Volunteer registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon is now open! The Marathon will be held on Monday April 16th.

Radio operators are needed to provide safety communications and to assist the Red Cross. Assignments are available in Hopkinton, along the route, and in downtown Boston.

Each year several members of both Worcester Emergency Communications Team and the WPI Wireless Association get together to carpool from the WPI campus in Worcester to the finish line area at Copley Plaza in Boston to work with the finish line crew. If you are interested in joining in on this carpool, contact John N2YHK.

To volunteer, go to the Marathon Amateur Radio Communications website and follow the instructions to register for the radio team. Please do not sign up directly on the BAA's volunteer website, your information will be sent to the BAA from the Marathon Amateur Radio Communications website when you register there.

SKYWARN Recognition Day is on Saturday December 3. Across the country, SKYWARN stations serving the regional National Weather Service offices will be active on the air making contacts with SKYWARN Weather Spotters everywhere to show their appreciation of everyone's efforts in severe weather reporting.

WX1BOX will be active on the various regional EmComm repeaters in the area. In Central Massachusetts, they will be on the Paxton W1BIM machine on Friday December 2 from 7:00 - 7:30 PM and on Saturday December 3 from 3:00 - 3:30 PM. Feel free to jump on and make a QSO with them!

More details on the WX1BOX NWS Taunton SKYWARN website.

Western MA Section Emergency Coordinator / Worcester EmComm Team Secretary John Ruggiero N2YHK is looking for about 12 amateur radio operators to assist with the Sutton Chain of Lights on Saturday December 3 from 9 AM to 5 PM. This is a town holiday festival that involves several local businesses and community activities. Amateur radio support is once again being called on to provide logistics and tracking for the trolley buses that transport patrons to and from several of the activity locations within the town. More information on the event can be viewed on the town's website.

Amateur radio volunteers will need an 440 MHz HT or mobile rig that has DCS/DPL capabilities and enough battery power to last the entire event. An antenna that is external to the trolley is highly recommended, but please note that the trolleys are made primarily of fiberglass, so magnet mount antennas will not work as designed. Duct tape or clamps are usually used to complete the setup. Also, it is suggested to dress in layers as they may be placed in a variety of temperatures throughout the day. Usually a bag lunch and drink is provided, or operators may find something to purchase to eat or drink at a stop, as well as potentially some holiday shopping.

This is one of the more fun, low key public service events in the Central MA region. It is highly recommended for any amateur radio operator but especially those with no prior public service experience.

Please contact John N2YHK for more information or to sign up.

Both WMA ARES and EMA ARES are on stand-by alert for the incoming winter storm. All RACES and ARES volunteers should charge up their batteries, check their go-kits, and be ready to start off the winter season!

Read more on the Western Massachusetts ARRL website.

Hello all Stations:

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national public warning system that requires broadcasters, cable television systems, wireless cable systems, wireline video providers, satellite digital audio radio service providers and direct broadcast satellite service providers to make their communications facilities available to the President during a national emergency. The system also may be used by state and local authorities to deliver important emergency information such as AMBER (child abduction) alerts and severe weather warnings targeted to specific geographical regions or areas. The following transmitted message may be used:

*********************

"This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System. This test will last for approximately three minutes.

During this test, most television and radio providers will remain on the air to participate in the test.

This is (station name). We will be discontinuing programming for the duration of the test.

Our programming will resume at the end of the test, in approximately three minutes."

*********************

I am requesting the widest possible dissemination on all Yahoo Groups lists, the SKYWARN List, and the EMA and WMA websites.

Many thanks in advance.

Regards and 73,
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
State RACES Officer (Acting)
Chairperson, Amateur Radio Working Group
Member of the MA State Interoperability Executive Committee (SIEC), and Policies and Programs subcommittee
Office Answering Service/FAX 978.389.0558

Our next quarterly meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 7 from 7 - 9 PM in Meeting Room B at 50 Skyline Drive in Worcester.

We are going to spend the first 20 - 30 minutes discussing some general news and business, and then move into the main activity. WECT Director Dirk Hart KB1HKN will be leading up a "Build Your Own Roll-up J-Pole Workshop". We will purchase the materials ahead of time for everyone, it will cost $15 per J-pole. Dirk will then lead up the activity and take us step by step through the construction, with everyone following along and building their own J-pole as we go.

A roll-up J-pole antenna is an excellant EmComm go-kit antenna. Since this J-pole is constructed primarily of 300 Ohm twinlead, it's very lightweight, easy to store and carry, easy to deploy, and gives significantly more gain than your standard HT antenna.

We need a count on the number of J-poles that we will be building. If you would like to build a J-pole in this workshop, please sign up for it using this form.

Please let us know by completing the website form no later than November 2 if you would like to build a J-pole during this meeting so that we can make sure we have enough materials for everyone. We will try to have some extra on hand but we can't guarantee to have the materials for you unless you sign up by then.

Be aware that we will be providing an SMA antenna connector. If you require a different type, please bring your own adapters or a solder-on style connector that will mate with RG-58 coax.

The Worcester Area VE Team will be holding an amateur radio test session for all license classes at Kaven Hall, Room 116, Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Thursday, October 27, 2011 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 will be selling more of our excess equipment at this fall's NEAR-Fest at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deerfield, New Hampshire on Friday October 14 and Saturday October 15.

Director Ben Holmes NB1H will be leading up the sales force consisting of KC2EMA, KI6RKZ and KB1VCO. Any questions about the effort can be directed to Ben NB1H.

If you are going to this season's NEAR-Fest, keep an eye out for our table and team!