The next WECA meeting will be on Tuesday, May 13th

The next WECA member meeting will be on Tuesday, May 13, 2008  at the Westchester County Center located at 198 Central Avenue in White Plains, NY. This month's presenter will be Bob Wilson / N2DVQ who will talk about a recent DXpedition. Bob, Adam Epstein / N2DHH, Mike Mardit / WA2VQW and Bob Schaps / WB2NVR went down to St. Barthelemy (St. Bart's) at beginning of April as TO5RZ and created about 11,000 contacts in less than a week! . The meeting (may even have some pictures of four tired contesters) will begin at 7:00 pm and Bob's discussion will start at 7:30.

The latest WECAgram is now online - click here to download

Upcoming Meeting Dates:

Monday, June 9, 2008 - Field Day preparations and elections
Monday, September 8, 2008 - TBA

Less than 50 days to Field Day 2008 !

Would you like to help out with Field Day 2008?

Please help with Field Day 2008 preparations this year by contacting Rich / KC2HZW. Rich and his committee will need help with planning and setup / takedown. Please send Rich email to fieldday2008 at weca.org.

Notes from the Field day meetings:
April 26, 2008 - click here to read the notes
May 10, 2008  - click here to read the notes
 

Con Edison to deploy remote "R.F." meter readers in NY

If you live in Westchester and use Con Edison as a provider for electricity or natural gas, expect a letter in the mail shortly indicating that older meter installations are going to be upgraded so that meters can be read without requiring entry to a private house. The "remote" units will be transmitters that operate on 910.920 MHz and radiate 3/4 of a milliwatt - once a month.

Would you like to help out with the Irvington HS Radiosonde Balloon with APRS aboard Project? This would be an interesting project involving amateur radio gear that Hams could help offer their knowledge to the members of the Irvington High School Science Club. If you are interested in this project, please send email to the Balloon at weca.org. A general distribution email was sent out in early December seeking members to help out with great this technical project.

Field Day 2007 scores are in - we scored 5,710 points!
In the December 2007 issue of QST magazine the Field Day 2007 results have been published and WECA scored 5,710 points putting us in 15th place out of 125 plus clubs in the "4A" class. Congratulations to the participants and those who helped bring the event together!

We hope you enjoyed Field Day 2007 - WECA style!

WECA's Field Day 2007 was held on Saturday, June 23rd & Sunday June 24th at Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck, NY. This year we setup at the beach pavilion structure located along the south-eastern part of the park. Setup began at 9am on Saturday, radio operations began at 2pm and went go through the night and finished up at 2pm on Sunday. Many hands were needed to setup on Saturday and to pack up on Sunday - we finished at about 3pm - a new record!

This year WECA we had four transmitters (4A) on HF along, a VHF 6 meter station along with a GOTA station (to introduce people to the many facets of Ham Radio). There was  many types of antennas used - beams, dipoles, verticals, long wires, etc. and of course many types of radios and some experimental gear as well. We also had a continuous demonstration of APRS as well.

Our claimed score submitted to the ARRL was 4,780 points - nice job!

If you have any questions, suggestions, compliments or complaints about the event, please let Rich Kautz / KC2HZW or Jim Faukner / N2WQG know your opinion by sending email to fd2007@weca.org.

FD 2007 Pictures from Bob / N2DVQ can be viewed by clicking here.

Do you have any pictures of Field Day 2007 that you would like to share? Please send email to fd2007@weca.org.

Please welcome our 2007 - 2008 Officers & Directors:

At the June 2007 meeting, the following Officers & Directors were elected into office.

President - Russ Stevenson / N2AMP
Executive Vice President - Open
Vice President / General Counsel - Michael Weitzner / N2EJI
Treasurer - Andy Farber / N4OOX
Secretary - Milton Galamison / KC2GWK
Director at Large - Stan Rothman / WA2NRV
Engineering Director - Bob Wilson / N2DVQ
Newsletter Editor - James Lyles / AB2WS
Repeater Operations Director - Dwight Smith / N2FMC
Social Activities Director - Richard Kautz / KC2HZW
Education Director - Ed Granato / WA2JXI
Digital Modes - Rich Benda / WB2QJA
Emergency Services - Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC
Membership - Ron Devenuti / N2TJE
Publicity - Ann Rodier / KC2MFF
Public Service - Robert Kantor / N2TSE

Directors and honorariums appointed by the board

Trustee - Russ Stevenson / N2AMP
County Liaison - Michael Volk / KC2MFA
President Emeritus - Lyle Anderson / K2LCA
Information Technology / Webmaster - Peter Johnson / N2TFC

If you have any questions for the Officers & Directors, please email them with your questions by sending email to their callsign @weca.org email address.

The WECAgram Newsletter is always online

WECA's monthly newsletter about Ham Radio events, projects and its local members in the greater Westchester County, NY area located about 20 miles north of New York City.  Please welcome our "New" WECAgram Editor volunteer - James Lyles / AB2WS.

Do you have something for the WECAgram ? Please send your article by the 20th of each month to The WECAgram Editor.

Past and present issues of The WECAgram the latest issue is Fall 2007
 

Looking for special Ham Radio related websites?

WECA member Dwight Smith / N2FMC has found a bunch of web sites containing ham radio related information. Please click here for a list of "Dwight's Sites". If you have any technical or Ham Radio related sites and would like to share these sites with others, please send email to sites@weca.org.

New Amateur rules & regulations changes to take effect

FCC Modifies Amateur Radio Service Rules, eliminating Morse Code Exam Requirements and Addressing the ARRL Petition for Reconsideration. Read about the changes by clicking here.

2008 meetings , lists, dates and calendars are online!

Please click here for the 2008 WECA meeting list

Please click here for the 2008 Ham Radio testing dates

Please click here for the 2008 Public Service event calendar

Santa visited Blythedale Children's Hospital (on 147.06)!

Last year, Santa and the "elves" from WECA visited The Blythdale Children's Hospital on Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Santa's helpers visited the children at the Blythedale Children's Hospital and Santa talked to them via ham radio on 147.060 ! Plenty of ham radio volunteers were onsite to hand out gifts, unpack the presents, install batteries and help the patients communicate with Santa over the repeater. The event began at 6:00 pm and finished at about 8:00 pm. Again, thank you for all of your contributions that made this heart warming event happen for all these years!

If you can participate in these types of events or would like more information, please contact Robert Kantor, N2TSE, at 914-949-4231.

What to do with your ORANGE Ham Radio hat !

For the 600 or so Hams that help out at The Marathon each year, the ORANGE hat is a small token of appreciation for all the hard work expelled. At many WECA meetings the ORANGE hat is sometimes used as a door prize, others proudly wear the hat at Public Service Events.

During a recent snowstorm, another use was discovered for the hat. No microphone or key was found when this guy melted down!

    Photo by Kristen Johnson - 12/09/05

Thank you to WECA volunteers from Multiple Sclerosis

The Multiple Sclerosis T-Z Bike tour held on Sunday Oct 1, 2007 had eight WECA members and one non-member help with communications. they are N2TJE, N2FMC, N2TSE,KC2PDJ,KC2MPF,KC2ESU,KC2NXM, WB2NHC and KA2FIQ. Thanks to all of these Hams who worked so hard under some trying times loaded with bad weather. A comment from one executive with MS was, "How did we do this event without you guys last year?"  - Rob  / N2TSE

Want to know what Amateur Radio is all about?

Click here to listen a 30 second message about "Ham Radio". Listen to a public announcement about the way "Hams" helped the survivors of hurricane Katrina by clicking here. Want to see and hear what Ham Radio is all about, click here for a 30 second video!

Click here for a brochure about the Ham Radio hobby.

 Please visit www.hello-radio.com

Not getting WECA member email announcements ?

If you would like to receive WECA email, please click here.

Found - old WECAGRAMS!

Nick / K2ZVI found some old WECAGRAMS while cleaning one day to share with the newer members. Please click on any date below to view these found treasures!

February 1980                August 1981                  September 1987              January 1988

If you have some old WECAgrams that could be "PDF" scanned, please send email to Peter / N2TFC - webmaster@weca.org.

WB2NHC - Tom Raffaelli awarded 2005 Ham of the year!

Tom was first licensed in 1964. His interests then, as now, were in experimenting and building radio devices. Tom married Jeanne Fyfe in 1966. They moved into a three room apartment in the Bronx. Due to space limitations Tom operated exclusively on the VHF and UHF bands. In 1970, with two children in tow, Tom and Jeanne moved to a home in Thornwood New York. Beam antennas, verticals and wire dipoles soon sprang up on the roof and in the yard. In 1979 Tom joined the New Rochelle Communications Club and soon after that the Westchester Emergency Communications Association (WECA). He was elected Vice President of WECA in 1985 and President in 1987, and served for seven years. WECA doubled its membership under Tom's leadership, strengthened its affiliation with Westchester County's Office of Disaster and Emergency Services and initiated an affiliation with the Westchester chapter of the American Red Cross. He expanded the club's  Field Day event and grew WECAFEST, the club's hamfest event into a major "must attend" event. Tom is now Director of Emergency Services.

Tom served as President of TSARC for several years and resolved several long standing coordination disputes and established a coordination waiting list for all bands. Tom taught many Amateur Radio license classes over the years bringing more than 50 people into the hobby. Tom began volunteering at the New York City Marathon in the mid eighties and is currently the ham radio supervisor at the Family Reunion area.

Tom was instrumental in establishing extremely strong relationships between WECA and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services and the American Red Cross. Both of these organizations are providing funding and support for maintenance of WECA's communications vehicles and equipment as well as providing meeting space and training facilities. Tom recently retired from the County of Westchester as its Director of Radio Systems. Tom continues to build on the strong ties between RACES, WECA and the county government while helping to bring state of  art communications facilities to the county's public safety departments.

Amateur of the Year Award Sponsored jointly by:
 The Peconic Amateur Radio Club
and
 Westchester Emergency Communications Association - WECA

As printed in the Hudson Division Awards Diner pamphlet from November 12, 2005

Again, WECA helped "run" the 2007 ING New York City Marathon!

About 25 WECA members helped "run" The 2007 New York City Marathon as communication volunteers  that was held on Sunday, November 4, 2007.

WECA members covered assignments including "The Family Reunion area", "Mile Captains", "finish line area", countless "Shadows" for the NYC Road Runners Club officials and many other key positions as communicators using Ham Radio,  net control protocol procedures as well as "hi-tech" systems including APRS and WIFI.

Please visit the following links for pictures of previous  NYC marathons as photographed by WECA members.

Photos from K2LCA, please click here.

Photos from WK6R, please click here

Information about the 2007 NYC Marathon can be found here

Think you know it all about Ham Radio - try a crossword puzzle !

Click here and try out your knowledge and luck about Ham Radio.

Here is what the Journal News said about the WECA Field Day event:

Amateurs ham it up

By MARCELA ROJAS
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: June 27, 2005)
At 11 a.m. yesterday, the sun was positioned just right for contact with Florida. With headphones on, 12-year-old Taylor Wilson, maneuvered the radio dial for the correct frequency to ham it up. "Alpha Echo 2 Fox Trot," he repeated into his headset with vigor. A few crackled voices from north Florida responded. "The frequency depends on the time of day. Right now it's favoring the south," said his father, Bob Wilson (N2DVQ), of Yorktown. "The atmosphere is like a mirror. "Later, Taylor grew frustrated as he tried to extend his reach and get the attention of an operator from the Virgin Islands. With some patience, a connection was made with a clear sound from the Caribbean. "This is so much fun," said Taylor. "Now that school's out, it's a great way to meet people. "The boisterous pre-teen was among 60 members of the Westchester Emergency Communication Association who participated in Field Day yesterday, an annual event during which amateur radio operators test their ability to establish and sustain long distance radio communications in the event of an emergency. At Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck, five 50-foot-high antennas were positioned around the field and five stations were set up for the 24-hour experiment that started at 2 p.m. Saturday. "Our objective is to set up quickly and log contacts," said Lyle Anderson (K2LCA) of Chappaqua, the association's president. "And to see if our procedures work. "More than 3,000 stations nationwide participate in Field Day, which is hosted by the American Radio Relay League. By midday yesterday, the Westchester club had contacted about 1,300 and expected to reach 1,800 by day's end, Anderson said. In the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster, when telephone and/or computer services are lost, emergency officials and relief agencies utilize local amateur radio operators, or hams, for communication. During the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and 2003's blackout, the Westchester Emergency Communications Association helped officials stay in contact throughout the region, Anderson said. "People do this for a hobby," Anderson said. "But we do it as a public service. "There are 260 amateur radio operators in the volunteer group. Field Day also offered some friendly competition, in which each radio operator received a point for each contact made. Last year, the association came in sixth in their class. They expected to do better than that this time, Anderson said. Results are expected in two weeks. "The contest is just for fun," said Anderson. "What we are really trying to do here is train people. When you are stressed, tired and you have five people trying to contact you, you have to be cool and know what to do."

Who said Morse code was dead and slow ?

On the May 13, 2006 "Jay Leno Show" a contest between very modern technology using "Instant Messaging" on a cell phone and good old fashioned "170 year old" technology using Morse code was run.

Guess who won ? Click here to find out !

Don't know what Ham Radio is ?

The Ham Radio hobby has made it ! Well, now there is a "Ham Radio for Dummies" book on the market. Check this
 out by clicking here ! Available in many book stores like Borders, Barnes & Noble and the ARRL for $21.99 or less.

Interested in APRS, or want to know about this part of the hobby?

Please visit these sites:  What is APRS, Maps of NYC, UI-View software, APRS for beginners, Another view of APRS, APRS downloads, UI-View discussion group on Yahoo.

BPL - do you know what it is and that it WILL destroy HF ?

Please visit the ARRL website for more information about this proposal that could DESTROY HF amateur radio operation.
This is a must read article for all ham operators ! Recent RFI tests in Briarcliff reported 20 over 9 readings from 2 MHz to 80 MHz with hash-like sounding noise. Check out this recently released video made in North Carolina - click here.

Please click here to read the complete BPL story on the ARRL site.

Broadband over power line (BPL) has come to Briarcliff, NY !

Club Member Alan Crosswell / N2YGK has complied information about the BPL interference in Briarcliff Manor, NY. Please click on this link for his detailed report - recently updated (May 2007).

So, where were you in '72 ? When WECA was born !

On the first Friday night in early April 1972, five men met in Tarrytown, NY at William T. Knott's (W2QGH-sk) home to form what is now the Westchester Emergency Communications Association (WECA). Thirty one years ago these middle aged "family" men were Ham Radio hobbyists who decided start this club "for the continuation of the Civil Defense Radio network in Westchester County, NY". Meeting minutes from those early gatherings can be read by clicking here. 

WECA thanks John von Sneidern, Jr. / W2QGH for copies of those notes "from the beginning" of WECA and Efrem Acosta / W2CZ for organizing this historic project.

Comments (good/bad)? Please let us know by clicking here.

Public Service Operators Needed !

Please contact Robert Kantor / N2TSE if you would like to participate in the upcoming Public Service events that WECA helps by supplying Ham Radio communicators. Operators are needed for other upcoming events. This is the best possible emergency preparedness training for Ham Radio communicators available, so please send email now and volunteer!

Invitation to Join ENY-ECOM

The Eastern New York Emergency Communications (ENY-ECOM) online discussion group has been around since 1996 and so we're about due for another general invitation announcement since there have been many new ARES/RACES members in the section lately.  Click here for details