Division: New England

Previous EMA Monthly Summaries 

 I’m sorry you haven’t seen the monthly Section Update for a couple months. I wrote and tried to send the May 2024 Update, but the email-blast-to-all-section-members function was – and still is, for now – a casualty of the cyber-attack on ARRL HQ.  Thus, I’m publishing the Update here on the EMA website. I count on your understanding and patience as HQ works through this. 

OMG, it’s July! Field Day has come and gone (my FD-2024 trip report is on the EMA Section website at https://ema.arrl.org/2024/06/30/eastern-ma-section-manager-field-day-2024-trip-report/). I hope everyone had a great time, despite the heavens opening up with rain and lightning and thunder. Fortunately, it seems the rain didn’t wash everyone out. I’m already looking forward to next year! 

* Club Commission Program Updated for 2024 

Reminder: the League updated the Club Commission program for 2024. When an existing ARRL member renews through your club, the club earns a $5 commission, as before. NEW ARRL memberships earn a $20 commission for the club.  Complete details are at https://www.arrl.org/affiliated-club-benefits.

* Club Grant Program Update 

ARRL is ramping up for another round of the very popular Club Grant Program in 2024.  As in 2023, clubs will be invited to submit applications for grants of up to $25,000 for outreach (especially to youth), STEM activities, etc. Stand by for more information as available. 

* HamXpo is Coming! 

Mark the dates, August 22-25, 2024! The 2024 edition of HamXposition is coming, and it’s shaping up to be bigger and better than ever. Several top-tier amateur radio vendors have committed to the show. And the lineup of technical talks/seminars/workshops is set to rival HamVention (Dayton) in terms of breadth and depth of topics. I hope to see you in person there, including the Section Town Hall (parallel sessions for each New England section)! Full details at https://hamxposition.org.

* NTS Update: Updated ARRL Numbered Radiogram Texts 

In 2023 the NTS 2.0 team updated the ARRL numbered radiogram texts. While the former text numbers were not changed, some new texts were added. These have been coordinated with the RRI numbered texts to avoid confusion.  The new list can be found at https://ema.arrl.org/arrl-numbered-texts-20230606/.

* NEAR-Fest Moving to Hillsborough County (NH) Fairgrounds 

Phil Brooks, KA1PXZ, Chief of NEAR-Fest, is pleased to announce that, effective October 4th, 2024, the New England Amateur Radio Festival, known as NEAR-Fest, will be held at the Hillsborough County Agricultural Society Fairgrounds and Youth Center located at New Boston NH, approximately 15 miles west of Manchester. 

NEAR-Fest XXXVI will be held Friday October 4th and Saturday October 5th, 2024, at the Hillsborough County Agricultural Society Fairgrounds, located at 17 Hilldale Lane, (Route 13) New Boston NH. GPS Coordinates 42.9842430, -71.6793460. 

World Wide Web: www.near-fest.com E-mail: ka1pxz@near-fest.com.

* Cape Cod Amateurs Assist with Communications for Dave Birtwell Walk for Alzheimer’s 

On Saturday, May 18, amateur radio operators from the Falmouth Amateur Radio Association and the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club provided communications support for the Dave Birtwell Walk for Alzheimer’s at Scusset Beach State Reservation in Sandwich. More details at https://ema.arrl.org/2024/06/06/cape-cod-amateurs-assist-with-communications-for-dave-birtwell-walk-for-alzheimers/.

* Best Club Newsletters Contest 

July 5th is the deadline to submit your club newsletter for the HamXposition Newsletter Award. 

You can submit your club newsletter for the possibility of being named either the 1st, 2nd or 3rd best club newsletter in all New England for the 2024-2025 year starting September 1st, 2024. Complete details are at https://nediv.arrl.org/2024/06/28/best-club-newsletters/.

* N1ILZ for a Final  

Stay safe and cool out there!  Summer is here, the traffic is crazy, and the weather forecasters are predicting a hot summer. There’s still plenty of summer fun to be had, including work on all those outdoor projects pent up from the past winter. Especially including antenna projects, amirite?! 

 Can you write a paragraph or two about what you’re up to, so I can publish it in the Section Update? Let me know via email at n1ilz@arrl.org!  

* For always up-to-date news, please visit the EMA Section website at http://ema.arrl.org.

This Section News Update is brought to you by Section Manager Jon N1ILZ.