Prospect Hill Intermod

60 YEARS OF W.A.R.A. and the "Heavy Hitters"!

Repeaters, Public Service to the community and the Fraternity of our fellow amateur radio friends.

FIELD DAY -- A W1MHL CELEBRATION ON THE AIR!

WELL, it’s come and gone again! Yes, "Field Day", the occasion where and when we learn how to operate, practice operating and test our skills for operating under emergency conditions. This year, Field Day was on Saturday, June 27^th and Sunday, June 28^th.

This year it was also an opportunity to get together as a club for a social event in celebration of 60 years of W.A.R.A.!

The club operated as a class 2A group (see the May 1998 issue of QST if you don’t know what that means). Appropriately, our Field Day site was Prospect Hill Park (at the base of the "Great Repeater) in Waltham. Set-up will began on Saturday at 9:00 A.M. and operation started at 2:00 P.M. We had two HF stations (10m - 80m) station, coordinated by Eliot Mayer (W1MJ) and a VHF/UHF (6m, 2m and 440 all modes) station, coordinated by Richard Amirault (N1JDU). Our anniversary Field Day Chairman was Kip Shustack (N1AUP). Many folks are planning to spent the entire weekend, others helped when they could make it.

The culmination of this anniversary event was a celebration "party", at the Field Day site, on Sunday from 12:00 noon to 3:00 P.M. There was a cook-out and great fun for everyone. Several members brought historical memorabilia and many "long lost" members joined the "masses", on Sunday, which was especially nice.

WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER UPDATE, WITH THE FINAL POINT AND POSITION COUNT AS WELL AS SOME PICTURES AS SOON AS THEY ARE AVAILABLE! PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON!

What Is Field Day? It’s an annual opportunity to get out, enjoy the fraternity of amateur radio and to challenge your operating skills along with thousands of others just like you. Many ask, "Do I have to be an experienced operator or contest’er?" The answer to that is "Absolutely NOT!" All you need is the desire to jump in and experience the experience! You can make a lot of contacts with hams, all over the country or just around the corner. The point is to make contacts. The real fun is that you’re doing it with a lot of other hams, friends and family in a way that you don’t ordinarily get to operate. Many do it for the "points" and a lot of others do it for the fun and fraternity of the weekend! Only you can decide how you want it to be.

Be that as it may, it was great to have so many of you join us in celebration of 60 years of W.A.R.A.!

I Don’t Pretend to Know, BUT........... just a thought!

Our old friend "64" seems to be showing his or her age, I guess! "The amplifier must be down, again!", "The machine was down this afternoon", "Somebody call MIRAGE!", "Somebody call Motorola!" or my favorite "Has anyone heard Andy?"!

For those of you who might not know, the "64" system is an old, faithful combination of equipment and dreams which has served Southeastern New England for many, many years. AND... it’s not pretty! It lives, in separation, in a cozy, crowded, hot and clammy block house on one hill and in a tiny, little, sometimes damp box, on the ground on another.

There, but for the grace, dedication and patience of one WA1GEP, it goes. I, for one, say "Thanks, Andy!" (Read more about what’s up, later in this issue.)

............................................................ N1USS.

MEMBERSHIP,,,, DO IT NOW!

The W.A.R.A. repeaters are free and open for everyone to use. BUT.... repeaters have expenses, just like you! Your membership and participation will help to support the repeaters, as well as keep you informed on club activities and other aspects of amateur radio, through our newsletter. There is a membership form on our main web-site. Please give some thought to "joining" in support of what you enjoy, so much.

(While you’re at it, BRING A FRIEND!)

The Prospect Hill Intermod

W.A.R.A. publishes a periodic newsletter called the "Prospect Hill Intermod". Would you be surprised to know that we’re ALWAYS looking for contributions? Probably not.... so write in and let us know what’s up! Your input can be technical, humorous, personal thoughts or stories as well as photographs, if you’d like! Whatever you’d like to share with us is just fine. If you’d like to contribute to our next issue, please contact our editor, N1USS (Ron).

Submissions can be sent to:

n1uss@amsat.org

You can, also, catch him on "64"

Coming soon, the "PHI" online with monthly updates! Stay tuned!

W.A.R.A. ON THE WEB!

Check out WARA on the WEB at:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/emayer/wara.htm

or use the "shortcuts" at:

http://www.amateur-radio.net/wara

http://www.melrose.org/

W.A.R.A. Club Officers

President Eliot Mayer, W1MJ

Vice President Bill McTighe, N1DIB

Clerk Andy Donovan, WA1GEP

Treasurer Andy Donovan, WA1GEP

Assistant Clerk Jim Finlay, N1HCF

Assistant Treasurer John Antes, KB1EB

W.A.R.A. Newsletter Staff

Editor (print & web) Ron Perry, N1USS

Publisher (print & web) Eliot Mayer, W1MJ

Production (print) Steve Gilbert, K1SG

Circulation (print) Ann Weldon, KA1PON

The Emergency Autopatch

W.A.R.A. maintains an Emergency Autopatch on the "64" repeater. It can be used to report traffic accidents or other emergencies to the Massachusetts State Police. Use is not restricted to club members, but we do ask that folks read the instructions on its use, before using it. They are available from our club web-site or by sending an S.A.S.E. to the:

Waltham ARA

PO Box 411

Waltham, MA. 02254

KA1IYR On The Air

Be sure to listen for KA1IYR, the Crotched Mountain Center, on the air! Many days, during the early evening drive times, you may hear the folks at the center on the air. Please do your best to say hi and welcome them to the "64" family! If you’re inclined and/or able to help out as a volunteer, to help to keep the station on the air, please let them know that you’re available and when. Contact Chris Edscorn at:

The Crotched Mountain Center

One Verney Drive

Greenfield, N.H. 03047

SO, You Like To Talk????

OK, W.A.R.A. as well as other ham clubs, in the area, are always looking for speakers for meetings and special functions. Here’s your chance to star on the Ham Club Circuit!

Get in touch with Eliot, W1MJ and he can get you on the "A list" of local speakers.

To get on the Local Speakers Listing, contact Eliot Mayer, W1MJ at: w1mj@amsat.org

DO IT TODAY!

What’s Going On........?????? With "64"?

What’s going on with one of the busiest repeaters in the area? The easy answer is "It’s getting OLD!" The real answer is, Yeah, it is getting OLD!

For those of you who aren’t "Andy" or "Steve" or the few others like them and don’t have a cellar full of oscilloscopes and other test instruments and don’t spend Memorial Day weekend on a secluded hill in Waltham, here’s the scoop.

The Mirage power amplifier is shot and has recently been replaced with and old, refurbished GE amp. The receiver is in need of a good "scraping" (to get the green stuff off it’s contacts) and will, hopefully, be replaced with the backup receiver as soon as Steve (WA1HUD) has complete testing, tuning and crystaling it. Finally, the exciter has been having some intermittent, heat related (?) problems and Andy & company are troubleshooting that as I write.

Steve (HUD) has another 3 transceivers which are easily converted to repeater service and will be working on them as backup, as time allows.

Kip (N1AUP), Steve (WA1HUD), Andy (WA1GEP) and many others, on the air and off, have located similar hardware to make life easier, on a daily basis at least, for Andy to keep things going. That’s great..... and that banner effort will surely keep the "64" repeater on the air. In the long term, however, it’s time to move to get some truly new hardware "up on the hill".

Kip is heading up a group of members and users who are researching equipment availability and specifications. The plan is to research the feasibility of purchasing a more current set of hardware to replace the "ole system", sometime in the future.

In the mean time, be understanding and supportive of the few, hardworking individuals who have come to the cause and are working on the solutions for the future.

Short of technical and/or time contributions, what you can all do is contribute by paying up your membership or by beginning a new membership in the club to help to support the maintenance and upgrading of our machines.

WARA and the Waltham Boys and Girls Club - UPDATE!

Jim McCobb, W1LLU, has been working hard to get the computer/amateur radio program going at the Waltham Boys & Girls club.

A site has been found, on the third floor of the club, for the ham station, a contractor has been found who is willing to "set up" the room for the cost of materials and construction is set to be done over the summer months so that the program can begin in September.

The plans are to provide a station which will cover operation from 80 - 2 meters, a computer and tnc for packet/APRS and the hardware will include a small tower and beam for HF. The great news is that Jim has acquired a substantial contribution which should cover the cost of the initial hardware acquisition.

The A.R.R.L. will be contributing a set of books, as subscription to "QST", educational materials and possibly more.

Jim has, clearly, done a great job so far however on tremendous need still exists. He is in need of all kinds of volunteers to assist in the construction, setup and testing of the stations over the summer. Then, in September and beyond volunteers will be needed to help with teaching, licensing and counseling.

You can contact Jim at: w1llu@worldnet.att.net

What’s up with the 6meter machine? - Steve, WA1HUD

The six meter repeater is up and running, in Winchester. Based on initial testing coverage is going to be great! Many "64" regulars as well as others are using it on a regular basis and many new 6 meter operators are joining in regularly. The "noise" problem has been identified and we’re working on a filtering system to "clean things up". It seems that the local alarm system is radiating more RF than a broadcast station during prime time.

Steve is on the case and says the problem will be solved real soon.

Range, at this time, with 5 watts output and a 2m 5/8 wave "antler" is around 8 - 10 miles with much greater range at 50 watts. The repeater transmitter coverage is quite good everywhere, from 30 - 40 miles depending on terrain.

Six meters can be a lot of fun, especially with the impending band openings!

MUMBO JUMBO’S MUMBLINGS

I used to joke, in a sad sort of way, about renaming our club "Apathetic Amateur Radio Association", but things are really looking up these days.

The 6M repeater, the special January 2 joint meeting with the Boston Amateur Radio Club, and the Boys & Girls Club project were all initiated by newly active WARA members. Though not too many people officially committed to help at the auction, last November, plenty of people actually showed up and ran a successful event, our second in Newton. Also, instead of having to work hard to dig up guest speakers, several of our members have volunteered to present interesting programs.

To top it all off, Ron Perry, N1USS has just taken on the job of PHI editor and Kip Shustack, N1AUP has just volunteered to be Field Day Chairman.

EXCELLENT!

Speaking of auctions, the tentative date for the next one is Saturday, November 21, 1998. I’d REALLY appreciate it if more members would make a commitment to save that day for the club, and to let me know. I find it very nerve wracking to run such an event without knowing until the event begins whether there will be enough help to pull it off. So, this year, I’m giving you all plenty of notice and would like you to consider volunteering, in advance, for our annual fundraising event.

If you haven’t already heard, 1998 is the 60^th anniversary of the Waltham Amateur Radio Association, which was founded in 1938. We will combine an anniversary celebration with an annual ARRL Field Day operation from Prospect Hill Park, our club repeater site and spiritual Mecca, on June 27 & 28. Thanks to Bill McTighe, N1DIB, for obtaining permission to use this site. See the Field Day Article on Page One of PHI for details.

See you on "64" and hopefully on Prospect Hill on Field Day.

73, Eliot Mayer, W1MJ

President, Waltham Amateur Radio Association

WALK FOR HUNGER ‘98 RETROSPECTIVE

"WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU."

Those are the words of David Herschberg, director for the Walk for Hunger.

He went on to compliment the dedication and skills of the hams. All the Project Bread staff were extremely happy about the work the radio amateurs did, both communicating and making the coordinators’ jobs easier. Also overheard were comments about some cell phones not working, but "Those amateur radios all worked!"

The walk, on May 3^rd, generated pledges totaling $2.8 million, which was $100 thousand above Project Bread’s plan. The food banks and pantries throughout Massachusetts, and the families using them, will benefit by our efforts.

I want to thank each operator, whether it was working mobile with a Marshall, at the checkpoints and busses, on the vans, as a coordinator shadow or at net control.

This event is a long day between setup and the last station shut down. It is your initiative and experience that make a very large event, like this, a success.

This was my first year coordinating activities and many comments were heard on how smoothly the day went. We are all part of a team, supporting over 40,000 walkers and more than 1,000 volunteers.

Again, thanks and I hope to see you again, next year on May 2^nd.

Bruce, KC1US

CLUB ROSTER

Several members have requested a club roster. At the June 1997 meeting we decided to make a roster available which only contains information specifically submitted by members. Kip, N1AUP has volunteered to compile the roster and this version of the roster will be made available on the club web site. Printed copies of this list will be available to members, upon request.

You can enter your information onto the roster on the web site or by contacting Kip, N1AUP.

MEMBERSHIP PAYS! -- JOIN TODAY!

Heavy Hitter Number 1 Speaks Out on 60 Years of W.A.R.A - George, W1ME

In 1938 a group of radio enthusiasts gathered together as the Waltham Amateur Radio Association.

Meetings were held in the Waltham Watch building, top floor attic area located mid building near Ash street. A radio station, W1MHL, was installed with a wire antenna, on the roof. (High wire chimney mount?)

During the war years, WARA continued to hold meetings. The club provided a touch of home, with letters to the many members serving in the armed forces. Amateur radio was war/QRT until late 1945.

Post WWII WARA moved to the Orange Street School VFW building. On a Wednesday night in October 1958, my pal John Ferro and I were hanging out on Orange Street, near his home. W1LUW and W1JCI spotted us and we were invited to visit the WARA meeting in the VFW building. As I recall, we were looking for girls to talk to, that night, but the offer of free donuts did the trick! So it was, we were lured into HAM RADIO with jelly donuts. We both got our "tickets" about a year later. My call was KN1MON and John was KN1MOP. (Some guy in CT. Got KN1MOO! John and I wondered how he got "MOO", as our exams were mailed to the FCC together! I later worked KN1MOO on 80 CW, from Waltham using a Heath DX-35, loaned to me by WARA and ¼ wave #10 wire provided by Art, W1SS. The receiver was an NC-57M, purchased for $25.00.)

WARA was active in the VHF contest, each June with an annual pilgrimage to Pack Monadnok, Peterborough, N.H. This was a big time operation with antennas that seemed to grow more elements each year and large kilowatt amplifiers in six foot relay racks with matching "widow maker" power supplies. SSB was new on VHF in the early 60’s and CW was the in thing for dx on six and two; but AM was still king. I remember a plate modulator that was equipped with anti-arching balls, mounted on the transformer.

Meetings were an education. Henry Cross, W1OOP, was a gold mine of information and a UHF operator. He had a home brew 100 MHz FM receiver in his car for the broadcast band. Programming was mostly classical in those days, before stereo. Sam Harris, W1FZJ, talked to us about 6 & 2 meter DX, VHF antennas, moon bounce, etc. He had invented parametric amplifiers and went on to build the big dish in KP4 land.

After returning from a 2 year "paid vacation" in 3W8 land, I was elected president of WARA. The 449.050 repeater went on the air in 1969, after the club bought a VW bus load of T-44’s from Checker Taxi, in Boston. T-44’s were converted and tuned with new crystals and then sold to club members for $25.00 each, complete with control heads and cables. The 146.64 repeater went on the hill with a 146.04 input. We moved to 146.01 since the Mt. Greylock repeater group could hear our mobiles. Greylock was on 04-94 wide band FM. A year or so later a conference was held in New Jersey, to get everyone to go with the 600 kc split and we were told to move to 146.61. Crystals were "big bucks" and we had a 146.04 receive crystal for the repeater so we just changed the input frequency back to .04 again. Many of our users had .04 transmit crystals so we stayed on 146.64.

Waltham CD bought the CW ID for us and a CW clock with RTL chips was added later. The time of day was sent in Morse code. The autopatch was a big hit with users. We had lots of touch tone testers. It got so folks were testing to see if the pad still worked at all hours. A control operator volunteered to hold test sessions from 11 to midnight. All "tone testing" was limited to that hour. An off-frequency op-amp device was constructed by Andy and was added to the 146.04 receiver at that time. (With crystal control, many operators were off frequency and had poor audio.)

The 220 repeater was purchased from the MMRA group, in Weston, and a split site 6 meter repeater was on for a number of years. A remote receiver for 146.04 was installed near Manchester, N.H. with a 440 link to Waltham. A voting device was constructed by a member (Henry?, don’t remember his call....). Plans were made to add two more receivers, one in Worcester and the other on a fire tower on Cape Cod. In October, 1973, the 146.64 repeater was closed to general traffic, during the "Big Chelsea Fire". "64" was used as a backup channel by MMRA and 64 control operators kept the channel clear during the emergency. Many "64" operators volunteered for fire communications duty.

The "Heavy Hitters" were invented by Joe, K1ETT during this period. He attended a meeting where "adult beverages’ were consumed and said "U GUYS ARE HEAVY HITTERS!". I had a "T" shirt made at a local shop on Spring Street and the rest is history!

"Heavy Hitter" "T" shirts were the "Had to Have" item! With a bunch of folks running around in HH-64 shirts, someone asked what are the shirts for? I smiled and told them we were a softball team! The Heavy Hitters were murdered by a bunch of young folks in our first game and, by tradition, we rarely lost a game by less than 50 points!

The Heavy Hitters traffic net started soon after and then a number of HH picnics, HH Field Days, the HH VHF-QSO parties and HH-VT outings.

AND, you saw it here first...... a proposed "HEAVY HITTERS 1 LAND QSO PARTY".

73’s from Maine,

George, W1ME

w1me@amsat.org ...................................................................................................... AMSAT

The "Christie" Aponte Story

In addition to the good feelings of fraternity, sharing and friendship; this is the real spirit of sharing and amateur radio.

One day in December, the word went out. A young girl and friend of many in the "64" community and beyond needed some love. It was the season of giving and, in spite of all of the "doubting Thomas’s", good things happen. This is a story of one situation where arms of love wrapped around one of us who needed a hug. Surprises came from all corners and help poured out from everywhere in between. This is the story of "Christie" Aponte.

Back in 1993, when Christie was 7 years old, she was seriously injured in a car accident. She was flown to Boston’s Children’s Hospital where she spent months recovering from her many injuries. Christie’s grandfather (OZ11HH) contacted Dave Crocker (one ham who just didn’t know the meaning of enough) and asked that he look after Christie in any way that he could. Dave not only looked after her but he elmered Christie and her mother into ham radio (WP4MTI and WP4MSO, respectively). He also introduced her to Kathy Pate (KA1IYR).

It was then particularly tough on Christie when Dave and Kathy died within a week of each other and then she lost her grandfather and dog. On top of that, Christie’s dog also died and her home was broken into and the thieves took her radio gear which her grandfather had left her and an entertainment center which a foundation had given her.

Christie came to Boston during her Christmas vacation (so that she’d miss as little school as possible). When it happened to be mentioned, on "64", that she’d be here during Christmas, Kip (N1AUP) said that he’d appeal to local hams to help to get Christie back on the air. {No one thought that much would come of it.} Ann (KA1PON) chimed in and said she would contribute AND that she was willing to be the collector of any other contributions which people would like to make.

Well, not only was more than $750.00 collected but a prize Drake transceiver, a year’s membership to the ARRL and two memberships to two YL organizations, coax, two antennas, an Alinco 2M FM rig, an SWR meter, a Waltham club life membership, she’s already a life member of BARC, enough money to pay for ARRL insurance for her "new" station and even a power supply from an unemployed club member were donated. All this in less than a month!

Thanks to the generosity of the Hotel Sonesta - Cambridge, the club had use of a great conference room as well as overnight accommodations for Christie and her family. All of this was provided at no cost to the ham community or the Aponte family. The hotel staff performed above and beyond the call of duty, thus guaranteeing the success of the project. Scott (WB1F) dressed up as Santa Claus and presented the gifts, who in spite of acute post-operative pain, thanked each and every person who attended. She even made a short speech to the assembled throng.

Regular updates on Christie’s situation are posted at the following web sites:

http://vbos.net/public/christie/christie.htm

http://www.melrose.org/christie/index.htm

E-mail, for more information to:

Joe, W1EK -- w1ek@amsat.org

Kip, N1AUP -- n1aup@amsat.org

Anne, KA1PON -- ka1pon@amsat.org

WARA CLUB MEETINGS

Meetings are held on the last Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM, at Artisan Industries, 73 Pond Street, Waltham, MA. Talk-in is usually available on "64". Everyone with an interest in amateur radio is welcome.

CLUB REPEATERS

W.A.R.A. is an A.R.R.L. affiliated amateur radio club. For a lot more information on amateur radio, check out the A.R.R.L. web site at: http://www.arrl.org/

The Re-awakening of ARES in the Eastern Mass. Section - Steve, W3EVE

As many of you are aware I recently accepted the appointment to Section Emergency Coordinator for the Eastern Massachusetts Section of the ARRL. What I would like to do is try and communicate to the general amateur community what I am trying to do.

First I would like say that this has been a team effort. Several people have been very helpful in giving advice and time to the effort. To a large extent ARES has been neglected in our section for many years. It has primarily been managed as part of RACES. Ironically, in Western Mass the opposite is true. Dennis, K1VSG has done an excellent job of operating ARES and is now supplying the core for the re activation of RACES in that section. Tom, N1CPE has recently taken the position of Radio Officer for the state of Massachusetts. This makes him the person charge of all RACES activities in the state. Tom and I are old friends and when I heard that he was taking the radio officer position I decided I’d give the SEC position a try. We believe that the only way we will be successful is if we work very closely together. Our final goal is to have the RACES and ARES organizations work as one. This will take some time and we do not think it is necessary for us to be successful.

How we are reorganizing is to break the section into sub-sections. Currently those are along the same lines as the RACES areas. I would like to find a person to run Cape Cod and the Islands as a sub-section. This area is one that is susceptible to weather problems and I think it needs special attention. If anyone knows of a good candidate please contact me. Of course, you can volunteer yourself. The organization is divided into three major groups. The first is the current RACES organization. Most if not all of the RACES leadership have similar ARES appointments. We want to continue this. The second major group is the SkyWarn organization that is currently very well run by Rob, KD1CY. I appointed him as the DEC in charge of SkyWarn for the section even though his responsibility extends well beyond that. I do not believe in fixing something that is already working well, but I thought Rob needed the appropriate title to continue his work. The third part of the organization is what we have been calling Emergency Response Teams. There are already several clubs that have formed this type of group without getting the appropriate recognition. BARC and NSRA are to good examples. What these are is a group of Ham who have had some training in emergency communications and are ready to help other organizations like the Salvation Army, Red Cross and local governments during emergencies. Most of these groups already are active participants in public service communications as well. This after all is how we practice our communications and improve our skills.

So, how can you help? First if you are part of a radio club that is interested in emergency communications and probably does public service communications already please consider forming an Emergency Response Team. To form the team you need to appoint a leader. This person needs to make the commitment to supply leadership and organization to the team. When the team is organized I will appoint the leader to the field position of Emergency Coordinator. We are still working on the details of organizing please teams and are looking for help in how to address may of the details. For example, methods of calling-up the team, kinds of communications structures the teams can use, types of equipment the team needs to meet its goals.

We have been working on a training program. Will, KB0UYO is responsible for improving and conducting training for the section. He would be glad to set of a time when he or one of his trainers can conduct the basic training course. This takes about two hours and we expect the sponsoring group to set up the location and facilities. If there is a problem with getting a location please do not let that hinder you. We can help their as well but Will has enough to do in conducting the training than we would like to delegate as much of the work as practical.

I have made contact with the Boston area Red Cross and the Boston area Salvation Army. Both organizations are enthusiastic about having Ham communications support. The BARC the supported the Salvation Army and indirectly the Red Cross during the 9 alarm fire in the middle of May. They are also supporting an exercise on June 4^th with both organizations. They would both like to see more activity in this area.

We have planned a day long workshop in emergency communications for the first of August. I would encourage anyone interested in Ham emergency communications to participated in this program. I have attached the announcement below.

This activity is still new to many of us and as a result can use all the constructive advice we can get. I would encourage anyone who has suggestions or comments in these areas to contact me or Marty, N1QIR or Lou, N1UEC.

SEC

Steve Schwarm, W3EVE

e-mail: w3eve@amsat.org

DEC Northern Area

Marty Offenhauer, N1QIR

DEC Southern Area

Lou Harris, N1UEC

e-mail: n1uec@amsat.org

Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Workshop August 1st

There will be an Emergency Communications Workshop on Saturday August 1st, 1998 from 9 AM-4 PM at the Walpole Senior Center, 135 School Street, in back of the Walpole Town Hall in Walpole Massachusetts.

This Emergency Communications Seminar will provide the background and information to serve Amateur Radio Operators when they need to respond to a communications emergency. It will feature an Introduction and Conclusion to Emergency Communications, and five 1-hour training sessions on topics including:

NTS Traffic/Message Handling

Net Operations

Net Control Operation

Basic First Aid

Go Kits

This training will also feature a 1 hour lunch that will be provided at no coerced cost to any Amateur who attends the session.

The presentations will be given by other Amateur Operators well versed in the topics listed above. The training will be a worthwhile endeavor not just for emergency communicators but for anyone who is an amateur radio operator, and wants to learn more about the hobby.

Pre-registration is requested but is not required in case anyone would like to attend at the last minute. If you pre-register, please try to do so by Saturday July 25th, 1998 so that we can get an approximate head count. We will, however, accept any pre-registrations after that day or any walk-ins as long as space permits.

Talk-in will be on the 146.895 (-600 Shift, No PL Tone) Walpole EMA K1HRV, repeater. The senior-center/town hall has plenty of parking. The site is a short walk from the Walpole bus/train depot. Pickups at the station can be requested on talk-in or pre-registration. Morning trains arrive from points north (& south) before and at starting time.

For Detailed MBTA Schedules, please check out the MBTA site: http://www.mbta.com/schedules/

Directions to the Walpole Senior Center follow:

Newell Center

Walpole Town Hall

135 School St., Walpole

School St. runs between Rt. 27 (which is East St.) and Common St. and is parallel to Rt. 1A.

Walpole is about halfway between Boston and Providence and is easily reached from Rt. 1A, 1, 95 and Rt. 27.

From Boston:

Travel south on Rt. 95 to Coney St. (exit 10 Sharon Walpole). At the top of the ramp turn right (Coney St.). At the set of lights turn left onto Rt. 1. (south). At Rt. 27 (the next set of lights) turn right. (**)At Rt. 27, High Plain St. Walpole, proceed through the first set of lights at Washington St., continue through the stop sign, bear left onto East St. Then past the Catholic Church on the left. The 2nd cross Street. is School St. Take left at School St., the town hall is the next large building on the right. There is plenty of parking in the rear of the building and the adjacent lot.

From Attleboro:

Take Rt. 95 North to Rt. 1 (exit 9 Rt. 1 and 27 Walpole) and proceed no Rt. 1 North. The next set of lights is Rt. 27 (High Plain St.). Take left and follow instructions noted above (**).

From Medfield:

Take Rt. 27 to Walpole Center. Go through the set of lights at Main St.(Rt. 1A) and East St. (Rt. 27). At the first intersection take a right, School St. the Town Hall is the big building on the right.

For additional information and to pre-register for the workshop, please contact:

KB0UYO, William Dohr (ARES Training Officer) by e-mail MAJRCOMM@aol.com

N1VUX, Bill Ricker via a NTS traffic message.

KD1CY, Rob Macedo by e-mail kd1cy@qsl.net

This training will be a worthwhile endeavor for anyone interested in learning more about emergency communications and amateur radio in general.

NETS on the "64" Repeater

Heavy Hitters Traffic Net

10:30 PM local time, daily.

Local net of the ARRL National Traffic System. 3^rd party messages anywhere allowed by the FCC and international rules.

Net Manager: Mike Ardai, N1IST

Waltham Wranglers Swap Net

9:00 PM local time, Wednesday

Buy, sell or trade amateur radio equipment.

Net Manager: Laurie Cote, KC1BN

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Meets, as needed, during severe weather.

Net Manager: Terry Stader, KA8SCP

"For ID" by Richard, N1JDU

"For ID" must be the single most misunderstood and misused term in ham radio these days. I can’t begin to count the times that I have heard the phrase misused on local repeaters but it is almost as many times as I have heard other folks tell us not to use it.

I disagree with both folks.... and I’ll tell you why.

The term "For ID" is a valid term, with a valid use. I would guess that 99% of the times that I’ve heard it, it was not used properly. In the middle of a QSO, one of the parties (or both) will say "call sign" For ID. As with other terms and practices in ham radio, if people hear it used, they are likely to begin using it themselves. For this usage I agree with the naysayers. In this usage, it is redundant. You are (in the middle of an ongoing QSO) giving your call sign to identify (ID) yourself legally. You only need to give your call sign to satisfy the FCC legal requirements. You do not need to add additional words like "This is" or "I am" or "For ID". You do not need to, but you may.

The naysayers all say something to the effect that "When you say your call sign, it is understood that you are identifying, so saying "For ID" is redundant." And the way most people use the phrase, the naysayers are correct. But not when the phrase is used correctly.

In the October 1997 issue of QST, Jay Mabey’s FM & REPEATERS column he touches on the use of "For ID" and gives a "classic" naysayer opinion.

".....(when you say your call sign, it’s understood that you are identifying!)" In the very next paragraph he gives an example of giving your call sign for a reason other than identifying! He says, "If you simply must talk to them, toss in your call after one or the other turns the conversation over."

This is a prime example. In this case you are giving your call sign not to identify yourself, but to gain access to the repeater/conversation. This is a common practice in the local area (and I suspect, most other areas). As most of us knows, we are not required to identify ourselves until 10 minutes have passed. So it is not required to ID at the beginning of a transmission (or series of transmissions). If, once you gain access to the QSO, you do not give your call sign after every transmission there may be a time when you have dropped out of the QSO without giving your call sign. The QSO may get "hot and heavy" and even move on to another subject. At this point it is entirely proper, in a break in the QSO, to give your call sign "For ID", because that is why you are giving it. NOT to gain access to the repeater/conversation, but to satisfy the legal requirement for identification.

Admittedly this is not likely to happen very often (although in my local area, a major metropolitan city, it can happen more often than out in the suburbs, or farther) but it CAN and DOES happen. Adding the "For ID" after your call sign is only being polite and considerate of other operators, letting them know that you are not trying to break into a QSO, only giving your call sign for legal ID requirements.

As I write this, our local repeater has a number of folks using the term as a joke. They think there is no valid use of the term and they are making fun of the folks who use it improperly. This makes it all the harder for those of us who DO use it properly........ Oh well.

------ Richard Amirault, N1JDU

The AMSAT.ORG Mail Alias Service

The message re-mailing service on AMSAT.ORG permits users to send each other mail on the Internet without keeping track of each other’s Internet addresses. The re-mailing service allows each user to receive mail sent to the address "callsign@amsat.org", where call sign is that user’s amateur radio call sign.

To obtain a mail alias on AMSAT.ORG, send a message with your request to listserv@amsat.org. Be sure to include your call sign and your correct e-mail address. Your request will be processed manually, for now, so the format of your request is not important. You need not be an AMSAT member to obtain a mail alias. Further details can be found at: http://www.amsat.org/

YEH - EMM!

There’s a lot of activity, still, in the AM mode in the area. Leading the pack are many WARA members, at the head of whom is our beloved Steve Russell (WA1HUD).

Most of the guys are operating rejuvenated 50’s and 60’s equipment like Lafayette HA460’s, Gonset "Goonie Boxes" and Heath Seneca’s. They’re also using Hallicrafter’s, Hammarlund, Collins and Drake gear as well as good ‘ole military refurbs on VHF as well as HF.

That’s not the best of it, though! They’re still running "home brew", high power, AM transmitters......... YES...... stuff they built themselves. AND... no it’s not some little battery operated, micro-processor based QRP rig that’s mounted in a little plastic "Shack" project box. These things rival the weight and dimension of my truck and they warm the "shack" in the winter!

A sight to behold, for sure, I’m going to show you the "HUD" ham radio museum in the next issue of PHI! In the mean time, if you get the chance to see it in person........ by all means....... don’t miss the opportunity to see what ham radio used to be. If I really get lucky, perhaps I can persuade Jim (K1UGM) to let me shoot a few shots of his spark gap transmitter to show you!

For now, this is N1USS, back on the prowl for WARA news! Please stand by.

N1USS Watch-Cat, Mittens!

THE WALTHAM AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION

and its newsletter,

PROSPECT HILL INTERMOD

The Waltham Amateur Radio Association operates repeaters on 6 Meters, 2 Meters (04/64), 220 MHz, and 440 MHz. The repeaters are free and open for everyone to use. But repeaters have bills to pay, just as you do. A $15 membership would help support these repeaters, as well as keeping you informed on club activities and other aspects of ham radio. If you cannot afford $15, please send what you can. If you are inclined to donate more, we will put it to good use. Please complete the form on the main club website to join! Click below to go there!