PART in the News
This page has news articles or links to published articles about PART and PART members.
Links to Articles
Ham-Owned Company Helps Improve Ventilator Flexibility, CQ Newsroom, June 12, 2020. PART member Bob, W1IS, and his son Scott, K1SRG, provided 50 battery eliminators for hospital ventilators.
Ham Radio: A hobby still alive and thriving, Boston University News Service, January 22, 2020. PART member Alan, K1ALL, is highlighted
Westford ham radio club 'ready when all else fails,' Westford Wicked Local, June 30, 2015. PART's Field Day 2015.
Ham Radio: the original social network, Lowell Sun, April 16, 2013. Andy, KB1OIQ, talks about ham radio.
Ham Radio: A hobby still alive and thriving, Boston University News Service, January 22, 2020. PART member Alan, K1ALL, is highlighted
Westford ham radio club 'ready when all else fails,' Westford Wicked Local, June 30, 2015. PART's Field Day 2015.
Ham Radio: the original social network, Lowell Sun, April 16, 2013. Andy, KB1OIQ, talks about ham radio.
Full Articles
This article was published in The Nor’easter, the house newsletter of the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), in Tewksbury, MA. Congratulations to John, WB1HBE!
Continuous Wave, Continuous Learning
by: Jillian Stronk, General Engineer
We see each other around the office, but what is there to talk about besides work? It turns out the answer is quite a bit. Our fellow DCMA employees probably have an interesting hobby or two about which we can ask. Take John Forrest for example. Some of us have heard him talking about how much he enjoys communicating with CW (aka Morse code) all around the world, using very low power. CW stands for continuous wave. John participates in the FISTS club (www.fists.org) promoting accuracy over speed, when using CW. As a member of the Westford Police Amateur Radio Team (PART) (www.wb1gof.org), John participates in local community service events such as the Apple Blossom Parade and Pumpkin Patrol using ham (voice) radio to help the organizers.
It is likely that most people don’t know John as a Ham. “Ham” in this case means an amateur radio operator. John’s radio interest started with a crystal radio kit that his parents gave him at age 8. This crystal radio was the seed for building small radios (www.newenglandqrp.org) and led to a lifelong interest in radio communication, mainly using CW skills. Although his high school friends had “serious” ham stations—no small feat considering 19 inch wide by ceiling high size racks of the necessary equipment at the time—John didn’t become truly interested until working as an engineer at Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. It was here that John, inspired by his boss, began to study for his Novice exam, which upon passing earned him the call sign WB1HBE. From this point on John has seized opportunities to build small CW radios or “melt solder” quietly at his workbench; and, although he sometimes works on his own, John’s membership in PART provides opportunities to improve and test skills.
Each June PART participates in an Emergency Radio Field Day where they test their emergency preparedness abilities (including auxiliary power planning, operator endurance and shift planning) without the use of commercial power. Here they use Continuous Wave, Voice, and other digital modes of communication (such as RTTY, PSK31, etc.). Amateur radio may seem like a pretty niche hobby, but Hams are very active in the community. PART members conduct a weekly emergency net, testing equipment and skills to be prepared as a community resource in the event of an actual emergency. If you or someone you know would like to get involved with Ham radio, check out the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) (www.arrl.org), or get in touch with John. The beauty of ham radio is that when we must keep a social distance, we can still be social around the world. As John says, “The best part of the hobby is the many wonderful people I have met over the years and the help we have given to the community”.
by: Jillian Stronk, General Engineer
We see each other around the office, but what is there to talk about besides work? It turns out the answer is quite a bit. Our fellow DCMA employees probably have an interesting hobby or two about which we can ask. Take John Forrest for example. Some of us have heard him talking about how much he enjoys communicating with CW (aka Morse code) all around the world, using very low power. CW stands for continuous wave. John participates in the FISTS club (www.fists.org) promoting accuracy over speed, when using CW. As a member of the Westford Police Amateur Radio Team (PART) (www.wb1gof.org), John participates in local community service events such as the Apple Blossom Parade and Pumpkin Patrol using ham (voice) radio to help the organizers.
It is likely that most people don’t know John as a Ham. “Ham” in this case means an amateur radio operator. John’s radio interest started with a crystal radio kit that his parents gave him at age 8. This crystal radio was the seed for building small radios (www.newenglandqrp.org) and led to a lifelong interest in radio communication, mainly using CW skills. Although his high school friends had “serious” ham stations—no small feat considering 19 inch wide by ceiling high size racks of the necessary equipment at the time—John didn’t become truly interested until working as an engineer at Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. It was here that John, inspired by his boss, began to study for his Novice exam, which upon passing earned him the call sign WB1HBE. From this point on John has seized opportunities to build small CW radios or “melt solder” quietly at his workbench; and, although he sometimes works on his own, John’s membership in PART provides opportunities to improve and test skills.
Each June PART participates in an Emergency Radio Field Day where they test their emergency preparedness abilities (including auxiliary power planning, operator endurance and shift planning) without the use of commercial power. Here they use Continuous Wave, Voice, and other digital modes of communication (such as RTTY, PSK31, etc.). Amateur radio may seem like a pretty niche hobby, but Hams are very active in the community. PART members conduct a weekly emergency net, testing equipment and skills to be prepared as a community resource in the event of an actual emergency. If you or someone you know would like to get involved with Ham radio, check out the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) (www.arrl.org), or get in touch with John. The beauty of ham radio is that when we must keep a social distance, we can still be social around the world. As John says, “The best part of the hobby is the many wonderful people I have met over the years and the help we have given to the community”.
