Field Day is on its way!

Mark your calendars for June 23 and 24. If you are an amateur radio licensee (regardless if you are a member of our team or not) and would like to participate in our Field Day activity, please sign up using the online form. Our event will be at the National Guard Building at 50 Skyline Drive in Worcester.

Our open house for the general public will be from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM on Saturday June 23. If you don't have an amateur radio license, please feel free to come up at that time to check out our team, station, and operation. You'll even have the opportunity to get on the air and make some contacts yourself! No sign up is required for people that don't have an amateur radio license, just come up and we'll be happy to show you around!

More details can be viewed on our Field Day 2012 information page. This year our Field Day Event Coordinator will again be Dirk Hart KB1HKN. Any and all questions relating to our Field Day event can be sent to him.

See you at Field Day!

ARRL Western MA Section Emergency Coordinator and WECT Secretary John Ruggiero N2YHK is looking for about 6 - 9 amateur radio operator volunteers to assist with communications for this year\'s March for Babies in Worcester. The event is on Sunday, April 29 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM in downtown Worcester.

Typical assignments include NCS, Victory Vans, Shadows, Checkpoints and Observation Points. Radio operators will need an HT with batteries to last a few hours. Speaker-Mics and/or headset/headphones are suggested. A small mobile antenna is a good idea if you are put in a vehicle.

For details or to sign up, email John N2YHK.

Team Members Ralph Swick KD1SM is looking for 30 to 40 amateur radio operators for the Groton Road Race on Sunday April 29 from 9:15 AM to 3:00 PM (although times vary greatly by assignment).

Volunteers will need a 2M HT and battery power to last through the event. Lunches and drinks should be provided to volunteers, but it may be wise to bring these just in case. Some assignments may allow for volunteers to be near their vehicles, but not inside them. All volunteers should also be dressed appropriately for the weather that day.

Ralph\'s description of the event:

\"The 2012 Groton Road Race is fast approaching; this race this year is scheduled for Sunday April 29 -- five weeks from today.

The Squannacook River Runners and the Groton Police Department rely on the support of Amateur Radio operators to help keep this event safe for everyone. This is one of our premier activities for gaining community visibility. Despite the visibility this is a fairly easy event for us; we get to watch a thousand or more runners do their thing. Many will take the time to shout words of thanks to us as they pass.

It takes 30 to 40 radio operators to shadow the event officials and fill all the stations around the 10k course in the afternoon. The 5k course in the morning overlaps with the parking stations so we don\'t get away with very many fewer in the morning.

I hope you\'ll be able to join us this year; please let me know. If you have not participated before and have questions about what would be expected of you if you were to volunteer, please ask. If you have participated before and still have questions, please ask those too.\"

If you are interested in helping with this event, please contact Ralph KD1SM.

WECT Member Andy Garabedian KB1JRX is looking for about 8 - 10 amateur radio ops to assist with the Grafton Gazebo 5 Mile Road Race on Saturday, May 5 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

Ops will need to have a dual band HT with enough battery power to last the event. Assignments will include checkpoints and water stops along the route, ambulance, and shadowing officials. This is a rain or shine event, so all volunteers must dress appropriately for the weather the day of the event.

For more information or to sign up, contact Andy KB1JRX, and let him know if you have radios capable of DCS / DPL on 440 MHz.

The Worcester Area VE Team will be holding an amateur radio test session for all license classes at Salisbury Labs, Room 402, Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 6:30 PM.

If you have never registered with the FCC's ULS system and received a FRN number, please read the notice in the Read More link below.

We will try to provide a talk-in on the 145.310 / 449.025 W1WPI repeater. It is recommended that if you are not familiar with the WPI campus that you print out and bring with you the campus map.

Please bring:

• AN ORIGINAL AND A PHOTOCOPY of your current license and any CSCEs or other paperwork you are submitting
  
• A basic calculator
  
• Two forms of state acceptable ID (one must be a picture ID)
  
• $15 exam fee (if check, payable to "ARRL VEC")
  
• Pen or pencil

The photocopies of your paperwork are very important as we must submit a copy of your records to the ARRL VEC if you are successful.

Any questions regarding this session can be directed to Gil Hayes WK1H or John Ruggiero N2YHK.

NOTICE ABOUT PRIVACY CONCERNS - FCC REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

Some amateurs have been concerned over the FCC's requirement for your Social Security Number (SSN). The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-134, requires all federal agencies to collect Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) from all persons doing business with the agency. This includes all applicants and holders of FCC licenses. For an individual, your TIN is your SSN.

It is suggested that all applicants register in the FCC's Universal Licensing System to obtain an FCC Registration Number (FRN) prior to attending a VE session. When you register for an FRN, your SSN will not be disclosed to the public and it must be given only once. You may then use your FRN in place of your SSN on all future applications, including the Form 605 you will complete at the VE session. The Commission has taken several steps to ensure the privacy of your SSN. Electronic registration on the Internet is accomplished using the FCC's secure Web server.

To register for an FRN, go to http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls and click on REGISTER. Once you obtain your FRN, write it down and bring it with you to the VE session. Be sure to keep a record of your FRN and password for future use. If you do not register before the VE session, you will be required to provide your SSN on Form 605 at the VE session in order for your application to be processed.

Update: Due to space limitations and the large amount of people that have elected to come to this meeting, the location has been changed. Instead of the State EOC, the meeting will be at Atlas Box and Crating Company, Inc., 223 Worcester Providence Turnpike, Sutton, MA 01590. This is still a private, secure facility, so Mike asks that all those that wish to come please email him to register.

Hello all stations:

I last spoke to all of you concerning the status of the RACES program just before Christmas. In this message, I would like to update you on the progress made and to announce the 2/25/12 meeting where the new program will be formally unveiled.

About two weeks ago, the senior leadership of RACES. ARES, and SKYWARN met with MEMA to set the new direction for Amateur Radio (AR) Emergency Communications (EMCOMM) activities. It was our charter to change what services are really needed by our clientele during response and recovery phases of an emergency, and how this will be implemented. I assure you that problems facing state and local RACES programs were explored, while assessing what is best for our AR volunteers.

We will all have new EMCOMM job responsibilities to meet a primary response mission of disaster reporting, while maintaining our usual support of recovery operations with non-governmental organizations. There are many details (and your questions) that are best held for the meeting.

Please accept my invitation to attend a detailed briefing and Q and A session at the MEMA Headquarters Building (SEOC), 400 Worcester Road, Framingham, MA, at 1000 on Saturday February 25th, 2012. MEMA staff and leadership will also be in attendance. I will try to get you out by 1200.

I sincerely hope you will join us, but due to the secure status of the building you must pre-register by simply sending me an RSVP to this message when you can commit to attending. To reduce Yahoo! Mail load to our members, please use this address to respond to me directly.

I desire the widest possible dissemination of this message on announce and club lists, since not all interested parties subscribe to the Yahoo! Groups.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing you there!
NEW: Follow me on Twitter @WC1MA, and Facebook handle WC1MA

Regards and 73,
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
State RACES Officer (Acting);
Member of the MEMT;
Member of the MA State Interoperability Executive Committee (SIEC), and Policies and Programs subcommittee;
Chairperson, Amateur Radio Working Group
New Office Answering Service: 978.293.7858

The Worcester Area VE Team will be holding an amateur radio test session for all license classes at Salisbury Labs, Room 402, Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 6:30 PM.

If you have never registered with the FCC's ULS system and received a FRN number, please read the notice in the Read More link below.

We will try to provide a talk-in on the 145.310 / 449.025 W1WPI repeater. It is recommended that if you are not familiar with the WPI campus that you print out and bring with you the campus map.

Please bring:

• AN ORIGINAL AND A PHOTOCOPY of your current license and any CSCEs or other paperwork you are submitting
  
• A basic calculator
  
• Two forms of state acceptable ID (one must be a picture ID)
  
• $15 exam fee (if check, payable to "ARRL VEC")
  
• Pen or pencil

The photocopies of your paperwork are very important as we must submit a copy of your records to the ARRL VEC if you are successful.

Any questions regarding this session can be directed to Gil Hayes WK1H or John Ruggiero N2YHK.

NOTICE ABOUT PRIVACY CONCERNS - FCC REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

Some amateurs have been concerned over the FCC's requirement for your Social Security Number (SSN). The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-134, requires all federal agencies to collect Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) from all persons doing business with the agency. This includes all applicants and holders of FCC licenses. For an individual, your TIN is your SSN.

It is suggested that all applicants register in the FCC's Universal Licensing System to obtain an FCC Registration Number (FRN) prior to attending a VE session. When you register for an FRN, your SSN will not be disclosed to the public and it must be given only once. You may then use your FRN in place of your SSN on all future applications, including the Form 605 you will complete at the VE session. The Commission has taken several steps to ensure the privacy of your SSN. Electronic registration on the Internet is accomplished using the FCC's secure Web server.

To register for an FRN, go to http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls and click on REGISTER. Once you obtain your FRN, write it down and bring it with you to the VE session. Be sure to keep a record of your FRN and password for future use. If you do not register before the VE session, you will be required to provide your SSN on Form 605 at the VE session in order for your application to be processed.

Our Team Holiday Party will be at O'Connor's Restaurant at 1160 West Boylston Street in Worcester on Monday, January 16 at 7:30 PM. All WECT members and their families are welcome to come and join us for a night of comraderie!

Please sign up for it using the website form.

See you there!