Ham Outreach

Clubs / Ham Outreach / Licensing & Continuing Education

How the ARRL website helped me pass the Extra exam

- by Nancy Austin

Contributed by John Brewer, N1SXB – the RI Section Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC) and new Extra Class license holder

John, N1SXB writes:

One of the best resources for new hams is the ARRL website at www.arrl.org. There is a wealth of information available to all hams whether you are an ARRL member or not.

A resource on the site that I found extremely valuable when it was time for me to upgrade my General Class license was the ARRL Exam Review for Ham Radio section that can be found
at  https://www.arrl.org/examreview.

This section is available to both non-members and members, and simply requires you to create an account which is free. The section covers all three license classes, Technician, General and Extra, and setting up your personal account allows you to track your progress.

Once you indicate the license grade you wish to review for, the section has three options:

  • Review for Exam
  • Take Practice Exam and
  • Print Practice Exam

If you use the ARRL license manuals to study for the test, the Review for Exam option allows
you to review exam questions by chapter, following the same topics that are laid out in the
manual. This was the feature I found most helpful – after I read a section in the Extra Class
manual, I would review the questions in that section until I could answer all of the questions.

You can also review by subelement if you want to review by following the FCC topics.

Once I was done with all of the chapters, I took practice exams to gauge how well I knew the
material, and once I was able to obtain passing grades on the practice exams, I signed up for
a VEC session and passed the exam.

Congrats to John, N1SXB!

https://arrl.org/examreview

Consortium / Ham Outreach / Operating

“How to Set Up Your First Ham Shack” at The Consortium Dec 4, 2023

- by Nancy Austin

The Consortium is an informal free class on ham fundamentals that is held monthly. Everyone is welcome. The Consortium was founded about 20 years ago by Bob Beaudet W1YRC, and the classes are run by BVARC’s award-winning Elmer, Jim Johnson K1GND.

December’s topic will be a demo on “How to Set Up Your First Ham Shack“. This is sure to be of interest to many.  Hope to see you there as the RI amateur radio community continues to build connections across our small state.

What: The Consortium  | When: Monday December 4, 2023 7pm.  | Where: The Sportsmen’s Club at 250 High St., Manville

Consortium website:  http://www.w1ddd.org/consortium.html 

Posts on The Consortium include:

https://ri-arrl.org/the-consortium-continues-free-ham-training-in-manville-ri

https://ri-arrl.org/how-to-set-up-your-first-ham-shack-at-the-consortium-dec-4-2023

Consortium / Ham Outreach / Operating

The Consortium continues free ham training in Manville, RI

- by Nancy Austin

Teri DiIorio, W1PUP writes:

The Consortium is a free class done monthly by Jim Johnson, K1GND and Bob Beaudet W1YRC. It’s also a great opportunity to meet other ham, find information and get recommendations of all things Ham related!

The Consortium has been operating for over 19 years, and everyone is welcomed.

November’s topic was The Importance of Grounding. The location is the Sportsmen’s Club at 250 High St., Manville. 7PM. The Consortium meets monthly on the first Monday of the month (unless that is a holiday).

The 2024 schedule of topics to be covered include:

Jan 8, 2024 – All About Vertical Antennas

Feburary 5, 2024 – All About Horizontal Antennas

March 4, 2024 – All About Half Wave End Fed Antennas And Transformers

April 1 – All About SSB Settings , Protocol And QSLing

May 6 -Getting Ready For Field Day

More details at http://www.w1ddd.org/consortium.html .

Jim, K1GND and Bob W1YRC support the Consortium.
This is a separate program from BVARC, supported by a few members who thought it was a good idea.
See you at the Consortium…..

Ham Outreach / Scouting / Youth

Scouting Special Event Station for “Turkey-in-the-Dirt 2023”

- by Nancy Austin

Mike Cullen K1NPT organized a wonderful Special Event last weekend using the K2BSA/1 callsign.  He writes:

This is BSA Troop 3 Newport’s annual pilgrimage to historic Yawgoog Scout Reservation, 1800 acres of forest in Rockville, Rhode Island (Washington County). The Camp is currently celebrating its 106th season.

Scouts dig a deep pit, line it with hot coals, and then cook 2-3 turkeys for several hours. Families and guests enjoyed an early Thanksgiving meal on Saturday night, November 11th.

Stations were invited to receive a picture of our activities that we sent via Winlink using VARA FM. 

Mike Cullen, K1NPT organized the Special Event Call Sign K2BSA/1 for the RI Narragansett Council Scouts 2023 “Turkey-in-the-Dirt” family cookout.
Clubs / Fox hunting / Ham Outreach

Foxhunt this Saturday November 18, 2023

- by Nancy Austin

Sheldon, K1KOS (BCRA) writes: The Bristol County Repeater Association (BCRA) is hosting a Foxhunt this upcoming Saturday November 18, 2023 from 10am-1pm.  Check-in starts at 9:45 am on the BCRA repeater, 145.150 MHz PL 123. The organizer is Skip Denault [email protected]

There will be TWO foxes within a 5-mile radius of 25 Church St., Swansea MA. Each operating with a 5 watt signal, each will transmit 1 minute of tone followed by Morse Code ID and 4 minutes of silence.

FOX1 will activate at 10:00 a.m. on 146.565 MHz FM and will be manned by K1KOS, Sheldon, in a Green Jeep Gladiator, plate K1KOS

FOX2 will activate at 10:02:30 a.m. on 146.430 MHz FM and will be manned by K1NDU, Tom, in a Red Chevy Blazer, plate FF4332

Communications with “Fox Control” can all be done over the BCRA repeater, including
checking in when you have found the fox. You may also speak with us in the Fox
vehicle using physical distancing if you wish. Chat and help on the repeater also.
When you have found the fox, your time and order of arrival will be recorded, and a
personalized certificate will be emailed to each participant.

Join us and have some good amateur radio fun!

 

Careers / Ham Outreach

RIC’s new Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies (And Why Radio Literacy Matters)

- by Nancy Austin
Jen Easterly, Director of CISA, speaking at the launch of the new Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies (6 November 2023, Providence RI)

This morning Rhode Island College celebrated the launch of the Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies, which will be chaired by former RI Congressman Jim Langevin, a RIC alum. 

The Keynote Speaker was Jen Easterly, Director of CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Other speakers included Gov. Dan McKee, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman Seth Magaziner, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, Postsecondary Education Commissioner Shannon Gilkey, and RIC President Jack Warner. 

As Governor McKee and Director Easterly observed, this cyber career pathway is uniquely housed in the Business School and should prove transformational in providing Rhode Islanders the highly-paid, skilled workforce needed to face the challenges ahead. 

Everyone talks about the pressing problem of the cyber talent pipeline. In my strong and unchanged opinion, the Amateur Radio community has work to do to better explain how we are already contributing. 

From our proven hands-on and free experiential learning community model open to every age. Our ability to communicate around the world with no internet or commercial power. Our commitment to Public Service. Our deep bench of technical experts willing to jump in and contribute to problems around spectrum, sensors, satellites, emergency communication, situational awareness, software/hardware, drones, electronics old and emerging, … the list goes on and on.  

And yet at the gathering this morning, everyone I did a post-pandemic catch-up with was interested in my pivot to ham radio – but really had limited understanding of what amateur radio is, why it might be relevant in 2023, and how the ham community has already been a welcoming, mentoring high-tech career pathway pipeline for over a century. Cybersecurity is about more than IT. Radio literacy matters. This is a huge opportunity for amateur radio to paint a different portrait of itself. 

As the Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies takes off, with the support of so many influential stakeholders across Rhode Island dedicated to its success, I encourage every RI radio amateur to continue being that positive ambassador in their own networks. Take the time to explain, again, what it is we do, why it matters, and what about this resonates with their audience?  Rhode Island’s motivated radio amateurs are team players ready to participate. Let’s tune up and talk. 

73, Nancy Austin KC1NEK

ARRL Rhode Island Section Manager

[email protected]

https://ri-arrl.org

ARES / Ham Outreach / Public Service

RX on the Aviation Band

- by Nancy Austin

23 radio amateurs contributed 26 results during last weekend’s RI ARES MARS Airport Weather Practice Exercise. Thank you! 

It was open to all anytime from 10am Saturday to 10pm Sunday October 7-8, 2023. As noted, 23 hams joined in. Two of these reported hearing nothing and one of the 26 submissions was a landline verification report. These are not shown in the data summary charts below. 

Given this generous 36-hour window of time in which to submit results from home, 23 hams participated. Is this a large turnout, or less than expected? Too early to say. For comparison, the 2m RI ARES VHF Simplex net last night lasted about 45 minutes and had 15 check-ins from across 4 of the 5 RI counties. The month before, the RI ARES Simplex net had 20 check-ins across all 5 counties. Just FYI as we seek to understand baseline interest and commitment – and work to build aligned skill-development opportunities and continued outreach. 

Top Challenge: AM Aviation Band (108-137MHz) awareness & solutions for your FM radio, scanner, or SDR

The Practice Exercise asked hams to listen on their radios and report what, if anything, they heard when tuned to 5 specific frequencies between 120-135 MHz, on the AM Aviation Airband. 

Listed below are two of the FM radios used by this weekend’s practice exercise participants. These familiar ham radios do include the ability to receive on the aviation band. 

  • 5w Yaesu FT-60R (c. $190) w Diamond wide receive SRHF40A
  • 50w Icom 5100 base 

Add to the mix: reviewing how to program a new frequency, the benefits of a wideband receive antenna, and making time and effort to participate within the timeframe. 

Location still matters: Nancy, KC1NEK used the Yaesu HT to clearly hear 4-5 airport weather stations over the last week from Middletown, RI. But then heard nothing when testing from the grounds of the New England Wireless & Steam Museum in East Greenwich.

This Practice Exercise was also an opportunity to learn about FM modulation/demodulation and slope detection.  (Thank you, Steve, WA1GVM from Coventry!) Some people got creative with police scanners and planned SDR solutions. Yes, it was a good practice exercise. Stay tuned!

Join us tonight, Wednesday October 11, 2023 at 7:30pm on Zoom to share your experiences and tips. (For the Zoom link and more events, please see the RIARES.org calendar.)

What changes, if any, do you plan to put in place before the actual Simulated Emergency Test planned for Oct 21-22?

County [ham entries] TF Green Newport N. Central Block Island Westerly
Bristol* [0]
Kent [5] 5 1 1
Newport [9] 5 9 3 3 1
Providence* [2] 2 1
Washington [6] 1 1 2 4
Outside RI [1] 1

*Requesting ambassadors especially for Bristol and Providence Counties. ARES looks to the team-building leadership role of the DEC and ECs to build this prepared capacity. This is a great opportunity to encourage, mentor, and learn while supporting a state-wide shared mission. 

For more, see:

Join the RI ARES MARS Airport Weather Exercise starting this weekend

 

ARES / Ham Outreach / Public Service

Join the RI ARES MARS Airport Weather Exercise starting this weekend

- by Nancy Austin

All interested RI licensed radio amateurs are welcome to join RI ARES Members for a MARS situational awareness practice exercise this weekend.  We will be discussing this further on the RI ARES 1st & 3rd Tuesday night repeater NB1RI network nets, and in a Zoom meeting. (Details below.)  This marks the beginning of RI ARES  training exercises and monthly Zoom meetings scheduled for the rest of 2023. We welcome your participation.

Introduction

The following is the Simulated Emergency Test (SET) for the Rhode Island Section for the calendar year 2023.  

We appreciate the leadership and support provided by Chuck Chandler, WS1L, the Western Massachusetts (WMA) Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) and Tom Kinahan, N1CPE, US Army MARS Region One Director as your new RI Section and ARES leadership put together a SET/Practice Exercise in time for ARRL’s SET. 

 We will run: 

1) a Practice Exercise open to all interested RI licensed radio amateurs 

from Saturday, October 7, 2023 beginning at 10:00 local (14:00 UTC), through
Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 22:00 local (10/9/23 02:00 UTC).

2) the RI ARES Simulated Emergency Test will be held two weeks later: 

from Saturday, October 21, 2023 beginning at 10:00 local (14:00 UTC), through
Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 22:00 local (10/23/23 02:00 UTC).

Separate Instructions will be sent for the Simulated Emergency Test.

Rhode Island’s five Airport Surface Weather Observation Stations (ASOS/AWOS)

SITUATION

Repeated patterns of wet weather have been experienced throughout New England, leaving soils saturated and incapable of absorbing additional rainfall. Several instances of flooding have already led to road washouts impacting the transportation sector. 

The first arctic cold front of the season approaches with a large pressure differential producing a sudden onset of high winds. With root systems already weakened in soft soil, large numbers of trees are felled throughout the region. Multiple roads become impassable.  Wire and cable damage has led to degradation of the Public Switched Telephone, internet and cellular networks. Calls placed without GETS/WPS are taking up to one hour to complete. Limited internet access is available in some areas, with other areas suffering extended outages. High demand has made VoIP communications impossible.

Resource requests for high priority items are ready to transport via air to local airports but with no ability to receive local weather conditions at those airports ARES has been tasked with reporting local airport weather information.

MISSION

RI Radio Amateurs interested in participating will attempt to receive local airport weather broadcasts in the VHF-AM Aviation Band from 119-136 MHz.  A list of local airport weather frequencies will be provided. Any weather reports received will be transcribed for later reporting.

For the Practice Exercise, participants will report their information via a Google Form located at: 

https://forms.gle/rnEGgsEWhqvYhJfdA

EXECUTION

A Simulated Emergency Test is a structured excercise.  RI Radio Amateurs will attempt to receive local airport weather broadcasts in the VHF-AM Aviation Band from 119-136 MHz.  A list of local airport weather frequencies in scope will be provided. Participants may elect to establish a temporary station at an advantageous position in order to improve their chances of receiving one or more airports.

For the Practice Exercise, participants who are able to receive these reports will transcribe the weather reports so that they may be reported to US Army MARS via the Google Form.  

Participants who are unable to receive airport weather reports are requested to report that fact, along with their location, in order to alert authorities to any airports that may not be operational, or may have degraded weather reporting capabilities. Participating in this exercise also helps to build baseline awareness about who can hear what Rhode Island airport weather stations under good conditions. For the Practice Exercise, this should all be reported via the Google Form.

Two weeks later, the Simulated Emergency Test will involve passing this airport weather traffic over the air via one or more radio nets, or via WinLink. 

ADMINISTRATIVE & LOGISTICS

This SET will require the following ICS forms:

  • ICS-202 Incident Objectives (summarizing this operations plan)
  • ICS-217 Communications Availability Worksheet (listing the five Rhode Island airport weather channels in scope)
  • ICS-213 General Message (printable Information Gathering Template) 

The Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator will notify ARES members of this exercise in advance and solicit their participation. Any licensed amateur who expresses an interest is encouraged to take part.  

An after-action review will be conducted soon after the conclusion of the Practice Exercise.  Lessons learned will be implemented for the SET planned for two weeks later, October 21-22, 2023.

COMMAND & SIGNAL

The Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator has submitted this SET + Practice Exercise Operations Order to the Section Manager for their approval. Once approved, it will be disseminated to RI ARES members and those who have expressed interest in RI ARES for whom we have email addresses on file. It will also be announced on the RI ARES Repeater Net and posted to the RI section website: https:ri-arrl.org

The actual SET is anticipated to run for a 36-hour period from 1000 local on Saturday 21 October 2023 until 2200 local on Sunday 22 October 2023.  This will allow participants to have sufficient time to monitor airport weather broadcasts and to report them. Participants may submit their Google Form at any time during the exercise period. 

Participating in the Basic Practice Exercise is an important first step designed to be accessible for any interested radio amateur.  All are welcome to give this a try. 

Additional challenges and MARS crossband exercises are possible. The ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book for Level 2 presumes annual participation in a Simulated Emergency Test, such as RI ARES is offering this October 2023. Please join in!

VFRmap.com of Rhode Island airports.

NOTES

You are invited to review additional documents at:

https://riares.org

Please join the RI ARES 2m repeater nets on Tuesdays Oct 3rd and 17th at 7:30pm on the NB1RI repeater network, ie Exeter 146.985 (-0.6 MHz) PL 67 Hz

Please join a scheduled RI ARES Zoom meeting to discuss this other 2023 ARES training opportunities further. 

RI ARES General Meeting, Wednesday October 4, 2023, 19:30 Local

ZOOM Meeting Link: https://ewg.zoom.us/j/81260554381?pwd=NGlyVFQ1d1ZaQmdEZnVUSGplU1EyQT09

For the Practice Exercise, participants will report their information via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/rnEGgsEWhqvYhJfdA

(The form will be available for practice before hand, but only data reported during the exercise will be utilized.)

Congratulations to Jeremy Taylor, K1JST for stepping up to put much of this together on short notice. Many thanks for contributing additional capacity to take on the new role as your volunteer RI Division Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator.

Clubs / Ham Outreach / Operating / POTA

POTA – Activate All RI wildly successful

- by Nancy Austin

Parks on the Air (POTA) is one of the most popular ways to get on the air and practice portable operations. 

What can we say now that two weeks have passed since Rhode Island hosted the first and wildly successful Parks on the Air (POTA) – Activate All RI?  This community building initiative was proposed and led by Jim Garman, KC1QDZ. It was hosted by the Newport County Radio Club and aligned to wrap-up at Colt State Park with the club’s annual “Outdoor Adventure” picnic. 

Here’s a preliminary review of the available POTA – Activate All RI data with some first lessons learned. 

Over the five days of Wednesday to Sunday September 6 – 10, 2023 every one of Rhode Island’s 53 POTA parks was activated at least 4 times for a total of at least 262 POTA activations; at least 11,000 QSOs were made by at least 35 radio amateur activators exploring every part of our state during splendid New England fall weather. 

Over 50% of these POTA activations happened because of the generous outpouring of support by nationally-known POTA operators in solidarity with Jim Garman, KC1QDZ and his vision of all that the first-ever Activate All RI could be. Adding in the regional POTA community networking Jim, KC1QDZ had built as he grew from POTA newbie to a passionate POTA leader, and the outcome stands as an unforgettable reminder of what’s possible when we reach out and come together to flexibly deliver on a shared mission led by a next-generation leader.

Here are preliminary data take-aways:

1) POTA National Ambassadors

Five top POTA operators traveled to RI at their own expense to inspire and support this first-ever POTA: Activate All RI outdoor adventure. Thank you! 

Their phenomenal passion and dedication set a memorable high bar for all of us to aspire towards in the years ahead. It was frankly astonishing to watch these disciplined radio amateur operators, all of whom have made 10,000 to 200,000 QSOs activating hundreds or thousands of POTA parks. 

With patience and unflappable commitment, they pretty much activated from sunrise to past sunset for our five day marathon, calmly logging 132 POTA activations and over 5000 QSOs. 

Thank you to these unforgettable POTA radio amateurs who delivered an average of over 1000 QSOs per operator:

  • Kerri Wright, KB3WAV from Maryland; currently #2 on the POTA Top Activator Leaderboard 
  • Brian Duddy, N2BTD from New York; he was a comet of QSOs for his few days available
  • Lou Nickles, WZ3J from Maryland 
  • Scott Major, K3SDM from Kentucky
  • Curtis Turner, KB3CMT from Pittsburgh 

2) RI & Regional POTA Heroes 

Pilgrim Amateur Wireless Association (Taunton, MA)

Another group of activators had been mentoring Jim, KC1QDZ since he was a new POTA operator; they had all become close friends along the journey. These hams rallied around his vision for a welcoming and collaborative Activate All RI, and stepped up to the fun. Special thanks to these three top operators from PAWA, an Eastern Massachusetts radio club in nearby Taunton, MA. All very active in POTA, these hams brought camaraderie and the experience of each having completed between 10-40,000 POTA QSOs. 

  • Fran Kelly, KC1NDQ
  • Rob, WC1N
  • Mike, N1NTM

Rhode Island POTA Heroes – a remarkable collaboration 

POTA – Activate All RI was remarkable for a new spirit of collaboration across RI radio clubs and operators. 

Providence Radio Association (W1OP)

  • Between September 6-10, 2023, this dynamic large club contributed six activations and over 500 QSOs to POTA – Activate All RI. This is in addition to the club’s already impressive commitment to activate Beavertail Lighthouse with over 30,000 QSOs already logged. 
  • PRA club member Dave, W3DRE went further and stepped up to activate at least eight other parks during the September 6-10, 2023 special event window, contributing 584 QSOs. Pre and post-event, Dave continues to actively get on the air via POTA, and has completed his POTA certificate for Activated all US – RI. Congrats! 

RI / CT  Individual + Other Club Contributor Heroes 

  • Brian, N1BS – a highly active POTA operator offered over ten activations in less-frequently activated rural RI parks. Activated All US – RI.
  • Kathy, KA1THY – thank you for an  impressive contribution of at least ten activations and over 500 QSOs logged during September 6-10, 2023.
  • John, K9JFB – another highly active reliable operator for difficult parks, delivering at least seven activations and 566 QSOs.  Activated All US – RI.
  • Glen, W1GHD – thank you for spending your weekend in RI helping activate four parks and offering hunters a hundred QSOs.
  • Matt, NA1Q – thank you for joining in from MA to contribute three activations and 45 QSOs as inspiration to keep activating RI POTA parks. 
  • Peter, K1AV (BVARC – former club president) – great to meet you at the recent HamXpo,  and thank you for activating two parks with Dave, W3DRE from W1OP. Positive cross-club collaboration, for sure! 
  • Jason, AA1VV (Fidelity Amateur Radio Club) – thank you for contributing three activations and at least 185 QSOs. Can’t wait to see how your POTA journey unfolds!
  • John, AJ1DM (Westerly Amateur Radio Team and ARRL RI Section NTS CW Traffic Handler) – Great to see your contribution joining POTA for a first activation. Thank you!

Plus, thanks to the four visitors to Rhode Island who jumped in while traveling to activate a park or two:

  • Ray, K1RAH 
  • Dimitris, NE1D
  • Michael, KC1OCA 
  • William, K2HVN 

3) Newport County Radio Club (NCRC)

About fourteen NCRC members helped activate parks during Activate All RI. Going into the event, only two club members were in that “passionate about POTA” camp – with over 10,000 logged activator QSOs. For the rest of us, POTA is probably more like a prompt to have fun getting on the air quickly with a flexible portable set-up. Many hams new to POTA expressed an interest in making that first activation, and more needs to be done to understand what kind of resources would deliver a bias toward action. 

Jim, KC1QDZ assigned those who signed up to specific parks they were to activate – and everyone delivered on their commitment. This happened without the use of a master daily schedule of who would be where at what time each day and on what band (as some felt would have delivered better results). 

There is no getting around the reality that this first Activate All RI was unique and special because of the outpouring of support among the larger national and regional POTA community for Jim, KC1QDZ and his enthusiasm to make this happen as a gift for RI and those seeking to hunt RI parks. Were a club plan to rely only on in-club activators, it would require significant prep getting new operators trained and ready to deliver and log the kind of QSO rate found in this premier POTA – Activate All RI, 2023. 

Stay tuned for Jim’s ongoing commitment to lead POTA – Activate All RI in a 2024 variation.

  • NCRC Accomplished POTA Activators (Activator QSOs: 10,000-20,000; both already completed Activated All US – RI. Both accomplished contesters and top Field Day contributors.) Both actively and selflessly supported others to achieve their goals during this ambitious venture.. 
    • POTA Lead – Jim KC1QDZ – more than 7 activations during Activate All RI
    • Willy Maclean, W1LY – 12 park activations during Activate All RI, including helping a club member achieve a goal of activating Block Island; contributed 654 QSOs, including from parks difficult to activate.
  • NCRC Advanced Beginner Activators (QSOs: 50-1500) Thank you!
    • Mike, AA1XQ > 6 activations / 179 QSOs
    • Randy, K8ZFJ > 5 activations / 75  QSOs
    • Bob, WB4SON > 4 activations / 143 QSOs
    • Rob, KB1ZZU > 3 activations / 104 QSOs
    • Scott, N1SWT > 3 activations / 102 QSOs
    • John, K1JSM > 3 activations / 83 QSOs
    • Nancy, KC1NEK > 2 activations / 81 QSOs
    • Jim, KA1ZOU >  2 activations / 31 QSOs
    • Corry KE1AK > 1 activations / 41 QSOs
  • NCRC First time as POTA Activators – Congrats!
    • Greg Bonaguide, WA1VUG
    • Bruce Braga, W1UQN (CW)
    • Paul K1YBE: no logs uploaded – first POTA (pending) (microwave band)

Summary Finding 2 weeks out*

*Best estimate based on POTA log data as of 23 Sep 2023

POTA – Activate All RI parks (September 6-10, 2023) 
Project Lead: Jim Garman, KC1QDZ 
Club Host: Newport County Radio Club (NCRC)
Sept 6-10, 2023 POTA Activate RI 5-day Total Natl POTA

Ambassadors

 RI & Region Heroes Newport County Radio Club host Travelers
Activations 262 132 (50%) 75 (29%) 55 (21%)
QSOs 11,104 5,182 (47%) 4,082 (37%) 1,840 (17%)
Activators 36 5  13 14 4
QSO/Op avg 308/op  1,036/op 314 /op 131 / op
Activations/op 26 avg 6 avg 4 avg

 

Congrats to at least 4 new POTA Activators: K1YBE, WA1VUG, W1UQN, AJ1DM

PLOA Wrap-up Picnic 

Thank you for making this a successful collaboration. It was wonderful to meet so many of you and your families at the Outdoor Adventure wrap-up picnic at Colt State Park on Sunday September 10, 2023 hosted by the Newport County Radio Club.  

Thank you for making this year’s picnic so remarkable.

 

ARRL National, Division, and RI Section Leadership: 

Kevin Beal, K8EAL (CT); Phil Temples, K9HI (Boston)

ARRL RI Section Cabinet: Mike Corey, KI1U; Dave Neal, W2DAN

 

NCRC Officers: Nancy Austin, KC1NEK; Paul Fredette, K1YBE; Rob White, KB1ZZU

NCRC Executive Committee: Bob Beatty, WB4SON; Willy Maclean, W1LY; John Vecoli, KC1KOO; Dick Bianco, KC1IPJ

POTA – Activate All RI project lead: Jim Garman, KC1QDZ

PLOA – picnic project leads: John Mills, K1JSM; Willy Maclean, W1LY; Jim Sendrak, KC1YG

PLOA 2023 – Honoring Silent Key Jack Garforth, N1JK

POTA National Activators:

  • Lou Nickles, WZ3J from Maryland 
  • Scott Majors, K3SDM from Kentucky
  • Curtis Turner, KB3CMT from Pittsburgh 

POTA RI & Regional Hero Activators:

  • Fran Kelly, KC1NDQ (Pilgrim Amateur Wireless Association – PAWA)
  • Rob, WC1N (PAWA)
  • Mike, N1NTM (PAWA)
  • Dave, W3DRE (Providence Radio Association – W1OP)
  • John, K9JFB 
  • Glen, W1GHD  (CT)
  • Jason, AA1VV (Fidelity Amateur Radio Club)

NCRC POTA Activators (not mentioned earlier)

  • Mike Seil, AA1XQ
  • Randy Jones, K8ZFJ
  • Scott Toner, N1SWT
  • Greg Bonaguide, WA1VUG 

NCRC Members at the wrap-up PLOA picnic (not mentioned earlier)

Alan, KB1DJ

AnnaLivia, KC1SWJ

Bill, W3CJK

Bob, KC1RFM

Bob, NE1E

Brian, N1TBT

Crystal, KE1KAT

Dave, KC1IPA

Ed, W1NQH

Hayden, KC1IPM

Jacqueline, KC1SWT

Jeff, N1CSE

Jim, KJ6YKT

John, N1SXB

Keith, KC1LPV

Keith, W1KJR

Linda, KC1SWV

Mark, KB1RYX

Mike, WA1KSN

Nolan, K1PRU

Patricia, K2PRU

Rich, N1ZSR

Scott, WX1X

Sean, K1SDM

Steve, KC1AQQ

Steve, N3VHI

Teri, W1PUP

 

Thank you to everyone for making this experience so unforgettable.

73, Nancy Austin, KC1NEK

NCRC club president (2022-2023)

RI Section Manager 

For more on POTA, see: https://ri-arrl.org/pota/

Ham Outreach / Operating / POTA

RI QSO hunters – this is your week!

- by Nancy Austin

 

Scene at Block Island today, POTA -Activate All RI: Jim, KC1QDZ (RI) and Fran, KC1NDZ (MA) with Scott, K3SDM (KY).

RI QSO hunters – this is your week! 

Starting today through Sunday (Sept 6-10, 2023)  a collaborating team of about twenty POTA – Parks on the Air enthusiastic activators from across the country, region, and state are setting up their portable rigs across the 52 officially-recognized POTA parks. 

Already this morning from just before 8am until around Noon, I was able to hunt 12 unique parks across the SSB bands of 40m, 20m, 17m and 15m from my home QTH. I was logged by 11 unique operators, including Kerri Wright, KB3WAV (with over 170,000 POTA QSOs to her credit) as well as the NCRC organizer of this event, Jim Garman, KC1QDZ – taking a break from his farm between tomatoes and turnips. 

POTA hunters, near and far, are encouraged to keep an eye on POTA Spotting and join the fun. It’s a great way to understand your band propagation and make progress on your POTA – Worked All RI award.

Real time POTA spotting information here: https://pota.app/#/

The list of the 52 RI POTA parks can be found here: https://pota.app/#/parklist. Select United States, and then the drop down filter to select Rhode Island.

Eager to jump in and activate? Go for it! And maybe bring along a licensed operator who hasn’t been able to get on the air recently for whatever reason. Second and even third operators are always welcome.

Meanwhile, kudos to the team currently activating Block Island park K-0513: Jim Garman, KC1QDZ from Newport, RI. Shown here with Fran Kelly, KC1NDQ from nearby Swansea, MA and hosting event visitor Scott Majors, K3SDM from Kentucky. (Another NCRC team will be activating Block Island again tomorrow – so check back frequently. )

Huge shout out to the POTA RI Park Activators I spoke to already this morning,

  • Kerri, KB3WAV
  • Brian, N1BS
  • Kathy, KA1THY
  • Brian, N2BTD
  • Lou, WZ3J
  • Dave, W3DRE
  • Willy, W1LY
  • Jim, KC1QDZ
  • Fran, KC1NDQ
  • Scott, K3SDM
  • John, K9FDB
  • John, K1JSM

Thanks to so many for voluntarily traveling to RI to amplify everything we love about radio in RI. Thank you to the many Rhode Island hams activating and collaborating to show what’s possible with amateur radio today. 

With special thanks to the Newport County Radio Club for supporting new ham Jim Garman, KC1QDZ and his vision for POTA – Activate All RI. 

What’s not to love about the ham community? 

73, Nancy Austin, KC1NEK 

  • Newport County Radio Club outgoing club president
  • new RI Section Manager

Don’t miss POTA – Activate All RI (Sept 6-10, 2023) 

Remember, POTA Hunters do not need to submit logs.

Activators will need to keep and submit their log of at least 10 time- and frequency- marked QSOs for an official activation to be recognized by POTA.  QSO credit will then be awarded to both parties, almost instantly. 

Lots of activators – but still. Small State; Big Pile-up.

Have fun! Get on the Air! Meet new hams. 

For more on what’s possible with POTA, check out: https://ri-arrl.org/pota/