The next WECT Executive Board meeting will be held on December 1st at 7:00 PM in Meeting Room A at 50 Skyline Drive. As per normal, we will be discussing a variety of business involving the team in general.

Our next General Meeting will be held on Saturday December 13th at 10:00 AM in Meeting Room B at 50 Skyline Drive. The purpose of this meeting will be a work party to organize and prepare the radio room for the winter. Please RSVP with President Ben Holmes NB1H so we know that we have the correct amount of people for this work party.

We are looking for about 12 amateur radio operators to assist with the Sutton Chain of Lights on Saturday December 6 from 9 AM to 5 PM. Amateur radio has been supporting this event for years, and it's one of the more fun, low key public service events in the Central MA region. It is highly recommended for any amateur radio operator but especially those with little or no prior public service experience due to its low key nature.
Amateur radio volunteers will need an 440 MHz HT or mobile rig that has DCS/DPL capabilities and enough battery power to last the entire event. An antenna that is external to the trolley is highly recommended, but please note that the trolleys are made primarily of fiberglass, so magnet mount antennas will not work as designed. Duct tape or clamps are usually used to complete the setup. Also, it is suggested to dress in layers as they may be placed in a variety of temperatures throughout the day. Usually a bag lunch and drink is provided, or operators may find something to purchase to eat or drink at a stop, as well as potentially do some holiday shopping.

If you are interested in participating or have questions about this event, contact @. Also more info at:
http://www.suttonma.org/Pages/SuttonMA_Cable/ChainofLights/lights2014

The Worcester Area VE Team will be holding an amateur radio test session for all license classes at Kaven Hall, Room 115, Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 6:30 PM. The session is open to the general public.

If you have never registered with the FCC's ULS system and received a FRN number, please read the notice in the Read More link below.

We will try to provide a talk-in on the 145.310 / 449.025 W1WPI repeater. It is recommended that if you are not familiar with the WPI campus that you print out and bring with you the campus map.

Please bring:

• AN ORIGINAL AND A PHOTOCOPY of your current license and any CSCEs or other paperwork you are submitting
  
• A basic calculator
  
• Two forms of state acceptable ID (one must be a picture ID)
  
• $15 exam fee (if check, payable to "ARRL VEC")
  
• Pen or pencil

The photocopies of your paperwork are very important as we must submit a copy of your records to the ARRL VEC if you are successful.

Any questions regarding this session can be directed to @.

NOTICE ABOUT PRIVACY CONCERNS - FCC REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

Some amateurs have been concerned over the FCC's requirement for your Social Security Number (SSN). The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-134, requires all federal agencies to collect Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) from all persons doing business with the agency. This includes all applicants and holders of FCC licenses. For an individual, your TIN is your SSN.

It is suggested that all applicants register in the FCC's Universal Licensing System to obtain an FCC Registration Number (FRN) prior to attending a VE session. When you register for an FRN, your SSN will not be disclosed to the public and it must be given only once. You may then use your FRN in place of your SSN on all future applications, including the Form 605 you will complete at the VE session. The Commission has taken several steps to ensure the privacy of your SSN. Electronic registration on the Internet is accomplished using the FCC's secure Web server.

To register for an FRN, go to http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls and click on REGISTER. Once you obtain your FRN, write it down and bring it with you to the VE session. Be sure to keep a record of your FRN and password for future use. If you do not register before the VE session, you will be required to provide your SSN on Form 605 at the VE session in order for your application to be processed.

Hi Folks,

We're looking for about twelve to fifteen hams to provide communications assistance for the Run Around Hopkinton relay race in Hopkinton on Sunday, October 5th. It occurs from 8:30 am to about noon. It will be held in and around Hopkinton State Park. Assignments are mostly checkpoints along the course as well as a couple shadows and possibly a support vehicle.

If you are interested, please send e-mail us and let us know if you have UHF equipment with DCS / DPL. Thanks!

Thanks,
Matt, NM1B

The Worcester Area VE Team will be holding an amateur radio test session for all license classes at Kaven Hall, Room 115, Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Thursday, October 2, 2014 at 6:30 PM. Normally the exam session is the third Thursday of January, April, July and October but WPIWA has requested this session a couple weeks early. The session is open to the general public.

If you have never registered with the FCC's ULS system and received a FRN number, please read the notice in the Read More link below.

We will try to provide a talk-in on the 145.310 / 449.025 W1WPI repeater. It is recommended that if you are not familiar with the WPI campus that you print out and bring with you the campus map.

Please bring:

• AN ORIGINAL AND A PHOTOCOPY of your current license and any CSCEs or other paperwork you are submitting
  
• A basic calculator
  
• Two forms of state acceptable ID (one must be a picture ID)
  
• $15 exam fee (if check, payable to "ARRL VEC")
  
• Pen or pencil

The photocopies of your paperwork are very important as we must submit a copy of your records to the ARRL VEC if you are successful.

Any questions regarding this session can be directed to Matt Brennan NM1B or John Ruggiero N2YHK.

NOTICE ABOUT PRIVACY CONCERNS - FCC REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

Some amateurs have been concerned over the FCC's requirement for your Social Security Number (SSN). The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-134, requires all federal agencies to collect Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) from all persons doing business with the agency. This includes all applicants and holders of FCC licenses. For an individual, your TIN is your SSN.

It is suggested that all applicants register in the FCC's Universal Licensing System to obtain an FCC Registration Number (FRN) prior to attending a VE session. When you register for an FRN, your SSN will not be disclosed to the public and it must be given only once. You may then use your FRN in place of your SSN on all future applications, including the Form 605 you will complete at the VE session. The Commission has taken several steps to ensure the privacy of your SSN. Electronic registration on the Internet is accomplished using the FCC's secure Web server.

To register for an FRN, go to http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls and click on REGISTER. Once you obtain your FRN, write it down and bring it with you to the VE session. Be sure to keep a record of your FRN and password for future use. If you do not register before the VE session, you will be required to provide your SSN on Form 605 at the VE session in order for your application to be processed.

Fellow Members,

I find myself in need of a few extra amateur radio operators. I'm involved with a regional Emergency Planning Committee called Tri-EPIC. We are having a "Show and Tell" on next Saturday (9/13). It will be combined with the Cops and Kids car show at Southbridge Municipal Airport.

Surrounding towns will be bringing their apparatus (trucks, trailers,etc), MEMA should be there as well. Being the communications aspect, they would like a operational radio set up showing how ham radio complements emergency operations.

I don't really have much to show off. I only have 2m equipment, which I'd be glad to set up. If you are available and have a hf radio, I think that would be a much better presentation. I'm not sure where we will be in the airport yet, so I'm not sure on power or trees. There is a meeting Tuesday morning if anyone willing to help out would like to attend. If I get some hands, we can do it kind of like a field day.

Please contact me if you would like to assist in this effort.

Alan R. Jeskey, KB1PWR

Hello Team,

We're looking for 12-15 volunteers to help with communications for a bicycle ride in Wayland on Sunday, September 28th. Some stations will need to be in place as early as 6:30 AM, with the last stations securing around 4:00 PM.

More information about the event is available on the event website.

If you're interested, please send me an email and what equipment you have available. VHF or UHF handhelds will work, some stations with mobile rigs will be helpful.

Thanks,
Rob KC2EMA

CT ARES Region 2 has invited multiple amateur radio emergency communications groups from the area to work with them in providing amateur radio support for this year's "Jamboree On The Air" activities at BSA Camp Pomperaug in Union, CT. Over 300 Boy Scouts will be attending the event in CT, which simulates a hurricane scenario. Our team will be involved with supporting this event.

Events involving amateur radio will include antenna building, search and rescue using transmitter hunting techniques, and the setup, demonstration and instruction of amateur radio stations running under the K2BSA call sign. The event will require 8 amateur radio stations which will each need to be supervised and supported by licensed amatuer radio operators as each will have groups of 5 scouts cycle through them every hour.

Beyond amateur radio events, the Scouts will be learning about shelter building, first aid, damage survey and map reading, fingerprinting, potable water and other such skills required during a large scale emergency or disaster event.

Although this is a multiple day event for the Scouts, amateur radio activities will be featured on Saturday, October 18, 2014 from 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM. There will be setup periods available late day Friday as well as early Saturday before event start. The camp is located just south of the CT/MA state line off of Route 84 at 1174 Buckley Highway, Union, CT 06076.

From our point of view, it will be similar to Field Day in that multiple stations will be deployed in a short amount of time to support a simulated emergency event. However, there are some differences in that instead of the primary focus being on operations, our primary focus here would be on mentoring, support and teaching the Scouts as they operate the bands. Additionally, our normal Field Day setup has been at the Radio Room for a very long time now so this is a chance to sharpen our field deployment skills once again.

Please contact President Ben Holmes NB1H for more information or to sign up for this event. Include whether you can provide radios, emergency power or related equipment for the event or transportation to the event for others.

More information can be found on the CT ARES Region 2 website. It is also suggested that amateur radio operators review the BSA's Guidelines for Amateur Radio Operators at JOTA.