Field Day was great at Sunset Lake in Braintree, MA. The K1USN club had combined equipment and personnel with the Braintree Emergency Management Agency at their EOC Annex at Sunset Lake. We operated a 2F station. We also had an APRS demonstration station. We made many contacts on 10 meters. Sporadic E opened ten meters on Saturday. We made many contacts all over the country on ten. I have never heard so many stations with such skip on ten meters.

We ran on emergency power and emergency antennas. The K1USN portable antenna system is working great. It primarily consists of a Cushcraft vertical and a custom tripod base. There were several portable dipoles including a fan dipole. We had nearly all band coverage with several antennas, which were easily installed. These antennae were very effective. Conditions were also been much better this year than last year.

Final score was 1688 including bonus points. We made 447 contacts. Many of these contacts were on 10 meter sideband. We also made contacts on cw.
Many thanks go to the members of BEMA for making the event possible!

Participating K1USN members include, K1RV, W1BT, W1YR, KB1TOM, K1WN, W1AI, K1GUG, KC1HO, and N1EY.

Here are several pictures from the successful event. Thanks go to N1PAY from BEMA for taking the pictures.

This is the core group of the K1USN club except for myself. Somehow I managed to avoid every single picture taken at Field Day. I must be a shadow warrior.

N1EY

Well,

Several people has asked me about my opinion regarding bicycling in the south shore.  They have even asked me about where I biked.  I found it kind of hard to explain to some people as they were unaware of the local geography.  The key to bicycling is picking the right roads.  Some consideration should be given to the volume of the traffic. Many place too much concern regarding the overall volume of traffic on a road.  However, one should also consider how much traffic is on the road when they bicycle on it.  They should also develop routes to avoid left turns.  Another prime consideration is the width of the road and sight lines.

I have bicycled through the facilities in Wompatucket State Park.  This is an excellent opportunity for anyone wishing to ride on dirt trails.  There are also paved roads for road bicyclists to use.  I ride the main rode through the park on every sunday with the CRW group ride.  The hill on the main road is a lot of fun.

People have also asked me about the Cape Cod Trail.  This trail is very nice but very simple.  It doesn’t appeal much to me.  It is perfect for a beginner in vicinity of the trail.

I have included this map of the local area.  On many sundays during the club ride I will bike the coast in Scituate and Cohasset.  I will also venture out to Hull.  A representation of this is drawn in yellow.  Please note this map does not follow the actual streets and conveyances that are used.  The line in Green is the winter route that I ride with Mike Togo.  There is also an expanded version of his ride, too.  Please search my webpage for the Hanson ride and you can learn more bout this ride.

The red line is a loop that I have been experimenting.  I have ridden this loop in a combination of different streets and varying mileage.  I rode the whole loop last week for approximately one hundred miles.

I routinely ride 50-65 miles on Sundays.  I am trying to maintain a good base.  I like to ride at least 100 miles a week during the summer.  Last week I rode about one hundred and fifty.  I’ve ridden about one hundred and fifty this week as well.  I would have rode more, but I do not like to ride in the rain or through severe wind gusts.  During a six day period last month I rode about 200 miles.  Any person can easily accomplish these mileage totals.

A ride to the cape and back for me is about 80 miles.  Sightseeing and other stuff can easily add mileage.  I figure that I burn 30 calories for each mile.  My only concern is to eat and drink enough food.  I once suffered on a century ride and somehow lost 10 pounds.  Everyone can do this but remember to eat.

N1EY

WHEREAS: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has more than 13,000 licensed Amateur Radio operators who have demonstrated their value in public assistance by providing emergency radio communication; and

WHEREAS: Amateur Radio operators have donated these services free of charge to the Commonwealth, in the interest of the citizens of the Commonwealth, as well as the world, for over 75 years; and

WHEREAS: Amateur Radio operators continue to provide vital assistance to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, as well as local Emergency Management Agencies and Public Safety entities in times of disaster; and

WHEREAS: Amateur Radio operators are on alert for any emergency, local or worldwide, and continually practice their communications skills during numerous state and regional exercises;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mitt Romney, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby proclaim June 4 through June 10, 2006, to be

And urge all the citizens of the Commonwealth to take cognizance of this event and participate fittingly in its observance.

This is an attempt to pacify amateur radio operators that got the bridges burnt when the Governor rightfully stated that “we don’t need the hams.” If you think that your communication backbone should be a 65 year old male with a history of heart attacks and no discipline, then Mr. Romney was wrong.

Amateur Radio is a hobby, which promotes electronics and their study among the American populace. It also helps to provide international goodwill. It is not met to be the emergency radio service. The state only just bought radios for every EOC to actually communicate with EMA personnel from other localities and MEMA. Why wasn’t this in place fifty years ago? The only one with forward vision regarding emergency communications is Mr. Romney and now we are backpedaling.

This is from Yueaipa/Calimesa News Mirror. The local Fire Chief sings his praise for the RACES group.

What hams can offer the public is an emergency communications network that can supplement as well as complement communications capabilities of local police and fire departments. Clyde Chittenden, Yucaipa’s fire chief, said he depends on members of the local chapter of RACES when he and his crews find themselves fighting fires in remote, “dead” areas cell phones and even short wave radio signals are not operable.

Why would he need RACES. if his radio officer could communicate with state agencies using governmental frequencies and radios? RACES has become a way for the government to shirk its’ responsibilities. The real purpose of RACES was similar to MARS to provide trained radio operators for the agencies to tap. It wasn’t intended for providing the frequencies for communications. If you look at the quote, then you will see the fire chief doesn’t understand radio much. This is where his radio personnel come in. There is no need to praise hams or follow the ham’s desire to be the sole way to communicate between agencies. The hams can serve as his radio personnel and devise systems to provide coverage and communication.
Even the Red Cross and the Salvation Army have their OWN shortwave frequencies for passing communications. They don’t need a ham frequency. They need trained radio personnel.

Communications for cert teams with the local HQ can be done on agency radios, MURS, or FRS. Why devote a valuable radioman for a ground team? It seems counterproductive and wasteful. However, RACES and the ham population in Massachusetts have let the current system flounder as it isn’t needed; instead, the whole thing is met to prop up the leadership’s egos.

The reality of the situtation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is that a bunch of old heads have taken over the system through the ARRL’s Amateur Radio Emergency Services organization. The local heads in the ARES group purport to be in charge of various RACES officials. They attempt to control all training and dictate people to join ARES and not the local emergency management agency.

Any volunteer willing to help should join their local emergency management agency. Firstoff, how you are going to get to a problem that is one hundred miles away from you in a disaster? You are not going. Your local community would need you in this disaster. When you become a member of your EMA or Civil Defense, then you are working in the scope of the agency to serve and protect your neighbors. You are doing something of valuable.

Instead, the volunter joins ARES. ARES does nothing but serve as fodder for the ego. They do nothing for your town. You might participate in a radio drill that takes place after the RACES networks on the first monday of the month. What was this for? Did you practice operating the equipment at your local EOC? No. Did you practice sending messages between your EMA Director and MEMA? No.

Does ARES provide any value? No. The local ham community has left a system that does nothing but obfuscate the matters. It serves only to endeavor the ego of the top brass. Many people are sitting in the system and can not identify their roles. Many leave in frustration. ARES attempts to promote using amateur radio against using government frequencies in an emergency inorder to assert itself into the process. The outcry after the Governor’s initial comments were from ARES officials in the ARRL section. The RACES Officer for the state is not part of this organization.

The RACES officer is an official appointed in the Commonwealth. The Section Emergency Coordinator in ARES is a member appointed by an official in a private club. This is not a government agency. In reality the whole system has been hijacked and made obselete by individuals looking for purpose in life. Many of the officers in the ARRL section are only at the technician classification or amateur radio operators that became licensed in the reduced code environment. Many of these people are old and sought radio as an outlet for their free time. They took emergency communications as the means to give them purpose. Ask any of them if they have received a DXCC. Find out what these persons do for fun in ham radio. I think that you will be surprised when you are told about they are very busy handling emergency communications.

For an UPDATE the recent Huricane drill suffered some setbacks. MEMA II headquarters required hams to show up from other locales in order to staff the radio bank. Additionally, they could not operate all of the radios simulatenously to maintain several radio networks.

Each network comprised several towns. Even the configuration of the networks is suspect. Quincy and Hingham must use a radio link through Sharon. While Brockton uses a link through Norwell. Other communities in the area use a link through Bridgewater. The reason is that each repeater should be located away from a potential natural disaster in order to sure that it still works. However, many of the hams are unable to access different repeaters; they have insufficient personal gear and experience. The idea of RACES was not rely upon personal radio gear and the hams to make governmental communications; ARES does not belong in Massachusetts.
N1EY