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Police Amateur Radio Team
of Westford, Massachusetts
An ARRL Special Service Club
WB1GOF

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Welcome to PART of Westford, an ARRL Special Service Amateur Radio club serving Eastern Massachusetts! We have monthly meetings, breakfasts, kit-building sessions, and many operating and social events throughout the year, and we welcome everyone with an interest in Amateur Radio, whether licensed or not.

Our diverse membership has interests ranging from public service support and community outreach, to radio contesting, equipment construction, radio fox hunting, and more. In fact, it is the diversity of our interests that has kept the club strong and vibrant throughout its 45+ year run.

If you have an interest in ham radio but don't know how to get started, please join us at one of our club meetings, either in person, or online.
To get on the invitation list for our meetings, including a link for the video-conference, just join our email group (instructions at the bottom of this page).

It's easy to become a PART member. Just scroll to the bottom of this page to the "Join PART" section and fill out an application.

Click on the menu tabs at the top of this page to learn more about us.


  Club News

  • General information for PART members, including descriptions and availability of loaner gear, can now be found on the "Member Assistance" tab.
  • Congratulations to PART members who upgraded their licenses or got a new license at the Northeast HamXposition in August! Our upgrades are: Sue, WB2OSY, and Gary, WA1MCR, to Amateur Extra Class. Our new Technician licensees are: Kevin, KC1TJD, and Ginny, KC1TJE. Well done to all!
  • Congratulations to PART member Mikayla Wagner, N1BKR, for receiving the Dayton Amateur Radio Association scholarship, awarded through the ARRL Foundation.
  • The Field Day wrap-up slides from the July 18 meeting are posted in the Activities tab in the PART Field Day Results section.
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New England Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, visited the PART Field Day site on Saturday, June 24, and met with several club members.
  • PART set several club records in Field Day this year, with over 1,800 contacts and the longest DX in its Field Day History (Australia!). Almost 60 club members and friends participated. We'll have full details at the July 18 meeting, along with awards.

  • The following radiogram was sent to PART:

KUDOS TO YOU AND OTHER
DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS WHO ASSISTED WITH
COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE APPLE BLOSSOM
PARADE IN WESTFORD MAY 13
X 73
BT

PHIL TEMPLES
ARRL VICE DIRECTOR
NEW ENGLAND DIVISION

  • Compliance with FCC RF exposure rules will become mandatory on May 3, 2023. It takes very little effort to evaluate your station; you can use the ARRL's RF Exposure Calculator for every frequency band, antennas, and the maximum power level to obtain a complete environmental analysis. See May 2023 QST, page 64, for more information.

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PART member Bob, W1IS, has been interviewed on the QSO Today podcast for March 4, 2023. You can read the show notes and listen to the podcast here. QSO Today has interviewed three other PART members as well; click on the links to listen: Scott, NE1RD, Fred, AB1OC, and George, K1IG.
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PART member Andy, KB1OIQ, has made a Hackaday video presentation about "Andy's Ham Radio Linux," a distro for Linux users that provides all the Linux software you need for a complete ham station. You can view it here.
  • The Introduction presentation given by Eastern Massachusetts Section Manager Jon, N1ILZ, at the February 21 PART meeting is posted in the Club Presentations tab.

  • The Repeaters tab now shows a map of WB1GOF repeater coverage around New England.

  • Congratulations to PART member Niece, KA1ULN, on achieving a 35 word per minute (WPM) Certificate of Code Proficiency at the November 2022 ARRL code proficiency test! These tests are given several times a month from W1AW, and range from 10 to 40 WPM. A little practice and you can get one too! See QST for details.

  • PART has been awarded a grant of $22,000 by the ARRL Foundation for incorporation of amateur radio functionality into the Minecraft online game. Congratulations to Lucas, W1BTR, for leading this effort! Learn more about this project by visiting the Minecraft page on this site.

  Club Meetings

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Weekly Two Meter Net
Every Sunday 8 PM
146.955 (-) pl 74.4
Echolink: WB1GOF-R
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Monthly Club Meeting
Third Tuesday 7:30 PM
Cameron Senior Center
20 Pleasant Street
Westford, MA
Monthly club meetings are conducted in-person at the Cameron Senior Center, and online via the Webex video conferencing system. A link for joining the meeting is sent to everyone on our email list a few days before the meeting. Join the list and attend a meeting no matter where you live!
Next Meeting:

Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Topic: To be announced.
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Monthly Club Breakfast
First Saturday 8 AM
Paul's Diner
6 Carlisle Road
Westford, MA
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Weekly Club Breakfast
Every Wednesday 8 AM
Four Sisters Owl Diner
244 Appleton Street
Lowell, MA

WB1GOF Repeater Status

There are three WB1GOF repeaters: a 2 meter analog repeater, and two D-Star repeaters. For full info on repeater frequencies, access, new antennas, and coverage, click here.


All repeaters are operational

Echolink is operational

Join the WB1GOF D-Star users group
here.

Join the WB1GOF DMR users group
here.

Please send signal reports to
repeater@wb1gof.org

Heavy Weather and Emergencies

During periods of heavy weather (snowstorms, blizzards, hurricanes) and public emergencies, monitor the WB1GOF 2 meter analog repeater (146.955 -, pl 74.4) for information.

All hams are encouraged to get SKYWARN training. For information on SKYWARN and SKYWARN training, click
here.

  Upcoming Events

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NEAR-Fest
NEAR-FestXXXIV will be held on October 13-14, 2023, in Deerfield, NH. This semi-annual event is run by and for all radio hobbyists and enthusiasts. Full details are on the NEAR-Fest website.
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ARRL Volunteers on the Air Operating (VOTA) Event
During 2023 ARRL is sponsoring the Volunteers on the Air operating event. Similar to the ARRL Centennial event of 2014, you can get points for making QSOs with ARRL volunteers, including ARRL and division staffs, Volunteer Examiners, Diamond Club members and other ARRL members. Every week, there will be ARRL portable stations operating from a different state or US territory, so you've got many opportunities to work all states.

Details on the event can be found on the ARRL VOTA website
here. The Volunteer Point Table is here, and the state activation table is here.

  Online License Training & Testing

The ARRL Learning Center on YouTube now offers online training for the Technician class license. This series of videos features Dave Casler, KE0OG, QST’s “Ask Dave” columnist, who leads viewers through The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual. These videos supplement the manual and provide an overview of the sections you’ll be studying, along with a few videos on how things work. The Technician training videos are available here.

Several organizations now offer online testing for Amateur Radio license exams. Click on the links to these websites for details:

  Join PART

Would you like to become a member of PART? You can fill out the application and mail it to: PART of Westford, PO Box 503, Westford, MA 01886, or you can join at any PART club meeting.

Annual Dues
  • Full member: $25.00
  • Family membership: $30.00
  • Full-time Student member under 25: Free
  • Senior member (over 64): $15.00.
  • Associate member (non-Hams only): $10.00
  • First year free for anyone first licensed less than a year prior to joining!

  Subscribe to PART Email

PART uses Groups.io for club email and notifications. Groups.io gives us a lot of capability to manage email to members, and additionally provides space for files, photos, and even a wiki. Signing up and using the system is easy; go here and request to join. Be sure to put your call sign on the request to join.

  ARRL Membership & Renewal

Does your ARRL membership expire in the next three months, or are you interested in joining ARRL (The National Association for Amateur Radio) and getting all the benefits? If so, fill out this application and bring it to the next PART meeting along with your ARRL dues payment. Joining ARRL or renewing ARRL membership through PART helps support our club.

  PART Supports These Organizations

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Westford Food Panty
The Westford Food Pantry provides services for individuals and families in the local community and surrounding towns with emergency, short and long-term needs for quality fresh and dry foods along with personal care and household items. You can donate food at five drop-box locations in Westford and at the Food Pantry itself. For a location list, go here.
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Do you want to get an Amateur Radio license and participate in the world's greatest hobby? The American Radio Relay League licensing website is the place to start (click here), then come to a PART club meeting to get more information!
PART of Westford
PO BOX 503
Westford, MA 01886

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