The Boston Amateur Radio Club is having an in-person social meet up. The gathering will be casual and at a restaurant to share food and good times, talk radio, POTA, antennas and all things Ham. Feel free to bring questions about Radio or getting on the air, or obtaining a new license class. The gathering will be Dutch
The FCC released a Public Notice on March 23, 2022, stating that the amateur radio application fees, including those associated with Form 605 application filings, would become effective on April 19, 2022. The Federal Communications Commission’s authority to impose and collect fees is mandated by Congress.
The $35 application fee, when it becomes effective on April 19, will apply to new, renewal, and modification applications that request a new vanity call sign. The fee will be per application.
Administrative updates, such as a change of name, mailing or email address, and modification applications to upgrade an amateur radio licensee’s operator class*, will be exempt from fees. (*this new information was just confirmed by FCC staff on Tuesday, March 29.)
Anticipating the implementation of the fee in 2022, the ARRL Board of Directors, approved the ARRL Youth Licensing Grant Program in July 2021. Under the program, ARRL will cover a one-time $35 application fee for license candidates younger than 18-years old for tests administered under the auspices of the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC). Qualified candidates also would pay a reduced exam session fee of $5 to the ARRL VEC. ARRL is finalizing details for administering the program.
ARRL VEC Application Fees webpage: arrl.org/fcc-application-fee
ARRL News Story: arrl.org/news/new-amateur-radio-license-applications-fee-to-become-effective-april-19-2022
15 brave people showed up and many more hunters for our BARC Tech POTA day. 22+ Contacts in NW1S’ log but the Eye ball QSO’s where the highlight of the day. Thanks to Everyone! Full article to follow soon ong with a list of amazing call signs that hunted vigilantly.
Linking People Worldwide
Update on the Tech POTA Day:
We tried to get access and permission to operate from the Norman Smith Education Center but they are hosting a private function and cannot accommodate us. Just outside their gate there are several good clearings where we will be setting up our Parks on the Air station. There is also a quick path around the center to the peak along the skyline trail.
TALKABOUT: We will use the Great Blue Hill repeaters for communicating during the event: NE1AR 146.985/PL 88.5, and 449.125/PL 146.2 (Echolink Capable). As a backup you can contact NW1S via text or phone: 978-430-0750
PARKING: The closest and easiest way to get to the activation site is the Chickatawbut Parking lot (shorturl.at/jxAJQ), though space is limited. There is also a parking lot at Route 28 and Chickatawbut Road (shorturl.at/hFL15). If you’re looking for a longer hike, park at Houghton’s Pond Parking (shorturl.at/byK78) and follow the trail towards Chickatawbut Hill. Trail Map: shorturl.at/gmDP2.
GETTING THERE: After parking you may hike one of the many trails or take a short walk up the road towards Norman Smith Education Center. The Gate MAY be open to that road but please do not drive up that road as we are only asking for access for one car so we can haul up the gear. Don’t forget to drop us a quick email if you’re thinking of going even if just for a short while: nw1s.brendan@gmail.com.
EVENT: The Boston Amateur Radio Club plans to be up there from 1030am to around 4pm and have coordinated to have a SOTA to POTA contact with a Ham from Temple Mountain, 58 Miles away! We also have a BARC member in Virginia who will be listening to make contacts with us as well.
SATELITE: The SO-50 Amateur Radio satellite will be in the air between 11:53 and 12:07 local time on Saturday! We have three radios, including a full duplex VHF/UHF radio, set up and ready to make a contact via satellite.
HUNTING: The Blue Hills have archery hunting but it is only permitted Monday through Thursday so we should not have any issues.
SPOTTING: We will be spotting via the POTA.us spot page and will do our best to add BARC in the comments section of the spot. You can also look for all spots from K-8402.
WEATHER: It looks like it’s going to be a cold one up on the hill so dress appropriately.
CLUB: The Event is hosted by the Boston Amateur Radio Club. Visit www.barc.org/ and join today if you’re not already a member.
Every April 18, radio amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day. It was on this day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris.
Today, Amateur Radio is more popular than ever, with more than 3,000,000 licensed operators!
The theme for this year’s World Amateur Radio Day is, “Home, but Never Alone!” It speaks to the wonderful bond that we amateur radio operators have had through the world. In the last year this has manifested in dozens of local “checkin” nets whose purpose was have us keep an eye on each other on a daily or weekly basis. It was a wonderful example of Amateur Radio keeping all of its members safe, and together…no matter what the physical distance!
The Club PayPal system has been restored! All praise and thanks for this goes to Joe Harris, N1QD. We had a perfect storm over here where the person who normally dealt with the site was unavailable, and I myself was in Somerville Hospital for a diagnostic test.
Again, many, many thanks to N1QD, and we’re back on the Net (as it were)!
New England Vice Director, and BARC member, Phil Temples, K9HI, reminds us of the new FCC Notice for Proposed Rulemaking about increased/reinstated fees that are being considered for the Amateur Service.
We need to have a flood of high-quality comments in response to the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to reinstate fees for amateurs. The story linked here supplies some strong talking points, courtesy of ARRL Washington Counsel K3ZJ, that should be included in our individually filed comments.
We encourage all BARC members to file comments to FCC 20-116, MD Docket No. 20-270.