, we operated the 58 th Jamboree on the Air on Friday evening and all day on Saturday until late evening. We had about seventy-five Scouts experience the event, along with about twenty-five parents/spectators. The Scouts made contact with other Scouts and amateur radio operators from all over the United States and several foreign countries on multiple bands. The event was a big success and made a lasting impression on the Scouts, their leaders and the parents/spectators at the event. We have already been asked to sponsor the Jamboree on the Air for 2016 and inquiries have been made about teaching Amateur Radio classes for the Scouts and their Leaders. I would like to thank the Eastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Association for sponsoring this event by purchasing QSL Cards and the ECARA members who took time out of their busy schedules to work with the Scouts and teach them about amateur radio. I would also like to thank the Jesse Hay Foundation for their support in Scouting and the use of Camp Waldron. Thank you to Scout Leaders Doug Wolfram and my wife Gerri Szamocki for making this event happen. Northeast Connecticut JOTA 2015 was a big success that left a lasting impression on many. Page 7 of 9

8 ECARA Calendar of special events 2016: Club meetings held every second Monday of each month. Event Date Purpose Contact/Net Control O Putnam Road Race 3/13 Safety & communications KE1LI ECARA Flea Market table set-up 3/18 8PM, St Joseph s church hall, Dayville K1NLX ECARA Flea Market 3/19 Club fund raiser K1NLX VE Session 3/19 Examination for those needing ham license KB1JDX ECARA Breakfast #1 3/26 Social event, Main St Grille, Putnam 0900 K1NLX Attendance Members, family & friends Monthly meeting at QVEC Apr Monthly business agenda at 911 facility K1CSP Jog with Judy May Safety & communications TBD Sky Warn Class TBD Storm spotting & reporting, Location TBD TBD Anyone interested Woodstock Road Race MAY Safety & communications TBD ECARA Field Day TBD Contesting & emergency readiness KA1MPG Deary Road Race Aug Safety & communications KB1JDX VJ Day Parade Aug Safety & communications KB1JDX Annual ECARA Picnic TBD Socialization, and business related activities (if any), BYOB & soft drinks K1CSP Brookyn Fair Aug Promote Ham Radio to public KB1JDX Thompson Community Day Sep Promote Ham Radio to public KB1JDX Harvester 5K Road Race Sep Safety & communications TBD Woodstock Road Race Oct Woodstock Academy TBD Monthly meeting at QVEC Oct Monthly business agenda at 911 facility K1NLX ECARA Breakfast #2 Oct Social event, Main St Grille, Putnam 0900 K1NLX BSA JOTA TBD Demonstration and promote Amateur Radio services to youth K1CSP ARRL 2016 Simulated TBD Emergency Test (SET) Exercise in emergency communications N1CLV Dazzle Light Parade Nov Safety & communications (rain date TBD) TBD ECARA Election of Officers & Xmas Party Members, family & friends Members, family & friends 12/12 Social & administrative event; officer election Classic Pizza, Rt6, Brooklyn K1NLX Members, family & friends Page 8 of 9

9 Membership Application Form: Eastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Association Membership Application / Renewal New Membership; Renewal Membership Today s Date: If you are already a Ham, If you are an aspiring Ham, ADDITIONAL INFO PLEASE SELECT please complete below then please complete below then (not required, but ONE: the yellow area: the yellow area: helpful) CALL SIGN: LICENSE CLASS: FIRST & LAST NAME: STREET ADDR: YOUR DOB: SPOUSE NAME: INDIVIDUAL ($20/yr) FAMILY ($30/yr) HANDLE (nickname): CITY, STATE, ZIP: SPOUSE DOB: SENIOR ($15/yr) FIRST YEAR LICENSED: ARRL MEMBER: yes no HOME: CURRENT PHONES (home& cell) CELL: CURRENT DOM: Would you like to receive the SinePost? yes no ECARA Treasurer, PO Box 63 Dayville, CT 06241, Phone # , Fax # STUDENT 1 st Year ECARA course PROVISIONAL Page 9 of 9

WACOM HAMFEST SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4 TH COME ONE, COME ALL HELP IS NEEDED. October 2007 OCTOBER 6 TH AND 7 TH

WACOM HAMFEST SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4 TH COME ONE, COME ALL HELP IS NEEDED. October 2007 OCTOBER 6 TH AND 7 TH October 2007 OCTOBER IS GOING TO BE A VERY, VERY BUSY MONTH!!! Let s go weekend by weekend.. OCTOBER 6 TH AND 7 TH : SET Emergency Communications drill and Exercise. OCTOBER 13 TH AND 14 TH : PENNSYLVANIA