ARRL diamond

Welcome to the ARRL Connecticut Section Web Page



CT map
Here are some links to some important resources


Who's getting it done for you?

Section Manager
Betsey Doane, K1EIC
92 Mohegan Rd
Shelton, CT
(203) 929-7759
k1eic@arrl.org

Assistant Section Manager emeritus
Al Cohen, W1FXQ
42 Jeffrey Ln
Newington, CT 06111-1616
(860) 667-2864
w1fxq@arrl.net

Assistant Section Managers
Jim Ritterbusch, KD1YV
8B Kayview Ave.
Bethel, CT 
06801-1527
(203) 837-0143
kd1yv@arrl.net

Larry Buck, K1HEJ
262 Winthrop St
New Britain, CT 06052-1623
k1hej.buck@gmail.com

Official Observer Coordinator

Chuck Motes K1DFS 
22 Woodside Lane,
Plainville, CT  06062
motesc@southington.org 860-747-6377 (night)

Public Information Coordinator
Dana Borgman, KA1WPM
72 Wetmore Ave
Winsted, CT 06098

Assistant Public Information Coordinator
Albert E Petrunti, KA1TCH
77 White Pine Rd
Torrington, CT 06790-2354
(860) 626-8572
a@petrunti.com

Section Emergency Coordinator

Wayne R Gronlund Phd, N1CLV
11 Monticello Dr
East Lyme, CT 06333-1228
(860) 441-2777,
(860) 739-6384
n1clv@aol.com

State Government Liaison
Michael J Keane, K1MK
360 Cherry Ave
Watertown, CT 06795-2818
(203) 797-5154, (860) 274-9307
k1mk@arrl.net

Section Traffic Manager

Anne M West, K1STM
42 Academy St. Apt. 102
Southington, CT 06489-3259
(860) 628-6454
annejon1@allbraille.com

Technical Coordinator
Joseph P Wonoski, N1KHB
1121 W Lake Ave
Guilford, CT 06437-1350
(203) 457-9770, (203) 785-2998
n1khb@aol.com

Section News 

from Betsey Doane, K1EIC

Section Leadership: K1EIC SM

ASMs W1FXQ – Emeritus; KD1YV, K1HEJ

OOC K1DFS PIC KA1WPM

SEC N1CLV ASECs N1FNE, K1BRF, AF1HS, K1VSC, W1GTT

SGL K1MK STM K1STM TC N1KHB.

This just in. I am deeply saddened to report that George Hart, W1NJM is a silent key. He passed away Sunday at age 99 at Avery Heights. A memorial service is planned late April. George founded The National Traffic System and managed theCommunications Department at ARRL for many years. We’ll share many memories in another letter. May he rest in peace.

I must also report that Emil KB1KMW is a silent key. I remember him so well; he was just licensed right before TopOff and spent his time doing whatever he could to participate at the staging area which was at the Colchester Firehouse. I saw him at other hamfests and at the Region 4 leadership meeting. He will be missed.


It’s holiday time again so let me first wish all of you a happy Easter/Passover season.


The annual Southington Hamfest is just a couple of weeks away. April 7 is the date so come on out and say hello. Place: Southington High School, 720 Pleasant St. 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Reserve tables early—6ft $15 in advance; $20 on the day of the flea market. If you bring your own table, there will be a discount of $5. Those helping you are responsible for the general admission fee. Admission $5. There is no charge for children under 12. Exams for all classes will be given at 10:00. The ARES forum is scheduled which I think is at 11:00. See http://www.chetbacon.com/flea2013.pdf.


The 39th annual Eastern VHF/UHF/Microwave Conference will be held April 26-28 at the Baymont Inn and Suites, 20 Taylor Street, Manchester CT. Advance room rates start at $69.99. The meeting is sponsored by the North East Weak Signal Group (NEWS). The program will include presentations, a banquet, swap ‘n sell, auction, test lab and more. For further info go to http://www.newsvhf.com or contact K1MAP map1@mapinternet.com.

The Members of Region 4 ARES supported the 2013 O”Niantic 5K race in mid March coordinated by ASEC Bill W1GTT.


Tom WA2RYV is holding hands-on mentoring sessions for new hams at Waterford Red Cross. They are going well—between 11 and 15 participants come monthly to learn about procedures on 2 meters, practice message traffic handling, antenna building and more. Tom is having a good time too! Contact tscottwa2ryv@gmail.comfor info.

DEC Douglas WA1SFH gave two digital workshops—one on packet configuration and operation and another on Airmail, RMS Express and Winmore. The more versatile an operator you are, the more fun you’ll have and your ability to respond in an emergency will be greatly enhanced.

In club news, Jon WB2RYV gave a presentation to the Greater Bridgeport ARC on NBEMS and its use in emcomm. March 30 is the date for The Stamford Digital Boot camp which will be attended by members of Stamford and Norwalk clubs.

Roger NG1R gave a talk at CARA on various logging programs. Many present use more than one program so there was a good lively discussion about the various features of each. It was noted that most programs run under Windows but MacLogger runs under Macintosh and Ubuntu Xlog runs under Linux. There is lots of software out there so find the one you like and enjoy the technology. How nice it would have been many years ago when we were all required to log every contact! Anybody remember that?

The Valley Amateur Radio Association enjoyed a great presentation on tower safety presented by Steve W1SMS. He had real interesting pictures of antenna raisings. Since he does a lot of his own antenna work alone, he described some of the tricks he uses to accomplish it all! For those of you who are more recently licensed, putting up antennas is a real art in itself—get out to antenna raising parties and learn the tricks. I’m sure you will have memorable stories to tell because no two such events are alike!

Chuck K0BOG and Steve WV1X gave a presentation at the meeting of NARL on the Amateur Auxiliary program through which official observers are appointed. You can read about this appointment at http://www.arrl.org/official-observer-1If you are interested in this program contact our OOC Chuck K1DFS k1dfs@arrl.net. We especially need official observers in Fairfield County. Ed Hare W1RFI will be giving a presentation at the Newington Amateur Radio League entitled The ARRL Lab: Trials, Tribulations and (tall) Tales at the next meeting on Monday April 1 at 7:00 Newington Senior Center. Ed is a wonderful speaker so if you have the chance, come on out!

I will be speaking at the meeting of the Stamford Amateur Radio Association on Thursday April 4 8:00 PM Stamford Government Center. Members of Greater Norwalk ARC and Fairfield ARA will be attending as well. I will talk about the ARRL Field Organization and related topics.

WECA (Westchester Club) has announced that they are going to hold a General Class training course starting April 16. It will be a nine week course meeting every Tuesday night (except that the 4th class in the series will be Weds 5/7 instead of Tues 5/6). The class meets at the Westchester Fire Training Academy, 4 Dana Avenue in Valhalla, and meets from 7-9pm. WECA has been very successful with their classes. They just finished an Extra Class training session and wound up with seven new extra class hams (including our own W3EIC). If you're interested, please contact Larrie Sutliff, W2UL at W2UL@WECA.org.

Paul N1II is looking for volunteers to support the upcoming Norwalk Regional Tree Festival. Norwalk and the surrounding towns of Wilton, Westport and Darien are all participating. Hams (with handi-talkies) are needed to guide people where to go, point them to parking and most important - hams would be the first friendly face visitors see - families and kids when they enter. If you don't have a radiowe will supply you with one. The event is at Cranbury Park on May 11. Task briefing would be at approximately 9:30 and the event lasts till 3. For those not familiar with Cranbury Park, it is located about a mile east of the Wal-Mart on Main Avenue (old Route 7) near the Norwalk-Wilton border. Please reply to pdanzer@optonline.net or N1II@arrl.net (with your name, call and telephone number). He still needs a few more ops so do it today if interested.

After this winter, we all need something to invigorate us. Here’s a note about something new from Eric KB1EHE. “If there is one thing that is an absolute constant in ham radio is that we all like to tinker, create, and innovate. It was the combination of this build-it-from-scratch mentality, and the passion for community service, that inspired me to become a ham in the early 70's.

As a youngster, I had wonderful Elmers teaching me the ways. And now we're opening the doors to statewide Elmer-ship (I just made up that word) and tinkerer's paradise. It will be open nearly 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. It is the "Makerspace" in downtown Hartford.


If you are new to the Makerspace concept, it is a national (in fact, international) movement to build, create, explore, and invent -- just about anything you can imagine. It is an all-ages, all-genders participatory movement. As described at www.makerspace.com: "A Makerspace is a learning environment rich with possibilities. As new hardware and software tools for making, digital design, and fabrication are emerging, we’re working together -- with teachers and community leaders -- to place those tools into the hands of a wider audience. We’re building the infrastructure for more kids and adults to connect to a future in which they can personally change, modify or 'hack' the physical world, creating things that were nearly impossible to do on their own just a few years ago. Making is about getting hands-on, using these new technologies and basic tools, to do real and personally meaningful work."

I've been part of the working group to start a Makerspace in Hartford. The doors are about to open. And it will be located in one of the neatest places you can imagine: the lower floor of the historic City Steam building. The location was chosen because it is central to all residents of Connecticut, has easy highway access, has secure parking, and offers street-level 24/7 accessibility. (For historical reference, the building was designed by the architect H.H. Richardson, opened in 1877, and housed the largest department store in Connecticut: Brown Thomson and Company.)

The paperwork is currently being filed to make it a 501(c) "non profit" organization. It is designed as a public service for the citizens of the entire region.

If you want to play, engage, create -- or even just socialize -- with your fellow hams and creative citizens and artisans, I encourage you to keep up to date on developments via the recently launched Web site: www.makehartford.com. And, for the very latest developments, sign up on the home page for e-mail updates.

This is a ham radio operator's paradise. And, even more so, I believe it can be a great way to inspire a whole new generation of hams. (There's no better way to excite a young mind than to demonstrate -- hands-on -- the magic of radio.)

Be part of the community. And please help spread the word to our fellow hams!” Now here’s this month’s exam schedule. Good luck if you’re taking a test! See you next month.

Milford CT 06460-3308
Sponsor: Coastline ARC VEC: ARRL/VEC
Date: Apr 07 2013 Time: 10:00 AM (No walk-ins)
Contact: Richard S. Williamson (203) 877-5020 wa1yqe@aol.com
Location: CARA Clubhouse, Eels Hill Rd, Milford
Pre-registration required!

Thomaston CT 06787-1744
Sponsor: Northwest Amateurs VEC: ARRL/VEC
Date: Apr 09 2013 Time: 7:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Lawrence S. Polowy (860) 283-4089 lspolowy@snet.net
Location: Thomaston Town Hall-Senior Citizen Center (Level 1), 158
Main St.

Trumbull CT 06611-1944
Sponsor: CT Regional Testing Center VEC: W5YI VEC
Date: Apr 11 2013 Time: 7:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Kevin W. Cellini (203) 209-6495 kevin.cellini@gmail.com
Location: http://441700.org/CRTC/crtc.htm
VE’s Residence
49 Sunrise Ave., Trumbull CT 06611-1944

Newington CT 06111-1400
Sponsor: Newington Amateur Radio League ARRL/VEC
Date: Apr 13 2013 Time: 9:00 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Steven R. Ewald (860) 594-0265 sewald@arrl.org
Location: ARRL Headquarters
225 Main St, Newington

Washington Depot CT 06794-1201
Sponsor: Northville ARA ARRL/VEC
Date: Apr 13 2013 Time: 9:00 AM (Walk-ins allowed)

Contact: Gary Michael. Walters (860) 938-2030 w8zy@outlook.com
Location: Washington Volunteer Fire Station, 109 Bee Brook Rd,
Washington DepotCT

Portland CT 06480-1841
Sponsor: Middlesex ARS ARRL/VEC
Date: Apr 16 2013 Time: 7:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Paul Lux (860) 635-1742 k1pl@arrl.net
Location: Portland Senior Center-1st Bldg on Right
Across Portland Bridge, Next Right After 3rd Light
7 Waverly Ave., Portland

Milford CT 06460
Sponsor: SCTG W5YI/VEC
Date: Apr 17 2013 Time: 7:00 PM (No walk-ins)
Contact: Peter J. Keyes n1goj@softhome.net
Location: CARA Clubhouse, Eels Hill, Milford; (repeater site)
Pre-registration required

Farmington CT 06032-1955
Sponsor: unsponsored ARRL/VEC
Date: Apr 19 2013 Time: 6:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Walter M. Styslo (860) 529-8474 k1wms@hotmail.com
Location: American Red Cross, 209 Farmington Ave., Farmington
===

ARRL Connecticut Section
Section Manager: Betsey M Doane, K1EIC
k1eic@arrl.org

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CT Section Alert Ends
Posted 10 Feb 2013 at 20:25 EST

Greetings!

CT ARES is returned to Level 0 Inactive effective immediately.

My sincere thanx to all who supported our Level 2 Standby status during the Blizzard of 2013.

And in particular, thanx to all of the Skywarn spotters, net control stations, and coordinators who gathered "ground truth" observations for the National Weather Service.

Stay safe!

Wayne Gronlund N1CLV

CT ARES SEC / CT-IMT4 COML


Posted 07 Feb 2013 at 19:05 EST

Greetings!

A Blizzard Warning is now in effect for all of Connecticut. Snowfall totals of 1 to 2 feet are predicted. 

Winds up to hurricane force are possible. Widespread power outages are likely.

I am raising the CT ARES activation status to Level 2 Standby effective at 2000 EST this evening.

Please continue to prepare to assist our Served Agencies should the need arise.

Above all, stay safe!

Thanx & 73, Wayne N1CLV

CT ARES SEC

On 7 Feb 2013, at 13:49 PM, n1clv@mac.com wrote:

Greetings!

Based on the increasing likelihood that Connecticut will be impacted by a significant winter storm, I am raising the CT ARES activation status to Level 1 Alert effective immediately.

Please maintain good situational awareness as the storm develops by watching/listening to your preferred weather forecast sources. 

Please be prepared to assist our Served Agencies if requested by ensuring your radio batteries are charged, vehicles and generators are fueled, etc.

The safety of you and your family should be your highest priority! Now is the time to make preparations to keep your family safe should you be asked to deploy.

I anticipate raising the activation status to Level 2 Standby later this evening. Remember, you should NOT deploy without direction from the appropriate ARES or local official.

Thanx & 73, Wayne N1CLV

CT ARES SEC


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Governor Malloy Proclaims Amateur Radio Week

The Honorable Dannel Malloy has issued a proclamation declaring Amateur Radio Week in the State of Connecticut.  See the proclmation here (pdf).Proclamation thumbnail

CT Section Manager to receive George Hart Distinguished Service Award

The annual George Hart Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Betsey Doane, K1EIC, this Saturday, June 16 at 11:00 am. ARRL Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, will make the presentation at the Newington Amateur Radio League hamfest (NARLFEST).

The George Hart Distinguished Service Award is given to an ARRL member whose service to the League's Field Organization is of the most exemplary nature. It is named in honor of George Hart, W1NJM. Hart was a long-time Communications Manager at ARRL Headquarters and chief developer of the National Traffic System (NTS).

Selection criteria include:

  • Operating record with the National Traffic System; or

  • Participation within the Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®); or

  • Station appointments and/or leadership positions held within the ARRL Field Organization.

The NARLFEST is at St. Mary's School, 652 Willard Ave., in Newington, CT. It runs from 8 am to 2 pm. For directions and other information, see http://www.narlhamfest.org/ .


New Training Pages on CT ARRL Section

We are introducing a new set of informal training pages here.  We hope you will find them  informative as well as enjoyable.  The first page is a short piece about Tactical Callsigns by our own SEC, Dr. Wayne Gronlund, N1CLV.  Watch this space for future pieces on various topics.  If you have an article that you would like to share here, please email to Training Coordinator Rod Lane, N1FNE@arrl.net

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Calendar of events

During the move of our internet host, we upgraded the Web Calendar to the most recent version.  It has some new features, but nothing daunting.  Give it a try - post your upcoming events for all CT hams to see.

The WebCalendar is designed so that club officials, section leadership and other hams may post events for public viewing.  Follow this link for instructions.



Mesh Networking Introduction

SM Betsey, K1EIC reports “Some of us have received emails from another Section about their work with mesh networking.  Rod has given me a link to a nice video intro. 

And thanks Rod for the material.”

http://www.hsmm-mesh.org/documentation/133-ae5ib-intro-to-hsmm-mesh-2012-hamcomm.html

Here is another link. 

http://www.hsmm-mesh.org/hsmm-files.html

Upcoming Licensing Exams in the CT Section


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QNI Newsletters

Traffic handlers will find this interesting.  This is a new newsletter edited by James Wades WB8SIW.  This is in PDF format.

QNI Newsletter December 2012

QNI Newsletter October 2012

QNI Newsletter September 2012


What is NTS?  What are nets?  What is traffic?

These questions are answered in this very nice guide written by Mark W2EAG and is used here with enthusiastic permission.  There may be a couple of inconsistencies as some time has elapsed but they can be handled on a case-bycase basis.  The material is well written and represents a great deal of work by an avid traffic handler.  I hope it is useful to you and that you enjoy the content.  Traffic Handlers Guide


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Section Manager's blog appears on CT section of ARRL site

See some very interesting short items and links at http://www.arrl.org/groups/view/connecticut

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Mailing lists, blogs, and podcasts are good sources of ham info
by Dan KB6NU


Whether
you're a newcomer or an old-timer, the Internet is possibly the best way to learn as much as you can about amateur radio. On the Internet, you'll find many, many ham radio mailing lists, podcasts, and videos. In essence, these resources give you access to hundreds, if not thousands, of Elmers.

One
mailing list that I always suggest to new hams is the HamRadioHelpGroup (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HamRadioHelpGroup). The purpose of this group is to help "those who are interested in getting started in Amateur Radio or upgrading their license." This mailing list has a good mix of beginners and experts, and most questions are answered quickly and correctly. One thing that I really like about this group is that the moderators do a good job of keeping the discussions on track, and will squelch them when they stray off topic or threaten to turn into flame wars.

In
addition to the HamRadioHelpGroup, you might also want to join a more targeted mailing list. For example, if youre interested in learning Morse Code (hint, hint), you might join the SolidCpyCW list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SolidCpyCW/). If you just bought a Yaesu FT-60 hand-held transceiver, you might want to join the FT-60 list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FT-60/). Chances are that no matter what your interest, theres probably a mailing list to discuss that interest.

I
m subscribed to a lot of amateur radio mailing lists and could probably spend most of my day just reading and replying to them. In order to get the most out of them, without them taking away from my on-air time, I only read those threads that I am really interested in, and even then, I quit reading them once they have started to drift off-topic. I also un-subscribe myself from lists that cover topics that Im no longer interested in.

Blogs, podcasts and videos
In
addition to getting on a few mailing lists, you might want to read a few blogs and subscribe to podcasts. These are also great sources of information about amateur radio. I blog about amateur radio at www.kb6nu.com, and lots of hams find it a good source of information. You can find a list of other ham radio blogs that Id recommend on my home page.

Podcasts
are also a good source of information. One podcast that you might want to check out is the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast (http://www.myamateurradio.com). Since 2008, Jerry, KD0BIK, has been producing PARP, and currently has more than 50 different episodes online. For other podcasts, consult the list on Jerrys home page.

Finally,
there are literally thousands of amateur radio videos on the net. On YouTube alone, there are approximately 32,000 of them. The American Radio Relay League has its own channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/ARRLHQ), but perhaps the most popular amateur radio video channel is the K7AGE channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/K7AGE). K7AGE has more than 6,200 subscribers and his videos have garnered more than 2.1 million views!

Whatever
source or sources of information you select, remember to not let them take up too much of your time. Ham radio is about more than just reading, listening, or watching. Its about doing!

(
When he's not answering yet another e-mail, Dan blogs about ham radio at www.kb6nu.com, teaches ham classes, and ragchews on 30m and 40m CW. You can e-mail him with comments or questions at cwgeek@kb6nu.com.)


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NTS Picnic Pictures on this Web Site

See some photos of hams having a great time at the annual Eastern Area NTS Picnic held at the QTH of Betsey, K1EIC.  Follow this link to the Pictures Page

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National Traffic System (NTS) Corner

NTS MONTHLY REPORTS

CT Section

Submitted by: Ann-Marie, K1STM

Month: February, 2013


Station Activity Reports

CALL ORIG RCVD SENT DLVD TOTAL
NM1K 110 30 130 10 280
K1HEJ 0 39 34 10 83
KB1RGQ 2 35 15 6 58
KB1NMO 0 19 10 1 30
KB1UAU 0 9 10 4 27

Public Service Honor Roll

CALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL
KB1UAU 40 27 0 0 245 0 312
NM1K 40 40 30 0 0 30 140
K1HEJ 40 40 20 0 0 0 100
KB1RGQ 40 40 20 0 0 0 100
KB1NMO 40 30 20 5 0 0 95
KB1YNE 26 18 0 0 30 10 84


Net Statistics

NAME SESS CHKINS TRFC NM ANM
CN No report



CPN 28 129 25 N1DIO
ECTN 27 157 25 W1MCT
NVTN 28 214 52 KB1RGQ KA1UAU
Wescon 28 361 73 KB1NMO KB1BSK

Schedule of NTS Nets


NTS Nets Day (s) Time (local) Freq/offset/PL NM QTH
CT Phone Net (CPN) M - S 1800 Local 3.973 Mhz
None / none
N1DIO Gilford
CT Phone Net (CPN) Sun. 1000 Local 3.965 Mhz
None / none
N1DIO Guilford
CT Net (CN) Sa-Su only
1900 Local 3.533 Mhz
None/none
WA1GGN West Haven
Western CT Traffic Net
(WESCON)
Daily 2030 Local 147.18/+600 141.3 KB1NMO Prospect

Daily 2030 Local 147.12/+600 141.3 KB1NMO Danbury

Daily 2030 Local 145.41/-600 141.3 KB1NMO Vernon
Eastern CT Traffic Net (ECTN) Daily 2100 Local 146.73/-600 156.7 W1MCT Norwich
Nutmeg VHF Traffic Net (NVTN) Wed
2130 Local W-M 147.09 +600 110.9 KB1RGQ Glastonbury
Nutmeg VHF Traffic Net (NVTN)
Thu through Tues
2130 Local 146.685 -600 141.3 KB1RGQ Bristol

ARES CT REGION NETS








Net Frequency or System Day Time
HF Admin Net (SSB) 3.964 Mhz. During Activation During Activation
State wide VHF (FM) KB1AEV – N1FNE – NA1RA System Sunday &
during activation
8 PM Local
as needed
Region 1 (FM) 146.775 – 600 Khz PL 100,0 Hz 1st Monday of month 8 PM Local
Region 2 (FM) 147.505-1Mhz PL 77 W, Haven Monday 7:45 PM Local

145.290 – 600 PL 110.9 Hz Killingworth Monday 7:45 PM Local

446.925 – PL 77


Region 3 (FM)
KB1AEV – N1FNE systems
Every Monday

8 PM Local

Region 4 North (FM)
147.225 + 600 Khz
PL 156.7 Hz
Brooklyn
Every Wed except 1st Wed 8 PM Local
after weather net

146.400 simplex 1st Wed 8 PM Local


Region 4 South
147.060 + 600 Khz
PL 156.7 Hz,
Salem


Every Monday


8 PM Local

Alternate
146.970 Mhz
PL 156.7 Hz.
New London



When needed



When needed

Region 5 North
Na1RA – KB1AEV system
Wed Night

7 PM Local


Region 5 South
147.300 + 600 Khz
PL 100.0 Hz
Danbury

2nd Wed of month

8 PM Local

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New Web server space for the ARRL CT Section kindly donated by Al Petrunti, KA1TCH, TheNewDayGroup.com