Having troubles using the WECA Repeater system?

Sometimes due to band conditions, distance repeaters can be heard on our 2 meter repeater frequency of 147.060 MHz. Once someone in greater Westchester County keys up on the input using a PL of 114.8 Hz, the distant repeater interference subsides. This is normal (especially in the summer) and many times you may hear a Connecticut repeater located in the northeast corner of the state or sometimes a Philadelphia repeater can be heard as well.

But, if you have been having troubles using the repeater system or are hearing interference, please send email to "repeater at weca dot org" detailing the trouble or interference that you are experiencing. Our Repeater and Technical Directors will look into the problem.

WECA helped the ADA Walk in White Plains

WECA members provided communications support for the American Diabetes Walk in White Plains held on Sunday, October 25, 2009. The following Hams participated in this Public Service event:

N2TSE, N2AMP, N2TFC, N2CAV, KD2SQ, K2SQV, KB2LLV, WB2NHC,
WA2NRV, KC2HZW, KC2ESU, KC2UAP and KC2QHQ.

Thanks for all of your help - Robert Kantor / N2TSE

Are you a local Ham near Westchester County, NY and are interested in helping out with Public Service Events? If so, please contact Robert Kantor / N2TSE by sending email to N2TSE at WECA dot org or call 914.949.4231.

Santa to visit Blythedale Children's Hospital (on 147.06)!

Santa and the "elves" from WECA will visit The Blythdale Children's Hospital on December 15, 2009. Please join us for this special event.

Santa's helpers will visit the children at the Blythedale Children's Hospital and Santa will talk to them via ham radio on 147.060 ! Plenty of WECA ham radio volunteers will be onsite to hand out gifts, unpack the presents, install batteries and help the patients communicate with Santa over the 2 meter repeater (147.060). The event will began at 6:00 pm and finish at about 8:00 pm.

For all of those who have contributed to "The Santa Claus Operation at Blythdale - we thank you! Your generosity has put smiles on these children's faces once again for this heart warming event that WECA and its members have made happen for all these years!

If you can participate in these types of events or would like more information, please contact Robert Kantor / N2TSE by sending email to N2TSE at WECA dot org or call 914.949.4231.

Please see the "Press Release" Area of this website - click here for the Blythdale Press Release

Please welcome our 2009 - 2010 Officers & Directors:

At the June 2009 meeting, the following Officers & Directors were elected into office.

President - Russ Stevenson / N2AMP
Executive Vice President - James Cahill / KB1LOY
Vice President / General Counsel - Michael Weitzner / N2EJI
Treasurer - Andy Farber / N4OOX
Secretary - Joe Hayda / KC2TAT
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 - Tom Kirchoff / KD2SQ
Digital Modes - Rich Benda / WB2QJA
Emergency Services - Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC
Membership - Ron Devenuti / N2TJE
Publicity - Will Austen / N2UXJ
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
Webmaster / CIO - 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 dot 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. 

Do you have something for the WECAgram ? Please send your article to The WECAgram Editor by sending email to "newsletter at weca dot org"

Past issues of The WECAgram
 

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 at "weca dot org".

2010 meetings , lists, dates and calendars are online!

Please click here for the 2010 WECA meeting list

Please click here for the 2010 Ham Radio testing dates

Please click here for the 2010 Public Service event calendar

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What to do with your ORANGE Ham Radio hat !

For the 500 or so Hams that help out at The Marathon each year, the ORANGE hat was a small token of appreciation for all the hard work expelled. At many WECA meetings the ORANGE hat was sometimes used as a door prize, others have proudly worn the hat at Public Service Events.

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

    Photo by Kristen Johnson (n2tfc 1st harmonic) - 12/09/05

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

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 at weca dot org

WB2NHC - Tom Raffaelli was awarded 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 to "run" the 2009 ING New York City Marathon!

About 25 WECA members helped "run" The 2009 New York City Marathon as communication volunteers  that was held on Sunday, November 1, 2009.

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, messaging 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 Nov 1, 2009 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 (2005):

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."

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.

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 video made in North Carolina - click here.

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

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 sending email to webmaster at weca dot org.

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 to n2tse at weca dot org and volunteer!