<--A new events page has been added with additional photos of the 2010 New Year's Day fox hunt.
The FOXBOX -- for current status, check the CTFoxhunters group at Yahoo The BEARS President N1TUP occasionally puts a "foxbox" out in the woods or in an obscure but public place, so amateur radio operators can practice their direction-finding skills. This is an "ammo box" containing a battery, a low-power transmitter, and a controller that issues an ID in morse code whenever it hears a certain code transmitted. The details -- simplex frequency, PL code, and the codes to wake and reset the box, are all available at the Yahoo "CTFoxhunters" group. You will also find posted there some hints by hams who have found the box. (Please don't give the exact location if you find it, just some clues, bearing, or general area.) Once you've tried it, you'll understand why we need to practice. It's not as simple as taking two bearings and "voila". Radio waves bend and refract as they pass over lakes, hills, iron deposits, etc. And when you get close enough, the signal swamps most receivers and seems to come from everywhere at once. As one hunter put it recently, sometimes you feel like you need at least four hands and two radios to find the fox. And if the vagaries of radio wave propagation were not enough of a challenge, the foxmaster is very skilled at finding locations where "you can't get there from here."
Calendar of BEARS events Please submit calendar items to the webmaster for posting. The following are sanctioned BEARS events:
Tech License Class - This class for beginning Amateur Radio Operators begins Friday Feb 5, 2010, 7 pm at the new Manchester EOC on Olcott Street. LOCATION CHANGE: 1st class will be held at the Manchester Fire House at 75 Center Street, 2nd floor. Class is free and open to the public, but must preregister with the CERT training officer, Linda Bycholski, bycholski@yahoo.com. First four Fridays are review of the question pool, fifth Friday is the official FCC license exam, next three Fridays are operating tips and help finding the right radio for you.
February 10th - BEARS monthly meeting - dinner at Royal Buffet at 5:30, meeting 7PM location to be announced.
General License Class - Begins April 2nd, the week after the Tech class concludes. Same format but for the Amateur Radio General License. Register with Linda Bycholski. Class instructor for both classes: Paul Gibson, N1TUP and friends.
April 11, Sunday - Hockanum River Canoe and Kayak Race - The BEARS provide radio communications and river spotters for this event, which begins at the Vernon line and ends in East Hartford.
.April 18, Sunday - MS Walks in Manchester and Enfield - The BEARS provide radio communications and observers for this charity event at two different sites on the same day.
June 13, Sunday - The Annual BEARS picnic at Camp Newhoca.
Calendar of local amateur radio-related events
These events are NOT sanctioned BEARS events, we're just listing them here as a convenient reminder for amateur radio enthusiasts, regardless of what club memberships they hold.
Feb 6 & 7 - Boy Scout Klondike Derby - Ashford, CT at the June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation, 8 am. Communications are being organized by the ICRC of New Britain, but they are asking other clubs for help. They need 15 volunteers for Saturday, Feb 6 and seven volunteers for Sunday. You'll need at least a 2m HT with extra battery, food, water and clothes to be self-sufficient for the day. Contact Armando Landrian, KB1PRP@arrl.net to volunteer.
Feb 13 - Algonquin Amateur Radio Club Ham Fest - Marlborough, MA. Marlborough Intermediate Elementary School, Thresher Dr off Union St or SR85. 9am - 1 pm, admission $5.00. Talk in 147.27 + 146.2 or 449.925 - PL 88.5. See www.n1em.org
May 13th - Thursday 7-10 PM - NWS Skywarn basic training at Channel 3 studios in Rocky Hill. All are welcome even if you have taken this class a few years ago. No reservation needed.
April 19th - Boston Marathon -- Many hams from Manchester Emcomm will be providing radio communications (BEARS, keep in mind the day before this is TWO MS Walks in Manchester.)
June 19 - Saturday 8 am - NARL Hamfest in Newington at St. Mary's School. This is the last local hamfest before Field Day and the last chance to purchase those last-minute gizmos you need for your rig.
June 26-27 - Sat & Sun - ARRL Field Day - local affiliate clubs each hold their own Field Day demonstration, setting up a completely free-standing ham radio operating station in a field or a public place to demonstrate Amateur Radio's resiliance under emergency conditions such as a natural disaster. The stations vie to see who can make the most contacts and do the best job informing the public about Amateur Radio and its contributions to the public good.
July 24th - 5K Walk/Run for Dyslexic Children - NARL and New Britain CERT will be providing radio communications for this Scottish Rites event. Starts at the Scottish Rites temple, behind the Laz-E-Boy showroom on the Berlin Turnpike. Contact Armando Landrian, KB1PRP, to volunteer.
Local Nets of interest to BEARS
BEARS Traffic Net - Sun thru Fri, 9:15 PM on the 145.110 - PL77, all checkins welcome, with or without traffic. Net Manager, Rusty Hack NM1K
Manchester Emcomm net, Tues & Thurs at 7pm. 145.330 repeater. Net Manager, Ray Gagnon, KB1JJX
Vernon Emcomm net, Tues. at 7PM, 145.110 - PL77. Net Manager, Richard Phelps, K1SW
ARES Region 3 net, Monday 8pm, 147.345. Net Manager, Richard Claing, W1RGC. For all hams in and of the 41 towns in Region 3. NOTE: net may use EDH or other alternate repeaters.
Skywarn Weather Net, 9pm Thursdays, various repeaters
NARL INFO net, Thursdays at 7:30 pm on 145.450. Net Manager Steve Ewald, WV1X
Nutmeg VHF NTS Traffic net, weeknights 9:30PM, ICRC's 146.880 repeater with PL of 77. Net Manager, K1HEJ
Explanation: All frequencies are in Megaherz. A + or - sign indicates a 600KHz repeater offset for 2 meter repeaters. You should listen on the listed frequency, but shift up or down as indicated when transmitting. PL refers to Motorola's "Private Line," which in other brands of radios are designated as "Tone" or "CTCSS" or "Tone Encode/Decode".
The "BEARS of Manchester, Inc." amateur radio club meets monthly in Manchester, Connecticut, USA.
Feb 13 - Algonquin Amateur Radio Club Ham Fest - Marlborough, MA. Marlborough Intermediate Elementary School, Thresher Dr off Union St or SR85. 9am - 1 pm, admission $5.00.