December 1998 was the month that leadership changed at the Waltham Amateur Radio Association. Elections were held at the regular December meeting and that event brought us a new President and Vice President of the club.

Our new President is Ann Weldon, KA1PON. Ann is a well known voice on our '64 repeater in Waltham as well as on other ham bands but that's not nearly where it stops. Ann is a teacher in the Marlboro school system, is active with the Rainbow Girls, has run the Marlboro Flea Market for many years, has been spotted at "Deerchester" on numerous occasions and participates in many other civic and ham radio related events on a regular basis. '98 was a busy year for Ann because, in addition to all of the above she upgraded her ham license to General Class! She also relishes any and all time she's able to retreat to her family get-away in Maine. As you can see, spare time isn't an issue with Ann!

Our new Vice President is Kip Shustack, N1AUP. Kip is also a regular on '64 as well as being caught, on occasion, on the 440 band. Kip is a "network guy" in real life but pursues many other interests to fill the non-working hours of the day. An evening hike up Mount Wachusett, social director for an evening of haute cuisine, spearheading some project on '64, WARA Field Day Chairperson for '98 and again in '99, home chef extraordinaire and, of course, there are those morning bagels! No shortage of activities here either!

Also, re-elected were Clerk/Treasurer, Andy Donovan (WA1GEP); Assistant Clerk, Jim Finlay (N1HCF) and Assistant Treasurer, John Antes (KB1EB).

Many thanks to those retiring after many years of service to the club. Eliot Mayer (W1MJ) retired after a long term as club President but will be continuing to serve as Chairperson for the annual club auction as well as publisher for the PHI. Bill McTighe (N1DIB) retired as our Vice President following many years of service as well.

A hearty congratulations to all and a well deserved THANK YOU for giving of your valuable skills and time to lead our club!

Welcome to Spring!

Thank you to the members for electing me as president, I think. This is your club which will function better with all of you giving your input. Any ideas or plans will be greatly appreciated. All requests will be considered by the membership at the meetings. At this time, all the meetings through June have an activity planned, so the club will be looking for ideas for the fall.

PLEASE, send your ideas along or bring them to the meetings. The club will be making plans for Field Day in the Waltham area, if you have any ideas please contact Kip, N1AUP as he is the chairperson of the event. Also in November, will be the annual Auction to be held at the Newtonville Masonic Hall on November 20^th. All volunteers will be welcomed and needed. Eliot, W1MJ, is the chairperson of this event from our club. He will be working with the chairperson from the 1200 Club. Roger, N1XKB has volunteered to do the publicity for this event and Len, W1YGC has volunteered to do the food. If you have any expertise, please volunteer in that area.

Production Steve Gilbert, K1SG

This year's Walk For Hunger is slated for Sunday, May 2^nd. Mark your calendars and don't forget to sign up now. Whether you choose to participate by walking, working on communications with loads of other hams or work with the walk staff you are urged to join us.

This year's walk marks the 30^th anniversary of this historic event and it's guaranteed to make you feel great. Participation with 10's of thousands of others is great fun and the feeling that you get, knowing that you've helped to raise much needed money to help those who are less fortunate than you is just plain icing on the cake.

The amateur radio support for this event continues to be organized by Bob DeMattia (AK1J) and the Crocker Public Service Group. There is a sign-up form on the internet at:

or by sending e-mail to Bob DeMattia at rjd@ti.com. Be sure to include: Your Name, Call sign, Home Phone, Work Phone, Email Address. Also, let them know if you'd like the same or a different assignment as last year (if applicable) and list what 2 meter ham equipment you can bring. You can also sign up using "snail-mail" sent to:

Bob DeMattia, P.O. Box 593, Lincoln, MA. 01773.

REMEMBER, if you don't get in this time around, VOLUNTEERS ARE ALWAYS NEEDED!

Eliot (W1MJ) informs us that the hall is already reserved for the 1999 Waltham ARA / 1200 Radio Club Annual Auction. The date is Saturday, November 20^th at the Newton Masonic Hall. Details are posted on the WARA web site if you'd like more information.

To view pictures of last years auction, check out the main W.A.R.A. web site!

I have the feeling there are an awful lot of hams lurking on the radio who have wonderful technical expertise and have trouble starting or joining in on conversations on the air. No matter how long you lurk, there has to be a time or two that a subject comes up when you've just got to put your two cents worth in and probably do. However, what about those times when nothing of particular interest to you is going on but there is someone you'd like to talk to and have a conversation with them? How come some people seem to be able to strike up a rag-chew with anyone and yet you're having trouble. Everyone has had this trouble at one time or another. Conversation is a skill that is learned.

Here are the "rules".

1. Asking about the other person's interests, feelings, thoughts, name and location are more important than anything else you can say.
2. Now talk. Share something about yourself. Be honest and modest about YOUR accomplishments yet take advantage of the chance to be exuberant in your praise of what others have done.
3. When you've said four (4) sentences, STOP. A conversation is like being on a seesaw. You need two people and no one wants to be stuck in either the up or down position for too long. Ask, talk, ask. Then finish your thoughts with a question for your partner. "So what do you think?" or "Does that sound like a good idea?" Give him/her a springboard to come back to you.
4. Agree to disagree without becoming disagreeable. You can't please everyone. Your opinions are valid. You might even hold the minority position and no one else agrees with you, however, you have the right to express it, so do other folks. You might change the world or you might just be a crack-pot. We're just trying to have a conversation.
5. Empathy. You gotta have heart. When someone else is in pain, just talking to them can mean a great deal. You don't need to be a trained psychologist to say, "Yeah sounds rough, I hope things work out." Or, "I've never been through that and I can only imagine how that feels."

Just for fun, let me give you a couple of MY personal rules. Try these and I personally guarantee that you will enjoy every conversation.

1. Try to keep it POSITIVE. When we become morose and complain about weather, health, etc., people begin to turn off. When you catch yourself descending into a depressing subject, STOP, try to find a way out. Remember, if you can make it sound negative, you can also make it sound positive. You can do it. (Many folks tend to avoid discussing any of their problems outside their inner circle of family and friends. I don't. I tend to go 'On the Air' with some of my troubles. Hams help other hams. That's really why I got my ticket. Intelligent conversation and mutual, reciprocal good will.)
2. Avoid the word "but" at all costs. When you come to the word "but" continue without it. Try substituting "but" with "and" or even "however". Your conversations will have much more fluidity. Just try it!

Best wishes and 73's from Ben, N1YUS!

President Ann's first meeting was, among other things, a great planning session for the coming year.

All plans are tentative, to be firmed up as the actual meeting date or event comes closer. Here are some examples of upcoming meetings!

April 28^th - Contesting with N1RR

May 26^th - APRS with N1JDU

Other ideas were a soldering demonstration, troubleshooting equipment, basic stamp computers and 6 meter kits and kit building.

As Ann said, earlier, it's up to you! The club will do what the majority of the participating members want to do, so don't be shy. Share your thoughts with Ann and the club.

This humble writer recalls visiting the caverns of "HUD" many, many years back………. Yes, just as I first joined the ranks of amateur radio. I'm happy to say, also, that it was "HUD" who pointed me in the right direction, 20 years later, when I decided to recapture my (many years before) expired ham ticket.

I thought that, at least those of you whom haven't had the experience, deserved a chance to sample a REAL example of what it was like and still can be (for those adventurous ones among us).

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so that's how this story will be told. Please bear in mind that what you see, as well as many more just like them, are working pieces of equipment which Steve frequently puts on the air.

This, my friends, is WA1HUD!

NWS Taunton Amateur Radio SKYWARN Operations has greatly improved over the past 2 years. We currently, have a Kenwood Dual Band 2 Meter/440 MHz radio connected to a Comet GP-15 6 meter/2 meter/440 MHz antenna. We also have an Icom IC-28A that is hooked up to a Cushcraft AR2-X Vertical Antenna. This radio and antenna system is running APRS DOS Version 8.14 with a Kantronics KPC-3 TNC and a 486 DX2 PC. APRS is the Automatic Packet Reporting System. This software allows digital retransmission of weather station information from many common weather stations such as Davis Weather Instruments, Ultimeter Weather Instruments from Peet Brothers, WeatherMax from Maxim Weather instruments and others. This weather station information is automatically retransmitted every 10 minutes and can be queried on demand by other APRS stations. An important additional piece of equipment is the Alinco DX-70^TH radio. This is a 6 meter and HF (10 Meter-160 Meter) radio. The 6 meter capability of this radio allows us to communicate with stations into the far reaches of NWS Taunton’s County Warning Area which includes Northern Connecticut, Western Massachusetts west of Worcester County, and Southern New Hampshire, as well as areas that are coverable on 2 meters. The Comet GP-15 antenna is used for the 6 meter capability on this radio. The 2 Meter/440 MHz frequency bands allow coverage across Rhode Island, Southeast Connecticut, All of Eastern and Central Massachusetts from Worcester County Massachusetts through Cape Cod and the Islands.

The HF capability of the Alinco radio allows for coverage throughout the Northeast United States and around the world. The expanded capability of the HF bands will allow NWS Taunton to contact National Weather Service Forecast Offices around the country. This would include the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida via the Hurricane Watch Net on 20 meters. The HF capability is not working yet as we await approval from NWS personnel to put up the HF antenna. Once a sample installation of the practicality of this HF antenna is accepted, the antenna which was donated by Carl Aveni, N1FYZ will be installed at NWS Taunton.

Currently, we have 14 ham operators that can be called to operate the station at NWS Taunton. We used as many as a dozen operators during last year’s summertime convective season. NWS Taunton’s SKYWARN program was also featured in the September 1998 issue of CQ-VHF for efforts made in the May 31^st Severe Weather Outbreak which featured a 14 hour SKYWARN activation across nearly the entire NWS Taunton County Warning Area with winds of up to 104 MPH in the Worcester County area. Thanks to all for their support of our operations. Anyone who is interested in operating the Amateur Radio Station at NWS Taunton, or who is interested in getting on my SKYWARN Newsletter email list which features the email newsletter that I post every week, updates on SKYWARN training sessions, pending severe weather, and final storm reports, can email me at rmacedo@ma.ultranet.com and I’ll happily put them on the list.

SKYWARN is also ready to kick off its SKYWARN training season for 1999, here are some SKYWARN training sites of interest in Massachusetts from Worcester County east and also in Rhode Island:

Thanks to all for their interest in the SKYWARN program and I look forward to hearing you on the airwaves assisting the National Weather Service real soon.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert D. Macedo (KD1CY)

ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton

I wish there were some good information which I could report, but there is not.

The 64 Expedition is on-hold with out a site to go to, since leads for Nantucket sites have been few and far between.

I think that our initial focus should be changed to one of preparation, starting by completing one of the planned stations, and to deploy that station for an event such as JOTA Local Special Event / Field Day / &-or-Sept VHF contest

Once one HF and one VHF station are ready, we will be closer to a site and we would be further prepared to act on that development.

Due to an overwhelming desire to complete my own tower projects, I will continue with the 64 Expedition Team, but in a limited capacity.

This spring will bring a full effort to complete the tower installations. Tasks include: tower area preparation, complete the anchor and base holes for the two yagi towers(late winter/early spring), Re-bar cages and base and anchor hardware will be completed well before concrete is ordered. Fallen trees must be cut and moved, before additional trees can be knocked down. There will also be a day or maybe two spent with a rented chipper to clear all the brush that's left. About 8 trees still need to be taken down. Four by regular means and 4 of these must be removed by a climber, as they are either too large or too dangerous for anyone to do. There will also be a day or maybe two spent with a rented chipper to clear all the brush that's left. Work presently takes place nearly every Saturday and Sunday.

N1UEC, KB2SYM, N1BPV, KE1GX, KA4FRH, WA1HUD, W1MJ and W3EVE have been to my QTH for visits. N1XYS/N1XS, N1XYR, KM1P and WM1K help regularly at the station. N1UEC, W1KJ and W3EVE have returned to help a few times. Thanks!

When it's cold or too wet, other activities include amplifier construction and/or modifications, minimal station computer configurations, wiring and cabling (RF and AF control).

Web page expansion is also about to begin and several photos will soon be online.

The WARA 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 to keep you informed on club activities and other aspects of amateur radio, through our newsletter. There is a membership form enclosed with this newsletter and it's also available on our web site, noted just below. Please give some thought to "joining" in support of what you enjoy, so much. (While you're at it, BRING A FRIEND!)

We're also welcoming contributions which will be put towards a backup antenna for the '64 site. The replacement will cost approximately $650 - $700. Right now we're running on borrowed time, as the "backup" antenna is already up on the site. Any friendly contributions will be appreciated. You can send them to the WARA P.O. box; and please mark your check "ANTENNA FUND". Many thanks for your help.

W.A.R.A. publishes a periodic newsletter called "Prospect Hill Intermod". Would you be surprised that we're ALWAYS looking for contributions, in the way of articles, pictures and thoughts? 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).

ALSO,,,,,,,,, we'd really like to hear from some of you guys and gals on 220 and 440 and 6! Write in an let's share!

Microsoft WORD documents are preferred, but anything is fine! E-Mail, "Snail-Mail", phone it in or throw a rock! WE ALL WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! The next issue will be in production sooner than you think!