FARA Club Information
Next Meeting
November 1, 2018: Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ
Andy (KB1OIQ) Stewart will be talking about the BITX40 and uBITX QRP kit radios from India. These very popular transceivers are openly specified for both hardware and software, and have thus encouraged a lot of tinkering. Andy will discuss many of the common modifications, as well as his extensive modifications to the Arduino software. Andy has also modified the kit to make it accessible to visually impaired hams. There will be a demonstration of Andy’s version of both of these transceivers.
Andy holds an Amateur Extra class license, and has been a ham since 2007. He is the President of Police Amateur Radio Team (PART) of Westford, and the Affiliated Club Coordinator for Eastern Massachusetts. By day, he simulates digital logic circuits, and by night, he’s typically hacking on something Arduino or Linux related.
See Upcoming Meetings for directions.
In the News
A Rainy but Fun-Filled Field Day.
On June 23, your radio club participated in an enjoyable Field Day exercise at the Mcauliffe Library in Framingham. This new location has plenty of trees for wire antennas, and a fine time was had by all in spite of the rain. We operated battery-powered 100 watt and QRP stations, and about 14 hams stopped by to either visit or to operate. The ARRL Section Manager and the assistant Section Manager for Eastern MA also stopped by. Our “Learn to Spell Your Name in Morse Code” sign attracted lots of kids, and they had fun and learned something new. Signing “W1FY, 2A-EMA,” we worked a number of stations in the US and Canada.
Field Day on Access Framingham (AFTV)
Glenn Axelrod, KC1HPZ, informs us that a story about the June Field Day event was part of Access Framingham’s “Framingham Beat” news magazine show at 7:30 PM on August 2.
Sumner, W1VIV, is featured prominently because his explanation of Field Day became the narration for the video that Glenn shot and AFTV’s staff edited.
It’s now available on Access Framingham’s YouTube channel:
The Framingham Beat – Framingham Amateur Radio Association
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
CQ Magazine
Club member Sumner Weisman, W1VIV, has written an article “Wireless Radio For The Hearing Impaired” in the June issue of CQ Magazine
Scholarship Award
Gail Bello, daughter of Gordy Bello, K1GB, is the 2018 recipient of the Beverly Lees Scholarship.
Monthly Meetings
FARA meets the 1st Thursday of the month (except in July and August), 7:30 pm at the Framingham Police Station 1 William Welch Way (corner of William Welch Way and Union Ave) in the first floor training room. Enter through the front door on Union Ave. and the room is to the left. All area hams and those not yet licensed but interested in amateur radio are welcome to attend.
FARA Sunday Night NET
The FARA Sunday Night Net begins every Sunday at 7:30PM on the FARA 147.150 MHz (no PL) repeater. All licensed hams are welcome to check in and participate in the “Ham question of the Week”.
FARA’s Repeaters
VHF: 147.150 MHz (+)
UHF: Not operational – check back for status updates
For further information about FARA, you can reach us at: contact@w1fy.org