Next Monthly Meeting: Thursday, February 12, 7pm
Next Weekend Session: Sunday, February 8, Noon
Nets: Every Tuesday & Wednesday at 7:00pm
Clandestine Coffee: Every Wednesday at 9:30am
All Hams, Licensed or Not, are Welcomed to Attend
Putting the “Winter” in Winter Field Day
Over the weekend of January 24th and 25th, EAWA members and friends participated in Winter Field Day in a variety of ways. Some went “all out” with their off-grid wilderness set-up, while others stayed closer to home. Although Winter Field Day (WFD) has much in common with the ARRL Field Day in June, the focus and point system is aimed at true field operations. The WFD website states the event, “aims to help participants improve their preparedness for disasters and enhance their operational abilities in adverse conditions.” With temperatures below zero, made worse by winds, and heavy snowfall directly following the event, coastal Mainers nailed the “adverse conditions”!
Matt W1MRH and Jeff KA1DBE set up their special events station N1S at Matt’s lakeside camp. Bill KC2NMK joined the team this year. They were ready to go an hour before WFD started, and worked the allowed 24 out of 30 hours. The bands were noisy, and around midnight 40 meters was the only band open. Two hours into the event they realize they were using two different versions of N3FJP. Thankfully, the mix-up turned out to be a non-issue. Bill operated PSK while Matt and Jeff worked SSB, CW, WinLink, satellites. The team also copied the WFD bulletin.
Joan W1DLC chose to set up an off-grid station near her home. In a small out-building she setup her gear, along with a wood stove. Although she added some insulation, the cold temperatures and wind were too much for the small stove. She worked for 6 hours, with both SSB and CW, before shutting down.
Matt KC1VLH operated inside his home but used only emergency power for his radio and computer. He used a battery box he build for POTA to power his equipment. Matt operated for 16 hours, making many SSB contacts. This was Matt’s first WFD activation.
Marion W1GRL choose the easiest way to participate, hunting stations from home.
Most likely there were others operating WFD as well. One of the best things about ham radio is the many ways we can engage the hobby. It’s wonderful to have a community that offers so many ways to participate and enjoy radio communications. Cheers to Winter Field Day! Perhaps next year it will coincide with a January thaw? Perhaps not. Whatever the conditions, EAWA members and friends will be up for the challenge.
Written by Marion W1GRL
Weekend Session: Plans & Projects!
The Weekend Session on January 11, the first of the new year, brought out many EAWA members and highlighted various projects. Jeff KA1DBE is working on plans for the EAWA’s Annual Ham Radio Symposium. The April Symposium features guest speakers, demonstrations, raffle prizes, and light refreshments. Once plans are finalized, announcements and details about the symposium will be published many places, including this website.
As is typical of Weekend Sessions, several members had planned to meet up during the scheduled time for troubleshooting and mentoring. The topics always vary, but the time to meet up and work together is always appreciated!
Weekend Sessions are a great place to get advice on any aspect of ham radio and to share current projects. These are scheduled for twice a month during the fall and winter. For future dates, check here. Perhaps we’ll see you at a Weekend Session soon!
Written by Marion W1GRL
January Club Mtg: New Year, New Energy!
The January 8th club meeting brought new energy to the challenges waiting in 2026. The meeting opened with introductions and the question, “What is one radio goal you have for 2026.” Responses varied from license upgrades to new antennas to learning CW. The topics covered in the old and new business were also varied. Among the noteworthy items was the election of club officers for 2026: John KQ1P returns as President, Marion W1GRL begins a term as Vice President, Joan W1DLC returns as Secretary/Treasurer, and Matt KC1VLH joins Stan W1BOY and Greg KC1RID as a Director of the Board. President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer are one year terms. The additional directors are elected for staggered three year terms. The club would like to thank Chuck AC1BS for his many years serving as the club Vice President, and Evie KA1BRA for serving on the Board.
On a different note, Barbara KC1SSY, EAWA member and Hancock County Emergency Coordinator, encouraged members to use some winter downtime to take two important FEMA courses: ICS 100, Introduction to the Incident Command System and ICS 800, Introduction to the National Response Framework. These are the beginning courses for anyone interested in moving forward in Emergency Communications.
There were numerous announcements, including a friendly reminder that yearly dues should be paid soon ($15 per person, $20 per family), at the Weekend Session this coming Sunday Jeff KA1DBE is holding a planning session for our Annual Ham Symposium in April, and new equipment has been installed for the W1TU repeater. There was also discussion of the various awards associated with ARRL’s American250 WAS program, and lastly, Marion W1GRL announced that at least 8 EAWA members participated in the 2025 DX Marathon.
The title of program, presented by Marion W1GRL, was “The EAWA Website is 2 years old! How are we doing?” The presentation began with many statistics, provided by our website host, WordPress. Combining 2024 and 2025, we have had 3,150 visitors, and 13,028 pages viewed. Focusing on 2025, we published 42 blog posts, and averaged 641 views per month. The most views came in June and October, and our most viewed story was Hamming It Up In the Summertime. Most visitors are reaching us through search engines, however a significant number found us through Facebook. We did have visitors from the ARRL’s club page and from QRZ.
Following a review of the stats, Marion shifted to discuss the ARRL Website Competition that is part of the 2026 Year of the Club. The competition requires a club to state the goals for their website and describe how they are meeting those goals. We have two simple yet powerful goals for the website: To strengthen the sense of community within the club, and share our thriving community with others in an accessible and approachable way. One indicator that we are meeting our goals is that in 2025 we had 1,924 visitors to our website, with most viewing our Homepage (with the calendar and most recent blog posts), Regular Events, and Club Information and History. A second indicator, using data provided by Joan, the EAWA Secretary. Our membership had been declining, reaching 36 in 2023, and since the launch of our website in January of 2024, our membership grew to 43 in 2024 and 54 in 2025. At the time of this writing our website entry has been submitted. Winners will be announced in May. Whether we win something the ARRL competition or not, we are achieving bigger and better things by growing the EAWA and sharing our passion for this great hobby with all who visit our website.
Written by Marion W1GRL
EAWA Members Prep for ARRL America250 WAS Awards
The ARRL has several initiatives for 2026 commemorating the Year of the Club and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The EAWA has sent in a club photo for a chance to be featured in QST, and has entered this website in the club website competition.
This article is focused on how you can participate in the largest initiative, the “America250 WAS,” is a year-long event offering several special awards through the ARRL’s Logbook Of The World (LoTW).
Using the terms in LoTW, there are new WAS endorsements available for 2026. Endorsements are are like branches on a tree, indicating specific achievements. For example, the tree is the Worked All States Award, completed in any combination of bands and modes. An endorsement, or branch on the tree, is added when the operator works all states in just one mode (CW, Phone, Digital), or just one band, or even one mode/band combination (for example, SSB only on 20 meters). The America250 WAS offers several new endorsements.
One of the awards or new endorsements is for contacting each state when hams in that state are using the ARRL callsign of W1AW/Portable. The “Portable” is the number corresponding to the state’s ARRL region or territory. For example, New York hams will use W1AW/2, while Louisiana hams will use W1AW/5. Across the year each state will have two separate weeks when W1AW/Portable will be on the air, and for Maine those are the weeks of January 28 and December 16. Maine will use W1AW/1 as will all states in the 1 call area, however we will be distinguished from other 1 call area states by our designated weeks. It would be ideal to have W1AW/1 activated on all bands and in all modes often during our two weeks.
You can participate in this award chase in two ways. The first is to follow the ARRL calendar and make QSOs with W1AW/Portable operators in each state – on any band or mode. The first two states, New York W1AW/2 and Nebraska W1AW/0 start their first weeks on Wednesday January 7th. The second way you can participate is to represent Maine as W1AW/1 in the modes and on the bands of your choice during our specified weeks. The exchange is a typical one, with the addition that W1AW/1 is a special event station, part of the ARRL America250 WAS. To learn more or sign up, please contact club member and Maine Section Manager, Phil N1EP, at was250me@gmail.com. Several club members have volunteered, including Matt KC1VLH, Rob W8HAP, and Bob AB1EP.
Another award is for making a QSO with an ARRL Affiliated Club station in all 50 states. You don’t have to wait for a specific week for this activity. The ARRL has a search mechanism for affiliated clubs in each state. Not only can you search for them, but if you happen upon an affiliated station there will likely be a statement about America250 WAS in the exchange. Announcements will be made as plans are finalized to put W1TU on the air.
A third award, the WAS Triple Play, is earned by contacting operators all 50 states, using W1AW/Portable and/or Affiliated Club calls on all three modes (CW/Phone/Digital). Just like the first two awards, you apply for this endorsement through LoTW after you have achieved the award requirements.
There are also awards for contacting all 50 states on one band, using one mode, or by satellite.
A summary of the event can be found in the ARRL’s On The Air magazine. You can check the event webpage for more details. America250 WAS is a great way to make sure you get all the states this year, and also a way to give back to the hobby by representing Maine as a special event operator.
Written by Marion W1GRL
Join EAWA Members in the DX Marathon!
The EAWA and the DX Marathon program have crossed paths numerous times. Several EAWA members have participated in the program over the last couple of years. Last spring the program administrator, Mark WC3W, gave a Zoom presentation to the club. Also, the EAWA sponsors a winner’s plaque for the highest score in the Formula Unlimited Class. (The sponsorship was a gift from Marion W1GRL and Stan W1BOY to the EAWA as a way to honor the club for being the special group that it is!)
The DX Marathon program is free, easy, and fun to participate in. “Free,” as in no fees or registration. It’s easy because all you need is an ADIF file that includes this year’s DX contacts — no filtering is needed on your part. You can give them your whole QRZ file or download from your logging program if you’d like. It’s fun to see what you have accomplished this year, and to see how you’re doing compared to others with similar power-levels and antennas. The program gives seasoned DX hunters a reason to contact the easy-to-find countries and CQ zones each year. Also, if you spend time in DX contests, you may be surprised at how high your DX Marathon score is!
In a recent email exchange with Marion W1GRL, Mark WC3W emphasized that ALL participants will receive a “beautiful” certificate listing all their accomplishments (including standing among EAWA submissions). Your score is the sum of the number of DX entities contacted and CQ zones worked in 2025. Operators may choose to enter a with a specific mode, such as digital only, or mixed modes. The DX Marathon is a program, not a contest, so all bands count toward your score )similar to the State QSO Party Challenge). There are overlays for youth and YLs. At the time of this writing there were 1,007 entries from hams around the world, including EAWA members Barbara KC1SSY, Phil N1EP, Stan W1BOY, and Marion W1GRL. Mark W1ABY was among those who entered in 2024.
When you submit your file (here), it’s a good idea to use the Entry Editor that explains options and gives tips for choosing the best QSO to represent each entity. Recently, Marion W1GRL entered a mini DX Marathon sprint, didn’t bother with the Entry Editor, and promptly received 11 deductions because of invalid call signs, incorrect entities (call signs didn’t match expected entity), and incorrect CQ zones. It’s easy to mix up CQ and ITU zones on QRZ, in logging programs, WSJT-X, or other software. It’s worth a few minutes to go over the entries in your submission — Marion could have chosen different QSOs and saved those points.
Once you’re satisfied with your submission, the website will present questions regarding your modes, power-levels and antennas in order to place your entry in the appropriate category. Don’t forget the EAWA! Use the dropdown box for clubs to find the EAWA. You can also choose whether to make your results public on the Leaderboard or keep them private.
The deadline for submissions is 7:00pm EST, Monday, January 5, 2026. So, in addition to planning New Year’s Resolutions and ham radio goals, perhaps you will also choose to post your DX contacts on the CQ DX Marathon website. It would be great to see the list of EAWA entries grow!
Written by Marion W1GRL
W1TU 